Chapter 484 - 443: A Gathering of Golden Cores
「The next day.」
HUM.
Engines roared, and air currents surged.
Two Floating Spiritual Ships, one black and one red, streaked through the skies of Volcano State, trailing dazzling spiritual light.
One of them, naturally, was the Ghostly Flood Dragon. As Su Ye’s power and prestige grew, his vessel, the Ghostly Flood Dragon, had also become famous in the sea region.
At the very least, in the Day Flame Sea Region, it was a household name, if not known by absolutely everyone.
The other Floating Spiritual Ship, however, was somewhat unfamiliar.
This spiritual ship was about the same size as the Ghostly Flood Dragon, but their styles were completely different.
Bright vermilion lacquer, inlaid with gold and glazed tiles, exuded an air of opulence.
But at the same time, the astonishing number of large-caliber heavy cannons deployed on its deck, as well as the dense array patterns hidden beneath its ornate decorations, made it clear that this spiritual ship was not just for show.
The flagship of the True Treasure Pavilion, a Tier Four Supreme-Grade Spiritual Ship—the [Longevity Treasure Ark]!
It was one of the True Treasure Pavilion’s three great ships, the [Fu Lu Shou] series. Apart from the Township Tier Five Spiritual Ship, the [Golden Branch Snow Moon Jade], it was the True Treasure Pavilion’s strongest conventional spiritual ship.
Feng Shaochai, Zheng Yunzhe, and seven other True Treasure Pavilion Golden Core cultivators, along with nearly a hundred Crystallization Realm cultivators under their command, were all stationed aboard the Longevity Treasure Ark.
At this moment, Su Ye had already made contact with the Golden Core cultivators from the True Treasure Pavilion.
His impression of them was rather good.
This group of True Treasure Pavilion Golden Cores was quite respectful toward him, the de facto leader of the Flame Alliance, and not at all arrogant.
This outcome was to be expected. Since reaching the Golden Core realm, Su Ye had repeatedly killed cultivators of the same rank. Not long ago, he had even defeated a True Disciple of the Star Casting Hall!
Among cultivators, the strong were respected.
With the combat prowess Su Ye had displayed, even the typically haughty cultivators of the Inner Sea’s nine sects had to take him seriously.
What’s more, Su Ye held a Seven Sages Badge, which meant he was highly favored by Li Jinhua. He was part of a Nascent Soul’s direct lineage, not some grassroots cultivator without a background.
Outstanding strength and a solid background.
With no conflicts of interest, these True Treasure Pavilion Golden Cores were unwilling to offend him for no reason.
As a result, Zhao Jiuhuang and Lin Yinxiu, the two Flame Alliance Golden Cores, also benefited from his status. Originally, as Golden Cores from a vassal force, they would have been considered a notch below the cultivators from the True Treasure Pavilion’s main headquarters.
...
SWOOSH.
The two Tier Four spiritual ships shot across Volcano State at an incredible Tunneling Speed.
Four hours later, their destination drew near, and the two Floating Spiritual Ships gradually slowed down.
On the two spiritual ships, twelve Golden Core cultivators stepped onto the decks.
Without even needing to activate their Divine Sense, they could see a golden gate of light in the distance. It stretched from the heavens to the earth, likely thousands of feet tall!
At this moment, the gate of light had not yet fully opened. It was long and narrow, like a pure gold vertical pupil that was slightly narrowed.
But even so, the high-quality fire-attribute Spiritual Qi spilling out from the crack in the gate had formed a burning Magma River on the ground below!
"Phew..."
"My Fire Jade Spirit Pool is only about this good."
Zhao Jiuhuang took a deep, intoxicated breath.
For her, such high-quality fire-attribute Spiritual Qi made this place a sacred land for cultivation.
"It’s alright."
Su Ye’s expression was calm. He shook his wrist, revealing an aquamarine bracelet.
—The Four Seas Pearl Chain!
As a Water Spiritual Root cultivator, an environment with such dense fire-attribute Spiritual Qi definitely had a certain effect on Su Ye.
He had realized this during the last battle in Volcano State. In the Volcano State environment, his spell power, Magical Power recovery speed, and other abilities were all weakened to some extent.
However, it wasn’t a big problem!
