Chapter 1: Early Stage of Golden Core

The Chuiwu River flowed southward alongside the Chuiwu Mountains, stretching for over a hundred thousand kilometers—a truly magnificent sight.
At its southern end, the river widened significantly, and its current appeared much slower.
In a mountainous region filled with towering peaks, the Chuiwu River took a dramatic turn. It was at this turning point that a green sphere, too small to be noticed by the naked eye, was flung onto the shore by the splashing water.
That sphere was none other than the Dimensional Sphere!
Inside the Dimensional Sphere, however, a completely different scene unfolded.
Qu Yi was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, so he could only have a small lawn-like space inside the sphere for now. In this confined area, there were only Qu Yi and Bai Man—almost to capacity.
Huai Qing’s technique was quite precise; to prevent Bai Man from witnessing someone being killed, he used his hidden vital energy to put her into a sleep lasting a month.
Naturally, Qu Yi stayed inside the Dimensional Sphere, guarding Bai Man as she slept, for an entire month.
Finally, Bai Man woke up!
“Hey, Qu Yi, you’re here.” At that moment, Bai Man still thought she was in the Zuiyun Tower.
“Oh…” Qu Yi’s eyes became moist.
He didn’t know how to tell Bai Man about the downfall of the Xianyun Sect, let alone mention Huai Qing’s death.
Bai Man, perceptive as she was, immediately noticed Qu Yi’s expression. She looked around and saw that aside from the lawn where they sat, everything else was gray and gloomy.
“Qu Yi, where is this? Why does it feel so strange?” Bai Man asked anxiously.
She thought they might have been imprisoned by someone.
Qu Yi scanned with his spiritual sense and realized the Dimensional Sphere had landed on the ground. He smiled at Bai Man and said, “Senior sister, don’t resist. I’ll take you out.”
With that, he grabbed Bai Man’s delicate hand.
Bai Man’s face turned red instantly. She wondered what Qu Yi intended, her heart pounding.
In the next moment, Qu Yi and Bai Man arrived at the riverbank, with the vast Chuiwu River beside them.
“Wow, Qu Yi, the scenery here is beautiful! When did you discover this place?” Bai Man immediately forgot about the cramped space earlier, her eyes captivated by the stunning views.
Qu Yi finally smiled. Seeing Bai Man so happy and carefree, the gloom in his heart lightened considerably over the past month.
“Senior sister, how about we just enjoy the scenery here?” Qu Yi said with a smile.

At this moment, Qu Yi had made up his mind. After the two had enjoyed the scenery and lifted Bai Man’s spirits, he would then tell her the news of the destruction of the Xianyun Sect.
“Okay!” Bai Man replied happily at once, then looked at Qu Yi with a blushing face.
It turned out that Bai Man had just remembered they were already husband and wife. Since Bai Man couldn’t practice cultivation, the title of “spouse” didn’t quite fit them, so Qu Yi had adopted the secular term from Linshan Village.
Qu Yi rode on the Green Python Sword, holding Bai Man, who was radiant and smiling, as they flew slowly through the air, admiring the pristine scenery of the mountainous region.
After a while, Bai Man thought that Qu Yi must be very tired from flying on the sword all the time, so she wanted to summon her mount, the Golden Crown Heron.
“Golden Crown Heron!” Bai Man called out habitually.
The heron didn’t appear.
“Ah, that’s not right, Qu Yi. This isn’t the Xianyun Sect. How did you bring me out? Did you leave the sect without your father’s permission?” Realizing something was wrong when the heron didn’t show up, Bai Man immediately asked.
Qu Yi’s expression turned grim, and he took Bai Man to the top of a mountain, where they gazed into the distance in silence.
“Qu Yi, please explain everything to me!” Bai Man urged anxiously.
“Alright, senior sister. I’ll tell you, but you mustn’t cry,” Qu Yi finally resolved himself to speak seriously.
Bai Man’s heart tightened; sensing something bad, she looked at Qu Yi with worry.
“Senior sister, the Xianyun Sect has been destroyed. Our master… is dead,” Qu Yi said, and a tear rolled down instantly.
“Ah!” Bai Man collapsed immediately.
Qu Yi quickly hugged her, channeling his vital energy into his palms to gently touch her face, soothing her pain. After a while, Bai Man woke up, her eyes filled with tears.
“Qu Yi, can you tell me what happened?” Bai Man asked softly.
Unlike what Qu Yi had expected—crying bitterly, being heartbroken, or in tears—Bai Man remained calm.
So, Qu Yi briefly recounted how Linghuo Shangren and Huoyue Gate attacked, the Xianyun Sect deployed the Demon Extermination Formation, Huai Jin betrayed them, and Huai Qing was killed. Then, he watched Bai Man nervously, fearing she might have harmful intentions.
Bai Man listened quietly, tears streaming down uncontrollably, before saying calmly, “Qu Yi, will you avenge the Xianyun Sect?”
Qu Yi replied firmly, “Of course. I will definitely avenge this.”

