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Ch93 - Forced Core Formation




Chongjue expected Su Hansheng would certainly make a fuss, prepared to coax him.
But Su Hansheng merely stared at him for a long while, making an “oh” sound as if hearing something trivial: “Alright.”
Chongjue looked at him oddly.
That’s it?
Su Hansheng remained calm, rising lightly to fasten his robes at his waist, saying casually: “Once you emerge, my children will probably be running around everywhere. Then you can directly enjoy family bliss.”
Chongjue: “…”
Su Hansheng struggled fastening his difficult robe buttons for ages, suddenly losing patience. He threw the disobedient garment to the ground and turned to leave without a word.
Chongjue rose and called after him: “Xiaoxiao.”
Su Hansheng’s face remained stern, silent and unresponsive, not pausing for even a moment as he rapidly rushed from the Buddhist hall.
Chongjue’s brow furrowed slightly. He walked to the hall’s entrance, watching Su Hansheng take three steps at a time descending the stone stairs in a flash. If not for his inability to ride the wind, he’d probably fly away directly, consequences to academy rules be damned.
Chongjue’s form materialized as mist, appearing directly before Su Hansheng, blocking his path.
“Xiaoxiao, I’m not abandoning you. I’ve already arranged people to protect you in the shadows over these years. Not a hair on your head will be harmed.”
Su Hansheng was forced to stop, his eyes not meeting Chongjue’s as he made a sound of acknowledgment, saying quietly: “Alright. Thank you, Uncle, for making arrangements to keep me safe.”
Chongjue’s frown deepened.
If Su Hansheng had instead vented his anger furiously, it would have been easier to handle. But this obedient, docile manner left Chongjue at a complete loss for how to respond.
Su Hansheng waited for Chongjue to speak but, receiving no response, said: “I dare not delay Uncle’s important seclusion. There’s no need to trouble yourself accompanying me today. I’ll just return to my quarters.”
When Chongjue didn’t move, Su Hansheng added: “Is there anything else Uncle needs to instruct me on?”
Chongjue watched him for a long moment, then sighed silently. Speaking warmly: “Don’t be angry with me. In the mortal world, ten years are but a moment—the snap of a finger. I’ll return quickly.”
Su Hansheng froze, finally looking up at Chongjue, his eyes filled with confusion.
A moment? The snap of a finger?
Well, that was true. The World-Honored One had lived over two thousand years. To him, ten years of seclusion was perhaps like ten days.
But for Su Hansheng, the previous ten years had comprised one-third of his short life.
Su Hansheng gazed into Chongjue’s dark blue eyes and, for reasons he couldn’t explain, was struck by an entirely unrelated thought.
His eyes…
were truly beautiful.
Chongjue asked: “Xiaoxiao?”
Su Hansheng came to his senses and lowered his head: “I’m not angry. I just don’t want to cause Uncle trouble.”
No matter how Chongjue looked at it, something seemed off. He was about to offer more reassurances when Su Hansheng, as usual, said: “Then I’ll go play.”
“Yes…” Chongjue hesitated before saying, “Alright, go.”
Su Hansheng obediently bowed and, in a light jog, disappeared into the distant forest.
Chongjue couldn’t quite figure out what these young people were thinking these days. He stood silently, gazing at the direction Su Hansheng had left for a long while before turning back to the Buddhist hall.
He’d expected a storm of drama, but Su Hansheng…
Could really be soothed so easily?
***
Su Hansheng, leaving the back mountain, maintained his usual demeanor—as if the person leaving for ten years was merely a stranger with no connection to him.
He first returned to Falling Parasol Lodge to change clothes, then casually strolled to the Punishment Hall to find Ying Zhijin.
Ying Zhijin’s precious student seemed still to be in seclusion nursing a grudge. The vast Punishment Hall’s rear courtyard contained only Ying Zhijin.
Su Hansheng entered and bowed respectfully.
“Good morning, Second Senior Sister.”
“The sun’s already at mid-morning,” Ying Zhijin was sprawled lazily on a lounge, drinking wine. She casually gestured: “Sit. What brings you to seek me?”
