Half-Step Gold Core (1)

Ning Fan naturally wouldn’t regret promising to make pills for the little girl. But because the time was limited, he couldn’t make Fourth Revolution Pills; the highest level of pill he could concoct was Third Revolution Pills.

The pill cauldron and Earth Fire had already been prepared by Xue Qing. Ning Fan sat cross-legged in front of the cauldron; his sword Qi circulating between his fingers. He then made several slashes to double the size of the fiery pit. After the Earth Fire was increased, he tossed the herbs into the pill cauldron.

Naturally, these spiritual herbs belonged to the little girl.

Watching her precious ‘Herb Treasure’ being thrown extravagantly into the cauldron, she showed a face of chagrin.

“Humph… if the cookies you make is not delicious, I will eat you!”

“You’ll know if it’s delicious in a while.” Ning Fan’s expression remained indifferent while his mind was recollecting the memory of Ancient Chaos.

In Ancient Chaos’ memory, it did mention about Pill Devils advancing by swallowing pills. To them, the only one criterion that affected the pill’s taste was its quality.

The pills Ning Fan was concocting was called Accumulated Furnace Pill. It had no other effects apart from its medicinal energy. If this was given to a demonic or devil beast, they could consume it straightaway. It could even enhance their combat strength. Although this pill was only categorized as a Third Revolution pill, human experts could only store it instead of consuming it.

The human’s physique was much weaker compared to demonic beast’s. It couldn’t bear such a violent medicinal energy, but to the little girl, it would probably be a delicacy.

Sure enough, even before the pill was finished, the little girl immediately revealed a thirsty pair of eyes when she smelled the fragrance. She extended her delicate hands, wanting to open up the lid and take the pills.

“This smells so good! This Pill Cookie must be very delicious…‘Bright Sparrow’ wants to eat it…”

“Wait a second… this ‘Cookie’ has not yet been refined. If you lift the lid now, the ‘Cookie’ will turn to ashes at once.” Ning Fan warned the little girl with a composed look, however he felt a tingle in his heart.

So this little girl was called Bright Sparrow…

Bright Sparrow, Dark Sparrow… What is the profound meaning hidden within them…?

The moment the girl named Bright Sparrow heard that lifting the lid would cause the Pill Cookies to disappear, she withdrew her hand immediately, careful not to touch the lid of the cauldron.

The scene dumbfounded Xue Qing.

He knew how scorching the cauldron lid was. If an ordinary expert touched it, his skin would burn into ash. As for this Pill Devil, despite being scorched by the cauldron lid, nothing happened to her. She was really… a monster!

Upon seeing Bright Sparrow not lifting the lid anymore, Xue Qing heaved a sigh of relief.

This was his first time seeing Ning Fan refine a pill with his own eyes. Although it was just a Third Revolution Pill instead of a Fourth Revolution Pill, he rarely saw such a concoction technique.

He had been obsessed with pills his entire life. Currently, he was already subdued by Ning Fan’s profound technique. All of his focus had now been put in the refinement process of the pill and his fear for the little girl was already long gone.

Ning Fan patted the cauldron lid and stopped the refinement of the Accumulated Furnace Pill. The process replayed in Xue Qing’s head for a dozen times, but he still couldn’t fathom the profundity of it.

He sighed deeply. Ning Fan was worthy of being a Fourth Revolution Pill Master. He felt that Ning Fan was out of reach after watching his concoction technique.

This time, Ning Fan didn’t even use a pill bottle to carry those pills.

Inside the furnace, there were dozens of Third Revolution Pills. Because it only needed to integrate with its medicinal energy, the process was rather simple. It wasn’t difficult to concoct a dozen of them at a time.

Once the pills were completed, Bright Sparrow couldn’t wait anymore. Immediately, she stuck her hands into the cauldron, took one of the blazing hot round pills, put it in her mouth, chewed it and swallowed it.

A contented smile emerged on her delicate face. Her grateful eyes were looking at Ning Fan.

“This is delicious! This Pill Cookie is delicious! I love them!”

“Is that so…”

Ning Fan’s eyes fell upon the Accumulated Furnace Pills in the cauldron. He shook his head with a bitter smile. This kind of pill contained tremendous energy. Only someone who had a devil physique like Bright Sparrow’s could swallow it. Even if his body refining realm reached the Silver Light Sixth Realm, swallowing this pill would only bring harm to him.

However, the thing that caught his attention the most was that the quality of these pills was higher than before, despite him not being serious and very hasty in concocting the pills.

Why?

His spirit sense swept through the pills in Bright Sparrow’s hands. All of a sudden, he discovered that on the surface of every pill had some damaged patterns.

Within these patterns was a trace of divine intent, like the Divine Intent of Rain in the rain!

However, it wasn’t the complete Divine Intent of Rain, just a fragment of it. Or else, the quality of these pills wouldn’t just be slightly better.

“I have actually acquired a trace of Divine Intent of Rain on the third level! This is…”

His eyes seemed to have mixed feelings. In his heart, there were both joy and disappointment.

