Chapter 283 : Crushing the Golden Core
Chapter 283: Crushing the Golden Core
“No… impossible! How can this Golden Core Flood Dragon manifest a Dharma Body?!”
Seeing this, the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile’s six compound eyes trembled, a chill welling up in its heart.
Beast creatures had always cultivated through brute force, exalting bloodline profundities, and pursuing ancestral regression of their lineage.
It had lived for over two thousand years and seen more Golden Core beasts than it could count on two hands. It had even met the True Monarch Beast Sovereign who ruled the entirety of Yunlong Marsh.
Yet it had never seen a single beast able to emulate human cultivators and condense a Dharma Body with undying metallic essence.
This was a method exclusive to human Golden Core cultivators!
‘Could it be…?’
The Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile’s compound eyes shrank as it looked toward the cultivator atop the three-headed Flood Dragon, retreating intentions already budding in its heart.
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
As nearby spirits and lesser beasts exploded one after another, the Blood Lotus Shade reeled as if struck by thunder, blood-colored lotus petals on her head falling one by one.
‘What a terrifying Flood Dragon!’
Sensing the dreadful pressure, the Blood Lotus Shade felt a chill in her heart, thankful for her cautious nature—she hadn't acted alone, instead inviting five Golden Core beasts to attack together.
Yet the reaction of her allies made her heart sink.
“Roar!”
As the aerial overlord of northern Yunlong Marsh, the Wing-Thunder Tiger spread its wings, covering the sky. Its escape light trailed wind and thunder; its roar could shake myriad beasts—its presence was formidable.
But everything paled in comparison.
Before that divine-and-demonic three-headed Flood Dragon not far away, the Wing-Thunder Tiger’s low roar lacked even a trace of a tiger’s forest-shaking might. It sounded more like a wild cat’s mewl.
“Wing-Thunder Tiger, what are you doing?!”
Seeing the Wing-Thunder Tiger trembling in place, the Dull-Tooth Rat bared its sharp fangs, clearly displeased.
That Flood Dragon was indeed extraordinary, but not enough to make a Golden Core beast with over six hundred years of cultivation cower.
Was the Wing-Thunder Tiger trying to feign weakness and let them take the brunt of the attack?
Little did it know, the Wing-Thunder Tiger was trembling uncontrollably, unable to speak from fear, nearly coughing up blood in terror.
These short-sighted fools! Did they think it didn’t want to fight?
Under the gaze of that three-headed Flood Dragon, not only did its soul tremble, even the inner core it had nurtured for years spun out of control, as if it might shatter at any moment.
‘Damn it, how can such a terrifying Flood Dragon exist in this world?!’ A trace of fear flashed in the Wing-Thunder Tiger’s eyes.
Flood Dragons, monarchs of myriad scaled beasts—even if not yet risen to the rank of Chi Dragon, their oppressive might stood above all, worthy of the title "King of Beasts."
The Wing-Thunder Tiger had heard such legends many times and had prepared thoroughly before acting.
Yet it never expected that in the face of the Flood Dragon’s pressure, it wouldn’t even get the chance to activate its core or unleash its bloodline abilities.
“Attack together,” the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile sent a divine sense transmission, having sharply sensed something wrong.
It had interacted with the Wing-Thunder Tiger several times and knew its proud nature. It was unlikely to lose heart before even fighting. Most likely, it had been suppressed or restrained by the Flood Dragon’s ability.
Suddenly, the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile burst forth, demonic power surging. Its six compound eyes lit up simultaneously, releasing blinding blood-light toward Golden Egg’s neck.
This blood-light was no ordinary force—it was the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile’s signature [Soul-Burial Fiend], born from years of breathing in foul miasma at a Yin-aligned vein nexus and nurturing it with its inner core.
This fiendish poison could corrode the Dharma Body of Golden Core cultivators and rot the flesh of Third-Realm Beast Generals.
Even if the victim gouged out their flesh and used Earthly Sha True Qi to purge it, they still couldn’t stop the Soul-Burial Fiend’s erosion. In moments, their three souls would stiffen and seven spirits would decay, leading to death.
The Blood Lotus Shade joined in, clasping her hands as thorny vines at her feet pierced into the ground vein, spreading across a hundred-zhang radius to form the Domain of the Blood Lotus.
