The bead shimmered like a drop of pure light, crystal clear with a soft mist swirling lazily inside it. From its core pulsed an incredibly pure and gentle wave of life essence and spiritual power, so vast it made the air tremble.
Once it solidified, the bead trembled lightly, then floated free, drifting straight toward Xie Zhaolin and hovering above her palm.
She instinctively reached out and caught it. It felt smooth and warm to the touch, like holding a piece of living jade. When she focused her divine sense on it, her eyes widened with barely concealed surprise.
"This is..." she murmured uncertainly.
That aura—she knew it well. It was the same as the Golden-Backed Wolf's beast core.
But... it wasn't the same at all.
The wolf's original core had been filled with violent metallic qi and blazing venom, a deadly toxin to human cultivators, impossible to absorb safely.
Yet now, the bead in her hand had none of that. The feral beast qi, the burning poison, every trace of corruption had vanished completely. What replaced it was an impossibly pure and gentle life essence, as if some mysterious power had washed away all filth and refined it to perfection.
This was... unbelievable.
Everyone knew that a beast's core couldn't be directly absorbed by humans. The energy inside was too wild, too impure. Anyone foolish enough to try would suffer torn meridians or worse—lose control and die when their body exploded.
That's why beast cores were mostly used as ingredients for refining pills or artifacts, always requiring huge amounts of neutralizing materials to make them even remotely usable.
But this bead... this energy was so clean, so soothing, it was practically made for human cultivators.
You You floated closer, circling around the glowing bead with wide eyes. Her translucent face was full of wonder.
"Master! Is this really that wolf's beast core? It feels... completely different! Where's that nasty, burning aura? Why does it feel so... nice now?"
Her spiritual perception wasn't as sharp as Xie Zhaolin's, but even she could tell how extraordinary it was.
At that moment, Hun Yu's soft, childish voice sounded again, full of pride and anticipation.
"Master... eat... it...
I... I ate all the... bad stuff...
What's left... is good..."
It was clearly struggling to form words, but the meaning was clear enough.
Xie Zhaolin froze for a second, then her heart started to pound.
It ate the bad stuff... and left the good?
Hun Yu... could purify beast cores?!
It could devour the violent, toxic elements inside a core and turn them into pure life essence and spiritual power?
That kind of ability... if anyone in the Cultivation Realm found out, it would shake the heavens.
Because it meant something huge.
For her, every beast roaming the Endless Demon Plains was no longer just an enemy or threat, but a walking treasure trove—one that could be purified into direct cultivation resources. By hunting beasts, she could not only temper her combat skills and stabilize her foundation, but also harvest purified cores to fuel her growth.
This was the ultimate cultivation support artifact—custom-made for her.
She looked down at the milky-white bead in her hand, glowing with a soft, inviting warmth, then at Hun Yu, whose leaves had turned slightly pink as if embarrassed.
Her eyes burned with excitement. Without hesitation, she popped the bead into her mouth. It melted instantly, spreading through her body like a tide of warmth. That energy was unimaginably pure, nourishing her meridians with ease and refilling the power she'd drained in battle. Even her Primordial Soul felt soothed.
But that was only the beginning.
When that warm current reached her dantian and touched the slowly spinning Annihilation Yinsha Core inside, the core suddenly shuddered violently, the dark-golden lines on its surface bursting into brilliant light.
The purified energy didn't disperse gently like a normal pill—it was devoured and refined by the Yinsha Core with insane greed.
A surge of raw power exploded from its center, slamming straight into the crumbling barrier of her mid-stage Golden Core bottleneck!
Realizing what was happening, she instantly focused all her mind, sat cross-legged, and activated the Xuanyin Foundation Technique at full force, guiding the flood of energy to strike that final wall.
Crack... crack...
The barrier groaned under the immense pressure, trembling like it was about to shatter.
But the Xuanyin Foundation Technique was brutal by nature. Every breakthrough tested the limits of the body, soul, and will.
Even with the Rebirth Flower constantly repairing her from within, the backlash was terrifying. The energy storm rampaged through her meridians, tearing at her from the inside.
Agonizing pain coursed through her body. It felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside out. Sweat drenched her clothes. Veins bulged across her forehead. Her teeth clenched so hard blood seeped from her lips.
Her whole body shook, and tiny beads of blood oozed from her skin. Yet compared to the agony of surviving the Ninefold Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, this pain was almost... mild.
Instead of retreating, she pushed harder, driving the technique to its limits, forcing the power to surge faster.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The energy flood smashed against the barrier again and again.
The Annihilation Yinsha Core spun wildly, its size swelling, dark-golden lines pulsing brighter and brighter.
Outside, the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn into the cave, forming a swirling vortex that roared around her.
You You and Hun Yu could only watch nervously, too afraid to make a sound.
Time lost meaning.
No one knew how long it lasted, but eventually, the purified energy ran dry, and Xie Zhaolin's own strength reached its peak.
Then—
Crack!
A sharp, ringing sound burst from deep within her dantian.
The final wall shattered completely, breaking apart into countless motes of light that faded away.
The barrier was gone!
A power far greater than before erupted from her core, sweeping through her entire body. Her meridians, bones, and flesh transformed under the pressure of new energy, and the Annihilation Yinsha Core grew nearly twice its size, radiating a terrifying aura.
Mid-stage Golden Core—
She'd broken through!