Chapter 6:
Chapter 6: The Starlight Seclusion
The Cultivator Who Rips Dragons Barehanded in Another World
The Sacred Starlight Tower sat on the highest jagged pinnacle of the Holy Crown mountain range. Built from rare, moon-reflective basalt, the spire was designed to gather the raw astral energy of the night sky, making it the most sacred sanctuary on the continent.
Now, the entire mountain peak was as silent as a tomb.
The Archmage had personally stationed three separate lines of elite vanguard knights at the bottom of the long stone staircase, enforcing a strict thousand-pace perimeter. No one dared to whisper, let alone breathe loudly, fearing the wrath of the entity resting inside the clouds.
Inside the apex chamber of the tower, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on a massive, circular altar carved with astronomical charts.
In front of him, the volleyball-sized Ancient Dragon Core floated in mid-air, suspended by a dense, swirling ring of violet True Yuan. Even in death, the core fought back. It pulsed with a violent, unstable crimson aura, sending waves of scorching heat that distorted the surrounding air. To any local alchemist, attempting to extract energy from a high-tier dragon core without a year of preparation and a massive dampening circle was pure insanity.
Jiang Chen, however, merely opened his eyes, their dark depths completely unperturbed.
*‘A stubborn beast, even when reduced to a lump of flesh,’* he thought, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips. *‘You think your mere beastial pride can resist the refinement of a Golden Core cultivator?’*
He extended his hands, his fingers forming an intricate, ancient Daoist hand seal.
*“Nine-Turn Scripture: First Turn, Melting the Void!”*
*BOOM!*
The newly condensed Purple Mansion Golden Core inside Jiang Chen's dantian began to spin with absolute fury. A terrifying suction force erupted from his palms, manifesting as a swarm of ethereal, violet flame-dragons that wrapped tightly around the pulsing crimson core.
The dragon core let out a desperate, metallic screech as the violet flames began to forcefully strip away its external volcanic shell. High-grade, pure, liquid elemental essence began to bleed out of the core, turning into a dazzling river of golden-red light that flowed directly into Jiang Chen's nose and mouth.
The moment the liquid dragon essence entered his body, the true battle began.
The energy was incredibly dense, raging with the primal fury of the Ancient Dragon. It surged through his newly opened meridians like a stampede of volcanic beasts, attempting to tear his physical vessel apart from the inside out.
"Refine!" Jiang Chen growled under his breath.
He didn't activate a single magical barrier. Instead, he relied on the supreme cultivation logic of his past life. He ran the wild, raging dragon energy through the crushing gears of the *Nine-Turn Primordial Scriptures*. Each time the energy completed a full circuit through his body, its chaotic, beastial nature was thoroughly ground into dust, leaving behind only the most compliant, high-density cosmic essence.
*Buzz!*
As the pure essence merged into his dantian, the Purple Mansion Golden Core grew increasingly radiant, its color shifting from a simple violet to a deep, crystalline royal purple, speckled with golden starlight.
*Golden Core Stage One... Great Perfection.**Golden Core Stage Two... Break!*
A violent shockwave of pure spiritual pressure erupted from the tower, rippling across the mountain peak. Outside, the vanguard knights guarding the stairs felt their knees buckle simultaneously, their heavy armor rattling as they dropped to one knee, looking up at the flashing starlight spire in sheer horror.
But Jiang Chen didn't stop.
The river of golden-red dragon essence was still massive, its power barely half depleted. He pushed the *Nine-Turn Scriptures* to its absolute limit, capitalizing on the intense elemental density of this foreign world to forge a foundation that would be considered legendary even in his previous cultivation realm.
His flesh was undergoing a fundamental transformation. The minor injuries and structural flaws of his original mortal shell were being completely purged by the dragon's refined vital energy. His bones began to glow with a faint, jade-like translucency, and his blood pumped with a heavy, thunderous rhythm.
By the third watch of the night, the volleyball-sized core had shrunk to the size of a pebble, completely drained of its ancient power.
