What To Do If The Heroine Escapes From The Book

Chapter 304: Golden Core

Besides the time when the couple returned home together, in the two subsequent times that Chu Ge entered the book, Qiu Wuji’s other self did not follow along.

The first reason was that there was no one to take care of Chu Ge’s physical body, and the second reason was that the comic studio had just started, and Qiu Wuji had a pile of things to deal with and couldn’t just abandon them.

“But how come I feel like you should have been unable to hold on for this long? Can you stay permanently now?” Chu Ge asked, looking puzzled.

Qiu Wuji frowned, “Are you trying to kick me out?”

“No, I’m just curious.”

“Just curious my foot! Your cultivation can improve when we practice dual cultivation, but not mine?!”

“Because of this?” Chu Ge confirmed.

“Of course, because of this,” Qiu Wuji suddenly slapped his shoulder in a buddy-like manner. “Hey, let’s negotiate.”

“What is it?”

“After taking the pill, how about I go back for a while? I’ve prepared some drafts for the comic studio, and you can help take care of things.”

Chu Ge was puzzled, “After taking the pill, you should be able to stay here longer. Why go back?”

“If Little Flame goes back, why can’t I? If he goes to build up military power and prepare for war, do you think I wouldn’t want to take him down?”

“Damn… back then, you were about to face him in a decisive battle, but you were sitting around here eating with me. I urged you to go back and prepare for the battle, and you said I was nagging.”

“It’s a different situation now. Back then, he didn’t provoke me to my face, so the level of animosity wasn’t the same.”

Chu Ge facepalmed.

“Actually, it’s not because of him,” Qiu Wuji said, her expression turning serious. “It’s the final part of the mortal realm’s storyline. I feel uneasy about it, so I don’t want to be distracted by this side of things anymore. Focusing on dealing with the changes over there is better.”

Chu Ge knew she was right, just like that decisive battle with Yan Qianli. You couldn’t assume that your own written storyline would always be stable without surprises. Over here, everything was calm and just daily life. There were drafts for her artwork, and indeed, there was no need for Qiu Wuji to divide her soul and two things at the same time, so it is better to go back safely.

Although he couldn’t help but feel reluctant…

Qiu Wuji had been staying here for an extended period, and in moments of absentmindedness, she genuinely felt like a modern person living here. After so much time together, it felt like they were living a married couple life… but in reality, she was still just a soul fragment that needed to return at any time.

It was going to be another period of solitary days…

“Go ahead, go ahead,” Chu Ge handed over a pill, “Take this pill before you go. I think that after your soul fragment improves and returns to the main body, it will be beneficial for your cultivation. It’s like a different way of puppet cultivation.”

Qiu Wuji’s eyes curved with a smile, “I’ve already felt that way.”

Neither of them took the Golden Core breakthrough seriously, which might be a matter of life and death for others. Qiu Wuji, in particular, had already transcended that stage. Chu Ge had experienced various events within the book and knew that his level had long surpassed that of the Golden Core. Paired with Yan Qianli’s Spirit Soul Jade Pill, breaking through the Golden Core stage was better described as solidifying his nascent soul.

So, while others nervously prepared for their breakthrough in a secret chamber, the two of them just casually sat cross-legged in their room, each swallowing a pill, and then entered a state of meditation.

Chu Ge could still clearly feel the process of the breakthrough.

The gaseous substance in his dantian was already thick and viscous, like the liquid metal in Terminator. With the push of the pill’s force, it began to rotate and congeal, gradually forming a vortex that spiraled and absorbed the surrounding ‘qi.’

As the vortex continued to rotate, it seemed to gradually take on a spherical shape. There were still traces of gas on the surface, swirling around like the Earth in photos taken from outer space.

It indeed looked like it, and it was also a sphere dominated by water.

Ordinarily, a Golden Core was golden in color. “Golden” represents immortality, while “Core” implies roundness and unity. It embodies the essence of the Great Dao, the primordial state of heaven.

Henceforth, the inner core is the universe, the external world is the universe, the self is both independent and integrated within the universe, the inner and outer intersect, and man and heaven are as one.

In any Daoist setting, the Golden Core represented the mark of achieving the Dao and was a typical characteristic that differentiated an enlightened person from an ordinary practitioner.

In Chu Ge’s own fictional world, a Golden Core was a sign of successfully overcoming a minor heavenly tribulation. Of course, there was no such thing here; the real world was entirely different. This also meant that the Golden Core’s form, as defined in his book, did not fully correspond to his current situation. It wasn’t a golden core.

He even consumed the Divine Transformation level Spirit Soul Jade Pill… The specific criteria were something he couldn’t define, and Qiu Wuji couldn’t either.

So Chu Ge discovered that his golden core wasn’t golden. It was just a clouded azure sphere.

He initially thought it had an Earth-like form, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t.

