Troublemaker’s Guide to Immortality

"Deduce the next level of Mystic Codex," Yun Jin silently commanded.

[Command received. Deducting 500 basic simplification points to deduce the Golden Core stage Mystic Codex. Proceed?]

Yun Jin winced. The last upgrade to Foundation Establishment had only cost thirty points. This time it jumped straight to five hundred.

The scaling wasn't just steep, it was exponential. Clearly, as her realm increased, the usefulness of low-level simplification was dropping fast. Eventually, she'd need to rely on mid-tier simplifications or even higher.

Still, she couldn't skimp on this. Even if it cost five thousand points, she'd bite the bullet and go through with it.

"Proceed," she said calmly.

The system deducted the points, and a stream of profound information surged into her mind. Countless insights flashed before her eyes, eventually condensing into a golden tome.

She instinctively reached out to touch it. The moment her fingers brushed the cover, the book dissolved into light, and her Mystic Codex advanced to the Golden Core level.

Current Grade: High-tier Mystic-tier.

The revised Golden Core stage Mystic Codex retained its signature five-element balance and cultivation method, but now each element granted its own divine ability:

Metal: Sharpness. Greatly enhances piercing force during metal-based attacks. Can also imbue artifacts with the same property.

Wood: Regeneration. Greatly improves healing when using wood-element spiritual energy.

Water: Thunder. Harnesses hidden lightning within water, delivering overwhelming force.

Fire: Persistence. Greatly increases the duration of fire-element techniques.

Earth: Area. Greatly expands the range of earth-element spells.

Usually, a high-grade Golden Core technique would grant one or two divine abilities at most. For one to offer five, all of which were this practical... it was unheard of.

The system had rated it high-tier Mystic-tier, but Yun Jin felt it was already brushing the threshold of Earth-tier.

If she wasn't mistaken, the next evolution would push it into a true Earth-tier technique.

A Earth-tier cultivation art—in a mid-tier sect, it would be a core treasure. In a top-tier sect, only the most cherished disciples had the chance to study one. Even in a Holy Land, Earth-tier techniques were held in high regard.

And Yun Jin's version clearly had more room to grow.

Once she reached Nascent Soul, it would likely evolve into Earth-tier. What about after that? Divine Transformation? Unity? Tribulation? Even Mahayana?

Where would this Mystic Codex end up? She couldn't even begin to guess.

After calming herself, Yun Jin began her breakthrough into the Golden Core realm.

The prerequisites were clear:

First, a proper cultivation art. She had that.

Second, a soul realm that met the standard. Achieved.

Third, a vast reserve of spiritual energy. The Earthfire Chamber only offered fire-element qi, but that was no issue—she had more than enough pills stockpiled to flood herself with whatever she needed.

Fourth, a spark of fate. A chance, a flash of insight.

She closed her eyes, pushing out all distractions. Then she began.

The core of spiritual energy within her, once a liquid orb, was steadily being compressed. Gradually, the liquid condensed into countless grains of golden sand, each glittering with power.

It was a painstaking process. A single lapse would undo everything.

Fortunately, her soul strength was far beyond the standard, allowing her to manage every micro-movement with precision.

Once the liquid fully solidified, she willed the golden grains into her dantian. There, they began to spin.

Faster. Faster still.

Until they condensed into a single golden sphere.

That was it—the foundation of the Golden Core.

If she had no ambition, she could stop here. By all standards, this was a successful advancement.

But for Yun Jin, this was far from enough.

Some cultivators, those who could still push onward, would choose to refine their core further, shrinking it down to pill-size. This was considered the ideal.

At that level, the core might even develop pill patterns.

It was said that once a Golden Core bore pill patterns, the cultivator was practically guaranteed to reach the Unity stage.

And the fabled ninth-grade Golden Core—something most people couldn't even dream of—was considered the pinnacle of perfection. Those who achieved it were destined for greatness.

That was Yun Jin's goal from the very beginning.

She intended to walk the Path of Invincibility. Each realm she entered would be the peak of what was possible. So even though she had formed her core, she did not stop. She continued compressing it.

Each grain of golden sand began to draw in more of her spiritual power, spinning faster, pressing inward. The core shrank again. Her spiritual energy was completely drained.

But Yun Jin was prepared.

She pulled out handful after handful of pills and swallowed them. Surging waves of qi rushed through her meridians, feeding the spinning core.

Refine. Compress. Sharpen.

The core's glow intensified, casting gold light across the entire Earthfire Chamber.

Fortunately, the chamber's walls were sealed tight. Had the light escaped, it would have drawn too much attention. With the pills fueling her, she compressed the core to its perfect size. At that moment, an instinctive understanding washed over her.

It could no longer be compressed.

She had reached the upper limit of the Golden Core realm.

Now came the final step—engraving the pill patterns.

Yun Jin crossed her legs and began circulating her newly upgraded Mystic Codex.

The five-element light flowed harmoniously through her body, and her core floated at the center of the swirling power, enduring the endless wash of energy.

Once.

Twice.

A hundred times. A thousand.

Time lost all meaning.

Then—on the surface of the golden sphere—a single pattern emerged.

The core spun faster. The light grew stronger.

A second line appeared.

Then a third. A fourth.

Bathed in five-colored spiritual light, the pill patterns multiplied, etching themselves deeper and deeper into the core.

Finally, under Yun Jin's unwavering focus, the ninth pattern slowly took form.

The ninth-grade Golden Core was complete.

Yun Jin exhaled in satisfaction. She thought this would be the end.

But the next moment, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The blinding golden light vanished, swallowed by two swirling colors—black and white—merging into the familiar taiji pattern that adorned the Tai'a Sword.

Only then did the Golden Core cease spinning and settle quietly within her dantian.