Chapter 4138 — The Strongest Golden Core Expert

When all was said and done, the reason the power of the stars injured his meridians was simply that true qi alone, wrapping around it, could never fully control it. But what if he refined it outside his body first, and only then drew it in?

To outsiders, the idea sounded like a fairy tale; but applied to Wei Zhao, it was not necessarily impossible, because he was an alchemist!

So long as he mastered the heat, Wei Zhao stood every chance of refining the power of the stars outside his body and then drawing it into his **meridians**.

No sooner thought than done. Wei Zhao brought out the skill of an alchemist and refined the power of the stars bit by bit outside his body—and when he tried, it worked!

Time slipped away drop by drop. From the moment Wei Zhao began his seclusion, fully three days and three nights had now passed.

Di Xingdao, Tian Chan, Xueli, and the others kept tense watch outside the door, while Hou Guanqi and Cai Zhongxuan, upon hearing the news, came over every morning and evening to inquire, fearful that something might have happened to Wei Zhao. Assailing the golden core was difficult to begin with, and attempting it while leaping a stage was all the more fraught with peril; anything could happen.

For a closed-door breakthrough to the golden core, three days could by no means be called long. Yet watching the time slip by, Di Xingdao could not keep a touch of unease from stirring in his heart. After all, the longer it dragged on, the rougher the process, and the greater the likelihood that something had gone wrong.

In the end, Wei Zhao had decided to break through ahead of schedule in order to refine the Gestation Golden Core for him. If it truly ended in qi deviation, Di Xingdao would have to live out the rest of his days in guilt.

Having someone buy two jars of wine, Di Xingdao simply set up a table outside the door and drank while he waited. Yet he had barely filled a cup when Wei Zhao's voice came from behind him: "Big Brother Tian, in such fine spirits—why not wait for your little brother to drink with you?"

"Brother Wei Zhao, you… succeeded?" Di Xingdao turned to look at Wei Zhao, who seemed reborn, a completely different man, and was at once startled and overjoyed.

"All thanks to you, Big Brother Tian. If you hadn't taught me everything you know, I could never have been so smooth this time," Wei Zhao said with a chuckle.

"A perfect breakthrough—the strongest Golden Core expert. Truly extraordinary!" Di Xingdao looked Wei Zhao up and down, his eyes lighting up.

The Wei Zhao of before had been, in his eyes, merely a harmless young friend. Yet now the wholly new aura about Wei Zhao vaguely made him feel a trace of threat, faint as it was—and even though his own strength had yet to recover, he still possessed the power of a Golden Core at great perfection!

Di Xingdao could not help sighing inwardly. Where on earth had this freak of a young brother of his sprung from? He was even more of a madman than Di Xingdao himself had been in his day!

After all, even with a perfect breakthrough, the so-called strongest Golden Core expert was merely invincible among his own level. It was impossible for a mere early-stage Golden Core expert to go straight up against one at great perfection. Yet in Wei Zhao's case, it had actually wrung a flicker of alarm from Di Xingdao—simply inconceivable.

Just then Tian Chan and Xueli came running at the sound, both looking at Wei Zhao with delight, one on each side, clinging to his arms.

In their eyes, whether Wei Zhao was strong or not was secondary; the only thing that mattered was that he lived well. After all, he was the pillar of their spirits now.

"I'm fine. Sorry to have worried you," Wei Zhao said with a smile to comfort the two women, then turned to Di Xingdao: "Big Brother Tian, something has just occurred to me. The refining of the Gestation Golden Core will have to be pushed back a few days—would that be all right?"

"Oh? Of course, no problem. But what is it? Do you need my help?" Di Xingdao paused slightly, then nodded. Eager as he was to recover his strength, he did not care about a mere few days.

"No need. But for the next few days, our Tiandan Pavilion will have to close for a while," Wei Zhao said, glancing at the two women with a smile.

"Why? Aren't we doing just fine?" Tian Chan and Xueli were startled.

"The Tiandan Pavilion's business is important, but Little Chan, Xueli—don't you feel your own strength is a bit lacking?" Wei Zhao smiled meaningfully.

"Huh?" Tian Chan and Xueli exchanged looks, while Di Xingdao nearby was utterly baffled.

"The three of us—let's enter seclusion together," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.

This suggestion, made so abruptly, was the flash of inspiration that had just come to Wei Zhao. Tian Chan and Xueli were only at the early Foundation Establishment stage—the very bottom rung in this Central Island crowded with experts. Even with the Tiandan Pavilion as a foothold, with only that much strength, the two of them would still struggle to gain a firm footing in the days to come.

What lay before Wei Zhao as the pressing task was to raise the two women's strength as quickly as possible. He had already given them Foundation Establishment golden cores, but in the short term the effect would hardly be immediate.

And then Wei Zhao suddenly recalled a method by which he could swiftly raise the two women's strength. Back in the mortal world, he had been able to forcibly elevate the cultivation realms of his other beauties and his underlings.

The same method might well work now. He was already an early-stage Golden Core expert—so could he raise Tian Chan and Xueli to the realm of Foundation Establishment at great perfection?

This experiment was of great importance, bearing directly on how Wei Zhao would cultivate his forces in the future. That was why he had suddenly proposed that the two women enter seclusion with him.

Hearing Wei Zhao's plan, Tian Chan and Xueli were both startled and delighted. Their experiences since coming to Cloud Terrace Island had made them keenly aware of the importance of strength.

Beauty is a curse; at the very least they needed the strength to protect themselves, so as to avoid bringing too much trouble upon Wei Zhao.

The experiment began. Wei Zhao's method was exactly the same as in the mortal world: circulating the Xuanyuan Dragon Taming Art, he channeled the vast true qi within him into each of the two women's bodies.

Sure enough, Tian Chan and Xueli discovered to their delight that the vast true qi sent over from Wei Zhao's hands gradually merged with their own, and their cultivation realms visibly began to rise with it!

This result thrilled Wei Zhao enormously. In a sense, the value of this discovery was in no way inferior even to his own successful breakthrough to the golden core.

It meant that so long as Wei Zhao himself was strong enough, whenever he wished, he could—just as in the mortal world—turn his beauties and his underlings into genuine experts at any time!

If Wei Zhao alone were strong, others would at most be somewhat wary, not truly afraid; after all, no matter how strong a person is, he still has weaknesses in the end. Especially if the beauties and underlings around him were all weak—that would be an inescapable fatal flaw.R1152