Stellar Transformation-Chapter 82 - 12: Refine the Golden Core

"Little Black, foxes... they seem to be a kind of cunning demon beast," Qin Yu’s mouth curved slightly upward as he spoke through spiritual communication, having just discerned the true identity of the woman in purple.

Little Black’s eagle eyes stared intently like piercing arrows at the enchanting woman in purple, also communicating spiritually, "Hmph, a mere Early Stage Golden Core fox, killing her would be a piece of cake." Straying through the Primordial Wilderness for so long, Qin Yu and Little Black had adapted to its brutality.

Survival of the fittest, the various demon beasts in the Primordial Wilderness were ferocious; one must never be deceived by appearances, especially since demon beasts had the opportunity to choose their own appearance when transforming into human form.

"Young sir, are you a human?" the woman in purple asked timidly, blinking her watery, large eyes.

Qin Yu suddenly burst into a smile, "My lady, I am human, and you may address me as Young Master Qin. May I inquire as to your name?" Yet inside, Qin Yu felt a surge of interest— to play along with this little fox and see exactly what she was up to.

The woman in purple blushed slightly and said, "My name is Yan Xue, and it is my first time meeting a human like Young Master Qin. May I have the honor of inviting you to rest at my abode?" Her watery large eyes fixated on Qin Yu as she spoke.

"When the lady invites, I am most delighted. Little Black, go have some fun," Qin Yu responded directly.

Little Black nodded its eagle head and communicated spiritually to Qin Yu, "Big Brother, beware of whatever trick this little fox is playing. With my ’Inheritance Memory,’ even though I’m at Early Stage Golden Core, my strength is comparable to the Middle Stage Golden Core. With the supernatural attacks from my memories, I could even match a Late Stage Golden Core demon beast. What’s there to fear from an Early Stage Golden Core fox?"

"Wonderful, Young Master Qin, please follow me," Yan Xue said as she turned and walked away, her movements graceful and swift, almost ethereal. Qin Yu and Little Black easily kept up with her, traveling several miles to reach the destination.

In all this time, Qin Yu had been immersed in battle and had yet to enjoy himself. Now, he saw a beautiful pavilion made of peach tree trunks, surrounded by a stunning peach blossom forest.

"Young Master Qin, this is where my sisters and I live. My eldest and second sisters are probably inside right now," Yan Xue’s gentle voice rang by Qin Yu’s ear.

Qin Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, his spiritual sense had already detected the other two demon foxes inside the residence, presumably the elder sisters Yan Xue mentioned. However, in terms of strength, one of the foxes inside the pavilion had already reached the Middle Stage Golden Core.

"Elder sister, second sister, I’ve brought a guest back!" Yan Xue called out slightly louder toward the pavilion.

"Young Master Qin, let’s go inside," Yan Xue said, smiling as two exceedingly beautiful women emerged from the pavilion: one clad in black, around thirty, exuding a mature charm; the other in her twenties, similarly possessing an enchanting allure.

Demon foxes were indeed extremely seductive.

"My respects to you, sir. I am Yan Zi, this is my younger sister Yan Lan, and this is our youngest sister, Yan Xue, whom I believe you’ve met. It’s rare for us to have a human visitor in our Taohua Pavilion. I’m overjoyed. Please come in,"

Yan Zi then reached out and took Qin Yu by the hand. He did not resist, letting her pull him along. Her hand was as soft as warm jade, imparting an inexplicable sensation, yet Qin Yu remained unaffected.

"This demon fox must be scheming something sinister," Qin Yu secretly chuckled.

Suddenly, Yan Zi glanced at Little Black, a flash of light in her eyes, before smiling, "Young Master Qin, that eagle of yours is very fierce. Did you tame this bird?" she asked while leaning slightly against Qin Yu’s arm.

"Recaptured bird? No, he is my brother." Qin Yu had an exceptionally resolute nature, and the aura of the Demon Fox could not shake his true heart.

He had adhered to the Extreme Training Method since he was eight years old. Over the years, Qin Yu’s temperament was hardly comparable to that of ordinary people. Moreover, when Qin Yu assumed the alias ’Liu Xing’ to carry out assassination missions and drifted among the secular world, he had also faced numerous temptations from women, but these were merely child’s play to him.

Yan Zi smiled, "Second sister, third sister, quickly prepare some tea and pastries."

"Yes." The delicate voices of Yan Xue and Yan Lan rang out. Afterward, the sisters swept into the pavilion like a gust of wind, and Qin Yu followed Yan Zi into the living room, where he took a seat on a chair.