The thing that delighted him was his enlightenment on the third level. If he could go all the way to the ninth level of the Dark Sparrow’s Grave and acquired all the insights of Que Shenzi, it would highly be possible that he would acquire the complete Divine Intent of Rain!

If so, he could most likely refine Fifth Revolution Pills using the Divine Intent of Rain, and by doing so, he would advance to the Fifth Revolution Pill Master!

Getting to Fifth Revolution would only require a Void Spirit Intent, but the difference between the effects of Fourth Revolution and Fifth Revolution pills was like day and night. Fourth Revolution Pills might attract Nascent Soul old monsters, however Fifth Revolution Pills might even attract Spirit Severing old monsters if the quality of the pill was higher!

The word ‘spirit’ in Spirit Severing represented the Spirit Intent! Without the Spirit Intent, one wouldn’t be able to refine Fifth Revolution Pills. That was why a Fifth Revolution Pill could shake even a Spirit Severing Expert’s heart!

He remembered that the mysterious girl mentioned that Pill Masters would get preferential treatment in the Lost World Palace. If his pill refinement advanced to the Fifth Revolution, he would be able to enter a higher level in the Lost World Tower, and enjoy the slower flow of time, the higher the level meant that time was twice slower compared to the levels below, and this could save him another half of his time to form the core!

Due to him being pleased that the result was beyond his expectation, he felt helplessly disappointed.

How could it be easy to walk through the entire nine levels of the grave and acquire the Divine Intent of Rain? Given his cultivation base, after entering the fourth level, he would definitely be besieged by Nascent Soul demonic beasts and would likely be killed in the process. Should he enter the fifth level, he would have to confront Spirit Severing demonic beasts, which he couldn’t even resist. If he went deeper…

From the seventh level onwards, not even Void Fragmentation old monsters of Rain Palace could enter. So how could he ever go that far…? He was truly getting somewhat greedy on this. It was already rare enough for a peak Harmonious Spirit cultivator to acquire a trace of Divine Intent of Rain, let alone acquiring the complete Divine Intent. It wasn’t because of his lack of fortune, but his realm of magical force was just too far from enough to acquire it.

…

“I was being greedy…”

Ning Fan put away his emotions. After suppressing the desire that was constantly grilling him just now, his mental state was enhanced once more.

There was Profound Yin Qi in the fifth level of Dark Sparrow’s Grave.

There was the Immortal Bone of Dark Sparrow and the complete insight of Que Shenzi in the ninth level of Dark Sparrow’s Grave.

There is also the Ming Luo Fruit hidden in the grave.

However, it seemed like his fortune had stopped right here…

“Forget it. I’ll stay here for now and devour the Black Demon Flame…”

Earth Vein Demonic Flames were all Fifth Grade Spiritual Fire. He now possessed two kinds of these flames, the Black Demon Flame and White Bone Flame. As for the Heavenly Frost Cold Qi, he now had one type of them, the Bone Prison Qi.

Among the twelve Earth Vein Demonic Flames, the Black Demon Flame was ranked sixth and the White Bone Flame was ranked eleventh, whereas the Bone Prison Qi was ranked twelfth amongst the twelve Heavenly Frost Cold Qi.

As his realm and cultivation law continued to improve, Ning Fan would naturally have a clearer understanding of them.

Under the main cultivation law, the Yin Yang Transformation, his double spirit evil vein was divided into two cultivation laws, the Black Demon Art and Snow Treading Art.

The dual cultivation of Ice and Fire, the combination of Yin and Yang, the white robe and black cloak and even the disposition of being cold on the outside and warm on the inside accorded closely with the Grand Dao of Yin Yang!

After getting the pills, the little girl fastened up the brocade pouch, left the scene happily with the ‘Pill Cookies’ still in her mouth.

Ning Fan then deployed a protective formation in the third level of the Dark Sparrow’s Grave and went into seclusion for ten days to devour one type of demonic flames.

This perhaps would be the last enhancement of magical force before the core formation!

…

It only took him ten days to devour the Black Demon Flame. This was not only because Ning Fan had refined one of the nine dragons, but also because the flame had been tamed by the Old Monster for many years. When the flame was transferred to Ning Fan, the spiritual consciousness of the flame had already been wiped off, which reduced the difficulty of Ning Fan devouring the flame.

Vaguely, there were black flames flickering in Ning Fan’s eyes. He pointed forth with one of his hands casually, and immediately, nine lifelike black dragons roared their way out! Even without using any magical technique, this fire alone could destroy any Harmonious Spirit expert!

During the refinement of the Black Demon Flame, Ning Fan’s cultivation base made a breakthrough once more, leaving him only a step away to the Gold Core realm.

In his dantian, an illusory black and fiery core had been condensed. Surrounding the pill, an immense momentum dispersed all of a sudden!

His cultivation base had successfully broken through to the half-step Gold Core realm, also known as the False Core realm!

An illusory core had been formed in his body. The success rate of breaking through to the Gold Core realm was doubled at this level. At least, he could save years of lonely drudgery in seclusion.

Moreover, his magical force was doubled, which made it even easier for him to defeat an opponent like Bai Feiteng.

