Chapter 65
Chapter 72: The First Golden Core
The battle between the Sect Alliance and the Heavenly God Sect had come to an end.
Originally, Qinzhou was supposed to be peaceful, but now it was more turbulent than ever.
Why, you ask?
Because Zhao Gou unleashed his “Universal Salvation” technique, wiping out the entire Jing Shui City.
And the reason? Quite simple!
The city lord of Jing Shui City had plundered Zhao Gou.
In a fit of rage, Zhao Gou executed his “Universal Salvation,” and the city was left in ruins.
Not a scrap was left behind.
Initially, the Heavenly God Sect had plans to assassinate Zhao Gou or capture him alive.
But now?
Zhao Gou’s “glorious achievements” made the Heavenly God Sect too scared to make a move.
I mean, Zhao Gou’s methods were downright bizarre.
What’s more,
Everyone in Qinzhou knew that the city lord of Jing Shui was a Nascent Soul ancestor.
Yet, it didn’t save the city from utter annihilation.
In fact, that Nascent Soul ancestor seemed to have been gravely injured too.
This left the cultivators of Qinzhou with a new understanding of just how freakishly powerful Zhao Gou was.
As a result of this string of coincidences, Zhao Gou was directly crowned as the first among Golden Core practitioners.
And this title was even recognized by the cultivators of Qinzhou.
After all, Zhao Gou’s achievements were, frankly, extraordinary.
He became famous overnight.
Of course, the Qinglian Sect also shot to prominence instantly.
Partly due to the sect dispute.
The sheer power displayed by the Qinglian Sect was impressive.
And on the other hand, Zhao Gou was an elder of the Qinglian Sect.
With this double blessing of glory,
The Qinglian Sect was practically hailed as the top sect in Qinzhou.
—
Inside the Qinglian Sect,
Zhao Gou sat there, his eyes hollow.
He watched as other elders and peak masters of Qinglian Sect continuously came to pay him respects and bring gifts.
Seeing their looks of terror mixed with admiration,
Zhao Gou felt utterly helpless.
He even began to doubt himself.
If it were before, he could have confidently said,
Those deaths had nothing to do with him.
But now—his confidence wavered.
He couldn’t understand.
Wasn’t his “medical art” genuine medicine?
So why did others explode?
Why?
Zhao Gou found himself perplexed.
But what puzzled him even more was his life and destiny.
From a somewhat well-known practitioner to bizarrely stepping onto the highest stage,
What’s even weirder?
He had unintentionally become the first among the Golden Core.
“I have hardly any practical combat experience!”
“And every spell I cultivate is meant to save lives, for crying out loud!”
In his splendid palace, Zhao Gou sat on the steps, propping his head up with one hand, gazing at the mountain of gifts stacked before him, his mood incredibly complicated!
—
“Hey, sis, did Zhao Gou really massacre Jing Shui City?”
Ji Mingyue, with her two little tufts of hair on her head, was perched on the windowsill, munching on candied hawthorn, her eyes curiously fixed on Ji Suying.
As for her response,
Ji Suying didn’t know how to answer.
After a long moment of consideration, she finally said, “Probably?”
Ji Mingyue was taken aback.
“So it turns out that when a medical practitioner gets truly angry, it can be this terrifying!”
Ji Suying had a strange look on her face.
But ultimately, she couldn’t help but add, “To be honest, I didn’t expect it either. Yep, medical practitioners can indeed be quite terrifying!”
Zhao Gou’s incident left Ji Suying baffled about this world.
This world had many similarities to the one she remembered.
Yet, for reasons unknown to her,
This world differed vastly from what she had come to know.
It felt nearly ten thousand miles apart.
“By the way, what’s Liu Shunyi been up to lately?”
Ji Mingyue continued to munch on her candied hawthorn.
“He’s in closed-door training!”
Ji Suying used her spiritual sense to glance at Liu Shunyi’s residence.
Sure enough.
She spotted Liu Shunyi was indeed in closed-door training.
Ji Suying couldn’t quite believe it and took another look.
“Hmm, it really is him!”
But something felt off to Ji Suying.
She just couldn’t figure out what was amiss with Liu Shunyi in seclusion.
Despite that, the Liu Shunyi she knew would occasionally scratch his head and pop pills,
The very same Liu Shunyi she recognized.
“But this doesn’t add up; how can this guy be this well-behaved?”
Ji Suying furrowed her brow.
Suddenly, she looked at Ji Mingyue.
“Don’t you know anything?”
Ji Mingyue scratched her head.
“What should I know?”
Ji Suying whispered her inquiry.
“You didn’t notice that Liu Shunyi is different from the others?”
Ji Mingyue thought for a moment.
“For instance, after he exits seclusion, he’ll definitely lie around for a long time, living like an ordinary person, and he loves raising flowers!”
Ji Suying rolled her eyes.
“Anything else?”
Ji Suying thought for a second.
“That the canary he raises is quite large!”
Ji Suying: “??? ”
BAM!
She smacked her fist on Ji Mingyue’s head.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Ji Mingyue protected her head, wincing in pain.
“Big Sis, I’m not wrong! He has a canary that’s really bigger than the others!”
Ji Suying paused for a moment.
She used her spiritual sense to scan Liu Shunyi’s yard again.
And to her shock,
She truly saw a canary weighing about ten pounds, chained to a tree.
“Huh? How is he raising this thing?”
At that moment, Ji Mingyue chuckled.
“Every day, a Qi Gathering Pill. Even though they’re of low quality, that treatment is still outrageous compared to regular inner sect disciples!”
Ji Suying: “…”
As for Liu Shunyi’s situation,
Ji Suying didn’t pry further.
“What about Chen Qiaoli?”
Ji Mingyue looked speechless.
“She’s in closed-door training too!”
Ji Suying: “??? ”
“She’s in seclusion as well?”
Ji Mingyue nodded.
“Yes, and it’s been a while.”
Ji Suying felt that something was off.
But whatever.
“Besides that, while I was away, did anything significant happen?”
Ji Mingyue shook her head.
“Not any major events, but quite a few incredible things have occurred.”
Ji Suying grew curious.
“Like what?”
Ji Mingyue nodded.
“For example, that Ye Yan you brought back has been making remarkable progress in his cultivation lately. He’s been training diligently and often goes out to experience the world.”
Ji Suying furrowed her brow.
“What’s so different about that?”
Ji Mingyue finished her last candied hawthorn.
Waving the stick around.
“The biggest difference is, Ye Yan’s cultivation is incredibly steady, progressing step by step. Normally, such a reliable way to cultivate wouldn’t yield such speed, but he’s advancing at lightning speed.”
“I feel like he’s being guided by a renowned master, and that person probably holds a significant status.”
“Even, I can sense that the cultivation technique Ye Yan is using is quite advanced!”
Ji Suying chuckled.
“So what? Aren’t disciples from Cangjian Peak supposed to have their secrets?”
Ji Mingyue shook her head.
“That’s not the main point; the main point is that many girls see him and act like they’ve gone mad, wanting to stick to him like glue!”
Ji Suying: “???”