Zhenwu Golden Summit, Ancestral Hall.
Dark as a ghostly cave, not a sliver of light is seen. An old figure, like a specter, walked in.
Ge Zhenren, a figure who had been dead for decades, as if returning from the Underworld, appeared in the silent Zhenwu Hall.
This grand hall seemed to bury all vitality, with only a trace of warmth budding and rising...
In the midst of that Ten Thousand Evils Tribulation Aspect, silently reviving.
"This is indeed the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods, delving into the changes of the world’s tribulations. The one from South Zhang exhausted his mind and blood, yet only managed to forge three Pill Talismans." Ge Zhenren sensed Chu Chaoran’s presence, whispering softly.
"You have indeed become like the Sect Leader of old."
"Little Chicken, I didn’t expect to see you again after so many years. I am very gratified."
Chu Chaoran’s voice echoed through the grand hall, yet his figure seemed to linger in the chaotic darkness, never transcending it.
"Gratified?" Ge Zhenren heard this, and couldn’t help but emit a cold laugh, hidden with undisguised sarcasm.
"This long journey, mountains and rivers remain, yet old friends are leaving one by one."
Chu Chaoran’s voice rang out again, carrying a tinge of sentiment.
"You have aged too. Even though you have stepped into the Pure Yang Wuji, you can’t withstand the vicissitudes of humanity." Ge Zhenren sneered, "Old friends dwindling..."
"Could it be that you actually feel such lamentation?"
"How many nights did you see the Sect Leader in your dreams? Did you ever see those brothers and sisters who died by your hand?"
Ge Zhenren’s voice grew colder, carrying a deep hatred and lament.
"Of the Thirteen Zodiacs, you and the Sect Leader are the sky, the earth, the Infinite of Heaven and Earth, wherever you go, whether Daoist Sect or Wuwei Sect, who wouldn’t respect you, who wouldn’t bow?"
"Originally, we could have reorganized these mountains and rivers and accomplished feats unfathomable to our predecessors..."
"But you..."
"Chu Chaoran!" Ge Zhenren gritted his teeth, spitting out the name.
These three words contained countless nights and days of hatred and pain.
"You are nothing but a deceitful scoundrel."
"We were twelve, respected you, revered you, trusted you, even willing to entrust you with our lives..." Ge Zhenren’s elderly body trembled.
Even though sixty years had passed, such hatred remained vivid.
Once upon a time, the man before him was their leader, their brother, their most trusted partner.
But on that night...
"You killed us all."
Rumble...
Outside the grand hall, dark clouds surged, a bolt of thunder tore through the sky, purplish-red lightning illuminating Ge Zhenren’s face.
He would never forget that night, the Thirteen Zodiacs gathered, the strongest generation, revered by all, all in the sect bowed.
Everyone toasted and celebrated; life should indeed be like this.
After three rounds of drink, the silent Chu Chaoran slowly stood up, his ethereal gaze sweeping over everyone, uttered only one sentence, the only sentence he said that night.
"Time to set off!"
Slaughter and betrayal became the theme of that night, the first to fall were Si Snake, Wu Ma, Rabbit, Hai Pig...
Blood flowed, the long night was like a funeral, silhouettes fell before him, former partners became cold corpses, the butcher wielding the knife was their most respected leader.
"Chu Chaoran, you didn’t expect me to survive, did you?" Ge Zhenren sneered.
"Dead or alive, Little Chicken, you shouldn’t have come." Chu Chaoran sighed softly, his voice filled with pity and compassion.
"If I didn’t come, how would you die?" Ge Zhenren said solemnly.
"Little Chicken, why are you speaking foolishly again?" Chu Chaoran sighed.
"I know you’ve stepped into the Pure Yang Realm, and the Ten Thousand Evils Tribulation Aspect can’t confine you." Ge Zhenren spoke with determination.
"But as long as one exists in the mortal world, red dust brings tribulation, I do not believe you remain unaffected."
Rumble...
As soon as the words were spoken, the darkness within the grand hall violently shook, like a river tide surging, a colossal entity reviving, seemingly ready to leap out.
"Too late." Ge Zhenren said coldly.
Suddenly, his elderly body straightened up, with a step forward, a round, pitch-black iron egg appeared in his palm.
That iron egg was exceedingly ugly, not quite a regular sphere, after enduring countless years and storms, its surface was covered with mottled rust.
Of such a state, thrown into a scrap yard, no one would spare it a second glance.
"Profound Profound Golden Pill, Pure Yang Treasure left by Ancestor Ge!"
In the darkness, Chu Chaoran’s voice showed slight movement.
"Pill as the ultimate treasure of the physical body, its refinement endless in change." Ge Zhenren murmured softly.
The Golden Core is the ultimate goal of Daoist Inner Core cultivation, the fusion of Essence, Qi, and Spirit into Unity, energy highly condensed and fused, returning to its original truth, surpassing the essence of life.
Once, Ancestor Ge comprehended the profundity of the Daoist Golden Core, only then did he forge this Pure Yang Treasure...
Profound Profound Golden Pill.
Since Ancestor Ge, this Pure Yang Treasure was left in the Ge Family, passed down through generations.
"Swallow a single Golden Core, only then realizing my fate is not governed by the heavens."
Ge Zhenren said softly, suddenly, intense incense smoke surged around him, in a trance, within the smoke appeared an ancient Daoist temple’s shadow, hidden in the sky, concealed in the earth, vast and elusive.
"Wuwei Sect lent you all their incense smoke." Chu Chaoran realized.
Only thus can the true power of a Pure Yang Treasure be unleashed.
Rumble...
The incense smoke boiled, like a primer igniting Ge Zhenren’s essence. Suddenly, the rust on the iron egg in his palm gently fell away, a thread of golden light emerged, containing boundless radiance, dazzling and brilliant, straight to the sky.