Chapter 157: Battling Golden Cores

The sky-filling suicidal attacks of the blood mosquitoes left the two Golden Core Cultivators in a state of misery. One was a Chief of the Yin Corpse Sect and the other was a leader of a Demon Subduing Division branch, yet neither had ever seen such a bizarre Blood Path Demonic Technique that could actually simulate the characteristics of Cloud Sea Mosquito Beasts.

Despite their Golden Core cultivation, facing such a vast number of blood beasts attacking with reckless abandon made their scalps tingle. After defeating hundreds of blood mosquitoes, the Mosquito Beasts still came in a continuous stream. The two decided they couldn’t afford to keep wasting time like this.

Initially, seeing that Lin Jing was merely at the Qi Refinement Stage, the two had moved to kill him without a second thought.

But who would have known that this Qi Refinement Cultivator couldn’t be judged by common logic? Not only did he have a powerful Gu insect hidden in his body, but he also had a Foundation Establishment Pet Beast that could use Spatial Magic!

Realizing that Lin Jing would be difficult to deal with, the two began to make other plans.

“Fellow Daoist, there is no grievance between us. Driving us to extinction won’t benefit you at all. If we resolve to shatter our Golden Cores and drop back to the Foundation Establishment Stage to unleash our Divine Abilities, you will surely perish here as well!”

The two Golden Cores stood in the center of the mosquito swarm, their gazes piercing. The Golden Core power within them circulated frantically, and their entire auras surged.

“If your goal is these twins, we’ll give them to you. But if you push your luck, none of us will have a good time.”

Lin Jing stood protectively in front of the twin physique, looking up at the Golden Cores in the sky who were surrounded by the blood mosquito army controlled by the Pine Leaf Squirrel. He didn’t think they were bluffing.

He had already experienced the power of the Red Armor Demon Guard’s Golden Core Divine Ability just now. Even with his power fused with the Ice Soul Gu, he couldn’t block it. If he were hit, he would certainly be severely injured.

A Golden Core Divine Ability—once a Golden Core Cultivator uses one, the Golden Core will inevitably suffer wear and tear. Repairing a Golden Core is extremely difficult; without top-grade healing Spirit Medicine, it might require several decades of secluded cultivation to recover.

And that was just ordinary wear and tear on the Golden Core.

If one performed a Golden Core Divine Ability with the resolve to shatter the Golden Core, it truly became a fight to the death. Once the Golden Core shattered, the Golden Core Cultivator would drop to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Without a heaven-defying Opportunity, it would be nearly impossible to return to the Golden Core stage.

The two were threatening Lin Jing by using their shattered Golden Cores to unleash the strongest form of their Golden Core Divine Abilities. Their intention was clear: they wanted Lin Jing to quit while he was ahead and not force a mutually destructive outcome.

“Full-power Golden Core Divine Abilities, huh…?” Facing the threat of the two Golden Cores, the corners of Lin Jing’s mouth curled up slightly.

This ultimate move and trump card of a Golden Core Cultivator—before forming a Nascent Soul, any Golden Core Cultivator who used it would affect their Golden Core. Only at the Nascent Soul Stage could one withstand the backlash of a Golden Core Divine Ability. Therefore, between ordinary Golden Cores, unless the difference in strength was particularly vast, they wouldn’t easily let things escalate into a battle of Divine Abilities.

It was now a rare sight for two Golden Cores to be forced into threatening someone with their Divine Abilities by a Qi Refinement Cultivator.

Next, Lin Jing used his actions to inform the two that he did not fear this threat.

Not only did the Pine Leaf Squirrel continue to control the blood mosquito army to sustain the attack, but Lin Jing himself also raised his right hand, shooting out spider silk toward the two.

“Careful, those threads contain terrifying Gu poison! This Gu poison nearly controlled even me; I could only barely suppress it by using a Golden Core Divine Ability. Whatever you do, don’t get hit.” The Yin Corpse Sect Chief quickly warned, mainly because he didn’t want the Red Armor Demon Guard to become Lin Jing’s puppet and turn around to deal with him.

