Chapter 63 Securities Investment

"No, no, no, I must live, I must live, I absolutely cannot die here."

The red flames suddenly turned, and like a large red bird, slowly extended a pair of sharp claws.

The remnant soul within Xu Yuanlang's body stared wide-eyed at the Vermilion Bird with horror in its eyes.

I've seen a lot in my life, but I've never seen anything like this before.

Moreover, a chilling sensation emanated from the Vermilion Bird's body, as if it were witnessing a natural enemy.

If they were outside, he could easily crush the two of them, but now he was at a critical moment of possession, and even if he had great abilities, he couldn't use them.

He hurriedly transformed back into a cloud of black mist, preparing to flee, but just as he made a move, a crimson light suddenly fell from above.

"Bang!"

The remnant soul opened its mouth and let out a miserable scream. At the same time, its eyes revealed a fierce look. It immediately separated a wisp of black mist, which transformed into a large sword and slashed down at the Vermilion Bird.

"Sizzle!"

Before the greatsword even reached Suzaku, it had already disintegrated, and clumps of black mist disappeared as if melting snow and rain.

This was an attack specifically targeting the soul. The remnant soul looked on in horror, wondering just what kind of monster this kid it wanted to possess was.

"Chirp!"

Suddenly, the Vermilion Bird let out a loud cry, the black mist around its body began to vibrate, its face began to distort, and it spewed out primordial energy from its mouth and nose.

"Chirp!"

"No!"

The second sound rang out, and the remnant soul cried out in unwillingness, followed by his body surface covered with cracks resembling a spider web.

"Chirp!"

The third sound rang out, and the remnant soul exploded with a crack, followed by a surge of black mist that began to spread out.

The Vermilion Bird suddenly opened its mouth wide, and a suction force burst forth. The black mist even transformed into a giant tornado, which the Vermilion Bird swallowed in one gulp.

Immediately following, flames roared on its body, and black mist swirled around it, constantly being scorched by the fierce flames.

"Chirp!"

The Vermilion Bird sang again, and the flames on its body suddenly increased tenfold. The last wisp of black mist turned to ashes amidst its wailing.

The Vermilion Bird flew over the sea of ​​consciousness, and after confirming that all the black mist had been eliminated, it flew back and took refuge in the eighth leaf.

Outside, the entire cave began to shake violently. Ouyang Yue looked at him anxiously, preparing to forcibly drag him out. Just then, Xu Yuanlang slowly opened his eyes.

"Huh!"

Ouyang was startled, as if worried that he had been possessed. She raised the jade tablet in her hand and stared intently at Xu Yuanlang. If anything seemed amiss, she would definitely slap him.

"It's me, it's me!"

Seeing the suspicious look in the other person's eyes, Xu Yuanlang hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Who are you?"

Ouyang Yue looked doubtful, so he quickly spoke up.

"It's me, Xu Yuanlang. I was invited by you to explore the cave..."

He laid out his entire situation in one go. At this moment, he dared not joke around, lest Ouyang Yue's jade tablet come flying at him.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness!"

Ouyang Yue wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked at him with relief, and pulled him up and down with both hands.

"I haven't changed much!"

Xu Yuanlang looked at her, both amused and exasperated. Ouyang Yue then realized that she had been too excited and had lost her composure, so she quickly said something.

"In that case, let's get out of here quickly. I think we should look around..."

Before he finished speaking, the shaking of the entire cave stopped.

The solemn and mysterious golden light disappeared, and all the pavilions and towers in the cave vanished as if they were bubbles.

Instead, they were met with countless skeletons.

As if spat out from hell, the bones emerged from the ground with a crackling sound, and countless heads rolled out of the mountain of bones like rolling stones.

These piles of bones must have accumulated over countless years, and countless cultivators must have died, to create such a strange and magnificent spectacle.

After all the skeletons appeared, a dilapidated house, mostly collapsed, appeared next, looking worse than any ordinary house from a distance.

"Is this the true appearance of the Golden Elixir Cave? Just a stone house?"

Xu Yuanlang felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the surrounding corpses, but what he found even more ironic was that the true appearance of this dilapidated house and cave was so shabby that even the remnant soul of that Golden Core cultivator had to use an illusion to conceal it in the end.

"Even a Golden Core cultivator is no different from a mortal after death. Let's go in and see what's inside."

Ouyang Yue sighed and prepared to go inside, while Xu Yuanlang looked around worriedly.

"You don't think there are any lingering spirits or vengeful ghosts inside, do you?"

"Haha, you're just like someone who's been bitten by a snake once and is now afraid of ropes for ten years! Relax, relax, if there were any vengeful ghosts left, they would have crawled out long ago!"

Ouyang Yue casually pushed open the door, but unexpectedly heard a crack as the hinge broke.

"Bang!"

"Ahem!"

The gate collapsed to the ground and shattered into pieces. No one had entered for who knows how many years, and a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the ground. Now, all the dust was blown up, and the two of them coughed awkwardly a few times.

Once the two had adjusted, they saw a middle-aged monk sitting deep inside the room.

With three long beards, holding a jade scroll, and bright, piercing eyes, they initially mistook him for a living person.

"It's a dead person!"

After the golden light dissipated, Ouyang Yue's strength was no longer suppressed. She immediately realized that the other party had no life force and must be dead.

"I never imagined that even though the stone house had collapsed, the corpse still looked lifelike."

"Hmph, Golden Core cultivators are no ordinary beings. They rarely age naturally; they almost always die from injuries."

This isn't... uh...

Ouyang Yue walked behind the corpse, her eyes widening suddenly as if she had seen a ghost.

"What happened?"

"This isn't a corpse, it's just a shell that's been shed."

Ouyang Yue gently patted the corpse's shoulder, and saw the person who had been sitting upright suddenly collapse.

Xu Yuanlang took a few steps and went around to the back of the corpse. He saw a huge crack where the scapula had been, as if someone had crawled out of it.

"Hmph, someone used a deceptive tactic to try and steal the gold!"

"Securities Finance?"

It was another unfamiliar word, but Ouyang Yue, who was more knowledgeable than others, quickly asked about it.

"Ouyang, isn't this person a Golden Core cultivator? How come he can also prove his Golden Core level?"

"You are just a Foundation Establishment family, so it's normal that you don't know."

After completing the Foundation Establishment stage, the desire to achieve the Golden Core is called "Seeking Gold," and if successful, it is called "Obtaining Gold."

However, even after achieving the Golden Core, things are not always smooth sailing. Every so often, tribulations will descend, known as the "test of the Golden Core."

You must prove yourself worthy of the name of the Golden Elixir; this process is called "Proving the Golden Elixir," and failure will result in your soul being scattered.