We bear people have power

Beneath the sand dunes, everything was shattered. Most of the scattered flames were suppressed by the sand dunes and are being absorbed little by little to repair the cracks in the dunes.

Guan Bo took a breath, but didn't relax at all. If destroying the Flame God could eliminate it by simply dispersing its form, it would be far too easy. Sure enough, the ground shook, and a flame broke through the stone bricks, rushing straight towards Guan Bo.

The statue was destroyed, and the Flame God was severely weakened, but he had the magic to create millions of clones, so his counterattack, which saved his life, was also fierce.

To Guan Bo's surprise, the flames didn't rush towards him, but instead went towards Ling Xiu.

Originally, with the sand mountain protecting her, the Flame God couldn't do anything to Lingxiu. But now that the sand mountain has been thrown out and smashed the statue to pieces, it has not only severely injured the Flame God, but also exposed Lingxiu to the Flame God's attack range.

Lingxiu stared wide-eyed; she had far too little experience in combat. Caught off guard by the sudden burst of flames, she froze, completely stunned.

Guan Bo was taken aback. He activated the Five Thunder Orthodox Technique at full power and uttered a single syllable: "Freeze!"

Unlike before, he didn't choose to annihilate the flames. Although losing one finger is worse than injuring ten, Guan Bo's priority was to save people. Annihilating the flames could only consume a portion, not completely stop them.

The word "fixed" doesn't seem to completely stop the flames, but it does noticeably slow down their flight.

With this brief respite, Lingxiu finally came to her senses.

The Myriad Mysteries Longevity Cloth was unleashed, completely enveloping her body before disappearing into thin air.

This treasure has an excellent concealment effect. If Lingxiu hadn't messed up her magic power earlier, even the Flame Evil God wouldn't have been able to find her.

Having failed in his first attack, the Flame God had no further chances, so he resorted to his old trick, transforming into hundreds of fire lines in an attempt to escape into the sky.

As long as the followers of the evil god remain, given enough time, there is still a chance for them to make a comeback.

But he underestimated Guan Bo. Even if he wasn't a Saint Seiya, the same methods wouldn't work repeatedly.

Guan Bo had already raised the purple-gold-red gourd in his hand, and shouted, "Put it away!"

As the Five Thunder Orthodox Method spoke, the law came into being. Streams of fire burst forth with a roar, as if in response, and then they all plunged into the purple-gold-red gourd.

Guan Bo was afraid that the Five Thunderbolts Method wouldn't be effective enough, so he also used the flame transformation effect he had practiced before.

Those fire threads, which contained even stronger magical power and were not directly absorbed into the gourd, twisted and deformed, transforming into tiny Mai Shiranui figures suspended in mid-air.

But upon closer inspection, it turns out that Mai Shiranui has only changed her body; her head still bears the hideous face of the evil god.

"Holy crap, what a disgusting combination. I've always heard that body shape is important, and that all people look the same when the lights are off, but I bet even the most ruthless and unconventional guys wouldn't be able to bring themselves to date a woman with this kind of look," Guan Bo thought to himself.

The Flame God was resolute; after being blocked by Guan Bo, he simply abandoned his flame magic. The struggling flame figures, having lost their power, turned into ordinary flames, all of which were collected by Guan Bo into the Purple-Gold-Red Gourd.

As the Flame God fled, everything settled down.

Vast palaces were reduced to ruins, and the Zoroastrians had vanished without a trace. In the distance, shouts of battle seemed to drift in; Guan Bo faintly heard the clash of swords, but he couldn't discern who was fighting. However, Guan Bo had other urgent matters to attend to.

Having survived the Heavenly Tribulation, Guan Bo should have been able to condense his Golden Core. However, he had been entangled in a battle with the Fire Worshiping Evil God and had no opportunity to do so. For both demonic beasts and humans, the Golden Core stage is an extremely important hurdle. The saying "no regrets once the Golden Core is formed" is not just an empty phrase.

Once the demon core and golden core are condensed, one embarks on the path of cultivation, where one either attains immortality or dies and their cultivation dissipates.

The Golden Core is where one's essence, energy, and spirit are concentrated, and it is also the place where the soul resides. Therefore, once a person dies at the Golden Core stage, even their soul will dissipate, and it will be impossible for them to enter reincarnation again.

Only when the elixir is shattered and the soul is formed into an infant, allowing it to leave the body and travel far, can one be qualified to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Humans are different from demonic beasts. When a demonic beast undergoes tribulation and transforms into human form, it is considered complete, as the condensation of its demonic core is an innate talent that it can do naturally. However, human cultivators, after undergoing tribulation, can only be considered half-step Golden Core cultivators. They still need to spend time and energy compressing and condensing their entire essence, energy, and spirit to truly form a genuine Golden Core before they can be considered complete Golden Core cultivators.

Guan Bo is now focused on completing this crucial step.

The Flame God was severely weakened and fled with his tail between his legs. Half of the Zoroastrians in the palace were killed by Guan Bo, and the rest were mortals. With Ling Xiu protecting him, he should be safe.

Therefore, Guan Bo did not hesitate to focus all his attention on his body.

The concepts of essence, energy, and spirit may sound abstract, but for those who cultivate the Dao, they are tangible and visible. From the foundation-building stage onward, cultivators develop keen perception, becoming able to sense even the smallest blood vessels in their bodies.

Spiritual energy is essential for daily cultivation. Leaving aside the spiritual energy outside the world, one must be able to control the spiritual energy within the body as if it were an extension of one's own arm; otherwise, it cannot be refined into magical power.

The most elusive thing is the spirit, the soul.

