In the bamboo cottage.

  Lin Ye invited the still-annoyed Xia Li inside and began doing thought work on him continuously.

  But Xia Li truly didn't want to hear any of this.

  "Brother Lin, let's not discuss this now. I know where things stand between her and me. Let's talk business instead."

  "Business? What business?"

  Lin Ye thought tricking Xia Li into becoming his brother-in-law was the real business. That way his seniority would rise, and he could get family discount prices from Xia Li in the future.

  "It's like this..."

  Xia Li recounted what happened on his way back to the sect, mentioning the herb garden at the bottom of Canghan Lake and the Dragon Blood Fruit that the female cultivator had spoken of.

  "Brother Xia, what do you mean by telling me this?"

  Lin Ye was puzzled. Could Xia Li be inviting him to go together? But Xia Li's combat power was much higher than his.

  If he went along, he wouldn't be a burden, but he couldn't contribute much either. Plus he'd split some of the gains—completely unnecessary.

  Even if Xia Li wanted to bring him along out of friendship, he wouldn't want to take advantage of Xia Li.

  "I mean you should go. I'm too lazy to."

  "What?"

  Lin Ye was shocked. Too lazy to go even for Dragon Blood Fruit?

  Dragon Blood Fruit was a martial dao treasure medicine that could precisely address Xia Li's deficiencies in martial cultivation. It should be extremely useful for him.

  Of course...

  It would be even more useful for Lin Ye himself.

  "What, you don't want Dragon Blood Fruit?"

  Seeing Lin Ye still hesitating, Xia Li didn't understand what he was hesitant about. Would he actually scam Lin Ye?

  At most he'd only scam Lin Ye's spirit stones. In other respects, he genuinely treated Lin Ye as a brother.

  "Brother Xia, be honest—are you secretly in love with me? Otherwise, how would you know I just happen to need Dragon Blood Fruit recently? Go ahead, tell me. I won't blame you..."

  "No, dude..."

  Xia Li panicked. Any misunderstanding was acceptable, but not about his preferences!

  "Although... although I really don't want things to go this way, if it's you, Brother Xia..."

  "Stop, stop, stop! Say another word and I'll tear you apart!"

  Xia Li directly released his psychic force. Feeling Xia Li's psychic pressure, Lin Ye immediately behaved.

  "So you mean I should go investigate on my own?"

  "What else? Your fortune should be better than mine—you'll gain more."

  Xia Li was speaking truth. Heaven Alliance's suppression of the younger generation, particularly targeting prodigies, had proven that Heaven's favor truly existed.

  And Xia Li was an outsider after all. How could his fortune compare to a local prodigy like Lin Ye?

  So letting Lin Ye explore while he reaped the benefits, waiting for Lin Ye to return and share the goods—he'd earn goodwill and goods alike, without having to make the trip himself.

  "Alright, then I'll accept Brother Xia's generosity."

  Lin Ye immediately cupped his fists in thanks.

  "I'll use this outing to also find a place to establish my foundation. I'll participate in the sect tournament after I return."

  "Sect tournament? Shouldn't it be over by now?"

  Xia Li remembered the sect tournament was about to begin when he left. He'd also stayed on Earth for quite a while—why hadn't it started yet?

  "It's been postponed to next month. The sect tournament is held on a chosen date during the three mid-year months—the exact date isn't fixed and depends on the number of disciples in the sect."

  "At least seventy percent of disciples must be present for it to be held. If it stays below seventy percent, it's held on the final day of the third mid-year month."

  Lin Ye explained the rules of the sect tournament. Such a grand event naturally needed as many disciples as possible to return before being held, to ensure its prestige.

  "Alright, good luck with your ranking then."

  "What about you, Brother Xia?"

  "I'm not participating."

  Xia Li still didn't want to draw too much attention from Lingxu Cave Heaven's upper echelons. Having the Third Elder was already enough.

  "It's also good that you're not participating. The sect has Heaven Alliance spies. Performing too well could bring trouble."

  "Aren't you afraid?"

  "What good is fear? I must advance. I'm different from you, Brother Xia. You have your own home and heritage, but this is my home."

  With that, Lin Ye sent his divine sense into his storage ring and began searching for something.

  Shortly...

  He produced an iron book that appeared to be made of bronze and handed it to Xia Li.

  "What's this?"

  "A remnant of the Grand Perfection Golden Core Scripture. The iron book still retains a wisp of Innate Source Qi. It records the methods for achieving over ten high-grade Golden Cores. You might find it useful, Brother Xia."

  "To be frank... in my view, you can achieve a third-grade Golden Core at most. Your mystical dao foundation is really quite ordinary. I don't know how you managed Heaven-path Foundation Establishment."

  "Was the Heavenly Dao possessing you during your foundation establishment?"

  Lin Ye had seen Xia Li when he was still at Qi Refining. Back then, Xia Li appeared to have only Human-path Foundation Establishment potential.

  Yet when they met again, Xia Li had directly achieved Heaven-path Foundation Establishment.

  Therefore, Lin Ye felt Xia Li couldn't be evaluated with normal standards. At least his usual eye for reading people didn't apply to Xia Li.

  "This..."

