When Liang Xiao clicked into the stream, he found it surprisingly popular — tens of thousands of viewers were already watching.
The streamer was a strikingly beautiful female cultivator.
At that moment, she was engaged in fierce battle against a monstrous beast several meters tall.
The battlefield was clearly located outside the city.
The woman's body glided gracefully through the air, her hands forming intricate seals as streaks of spiritual needles, forged entirely from condensed True Qi, burst forth.
"Bang, bang, bang—!"
The needles tore through the air like a rain of bullets.
Moments later, the towering monster collapsed, riddled with holes, its massive body crashing to the ground with a dull thud.
That's insane…! The destructive force far exceeds even an armor-piercing shell!
Liang Xiao leaned forward, his eyes glued to the screen.
She can fly — which means she's at least Foundation Establishment Stage.
His thoughts were confirmed moments later when the woman began to speak mid-battle.
"This spell, 'Spiritual Needle,' was originally a low-level technique," she explained, her tone both calm and confident.
"Even Qi Refining cultivators rarely bothered to learn it — and for Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was all but useless. But after my modifications, it's become far more potent.
So remember, everyone — even the weakest spell can hold immense potential if refined properly."
As she spoke, she continued slaying monsters with frightening precision.
Her tone was relaxed — as if this life-and-death battle were just another tutorial stream.
Liang Xiao listened carefully but quickly grew lost.
I don't understand a word she's saying…
Her explanations were far beyond his level. The terminology, the circulation paths — it was all Foundation Establishment knowledge at minimum, perhaps understandable only to those at late Qi Refining stage.
Still, the scene itself fascinated him.
The woman fought on a desolate wasteland, the ground scarred and warped. In the distance, space itself shimmered, a distorted rift from which monsters continuously poured out.
One after another, they charged, only to fall within seconds under her storm of glowing needles.
That distorted space… could it be a spatial passage? Does the cultivation world lie beyond it?
For a long time, he could only speculate. The mortal internet was heavily filtered; it contained pictures and videos of low-level demonic beasts, but the spatial rifts between Earth and the cultivation realms were never publicly revealed.
Even in textbooks, they were mentioned only in passing.
On screen, the female cultivator's expression suddenly grew serious.
"It seems today's mission will be troublesome," she said quickly. "A small spatial passage has appeared out of nowhere — this one's critical. I'll have to guard it until reinforcements arrive. I can't continue explaining right now. See you all tomorrow at eight in the morning."
The live stream cut off abruptly.
Liang Xiao stared at the blank screen for a moment.
A spatial portal suddenly appeared… Does that mean there are multiple rifts connecting Earth to the cultivation world?
His brows knit together. For the first time, he truly grasped how vast this world was.
In the ten years since he'd transmigrated here, his weak body had kept him trapped in Changlin City, isolated from the outside world.
Now, for the first time, that world began to open before his eyes.
"There are only two Immortals on Earth. If too many rifts appear, they won't be able to guard them all…" he muttered softly.
"Luckily, the creatures in that stream didn't seem too strong."
He shook his head. Speculation could wait — strength came first.
He had two goals now:
One, to ace the exam and enter True Dragon Academy as the top scorer.
Two, to earn enough merit to become a privileged cultivator under the law.
But to gain privileges, one first needed power.
That streamer's "Spiritual Needle" spell lingered in his mind.
Is there a free version of that spell available? Even if it's weak, it's better than nothing.
He clicked Follow on the female cultivator's profile and opened the Spell Exchange Area again.
After a long search through countless posts, he couldn't find her version of Spiritual Needle.
So he typed the name into the search bar.
Instantly, dozens of results appeared — among them, a post by the same streamer.
[Free Spell Release] — Basic Spiritual Needle (Qi Refining Stage)
His eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, he clicked it open.
The instructions were simple — absurdly simple.
"Circulate True Qi through the following meridian pattern to condense a needle of pure energy."
Liang Xiao raised a brow.
That's it? No special materials, no incantation? Just True Qi flow?
He decided to try.
He guided a wisp of True Qi from his Special Golden Core, circulating it along the pattern described in the post.
A moment later, the True Qi condensed at his fingertip — forming a slender, semi-transparent needle, barely thicker than a strand of hair.
It really worked?
He was stunned. Was this spell just that easy, or was his comprehension sharper than he thought?
After his evening meal, he refined essence into Qi again, restoring his True Qi to six wisps within his Golden Core.
Plenty for testing.
Following the post's directions, he flicked his finger toward the wall.
Puff!
A faint flash of light vanished instantly, leaving behind a tiny pinhole in the wall.
The needle itself dissipated halfway through.
Liang Xiao leaned in and chuckled wryly.
Yep, a third-rate minor spell. Weak as expected.
Modern building materials were far tougher than before.
The needle's penetration — barely one centimeter — was laughably poor. It might hurt an ordinary person, but against a monster? Not a chance.
Still, it had its uses.
It's good practice for controlling True Qi at least.
He exhaled, preparing to try again.
But the moment he began condensing the next needle, something changed.
"Hmm?"
He paused mid-formation, sensing a strange tremor from within his Dantian.
The Special Golden Core was reacting.
A deep, resonant pulse rippled through the Yin-Yang Taiji and Bagua formation that composed its structure.
An inexplicable intuition welled up in his heart.
Without hesitation, he followed that instinct—redirecting the flow of his True Qi according to that mysterious pattern.
Instantly, the array diagram within the Golden Core blazed to life.
The wisp of True Qi surged outward, racing through every meridian in his body before looping back into his Dantian.
The route it followed was dozens of times more complex than the one described in the original spell.
And yet—because his Special Golden Core's array resonated with it perfectly—it felt effortless.
When the cycle completed, a new needle formed in his palm.
This one was different.
It was so fine it was almost invisible, only a centimeter long, flickering faintly between light and shadow.
Unlike before, this needle pulsed in rhythm with his Golden Core—connected, alive.
Liang Xiao's eyes sharpened.
He flicked his finger once more.
The light vanished silently.
No explosion, no sound — just stillness.
Too weak? No way…
He leaned closer, squinting — and froze.
A tiny hole, no thicker than a toothpick, pierced straight through the wall.
On the other side… daylight.
He inhaled sharply.
The wall's thirty centimeters thick…!
The first needle barely went one centimeter deep.
This one had gone through the entire wall.
Heart pounding, he formed another.
The new needle shimmered dark gold, its glow faint and pulsing.
When dim, it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.
He pressed it gently against the wall.
Pfft—
No resistance. It slid through effortlessly, vanishing without a trace.
When he checked, another hole — perfectly clean, perfectly round — stared back at him.
Liang Xiao's breath hitched.
He'd seen it clearly this time: at the instant of contact, the needle's tip simply erased whatever it touched.
What… did I just create?
Excitement warred with unease. The silent disappearance was too unnatural.
He spent the next half hour testing objects around the room — wood, cloth, even metal.
Against softer materials, the needle left smooth, impossible cuts.
Even hardened steel offered only slight resistance, yielding tiny perforations where the golden light touched.
When he finally stopped, his heart was racing.
This isn't the Spiritual Needle anymore, he thought, staring at the faintly glowing tip between his fingers.
This is something entirely different… something born from my Special Golden Core.
He exhaled slowly.
An accidental creation… but potentially a terrifying one.