"Old Ancestor, why must you do this? Those demon races are all my subordinates. In the future, I..."
Lei Peng Wang was very confused by Jin Peng Old Ancestor's actions.
"Why must Jin Peng Old Ancestor explain his actions to anyone?
If those guys couldn't protect you, there's no need for them to exist.
I'll find you some more servants later."
Jin Peng Old Ancestor said indifferently as he flew at high speed.
Those demons, demon beasts, wild beasts, and insects were all the same in his eyes, mere ants.
He could destroy them with a flick of his wrist, so why bother explaining?
If it weren't for Lei Peng Wang being a descendant he favored, he might not even have bothered to grunt.
"Alright, I understand, grandson."
Lei Peng Wang had a lot he wanted to complain about but couldn't.
Those were his subordinates, and they were naturally weaker than him.
These demons were not Dao protectors; if they were, they might be stronger than him.
It was a pity he didn't have the qualifications to have Dao protectors.
"Good grandson, when we return to Wang Yao Island, I'll arrange for you to enter the Kun Peng Pool. Cultivate well, and strive to reach the sixth-tier Demon King within a year."
"Grandson will certainly work hard."
The grandfather and grandson birds flew rapidly across a vast expanse of sea and returned to Wan Yao Island.
...
Ten days later, Yang Hong and Yu Kewei also returned to Yu Liu Island.
Upon seeing the carnage littered across the island, both gasped in shock.
Although they knew Jin Peng Old Ancestor was ruthless, they hadn't expected him to be this brutal.
"So ruthless! 'Mad' isn't even enough to describe this Jin Peng Old Ancestor."
Yu Kewei scanned Yu Liu Island with her divine sense, and seeing the countless corpses, even she, a demoness, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"Heh heh~ When you step on ants on the mountain, do you feel heartbroken?"
Yang Hong saw things clearly. In Jin Peng Old Ancestor's eyes, these demons and demon beasts were like ants to humans.
Even the demons with intelligence who had taken human form were not considered his kin.
"I... I would still feel a little heartbroken.
At least, at least after master's teachings, Kewei wouldn't casually step on ants anymore."
"Yes, you wouldn't actively step on ants.
But, if there were ants on your path, you would crush them without hesitation. If you saw ants at your feet, you wouldn't mind stepping on them again, crushing a few more."
Seeing Yu Kewei's insincerity, Yang Hong didn't correct her, merely stating a fact in a calm tone.
Yu Kewei's delicate brows furrowed, and the small white flower on her forehead brightened a few degrees.
She seemed to understand.
"In front of Jin Peng Old Ancestor, I am also an ant, an ant he can crush at any time."
Yang Hong nodded, not dwelling on the matter.
"Alright, first dissect the demon cores from these fallen demons, then bury their bodies."
"Okay."
Yu Kewei didn't want to dwell in her fear, so she turned to dissect the demons.
However, she decided she needed to speed up her cultivation.
Even if it meant resorting to any means necessary.
"Master, there are over two thousand demon corpses in Yu Liu City. Can I absorb them?"
After collecting the demon cores, Yu Kewei looked at Yang Hong expectantly.
Yang Hong initially didn't want Yu Kewei to be so brutal, but considering she was a demoness, a Yu Mu Hua Teng that lured and consumed demon beasts, the refusal turned into an agreement.
"You can, but you must deploy your true form to absorb them. When absorbing, remember to use the 'Great Radiant Buddha Scripture' to drive the 'Supreme Salvation Scripture'."
"Master, don't worry, I know what to do."
With Yang Hong's permission, Yu Kewei eagerly deployed her true form in Yu Liu City, gathered the demon corpses, and began absorbing their flesh and blood.
These demons were instantly annihilated. For those with demon cores, most of their cultivation was compressed into the cores.
For demon beasts without cores, their cultivation had largely dissipated.
However, their bodies still contained a large amount of vital blood and energy. This energy, whether absorbed by demons or humans, could greatly increase cultivation speed.
Watching the pile of demon beast corpses slowly diminish, Yang Hong greeted Yu Kewei and returned to Gai Zhu Mountain.
