Inside the guesthouse, a loud voice shouted "Thirty-First of the Profound List," making Chen Xu's heart skip a beat.

He paused at the entrance, hesitating, while more anxious voices emerged from the crowd gathered nearby:

"Quick, let me take another look. What major feat has our Master Chen achieved this time? He hasn't even participated in the provincial exam, yet managed to ascend from thirty-first to twenty-fifth on the Profound List."

The speaker's voice was high and enthusiastic.

Chen Xu observed that everyone was engrossed in their discussions, with no one actually looking his way. He realized that despite the chatter about "Chen Xu," it was merely idle gossip.

In this guesthouse, no one truly recognized him.

Chen Xu couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief and nonchalantly continued into the guesthouse, sitting at an empty table.

The waiter in the guesthouse was dawdling and didn't rush to serve him but rather stood at the edge of the crowd, pretending to wipe tables with a handkerchief while listening intently to the heated discussions.

"Yunjiang Prefecture, Wanzhou Mountain Range, slaying an evil cultivator posing as a River God. Hiss, that evil cultivator was in the Core Formation Realm!"

Someone raised their voice, holding a copy of "Great Li's Splendor Record," their volume nearly shaking the guesthouse.

Someone quickly asked, "Core Formation Realm, what level is that?"

Indeed, what exactly is the Core Formation Realm? Many in the marketplace couldn't clearly distinguish those cultivation ranks.

A self-proclaimed expert slightly lifted his head to explain, "The Core Formation Realm, hey, can be referred to as True Master in the Daoist Sect, forming a Golden Core in the Dantian!

Just imagine, true qi in a person's abdomen gathering into a Golden Core, how powerful could that be? Tsk tsk tsk..."

The crowd grew even more amazed, the hall of the guesthouse instantly filled with cries of "Wow."

Someone suddenly remarked, "Ha, what do you mean by Core Formation equaling Golden Core? I say, don't mislead everyone—the Core Formation Realm doesn't necessarily mean Golden Core.

If Core Formation truly equaled Golden Core, why isn't it called the Golden Core Realm instead of the Core Formation Realm?"

This statement also made sense.

The audience nodded, and the bearded man at the center of attention couldn't help but blush, his voice turning muffled as he retorted:

"Then tell us, what's the difference between Core Formation and Golden Core?"

In the crowd, a proud-faced middle-aged man responded, "Everyone, today is your lucky day to meet me, ha, so allow me to explain the difference between Core Formation and Golden Core to all of you.

Actually, it's quite easy to understand. Core Formation is about reaching a certain degree of qi cultivation, with all meridians flowing smoothly, and the Dantian being so full of true qi that there's no room for growth.

Ha, this true qi naturally has to condense into one place, forming an inner core, right?"

The audience upon hearing this couldn't help but nod while saying, "That's how it should be. So that's how Core Formation comes about—truly fascinating."

"Ha, the more fascinating part is yet to come," the proud middle-aged man said. "Core Formation is merely gathering ordinary true qi into an inner core.

Once this inner core forms, it's akin to shedding mortal body, gaining an immortal complexion.

Having an immortal complexion means that the substantial true qi in the Dantian condenses into material form—just imagine how immense this person's mana would be.

Of course, it allows for wind summoning, rain calling, and performing countless amazing magic at will.

If the Daoist Sect has a Core Formation Realm expert, we mortals would naturally address them as True Master, wouldn't we?"

The audience eagerly agreed, "Definitely, definitely, that's a True Master! There's a True Master in Qingxu Temple outside our city.

That True Master is truly extraordinary. There was a devotee who hadn't been able to conceive for years and went to him for guidance. The True Master simply swept the devotee's abdomen with a whisk, and soon after returning home, she received good news of being pregnant in less than half a month."

"What is a request for a child compared to this? I've heard that the True Master from Qingxu Temple summoned rain during a drought in our county.

Within just moments, rain fell—now that's truly remarkable, truly wind summoning, rain calling!"

"Wind summoning, rain calling is just the beginning. Qing Shuang Master even slew a tiger demon. It's said that the tiger demon could roar in the forest, shaking a half cliff.

As the tiger demon raced, its demon winds stretched dozens of miles, trapping countless wandering souls within. The gusty demon wind, was terrifying within a hundred miles.

Ha, yet Qing Shuang Master simply soared on a cloud, swinging his sword from afar.

Whoosh, the tiger demon was directly cleaved into two by the descending sword. What a mighty spectacle..."

The crowd began sharing tales of Qing Shuang Master enthusiastically, temporarily forgetting to discuss Chen Xu.

Listening to these stories, Chen Xu couldn't help but gradually relax.

To be honest, while most comments about him were admiration and amazement, Chen Xu still felt somewhat awkward hearing them.

If not for the anonymity here, he surely would have turned to leave.

Fortuitously, the focus shifted to Qing Shuang Master, making Chen Xu feel intrigued, treating it as an opportunity to gain knowledge about famous figures.

Alas, he relaxed a bit too soon; before long, the topic swung back.

The bearded man holding "Great Li's Splendor Record" spoke again: "Qing Shuang Master is extremely remarkable, known by everyone, but what about the difference between Core Formation and Golden Core?

Hey, you who have the long eyes, weren't you discussing the differences between Core Formation and Golden Core?"

It turned out the arrogant middle-aged man had narrow long eyes, making him appear even more prideful.

Calling him Long Eyes was quite fitting.

Long Eyes snorted, "Qing Shuang Master is tremendously impressive because he is actually a Golden Core!

The so-called Golden Core is when before Core Formation, one's true qi transforms into Innate Qi.

It's only by condensing a pill from Innate Qi that it can be called a Golden Core.

It's said that this pill is a mass of clear energy that can even glitter in sunlight when released."

Then, without waiting for audience questions, he continued, "This Innate Qi, it's rumored to connect with the heavens and earth—a kind of true qi. If a person can harmonize with the heavens and earth, just imagine how tremendous their powers could be?

And so, how can any of you say that Golden Core and ordinary Core Formation are the same?"

This explanation was thorough and clear, causing even those still puzzled not to openly express doubt.

Instead, they joined the chorus of amazement from others, with those unclear hurriedly echoing, "So that's how it is—the difference between Core Formation and Golden Core truly is vast."

Long Eyes said, "Exactly, though Golden Core and Core Formation generally count as the same level, they are practically worlds apart.

Our Master Chen, his ability to kill a Core Formation Realm evil cultivator before even becoming a scholar is truly remarkable.

Yet, everyone shouldn't deify him too much, as he's merely ranked twenty-fifth on the Profound List.

Our Celestial South Dao isn't solely represented by him on the Profound List."

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