According to what the senior elder said, he reached the level of a high-level martial artist at the age of thirty-five.

In comparison, this is already quite fast; normally, people reach the high-level martial artist stage around the age of forty, spending most of their time on the Ren and Du Meridians.

For Lin Tian, after obtaining the elixir, the Ren and Du Meridians really didn’t take long.

A high-level martial artist at eighteen would probably astound everyone.

And when the senior elder was at the high-level martial artist stage, Xv Weiran had already advanced to the Golden Core. These are two completely different realms, with powers on entirely different levels.

"Xv Weiran was a very arrogant person, thinking that being in the Golden Core realm made him invincible. Later, under our ambush, he was left with only half a life. I dragged him alone to a deserted place, wanting to see if he still had the elixirs and heart methods he stole from the forbidden grounds on him."

"The result was pleasing; the kid actually had three heart methods on him. But he wasn’t dead yet, and seeing me take his heart methods, he only wanted to kill me. But he was already a cripple. How easy is it to kill me? In the end, I didn’t expect that maniac to try to self-destruct his Golden Core to take me down with him. If I hadn’t struck fast, I’d have been dead decades ago."

"I pierced through his neck with a single blade. As the saying goes: ’Life and death vanish, and the way dissipates,’ nothing was truer. That kid died, and the Golden Core became ownerless; not only could it not self-destruct, but I also took it."

"And then what happened?" Lin Tian couldn’t help but ask.

"Later... I studied those three heart methods thoroughly and discovered they contained a direct method to advance to the Golden Core, by taking someone else’s Golden Core and merging it into one’s Sea of Qi," the senior elder said.

The second and sixth elders were both stunned, asking with straight gazes, "Elder brother, did you really do that?"

The senior elder sighed and nodded, "I also regret it now. Knowing it was a shortcut, I still couldn’t resist the temptation and spent two years merging the Golden Core into my Sea of Qi."

Lin Tian lightly tapped his fingers on the table and, after pondering for a while, asked, "When you merged the Golden Core into the Sea of Qi, you must have suffered a backlash, right? After all, it wasn’t something you cultivated yourself."

Spiritual Qi and Inner Strength are distinct, cultivated Inner Strength differs based on the Inner Power Heart Method used, and naturally, the Golden Core is different. Opposed forces repel each other; integrating such a thing into one’s own body is nothing short of courting death!

"Young brother, you might not know. The heart method I obtained back then provided exactly the method to turn the Golden Core into my own. That’s why I had the idea."

"Then how did it end up like this?"

"Ah. You might not know that this Golden Core originally did not belong to Xv Weiran; he had taken it from someone else using the same method! Even though the person died, the Golden Core still had remnants of suppression from others. When I merged the Golden Core into my body, it already contained two other people’s auras, which I could not suppress on my own! I spent twenty years, not only failing to refine this Golden Core but also allowing it to grow stronger. It could seize my consciousness at any moment."

"Elder brother, you’re really..." The sixth elder held back for a while before blurting out two words, "Courting death!"

"Ah... I hope the young brother can save me." The senior elder turned his gaze toward Lin Tian.

Lin Tian did not reply immediately but lowered his head, thinking for a moment before responding, "There is a remedy, but I don’t know if you can handle it."

"What?"

"Everything stems from the Golden Core; why not just remove it?"

The senior elder shook his head with a bitter smile. "If it were that easy, I wouldn’t have dragged it out until today. This Golden Core has been in my Sea of Qi for nearly thirty years, not only merging with my Inner Strength but becoming a part of my body. If forcibly removed, it would harm the core, and my life would not be spared!"

This is indeed a vexing problem; the hardest thing in the world is to have your cake and eat it too.

"I have a method, but I don’t know if the senior elder can accept it." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Do tell."

"I have here a heart method and a cultivation technique. The heart method is precisely the Heart Purification Method you need, capable of suppressing the distractions within the Golden Core. There is also a cultivation technique, which can transfer all your Inner Strength to another person. But it must be someone of the same school, who does not repel your Inner Strength," Lin Tian said.

The first to disagree was the second elder, who hastily said, "Absolutely not! Transferring the cultivation technique to someone else, I’ve only seen this in TV shows; it’s impossible in reality! Even if it were possible, I wouldn’t agree! Elder brother is already past seventy; if he loses all his power, how would he be any different from an ordinary person? I fear he wouldn’t enjoy many more years!"

Lin Tian turned his head to look at him and asked with a smile, "Without power, the Heart Demon’s strength would be negligible, and with the Heart Purification Method, the Heart Demon would naturally disappear. As for the senior elder’s lifespan... do you at Luoyan Dock not have any health-preserving cultivation techniques? Living another fifty years should be manageable."

"But..."

The senior elder waved his hand, interrupting the second elder, and said with a smile, "Brother Pao Wang is right! Compared to the Heart Demon, my power can be lost. Being able to live freely for another fifty years, what more could I ask? People shouldn’t be too greedy."

Lin Tian laughed and said, "Hehe, as long as you are open-minded. Next, let’s discuss what I can obtain."

Lin Tian was not familiar with these old men and had even been at odds with them earlier. Helping them for free was not his style.

"Of course, of course," the sixth elder said with a smile. "What does the young brother wish for?"

Lin Tian’s eyes flickered. Initially wanting to plead for the Xu Family, letting bygones be bygones regarding the theft of the medicine treasury. However, that might expose his identity. For Lin Tian, this was a highly dangerous matter; who knows if these three old men in front of him might burn the bridge after crossing it or slaughter the chicken to get the egg.

"What I want is simple. Earlier, the senior elder promised me one condition. Additionally, I also need the ’Ren Du Golden Elixir’. As for the rest, I can’t think of anything at the moment, so let’s leave it at that..."

A heart method plus a cultivation technique, exchanged for a promise and a piece of insight.

A promise is unfulfilled, and after the senior elder loses all his power, this promise is almost useless.

As for the insight... its importance is neither great nor small.

This is somewhat a loss for Lin Tian.

These three elders were all shrewd people; how could they not calculate the pros and cons? For a moment, they found it strange that this kid didn’t seem like a good type. Not exploiting the opportunity was not his style!