Chapter 359: Chapter 187: The Union of Yin and Yang, a Flawless Golden Core

’My Magical Power seems to have gotten a little denser?’

The Tier Three Hidden Dragon Ginseng was known to purify Magical Power, and Xiao Chen noticed that his had indeed become purer.

It was so rich, in fact, that it felt as if it were about to congeal.

This was undoubtedly good news.

During Core Formation, the richer and denser one’s Magical Power, the easier it was to coalesce it into a core.

This would allow Xiao Chen to save more energy for the other steps of the process.

He had already been immersed in comprehending the Dao for eighteen consecutive hours.

To avoid mental exhaustion, he had taken a short, three-hour nap midway through.

Only then did he begin to calculate the most auspicious time to attempt his Core Formation.

It was now the fourth of the fifth month. Just as with his Foundation Establishment breakthrough, the most auspicious time would be 5:00 AM on the morning of the eleventh.

That left him six and a half days.

Having learned his lesson from the encounter with the Black Wind Wanderer before his last breakthrough, Xiao Chen was determined not to leave this time. No matter what, he would wait it out, hidden inside the volcano.

Of course, he wouldn’t spend all that time just waiting idly.

Instead, he spent the six and a half days reviewing every section of the *True Monarch of the Yellow Spring’s Secret Scripture of Life Passage Punishment* related to Core Formation.

He paid special attention to the Core Formation Secret Techniques it described, looking for common principles and crucial precautions.

And while Xiao Chen was busy gathering Evil Qi, comprehending the Great Dao, and waiting for the auspicious time, the outside world was being turned upside down.

.

To fight to the death and protect their ancestral foundation, or to retreat for now and preserve their strength—this was the great question.

For Daoist Yao Qin in particular, the time had come for the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers to make a decision.

With Master Yaohua far away at Elemental Magnetic Peak and the White Bone Demon Body close at hand, a choice had to be made.

Daoist Yao Qin had to take a clear stance as soon as possible so that the disciples of the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers could mobilize.

Inside the Grand Hall of Ten Thousand Flowers, several Sect Elders recommended activating the Sect Protection Array to fight back against the Demon Body.

Although they claimed it was for the good of the sect, they were actually just unwilling to abandon their own family’s holdings.

The White Bone Demon Body killed on sight. If it were allowed to ravage the valley, then even if the main families could one day return, the population of mortals and Loose Cultivators would be impossible to restore.

Without these commoners they usually looked down upon, who would tend the Spirit Fields? Who would work the Spirit Ore mines?

Their own clan members couldn’t possibly manage all the work alone.

If that happened, every great family in the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers would suffer a devastating blow.

For this reason, the faction advocating for resistance held the clear majority.

"The Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers has stood as a great sect in the Southern Domain for a thousand years! How can we retreat without a fight in the face of the Demon Dao? If word of this gets out, we’ll become a laughingstock!" a middle-aged Honored Guest Elder declared, his voice ringing with impassioned fervor.

"Whatever the case, I intend to stay. If worst comes to worst, I’ll simply die here," said another Elder, her hair stark white and her remaining lifespan short. Her expression was calm, but her tone was resolute.

"We disciples are willing to stand with the Elders and fight against the Demonic Calamity."

Several True Disciples knelt as one, presenting a joint petition.

But their opinions were not enough to sway Daoist Yao Qin.

She turned to Master Ming Yue, who had brought the warning. "Is that Demon Body truly so powerful? Can it not be matched even with our composite Tier Three Grand Array?"

Although the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers didn’t have War Puppets like the Lingyuan Sect, it had the most powerful Sect Protection Array in Hezhou.

It was composed of three layered Tier Three Arrays and, when fully activated, could withstand a siege from several Golden Core cultivators.

However, Master Ming Yue didn’t answer directly. "Daoist Yao Qin, to be honest, I never fought the Demon Body myself, so I can’t say how powerful it is."

"However, Qianzhu asked me to tell you this: the Cyan Cloud Sect is gone."

"I must return to Elemental Magnetic Peak to sound the alarm. We will meet again."

As he reached the entrance of the hall, he turned back to add, "By the way, that White Bone Demon Body is incredibly fast. If Qianzhu hadn’t drawn its attention, I never would have escaped."

While that might have something to do with him having only recently reached the Golden Core stage, it was still proof that the Demon Body was not to be underestimated.

After watching Master Ming Yue depart, Daoist Yao Qin went to the ancestral hall alone and remained there for an hour.

After returning, she summoned her only Direct Disciple—Zhong Lixue.

"Xue’Er, take the other disciples to Elemental Magnetic Peak and find Master Yaohua."

Panic seized Zhong Lixue’s heart. "Master..."

"Don’t worry about me. Don’t overthink it. Even if I can’t stop the Demon Body, I still have the ability to protect myself."

Daoist Yao Qin raised a hand, cutting Zhong Lixue off. "In fact, having you here would only distract me. That’s why you must be the first to leave."

"No matter what, we cannot be known for retreating without a fight. It would bring shame to our ancestors."

In truth, she had already decided to retreat but simply lacked the resolve to commit to it.

She wanted to stay and mount a symbolic resistance, if only to show that the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers had not fled at the first sign of trouble.

Three days later, on the very day Xiao Chen took the Evil Qi and departed for the southwest, the composite Grand Array of the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers shattered. Every cultivator who had not evacuated with Zhong Lixue was flayed and deboned by a sky full of ghostly hair, their remains becoming part of the White Bone Altar. Only Daoist Yao Qin managed to escape with her life, forced to detonate a Spiritual Artifact to do so.

Afterward, all the Low Tier cultivators within the lands of the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers lost their only protection.

More than half of them became fodder for the White Bone Demon Body, while a small, lucky portion managed to flee toward the Lingyuan Sect.

Of course, there were also a very few late-stage Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators who believed Hezhou was no longer safe.

They simply packed enough Fasting Pills and fled in the direction of Li State.

The only silver lining in this tragedy was that the White Bone Demon Body, driven by its insatiable hunger, remained within the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers to devour the countless bones, rather than immediately invading the Lingyuan Sect.

Even so, the speed at which the situation had deteriorated left everyone stunned speechless.

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