The scorching Qi of magical force gave Xue Qing, who was next to Ning Fan, a hard time to breathe. To him, Ning Fan’s momentum seemed to be even stronger than the ten strongest Old Devils of Yue Country.

This was the pupil that surpassed even his teacher!

“False Core realm… The only thing left is to abandon the sentiments…”

Ning Fan closed his eyes slightly. Instead of feeling joyful about his breakthrough, he seemed concerned.

For the first time, he realized that his state of mind couldn’t keep pace with his rate of advancement…

After refining the Black Demon Flame, there was still the White Bone Flame that could be refined in his Yin Yang Locket, but he didn’t choose to do so.

If he continued to devour the flame, his magical force would improve once more, making it very difficult for him to suppress his cultivation; by that time, he would need to go into seclusion to form his core at once, or else, his body would explode and he would certainly die.

Indistinctly, he felt that the way he devoured the cold Qi and demonic flame should follow the rhythm of fire and ice. Only then would it accord with the Grand Dao of Yin Yang, allowing him to obtain even greater benefits.

Even though he had no idea what the details of the benefits would be, that was how he felt. This was the instinct formed when one’s cultivation base reached a certain level. It was the understanding towards the cultivation law.

“With my current strength, going to the fourth level is akin to seeking death…”

Ning Fan gazed at some huge pit and sighed. He couldn’t go any further from here. Thus, he could only let go of the Profound Yin Qi.

Some said that the moment one obtained twelve of the Heavenly Frost Cold Qi or twelve Earth Vein Demonic Flames, one would have the ability to defeat Void Fragmentation opponent, but since Ning Fan was a Dual Spirit Cultivator, he only needed six from each of the elements, which meant the Profound Yin Qi might not be a necessary cold Qi.

He then stared at the huge pit and shook his head slightly. How pleasant would it be if he could enter the fourth level…?

He turned and was ready to go, but at this moment, a black-clothed girl jumped out of the pit leading to the fourth level, totally disregarding the spatial forbidden force.

“Oh well, it’s good that Cookie Brother is still here… um, I still want to eat Pill Cookies, can you make them for me?!”

In an instant, Ning Fan’s eyes glittered.

Why not he let this little girl that came out of nowhere bring him to all the levels of Dark Sparrow’s Grave?!

Even though he didn’t know if he would succeed, it was still worth trying…

“I can make them for you, but you have to promise me one thing.”

Ning Fan’s eyes brighten up. The little girl’s body trembled and instantly, she took a step back.

“To promise what…? If you want my Pill Treasure, I can’t give it to you… and my Rain Treasure and Cloud Treasure too… They are all my precious treasures…”

“I don’t want your treasures… I only want to go to the lower levels of the grave.”

“That’s it? That is simple. I can bring you there. No one will dare to eat you! Quick, make some delicious Pill Cookies and I will bring you to any level you want!”

Bright Sparrow patted her chest and pledged sincerely, as if she was afraid that Ning Fan would retract his words.

It was just strolling around the Dark Sparrow’s Grave. That wasn’t a big of a deal at all!

The more she looked at Ning Fan, the more comfortable she felt. She felt that this was the nicest human she had ever seen.

Furthermore, what particularly made her like this human was because he was a Cookie Refinement Master.

What a fascinating profession…! One day, she, too, would want to become a Cookie Refinement Master!

…

*Pa*

The cauldron lid was patted open. An aroma of pills escaped into the air, intoxicating Bright Sparrow. She outstretched her delicate neck and kept on smelling.

She then held the pile of fragrant Pill Cookies. As promised, she would take Ning Fan into the deeper levels. With her lead, no Nascent Soul demonic beast would dare to attack Ning Fan!

“Master, you go ahead. I’m not going… Ten days has already passed… I wonder if the Mistresses will be fine… Disciple is worried about them and would like to ensure their safety…”

Xue Qing’s words were pleasant to hear, but in his heart, he was really scared of going into the fourth level.

There were Nascent Soul demonic beasts there… He wouldn’t want to confront those kind of monsters.

As Si Wuxie was with the girls and there was also the Dan Fragmentation Cauldron, the girls wouldn’t need any protection from Xue Qing, but since Xue Qing was determined to leave, Ning Fan naturally wouldn’t stop him.

“En, go and check on them…”

Ning Fan could discern Xue Qing’s fear, but he didn’t unveil it. After Xue Qing left, Ning Fan held the Separation Slayer as if he was prepared for all possible dangers, then jumped into the huge pit leading to the fourth level along with the little girl.

“Hold my hand, and don’t get lost… Or else, those Wolf Treasures are going to eat you…”

Bright Sparrow showed a wry face, then held Ning Fan’s hand with her delicate hand. Her tremendous strength was something Ning Fan couldn’t simply break free from.

In Ning Fan’s heart, he felt touched. Right now, he didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

What if those Nascent Soul demonic beasts wouldn’t be deterred by the little girl and attack him? If his hand and the girl’s hand was clasped tightly together, how could he escape…?

While he was in contemplation, the view of the fourth level presented before his eyes.

The first thing that he felt was the continuous drizzle that carried a trace of loneliness and desolation.

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