With a final, crisp inhalation, Jiang Chen sucked the remaining trace of gold light into his chest.
*CRACK!*
A profound, ethereal chime echoed within his mind. The Golden Core inside his dantian had expanded by a third, perfectly carved with three distinct, glowing Daoist runes—the unmistakable mark of a **Stage Three Golden Core** cultivator.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes, and a terrifyingly sharp, golden-purple beam of light shot out from his pupils, piercing two perfectly clean holes through the solid basalt walls of the tower.
He stood up, looking at his hands. Though he still appeared to be a slender, unassuming youth in tattered clothes, his physical body now possessed the durability to withstand a tactical-grade siege spell without a single scratch.
*‘Stage Three Golden Core,’* Jiang Chen muttered, flexing his fingers as a tiny spark of violet lightning danced across his knuckles. *‘Not bad. In this low-tier magical world, a Stage Three Golden Core should be more than enough to crush whatever 'Supreme Magus' or 'God-Level Knight' this continent has to offer.’*
Suddenly, his ears twitched.
Even from the highest apex of the mountain, his newly expanded divine sense caught a strange, rhythmic vibration coming from the distant valleys beyond the guild’s territory. It wasn't the sound of a wild beast. It was the synchronized, heavy marching of thousands of armored boots, accompanied by the low, ominous humming of structured military chanting.
Jiang Chen walked to the open balcony of the tower, looking out past the ruined walls of the Holy Crown Guild.
In the far distance, under the dim moonlight, an entire army clad in dark, obsidian armor was rapidly encircling the mountain base. Floating high above the marching legions were massive, black banners embroidered with a silver, weeping eye—the crest of the **Black Iron Empire**, the ruthless military superpower of the western continent.
And at the front of the army, riding a massive, armored beast, was a figure radiating a dark, suffocating pressure that easily rivaled the dead Tyrant Dragon.
Jiang Chen leaned against the stone railing, his eyes narrowing as a faint, amused smile returned to his face.
*‘Oh? I barely finished my soup, and now a larger pack of wolves arrives at the gate? Perfect. I was just wondering who I should test my new Golden Core abilities on.’*
Now, the entire mountain peak was as silent as a tomb.
The Archmage had personally stationed three separate lines of elite vanguard knights at the bottom of the long stone staircase, enforcing a strict thousand-pace perimeter. No one dared to whisper, let alone breathe loudly, fearing the wrath of the entity resting inside the clouds.
Inside the apex chamber of the tower, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on a massive, circular altar carved with astronomical charts.
In front of him, the volleyball-sized Ancient Dragon Core floated in mid-air, suspended by a dense, swirling ring of violet True Yuan. Even in death, the core fought back. It pulsed with a violent, unstable crimson aura, sending waves of scorching heat that distorted the surrounding air. To any local alchemist, attempting to extract energy from a high-tier dragon core without a year of preparation and a massive dampening circle was pure insanity.
Jiang Chen, however, merely opened his eyes, their dark depths completely unperturbed.
*‘A stubborn beast, even when reduced to a lump of flesh,’* he thought, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips. *‘You think your mere beastial pride can resist the refinement of a Golden Core cultivator?’*
He extended his hands, his fingers forming an intricate, ancient Daoist hand seal.
*“Nine-Turn Scripture: First Turn, Melting the Void!”*
*BOOM!*
The newly condensed Purple Mansion Golden Core inside Jiang Chen's dantian began to spin with absolute fury. A terrifying suction force erupted from his palms, manifesting as a swarm of ethereal, violet flame-dragons that wrapped tightly around the pulsing crimson core.
The dragon core let out a desperate, metallic screech as the violet flames began to forcefully strip away its external volcanic shell. High-grade, pure, liquid elemental essence began to bleed out of the core, turning into a dazzling river of golden-red light that flowed directly into Jiang Chen's nose and mouth.
The moment the liquid dragon essence entered his body, the true battle began.