  Xia Li hadn't expected Lin Ye's eye to be so sharp. How did he know that his state during foundation establishment was basically like being possessed by the Heavenly Dao?

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Of course I'm not belittling you. I just admit my judgment is lacking. So you should be able to achieve a high-grade Golden Core."

  "You should take it back. This is more important for you."

  "No need. I have better arrangements now. This wisp of Innate Source Qi specifically supplements innate deficiencies—you really need it, Brother Xia."

  Lin Ye thought that if Xia Li, with such ordinary talent, could achieve Heaven-path Foundation Establishment, then supplementing his innate deficiencies would only lead to greater achievements.

  And he would have his own fortuitous encounters to supplement innate deficiencies. Though this item was quite useful for him, it wasn't irreplaceable.

  "Alright... thank you. Next time you buy something, I'll give you fifty percent off."

  "Brother Xia is generous!"

  Lin Ye nodded, and Xia Li also took the iron book and began reading.

  Golden Cores had grades, divided into nine.

  First-grade was lowest, ninth-grade was highest. The Grand Perfection Golden Core Scripture remnant Lin Ye gave him recorded six methods for seventh-grade, three for eighth-grade, and one for ninth-grade core formation.

  After reading...

  Xia Li also began contemplating which path to take. Achieving high-grade Golden Cores was easier on Earth because Earth had prefabricated Golden Cores.

  Install a prefabricated Golden Core, and after tribulation and core formation, the Golden Core's quality was guaranteed not to fall below a certain threshold.

  For example, installing a prefabricated ninth-grade Golden Core guaranteed at least seventh-grade after formation.

  It was just that prefabricated ninth-grade Golden Cores were very expensive—starting at five million spirit stones. Eighth-grade sold for three million, seventh-grade for one million.

  Sixth-grade was half-price at fifty thousand.

  In this world, achieving a high-grade Golden Core required talent, fortune, and foundation—all indispensable.

  The most crucial was innate spiritual roots.

  The slightest deficiency meant no hope for high-grade Golden Core in this lifetime.

  [Information recorded. Simulating...]

  [Very sorry. With your capabilities, even supplementing one portion of Innate Source Qi, you remain far from achieving a seventh-grade Golden Core.]

  [Please select a prefabricated Golden Core. Using Innate Source Qi for prefabrication, the estimated probability of achieving ninth-grade is 76%.]

  Xia Li wasn't disappointed by the Heaven Chip's simulation result—he found it entirely reasonable.

  He'd never had much talent.

  But did this matter?

  No, it didn't.

  Looks like core formation would require effort on Earth.

  [View prefabricated ninth-grade Golden Core categories]

  [Displaying]

  The Heaven Chip immediately projected a virtual screen in Xia Li's mind displaying a batch of data.

  Earth's prefabricated ninth-grade Golden Cores had five options.

  Five Elements Primordial Golden Core, Yin-Yang Two Principles Golden Core, Composite All-Spirits Golden Core, Magnetic Confinement Stellarator Core, High-Energy Plasma Golden Core.

  The first two were more traditional. The middle one combined tradition with technology. The last two were pure tech.

  Especially the last one—the High-Energy Plasma Golden Core had been marked by the Heaven Chip with a special recommendation.

  [Why recommend the High-Energy Plasma Golden Core?]

  [The High-Energy Plasma Golden Core has the highest energy conversion efficiency among the five cores. It doesn't strictly require spiritual energy—it can use psychic force and absorb radiation from the environment to charge.]

  [Therefore it has another name: Portable Nuclear Reactor.]

  [Currently the core power technology for interstellar-class spacecraft. Highest comprehensive technical level.]

  [But the Magnetic Confinement Stellarator Core's stats all seem higher?]

  Xia Li thought the Magnetic Confinement Stellarator Core was better—equivalent to putting a fusion reactor inside himself.

  [The Magnetic Confinement Stellarator Core has objective flaws: lower controllability, insufficient flexibility, violent output that easily damages yourself.]

  [Additionally, it requires warm-up before use and has an overheating mechanism. Once overheated, it enters a weakness period.]

  The Heaven Chip explained the differences between the two tech cores. The Magnetic Confinement Stellarator Core was more violent—powerful initial burst but lacking endurance.

  The High-Energy Plasma Golden Core was more flexible and sustainable, ensuring continuous power output.

  [Now explaining the overheating mechanism.]

  [As the Golden Core continuously operates, spiritual energy output gradually intensifies. Upon reaching a certain degree, it enters Blue Giant Mode.]

  [In Blue Giant Mode, spiritual energy output doubles. After three minutes, it enters Supercritical State.]

  [In Supercritical State, spiritual energy output doubles again. After one minute, Supernova Explosion occurs, producing an excellent self-destruction.]

  [Of course, you can also choose to release a Supernova Jet within thirty seconds, entering an extended weakness period of Dwarf Star Mode. The Golden Core falls dormant, cultivation drops, and it requires massive spiritual energy and time to complete re-fusion.]

  After the Heaven Chip's explanation, Xia Li felt this was somewhat exaggerated—but also felt this suited him.

  Strike when the iron is hot—once he made his move, it would be earth-shattering!

  When he said he'd explode with you, he definitely would!

  [I choose the Magnetic Confinement Stellarator Core]