The Golden Core Detonation Art allowed a Golden Core cultivator to detonate their core and survive, even enabling them to recondense it and regain their cultivation within a short timeframe. However, there was a critical time limit. The sooner one attempted to recondense the core after detonation, the better. The longer the delay, the greater the difficulty of reformation. Even if successful, one's cultivation base would suffer significant damage.
Lin Feng didn't know exactly how long he had been 'unconscious,' but he could keenly sense that the mystical effect of the Golden Core Detonation Art within him was rapidly fading. If he didn't recondense his Golden Core immediately, the opportunity would be lost forever.
"KEWW!!!"
Just as Lin Feng was silently fretting over this, an ecstatic cry suddenly reached his ears. He froze for a split second, then exclaimed in joyous recognition, "Xiaoqiu!!"
Realizing he hadn't thought of Xiaoqiu's safety in his earlier confusion brought a pang of guilt. Yet, that joyful cry meant Xiaoqiu was unharmed. It also reassured him that his current location was probably safe, easing a huge weight off his mind.
"Xiaoqiu! I need to recondense my Golden Core right away! Stay safe!"
Unable to see where Xiaoqiu was, Lin Feng shouted the warning. Hearing a faint, affirmative chirp in response, he wasted no more time. With a sweep of his hand, countless mid-grade spirit stones poured from his storage ring, scattering around him like glittering pebbles. He pressed his palms together, forming a complex mudra, and plunged into a deep meditative trance.
Recondensing the Golden Core using the Golden Core Detonation Art's secret method was fundamentally different from a Foundation Establishment cultivator forming their core for the first time. The technique explicitly forbade the use of auxiliary pills like the Cyan Whisker Pill, as they would clash catastrophically with the secret art and cause failure. The other crucial requirement was a massive quantity of spirit stones – something Lin Feng, thankfully, possessed in abundance.
Lin Feng didn't know how reliable this secret art truly was, but he had no other choice. He had to stake everything on this attempt.
Once immersed in the process, Lin Feng banished all distracting thoughts. External stimuli faded away. His internal true essence began circulating at a frantic pace. Gradually, the swirling, multicolored light enveloping him grew restless, churning violently as if stirred by an invisible giant hand. It coalesced into a colossal vortex of spiritual energy, spinning relentlessly with Lin Feng at its heart.
"Humm…"
A low, vibrating hum resonated around Lin Feng. More and more Heaven and Earth spiritual energy coalesced from the void. The thick layer of spirit stones scattered on the sand began to glow like countless tiny lamps, their visible spiritual essence forcibly drawn out and sucked into the seven-colored maelstrom.
This converging torrent of spiritual energy poured ceaselessly into Lin Feng's body. He felt like a bottomless pit. As he absorbed it, the aura of true essence emanating from him surged upward at an astonishing, almost unbelievable rate...
In mere moments, the vast spread of spirit stones surrounding him crumbled into dust. Sensing the ambient energy thinning, Lin Feng, still deep in meditation, frowned slightly. Almost subconsciously, he waved his hand again. Another torrent of spirit stones, impossible to count, cascaded out, piling up layer upon layer around him until his body was almost buried within the glittering mound.
Like ice beneath a blazing sun, batch after batch of mid-grade spirit stones were consumed at a terrifying rate. The colorful vortex around Lin Feng expanded, soon engulfing the entire beach. Xiaoqiu, forced to retreat repeatedly, finally took refuge atop a tree at the jungle's edge.
"Kew…" Perched on a high branch, Xiaoqiu watched the sky-filling spectacle of colored light, feeling the immense pressure of the surging spiritual energy. Its eyes were wide with intense anxiety, its tiny mouth moving silently as if in prayer for Lin Feng.
"CRACK!!"
A sudden, ear-splitting thunderclap nearly jolted Xiaoqiu from its perch! It looked up in alarm. Against the clear, cloudless sky, a bolt of purple lightning, thick as a man's arm, descended like a divine sword, striking directly at the very center of the swirling vortex!
"It's here!!" Simultaneously, within the blinding light, Lin Feng's eyes snapped open. He looked skyward, his gaze sharp and focused.
When he had switched cultivation methods before, Lin Feng had dispersed and then recondensed his Golden Core. But that had merely been a temporary reshaping – the core's fundamental essence remained. No heavenly tribulation was required then. Now, however, the Golden Core was utterly destroyed. Reforming it meant gathering energy anew to create a completely fresh core – a process identical to advancing from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core. It demanded facing the Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation once more.
Having weathered it before, Lin Feng felt no panic. Instead, the sight of the tribulation lightning brought profound relief. Its appearance meant the Golden Core Detonation Art's secret method was functioning correctly. All he needed to do now was survive the tribulation, and his original cultivation would swiftly return.
