Chapter 673

Chapter 673: Struggling for the Golden Core (Part 1)

“Control!”

A nearly transparent giant hand suddenly materialized in the air, its palm facing downward, aimed directly at Wang Chen, who was swiftly fleeing.

An overwhelming force descended, enveloping him completely!

This was the Golden Core domain.

After a cultivator breaks through to open a house, they lay the foundation for condensing elixirs.

This is the true foundation.

More than ninety-nine percent of Purple Palace cultivators, despite a lifetime of arduous cultivation, fail to break through to the Golden Core stage.

However, once they condense a Golden Core, their cultivation level ascends, expanding their areas for expansion and resulting in an exponential increase in strength.

The Golden Core domain is the unique manifestation of a Golden Core true master’s might and aura!

Within this domain, unless countered by equal or greater power, one is inevitably subjected to severe suppression.

The enemy’s life and death are in one’s hands, hence the name “control”!

Compared to the earlier "constrain," Master Ye’s Golden Core domain exerted a far greater influence on Wang Chen.

Previously, he was merely restricted in strength, but now he felt as though he were frozen and sealed, unable to move even a finger.

Then, Master Ye swiftly closed in, reaching out to seize Wang Chen.

He sought to uncover the secrets hidden within Wang Chen, so he refrained from delivering a fatal blow immediately.

However, for Wang Chen, falling into the hands of this true master meant certain doom!

At the brink of life and death, Wang Chen remained remarkably composed.

His mind was crystal clear, and the Ancient Stone Tablet that had been dormant within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly awakened, radiating countless beams of light.

“Break!”

An indomitable roar erupted from the depths of his being, igniting the powerful Qi and blood within Wang Chen.

Every joint in his body emitted a dense, resonant sound, and his muscles and skin burst forth with blazing strength.

“Roar—”

A vividly lifelike Great Might Heavenly Dragon materialized behind Wang Chen, baring its fangs and claws, and let out a fierce roar directed at the pursuing Master Ye.

The golden dragon’s eyes gleamed with divine brilliance!

Master Ye, who had been confident of victory, was suddenly struck with alarm and instinctively retracted his outstretched hand.

His Golden Core domain had been shattered!

Under the influence of this aura, Master Ye felt an inexplicable sense of dread, as if something ominous was about to occur.

How could this be?

Master Ye’s focus wavered for a moment.

Without considering external factors such as elixirs or artifacts, a high-level Qi Training cultivator might still have a fighting chance against an initial Purple Palace cultivator.

But when a high-level Purple Palace cultivator faced an initial Golden Core, no such chance existed!

This was because the Golden Core true master’s domain utterly overwhelmed that of the Purple Palace cultivator.

For a Purple Palace cultivator to contend with a Golden Core true master, the best strategy was to gather the strength of multiple individuals and employ formations to battle.

Wang Chen, alone, had just forcefully shattered Master Ye’s Golden Core domain with sheer willpower.

How could Master Ye remain composed?

He was not the type of Golden Core cultivator who relied on elixirs to bolster his strength; his cultivation level was not the highest among his peers, but he was certainly not among the weakest.

Despite several attempts, he had failed to capture a mere Purple Palace cultivator.

If word of this spread, Master Ye would lose all face!

A glimmer of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

At that very moment, Wang Chen surged forward once more.

He had relied on the power of the Heavenly Dragon Vajra True Method, cultivated to the seventh level, to forcefully break through the Golden Core domain and escape his dire situation.

He had not overpowered Master Ye.

In a direct confrontation, he would undoubtedly lose.

Wang Chen knew that to survive this ordeal, he needed to employ unconventional and daring strategies!

He fled straight toward the heart of the Northern Evil Eye.

To save his life, Wang Chen repeatedly cast the Shortening the Earth spell, exerting all his strength each time while maintaining a relentless rhythm.

His goal was to widen the gap between himself and his formidable foe.

However, the closer he got to the center of the Evil Eye, the denser the negative energy became, and the thinner the spiritual energy of heaven and earth grew.

This had a greater impact on his magical power and spells!

Fortunately, Shortening the Earth was applied internally rather than outwardly like ordinary spells, so he was relatively less affected.

Most importantly, with his Immortal Body and the protection of the Heavenly Net for Exorcising Evil, the negative energy was completely repelled, allowing him to successfully use Shortening the Earth every time.

Master Ye, of course, could not tolerate Wang Chen slipping away right under his nose. After failing to suppress him with the domain, he quickly reacted and began his pursuit.

This Golden Core true master initially intended to soar into the air, but he found his speed was barely half of normal.

In desperation, Master Ye could only mimic Wang Chen’s movement techniques to chase him.

His escape technique was, of course, superior to Wang Chen’s Shortening the Earth—“Close Yet Far”!

When perfected, this escape technique could cover thousands of miles in a single step, making it a superior technique for Golden Core-level practitioners.

Though Master Ye had not reached such mastery with Close Yet Far, he would normally be able to easily catch up to Wang Chen if he let him run for just an incense stick’s worth of time.

The problem was that they were at the very bottom of Yongle Immortal City, in the Malevolent Energy Area, where the environment was even harsher than the Evil Abyss.

The surrounding space was thick with intense negative energy, and even a powerful Master Ye could not draw upon even the slightest hint of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, relying solely on his Golden Core magical power to cast spells.

The effects were significantly diminished.

Additionally, Master Ye had to divert some of his magical power to fend off the onslaught of negative energy.

As a result, he failed to catch up to Wang Chen immediately!

This was not all; in terms of the depth of breath and the solidity of magical power, a Purple Palace cultivator could not even compare to a Golden Core true master.

Master Ye was confident that Wang Chen could not escape from his grasp.

But he soon realized something was amiss.

The negative energy in the surrounding space grew denser, nearly materializing, yet Wang Chen’s speed did not seem to slow down at all, as if he were completely unaffected.

This revelation intensified Master Ye’s greedy desires.

Wang Chen undoubtedly harbored a great secret or some kind of treasure; his instincts proved correct.

“Halt!”

This Golden Core true master immediately summoned a copper bell, chanting true words aimed at Wang Chen.

The copper bell spun several times in the air, rapidly enlarging by ten times, radiating dazzling gold light.

Under the golden light, the thick negative energy was instantly dispelled.

A powerful absorbing force descended upon Wang Chen!

This copper bell was Master Ye’s life treasure, capable of both offense and defense, containing profound divine abilities—he would never easily summon it unless in the unique environment of the Malevolent Energy Area.

Although Wang Chen was desperately trying to escape, he remained vigilant, keeping part of his attention on the formidable enemy behind him.

When he saw Master Ye summon his life treasure, he felt a jolt of alarm and immediately threw out the Supreme Mysterious Spirit Dragon True Form Image!

Logically, one should use the Longyuan Sword against a treasure, but given the vast difference in their cultivation levels, even a life treasure of equal might could not withstand the Golden Core true master’s assault.

The Supreme Mysterious Spirit Dragon True Form Image, which was not lower in rank than other treasures, became Wang Chen’s best choice at that moment!