The furious wind howled, kicking up tempestuous waves.
The dark clouds gathering in the sky grew ever thicker. Amidst the mountain-like cloud banks, bolts of lightning flared from time to time, displaying the destructive might contained within.
Yet in Zhang Haobo's grasp, this immense storm was like a wild horse held by the reins, forced to obediently drift along a designated course.
"Glimpsing the laws of heaven and earth to temper a Golden Core..."
Surrounded by the storm, Zhang Haobo pondered slowly.
"With my current strength, attempting an annexation is still somewhat beyond me.
"Yet without a Golden Core method, I can only remain trapped at peak Foundation Establishment, unable to advance an inch.
"Time is running out. It won't permit me to slowly save up contribution points to exchange for a Golden Core cultivation technique.
"My only recourse now is...
"A False Core."
A glint of resolute determination flashed in Zhang Haobo's eyes.
Employing the False Core Method meant that upon reaching peak Foundation Establishment, one infused oneself with the power of heaven and earth to force a breakthrough, constructing an illusory Golden Core from the power of laws within the dantian.
This would briefly elevate one's cultivation to the Golden Core realm.
The False Core Method could not last, persisting for thirty-odd days at most.
Its side effects were also terrifying. Even if one later succeeded in truly condensing a Golden Core, it would leave irreversible hidden injuries, cutting off one's path forward in the Dao.
Unless one encountered some miracle later on, one would remain halted at the Golden Core stage for the rest of one's life.
But Zhang Haobo had no other choice!
How could defying the heavens ever be easy?
Zhang Haobo glanced up imperceptibly, a cold sneer rising in his heart.
Ever since his rebirth, he had occasionally felt as though he was being watched.
Like thorns in his back, it made him deeply uncomfortable.
At first, he had thought it was merely an illusion, but after he stepped into the Foundation Establishment stage, the sensation had grown ever clearer.
Zhang Haobo understood in his heart that his various unusual actions since his rebirth must have caught the attention of that entity in the heavens.
Heaven's killing intent was unleashed; the destinies of all living beings within the Congyun Sea were meant to have been sealed long ago.
If he wished to overturn destiny, he would inevitably face layer upon layer of resistance.
For this, Zhang Haobo was already fully prepared mentally.
As could be expected, with the continuous growth of his strength, this obstructive force would only become more powerful.
Yet, he was not without support either.
Zhang Haobo subconsciously touched his chest, where a faint blue, translucent little bead faintly flickered.
He was no Water Spirit Body.
The reason he could expend spiritual energy without restraint upon the Congyun Sea without worrying about depletion was precisely because of this extraordinary treasure.
What this extraordinary treasure was called or where it had come from, he had no idea whatsoever.
Only after he broke through to the Qi Condensation stage that day had he discovered this blue droplet of a bead in his chest.
After some experimentation, he gradually learned the bead's uses.
It could help him replenish the spiritual energy in his body at an astonishing rate.
It also made it easier for him to comprehend the power of laws between heaven and earth, especially those related to water and wind.
From time to time, scenes would even surface in his mind, revealing certain secrets of the Congyun Sea.
Earlier, the reason he had been able to detect that bizarre space where the azure wind and the sword hilt clashed, enter it, and remain undetected was entirely due to the secret assistance of this blue bead.
Otherwise, let alone his late Qi Condensation stage cultivation back then, even his current peak Foundation Establishment cultivation could never have accomplished such a feat!
This fathomless treasure had to be the innate boon granted to him as a reincarnator.
It was also his reliance in defying the heavens and changing his destiny in this lifetime!
His tumbling thoughts gradually calmed.
Zhang Haobo reached out with his left hand and caught a wisp of wind arriving from afar, sensing the super wind calamity that was about to be born.
He continually adjusted the speed and direction of the small wind calamity he was maneuvering before him, calculating and simulating in his mind the possibilities once the two storms collided.
"The day the azure winds meet shall be the moment I condense my False Core."
A sharp gleam flashed in Zhang Haobo's eyes. Then, veiled by the wind and rain, his figure slowly faded into the storm.
***
Though Li Fan could monitor Zhang Haobo's every move, he could not see through his inner thoughts.
Naturally, he did not know what was happening with Zhang Haobo.
Besides, he had no time to worry about that now anyway.
Ever since the day he began learning arrays from Zhang Zhiliang, he had not had a single moment of free time.
Although Zhang Zhiliang would leave for a while after teaching for a period to attend to other matters, before departing, he would leave corresponding array exercises for Li Fan to study.
More often than not, before Li Fan could even finish these exercises, Zhang Zhiliang would already return.
After correcting and explaining the exercises, Zhang Zhiliang would resume his lectures.
In such an endless cycle, he left Li Fan no time to rest at all.
Whenever Zhang Zhiliang sensed that Li Fan's mental fatigue had reached a certain point, he would light a silver incense.
Wreathed in curling fragrance, the moment Li Fan smelled it, his mental exhaustion was swept away.
Then, under Zhang Zhiliang's prompting gaze, he would continue his dedicated studies.
This process seemed to have no end.
It even gave Li Fan the illusion that time was passing agonizingly slowly.
Every minute and second spent studying arrays was a torment.
He wished desperately that it would end sooner.
Had he not possessed a steadfast will to begin with, coupled with the three disposition trials he had previously undergone under Qin Tang that made his endurance far surpass that of ordinary people, he might truly have been unable to persevere.
After an unknown length of time passed like this, Zhang Zhiliang brought back another person.
Because their progress differed, they were not taught together.
Instead, within this dark starry sky, Zhang Zhiliang split off an identical phantom to lecture that person separately.
Only then did Li Fan realize that the person lecturing him all this time likely was not the actual man either.
The so-called departures to handle other business had merely been an excuse.
It had probably just been to test his diligence when unsupervised.
Li Fan shook his head and paid no heed to the other apprentice.
He simply set a reminder for the two-year mark, then put all other matters out of mind.
Without any distraction, he immersed himself in the study of arrays.
And so time flowed by, oblivious to the passing years.
One day, while Li Fan was frowning in thought, his expression suddenly shifted violently.
His brain felt as if it had been struck hard by a colossal object; heaven and earth spun, and stars burst before his eyes.
Blood streamed from his nose and eye sockets, presenting a truly horrifying sight.
Zhang Zhiliang's figure suddenly appeared.
He cast a somewhat puzzled glance at Li Fan, but asked no questions.
He merely lit the silver incense once more.
This time, the fragrance was even thicker than before.
Upon absorbing this scent, the spiritual sense trauma he had just suffered miraculously began to heal at rapid speed.
In merely less than half a day, Li Fan felt his injuries vanish completely, restored to his original state.
Only then did Li Fan have the chance to examine the final image transmitted into his mind.
"Zhang Haobo broke through to the Golden Core realm?"
Turning his head slightly, he gazed into the distance, an inscrutable look appearing on his face.
Chapter 136