When a cultivator formed their Golden Core, the nature of the Heavenly Tribulation they attracted varied greatly depending on the grade of their cultivation technique and their innate talent. The weakest was the First Cycle of Nine Tribulation Lightnings, while the strongest was the Third Cycle of Nine. This was Lin Feng's understanding, and indeed, the universal consensus within the entire cultivation world.
Back in the Black Mist Medicine Valley, when he first formed his core, he had only endured the First Cycle of Nine, a fact that had always rankled him. Just moments ago, experiencing the Third Cycle of Nine had filled him with a profound sense of vindication and exhilarating pride. It was an immensely satisfying achievement. After the twenty-seventh tribulation lightning strike, his internal Golden Core had fully solidified. Naturally, he assumed the tribulation was over and that his core formation had concluded with unexpected smoothness.
But when he sensed an abnormality above him and looked up to see the sky churning with thunderclouds, the soul-shaking pressure of heavenly lightning descending once more as another bolt gathered power, he was stunned. His emotions plummeted from elation to sheer terror, mixed with utter bewilderment and helplessness.
"F-Fourth Cycle of Nine?! Impossible!!"
Lin Feng froze for a heartbeat, then almost stamped his foot in furious disbelief. A wave of dread and absurdity washed over him. He simply couldn't believe he was facing the Fourth Cycle of Nine Tribulation Lightnings—wasn't that the tribulation for forming a Nascent Soul?!
Did the heavens think the first three cycles were too easy, so they're adding another set?! This bizarre thought surfaced uncontrollably in his mind. Then his eyes widened in horror, his face instantly turning ashy pale. A chilling realization struck him: Or... was the reason the first twenty-seven strikes felt so 'simple' because they were saving the real power for this final round?! This is meant to kill me!!
He thought this because he could clearly feel that the impending lightning strike was utterly incomparable to the previous twenty-seven. It was stronger… by an immeasurable magnitude!
"Damn it!! What in the world is happening?!"
Lost in this whirlwind of shock for a critical instant, Lin Feng jolted back to reality, his face grim. He gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath, and frantically mobilized every shred of true essence within him. Simultaneously, he flipped his hand, summoning the Luminous Jade Talisman and activating it instantly. He braced himself with every fiber of his being to meet the tribulation head-on.
"CRACK!!"
Almost too fast to react, an earth-shattering thunderclap exploded directly overhead. Lin Feng instinctively glanced up again—and his expression shifted violently. "S-Seven-Colored Tribulation Lightning?!"
In his vision, the descending bolt wasn't just twice as thick as before; crucially, it wasn't the 'normal' purple hue. It was… seven-colored!
Rainbow-colored tribulation lightning?! Lin Feng had never even heard of such a thing! Yet, in the very next instant, his thoughts leaped to his cultivation technique—the Prismatic Stellar Art! Could this impossible phenomenon be caused by cultivating the Prismatic Stellar Art?! What kind of technique could alter the very color of heavenly tribulation?!
"BOOM!!"
There was no time for further questions. The unprecedented, thigh-thick bolt of seven-colored tribulation lightning filled his vision, growing larger in his pupils as it arrived instantaneously!
"SHATTER—!" The Luminous Light Barrier above Lin Feng's head was pulverized instantly. Next, the true essence armor covering his body disintegrated like paper. And then…
"AHHHHH!!" A scream of unimaginable agony tore from Lin Feng's throat, erupting from the center of the exploding colored light. The sheer torment conveyed by that cry was horrifying.
"KEWW!!" On the distant tree, Xiaoqiu frantically scrambled up and down the branches, utterly helpless, consumed by desperate anxiety.
"CRACK!!" Before Lin Feng's scream could even fade, as if granting him no respite, the second seven-colored tribulation bolt descended!
Within the swirling maelstrom of light, Lin Feng was a picture of extreme wretchedness after enduring the first colored strike. Seeing the next bolt falling, he clenched his jaw, forcing himself to ignore the excruciating, tearing pain ravaging his meridians. With a sweep of his hand, he summoned a golden shield artifact the size of a door panel and poured his remaining true essence into reinforcing his external defenses once more.
"SHATTER—!" The superior-grade spirit artifact shield splintered like kindling the moment the seven-colored lightning touched it. It was impossible to tell how much of the strike's power it had even absorbed.
"BOOM!!" Another deafening explosion swallowed Lin Feng's figure whole…
...
Bolt after bolt of seven-colored tribulation lightning descended from the heavens, annihilating artifact after artifact Lin Feng desperately threw up as defense, before inevitably hammering into his body.
Unbeknownst to Lin Feng, the previously bright sky had plunged into utter darkness. Directly above him, precisely where the colored lightning originated, an enormous black vortex had formed, as if the sky itself had been torn open. Within the depths of that swirling void, seven points of light, each a different vibrant color, seemed to flicker faintly—like seven multicolored stars…
This awe-inspiring, terrifying sight was only visible within the immediate vicinity. Yet, they were adrift in the boundless expanse of the Starry Sky Sea. For hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles, there might not be another soul. Witnesses to this celestial anomaly were exceedingly rare.
...
"Six... seven... eight!!"
Lin Feng gritted out the numbers through clenched teeth. Veins bulged grotesquely on his forehead. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, pupils dilated with pain and fury. Sweat drenched him from head to toe, as if he'd been dragged from the ocean. An unprecedented surge of true essence churned violently within him—too powerful, terrifyingly so, feeling as if it might explode outwards at any moment. With mechanical desperation, he pulled artifact after artifact from his storage ring and flung them upwards, heedless of their effectiveness. Every movement sent agonizing crackles echoing through his body, like popping beans—the sound of his bones straining to their limit. Countless rainbow-hued arcs of lightning skittered across his charred skin, creating a grotesque, terrifying spectacle.
"NINE!! AAAAAAGH!!"
By the time the ninth seven-colored bolt descended, Lin Feng had reached his absolute limit. His face contorted in a final, defiant roar. Summoning the dregs of his will and every last drop of his rampaging true essence, he forged a suit of armor around himself. But unlike before, this armor shimmered with a radiant, seven-colored brilliance, dense and solid as crystalline steel. For a fleeting moment, it looked as though he had truly donned a suit of awe-inspiring, prismatic battle armor.
"BOOOOOOM!!" The ninth bolt of colored tribulation lightning slammed into Lin Feng with cataclysmic force. The beach erupted, sand and stone flying like shrapnel. The entire island seemed to lurch violently beneath the impact.
"....."
After this final strike, an eerie silence descended upon the world. High above, the colossal black vortex slowly sealed itself, the seven colored stars winking out of existence as the tear in the sky closed…
Below, on the nameless island, within the slowly fading, beach-covering shroud of colored light, there was a conspicuous absence—no scream from Lin Feng. The sudden transition from deafening chaos to profound stillness created an oppressively tense atmosphere.
"HUM—!"
Abruptly, the surrounding air vibrated intensely. The swirling mass of colored light on the beach churned violently, then began contracting inwards at a visible speed. Simultaneously, an overwhelming aura of true essence erupted from its core!
The intensity of this aura was not merely that of someone who had just formed a Golden Core (Core Formation Stage Level 1). Instead, it soared upwards at an unfathomable pace! Within mere breaths, it reached Core Formation Stage Level 2… and continued its unstoppable ascent without pause!!
Core Formation Stage Level 3... Level 4... Level 8... Level 9!!