Su Hansheng settled by the small table, grinning cheekily: “Can’t I visit Second Sister just because I missed her? Why must there always be a reason? Can’t it simply be because Xiaoxiao wanted to see you?”
Ying Zhijin scoffed, propping her head as she gave him a sidelong look: “Where did you learn this glib tongue? You’ve got excuse after excuse.”
Su Hansheng flashed her a bright smile.
Ying Zhijin said: “Alright, what can your sister help you with?”
Su Hansheng knew he couldn’t hide anything from his second senior sister. He leaned in eagerly: “Sister, I want to form my Golden Core.”
Ying Zhijin raised an eyebrow: “Form a Golden Core? With your frail constitution… well, it’s difficult, but with spiritual pills to aid you, it’s not entirely impossible. Though it might take some time.”
Su Hansheng added: “Today. I want to form it today.”
Ying Zhijin: “…”
Ying Zhijin’s drinking motion paused. Unable to help herself, she glared at him: “Don’t talk nonsense. You’ve only just reached Foundation Establishment. You’re recklessly trying to form a Golden Core? Setting aside your insufficient spiritual power, your half-Fuling bloodline alone would make forming a Golden Core difficult even after ten years. This cannot be rushed—we must proceed gradually.”
Su Hansheng’s brow furrowed.
Ten years again.
There was no escaping this number, was there?
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Su Hansheng fell silent.
Even in his rebirth, he’d never truly contemplated a “future.” The only time he’d thought about “what comes later” was when he wanted to help Chongjue break the bone chains and had acted recklessly.
The future…
Given his current erratic state, who knew what the future held? Perhaps Chongjue wouldn’t even emerge from seclusion before he’d thrown away his own life.
His only future was “perishing”—there was no talk of a cultivation path.
Seeing Su Hansheng lower his gaze in serious contemplation, Ying Zhijin nodded in satisfaction.
Though this child was full of rebellious spirit, he did listen to reason. How such an obedient child could endure Ying Jianhua’s beatings—couldn’t he just reason with the boy?
Ying Zhijin was inwardly cursing Ying Jianhua when Su Hansheng raised his head seriously: “Sister, I’ve decided.”
Ying Zhijin nodded: “Good, if you’ve decided, then…”
She hadn’t finished her encouraging words when Su Hansheng said: “I’m forming my Golden Core.”
Ying Zhijin: “…”
Ying Zhijin set down her wine cup, her elegant brows knitting tightly. She had no choice but to deliberately frighten him.
“Xiaoxiao, using potent medicinal substances to force core formation will expand your meridians countless times over. Even the most resolute person cannot withstand that kind of suffering—it’s like lingering death. Aren’t you afraid of pain?”
Su Hansheng shook his head: “I’m not afraid of pain.”
Ying Zhijin: “You…”
As Ying Zhijin watched the silent Su Hansheng, she vaguely glimpsed Su Xuanling—her master. He too possessed that temperament where, once a decision was made, nothing anyone said could easily sway him.
Ying Zhijin remained frozen for a long while, finally taking a step back: “Then at least tell your sister—why are you in such a rush to form your core?”
Su Hansheng raised his hand, revealing the Sumeru mustard seed worn on his finger.
Ying Zhijin, being perceptive, looked at him in astonishment.
Merely to control the Sumeru mustard seed?
***
Chongjue had been uneasy all day.
Su Hansheng had appeared completely normal when leaving this morning, yet something inexplicably troubled Chongjue.
Su Hansheng had been obedient for too long—so long that Chongjue nearly forgot that the child was a rebellious little madman who never considered consequences.
He appeared docile and compliant on the surface, but deep down was just as reckless and uninhibited as Su Xuanling himself.
Chongjue grew increasingly anxious, attempting to locate the prayer beads on Su Hansheng’s wrist, but inexplicably found no connection—no response whatsoever.
Had Su Hansheng truly become angry, so much so that he didn’t even want to say goodbye?
A brief thunderstorm passed through the afternoon, followed by gentle drizzling rain.
Raindrops hung low from the eaves.
