"No, I can't trust you yet. Besides, I need to study it first," Ye Xiao said, still refusing to form a soul contract with the blood sword. He didn't want to act carelessly. He needed to find out more about soul contracts before deciding what to do.
"Okay then, it's up to you." The blood sword spirit couldn't continue persuading him. After all, once he learned the benefits, Ye Xiao wouldn't hesitate to form a soul contract with it.
At this point, Ye Xiao closed his eyes and tried to re-examine the golden core he had awakened. After a while, he couldn't find any reason or clue as to why his golden core was so different. Then, Ye Xiao began to sense the spiritual energy in his body and realized that he still needed to refine it. He could then try to break through another realm. If that wasn't enough, he would need to find cultivation resources to meet his needs.
How powerful was he, exactly?
Ye Xiao still didn't know. Although he felt both his physique and his strength were incredibly strong, he wasn't entirely sure about it. After all, he hadn't tested his strength on anyone. He was currently trying to refine the remaining energy in his body. He hoped it would be enough to raise his strength to the fifth stage of Qi Refining, and then return to the Ye family residence. If it wasn't enough, he would first find resources to meet his energy needs and break through.
The reason for this was that Ye Xiao felt more confident that if he broke through to the fifth stage of Qi Refining, the Ye family might change their attitude toward him upon his return.
This was why Ye Xiao hadn't yet decided how he should approach the Ye family. Whether or not he should seek revenge depended on the Ye family's attitude.
In any case, the current situation was different from before.
At this moment, Ye Xiao began to sink into a state of selflessness.
This was Ye Xiao's first time refining the energy within his body. Previously, everything had happened suddenly without Ye Xiao's awareness, and now he was doing it slowly, fearing that something would go wrong.
A day passed...
A week passed...
A month passed...
During this time, Ye Xiao realized that besides using spiritual stones as cultivation resources, he could also absorb the surrounding natural energy to use it as a cultivation resource. Of course, the absorption of natural energy was much slower than that obtained from spiritual stones.
At this time, Ye Xiao felt that the spiritual energy in his body wasn't enough to break through his realm. Therefore, Ye Xiao utilized the surrounding natural energy and absorbed it slowly.
Time passed unnoticed.
And now, half a year had passed.
"Come on... destroy it for me!"
At this moment, Ye Xiao's aura suddenly became unstable, and after a while, Ye Xiao suddenly shouted.
Boom...
Ye Xiao's body jerked momentarily, and at the same time, the aura fluctuations around him spread out, causing the small rocks on the cave walls to fall.
After a while, the aura fluctuations around Ye Xiao's body slowly stabilized.
Wow...
"Haha, I broke through. Why does it feel so easy?" Ye Xiao said slowly, opening his eyes. After his golden core requirements were met, Ye Xiao didn't feel any significant obstacles during his breakthrough. This was very different from the difficulty he had known about breaking through levels. Therefore, despite his happiness, Ye Xiao was also confused as to why his breakthrough felt so easy.
However, Ye Xiao couldn't find a reason behind what he was experiencing.
"Forget it, let's go back first," Ye Xiao said, rising from his seat. Ye Xiao tried to find a reason for his breakthrough, but he found nothing. Therefore, Ye Xiao decided to give up and return to the Ye family residence.
At this moment, Ye Xiao walked out of the cave passage with a black, old-looking sword strapped behind his back.
The appearance of this blood sword was a stark contrast from when it first emerged from the rock explosion. It had looked powerful and fiery, but now it looked black and dull, as if it were a worn-out, worthless sword.
Especially its aura. In its normal state, the blood sword exuded no aura whatsoever, resembling a completely useless weapon. Anyone who couldn't discern its essence and power would simply consider it a trash weapon. Therefore, when Ye Xiao strapped it behind his back, his appearance remained essentially unchanged, unlike the imposing cultivator carrying a sword.
In front of the cave entrance, Ye Xiao looked in the direction he was heading with a complicated expression. This place wasn't too far from the village, but no one had been able to find this cave all this time. This indicated that the Ye family ancestor had prepared this place so that only those of his chosen bloodline could find it. Who knows what method the Ye family ancestor used, but Ye Xiao felt it must have been extraordinary.
Half an hour later...
Ye Xiao emerged from the cave beneath the large tree and immediately headed towards the village gate.
Another half an hour passed.
And at this moment...
"That... isn't that Ye Xiao?" One of the guards said, recognizing the young man who had just arrived at the village gate.
"Yes, there's no mistake, but..." Another guard responded, and the two immediately went out to confirm that the young man was indeed Ye Xiao. One thing that made the two guards look confused, why did Ye Xiao's body emit the aura of a cultivator? Wasn't he unable to awaken the golden core in his body? Therefore, the two guards immediately came out of the guard post and approached Ye Xiao.