Xuzhuang nodded. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior."

The sloppy old Daoist waved a dismissive hand, yawned, and said lazily, "Well, I’ve explained the pros and cons. I’m heading back to the Pavilion now." Without waiting for Xuzhuang’s reaction, he turned back into the tunnel and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Xuzhuang bowed with cupped hands toward the tunnel before turning around. He leaped into the air, using the Wind-Riding Escape to soar into the sky. A frigid wind battered his face, but he activated his Daoist arts. As his Magical Power circulated, the chill was instantly swept away.

’The wind here isn’t too extreme,’ Xuzhuang mused. ’I didn’t come to Beiji Pavilion for a life of ascetic seclusion, so there’s probably no need to find some harsh, remote spot deeper in the Abyssal Gorge. Besides, this area seems plenty peaceful.’

He scanned the ice walls. As far as he could see, caves dotted the cliff face every few hundred yards, none of them protected by any wards. After a moment’s thought, he rode the wind forward for a few more miles before randomly selecting a cave and descending. He extended his spiritual sense inside, and as expected, it was completely empty—nothing but four walls of ice.

Xuzhuang stepped inside and casually set up a few simple wards. There was no bed, but he wasn’t picky. He placed a meditation cushion on the bare ground and sat down cross-legged. Reaching into his sleeve, he took out a yellow-skinned gourd—the very Pill Gourd he had looted from Chen Yuanji the day before.

Xuzhuang weighed the gourd in his hand. ’After forming my Golden Core,’ he thought, ’I haven’t had the time to settle down and truly cultivate. I still need to advance many of the techniques I used in the Refining Realm, and I also have to put completing the *Tai Su Formless and Materialless Sword Qi* on my agenda. But the most urgent task right now is to fully replenish my Magical Power and other energies.’

His course set, Xuzhuang uncorked the yellow-skinned gourd and tipped it into his hand. A Sixth-Transformation Golden Core rolled out.

A Golden Core was different from a typical medicinal pill. It was usually refined from materials like metals, minerals, and jade. Swallowing it would imbalance one’s internal energies, so it was not meant to be ingested directly. There were a few common methods of use. The first was to use a refining furnace to break it down and directly absorb the Golden Core’s essence. The second was for a cultivator to hold it in their mouth while performing breathing cultivation. The third was to place it outside the body, breathing out one’s own qi into the pill to draw out and assimilate its energy.

The efficiency varied with the method. Using a Pill Furnace was the most effective. Holding it in the mouth for breathing cultivation was the next best, but this came with a small risk of causing a slight internal energy imbalance. Cultivators without a suitable Pill Furnace typically chose the third method.

Although Xuzhuang possessed a superior-grade Pill Furnace capable of both concocting and breaking down pills, he had not yet refined the Magical Artifact for his own use. And truthfully, the time it would take to refine the artifact wouldn’t be a very efficient use of his time right now.

His confinement in Beiji Pavilion was for a mere ten years, so he wasn’t in a rush to do so. He was just about to breathe out his own qi to draw out the pill’s energy when he suddenly felt a stream of cool air mixed in with the Spiritual Qi he was inhaling. Xuzhuang focused his senses. This cool air seemed to originate from the same source as the chill in the Abyssal Gorge, yet it lacked the same biting, absolute-zero quality. Instead, it was pleasantly refreshing, soothing both his mind and spirit.

’This is...’ Xuzhuang pondered for a moment, then activated his Daoist arts, instantly refining all the cool air in his body. He clearly felt his Magical Power become minutely purer and larger. Although the increase was less than a ten-thousandth of his total reserves, it was still tangible progress.

’Could this be the legendary, highest-grade Spiritual Truth—the North Pole Spirit Truth?’ Xuzhuang was elated. ’So that’s where Beiji Pavilion gets its name. It truly is a premier Blessed Land for cultivation.’

North Pole Spirit Truth was a grade higher than the Five Elements Spiritual Truth and Jade Sun Spirit Truth, which formed the Five Elements True Sand and Jade Sun True Sand respectively. It was the single most beneficial type of Spiritual Truth for cultivation in the entire world. Without a moment’s hesitation, Xuzhuang accelerated his arts, drawing in the surrounding ambient Spiritual Qi like a whale swallowing the ocean. He pulled it in so forcefully that he even drew Qi from farther away, creating a vast, invisible vortex.

The sheer volume of Spiritual Qi he was now taking in was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than his earlier, passive breathing. Surprisingly, however, the cool air of the North Pole Spirit Truth entering his body remained a mere trickling stream. No matter how much ambient Qi he consumed, its flow barely increased.

’Why is this?’ Xuzhuang wondered. Even for the highest-grade North Pole Spirit Truth, if he could only absorb such a tiny amount, it would be of little benefit to a cultivator of his level.