Simultaneously, her constantly opening and closing blood-lipped lotus on her head revealed faces of the dead, letting out sorrowful wails that disturbed divine sense and seduced the will of Golden Core cultivators.
“Squeak!”
Most insidious of all was the Dull-Tooth Rat. Using the opportunity created by the other two, it vanished in a flash, appearing instantly behind Chen Beiwu, its nine-fanged maw oozing eerie resentful Qi.
The Dull-Tooth Rat, recorded in the Immortal Alliance’s Ten Thousand Beasts Manual: Volume on Foul Beasts, was a mutated rat born of earth-vein Yin Qi, often dwelling in ancient tombs. It fed on the resentment of the dead and relished blood—an extremely rare Third-Tier High-Grade Treasure Beast in the Immortal Alliance.
Its evolution form, [Sky-Piercing Rat], was famed for “Nine Fangs Devour Heaven and Earth, One Bite Severs Yin and Yang.”
It had three innate abilities. The one it unleashed now, [Nine Dull Fangs], had effects of decaying flesh, corroding bone, shattering soul, severing meridians, extinguishing spirit, fouling blood, stiffening sinews, fracturing soul, and corrupting Qi. No medicine could cure those afflicted.
According to Chen Beiwu’s knowledge, in ancient times, demonic cultivators had hunted Dull-Tooth Rats to refine their fangs into the Third-Tier demonic artifact [Nine-Yin Death-Door Rake], nearly driving them to extinction—testament to the rarity and terrifying power of this beast’s abilities.
“A heaven-sent opportunity!”
Witnessing this, the Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao, long hidden near the sea’s eye, could no longer suppress its greed.
The three claws under its belly erupted with dazzling light, drawing on icy marrow and cold fiendish energy to forcibly extract water-aligned spiritual essence from the nearby waters, creating a whirlpool on the lake’s surface.
In that moment, the water within a hundred-zhang radius was compressed into dagger-sized jet-black water blades, silently slicing toward Golden Egg’s neck.
This was the Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao’s innate ability [Heavy-Water Fiend Blade], cultivated over five hundred years. Its power was immense—even the former overlord of Jianlong Lake had fallen to it.
In the blink of an eye, except for the Wing-Thunder Tiger, the innate divine abilities of the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile, Blood Lotus Shade, Dull-Tooth Rat, and Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao interwove into a fourfold joint strike, sealing off all retreat for Chen Beiwu and Golden Egg.
“Woof.”
Sensing the danger, Iron Egg barked in fury, rushing behind Chen Beiwu to use the Heaven-Warding Cloak’s power to block the Dull-Tooth Rat’s sneak attack—only to be stopped by a pair of strong hands.
Iron Egg looked up, meeting Chen Beiwu’s eyes—calm and deep as an abyss.
That wasn’t forced composure, but a serene confidence and concern for him. As if what they were facing wasn’t a life-and-death siege from four Beast Generals, but just a boring performance.
“Let Golden Egg handle it—Three Aspects Indestructible.”
With Chen Beiwu’s thought, Golden Egg raised its head slightly. Golden, azure, and blue divine lights rotated, weaving into an imperceptibly thin mist.
That mist was so faint it seemed fused with the surrounding spiritual essence of heaven and earth—yet within it dwelled a profound, indestructible Dao’s rhythm.
In the next instant, heaven and earth fell silent.
There was no earth-shattering impact, no overwhelming surge of mana, and no aftershock that could annihilate Third-Realm Beast Generals.
The Soul-Burial Fiend, Bewitching Spirit Wail, Nine Dull Fangs, and Heavy-Water Fiend Blade—these four lethal divine abilities—vanished like stones sinking into the sea, without so much as a ripple.
And yet, Golden Egg simply stood there, unmoving and unflinching, eyes calm with a composure that seemed to control everything.
Metal Tribulation—Unbreakable!
Water Tribulation—Impervious!
Wood Tribulation—Uncorruptible!
With the protection of the Three Aspects Indestructible divine ability, unless a Golden Core Beast General could simultaneously destroy all three aspects by leveraging the generating and overcoming cycles of the Five Elements, it was invincible within its realm.
“How is this possible? A Fourth-Realm Beast Sovereign?”
The Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile’s expression shifted subtly as horror rose in its heart. The thought of retreat intensified in its mind.
