In the command room.

Upon hearing Patriarch Wei's words, Lin Li's expression instantly stiffened, and he asked somewhat urgently:

"Oh? What other possibilities are there?"

Patriarch Wei's eyes showed a trace of hesitation again, his expression tentative.

It was apparent that he didn't have much confidence in his guess and might even find it quite absurd.

He pondered for about ten seconds before finally making up his mind and said slowly:

"Captain Lin, my guess may sound strange, but it indeed fits the situation you've mentioned.

That is....

Could Mo Peidong be undergoing the Heart Demon Tribulation?"

"Heart Demon Tribulation?"

Upon hearing this term, Lin Li was initially stunned.

Then he seemed to think of something, his eyes widening to about the size of twenty of Li Ronghao's:

"This... How could this be possible?"

Patriarch Wei's face showed a **bitter smile, somewhat helplessly saying:

"I also don't quite believe this possibility, but this is the only explanation I know for the past occurrences."

Lin Li's expression immediately became serious.

He didn't respond, but the twitching facial muscles and tightly clenched fists showed that this camp's highest leader was not calm.

The date now was almost early February, and it had been about six months since the rabbits arrived in the Damo Realm.

During this time.

While exploring cultivation, the rabbits also did not neglect collecting various cultivation intelligence.

Some intelligence information wasn't needed now and was far ahead of the current progress by several strides.

But for rabbits with a collecting obsession, gathering some information in advance is necessary.

Many times, even knowing they would collect a bunch of question marks, the rabbits would still use the appraisal technique.

Thus, through the collection of numerous information channels like the Wei Family, Linyuan City, and Ziqiong City.

The rabbits basically had grasped intelligence information on all cultivation checkpoint nodes within the mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm.

Low-level ones include the birth of divine sense in the Fourth-Layer Qi Cultivation, refining of life magical artifacts in the Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation, etc.

The mid to high-level ones include the multiple compositions of a Golden Core in the Core Formation Realm and the five shapes of Nascent Soul fire, etc.

There were also some dual cultivation techniques and the like.

Among this plethora of cultivation intelligence, there was an extremely special segment.

It was the Heart Demon Tribulation.

It was said that cultivators facing the Heart Demon Tribulation would have their divine sense and consciousness drawn into a heart demon space, undergoing various tests sourced from inner malice.

If a mistake occurred during the tribulation, it would typically result in death and complete erasure.

However, passing the Heart Demon Tribulation means the cultivator has the potential to form a Nascent Soul.

That's right.

Consolidating....

Nascent Soul!

According to the rabbits' information.

Before cultivators break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, they must go through five extremely important lesser tribulations.

The Heart Demon Tribulation is one of them.

The remaining four tribulations aren't important; what matters is having a cultivation prerequisite to become a Tribulation Crosser.

That is Great Perfection of Ninth-Layer Core Formation Realm!

But according to currently known intelligence, Mo Peidong's cultivation before he died was merely Fifth-Layer Core Formation Realm.

On the other hand.

As Patriarch Wei pointed out.

If a mishap occurs during the Heart Demon Tribulation, the cultivator indeed lacks control over their own body.

At that time, the cultivator's consciousness is already in another space, and they might not even know if anything has happened to their body.

Then Lin Li thought of Mo Peidong's true character:

A cold and indifferent person who spent more than ten years setting up a possession web for his nephew and seemed to care about the family afterward, but actually had no sense of belonging.

Such a person hiding his cultivation from the family doesn't appear to be unusual?

So reasoning-wise, this actually isn't contradictory; the contradictory part lies in another layer of logic:

How did Mo Peidong reach Great Perfection of Ninth-Layer Core Formation Realm before turning ninety?

Let's be honest.

The qualifications of Mo Peidong's possessed body, Mo Shaonan, were indeed excellent, considered one in ten thousand among ordinary people.

The mutant dual spiritual roots of gold and earth, along with the ability to enhance combat power by one and a half times with the "Golden Sword Technique", could even compete with single spiritual roots in certain situations.

But compared to those with single spiritual roots, Mo Shaonan's qualifications were merely so.

Not to mention the apex or even medium tier, it just barely kept up at the tail end.

Theoretically speaking, in the Damo Realm, the probability of single spiritual root cultivators breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm isn't low.

As long as they don't perish before the Core Formation Realm and resources are normal, the chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul is generally over half.

But probability is just probability.

According to intelligence known by the rabbits, the average age for Nascent Soul Great Cultivators to break through major realm barriers is about three hundred years.

Even the most fortunate single spiritual root cultivators take over two hundred years to break through to Nascent Soul.

This is a situation of accumulated cultivation that, while varying person-to-person, generally lies within a range.

And how old was Mo Peidong when he died?

Eighty-six years!

This was much younger than the youngest Nascent Soul Realm cultivator known to the rabbits, almost defying cultivation norms!

For this reason.

Patriarch Wei didn't initially think of this possibility, and his later tone wasn't very certain.

After all, it was simply too outrageous.

But just like a famous little detective, a child, said.

Once all impossibilities are excluded, the remaining answer, no matter how unacceptable, still remains the truth.

Strictly speaking, Mo Peidong's skeleton case hasn't eliminated all possibilities yet, since who can clarify whether some other supernatural phenomena occurred.

But just analyzing from known information.

The Heart Demon Tribulation indeed seems the most fitting answer for the known scenario.

It's that phrase again.

Unless the black spiritual energy was so destructive that it instantly incapacitated, Mo Peidong would surely have left some traces of movement.

Then Lin Li thought of something else to say to Li Yan:

"Xiaoli, is that Golden Core of Mo Peidong still stored in your laboratory?"

Li Yan quickly nodded and replied:

"Yes, yes, it's always been kept in the E3 sequence containment facility."

When Mo Peidong's skeleton was found, Lin Ziming had discovered a goose egg-sized ball at his abdomen.

After Patriarch Wei and others identified it, they confirmed it was a double-attribute Golden Core of gold and earth.

However, it was completely inactive, with no practical use.

Back then, Wang Qiang had persistently researched it for a period but ultimately gave up.

Since then.

This Golden Core had been kept in a secure container, adopting a sealed storage mode.

According to Wang Qiang, even if it holds no research value, it can still become a museum piece in the future.

Haven't even the broken bowls of ancient cave dwellers become artifacts?

Therefore, it must be looked after carefully to prevent any accidents.

After receiving Li Yan's confirmation, Lin Li hesitated a while before finally saying:

"Xiaoli, Professor Ma and Deputy Captain Zeng are preparing to go to Ziqiong City to hand over the Floating Array Technique these days.

Take out the inactive Golden Core and let them bring it to Ziqiong City, seeking Yang Bolin's channel for identification.

Maybe the experts at the Purple Treasure Pavilion have sharper eyes than us and can help ascertain Mo Peidong's realm.

If Mo Peidong was indeed at Great Perfection of Core Formation Realm, then the black spiritual energy might be something exceptional."

....

....

Note:

The promised third update, wrote till four in the morning.

I'll strive for another three updates today, not including this one.

Could you please cast your votes??

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