Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 49: Golden Core Stage

Wherever her eyes could reach, there was only darkness. Ye Su raised her hand and summoned a spiritual flame, trying to illuminate her surroundings, but the darkness seemed to devour the light.

The flame appeared for only a brief moment—before it could light anything, it was absorbed by the surrounding darkness.

Standing in the pitch-black space, Ye Su thought for a long time. In the end, she raised her hand and began channeling spiritual energy from her core, releasing it at her fingertips. She aimed to recreate the first talisman symbol that had appeared earlier.

For some reason, releasing spiritual power was extremely difficult in this dark realm. Especially while drawing the talisman, Ye Su could clearly feel the resistance and obstruction.

She had barely started the first stroke when her energy was disrupted and the symbol broke. She had to start all over again.

The more difficult it became, the more determined Ye Su was to complete the symbol.

Though spiritual energy was thick and hard to control here, and talisman drawing was tough, there was one benefit—unlike when she had drawn a Binding Talisman before, she wasn't struck by backlash.

In this darkness, Ye Su completely lost her sense of time. Eventually, only one thought remained in her mind: Draw the talisman. | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html

Once, twice... countless failed attempts. For most people, their patience would’ve worn thin, leading to frustration and inefficiency.

But Ye Su was different. She was too used to failure. Used to trying again and again without seeing results. Failure didn’t shake her—it made her calmer, her hand steadier.

From the early attempts where the symbol broke at the very first stroke, she gradually managed to extend horizontal and vertical lines. By the end, she could complete most of the diagram.

As she neared completion, Ye Su gained more control over how she released her spiritual power. Her speed increased, until finally, she drew the full talisman in one continuous motion.

The energy at her fingertips was consumed quickly, but just before it vanished, Ye Su finished the drawing.

—She did it. | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html

Ye Su stared at the golden talisman glowing in the darkness. The moment it was completed, it suddenly moved, shooting straight through her.

She turned her head, only to catch a glimpse of its fading trail.

Gone? | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html

Ye Su frowned, unsure of what just happened.

"Was that a breakthrough?"

"It must’ve been! I told you, it wouldn’t be long before Senior Sister ascended!"

"Shut. Up."

In the darkness, Ye Su suddenly heard her junior disciples' voices. Instinctively, she took a few steps forward.

Just then, an intense white light flared up. Ye Su raised her hand to shield her eyes. When she opened them again, she was back in You Fushi’s room.

You Fushi sat to the side, quietly fiddling with a Mistflower Fang | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html. Ming Liu Sha, Xiyu, and Xia Er were all standing at the doorway, peeking in.

"Senior Sister, you’re finally awake!" Xia Er rushed in like an arrow. "You were meditating in Little Junior Brother’s room for five days!"

Five days? | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html

Ye Su knew very well that she had spent far more than five days in that dark realm. Then again, that made sense—time flowed differently inside compared to the outside world.

"Senior Sister, did you break through?" Xiyu followed her in, asking.

Ming Liu Sha drawled slowly, "She… definitely did."

Still seated at the table, freshly returned from the dark realm, Ye Su remained silent for a moment. Only after listening to her junior brothers and sister did she finally check her own spiritual core.

She had been in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Her next step was, naturally—the Golden Core stage | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html.

Golden Core Stage—as the name suggests—means a golden core will form and float inside one’s spiritual core. If one progresses further and forms a Nascent Soul, this golden core will gradually take shape into its true form: the Nascent Soul.

But… nothing.

Ye Su didn’t see a golden core in her spiritual core at all. She only sensed that her spiritual energy had become far denser—dozens of times more than before.

Instinctively, she looked at You Fushi, wanting to ask if he knew why.

"Ye Su, congratulations—you’ve reached the Golden Core stage." At that moment, Xu Chengyu walked in from outside. Seeing Ye Su had come out of her meditation, he smiled. "Your breakthrough caused even more commotion than mine."

"Fellow Daoist Xu has been keeping watch outside this whole time," Xiyu explained. "Senior Sister, when you entered meditation, the spiritual energy from the entire inn started surging toward this room. A lot of people tried to investigate."

