Sudden Change

As the sun rose, the moon set, and stars shifted through the sky, days flowed silently inside the Maze Array. Unbeknownst to anyone, half a year had passed.

A soft chirp sounded from inside the Fate-Tapping Bell. Understanding what it meant, Shi Yu released the Seven-Color Luan resting inside. She watched as it circled her several times in midair before affectionately landing on her shoulder, pressing its head gently against her cheek.

Shi Yu reached out to stroke Little Seven's fluffy chest. Seeing the little bird wear an expression of pure, almost flattering bliss, she couldn't help letting out a soft laugh.

Not long after President Song entered his breakthrough state, Little Seven had awakened from its slumber.

After devouring the Fire-Absorbing Blood Toad, it had fallen asleep and slept for over a full year before finally waking.

Now, Little Seven—originally only palm-sized—had grown a round larger, its body stretching to the length of Shi Yu's forearm. Its vibrant, seven-colored tail feathers were dazzlingly radiant, even more striking and gorgeous than before.

The Fire-Absorbing Blood Toad had brought it immense benefits. Shi Yu estimated that Little Seven's cultivation was roughly equal to her own, and if pushed to its limit, its strength could likely rival an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Giving its soft feathers a good rub, Shi Yu whispered, “Go play.”

With a cheerful chirp, Little Seven flapped its wings and darted into the mountain forest, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Shi Yu watched it leave with a faint smile resting on her lips.

Over the past half-year, she had kept her breakthrough suppressed, spending her days continuing to temper her dantian and meridians while busying herself with refining artifacts and concocting pills.

With the abundant supply of spirit plants from Pei Yanji's storage ring, Shi Yu first concocted several batches of Lesser Extreme Devouring Pills. Utilizing their assistance, she temporarily burned her essence blood to enter the Foundation Establishment Realm, upgrading all her personal equipment using the elevated realm's power.

Thanks to Pei Yanji, her spiritual materials were plentiful. Consequently, for items like her talisman pen, the Hidden Hatred Flute, and the Flowing Radiance spirit robe, Shi Yu either discarded them to refine new ones or spent time re-refining them from scratch.

Six months later, these frequently used artifacts had all been elevated to Tier 4, each glowing with luminous spiritual radiance and exceptional quality.

Since these were items she intended to use long-term, Shi Yu put considerable thought into them and was quite pleased with the results. Following her usual habit, she left source runes within the restrictions' core hubs, subtly carving her unique mark onto each piece.

Additionally, she refined a new Spirit-Gathering array plate along with forty-nine matching array flags.

This Spirit-Gathering Array was a masterpiece crafted with her utmost effort, combining the essences of multiple array formations. Not only could it absorb external spiritual Qi, but it could also purify ambient impurities within the array. Furthermore, it allowed the array master to adjust the spiritual Qi concentration according to their will.

Shi Yu spent half of those six months on this single set, consuming nearly all the spiritual materials stored inside the Fate-Tapping Bell. She even utilized almost every usable portion of the two spirit beast carcasses that had possessed near-Golden Core cultivation, leaving behind only scraps, all to successfully forge this Tier-4 Spirit-Gathering Array.

Fortunately, such heavy consumption was well worth it. Once deployed, this array could double the spiritual Qi density compared to the outside world, making cultivation inside more than twice as efficient as before.

“Although it can't compare to the blessed paradises of the Central Continent, it is more than enough for now.”

In Shi Yu's scant memories of the Central Continent, spiritual meridians coursed through every corner of that land, making its base spiritual Qi far higher than that of the other four continents—to say nothing of its blessed paradises, where spiritual Qi was several times, or even tens of times, denser than the outside world. It was a realm beyond what cultivators in these remote lands could ever imagine.

In the eyes of Central Continent cultivators, everything outside their continent was nothing but a barren wasteland.

Since she was currently stuck in such a barren place, Shi Yu could only do her best to optimize her cultivation environment to the greatest extent possible.

Speaking of which, these Tier-4 artifacts and array plates were all refined while relying on the power of the Lesser Extreme Devouring Pill to temporarily boost her to Foundation Establishment. Because she was now infinitely close to Foundation Establishment naturally, the side effects of taking the pill had diminished to a negligible point.

With Life Spring water available, her burned essence blood fully recovered within half a day. In fact, due to this repeated cycle of burning, consuming, and recovering, her overall essence blood had actually grown even more robust than before.

Ordinary cultivators would never dare to drain their essence blood so recklessly, treating every single drop with extreme caution. That Shi Yu could do this was partly due to the Life Spring water, but she suspected it also had something to do with her ancient bloodline.

All in all, this outcome set her mind at ease, removing any lingering worries. Popping Lesser Extreme Devouring Pills became as casual to her as eating jelly beans.