Shortly, Yan Xue and Yan Lan brought over some pastries and tea.

"These pastries were personally made by this servant, Young Master Qin. Please try them." Yan Xue held a piece to Qin Yu’s mouth as if to feed him, but Qin Yu took it with his hand, bit it directly, and at the same time, a surge of Star Power flushed into Qin Yu’s mouth, enveloping the pastry and burning it up entirely like fierce flames.

A slight smile appeared on the corner of Qin Yu’s mouth.

"Enchanting Fragrance?" Qin Yu, while smiling, gazed at the Yan Sisters before him.

Instantly, the sisters’ expressions change slightly.

At the same time, a pink fragrance oozed from the Yan Sisters, filling the entire range of the living room. Qin Yu waved his hand, summoning a gust of wind. However, the fragrance remained pervasive in the room, undisturbed by the wind.

"Young Master Qin, your single Golden Core could probably save our sisters hundreds of years of harsh cultivation," said Yan Zi seductively. Simultaneously, a beam of white light shot from Yan Zi, transforming into a massive white net that descended from the sky, directly aiming to cover Qin Yu and Little Black.

"Sisters, prepare to enjoy the feast," the eyes of the Yan Sisters glowed fiercely as they stared at Qin Yu.

"Little Black, I’ll take action this time!" Qin Yu’s Spiritual Communication sounded in Little Black’s mind, noting that as long as the Enchanting Fragrance did not enter the body, it was manageable, but it would be troublesome once inside. Qin Yu was already prepared and thus, wouldn’t fall for it.

"Fine. Make it quick," Little Black replied helplessly.

"Whoosh!"

A dark gold Lightning instantly slashed through the entire living room space, piercing right through the white net. "Bang!" The white net split into two halves, Yan Zi’s face turned deathly pale, at the same time, she urgently communicated through Spiritual Sense, "It’s a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact, sisters, let’s go all out."

Yan Zi was mistaken, capable of breaking through a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact, it wasn’t solely a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact, it could also be an Upper Grade or even a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact. However, Yan Zi couldn’t imagine that a Golden Core Stage cultivator would possess an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact.

When Yan Xue and Yan Lan heard Yan Zi’s communication, they immediately lunged at Qin Yu, but Qin Yu didn’t attack these two.

Only to see—

The dark gold Flying Sword, like an embroidery needle, shot towards Yan Zi. Yan Zi drew her waistband, her loose robe slid off, revealing that there was nothing underneath. Yan Zi’s enchanting body appeared naked before Qin Yu’s eyes.

The drawn waistband then transformed into a Soft Sword, which fiercely straightened and shot directly at Qin Yu.

"It’s just these cheap tricks."

Qin Yu sneered and stretched out one hand, grabbing the soft sword directly. His finger force penetrated through it, breaking the sword suddenly. The power of the Flame Burning Gloves, now an upper-grade spiritual artifact, was indeed formidable. At this moment, Yan Xue and Yan Lan from the rear attacked Qin Yu from the left and the right almost simultaneously.

"Eagle Claw Skill!"

Qin Yu’s hands shaped like eagle claws, ignoring the weapons in Yan Xue and Yan Lan’s hands, directly grabbed their wrists. His finger force penetrated through, rendering their wrists useless. Then, clenching his claw-like fingers into fists, he struck directly at the foreheads of Yan Xue and Yan Lan.

Yan Xue and Yan Lan then fell to the ground and subsequently transformed into a fox.

"Third sister, second sister!" Yan Zi screamed at the top of her lungs, rushing towards Qin Yu like a madwoman. However, what astounded Qin Yu was that Yan Zi, while charging at him, suddenly changed direction, swerving sharply, and started fleeing at high speed.

"Flee? Comparing speed with me?"

Qin Yu, like a silent breeze, reached Yan Zi’s side in a blink. Even as Yan Zi was speeding away, she looked back and secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "That kid didn’t catch up." However, when she turned her head back, she saw Qin Yu smiling right in front of her.

"Ah!"

Yan Zi immediately let out the loudest scream. Qin Yu frowned at that scream. Yan Zi’s eyes flashed coldly, her hand transforming into a sharp claw aiming at Qin Yu. However, Qin Yu simply punched through her claw and struck directly at Yan Zi’s abdomen. Shaken violently, Yan Zi fell to the ground, not getting up again, and then also transformed into a fox.

"Three demon foxes." Qin Yu’s lips curled into a nonchalant smile.

"Little Black, in the Primordial Wilderness, demon beasts, regardless of their type, mostly kill each other attempting to devour the Golden Cores. These three demon foxes also wanted to kill us and take our Golden Cores," Qin Yu said as he extended a hand and sprayed a flame, incinerating the fox corpse and revealing a Golden Core.

