Xiaoxiao.

What was originally a sure-fire victory was ruined by the unexpected turn of events at Kuangzheng.

When Zhu Guo noticed the astonishing changes happening to Kuang Zheng, escaping had become a pipe dream.

After all, Zhu Guo only possessed strength equivalent to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, which was worlds apart from that of a powerful cultivator at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage. How could he possibly escape from such an opponent?

However, it is worth mentioning that animals and plants have an innate sensory ability that far surpasses that of ordinary humans.

Therefore, even before the dangerous aura emanating from Kuang Zheng had fully dissipated, Zhu Guo had already keenly sensed a hint of unease.

Unfortunately, it never expected that Kuangzheng would achieve such a huge breakthrough, so much so that it ultimately capsized in this seemingly insignificant ditch.

That said, this Vermilion Fruit is vastly different from the image described in the legends.

Its astonishing perception is indeed terrifying, but at the same time, its so-called "golden appetite" and its behavior of actively approaching the strong are not what people imagine, but rather a means to devour the other party.

In fact, from beginning to end, Zhu Guo's true purpose was to lure those powerful people into his carefully laid trap and then control them.

As for its extraordinary fondness for spiritual energy, it manifests more as a strong possessiveness, a desire to possess all the spiritual energy for itself.

Kuang Zheng suddenly had a very bold guess: perhaps from the beginning, the purpose of the Vermilion Fruit was to seize the spiritual energy of the person who absorbed it!

Whether it's the legendary Peng Zu, Lü Chunyang, or the renowned Zhang Sanfeng.

On the surface, it appears that he was ambushed by the Three Spirits.

But upon closer examination, it's astonishing that a powerful cultivator at the Golden Core stage could be successfully ambushed by Sanling, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

No matter how you look at it, this is unbelievable.

According to Danling, Zhang Sanfeng died suddenly shortly after being poisoned, which is the biggest point of doubt.

It should be understood that even if a peerless master like Zhang Sanfeng, who was at the Golden Core stage, were unfortunately struck by the poison administered by Danling, he would not have died from the poison so quickly.

You must know, that's the Golden Core stage!

His cultivation level was terrifying, while the three spirits were merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, and had only just developed a little consciousness, not even fully awakening their intelligence.

Such a difference in strength is like heaven and earth. How could they possibly possess such ability to kill a Golden Core stage expert in one fell swoop?

It's important to understand that even though Danling has some unique characteristics, we must not overlook the enormous gap between the two!

There is a full three stages and nine ranks between the Golden Core stage and the Foundation Establishment stage!

Not to mention the vast differences between each period, even the distance between each level is worlds apart.

To put it another way, it's like asking a baby still in its mother's womb to defeat a seasoned world heavyweight boxing champion—it's just wishful thinking!

This kind of thing seems absurd to the extreme from any perspective.

This is precisely why Kuang Zheng had always harbored doubts in his mind.

After all, even those so-called innate masters can use the art of feigning death to deceive others, let alone a Golden Core stage expert?

How could they not have some life-saving tricks?

Incredibly, this Golden Core stage expert was ambushed and killed suddenly by three Foundation Establishment stage cultivators and an ordinary mortal who wasn't even a cultivator!

This is really unbelievable.

However, if Zhu Guo is indeed behind this, then all the seemingly illogical aspects can be explained.

From the moment they were chosen by the Vermilion Fruit, their fate was sealed—to become vessels for storing spiritual energy.

When the spiritual energy within the body accumulates to its limit, the instigator, Zhu Guo, will surely appear to reap the fruits of victory.

The reason it's called the Golden Core stage is because the limit of the furnace/cauldron is the Golden Core stage.

Upon breaking through to the Golden Core stage, a cultivator will develop a Nascent Soul within their body. At that point, all conspiracies will be exposed before the Nascent Soul.

Because the primordial spirit is colorless and formless, yet possesses myriad colors and forms.

The world is unpredictable; once you break through to the Golden Core stage, all your previous plans will be for nothing.

The "Golden Core Stage Tribulation" incident was actually caused by the Vermilion Fruit or the powerful force hidden behind it encountering the "furnace"'s desperate resistance when they tried to reap the fruits of victory.

In this way, they forcibly strip these "furnaces" of the spiritual energy that they have painstakingly accumulated.

According to the normal cultivation process, cultivators need to go through long years and arduous trials before they can truly reach the moment of tribulation.

However, nowadays, a strange situation has emerged where cultivators are facing tribulations at the Golden Core stage!

This is clearly contrary to conventional logic and completely illogical.

However, if we consider it as the result of the Vermilion Fruit and the forces behind it forcibly seizing spiritual energy, and the "furnaces" fighting desperately to resist, then all the questions can be answered, and everything becomes logical.

The reason why such a huge commotion was caused, leading ordinary people to mistakenly believe that someone was undergoing a tribulation, is very likely because Lü Chunyang and others were fighting back fiercely.

The reason why Zhang Sanfeng was unfortunately plotted against by the Three Spirits and ultimately succeeded is highly likely because he happened to be caught in an extremely unfavorable situation.

It is highly likely that at that time, Zhu Guo or his backers will happen to come and reap the rewards of victory.

The Three Spirits were too weak to detect the other party's presence at all.

Moreover, from beginning to end, the other party's real target was only Zhang Sanfeng.

For someone as insignificant as Sanling, they wouldn't even bother to give him a second glance.

Only Zhu Guo or the forces behind him could have the power to force Zhang Sanfeng, who had already reached the Golden Core stage, to the point that he didn't even have the time or opportunity to leave a last word, and thus left with resentment.

The Three Spirits and the Ten Great Sects they manipulated were merely a matter of chance that led to their legendary status—using their mere Foundation Establishment stage strength to assassinate a Golden Core stage expert.

Although all of this was just Zheng Zheng's speculation, he trusted his own judgment.

The truth seems so close, yet shrouded in mystery, as if through a thin veil. Although we are only one step away from uncovering the mystery, to reach the final truth, we will likely have to patiently wait for the mysterious force behind the Vermilion Fruit to surface.

Based on the information currently available, this force was able to easily seize the Vermilion Fruit despite the fierce resistance of Golden Core cultivators, demonstrating terrifying strength.

Conservatively speaking, the opponent's cultivation level has at least reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul stage, and may even have entered the advanced realm of the Spirit Division stage, which is a very terrifying realm.