"Haha! What impressive strength, young friend! I merely happened to pass by, noticed the fight, and came over out of curiosity. I mean no harm."

An old man with white hair and beard, exuding an ethereal air, slowly stepped out from the forest. He gave off a calm presence, as if he truly bore no ill intent.

"If you mean no harm, then please leave," replied Lin Zheyu.

The human heart was treacherous. Lin Zheyu would not judge by appearances. Though the old man looked righteous and serene, who knew if it was all an act?

"It seems you don't trust me. You've been afflicted by the Netherfrost Flame. If you don't deal with it quickly, it will surely leave serious aftereffects," the old man said with a smile.

"It's just a bit of Netherfrost Flame. There's no need for your concern," Lin Zheyu replied calmly.

"Oh? It seems you have some confidence. Then this Netherflame Pill won't be needed," said the old man as he gestured to the pill in his hand.

The Netherflame Pill was specifically used to dispel Netherfrost Flame. There were other methods as well, but they were far more troublesome.

The old man stroked his white beard and said with a smile, "You're in a difficult position, so it's natural that you don't trust me. I am Fan Hongwei of Soaring Cloud Pavilion. The body cultivation path you follow and the strength of your physique are quite rare within the Foundation Establishment realm. I have a matter that requires your help. If it succeeds, there will be generous rewards."

This was his true purpose in following. Lin Zheyu stared at him coldly, his gaze still full of vigilance. He had not sensed the old man's aura at all earlier. Only when the man came within a hundred meters did Lin Zheyu detect something amiss through his keen perception.

"Hehe..." The old man smiled faintly and took out a token. With a flick of his right hand, it drifted slowly toward Lin Zheyu.

"This is my token. If you make a decision, you may bring it to the Soaring Cloud Pavilion to find me. When the time comes, the reward will surely satisfy you. There will be at least ten mid-grade spirit stones," the old man said with a smile.

After speaking, he turned and walked away at an unhurried pace. With a single step, he appeared a hundred meters away. After a few more steps, he completely vanished from Lin Zheyu's perception.

Lin Zheyu's expression turned grave.

This man is incredibly strong!

He could not see through the old man's strength. Just standing before him, Lin Zheyu felt a dangerous aura. His instincts told him that if they fought, he would undoubtedly die.

After confirming the man had left, he flicked his right hand. The token shot out and embedded itself into a nearby tree trunk. The man's strength was too unfathomable, so Lin Zheyu did not dare accept anything from him.

Lin Zheyu moved and vanished from where he stood. A few breaths later, a phantom figure slowly solidified. It was the old man from before. He extended his right hand and pulled the token out of the tree trunk.

"Interesting. His aura is somewhat peculiar, but he should be walking the path of immortal martial cultivation. To reach this level with that path is quite remarkable. When did the Martial Alliance produce such a figure? A pity, a pity. If he had switched to the Immortal Dao earlier and devoted this talent to it, he might have already reached the peak of the Golden Core realm."

The old man smiled faintly and said, "The Immortal Martial Cultivation consumes far more resources than the Immortal Dao. I don't believe you can resist the temptation."

He put the token away and showed no anger at Lin Zheyu for discarding it. With a faint smile, he walked into the forest and disappeared.

***

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

A yellow-blue streak darted swiftly through the forest. Two opposing forces of extreme cold and heat surged through his body, causing Lin Zheyu intense pain. His brows were tightly furrowed as he endured it. After traveling several hundred kilometers, he finally stopped at the foot of a mountain.

A deafening rumble rang out as Lin Zheyu punched into the mountainside, blasting open a large cave. After entering, he struck again, shaking loose rocks to seal the entrance. The method he intended to use to remove the Netherfrost Flame was not something he wished others to see. The old man's strength was unfathomable, and he did not want to be discovered.

Lin Zheyu muttered thoughtfully, "The Soaring Cloud Pavilion...? Did he set his sights on me back in the market?"

Ten mid-grade spirit stones were no small temptation. One mid-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for 1,000 low-grade spirit stones. Ten of them would be enough for Lin Zheyu to buy a decent body-refining technique. But he needed to stay alive to spend it. Risk and reward went hand in hand. He did not believe in free windfalls.

Lin Zheyu grew extremely cautious and thought, I'd better avoid this market in the future if I can.

He had a feeling the old man would not give up so easily. His spiritual sense and Perception Domain spread outward from his body. After carefully scanning the area and confirming no one had followed him, Lin Zheyu let out a slight breath of relief. Even so, he did not fully relax. He set up a spiritual sense barrier within the cave. If anyone tried to probe with spiritual sense, he would detect it immediately. That was, unless the other party had special techniques or far greater strength.

After finishing all this, Lin Zheyu relaxed slightly. With a thought, the condition of his body appeared in his mind. The dark blue flames had spread throughout his flesh.

Lin Zheyu sensed its terrifying nature and muttered, "Netherfrost Flame... what a strange fire. It can actually burn life essence."

A cultivator without a sufficiently strong physique would not be able to withstand the burning of Netherfrost Flame. In just a few minutes, they would likely be reduced to ash.

Lin Zheyu flipped his right hand, and a round bead the size of a baby's fist appeared. This was one of the two beads he had taken from Qian Baiyan and Mu Feng. It was extraordinary, containing terrifying energy, so he did not even dare sell it. He intended to use it as a source of energy for Origin Force.