This time, returning to the mountain, he didn't have to worry about any formations. Yang Hong swaggered in on his sword.
"I need to speed up my cultivation too."
He mused, landing beside the Iron Skin Birch tree and beginning his day's "cultivation."
"Ding~ You have infused the Iron Skin Birch tree with 720 days of True Essence, receiving a hundredfold return, a refund of 72,000 days of cultivation."
"Ding~ You have cultivated the 'Falling Thunder Technique' for 72,000 days, advancing the Falling Thunder Technique to the Proficient realm."
Lucky indeed, the first infusion after returning was a hundredfold return, and the fourth-tier Falling Thunder Technique was completed, earning him another 12 martial points.
He was one step closer to the Golden Core realm.
Yang Hong's cultivation was simple and unpretentious. As long as he planted, as long as he infused plants, his cultivation would grow rapidly.
If not for the system's limitations, it wouldn't be a dream for him to reach Mahayana within a year.
For the next seven days, Yang Hong infused spiritual plants while transplanting them on Gai Zhu Mountain and rearranging the formations.
Since Jin Peng Old Ancestor had already gone on a killing spree and left directly, he wouldn't be returning.
For a long time to come, Yu Liu Island would be safer than anywhere else.
Therefore, Yang Hong intended to manage it well.
"Ding~ You have infused the Purple Jade Osmanthus with 600 days of True Essence, receiving a thousandfold return, a refund of 60,000 days of cultivation."
"Ding~ You have cultivated the 'Hurricane Tornado Technique' for 60,000 days, advancing the Hurricane Tornado Technique to the Proficient realm."
"Ding~ You have 30,000 martial skills cultivated to perfection. You can evolve either the 'Top-tier Breathing Technique' or the 'Intermediate Body Tempering Technique'. Please choose."
Haha, I've waited for over ten years, and finally, I can evolve the Intermediate Body Tempering Technique. I'll definitely choose the Body Tempering Technique.
As Yang Hong chose the Body Tempering Technique, his bones began to crackle and pop.
The surrounding spiritual energy surged towards him, infusing his body.
Immediately after, his blood began to boil, his muscles thickened, and his skin toughened.
After half an hour, the transformation ended. Yang Hong felt his physical strength had increased by at least tenfold.
"Now for the main event. System, I want to break through to the Golden Core realm."
As soon as the Body Tempering Technique evolution was complete, Yang Hong eagerly began to break through to the Golden Core realm.
A more powerful spiritual energy suction emerged from him. In just thirty breaths, a large spiritual energy vortex formed within a hundred zhang around him.
"Heh heh~ I had already guessed this would happen, so I prepared spirit stones long ago."
With a thought from Yang Hong, hundreds of thousands of spirit stones piled up around him.
These were all the spirit stones from the demons on Yu Liu Island.
The Top-tier Breathing Technique rapidly absorbed spiritual energy, compressed it into True Essence through the meridians, and further compressed it in the dantian.
Under the extreme compression of True Essence, a sesame-seed-sized golden point of light was born in the dantian.
"Rumble~"
Almost simultaneously, a bolt of lightning from a clear sky arrived.
Yang Hong's Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation had begun.
"This lightning tribulation... it's not strong enough. It's being directly absorbed into the Golden Core."
The intensity of this lightning tribulation was only equivalent to Yu Kewei's human-form tribulation, posing no threat to Yang Hong.
He simply absorbed the energy of the tribulation lightning and transported it to his dantian, pressing it into his Golden Core.
His Golden Core grew rapidly.
Mung bean-sized...
Soybean-sized...
Quail egg-sized...
Chicken egg-sized...
It continued to grow until it was the size of Yang Hong's head before stopping.
The reason it stopped growing was that the Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation had ended.
"It's a pity the tribulation ended too quickly, otherwise my Golden Core could have grown larger."
Yang Hong said with regret.
The tribulation that others faced with their lives was merely nourishment for his Golden Core.
Regretful as he was, Yang Hong quickly opened the system's attribute panel.
"Wha—what the hell!"