"Mm." The hunchbacked Elder Zhou, lightly nodded and asked indifferently, "What brings you here today?"

Huang Mingyang quickly explained Fang Chen’s recent entry into the Void Immortal Sword Sect and mentioned that Fang Chen had been accepted as a disciple by Wang Zhenlong.

Elder Zhou remained calm, only nodding slightly before addressing Fang Chen, "Kid, you're at the mid stage of the Golden Core Realm?"

"That's right," Fang Chen replied.

"Let’s see your Golden Core," Elder Zhou instructed.

Huang Mingyang and Langya Wenqiu’s eyes lit up with anticipation; they were curious to see what quality Fang Chen’s Golden Core was.

"

Little Mirror, do you think they can recognize a Sword Core

?"

"

No way. At least that guy in front of you can’t.

"

Reassured by Little Zhou's response, Fang Chen had no reservations. With a thought, a Golden Core enveloped in a faint, shimmering white light appeared before them.

Huang Mingyang and Langya Wenqiu were both startled, their disbelief palpable.

"A white one?"

Isn’t this a white core?

Typically, white cores were seen as the result of poor quality, often found in rogue cultivators with weak foundations.

Forming a white core usually meant the cultivator’s chances of advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm were nearly impossible. Even with great luck or opportunities, those who reached the Nascent Soul Realm with a white core would be mediocre at best, with a bleak future.

Langya Wenqiu’s face was pale. "Why… why would Senior Brother Fang's Golden Core be a white core… this makes no sense.…"

"Fang Chen, did you use some kind of technique to conceal the true quality of your Golden Core? Quickly remove it!" said Huang Mingyang, forcing a smile, trying to convince himself otherwise.

"I didn't use any technique," Fang Chen shook his head slightly, his face showing a hint of confusion. "Is there something wrong with my Golden Core?"

"Wrong? Of course, there's something wrong… It's a huge problem," Elder Zhou's face darkened as he turned to Huang Mingyang. "Are you sure he's a disciple of Supreme Emperor Wang?"

"I'm sure..." Huang Mingyang responded with a wry smile.

"Before accepting a disciple, how could Supreme Emperor Wang not verify their foundation? A white core... just how poor must one's foundation be to form a white core? With such talent, he’s not even qualified to join the Void Immortal Sword Sect, let alone cultivate the Void Immortal Sword Manual." Elder Zhou shook his head slowly. "This matter is beyond my control. As the one responsible for the teachings, I cannot pass him a technique. Take him away."

Huang Mingyang panicked at this and quickly interjected, "But he's a disciple of Supreme Emperor Wang...."

"So what if he is? If someone insists on passing on the technique, let Supreme Emperor Wang do it himself. Here, my responsibility is to determine if the disciples are qualified to cultivate the sect’s techniques." Elder Zhou shook his head lightly, casting a brief glance at Fang Chen with a trace of disdain in his eyes. "As far as I’m concerned, he is not qualified."

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

With those words, Elder Zhou turned and left, not giving Huang Mingyang another chance to speak.

Many disciples of Extreme Sword Peak witnessed this scene, and their expressions turned odd and confused.

They had seen Fang Chen's strength firsthand. If his foundation was poor, how could he possibly possess such powerful offensive abilities?

But why had he formed a white core? Could it be that something went wrong during his breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm?

The disciples found this theory to be the most plausible explanation, and their gazes towards Fang Chen now carried a sense of pity.

Forming a white core… had really put his future prospects in jeopardy.

"Senior Brother Fang, there must be some kind of mistake. How could your Golden Core possibly be a white core? Let’s go find the Peak Master and ask for guidance. The Peak Master might know the reason," Langya Wenqiu suggested in a low voice.

Huang Mingyang nodded. "Yes, let's consult the Peak Master. I also think something’s not right with Fang Chen's golden core."

Fang Chen felt a bit disappointed that he couldn’t gain access to the Void Immortal Sword Manual, but he had long-expected misunderstandings about his Golden Core and had no intention of clarifying. In fact, it would be best if this news reached the Spirit Blood Sect.

