"What is Senior He doing?" Li Fan, who had been guarding on the side, couldn't help but mutter when he witnessed this scene. "Could it be that forming a Golden Core with three techniques isn't enough for him? Does he want to add another technique?"
"If successful, everyone will naturally be delighted. Just afraid that being too greedy might lead to trouble," Li Fan thought, but as it was the crucial moment for Golden Core formation, he couldn't forcefully interrupt He Zhenghao's process. He could only patiently wait.
"I wonder what Senior He's fourth technique for Golden Core formation is. When I came with him before, I didn't hear him mention it. It shouldn't be something he concealed from me," Li Fan pondered silently. He didn't have to wait long. Soon, he got the answer.
Just half a day later, the three underwater faults on the seabed suddenly trembled, as if an underwater earthquake had occurred. It shook violently, not the reappearance of the Earth's Pulse or the power of mountains and rivers. But... Li Fan's expression condensed, becoming serious. He raised his guard, staring intently below.
As the intensity of the tremors increased, cracks rapidly appeared from the seabed and mountains, extending and enlarging continuously. In just a moment, the underwater faults that spanned hundreds of miles were covered in cracks, seeming like they were about to split apart at any moment. The shaking intensified, as if something was about to break through from below!
A dull cracking sound echoed from the depths of the seabed, a continuous rumble. Li Fan turned to look at He Zhenghao, but his expression remained unchanged. It seemed like he had been waiting for whatever was hidden beneath the deep abyss. After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan made no unnecessary movements. Just to be safe, he activated the Concealing Charm and moved away from the area, watching the situation unfold quietly.
The earth roared, and the seabed collapsed. The underwater faults also began to collapse with a thunderous roar. Just when this spectacle, almost destroyed from the inside out, reached its peak. The hidden entity inside finally revealed its form.
A series of magnificent three-tiered palaces, spanning dozens of miles, appeared abruptly in front of Li Fan. The buildings emitted an ancient and weathered atmosphere. On the structure at the highest point, the three characters "Tai Yuan Palace" could vaguely be seen.
"What is this? The ruins of a sect appearing in the world?" Li Fan was somewhat surprised because he had never heard of such a massive-scale relic in previous lifetimes. "Could it be that the law fluctuations caused by He Zhenghao's Golden Core formation triggered the destruction of the seal on the ruins?"
In Li Fan's speculation, the earth continued to rumble. Crunching and grinding sounds could be heard. "Boom!" As if something had shattered, the seabed collapsed completely. The palace group, led by the Tai Yuan Palace, surprisingly began to rise slowly in front of Li Fan's shocked gaze.
"Not good!" Li Fan's expression changed slightly. Watching the enormous building group about to collide from below, he didn't care about much at the moment, quickly grabbing He Zhenghao and fleeing from the area covered by the buildings.
"Senior, you don't need to worry about me! I have a way to avoid danger!" At this moment, He Zhenghao's voice sounded in Li Fan's ear. Li Fan didn't hesitate, his figure flickering continuously. In an instant, he escaped from the danger zone.
Looking back, he couldn't help but sweat for He Zhenghao. He saw He Zhenghao sitting upright above the flying palace group. When the massive structure, with unparalleled force, was about to collide, he, however, didn't dodge or avoid, his face showing a joyful expression as he loudly exclaimed, "Heaven is assisting me!"
The illusion of a formation diagram appeared above his head, and He Zhenghao faced the oncoming palace group, continuously forming hand seals. The colors of yellow and blue instantly covered the area, forming a massive net above the rising palaces.
But just a moment later, this giant net was torn to shreds. In the face of such a massive building group, it was as fragile as paper and couldn't withstand even a moment of obstruction. However, with the net as a buffer, He Zhenghao also avoided the fate of being directly crushed. Accompanied by scattered yellow and blue energy, He Zhenghao spat out a large mouthful of blood, retreating rapidly.
At the last moment, as he left, he reached out with both hands and lightly grasped, as if he had grabbed something from the building group. After He Zhenghao escaped danger, Li Fan quickly went forward to check his injuries. He himself, however, seemed indifferent to this, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, staring at the rising buildings, his eyes becoming increasingly bright.
"Can even mountains and rivers fly?"
"Alright!" Then, a wildly joyous expression appeared on his face. "The Ascension Technique, the technique of mountains and rivers ascending..."
"Earth's Pulse, Mountains and Rivers, Hidden Abyss, Ascension!"
"All four techniques are completed, my Golden Core is formed!" He Zhenghao burst into a fit of maniacal laughter.
As his words fell, a violent surge of energy erupted from his body, forcing Li Fan to retreat far away.
Representing the Earth's Pulse, yellow color.
The blue and green colors for the Mountains and Rivers.
The deep black color for the Hidden Abyss.
And the purple and white color for the Ascension.
All appeared simultaneously around He Zhenghao, forming a vortex of colorful energy, blending and intertwining with each other, converging around the core of the "Hundred Meridians Formation Diagram."
...
On the side, Li Fan, witnessing this spectacular scene, couldn't help but feel emotional. "I didn't expect Senior He to actually succeed."
"A Golden Core cultivator with four techniques is probably very rare in the entire Cloudmist Sea."
"From now on, his status is bound to be significantly different."
"The Ascension Technique, like the Hidden Abyss Technique, seems to resonate subtly with the 'Mountains and Rivers Hidden Dragon Technique' he cultivated..."
"I didn't expect that in the chosen breakthrough location, there would be such a relic."
"This is He Zhenghao's opportunity."
In his divine sense perception, the continuous palace group was rising faster and faster, about to surface from the sea.
However, Li Fan was slightly surprised.
Because, it seemed like the size of the building group was gradually decreasing.
"Not an illusion..."
"In that case..."
In an instant, Li Fan thought of something.
In the twelfth era, Li Fan had heard about it.
After anchoring for 22 years, a cave mansion in the northwest sea area of the Cloudmist Sea ascended from the seabed and then flew directly towards the direction of the Nine Mountains Province.
Many curious cultivators followed to investigate.
But none of them returned, disappearing without a trace.
"So, it's that cave mansion?"
Li Fan realized suddenly.
"I don't know which sect's relic it is, but it can change its size and fly like a magical treasure."
"Well... perhaps I can spread the word and let other cultivators explore for me."
"With it being so well-preserved and the sect's residence being so mysterious, it will surely attract many cultivators to explore."
Li Fan subconsciously began to plan.
Not long after, a special fluctuation interrupted his thoughts.
In He Zhenghao's abdomen, a Golden Core was about to take shape.
On the surface of the Golden Core, the appearance of a formation diagram faintly emerged.
The momentum on his body skyrocketed in an instant.
He Zhenghao had successfully formed his Golden Core.
At the same time, a large amount of cultivation feedback also appeared synchronously in Li Fan's dantian.
(End of this chapter)