Steady Mortal Path: Starting from Obtaining the Golden Core Inheritance

“Master Yin specifically requested that this person be brought back. If this matter is botched, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain to her.”

"Leaking information about the Chayin Palace and colluding with others to betray the sect will result in your cultivation being sealed once discovered. Your magical power will be harvested by your 'dog slaves' and fed to the other disciples."

Liu Qing sighed and couldn't help but look at the gray-robed man who stood to the side with a calm expression.

"You 'dog slave,' you're also controlled by that talisman master, so why aren't you afraid?"

This person is a 'dog slave' of Uncle Yin's dojo, and has been following Yin Shuxuan for many years.

Now that it's a bit older, it has gradually lost its owner's 'affection'.

Before coming, Elder Yin Shuxuan promised that as long as Lin Changsheng could be brought back, she would reward him with this Foundation Establishment 'dog slave' for a month.

To their surprise, not only did they fail to complete their mission, but they were also threatened with poison by the other side.

Liu Qing was undecided for a moment whether to report the matter truthfully.

“Reporting to my young master, I was abducted into the Chayin Palace when I was a child, and my life and death have been completely out of my control. Now I am just another person who can threaten my life and death.”

"However, since the young master is of noble status, we still need to make a careful plan."

The man in the gray robe spoke respectfully, but his tone revealed a sense of helplessness and bitterness.

"How do you plan to go about it? Tell me..."

Liu Qing was slightly taken aback, seemingly infected by this helplessness, and her words softened a little, losing their initial arrogance.

Instead, he asked the gray-robed man for advice.

"this is very simple."

Sensing the change in Liu Qing's tone, a strange glint flashed in the eyes of the gray-robed man, hidden beneath his large hood and robes.

“This Lin Fu Master was not only able to detect our presence in advance, but also to create an illusion without anyone noticing, so that even the young master who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage did not notice. Such methods are definitely not those of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

"I even suspect that this person is not using his own power, but rather borrowing other powers. Otherwise, as a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, no matter how strong his divine sense is, he could not possibly control such a powerful hallucination technique."

"Therefore, this Lin Fu Master must possess methods far exceeding the Foundation Establishment realm. He may have mastered some kind of third-tier treasure, or a power that does not belong to him. However, he dared not kill the two of us because he was afraid of the Chayin Palace, which means that the power he possesses cannot exceed the Golden Core level."

"Therefore, we only need to temporarily comply with what this Master Lin said in exchange for our own safety. I don't think he would dare to push us too hard."

The gray-robed man analyzed slowly, and then spoke.

“That’s right. This person doesn’t dare to kill us because he’s afraid of Martial Aunt Yin Shuxuan! Let’s keep him calm for now and then find a way to expel the toxins from his body.”

Upon hearing the gray-robed man's words, Liu Qing's eyes lit up, and he felt much more at ease.

……

The cultivation world of Yue Kingdom, in the southwestern border region.

Before a desolate Gobi desert, the luster of a broken array flickered, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

Not far away, on the ground lay corpses, some charred black, others swollen and pale as if they had been soaked in water.

There were also several indistinct pieces of flesh and blood that were not human-shaped, and could only be vaguely identified as parts of a human body.

About ten feet away from here, a fluctuation of spiritual energy of heaven and earth occurred, and various magical powers burst forth.

“Deacon Zhao, you are injured. You should rest for a while. I will break through from behind later, and you can take the opportunity to escape.”

An elderly man with white hair and beard, whose cultivation level was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, frowned as he glanced at the several Foundation Establishment Tribulation cultivators surrounding him. He then spoke in a low voice to Zhao Wanning, whose dress was stained with blood behind her.

Apart from the two of them who held their ground, two Foundation Establishment deacons who accompanied them died, one escaped, and all the other Qi Condensation cultivators perished. The scene was extremely tragic.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators around them initially took advantage of the terrain and the initiative by launching a surprise attack using the formation. Apart from a very few who suffered minor injuries, none of them perished.

"Uncle Wang, Wan Ning will never abandon you! Hold on a little longer, and Ning Jing might already be on her way with help."

Zhao Wanning's face was pale, but she shook her head firmly. As she spoke, blood continued to seep from her abdomen.

Previously, during the battle, she was ambushed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator who secretly activated a palm-sized flying blade magic weapon, and was almost cut in half by the cultivator.

Fortunately, thanks to her quick wit and experience, she narrowly avoided a fatal wound, leaving only a scar on her abdomen.

Zhao Wan Ning's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she gritted her teeth as she took out the pill and swallowed it. At the same time, she also applied a light purple magic talisman to the wound on her abdomen.

A gentle aura emanated from it, slowly seeping into the wound and greatly relieving Zhao Wan Ning's injuries.

"Girl, this old man doesn't have many years left to live. I used a secret technique to break the formation before. Even if I don't die today, I'll only be able to prolong my life for another year or two. Leave the merchant guild's storage bag here and find a chance to escape. These cultivators are only interested in wealth and won't pay much attention to you."

The elder from the Wind Chime Merchant Guild, who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, shook his head and said with difficulty.

“Uncle Wang, you are Wan Ning’s elder and also a late-stage Foundation Establishment combatant of the Chamber of Commerce. You cannot afford to lose him.”

"Please hold on a little longer, Deacon Wang. If we can find a way to severely injure a few of these Tribulation Cultivators and instill fear in them, we will still have a chance."

Zhao Wanning took a deep breath. For both personal and public reasons, she could not abandon Uncle Wang unless absolutely necessary.

Her beautiful eyes glanced anxiously at the distant horizon, and with a wave of her hand, three 'quasi-third-tier' spell talismans appeared in her palm.

This was something she had obtained from Lin Changsheng after numerous collaborations over the years.

The 'quasi-third-tier' talisman is equivalent to the combat power of a pseudo-core cultivator.

Over the years, Lin Changsheng has frequently asked her to help him find materials for refining third-tier talismans.

He claims to be interested in third-order runes and wants to try drawing them.

Such an explanation might fool others, but it wouldn't fool Zhao Wanning, who was in charge of acquiring the materials for him.

After all, third-tier materials already fall within the scope of Golden Core cultivators. If it were just out of interest, why would they keep collecting them?

Therefore, Lin Changsheng revealed to his partner Zhao Wanning that he was able to refine 'quasi-third-tier' talismans, but the success rate was extremely low, and some precious third-tier materials were needed to barely increase the probability of creating 'quasi-third-tier' talismans.

Seeing that Zhao Wanning refused to leave alone, the Foundation Establishment elder from the Fengling Chamber of Commerce sighed and had no choice but to forcefully activate his magic power and launch another secret technique, attacking the Tribulation Cultivator with even greater fearlessness.

His intention was clear: he wanted to fight to the death, even if it meant taking a few people down with him to lighten Zhao Wanning's burden.

Just then, Zhao Wanning bought enough time and activated the three magic talismans in her hand one after another, emitting a heart-palpitating wave of magical power, which flew towards the tribulation cultivator in front of her.