Chongjue spread his divine sense through the rain curtain, searching through Falling Parasol Lodge and Virtue Academy but finding no trace of Su Hansheng.
The barrier surrounding the Punishment Hall blocked divine sense, so Su Hansheng was likely hiding there.
Chongjue rubbed his brow, his headache nearly unbearable.
He truly didn’t know how to coax an angry child, but seclusion was an ironclad decision—there was no way around it.
If, as the evil one had said, the Heavenly Tower would collapse within twelve years, and his original form bore cracks, he’d be unable to stop it. Countless lives would suffer, and the three realms would be endangered.
Chongjue couldn’t explain such things to a half-grown boy. He could only wait helplessly.
The rain fell throughout the entire day.
The Buddhist hall’s belongings had been packed into the storage ring, leaving it empty except for a meditation cushion.
Chongjue sat cross-legged, listening to the rain.
Shortly after the hour of Xu, his unconsciously radiating divine sense suddenly rippled.
Chongjue’s eyes snapped open, looking toward the open door.
—Su Hansheng had come.
Chongjue finally set his worries aside.
Su Hansheng seemed in good spirits, humming a little tune as he climbed the steps in the light rain without an umbrella. His floating clouds had slipped to the back of his head, and his footsteps rang out cheerfully.
Soon, he ran through the rain to the Buddhist hall’s entrance, worried that the water droplets might stain Uncle’s hall. He bounced in place several times to shake off the rain, then wiped his face as he padded barefoot inside.
Seeing Chongjue sitting alone in the empty Buddhist hall, Su Hansheng tilted his head and smiled, speaking respectfully:
“Uncle, I hope you’re well.”
Chongjue gestured: “Come here.”
Su Hansheng obediently approached and knelt before Chongjue, looking up at him eagerly.
Chongjue reached out to wipe the raindrops from his brow, then untied the hair ribbon in his dark locks. Using spiritual power, he gently dried his wet head, his voice unprecedentedly warm:
“I know you’re still angry, but my seclusion truly has reasons.”
Su Hansheng tilted his head, nestling into Chongjue’s warm palm, murmuring quietly: “In your reasons… am I included?”
Chongjue froze and subtly withdrew his hand.
Su Hansheng’s hopeful eyes suddenly dimmed.
Chongjue couldn’t bear to see him in such a pitiful state. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly seemed to sense something, his brow furrowing sharply.
“Xiaoxiao, you’ve formed your Golden Core?”
To a Great Ascension cultivator, anyone below that realm was like an ant. Whether Su Hansheng was at Foundation Establishment or Golden Core wouldn’t be easily distinguishable unless Chongjue specifically examined him.
Su Hansheng immediately smiled brilliantly and happily said: “Yes, you discovered it, Uncle! Senior Sister said that as long as I form my core, I can control Su Xuanling’s Sumeru mustard seed.”
Chongjue’s face changed. He said coldly: “How reckless!”
How could Su Hansheng suddenly achieve core formation shortly after reaching Foundation Establishment?!
“Did Ying Zhijin help you?”
The uneasy anxiety Chongjue had harbored all day finally found focus. He grabbed Su Hansheng’s hand that was still showing off the pagoda, saying coldly: “Do you know that forcibly forming a core with medicinal aid is equivalent to destroying your cultivation path? Even if you use countless methods later to salvage it, you’ll forever be capped at Golden Core stage—only five hundred years of lifespan?!”
Su Hansheng seemed frightened, staring at him in shock.
Chongjue’s head throbbed painfully.
After noticing Su Hansheng’s abnormality this morning, he should have pursued him and confined him to his side—or brought him back when he learned he was at the Punishment Hall.
He’d only thought Su Hansheng might throw a childish tantrum and not want to talk to him for a while; eventually he’d come around. So he’d wanted to give him time to calm down.
But he’d never imagined the child would be this mad—mad enough to forcibly form a core with his frail body.
Su Hansheng stared at him blankly, saying nothing.
Chongjue, still gripping his wrist, swept with his divine sense but found Su Hansheng’s body completely clean. All three prayer bead strings he’d given him were gone.