The energy was incredibly dense, raging with the primal fury of the Ancient Dragon. It surged through his newly opened meridians like a stampede of volcanic beasts, attempting to tear his physical vessel apart from the inside out.
"Refine!" Jiang Chen growled under his breath.
He didn't activate a single magical barrier. Instead, he relied on the supreme cultivation logic of his past life. He ran the wild, raging dragon energy through the crushing gears of the *Nine-Turn Primordial Scriptures*. Each time the energy completed a full circuit through his body, its chaotic, beastial nature was thoroughly ground into dust, leaving behind only the most compliant, high-density cosmic essence.
*Buzz!*
As the pure essence merged into his dantian, the Purple Mansion Golden Core grew increasingly radiant, its color shifting from a simple violet to a deep, crystalline royal purple, speckled with golden starlight.
*Golden Core Stage One... Great Perfection.**Golden Core Stage Two... Break!*
A violent shockwave of pure spiritual pressure erupted from the tower, rippling across the mountain peak. Outside, the vanguard knights guarding the stairs felt their knees buckle simultaneously, their heavy armor rattling as they dropped to one knee, looking up at the flashing starlight spire in sheer horror.
But Jiang Chen didn't stop.
The river of golden-red dragon essence was still massive, its power barely half depleted. He pushed the *Nine-Turn Scriptures* to its absolute limit, capitalizing on the intense elemental density of this foreign world to forge a foundation that would be considered legendary even in his previous cultivation realm.
His flesh was undergoing a fundamental transformation. The minor injuries and structural flaws of his original mortal shell were being completely purged by the dragon's refined vital energy. His bones began to glow with a faint, jade-like translucency, and his blood pumped with a heavy, thunderous rhythm.
By the third watch of the night, the volleyball-sized core had shrunk to the size of a pebble, completely drained of its ancient power.
With a final, crisp inhalation, Jiang Chen sucked the remaining trace of gold light into his chest.
*CRACK!*
A profound, ethereal chime echoed within his mind. The Golden Core inside his dantian had expanded by a third, perfectly carved with three distinct, glowing Daoist runes—the unmistakable mark of a **Stage Three Golden Core** cultivator.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes, and a terrifyingly sharp, golden-purple beam of light shot out from his pupils, piercing two perfectly clean holes through the solid basalt walls of the tower.
He stood up, looking at his hands. Though he still appeared to be a slender, unassuming youth in tattered clothes, his physical body now possessed the durability to withstand a tactical-grade siege spell without a single scratch.
*‘Stage Three Golden Core,’* Jiang Chen muttered, flexing his fingers as a tiny spark of violet lightning danced across his knuckles. *‘Not bad. In this low-tier magical world, a Stage Three Golden Core should be more than enough to crush whatever 'Supreme Magus' or 'God-Level Knight' this continent has to offer.’*
Suddenly, his ears twitched.
Even from the highest apex of the mountain, his newly expanded divine sense caught a strange, rhythmic vibration coming from the distant valleys beyond the guild’s territory. It wasn't the sound of a wild beast. It was the synchronized, heavy marching of thousands of armored boots, accompanied by the low, ominous humming of structured military chanting.
Jiang Chen walked to the open balcony of the tower, looking out past the ruined walls of the Holy Crown Guild.
In the far distance, under the dim moonlight, an entire army clad in dark, obsidian armor was rapidly encircling the mountain base. Floating high above the marching legions were massive, black banners embroidered with a silver, weeping eye—the crest of the **Black Iron Empire**, the ruthless military superpower of the western continent.
And at the front of the army, riding a massive, armored beast, was a figure radiating a dark, suffocating pressure that easily rivaled the dead Tyrant Dragon.
Jiang Chen leaned against the stone railing, his eyes narrowing as a faint, amused smile returned to his face.
*‘Oh? I barely finished my soup, and now a larger pack of wolves arrives at the gate? Perfect. I was just wondering who I should test my new Golden Core abilities on.’*
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