Failed Core Formation Breakthrough
That was what the cultivation world called the phenomenon when a cultivator failed at the most critical moment of forming their core, when the spiritual core could not fully coalesce or stabilize within the dantian.
The reasons were manifold: impurities in spiritual energy disrupting the condensation process, flawed cultivation techniques or an unstable foundation, demonic distractions haunting the mind at the moment of breakthrough… But the most common cause was external interference. A sneak attack, a disturbance, or environmental factors disrupting the cultivator's meditative trance.
A single misstep was enough to spell failure.
And when failure struck, the consequences were often catastrophic.
In Yue Ling's case, the fact that she had managed to form a False Core was already the best possible outcome.
"But how? What happened?" Lang Tian furrowed his brow, his voice thick with doubt.
He knew his Senior Sister well—she was not reckless, nor was she the type of cultivator to rush headlong into danger. Moreover, she had already undergone the core formation process once before, having possessed a Seventh-Grade Golden Core.
But then he remembered that here, in this cursed forbidden land, Yue Ling had been alone.
When she entered the meditative state to form her core, there was no one by her side to stand guard.
"Could it be… a demonic beast attacked while you were forming your core?" he asked softly.
"Not just a demonic beast…" Yue Ling sighed, "but also… the Heavenly Tribulation."
"…What?" Lang Tian froze, stunned. "The… what?!"
"You heard me," she replied nonchalantly. "The Heavenly Tribulation."
"Wait—WHAT?! That's… IMPOSSIBLE!"
Lang Tian's voice erupted in shock.
The Heavenly Tribulation?!
It was utterly absurd!
"How could there be a Heavenly Tribulation at the Core Formation Realm?!"
Every cultivator knew that the Heavenly Tribulation only descended when one broke through from the Core Formation Realm to the Primordial Embryo Realm, crossing the threshold of a major realm.
The Heavenly Tribulation was the wrath of the Heavenly Dao, a divine punishment sent to test those who dared defy the natural order of life and death.
Typically, it manifested as a Thunder Tribulation. But depending on a cultivator's physique, karma, and foundation, it could take the form of Earthfire, Soul-Scattering Yin Winds, or even Illusory Realms of Karmic Retribution.
Each Heavenly Tribulation was unique, its form and trials tailored by the heavens to the cultivator's essence, weaknesses, and destiny.
It tested not only strength. It also challenged will, resolve, and even one's heavenly mandate.
Failure meant the body shattered and the soul scattered. However, success would bring transcendence, a surge in cultivation, and a foundation strengthened tenfold.
But… why would Yue Ling face such a thing at the Core Formation Realm?
That's what he utterly could not understand.
"Hold on, Senior Sister… are you certain it was a Heavenly Tribulation? Could it have been… just some natural phenomenon that happened to coincide?"
"You think so?" Yue Ling raised an eyebrow. "Do you believe heavenly lightning would strike the same spot five times in a row for no reason?"
"Damn it…" Lang Tian muttered, trembling.
"So it really was… a Heavenly Tribulation."
But then—
Something even more terrifying struck him.
"Wait… you said how many times?"
Yue Ling didn't answer with words.
She merely raised her hand silently.
Five fingers.
Lang Tian stood petrified.
"WHAT?! Five times?! Are you joking?! Even during a breakthrough to the Primordial Embryo Realm… it's only three thunder strikes!"
He clutched his head, feeling as though he were going mad.
Because he understood exactly what that meant.
In every Heavenly Tribulation, each bolt of lightning grew stronger than the last, its power increasing exponentially. By the third strike, its force was eight times that of the first. Countless renowned masters had perished there, their bodies obliterated under the heavens' wrathful punishment.
So then, the fifth strike?
Thirty-two times the power of the first!
That was insanity!
How could someone… who hadn't even fully formed a true Golden Core, survive such a thing?
This was no longer a test; it was a Heavenly Annihilation! As if the Heavenly Dao itself refused to let her exist!
Lang Tian stood frozen, his mind and soul shaken as if struck by towering waves crashing against a cliff.
Not only had a Heavenly Tribulation descended early, but it had struck five times.
Damn it…
There was only one possible explanation for it all, that this path of Demonic Cultivation… was too defiant of the heavens!
It tore apart the very laws of heaven and earth, provoking the wrath of the Heavenly Dao to unleash thunderous punishment before the path could fully mature!
It was like an ant, not only climbing the pillar of the heavens but baring its fangs and roaring at the gods in the Ninth Heaven… The Heavenly Dao would naturally act first, crushing the seed of calamity before it could sprout.
Yet, this very fact had also revealed a truth far more terrifying:
The Heavenly Dao… feared this path.
And perhaps, if someone could firmly set foot on this demonic path…
If they survived.
If they overcame it all, then they would become an existence that transcended all limits.