“Where are the prayer beads I gave you?”
If he’d worn them, Chongjue would have sensed the moment he endured the lightning tribulation and could have stopped it.
Su Hansheng stammered: “I didn’t wear them.”
For the first time in his life, Chongjue felt anger and helplessness intertwined, unable to respond for a moment. He could only grim-faced release Su Hansheng’s delicate wrist.
He began reciting Buddhist scripture, intending to suppress the irritation lest he speak too harshly and hurt Su Hansheng.
Su Hansheng rubbed his wrist, seemingly unbothered by Chongjue’s scolding. Instead, he casually drew a small tower-shaped object from his sleeve.
This was the barrier device Ying Zhijin had given him.
Su Hansheng lifted his finger, and the jade pagoda, suddenly enlarged countless times, transformed into a transparent barrier enclosing the entire Buddhist hall.
Chongjue sensed something wrong and opened his eyes.
“What are you doing?”
After activating the device, Su Hansheng finally looked up at Chongjue and spoke his first truthful words today:
“I don’t want you to leave.”
His honesty made Chongjue finally relax. He forcefully suppressed his anger and, with patience, said warmly: “I know. But you can’t harm your body like this. Forcing core formation—didn’t it hurt?”
Moreover, even if Su Hansheng could control the Sumeru Mustard Seed after reaching the Golden Core stage, it would still only be a bone chain.
Unable to remove all the bone chains from him, Chongjue remained imprisoned by Su Xuanlin.
“I’m not in pain.”
Su Hansheng shook his head. He finally stopped pretending to be indifferent. His eyes almost instantly reddened, looking pitifully at Chongjue. The anxiety and sorrow in his eyes almost brought tears to his eyes.
“I’m just afraid. You are mine… you’re the only thing that’s truly mine.”
In this rebirth, it seemed that everything he had was stolen—whether it was Xu Nanxian, who had returned from the dead, his friends who were not originally his, or the love and protection from his senior brothers and elders.
None of it was truly his.
Only Chongjue, who had come with him from his previous life, truly belonged to him.
Chongjue frowned, not understanding what Su Hansheng meant by these words.
Su Hansheng’s eyes reddened slightly. He leaned forward and grasped Chongjue’s collar, looking at him almost pleadingly.
“Please don’t go into seclusion, I’m begging you.”
Unable to refute it, Chongjue felt a momentary stirring in his heart upon seeing Su Hansheng’s tearful eyes.
Even if he didn’t go into seclusion to repair the cracks in the jade pendant, he could still protect Su Hansheng and ensure his safe escape after the Heaven-Reaching Tower collapsed.
But the only thing that made him desperately want to stay away from Su Hansheng was that desire that even the World-Honored One himself feared.
Even if Chongjue dared not face it, he helplessly admitted that he seemed to have ulterior motives towards his best friend’s son…
He harbored ill intentions.
“Xiaoxiao.”
Chongjue looked away and called Su Hansheng’s childhood name again, as if this intimate nickname, usually reserved for elders to juniors, was a constant reminder not to overstep the bounds.
“The Heaven-Reaching Tower, standing tall and supporting the Heavenly Dao, collapsed thousands of years ago. The Heavenly Dao bestowed four sacred objects to protect the four directions.”
Su Hansheng looked at him with tears in his eyes.
Chongjue instinctively wanted to wipe away his tears, but before he could reach out, he realized the gesture was too intimate, so he continued, “But if the Heaven-Reaching Tower were to malfunction again, the four sacred objects could only be sacrificed—just like your father, who died for the Heaven-Reaching Tower to save all living beings in the Three Realms.”
Su Hansheng didn’t understand. He simply asked, “So you’re still leaving?”
Chongjue almost sighed, knowing Su Hansheng wouldn’t understand for the time being, and could only say, “Yes.”
Su Hansheng was stunned for a long time, then released his grip on Chongjue’s clothes, staggered to his feet, and took a few steps back.
Rumble—
The light drizzle outside had intensified into a thunderstorm, with lightning and thunder, and torrential rain.