“Corpse-player, let me tell you something. Even if you’ve briefly suppressed the Gu poison now, it’s only a brief suppression. No one but me can cure this poison. Soon, the Gu poison will continue to spread through your body until it freezes your Soul to death. Do you still want me to leave now?” Lin Jing’s fingers flickered as he controlled the white threads to pursue the two Golden Cores.

The Yin Corpse Sect Cultivator swept his Corpse Banner, turning the intercepted blood mosquitoes into falling rotting blood. A hint of coldness appeared in his eyes. Before Lin Jing spoke, he hadn’t paid much attention, but after Lin Jing said those words, a sense of panic couldn’t help but rise in his heart.

Because this Gu insect was indeed strange; it could even seize control of his Corpse Puppets and even infect him through the spiritual connection between him and the Corpse Puppets. Its Bloodline was likely extremely terrifying. Gu poisons were already difficult to remove, and facing this bizarre Gu insect, he himself had no confidence that he could find a way to detoxify it after returning.

“Since you insist on seeking death, then don’t blame this old man.”

The Yin Corpse Sect Chief stopped flying and looked at the white silk thread shooting straight for his head. He actually reached out and grabbed it.

He no longer dodged. At the same time, the corpse spots on his body became more numerous.

Golden Core Divine Ability: Heavenly Corpse Transformation.

It could temporarily transform one’s Physique into a special Corpse Puppet Physique, greatly strengthening the Physical Body in all aspects and suppressing various negative forces. Just now, he had relied on the Heavenly Corpse Transformation to briefly suppress the Ice Soul Gu’s poison and avoid being directly controlled.

Now, compared to the normally executed Heavenly Corpse Transformation from before, he consumed an even more massive amount of Golden Core power. As countless cracks appeared on his Golden Core, his entire body underwent an even more terrifying corpse transformation, and soon he no longer looked human.

He grabbed the spider silk. Since he was already poisoned, he no longer considered the toxicity of the Gu insect. Now he had only one thought: to capture Lin Jing alive and find a way to detoxify the poison.

However, in the next second, a cold wind blew by, and along with a spatial ripple, Lin Jing, the Pine Leaf Squirrel, and the two twin physiques directly vanished from the spot.

The Yin Corpse Sect Chief was stunned. His Divine Sense swept out, but within its range, he couldn’t capture the slightest trace of Lin Jing or the twin physiques. All that remained on the scene were the sky-filling blood mosquitoes, which, having lost the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s control, continued to attack the two based on their instinctive ferocity.

At the same time, high in the sky, Lin Jing used an illusion to conceal his presence and watched the scene below.

“You kid, you sure run fast.” Divine Pine looked at the scattered red leaves and saw through Lin Jing’s tactics at a glance.

A Golden Core Divine Ability is powerful, but as long as it doesn’t hit the enemy, it’s meaningless.

Although the two Golden Core Cultivators threatened him verbally, they likely wouldn’t easily use their full-power Golden Core Divine Abilities unless they were in a desperate situation.

After all, Lin Jing had Spatial Magic and had already successfully evaded a Divine Ability once. Without a guaranteed hit,

even if they used a Divine Ability, it might be to no avail.

However, through the Gu poison, Lin Jing had inversely threatened the Yin Corpse Sect Cultivator. If he didn’t capture Lin Jing alive, there would be no cure for his Gu poison. In this situation, using a Golden Core Divine Ability to capture Lin Jing alive actually became something the opponent felt they had to do.

That Yin Corpse Sect Cultivator’s Golden Core Divine Ability instantly boosted his strength by two levels. If Lin Jing continued to meet him head-on, he certainly wouldn’t come out on top. But in Divine Pine’s view, Lin Jing had been in an invincible position from the start.

Not only could he teleport away, but he also had an illusion capable of deceiving a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, causing the Yin Corpse Sect Cultivator to lose his target immediately after transforming with his Divine Ability!

The skill had been baited.

“Baiting out the Golden Core Divine Ability of just one person is enough.” Lin Jing looked down. Having lost Lin Jing’s trail, the Yin Corpse Sect Chief was flying into a rage, annihilating countless blood mosquitoes with just his aura. His gaze naturally turned toward the Red Armor Demon Guard. As the Five Elements Corpse Puppets surrounded the Red Armor Demon Guard, his corpse claws directly pierced through the other man’s chest.