Xu Chengyu’s advancement to the Nascent Soul stage had already drawn a lot of attention. But over the past five days, Ye Su hadn’t just drawn in the energy from her own room—the entire inn’s spiritual energy | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html had poured into this room, completely disabling all the gathering arrays.

Even the innkeeper wanted to come check it out, but Xu Chengyu turned him away and compensated him with spirit stones.

"Thank you, Brother Xu," Ye Su stood and gave him a respectful nod.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the torn talisman book that had been on the table was now gone. You Fushi, meanwhile, was still quietly playing with the Mistflower Fang | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html, as if nothing had happened.

Xia Er’s brainwashing technique was starting to work. Ma Congqiu looked at Ye Su and muttered, "You’re not really going to become some big-shot cultivator in the future… are you?"

After hesitating for a moment, he added, "If you really plan to join the sect competition, maybe we could team up when the time comes."

Ye Su knew the sect competition didn’t just involve solo duels—some events required temporary teams. In the original novel, the male and female leads had formed a team. At first, the male lead’s friends disapproved of the female lead, but after a few victories, they began to see her in a new light.

"Of course," she replied. Ma Congqiu had lent her ten thousand top-grade spirit stones without hesitation—she could certainly agree without hesitation, too.

When Ye Su walked out of the room, she could feel the lingering energy from Xu Chengyu’s earlier breakthrough. She knew clearly that countless eyes within the inn were now watching her.

The moment she stepped out, people downstairs began whispering.

"She’s only at the Golden Core stage?"

"Causing such a stir at just Golden Core? That’s only the second time I’ve seen that happen."

"You’ve seen it once before? Where?"

"On a mountain somewhere—another girl, too, I think."

……

Anyone who could tell her cultivation level at a glance had to be at the Golden Core stage or above. Both Xu Chengyu and those people downstairs could clearly sense her level—yet Ye Su couldn’t find a trace of a golden core inside her spiritual core.

Foundation Establishment is when the spiritual core is stabilized. By the late stage, it should be fully set—but Ye Su’s spiritual core had expanded again, nearly doubling in size. Still, there was no golden core to be found inside… only a flowing sea of spiritual energy?

Ye Su didn’t know what it was, but she vaguely felt that this "spiritual sea" was the thing she had been unable to clearly perceive during Foundation Establishment.

It was something that had always existed in her spiritual core.

She didn’t understand the reason, but she kept it to herself, not showing any reaction on the surface.

"One year—from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core," Zhou Yun looked at Ye Su. "You advanced way faster than the rest of us. It took me three years to reach the Golden Core stage."

And he had spent that time in the Sword Sect, where spiritual energy was abundant and never in short supply.

The group sat together downstairs in a relaxed atmosphere. They ordered seven or eight spiritual dishes and two pots of tea.

After a while, Xu Chengyu brought up a few upcoming secret realms: "The closest one opens in three months. It’s not far from Gui Zong City."

"If there’s something you want to say, just say it, Brother Xu," Ye Su noticed that he was holding something back, so she asked directly.

"Three months from now, two secret realms will open—one is a small one, the other is the Desolate City Secret Realm," Xu Chengyu said as he opened a jade communication plate. The news had come from the Sword Sect. "Only Golden Core cultivators and above can enter the Desolate City realm. It’s made up of vast abandoned cities, appears once every fifty years, and has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of cultivators. But over two thousand cultivators have also found magical artifacts and secret techniques inside—and advanced rapidly."

"You’re thinking of going into the Desolate City realm?" Ye Su caught the implication in his words.

"We weren’t planning on it at first," Xu Chengyu admitted with some hesitation, "but now that you’ve reached the early Golden Core stage, we thought it would be a good opportunity to go together."

Ye Su turned to look at Ming Liu Sha, Xiyu, and Xia Er. The three junior disciples had only just reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. There was no way they could enter the Desolate City secret realm.

Secret realms with cultivation restrictions were extremely dangerous. Anyone who entered below the required level would be torn apart instantly—this was a hard-earned truth learned from the experience of past cultivators.

"I know you're heading into the secret realm for spiritual energy and materials," Xu Chengyu had clearly considered everything. "If you agree, Ye Su, the Sword Sect is willing to provide spiritual energy for your three junior disciples to train during this time, along with all the materials they need for forging tools. If they have time, they can also help repair magic tools—for payment."