It was afraid!
Only because the tri-colored divine radiance around this three-headed Flood Dragon exuded a power strangely similar to the innate domain of a Fourth-Realm Beast Sovereign—capable of nullifying Golden Core divine abilities.
What was an Innate Beast Domain?
A Fourth-Realm Beast Sovereign could seize a portion of heaven and earth’s authority, using their bloodline as foundation—either inherited from ancestors or stolen through fate’s mysteries—then cultivate their inner core into a seed that opened a quasi-real, quasi-illusory miniature universe of their own: an Innate Beast Domain.
It was said such a domain could reshape the heavens and earth, only breakable by Nascent Soul True Monarchs, and was honored among beasts as the True Domain of a Beast Sovereign.
“No, no… that’s not a True Domain!” Blood Lotus Shade refuted.
There were too many inconsistencies.
If this three-headed Flood Dragon truly was a Fourth-Realm Beast Sovereign, it could annihilate them with just a glance.
Besides, a true Beast Sovereign couldn’t possibly conceal their strength during a Flood Dragon Awakening—its resulting heavenly phenomenon would sweep through the entire Yunlong Marsh, not just its northern waters.
Only one possibility remained: this mysterious Flood Dragon, traveling with a human Foundation Establishment cultivator, carried the blood of a Beast Sovereign. It was unleashing the power of that bloodline to emit a portion of a Sovereign’s might.
Otherwise, even a Third-Realm Beast General with over nine hundred years of cultivation, standing on the threshold of the Fourth Realm, could never have casually withstood their combined divine abilities—unscathed.
“Squeak!”
Hearing this explanation, the fear in the Dull-Tooth Rat’s eyes faded, replaced by growing greed as it stared at Golden Egg.
Even if they couldn’t kill this three-headed Flood Dragon, snatching some essence or marrow blood during battle would still be a great fortune.
“Buzz!”
On the other side, the Wing-Thunder Tiger was suddenly overwhelmed by a dreadful sense of doom.
Faced with such a death crisis, it no longer relied on its allies. Its jaw parted slightly, preparing to spit out its inner core and unleash a desperate strike in hopes of escaping.
Boom!
Amid the deafening roar, Golden Egg’s water head, wood head, and metal head simultaneously lowered. Six vertical golden pupils locked onto the Wing-Thunder Tiger.
The divine ability it activated, Three-Aspected Revelation, was far more than a means of suppressing beasts—it could easily slay Beast Generals of the same realm. This was precisely why the Wing-Thunder Tiger had been trembling motionless.
It wasn’t that it wouldn’t act, but that under the Three-Aspected Revelation, even triggering its inner core to escape divine suppression was a luxury it couldn’t afford.
“Roar!”
In the perception of the other four Beast Generals, the Wing-Thunder Tiger’s roar cut off abruptly. The thunderlight in its eyes dimmed instantly, replaced by emptiness.
No wounds, no blood, not even a single strand of fur had fallen—yet the vast demonic power within its body collapsed like a tidal wave, and its life force was utterly extinguished.
A Wing-Thunder Tiger with over six hundred years of cultivation, strong enough to rival a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, had perished just like that—its aura dissipating into the heavens.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The moment the Wing-Thunder Tiger fell, the alliance of the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile, Blood Lotus Shade, Dull-Tooth Rat, and Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao collapsed.
They didn’t even look back—each activated their divine abilities to flee.
The Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile severed its tail without hesitation and transformed into a streak of pitch-black light, drilling deep underground.
Blood Lotus Shade shattered into countless blood-colored petals that scattered, each transforming into false light-escape illusions.
The Dull-Tooth Rat’s gray fur bristled. It shrunk to the size of a thumb and split into three frantic escape lights.
The Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao was the most cautious, instantly restraining its aura to the extreme, activating Abyssal Escape, and vanishing into the Seamless Sea.
“You’re not entirely foolish—knowing to retreat when you’re outmatched. But it’s too late,” Chen Beiwu shook his head slightly.
As the raging floodwaters surged into the Seamless Sea, the Flood Dragon Awakening ended. Golden Egg’s aura began to soar visibly, breaking through the limits of its realm with ease.
Six hundred years of cultivation!
Six hundred and forty years!
Six hundred and eighty years!