Almost too fast to follow, as Lin Feng looked up, the colored light above him parted violently. The purple thunderbolt, unstoppable and fierce, plunged downward, reaching his head in the blink of an eye!
Lin Feng had intended to summon a defensive artifact. Yet, as the tribulation lightning closed in, his eyes narrowed imperceptibly. A flash of sheer astonishment crossed his face. An inexplicable thought arose: This tribulation lightning... it doesn't seem very strong at all…
With that thought came another, unstoppable idea. His gaze hardened. True essence surged within him, and a translucent armor of pure energy materialized over his skin.
"BOOM!!"
The arm-thick lightning struck Lin Feng head-on! A blinding flash erupted. When the light subsided, Lin Feng was revealed again... completely unharmed!!
"So weak?!" Lin Feng stared, incredulous, even at himself. Though his entire body tingled with numbness, that was all – the first tribulation lightning had been effortlessly endured!
How is this possible…? Could my innate talent still be so poor, only able to draw such a feeble tribulation? A wave of intense disappointment washed over him. He recalled the weakest First Cycle of Nine Tribulation Lightnings he had faced during his initial core formation – a consequence of a low-grade technique and his sealed spiritual roots. Now, his roots were unsealed, and he cultivated the supreme Prismatic Stellar Art! How could the tribulation be this 'weak' again?
"No!!" But then Lin Feng's eyes blazed with sudden understanding and elation. He felt it! Upon absorbing that lightning strike, an unimaginably vast surge of power instantly flooded his meridians! His entire body felt swollen with strength! This sensation was ten times more potent than anything he'd experienced after blocking the first tribulation lightning during his initial core formation!
A new, thrilling realization dawned: It's not that the tribulation is weak... it means… I've become stronger?!
"CRACK!!"
There was no time for deeper contemplation. The second tribulation lightning, accompanied by an even louder thunderclap, arrived in an instant!
"Hah!" All disappointment vanished, replaced by fierce excitement blazing in Lin Feng's eyes. He let out a short, defiant bark of laughter. Still eschewing any artifact, he simply circulated his true essence and took the hit head-on!
"CRACK!!" "CRACK!!" "CRACK!!"
Bolts of tribulation lightning descended in rapid succession, almost without pause, each striking Lin Feng squarely. Within the span of a few breaths, nine bolts had fallen!
Nine tribulation strikes, and Lin Feng had taken every single one with his physical body!! His expression grew increasingly ecstatic. After weathering the ninth bolt, he looked skyward, eyes shining with anticipation. Seeing the next flash gathering, he couldn't help but throw his head back and roar with laughter.
"Hahaha!! Excellent!! Bring it on!!"
Lin Feng was euphoric. He had never imagined facing a heavenly tribulation could feel so… easy. And the gains were undiminished! After each lightning strike, he felt himself grow stronger. After nine strikes, he had already far surpassed the gains from his initial core formation. Yet, the tribulation wasn't over! This meant it wasn't merely the First Cycle of Nine… he could endure more tempering, grow stronger! How could he not be thrilled?
"KABOOOM…"
Amid Lin Feng's laughter, a bolt of purple lightning, thicker than before, descended from the heavens and slammed into him...
Another relentless cycle of nine tribulation bolts followed. Lin Feng endured them all. Yet, within him, his Golden Core had only just begun to form a vague silhouette, not yet fully solidified. This meant only one thing...
"CRACK!!" After only a brief pause, another thunderclap, deafeningly louder than any before, erupted overhead!
Third Cycle of Nine Tribulation Lightnings!!
Lin Feng's eyes blazed with focused intensity. With a wave of his hand, he scattered another mountain of spirit stones. True essence surged, protecting his internal meridians, but this time, he deliberately withdrew the protective armor from his body's surface!
"BOOM!!" The lightning struck, engulfing Lin Feng's figure…
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!..."
After nine more earth-shaking detonations, the world finally fell silent. On the beach, amidst the slowly settling swirls of colored light, Lin Feng remained seated cross-legged. His appearance was decidedly worse for wear: his body was charred black, tendrils of dark smoke still curling from his hair. Yet, his eyes shone with vibrant spirit, filled with triumph and unyielding pride.
He had weathered the Third Cycle of Nine Tribulation Lightnings, and done so with remarkable ease. A profound sense of accomplishment filled Lin Feng's heart.
Within him, the Golden Core had finally solidified into its true form. It seemed the recondensation was successfully complete...
"Huh?!"
At that precise moment, however, Lin Feng's pupils contracted violently. Sensing something impossible, he snapped his head up to look at the sky... and instantly froze in utter disbelief.
"Still... there's more?!"