Heaven was like a lid, the earth like a basin, the divide between heaven and earth formed an oval, shaped like an egg.

This elliptical egg, clear on top and turbid below, rotated slowly. It was the world’s form as described in the book.

The world in the book was not equivalent to Chu Ge’s golden core; it merely manifested as such. The two were closely related, tightly interconnected. In other words, it could perhaps be called a “life essence” or “dharma form”?

Qiu Wuji’s early judgment had been correct—killing this pesky Heavenly Dao would lead to the world’s collapse. If the world descended into chaos or turmoil, Chu Ge’s life would be seriously threatened as well.

So, everything had been anticipated long ago, and it was now completely apparent. That’s all there was to it.

Chu Ge opened his eyes, and Qiu Wuji, who should have been sitting beside him, was already gone.

On the ground lay a smiling-face pajama, with a bra and panties inside.

She didn’t want to face their parting, so she left quietly before he woke up. He could even imagine the way she curled her lips before leaving, then changed her expression into a cold face like the ice on a distant mountain, a seamless transition.

“Xuan Ji.”

“Disciple is here.”

“Inform the various peaks that the winds of Divine Continent are rising, let the swords emerge from the mountains.”

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!” Sword shadows from all peaks soared into the sky, blocking out the sun.

Qiu Wuji looked east, and the myriad swords turned in that direction, heading directly towards the eastern sea, where dark clouds shrouded the city, vast as locusts.

Qiu Wuji extended her hand and made a gesture.

The myriad swords coalesced into the form of a huge ancient sword, descending straight to the end of the sea and sky.

“Roar!”

From within the thick fog, a blood column rose into the sky, and a massive turtle’s leg was broken and fell into the sea, dyeing the water crimson.

Qiu Wuji’s voice echoed throughout the heavens, “This seat waited for you seven weeks forties-nine days, yet no one came to pay respects… Since you harbor malicious intentions, there’s no need to come. Starting today, the nine-thousand-mile stretch of the Eastern Sea is off-limits. Intruders will be killed!”

The final battle in the mortal realm began.

Flameheart Palace, Yan Qianli turned north and muttered to himself in a low voice, “This woman is really something. Why isn’t she like this over there? Always making those whimpering sounds.”

Behind him, a massive nine-headed serpent was roaring, “She severed our divine turtle’s leg, and transportation between both sides is disrupted! How does she know this? Is there a spy among us?”

“Shut up!” Yan Qianli retorted with disdain. “Yunxiao City overlooks the world. Did you think that you could infiltrate in batches and hide from Xie Jiuxiao’s eyes?”

“Then why don’t we go attack Yunxiao City and capture Xie Jiuxiao?” The nine-headed serpent asked angrily. “Our king has already arrived, and Xie Jiuxiao won’t be able to stop us, let alone Qiu Wuji.”

Yan Qianli sneered, biting back what he wanted to say.

To his surprise, he found himself wanting to say: Just you, are you worthy?

This wasn’t logical. Had that damn Heavenly Dao tampered with his thoughts again?

No, he said he’d follow his heart… that’s right, looking down on these scoundrels is indeed in my heart. A group of scaly and horned creatures from the barbaric lands overseas, only fit to mix with the demon races in the mountains. Did they really think they could compete for supremacy in the Divine Continent?

Meanwhile, Chu Ge’s consciousness withdrew from the book.

This was merely the connection formed when he had a burst of spiritual power during his breakthrough. It was as if he received information about everything happening across the land and then, due to limited processing power, filtered out everything, keeping only the most relevant part.

Even this small part was challenging to maintain. Qiu Wuji had disappeared, Little Flame was gone too, and the room around him remained the same, with a computer on one side and Qiuqiu’s clothes scattered on the floor.

Chu Ge let out a deep sigh and extended his finger.

The clothes instantly traversed space and appeared in the washing machine on the balcony.

Chu Ge slowly walked out, gazing at the washing machine for a moment before raising his palm to examine it.

His control over space was becoming increasingly refined. He could manipulate it as easily as playing a game, and he felt like a top-tier expert no matter where he applied his skills.

But he felt no excitement at all. It had been a long time since he had experienced what it was like to be without Qiu Wuji. And according to her intentions, she might be away for quite a while this time, possibly up to ten days or even half a month.

“Mew mew mew.”

Just as he was missing his wife, his phone suddenly rang.

Chu Ge absentmindedly pulled out his phone and took a look at it; it was from Long Qi Jia.

“Brother Chu, I can help you keep an eye on boss’s information. There’s nothing else much, but I unexpectedly managed to get a ticket package for his Nanjiang concert tour. Do you want to go?”

“Why is it a package ticket?”

“It seems there’s some charity event after the performance that requires a separate admission ticket. So, it’s a package ticket.”

Chu Ge contemplated for a moment and then smiled. “I think I should go. Thanks.”