Before Ye Su could respond, Ming Liu Sha asked first: "If we go to the Sword Sect, will you protect Senior Sister inside the secret realm?"

"We will," Xu Chengyu answered. "The Desolate City realm is vast. There are still many unexplored areas. It’s dangerous—but it’s also one of the few secret realms that can really help cultivators improve quickly."

"I’m in," Ming Liu Sha slowly raised her hand.

"I’m in too," Xiyu raised her hand next.

Seeing her two senior siblings raise their hands, Xia Er immediately followed suit, raising her hand as well: "Senior Sister, you have to go to the big secret realm!"

Sitting to the side, You Fushi saw that all the members of Qianji Sect had raised their hands, so he raised his too—indicating that he was one of them.

In the end, Ye Su agreed. She wanted to grow stronger—only then could she protect the Qianji Sect.

"When you get to the Sword Sect, you’ll be able to meet up with Yi Xuan," Ye Su added. "I wonder how he’s doing lately."

"Alright," everyone replied in unison.

……

After the meal, Ye Su found an opportunity to speak with You Fushi in private.

"The two pages from the fragmented talisman book—when put together, they let you enter a dark realm," Ye Su stared into You Fushi’s eyes and asked, "What’s special about that place?"

She wasn’t sure if her lack of a Golden Core was due to herself or something related to that realm.

"I can’t remember," You Fushi replied after thinking seriously for a moment.

Ye Su fell silent. She shouldn’t have expected anything useful from her forgetful, illiterate junior brother.

"Are you some kind of fish demon?" she asked. "Only seven seconds of memory?"

You Fushi tilted his head. "What’s seven seconds?"

"Forget it." Ye Su asked him, "Where’s the fragmented talisman book?"

You Fushi reached into his Qiankun bag and handed her the fragmented talisman book.

Ye Su flipped through it and saw the two sheets of paper tucked between the pages. She only glanced at them briefly before closing the book. "Are all of these supposed to be torn out?"

"They’re useless," You Fushi looked up at Ye Su, then casually shifted his gaze back to the book. "It’s only useful if it’s complete."

Seeing she wouldn’t get anything else from him, Ye Su gave up. She had too many questions left unanswered—whether to draw the remaining talismans from the dark realm, what effects they might have once completed, and where her missing Golden Core had gone.

Back in her room, Ye Su sent messages to both her sect leader and Elder Yu, asking whether they had ever heard of a Golden Core cultivator without a Golden Core.

The sect leader, who probably hadn’t rested yet, replied quickly: "First Disciple, why are you asking this? How can a cultivator be at the Golden Core stage without a Golden Core? Without it, how would you ever form a Nascent Soul? Is everything going well with all of you out there?"

She could tell from his tone that the sect leader had a bunch of questions. She responded briefly, then gave a simple summary of what had happened recently, before entering meditation again to examine her spiritual core.

The pale golden spiritual core space stretched endlessly, but her divine sense couldn’t reach far—it only confirmed that her spiritual core was unusually vast.

In the very center of it, a golden stream flowed like seawater. Ye Su couldn’t ignore it. She tried to send her divine sense closer, but as it neared, it dissipated and snapped back to its original position.

Ye Su: "…"

Her own spiritual core, and yet she couldn’t control it. No one would believe her if she told them.

She tried again and again, but she still couldn’t get close to the flowing "spiritual sea band." She didn’t have a Golden Core, but instead, this strange feature had appeared—and she couldn’t even inspect it.

Her divine sense could only observe it from high above, far away. She couldn’t see the start or the end—only the direction in which it flowed gave her some sense of its origin and destination.

That "spiritual sea band" moved slowly, but Ye Su had a strong feeling that an immense power was gathering underneath it.

All the bizarre things inside her spiritual core would be hard for anyone to accept. Ye Su only struggled with it briefly at the beginning—then withdrew her divine sense and stopped paying attention. She lay down to rest.

On the third day, Ye Su suddenly received a reply from Elder Yu: "A Golden Core cultivator without a core may have… merged it into their sea of consciousness. Ye Su, if that person is you, never speak of this to anyone again. | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/chapter-49-golden-core-stage.html"