Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest-Chapter 555 - 51: Not Enough Favorability

Chapter 555: Chapter 51: Not Enough Favorability

Zhao Yuanzhen and Xie Ruoxi, in the bedroom, tore open the snack bags and twisted open the drink bottles, and started to eat and drink in style.

“You’ve already reached the Hua Mansion Stage,” Zhao Yuanzhen said casually, “Do you know the difference between the Hua Mansion Stage and the Marrow Cleansing Stage?”

“Uh…” Xie Ruoxi pondered and asked, “Is it like the difference between Specialization Stage Two and Specialization Stage One?”

The two girls looked at each other for a moment, neither understanding what the other meant. Zhao Yuanzhen didn’t dwell on it and calmly said:

“The most important part of the Hua Mansion Stage is the Purple Mansion. The Purple Mansion is your Dantian continually nourished by True Yuan, eventually transforming into a house, and then your Golden Core will reside inside it.”

“Golden Cores are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. The longer your Dantian is nourished by True Yuan, the higher the quality of the Golden Core when it forms. But forming a Golden Core requires Crossing Celestial Tribulation, and the higher the rank of the Golden Core, the stronger the heavenly tribulation. If you can’t pass it, you’re dead, so if your strength isn’t enough, it’s not advisable to aim too high.”

“Hmm…” Xie Ruoxi hesitated and asked, “In that case, what are the benefits of raising the rank of a Golden Core?”

“The benefits are numerous,” Zhao Yuanzhen laughed heartily, “A top-grade Golden Core is like being from a 985 college, a middle-grade Golden Core is like being from a first-tier university, and a lower-grade Golden Core can only be akin to a diploma.”

“Don’t make analogies with academic achievements!” Xie Ruoxi screamed, “You’re making me completely lose confidence!”

The two then ate some more snacks. Zhao Yuanzhen, her mouth stuffed full, suddenly heard Xie Ruoxi ask:

“How long does nurturing a top-grade Golden Core take then?”

“That’s hard to say,” Zhao Yuanzhen shook her head and said, “Actually, the tricky part is Crossing the Celestial Tribulation.”

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The efficiency of nurturing the Purple Mansion changes with the surrounding Spiritual Energy concentration. For example, in the Cultivation World before her transmigration, theoretically, forming a top-grade Golden Core required over three hundred seventy years of cultivation, but a cultivator without a Golden Core only has a lifespan of up to two hundred years, so achieving it without some lifespan-extending or power-increasing heaven-sent treasures is impossible.

But Zhao Yuanzhen heard from her master that it wasn’t always like this in the ancient Cultivation World. Back then, when Spiritual Energy was extremely abundant, anyone with a Cultivation Physique could become immortal; there weren’t even distinctions such as upper, middle, and lower grades. People in the Hua Mansion Stage could casually cultivate for fifty or sixty years and be guaranteed at least a middle-grade Golden Core—a golden age for cultivators indeed.

As the world aged and overall Spiritual Energy concentration decreased, the requirements for Golden Core grades also increased. The previously attainable peak gradually became unreachable and the lower limit also kept declining, even leading to terms like “false cores” and “lower-grade Golden Cores,” which indeed signifies the tragedy of the times.

However, the world of Earth is completely different.

As a “newborn Spiritual Energy world” currently undergoing a resurgence, the Spiritual Energy concentration on Earth is quite high. The same amount of Spiritual Energy here is ten or even twenty times the quality compared to the Cultivation World, which is why in just over a year and two months since the resurgence of Spiritual Energy began, someone has already cultivated up to the Hua Mansion Stage from scratch.

Therefore, nurturing time for the Dantian is not much of an issue, the real threshold lies in the Golden Core Celestial Tribulation. With higher Spiritual Energy concentration, not only is nurturing efficiency high, but even the heavenly tribulations are much more severe, and that’s the real headache.

“Crossing the tribulation, eh.” Xie Ruoxi suddenly shuddered with fear and exclaimed, “Wait, I am the first in the world to enter the Hua Mansion Stage, which means…”

“You’re very likely the first to cross the tribulation as well,” Zhao Yuanzhen said, suddenly taking delight in her misfortune, “Haha, I really can’t help you with this, I haven’t crossed the tribulation either. You’d better get ready yourself.”

Xie Ruoxi’s face went pale as she stood up abruptly, turned, and left the room. She dashed down the stairs and quickly sprinted to kneel in front of Yan Yu, grabbing his calves and crying out:

“Captain, save me!”

“Huh?” Yan Yu was bewildered.

Su Yunjin and Lin Ning in the kitchen also looked over, only to hear Xie Ruoxi sobbing and stammering out what Zhao Yuanzhen had said once again.

“This… I can’t help you either,” Yan Yu spread his hands and said, “I haven’t crossed the tribulation either.”

This was true. In his previous life, he couldn’t cultivate, and the potency of True Yuan depended entirely on the provider’s cultivation progress. While other cultivators needed to cross tribulations, mortal warriors did not; they simply waited for successful Golden Core Cultivators to infuse the powerful True Yuan of the Golden Core Stage into containers and that was it.