Furthermore, whenever a Tier-4 artifact was successfully refined, the treasure Qi generated entered her body. Since Shi Yu firmly suppressed her cultivation from ascending, that treasure Qi instead dispersed into her Purple Mansion sea of consciousness, strengthening her divine soul.

Strengthening one's divine soul was no easy task. Seeing that suppressed cultivation allowed treasure Qi to yield such benefits, Shi Yu threw herself into refining artifacts with even greater enthusiasm, eager to forge as many as possible before breaking through.

Regrettably, crafting that Tier-4 Spirit-Gathering Array had consumed tremendous resources, leaving very few usable materials inside the Fate-Tapping Bell. Shi Yu had no choice but to shelve her plans for the moment, deciding to wait until President Song completed his breakthrough and they returned to Lingtai Prefecture.

And right now... Shi Yu turned her eyes toward the mountain peak, where President Song sat wrapped in dense spiritual Qi.

She could faintly feel his aura surging over the past few days, as a pressure unique to a Golden Core powerhouse fitfully radiated outward. “It seems the president will complete his breakthrough in just a few days...”

Sure enough, barely a day and a half after that thought crossed her mind, at noon on this day, the spiritual Qi swirling around President Song suddenly converged toward his sea of Qi and dantian like a whale devouring water. Not only that, but spiritual Qi from tens to hundreds of miles around rushed forth to fill the void. The disturbance was so immense that it forcibly carved a swirling vortex right above his head.

Shi Yu saw a golden orb shining like the sun at President Song's lower abdomen. That golden sphere greedily absorbed the vast sea of spiritual Qi, slowly contracting and solidifying as its brilliant golden light grew brighter and brighter.

Standing alongside Shi Yu, Master Ji whispered in excitement laced with tension, “The president is about to succeed in forming his core.”

At this final, crucial moment of core formation, nothing could be allowed to go wrong. President Song could not suffer even the slightest external interference.

Otherwise, a single slip would result in all previous efforts coming to naught. The spiritual Qi accumulated over the past half-year would shatter instantly, violently rampaging through his meridians. At best, he would suffer severe backlash and heavy injury; at worst, his life and cultivation would end right then and there.

Yet the more one fears a misfortune, the more likely it is to happen.

Completely concealing President Song's breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm was virtually impossible now. At the brink of breakthrough, the spiritual Qi across a hundred-mile radius was fully mobilized—a disturbance far too vast for two boundary barriers and a single Maze Array to contain.

Master Ji and Shi Yu could only hope to buy just a little more time. Once President Song successfully formed his core and the dust settled, there would be nothing left to fear.

Yet just as President Song sat with closed eyes, his spiritual Qi coursing like a vast river, several streaks of light rapidly sped across the sky toward them. They moved like phantoms, closing the distance in an instant. There were seven of them in total—men, women, old, and young—each possessing formidable cultivation and powerful auras.

Master Ji and Shi Yu watched as they stepped directly into the Maze Array. None of their faces showed any panic. One of them seemed well-versed in array formations, pulling out a compass artifact while chanting under his breath, leading the group forward step by step every few moments.

Shi Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. She recognized that the direction he was treading was the exact path to unravel the Maze Array.

The Hidden Hatred Flute slipped from her sleeve into her palm. “If this continues, they will break through the Maze Array in less than fifteen minutes.”

Master Ji retrieved his natal artifact as well, his expression grave. “We do not know whether they come with good or ill intent, but approaching with such aggressive momentum makes them far more likely to be foes than friends.”

Shi Yu pressed her lips together, realizing these people had likely been in the nearby vicinity already. When President Song's breakthrough disturbed the spiritual Qi, they had sensed it and rushed over in such a short time.

Cursing their ill luck in her heart, Shi Yu felt her spirit sink.

All seven emitted an imposing pressure, clearly all at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Three of them possessed especially intense auras, likely at the late stage or even Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

For just her and Master Ji to hold them off would be no easy feat.

Releasing a soft breath, she furrowed her brow and said, “Seven Foundation Establishment cultivators... This is going to be difficult.”

Even in a major central city like Hengze Prefecture, Foundation Establishment cultivators were hardly a dime a dozen, were they? To suddenly encounter seven all at once was truly rotten luck.

Master Ji's face turned even grimmer. “I recall some rumors from Hengze Prefecture. For these seven to be gathered together, they are likely the ‘Seven Sons of Yuelin.’ A group of seven rogue cultivators who formed a sworn brotherhood. While they haven't descended to the level of demonic cultivators, highway robbery and plundering are things they do all too often.”

Therefore, in coming here now, they surely harbored the intention of stirring up chaos to murder and pillage at this opportune moment.