At this moment, Bai Man actually smiled gently, her body relaxing as she said softly, “Qu Yi, thank you. If you had shown the slightest hesitation just now, I would have bitten my tongue to end my life immediately. Now, by following you, I also have a goal.”
Qu Yi was drenched in cold sweat. He immediately hugged Bai Man tightly and cried, “Senior sister, you must not leave me. Without you, what’s the point of living?”
Bai Man’s hands, which had been raised, trembled before she finally hugged Qu Yi back.
It was the first time the two of them had hugged each other.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Bai Man’s body convulsed as she knelt on the ground in pain, then curled up, looking extremely distressed.
“Senior sister, what’s wrong?” Qu Yi asked anxiously, his face pale.
“I… it’s my body… the Five Elements Evil Spirit has attacked,” Bai Man said weakly.
“Ah, the Five Elements Evil Spirit… what should we do?” Qu Yi was stunned. He certainly knew how terrifying this spirit was, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.
Huai Qing had once told Qu Yi that once the Five Elements Evil Spirit inside Bai Man attacked, true energy had to be infused to satisfy it before it would stop. But now, the energy of the spirit inside Bai Man was already at the mid-Jin Dan stage. Usually, only Huai Qing had the ability to satisfy its demands. But Qu Yi was only at the late Zhu Ji stage, and even if he gave all his true energy to Bai Man, it wouldn’t be enough.
At that moment, the Voice of the Artifact God finally spoke up.
“Qu Yi, I never told you before, but actually, you are capable of saving Bai Man. I was worried you wouldn’t use this method, but now I must tell you. Whether to save Bai Man is up to your own decision.”
Upon hearing this, Qu Yi didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately cried out, “Tell me quickly! I must save my senior sister!”
“Dual cultivation!” The Voice of the Artifact God declared firmly, then immediately implanted a formula into Qu Yi’s spiritual essence.
Qu Yi was stunned for a moment before quickly scanning the formula in his spiritual essence and finally understanding what was going on.
“Male and female affection is natural; the bond between them brings joy to both body and mind!” These were the opening words of the formula passed on to Qu Yi by the Voice of the Artifact God. This dual cultivation formula was called “The Jade Maiden in a Strong Man’s Heart.” Although its name was a bit strange, the cultivation method it described was truly remarkable.
After the two merged, their true energy would circulate through their bodies, ensuring a continuous and endless flow of energy.

The Five Elements Spirit Evil is also a special type of true energy. If it is combined with the flow of true energy from Qu Yi and Bai Man within Qu Yi’s body—where mixed true energy capable of integrating various energy attributes exists—it can naturally dissolve the Five Elements Spirit Evil. Thus, the Five Elements Spirit Evil, which had tormented Bai Man for many years, was completely eliminated.

“Should you do it or not? Make up your mind quickly!” The voice of the Artifact God rang out again.

In a daze, Qu Yi gritted his teeth, pressed his lips tightly, and clenched his fists before finally making up his mind: “I’ll do it!”

The next moment, Qu Yi took Bai Man back to the Inch Realm Sphere. On that lawn that could only accommodate two people, he stripped Bai Man completely like a hungry tiger preying on its prey.

Bai Man, who was already suffering under the torment of the Five Elements Spirit Evil, saw Qu Yi’s drastic change in behavior and felt shame, embarrassment, anger—various emotions surged at once. With a cry, she fainted.

Qu Yi couldn’t care more. He quickly cleaned himself, revealing his strong and well-shaped body. Then, saying “I’m here,” he began his solitary practice of dual cultivation.

Bai Man remained unconscious throughout, while only Qu Yi was actively moving.

……

Time passed quickly in extreme pleasure.

Qu Yi and Bai Man, still naked, lay quietly on the lawn, asleep.

“Hey, you two, it’s time to wake up!” The voice of the Artifact God sounded like a bell or drum, shaking the lawn.

Qu Yi and Bai Man immediately woke up and quickly saw each other’s bodies.

“Ah!” They both cried out in shock.

In a panic, they frantically scrambled for their clothes and hurriedly got dressed.

Then, they fell into a deathly silence, both with flushed faces, tied together by an unusual emotion.

“Alright, you two, dual cultivation is normal between men and women—there’s no need to be embarrassed. Now, look inward at your dantians simultaneously and see if you notice anything,” the Artifact God suddenly said.

That remark came at just the right time. Qu Yi and Bai Man immediately felt relieved, their embarrassment easing.

“Ah! There’s a golden pill in my dantian!” Bai Man exclaimed in shock.

Qu Yi’s expression, however, was very strange, his lips trembling.

“What’s wrong, Qu Yi? Is there something strange in your dantian?” Bai Man asked anxiously, now concerned about him.

“Senior sister, my body… Well, how should I put it? It can indeed be described as strange. Not only in my dantian, but also in my lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen—each of these internal organs contains a golden pill. I have six golden pills in my body!” Qu Yi exclaimed in utter confusion.