Since Crossing Tribulation is a core secret, directly affecting a cultivator’s life or death, Lu Country maintains a very high level of confidentiality on cultivators’ tribulations, providing no written information but instead offering expert teams for guidance—the knowledge is all in the experts’ heads, making it impossible for mortal warriors to find out.

“I’m doomed, utterly doomed,” Xie Ruoxi said amidst her fear, “I don’t want to be the first to cross the tribulation! I’m going to stop cultivating, right now!”

Yan Yu couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time, comforting her:

“Don’t worry, I’ve heard that heavenly tribulations don’t just happen out of the blue, they occur when you try to condense the Golden Core in your Dantian. Just cultivate until you reach Great Perfection at the Hua Mansion Stage, then just wait without forming the core, won’t we be fine then?”

Xie Ruoxi finally calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Yunjin in the kitchen narrowed her eyes, sensing that Yan Yu’s words were half-truths.

It’s true that Crossing Tribulation requires the cultivator to form the core on their own, which means Xie Ruoxi could temporarily avoid it. But would Zhendong Army or the Privy Council allow it?

Think about it, even her advancement to the Hua Mansion Stage had to be extensively publicized nationwide. Once she reached Perfection in the Foundation Establishment Realm, they would surely use every means to make her form the core as soon as possible!

That was the first Golden Core Cultivator in the world!

Xie Ruoxi didn’t think so much, just continually patted her chest, saying anxiously:

“Then Captain, you must cultivate quickly, you can’t make me wait too long.”

“What, you have a problem with me?” Yan Yu’s face suddenly turned cold.

“No.” Xie Ruoxi forced a laugh, saying, “I just hope you can cultivate faster so you can catch up with my progress… Ah no no, I’m not saying you are slow, I just don’t dare to be the first to cross the tribulation, I’m scared…”

“What’s there to be scared of about crossing the tribulation?” Yan Yu said disdainfully, “If you are the first one to cross the Golden Core heavenly tribulation, you will definitely be the most valued by the Privy Council, and they might even mobilize national resources to ensure your successful tribulation. That would be your good fortune!”

“Is there any cultivator in the country who has successfully crossed the tribulation?” Xie Ruoxi asked.

“There isn’t, you are the first.” Yan Yu said.

“Then there’s no guarantee at all!” Xie Ruoxi screamed, “How can we ensure my successful tribulation then!”

“So noisy!” Yan Yu said impatiently, “Anyway, don’t stop your breathing and energy refining exercises, if you’re scared of the tribulation just wait at the Great Perfection stage!”

Seeing that Yan Yu refused to pay her any attention, Xie Ruoxi staggered to her feet and walked towards the stairs.

“Ruoxi, don’t go upstairs!” Lin Ning called from the kitchen, “It’s almost time for dinner!”

“I… I’m going to write my will.” Xie Ruoxi burst into tears.

Luckily, Chen Lingyun was just coming downstairs, passing by the tear-streaked Xie Ruoxi, and curiously asked everyone:

“What happened to her?”

“She heard about core formation and has to cross the heavenly tribulation, she’s terrified.” Su Yunjin replied.

“Is that so.” Chen Lingyun mused for a moment and then suddenly laughed, “Ah, I forgot to get my cell phone, I have to go back for it.”

She then headed back upstairs, reached Xie Ruoxi’s bedroom door, knocked, and asked:

“Ruoxi, are you worried about crossing the Golden Core tribulation?”

“Yes.” Xie Ruoxi sobbed, “I don’t want to cross the tribulation.”

“Don’t be afraid.” Chen Lingyun said with a smile, “I think Yan Yu won’t let you face such a life-threatening risk.”

“But he said he can’t help me…” Xie Ruoxi said, feeling aggrieved.

“He’s always been sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, haven’t you realized that by now?” Chen Lingyun coaxed gently, “Think about it, wasn’t your Thunder Method chosen by him?”

“Yes.”

“Is it useful?”

“Very useful.”

“That shows he’s actually been planning your future all along, hasn’t he?” Chen Lingyun said cheerfully, “How could he possibly not have considered something as important as the Golden Core heavenly tribulation?”

“Then… did I misunderstand him?” Xie Ruoxi hesitantly asked, “But I’m still scared. If he has a solution, why doesn’t he tell me to put my mind at ease?”

“Maybe because the affection points aren’t high enough.” Chen Lingyun winked, smiling, “Look, in games, isn’t there often such a setting? Only when affection points reach a certain level will the target character open up to you.”

“I see.” Xie Ruoxi suddenly realized, “So, because the affection points aren’t high enough, he’s not willing to look after my feelings.”

“You should foster more affection with the Captain, Ruoxi.” Chen Lingyun suggested suggestively, “The captain is a boy too, sometimes giving him a little treat, his affection points will surely skyrocket, right?”

Xie Ruoxi pondered.

Indeed, the moments when a domineering CEO falls for the female lead are often unexpected close encounters.

That means, I can also…