Six hundred and ninety-nine years!
In a blink, Golden Egg had become a Third-Realm Beast General with six hundred and ninety-nine years of cultivation—just a step away from the late Golden Core stage. Deep within its bloodline, another divine ability awakened:
[Divine Ability]: Threefold True Gang
[Attributes]: Metal, Water, Wood
[Grade]: Fourth-Tier High-Grade Mystic Art
[Description]: Rooted in Three Gangs, applies to myriad phenomena. It draws on the sharpness of Geng Metal, vitality of Jia Wood, and softness of Ren Water to manifest three True Gangs: Tai Bai, Tai He, and Tai Ming.
Tai Bai True Gang: Pierces all magical defenses and vajra bodies—breaks all forms.
Tai He True Gang: Shatters techniques, talismans, and space-affecting abilities—breaks all arts.
Tai Ming True Gang: Erodes the soul’s foundation like Weak Water corroding bones—strikes directly at the spirit.
When united, the three gangs form the Threefold True Gang—a bane to protective True Qi, artifact barriers, indestructible bodies, and all forms of techniques and talismans. It can even harm the soul itself, making it a matchless power—but overuse damages the user’s own foundation.
“End them.”
With Chen Beiwu’s command, Golden Egg broke space using Threefold True Gang, achieving teleportation—a feat only Nascent Soul cultivators could typically perform.
Though his range was but a thousand zhang compared to a Nascent Soul's thousand-li jump, it was still an unrivaled and unguardable divine art among Third-Realm Beast Generals.
Boom!
Golden Egg appeared at the bottom of the Seamless Sea, right behind the Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao disguised as a rock.
From its middle head, a golden horn shot out a dazzling ray like a celestial sword, easily piercing the Dragon Ao’s shell and grinding its flesh, blood, and soul into powder. A pitch-black inner core was retrieved.
Boom!
Golden Egg’s shadow flickered again, ignoring hundreds of false blood-light bodies to find Blood Lotus Shade’s true form.
This beast was cunning—its scattered lights were all decoys while its real body fled deep underground. But it couldn’t escape Chen Beiwu’s divine sense.
Golden Egg’s wooden head rose, and with the might of the Threefold True Gang, it bit down, crushing Blood Lotus Shade’s defense like dead wood and ending her life.
“Squeak!”
Sensing the danger above, the Dull-Tooth Rat’s eyes hardened as it threatened self-detonation of its inner core.
As long as the three-headed Flood Dragon wasn’t a Fourth-Realm Beast Sovereign, it was confident the ninefold resentful Qi within its core could devastate its bloodline, ruining any chance to advance further.
“Pfft.”
A pain struck the Dull-Tooth Rat’s heart.
‘When…?’
Looking down, it saw a Flood Dragon tail impaling its chest—its eyes filled with disbelief before its consciousness faded completely.
“One left,” Chen Beiwu turned toward the direction the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile fled.
The Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile was as strong as a late-stage Golden Core cultivator and had the fastest escape light among the five Beast Generals.
But speed was meaningless—it couldn’t outrun Chen Beiwu’s divine sense, nor the space-breaking teleportation of the Threefold True Gang.
“I serve under the Marsh King of Yunlong Marsh—if you kill me… you’ll be making an enemy of the entire Yunlong Marsh!”
Seeing the three-headed Flood Dragon suddenly appear, soaked in blood and brimming with murderous intent, the Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile roared, hoping to scare Chen Beiwu off with the Beast Sovereign’s name.
Golden Egg paused briefly, wary of the Sovereign’s reputation, and looked toward Chen Beiwu.
Seeing that Chen Beiwu’s expression didn’t waver and that he gave no order to stop, Golden Egg raised its three heads—metal, water, and wood—and unleashed the Three-Aspected Furnace.
Rumble!
The Corrupt Scorpion-Crocodile was no weakling. Though it couldn’t rival Golden Egg, it still managed to last a full quarter-hour under its assault, unleashing multiple divine abilities before finally falling.
“Woof.”
Watching all this, Iron Egg was shocked.
It knew Golden Egg’s power would surge after a successful Summon Rain and Awaken the Flood Dragon, but hadn’t expected it to become this overwhelmingly strong.
Even the combined assault of five Golden Core Beast Generals couldn’t push Golden Egg to its limit!