Use 1 unit of Origin Force to cultivate the Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art.

As the thought was sent, a vast amount of mysterious energy surged forth, flowing along his arm into the bead, sweeping up its energy and channeling it into Lin Zheyu's body.

After a few breaths, Lin Zheyu exhaled a stream of dark blue, turbid air.

Lin Zheyu let out a breath. "I've finally dealt with it."

As long as it could be solved with Origin Force, it was not a problem.

"The energy contained within the bead is indeed astonishing. After using 1 unit of Origin Force, it feels like almost nothing was consumed."

Lin Zheyu glanced at the round bead in his hand. Not selling these two beads back then had been absolutely the right decision. He felt there was a high chance that these beads were legendary golden cores! This was not a baseless guess. It was a conclusion he had drawn after gathering and analyzing various materials from the market over this period.

If these really are the golden cores of Golden Core realm cultivators, then the strength of Golden Core realm experts is truly terrifying.

He could sense the condensed, overwhelmingly terrifying energy contained within these two golden cores. That energy made his heart tremble. Lin Zheyu had killed countless Foundation Establishment realm cultivators. He had once believed that even if he could not match a Golden Core realm expert, the gap would not be too great. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

But after witnessing the terrifying energy within these suspected golden cores, he realized just how wrong he had been. The gap between Golden Core realm and Foundation Establishment realm cultivators was like a chasm, far greater than the difference between the Force Transformation realm and Marrow Refining realm.

After resolving the Netherfrost Flame, Lin Zheyu stored the golden cores away and turned his attention to the data in his mind.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 394]

[Skills: Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Primordial Thunderfire Pill Technique (Perfection), Soul-Chasing Step (Third Stage: 100%), Seven Fiend Ghost Manual (Fifth Stage: 100), Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique (Sixth Stage: 100%)]

"394 units already," Lin Zheyu murmured softly as he looked at the data.

Originally, he had planned to wait another year until his Origin Force reached 600 or 700 before entering the spacetime barrier to cultivate in seclusion. However, the old man's appearance disrupted that plan. From him, Lin Zheyu had sensed an extremely dangerous aura, and he had a feeling the old man would not give up so easily.

I have nearly 400 units of Origin Force... That should be enough. The more demon arts I cultivate, the more overlap there is, which lowers the difficulty and reduces the Origin Force required. With this much Origin Force, it should be enough to bring many techniques to a certain level.

He did not need to cultivate every technique to Perfection. As long as he raised them to a certain level and fully grasped their essence, that would be enough. What Lin Zheyu sought was not to increase his strength by perfecting each technique individually, but to integrate them all and create the strongest, most suitable Primordial Golden Body for himself.

After some thought, Lin Zheyu finally made his decision and said to himself, "I can't wait any longer. I'm going to Ruyang City!"

No matter what the old man's intentions were, as long as his strength improved, the problem would resolve itself. Moreover, the creation of the Primordial Golden Body did not need to be achieved in one go. Lin Zheyu had never intended that. He planned to turn this technique into something that could be continuously improved and iterated.

As his realm and knowledge advanced, he would upgrade it step by step, just like software updates in his previous life. Such an approach would be impossible for other martial artists, but with Origin Force, it posed no problem for Lin Zheyu.

Boom!

With a single punch, Lin Zheyu blasted open the cave and vanished into the forest in an instant. Not long after, the old man with an ethereal bearing slowly materialized. He examined the cave with curiosity and strolled inside.

The old man sniffed the air, discerning the aura within the cave.

The old man smiled as he said, "There's no trace of the Netherflame Pill. He actually resolved the Netherfrost Flame on his own. Not bad, not bad. Netherfrost Flame is a product of the Shi Family's bloodline fusion and special techniques. For this kid to handle it alone, he has some skill."

His figure flickered and vanished from the cave. When he reappeared, he was already high in the air. Looking down at Lin Zheyu's rapidly fleeing figure, a teasing smile appeared on his face. If the other party refused to cooperate, he had ways to make him comply.

The old man murmured with a smile, "Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a penalty. That wouldn't be pleasant."

He extended his right hand and flicked his middle finger. A strand of spirit power shot out and vanished into the air. After that, his figure flickered and disappeared. This time, he truly left.

***

Lin Zheyu sped through the forest. Suddenly, his steps faltered as an inexplicable sense of unease rose within him.

Lin Zheyu cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"

His spiritual sense surged out, sweeping over his body again and again, yet it found nothing unusual. Lin Zheyu did not relax because of this. A vague intuition lingered, a warning from somewhere unseen. It made him feel that something was wrong, as if danger was quietly stirring in the shadows.

"That old man has indeed set his sights on me," Lin Zheyu murmured.

Finding nothing wrong with himself, Lin Zheyu could only attribute this uneasy feeling to the old man from earlier. Only he could make him feel such a deep sense of danger.

"I'm not going back. I'll head straight to Ruyang City!" Lin Zheyu decided decisively.

He had originally planned to return and leave a message for Elder Yang and the others, so they would not worry. But now, he feared the old man might be following him in secret. Returning rashly could expose his identity and cause even greater trouble. His figure shifted, changing direction as he headed toward Ruyang City.