’Wait... the deeper you go into the gorge, the more intense the chill.’ A spark of insight flashed in his mind. Xuzhuang’s brow unfurrowed, and a smile touched his lips. ’So that’s how it is! No wonder that senior said I’d end up going deeper into the gorge.’

With a quick series of gestures, he made a calculation. Only thirty minutes had passed since he entered Beiji Pavilion. Though noon had passed, it was still a period when the frigid wind was at a low ebb.

’In that case, I should head deeper into the gorge right away.’

With a wave of his sleeve, Xuzhuang packed up his belongings, dismantled his wards, and shot out of the cave. Since time was of the essence, he didn’t bother with the Wind-Riding Escape. Instead, he transformed into a pure white Sword Rainbow that tore through the frigid wind, rocketing toward the depths of the Abyssal Gorge.

The flight speed of a Sword Cultivator was renowned as unrivaled in the Profound Yellow world. When Xuzhuang unleashed his Sword Escape at full power, he moved as fast as a shooting star. The sound of his passage through the air was left far behind him. In less than thirty minutes, he had traveled over a thousand li.

Who knew just how long or deep this Abyssal Gorge was? No matter how far he flew, the twin ice walls remained an expanse of deep blue. The caves grew scarcer, and still, there was no end in sight. The frigid wind, however, grew steadily more biting. While it wasn’t enough to injure him, a chill began to seep into his body, forcing him to circulate his Daoist arts for protection as he flew.

After flying for another thousand li, the wind in the gorge was raging with such ferocity it threatened to tear him from the sky. Resisting the cold became increasingly difficult.

’With my Magical Power still not fully restored, it’s probably unwise to press on,’ Xuzhuang thought. He began to pay close attention to the ice walls on either side. At this depth, caves were exceptionally rare. He had already flown nearly a hundred li since passing the last one, yet the walls remained nothing but an unbroken vista of deep blue glaciers and frozen rock.

A few moments later, just as Xuzhuang was about to turn back, his expression shifted. He pushed his sword light forward, struggling through the wind for another ten-odd li. Just as he’d hoped, an ice cave appeared in his vision through the swirling snow. He immediately descended and entered it.

By this point, Xuzhuang was finding it extremely difficult to resist the cold. Thankfully, once inside the cave and out of the bone-chilling wind, the ambient chill seemed to lose its absolute-zero bite. As he continuously circulated his Magical Power, his body slowly began to warm. ’This cold is truly intense,’ he thought with a bit of awe.

Once he had dispelled the chill, Xuzhuang inspected the cave. Seeing no protective wards, he ventured deeper. The entrance was small, but the interior was surprisingly spacious. A series of interconnected caverns formed what seemed to be distinct halls and rooms, likely excavated by a senior cultivator who once practiced here. ’But with no wards, that senior must be long gone,’ he reasoned.

Xuzhuang explored the entire complex before stopping in a quiet meditation chamber. Inside was a bed chiseled from ice and stone. As he approached the bed, he suddenly sensed something and turned to look back.

On the smooth ice wall directly opposite the bed, a dense script had been etched. The characters seemed to have been carved by a sharp blade, yet they possessed the intricacy of fine sculpture. Looking closer, each one seemed to radiate a chilling aura, as if about to fly from the wall as lethal Sword Qi.

*My lifespan nears its end, and I intend to force the Life and Death Profound Gate... It is a pity that my Sword Dao, though it has reached great accomplishment, has not been passed on... Therefore, I leave these words behind.*

’My lifespan nears its end... intend to force the Life and Death Profound Gate...’ Those simple words struck Xuzhuang’s heart more profoundly than any complex treatise. ’Even if you form a Golden Core, and even if you shatter that core to form a Nascent Soul... what does it matter if you can’t reach the Primordial Spirit realm?’

For someone like Xuzhuang, death itself was nothing to be feared. But the inability to touch the Great Dao? That was the most terrifying horror in heaven and earth.

A distant look entered Xuzhuang’s eyes as he gazed through the words, seeing something far beyond.

’I wonder if the senior who left this message succeeded,’ he thought. ’Did he achieve immortality, to roam free between heaven and earth? Or did he...’

Xuzhuang let out a long sigh, pushing aside his melancholy. He turned to read the rest of the text. It was, indeed, a collection of insights on the *Tai Su Formless and Materialless Sword Qi*!

The cultivation insights of a Great Cultivator who was, at minimum, at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm and on the verge of breaking through the Primordial Spirit Barrier... just how profound would they be?

Xuzhuang had only read a small portion, but he could already tell that every word was a priceless gem. The writing was both profound and easy to understand, its depths seemingly endless.