Qin Yu gestured with his hand, drawing the Golden Core directly into his space ring, and then flew back to the Taohua Pavilion.

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Little Black communicated via spiritual sense: "Big brother, we haven’t even completed half the journey back, yet we’ve killed several Golden Core stage demon beasts already. We didn’t really want to kill them without reason. But these demon beasts are just too cruel, each one of them eager to devour our Golden Cores. Their strength is just too weak."

"It’s not that their strength is weak, it’s that their judgment is poor. Little Black, the other two Golden Cores are yours. Let’s find a secret place to refine these Golden Cores," Qin Yu said with a smile.

Little Black’s mouth opened, and two bolts of lightning shot out, striking the two demon fox corpses, forcing out two Golden Cores which Little Black swallowed immediately. He then said, "Big brother, these two Golden Cores will probably take three days to refine. Let’s find a place first."

Qin Yu and Little Black, one man and one eagle, swiftly left the Taohua Pavilion.

In the Primordial Wilderness, demon beasts kill each other to devour the opponent’s Golden Core or Nascent Soul to increase their strength, of course, devouring another’s Golden Core requires sufficient power. Yan Xue felt that the strength of Qin Yu and Little Black were about the same as early Golden Core stage, so she decided to make a move.

Alas, neither Qin Yu nor Little Black could be judged by their appearance. On this journey, several demon beasts underestimated Qin Yu and Little Black, leading to the loss of their Golden Cores.

The night was cool like water, the wind of the Primordial Wilderness grew swifter at night. In a cave within a nameless mountain range in the Primordial Wilderness, the entrance was guarded by a simple illusion array.

Qin Yu was sitting cross-legged, the Golden Core floating in front of him, when suddenly his eyes opened.

Qin Yu pointed with one hand, and a pale green flame burst forth from his fingertip, enveloping the Golden Core. The sound of hissing could be heard as the Golden Core was continuously scorched, transforming into streams of golden liquid that swirled around Qin Yu.

"Hmph!"

The air around Qin Yu vibrated, and suddenly, streams of faint silver Star Power burst forth from his body, forming a massive vortex-shaped cloud with Qin Yu at its center. The golden liquid transformed into streams of energy that were enveloped by the massive vortex.

The faint silver Star Power formed a cycle, drawing the Golden Core energy into the Dantian, where a Star Nebula continuously rotated. However, at this moment, the True Star Fire at the center of the Star Nebula was extremely intense.

"Hiss"

As this golden energy entered the Dantian, it first went through another refinement by the True Star Fire.

Scorching!

Ordinary Demon Beasts would directly devour a Golden Core and then absorb its power for themselves. Qin Yu, however, was not like this; he would refine the Golden Core again and again, completely refining away the strange and peculiar energies, leaving only the most essential life essence for a cultivator.

This most fundamental essence was then absorbed by Qin Yu. Although the power of the Golden Core was wasted by ninety percent through the refinement with the True Star Fire, Qin Yu always remembered the emphasis placed on purity by the senior Lei Wei from "Star Transformation" — purity!

The power must be pure; the foundation must be solid!

The Star Nebula in Qin Yu’s Dantian continuously rotated, forming a vortex with each circle containing a layer of silver particles. Each of these silver particles contained powerful energy, and they absorbed the final, most purified energies.

Ninety percent of a Golden Core was refined, leaving only the purest power as the life essence of a cultivator.

The golden liquid floating outside Qin Yu’s body was refined a bit at a time by Qin Yu, who was not in a rush, as it couldn’t be rushed. After nearly three days and nights, Qin Yu finally refined it completely clean and absorbed it all.

Qin Yu opened his eyes to see that Little Black had already finished cultivating.

"Big Brother, did you succeed in refining? I just finished refining too." Little Black’s Spiritual Communication came through,

Qin Yu smiled and nodded his head.

"Big Brother, every time we absorb, it takes some time, whereas those Demon Beasts swiftly devour Golden Cores, but they are all hasty and indiscriminate, as if the more energy the better," Little Black said with a tinge of disdain.

Ordinary Demon Beasts only knew the most basic methods of cultivation, what could they know? How could they compare to Little Black, who had many mysterious cultivation methods in his memory?

"Little Black, it’s time to hit the road."

Qin Yu’s figure flashed as he rushed out of the cave; he dissolved the Illusion Array with a wave of his hand, and Little Black also whisked out on its wings, as the duo continued their cultivation journey in the Primordial Wilderness.