The difficulty of the Golden Core stage lies in the fusion of the soul and vital energy; only after achieving the Golden Core stage can one achieve a complete unity of essence, energy, and spirit.

However, this was not a problem for Guan Bo, who encountered no obstacles when condensing his Golden Core. This was because he had once survived a Heavenly Tribulation in his demon form. Although he had forgotten most of his memories, the insights he gained after reaching the Golden Core stage were engraved in his body.

Therefore, he easily united his essence, energy, and spirit, and began to condense the golden core belonging to human cultivators.

Unlike his previous, confused experience during his tribulation, he had been practicing a wild fox Zen, relying on the instinct of a demon to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, knowing the "what" but not the "why".

But this time, he was practicing the "Movement" method, one of the fundamental techniques of Fangcun Mountain.

Aside from the fact that this basic method requires too many rare and precious materials, making it unsuitable for ordinary people to cultivate, everything else about it can be considered a top-tier cultivation technique.

As the golden core condensed, a verse appeared in Guan Bo's mind.

The true and wondrous secret of the perfect integration of exoteric and esoteric teachings lies in cherishing and cultivating life, for there is no other way.

All things must be kept in good order, and one must carefully guard and preserve them to prevent them from leaking out.

Do not reveal it, keep it within your body, and you will prosper by receiving my teachings.

Memorizing the mnemonic will bring many benefits, and by eliminating evil desires, one can attain coolness and peace.

It is cool and bright, a perfect place to admire the moon from the Dantai Terrace.

The moon hides the jade rabbit, the sun hides the crow, and the tortoise and snake intertwine.

Intertwined and resilient, they can even grow golden lotuses in fire.

Gather the five elements and use them in reverse order; once the work is done, one can become a Buddha or an immortal.

This is the fundamental principle by which Patriarch Bodhi attained enlightenment over millions of years. Guan Bo had heard it once and remembered it firmly. At this moment, the golden elixir condensed and manifested itself once more.

With the "Movement" method as its foundation, the Five Thunder Orthodox Method as its aid, and the verses of Patriarch Bodhi as its guide, a brilliant golden elixir is about to take shape. Overflowing with Daoist energy, Guan Bo exudes an aura of immortality; even with his disheveled hair, he looks like a Daoist master.

Given a little more time, unique patterns will appear on his golden core, signifying that he has taken a crucial step on the path to enlightenment.

This pattern is called the Immortal Seal. It is the beginning of Guan Bo's path to immortality and the direction of his future growth. Once the Immortal Seal is set, there is no possibility of changing it.

On Fangcun Mountain, Patriarch Bodhi smiled broadly. This disciple had finally embarked on the path of Fangcun Mountain, and all his efforts had not been in vain.

"Buddha, your wishful thinking is thwarted. In terms of temperament, this child is ultimately suited to the path of my Fangcun Mountain."

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Bodhi Patriarch sensed something was amiss.

As expected, at the crucial moment when Guan Bo's golden core was forming, a golden light flew out from Mount Ling and landed on Guan Bo's head.

Amidst the chanting of Buddhist hymns and the shower of celestial flowers, a magnificent scene of countless Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas appeared on the sacred mountain.

"Haha, Tathagata, you've made a mistake. Now you want to use force to turn the tables? How can I tolerate that?" Bodhi Patriarch waved his whisk, shattering the Buddhist realm across millions of miles, even erasing the memories of those who witnessed it like dust, leaving no trace.

The Buddhist sanctuary shattered, and a white robe with black patterns and covered in Sanskrit and gold characters appeared, gently landing on Guan Bo.

However, this seemingly light and weightless robe, when it fell on Guan Bo, directly pressed the ground into cracks, as if a thousand pounds of weight had suddenly appeared, and the floor could not bear the weight.

The robe pressed down on Guan Bo like Mount Tai, not only on his body but also on his heart, causing his already formed golden core to shatter instantly.

For ordinary cultivators, the shattering of their Golden Core is a matter of life and death. If they are unlucky, they will die and their cultivation will be destroyed. If they are lucky, they will become crippled or become living dead without any consciousness.

However, this robe was not meant to harm anyone. After the golden core shattered, a rich magical power surged out from the robe, accompanied by chanting Buddhist hymns, integrating the chaotic essence, energy, and spirit, and beginning to rebuild the golden core.

This time, the golden core that was condensed seemed even more dazzling than before, and the essence, energy, and spirit it contained were several times greater.

Golden light burst forth from Guan Bo's body, making him appear like a compassionate bodhisattva. However, the immortal aura seemed to be equally powerful, subtly altering Guan Bo's entire demeanor through the support of the golden elixir.

To outsiders, Guan Bo sometimes seems like an enlightened immortal, and at other times like a virtuous monk; these two contrasting qualities seem to clash.

At the same time, Guan Bo was also experiencing a battle between heaven and man within his soul.

The Taoist principle of non-action and the Buddhist principle of compassion are two different fundamental truths that are constantly at odds, like a grand Buddhist ceremony with different interpretations and justifications.

Neither side would yield an inch, and at the moment of condensing the Golden Core, there was no longer any possibility of peaceful coexistence.

At this point, Guan Bo must examine his own heart, question his true nature, and determine which path he should take.

All that has passed is like a dream, a bubble, and Guan Bo must find the direction he truly believes in within this illusion.

Ask yourself honestly, is Guan Bo pursuing the path of self-cultivation like an immortal, or the Buddhist principle of helping all people?

It felt like countless years had passed until Guan Bo opened his eyes, and all the strange phenomena vanished like smoke.

The Golden Elixir has been formed, the path has been set, and from now on, there will be no more doubts.