Top Grade Immortal Emperor in the Flower City

Streams of spiritual power surged towards the Dantian, as if being devoured by a black hole.

Ye Ling, standing at the pinnacle, couldn't help but smile knowingly. This rhythm signaled the formation of a Golden Core; it was happening too fast, his breakthrough speed was too rapid.

In just one day, he had broken through from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Golden Core Stage. If he were to speak of this, probably no one would believe it.

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The speed was simply too fast. It was Ye Ling after all, who, despite starting his cultivation anew, had the experience of an Immortal Emperor as his foundation, making no cultivation issue too difficult for him.

Inside Ye Ling's body, at the Dantian, spiritual power began to spin crazily, rapidly whirling into a vortex, and within this vortex, a radiant point was slowly emerging.

The light grew brighter and larger, eventually becoming the size of a thumb, and only then did the spiritual power within Ye Ling's body slowly vanish, all condensing into this light.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

And this thumb-sized light was the Golden Core, a symbol of an entire realm.

Ye Ling smiled, his palm closing gently, and a matchlessly powerful force quietly erupted in his hand, terrifying and boundless, its waves sweeping through the entire vicinity.

But then Ye Ling was startled, for he found himself still at the Foundation Establishment Stage, yet it was clear he had already formed a Golden Core. Why was he still at the Foundation Establishment Stage?

This puzzled him a great deal. Damn it, he had cultivated for millions of years and had never encountered such a freak occurrence, it was practically a joke.

Could it be that he was too handsome and wise, so brilliant and valiant that the Heavenly Dao was envious, thus not allowing him to break through to the Golden Core Stage?

What a ridiculous joke. If he really couldn't break through to the Golden Core Stage, then why let him condense a Golden Core in the first place?

Ye Ling was somewhat bewildered, but he swiftly regained his composure. He had experienced everything; what was this trivial matter? There would be a way when he got to the mountain, so he just needed to keep going.

Just then, the ladder to the heavens began to shake, and with a tip of his toes, Ye Ling gently floated down to the base of the ladder.

"Ye Ling! You're damn awesome! How many levels did you actually reach?" Shenfeng asked excitedly, his voice filled with immense enthusiasm.

Li Tianhao and the others were also listening intently; they all wanted to know how far Ye Ling had gone.

But Ye Ling shook his head, "I didn't go very far before I was blasted down, but at least I went higher than the Saintess."

It wasn't that Ye Ling wasn't telling the truth, but such a thing was almost a fantasy, completely astonishing. If other people with ulterior motives learned of it, it might have other undesirable effects.

It was not that Ye Ling was afraid, but his years of roaming the Immortal Realm had taught him one truth: no one is invincible, no matter where they are.

A tall tree catches the wind—Ye Ling understood this principle well.

Seeing that Ye Ling didn't want to say more, the others didn't press further. At this moment, the ladder that led to Cangqiong suddenly shattered, its stones falling piece by piece into the void and vanishing without a trace.

After the ladder was shattered, a huge round stele appeared in the center of the void, still being pulled by eight chains, hovering in midair.

"Those who pass 500 steps may enter; all others, leave!"

An authoritative voice rang out. Those who had not passed the 500 steps all left with expressions of regret. While on the ladder, they had understood that the creator of this place was surely a Tongtian figure of immense power.

Their words here were the will of the gods, with no one able to defy them.

Over a hundred left, leaving less than three hundred strong individuals who were all extremely thrilled. To them, moving forward signified new opportunities.

At the very least, their experiences on the ladder had allowed many to somewhat breakthrough on their own, something ordinary cultivation could not bring, possibly only realized in life and death struggles.

With a whirring sound, a wooden bridge extended from the floating round stele towards where everyone stood, and then flashed with a vast golden light, appearing very sacred.

Ye Ling stepped forward first, and upon seeing this, the rest hurriedly followed. As everyone stepped onto the stone slab, the path that brought them there suddenly disappeared.

Everyone was startled, and then, right at the center of the stone slab, a wisp of black smoke quietly emerged. Within this thick black smoke, there were two clusters of eerie green lights.

Whoosh, the black smoke moved and instantly took on a human shape; pieces of dark iron combined into armor, enclosing the black smoke within.

A helmet also appeared quietly, and within it, everyone could only see two clusters of green light—the eyes of this strange person.

A long saber quietly materialized on the black smoke's arm, and the figure formed by the black smoke slowly moved; a weird voice came from inside the helmet, making one's scalp tingle.

"If you want to pass this challenge, defeat me, and you may pass. Otherwise, death awaits!"

The black smoke creature let out a piercing cackle, lifting the saber in its hand, and a flash of the blade struck the ground, sending a terrifying energy that tore a crack into it.

"The one who passes may obtain a treasure within this void!"

The black smoke creature raised a hand, and behind it appeared a mysterious black hole with black light winding around its surface, about ten square meters in size, floating in mid-air.

Everyone's expression was tense; the strength of this black smoke creature was formidable, causing even the seasoned cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage to look grave, sensing waves of chilling murderous intent.

However, Ye Ling just curled his lips and said, "I was just thinking about testing out my fists. Come on, I'll give you three moves!"

After Ye Ling spoke, the black smoke creature paused, momentarily stunned, and its normally shaking saber also stopped, causing it to stagger a few steps backward.

"Heh heh, of course, you are an exception, sir. Please, go ahead," the black smoke creature said awkwardly, presumably also smiling wryly. As soon as these words came out, the others became furious. What did he mean by that, bullying the weak?

"If I catch your eyes with wicked intentions again, I will cut you down on the spot!" the black smoke creature roared angrily.

Ye Ling nodded, "Exactly, just kill all these old farts. A bunch of no-goods who still like to bounce around. But of course, I'm not referring to the people from Huaxia."

"You're right, sir. Those not of our kind surely have different hearts," the black smoke creature agreed repeatedly.

Ye Ling looked up proudly, "That's natural. In a moment, I'll chop up all these old farts for you!"

"Heh heh, you go ahead first, and watch how I torture them!" the black smoke creature said fawningly.

Its strength was only at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, but it could feel the terrifying aura that was faintly discernible on Ye Ling, and it dared not obstruct him.

Ye Ling nodded, "I want to take a few people with me, lest you harm them later on."

"Sir, this, this is not according to the rules," the black smoke creature said with an awkward smile.

Suddenly, Ye Ling became furious, "What are the rules? Huh! What are the rules? Don't you know what they mean?"

"I don't know, sir, I'm so senseless!" the black smoke creature was almost in tears, wondering what was going on. This wasn't a challenge—it was more like dealing with a tyrant.

"I—I'm speechless... this invincible phrase, today it's been countered by a wisp of black smoke, you're senseless... damn it!" Ye Ling was at a loss for words, and indeed, he was thwarted.

"So, will you let me bring them? Will you? If not, I'll eliminate you first!" Ye Ling threatened, his voice fierce and angry.

The black smoke creature hesitated but then nodded repeatedly, deciding it was better not to provoke this young master.

"That's wise of you. Tell me, what's the best thing inside that black hole?" Ye Ling asked with a nod and a smile.

The black smoke creature was completely dumbfounded; it was like dealing with a bandit.

"Sir, I truly don't know. Please spare me!" The black smoke creature begged for mercy, wanting to cry but having no tears.