"Actually, I did encounter a bit of trouble when I advanced to the Golden Core Realm," Fang Chen mused aloud.

Huang Mingyang and Langya Wenqiu were taken aback, while the surrounding inner sect disciples instinctively nodded, as if their suspicions had been confirmed.

After a few moments of silence, Huang Mingyang sighed softly. "You don’t need to worry too much. A white core is still a Golden Core. Though it may affect your path ahead, cultivation is unpredictable, and nothing is certain."

"Exactly!" Langya Wenqiu quickly added. "So what if it’s a white core? At worst, you’ll just need to take more elixirs and use more spirit stones."

Fang Chen smiled calmly. "Don’t worry, you two. This matter won’t affect my state of mind. If there’s nothing else, I plan to return to my cave and go into seclusion for a while.”

The two were relieved. It seemed Fang Chen didn’t really take the matter of the white core to heart, and that was enough. After all, when a cultivator’s mental state was disturbed, no amount of talent could be of use. Especially on the path of a sword cultivator, where a stable heart was paramount!

Returning to his cave, Fang Chen glanced at the familiar arrangements within and let out a soft sigh.

The cave had been damaged before, and the layout and arrangements showed signs of reconstruction. Apart from a few peach trees outside, there was little left of any traces left behind by Fairy Yu.

After a few moments of silence, Fang Chen took out 500 mid-grade spirit stones and injected them into the stone orb, entering the Three Thousand Dao Realm.

With a thought, a ghostly green flame surged before him.

This was the Serene Demon Flame, a flame-condensing method from the Yellow rank introductory tome of the Heavenly Supreme Pill Technique. Fang Chen took various spiritual materials from his storage ring and threw them one by one into the fire in the correct sequence and quantity.

As soon as the materials touched the fire, they began to melt. When all the hundred or so materials had been added, a red-gold liquid constantly churned within the Serene Demon Flame.

The Heavenly Supreme Pill Technique didn’t require precise control over the fire’s intensity, so after completing this step, Fang Chen only needed to maintain the continuous flow of the Serene Demon Flame. After 49 days, the elixir would naturally form.

While this seemed straightforward, the most difficult part was refining the flame itself. However, for Fang Chen, who possessed the Radiant Divine Eyes, the step was relatively easy.

The Serene Demon Flame was a technique at the Nascent Soul level. Fortunately, Fang Chen not only had the Radiant Divine Eyes but also an abundant supply of spiritual energy. Even if it was depleted, he could instantly recover, which gave him the conditions necessary to refine the Little Feather Spirit Pill.

However, there was one uncertainty—during the brief moment of spiritual energy depletion and recovery, that fleeting gap could potentially affect the success of refining the Little Feather Spirit Pill.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

Just sitting still to maintain the Serene Demon Flame had exhausted all his spiritual energy within that one day. When his energy reached its limit, it began to rapidly recover, and that fleeting moment of energy depletion did not affect the flame.

Fang Chen breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that refining the Little Feather Spirit Pill wouldn’t be a problem after all.

Days went by, and before he knew it, it was the day of forming the elixir. The red-gold liquid seemed to have reached the right temperature, starting to boil. Soon, it transformed into a pill the size of a longan at a visible speed.

Fang Chen quickly extinguished the Serene Demon Flame and reached out to catch the elixir before him. It emitted a completely different aura from the Spirit Essence Pill.

However, according to the recipe, its effects were similar to the Spirit Essence Pill; it could enhance the cultivation of a Nascent Soul practitioner for five years. Even if a Golden Core Realm cultivator consumed it and couldn’t absorb all its effects, the results might not be weaker than those of a true Spirit Essence Pill.

Those fifty or so days of alchemy, coupled with countless instances of spiritual energy depletion and recovery, served as a form of cultivation for Fang Chen. Now that he had obtained the Little Feather Spirit Pill, he pondered whether he could break through another realm within the next ten years in the Three Thousand Dao Realm.

However, he realized that refining the remaining spiritual materials into Little Feather Spirit Pills would take about fourteen years. This meant that half of this time would have to be dedicated to alchemy.