A wise man makes use of tools.
Su Ye was rich. This bit of environmental interference could be overcome just by throwing money at it.
"Take deep-sea crystals, supplement them with the Essence of Renshui, and gather the water-attribute Spiritual Qi of the four seas. Through one hundred and eight processes, taking three months, a single Four Seas Pearl is created."
"Weave twenty-four Four Seas Pearls into a Four Seas Pearl Chain, and it will be enough to offset the negative effects of Volcano State’s Spiritual Qi environment."
The only problem was that it was quite expensive.
A single Four Seas Pearl cost around two hundred thousand Spirit Stones to produce.
Of course, the amount Su Ye actually paid was nowhere near that high. He could get the raw materials and manpower for the Four Seas Pearl from the Flame Alliance for free. Rounding down, the cost was practically negligible!
...
HUM.
Soon, the two spiritual ships broke through the Gangfeng Layer and lowered their altitude.
At the same time, about a hundred li away from the gate of light, atop a newly constructed high platform, a group of cultivators with profound auras looked up.
"That spiritual ship... the Longevity Treasure Ark!"
"It’s the True Treasure Pavilion."
Numerous hostile gazes were cast their way!
Su Ye raised an eyebrow, his Divine Sense sweeping over them. ’Twenty-seven Golden Cores, over a hundred in the Crystallization Realm... The Star Casting Hall is as formidable as they say. Their foundation is truly deep.’
The Golden Core cultivators on the high platform could be roughly divided into three categories based on their attire.
The cultivators from the Star Casting Hall all wore elegant, standard-issue black-and-blue robes that resembled the boundless starry sky. At the same time, depending on personal preference, details like the collar and cuffs were adorned with pure white.
Like bright stars in the night sky, it was quite aesthetic.
There were fourteen such Star Casting cultivators. Furthermore, according to Su Ye’s understanding, the pure white on the robes was also a reflection of a cultivator’s status.
’Twinkling like stars... True Disciples of the Star Casting Hall.’ Su Ye scanned the group. Besides Ran Ningshuang, there were three other cultivators from the Star Casting Hall dressed identically to her.
Four True Disciples of the Star Casting Hall. Four out of the nine great True Disciples were here!
Adding the ten other Golden Cores, the Star Casting Hall had really spared no expense for this fight over the Grotto Heaven!
Meanwhile, on the high platform, there were five other Golden Core cultivators dressed in matching attire.
’Grayish-white Daoist robes. Immortal Peak Palace cultivators.’
Su Ye muttered to himself internally.
The cultivators from the Inner Sea’s nine sects had distinct characteristics and auras, making them very easy to identify.
Of course, besides the cultivators from these two sects, there were eight other Golden Core cultivators on the platform, all with different clothes and varied auras.
Needless to say, their identities weren’t hard to guess either: heretical cultivators subjugated by the Star Casting Hall.
Among them, Su Ye even saw Xuetu and Yingshi, the two Golden Core Perfected Masters from Candle Python Cave who had once attacked him.
"Well well, old friends..."
Su Ye grinned, offering a friendly smile.
He was in a good mood. ’If I can kill all these Golden Cores, it’ll be a piece of cake for the Ghostly Flood Dragon to reach the quasi-Tier Five level.’
’It probably wouldn’t be far from becoming a true Tier Five spiritual ship, right? Woohoo~’
Su Ye whistled, lost in his imagination.
However, the True Treasure Pavilion Golden Cores accompanying him were not in such a relaxed mood.
Aboard the Longevity Treasure Ark, Feng Shaochai’s mouth twitched, and he couldn’t stop himself from cursing, "Damn it, where are those bastards from the Profound Light Cave? Not a single one of them is here?"
Zheng Yunzhe’s expression was also grim.
The Profound Light Cave cultivators hadn’t arrived.
Twelve against twenty-seven. The number of Golden Cores on the opposing side was more than double their own!
How could the True Treasure Pavilion’s side possibly remain calm?
Moreover, misfortunes never come singly.
"Fellow Daoists from the True Treasure Pavilion, you’ve certainly kept me waiting..."
From the high platform, the terrifying aura of a Golden Core Perfection cultivator, accompanied by his voice, washed over them!