The grievances and tears on Su Hansheng’s face had vanished. He looked coldly at Chongjue against the light and repeated himself:
“You are mine, and I won’t let you leave.”
Su Hansheng’s unreasonable behavior only reassured Chongjue. He glanced at the dense array of runes surrounding him and said, “You think this barrier can trap me?”
The World-Honored One at the Great Ascension stage is considered the strongest being below the Heavenly Dao.
Even a hundred barriers couldn’t trap him.
Chongjue raised his hand, about to unleash a burst of spiritual power to shatter the barrier, when a white shadow flashed before his eyes.
A snake-like white light silently appeared in the void. Reflected in the candlelight, its shape became clear.
—It was Su Xuanlin’s bone chain?!
One of the ninety-nine bone chains, several meters long, floated in the void as if spanning the vast Buddhist hall. The warm lamplight and the stark white lightning outside reflected each other, creating a strange, shimmering light.
Suddenly, a strange sensation came from Chongjue’s neck.
The magpie on Su Hansheng’s Sumeru Mustard Seed took flight again, chirping loudly. He strode over in his dark blue robes, the layers of his robes billowing and fluttering as the bone chain lifted them.
His slender, long fingers grasped the bone chain that danced in the wind, wrapping it several times around his thumb and forefinger.
Su Hansheng had reached Chongjue, who was sitting cross-legged. With a slight movement of his hand on the bone chain, the chain, which was tightly locked around Chongjue’s neck, suddenly tightened, forcing him to tilt his head back and expose his long neck.
Chongjue’s meridians were suddenly locked, and strange golden runes slowly appeared on his neck, crawling densely towards his cheek.
In that instant, Chongjue seemed to understand why Su Hansheng was willing to damage his body to form his core.
He wasn’t trying to persuade Chongjue to stay with affection; whether it was his feigned indifference during the day, or his earlier show of weakness and tears, it was all an attempt to force him to stay.
Su Hansheng leaned down, one hand pressing down on Chongjue’s shoulder, the other pulling into the bone chains, forcing Chongjue to tilt his head back. Looking down at his tall uncle, a strange smile appeared on his still-childish face.
Boom.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared, illuminating half of Su Hansheng’s face, turning it deathly pale.
The magpie continued to chirp and circle around Su Hansheng.
But upon closer listening, it became clear that its chirping wasn’t “chirp,” but “imprisonment.”
A bone chain several meters long gracefully rose into the air. Su Hansheng curled his lips into a docile smile.
“Uncle, you said I could do as I pleased for these three days. Does that still stand?”
Even bound, Chongjue remained expressionless, looking up coldly at Su Hansheng, seemingly unafraid of being harmed.
“It stands.”
So even though Su Hansheng had defied his authority by binding him with the bone chain, he wouldn’t blame him.
Su Hansheng smiled again. He leaned down, gently approaching Chongjue. They were so close that his pupils couldn’t focus, and he couldn’t clearly see the other’s face.
Suddenly.
Su Hansheng placed a kiss on Chongjue’s lips.
Chongjue froze.
Su Hansheng laughed again: “There’s still an hour until the three-day deadline, Uncle. I want to do as I please…”
Chongjue’s expression suddenly changed, and he instinctively tried to back away.
Su Hansheng smiled, slowly and deliberately kneeling on Chongjue’s lap, hooking one arm around Chongjue’s neck, maintaining an extremely strange posture.
Chongjue froze completely.
The two were vastly different in size. Su Hansheng, perhaps due to forcibly forming his core, was icy cold, and when his body pressed against Chongjue’s suddenly burning hot body, the sensation at the point of contact became even more pronounced.
Chongjue suddenly had a bad premonition.
Su Hansheng’s eyes curved into a smile, and he gently licked the bone chain sewn around his wrist.
—The movement, though extremely slight, seemed to travel through the taut bone chain to Chongjue’s neck, sending a tingling sensation straight to his heart, making his tall frame tremble involuntarily.
Su Hansheng leaned close to his ear, his voice soft and breathy.
“Uncle, let’s cultivate together.”
**