As Li Yan flew away from Little Bamboo Peak, he thought to himself, 'After half a year of preparation, Senior Brother must have reached his peak state in all aspects. Coupled with the assistance of the Dustless Pill , he is now beginning to charge toward the Golden Core realm.' Thinking of this, he looked back at the churning, dense cloud that had already covered an area of several dozen li.
'This is the prelude to the Core Tribulation during the formation of a Golden Core. Just this pressure alone is extremely terrifying. It hasn't even descended yet, but it already makes my heart pound with fear, giving rise to a sense of being completely unmatched.'
Li Yan was no longer a fledgling who had just entered the path of immortality. He now knew a great deal about the ways of cultivation. When a cultivator succeeded in Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment, there would only be a rumbling sound within their own body, and it would not cause any external celestial phenomena. But once they reached the stage of forming a core or a Nascent Soul , it would trigger celestial phenomena, which cultivators usually called the Core Tribulation or the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation. This was mainly because at this stage, the cultivator had embarked on a path that defied the heavens. At the Foundation Establishment stage, a cultivator's lifespan was only two hundred years. This was achievable even in the Mortal Realm . For example, Daoist qi practitioners in the Mortal Realm, supplemented with medicinal pills, could live to be one hundred and fifty to two hundred years old.
There were also some peerless internal martial arts masters and emperors in the martial world who had their own sets of life-preserving techniques. Although they were not cultivators, they also yearned for eternal life and used other means to greatly extend their lifespans. For example, in the mortal dynasty under the jurisdiction of the Ten-Pace Courtyard , there was an emperor of the Qin clan ten thousand years ago who was himself an extremely formidable peerless master of the martial world. His internal energy had reached the Transformation Realm , and he would occasionally consume life-preserving pills refined by Daoists. He actually lived to be two hundred and nine years old, becoming an indelible emperor in mortal history.
But after a cultivator reaches Foundation Establishment, if they can successfully form a Golden Core within two hundred years, their lifespan can instantly reach a terrifying five hundred years. This is not permitted by the rules of heaven and earth. This is a path of defying the heavens to change one's fate. As such, it will trigger the suppression of the rules of heaven and earth to prevent the cultivator from forming a core. If the cultivator, under this heavenly might, overcomes the shackles of heaven and earth, they can truly embark on a heaven-defying path of cultivation. Otherwise, they will at most live a few more years than a mortal and will usually perish within two hundred years. Only a very small number of people live slightly longer, but they will not exceed two hundred and fifty years and will surely die by then.
The Golden Core Tribulation consists of three lightning tribulations, each more powerful than the last. The reason Golden Core cultivators are so rare is that the vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators perish under the second and third lightning tribulations when charging toward the Golden Core. Only a very small number can succeed. Therefore, when a cultivator plans to form a Golden Core, they will often choose an extremely safe place and implore one or two Golden Core elders to assist from the side, only then can they increase their chances of success by a small margin.
When Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Malevolent Spirit Sect charged toward the Golden Core, they were often assisted by the Golden Core elders or Peak Master of their own peak. This time, Li Wuyi's sudden attempt to form a Golden Core without being able to inform Wei Zhongran in time could only mean that the timing of his core formation was unexpected. This was actually a common occurrence. Many cultivators would have an inexplicable sense before attempting to form a Golden Core, a vague premonition of the date of their attempt. It was a mysterious and profound feeling. When the time came, it would be impossible for them not to attempt it. It was just that this sensed date was not very accurate, but the difference would generally not exceed seven days. Li Wuyi's sudden triggering of the celestial phenomena this time, with Wei Zhongran unable to appear in time, could only mean that Li Wuyi's premonition was off, and the Core Tribulation arrived today. He could no longer suppress it, nor did he have time to inform Wei Zhongran. This was what led to the initial chaos on Little Bamboo Peak. But fortunately, this was within the Malevolent Spirit Sect. Yan Longzi and the others quickly noticed the abnormality on Little Bamboo Peak and immediately rushed over. This was the advantage of a large sect, which did not lack Golden Core or even Nascent Soul experts. Moreover, a Golden Core cultivator was a mainstay of the sect. The formation of a Golden Core by any one of them would shake the entire sect, even a behemoth like the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
As Li Yan pondered, he had already flown a hundred li from Little Bamboo Peak. He saw Wei Chituo and the others in the distance, along with hundreds of densely packed Foundation Establishment cultivators. Their flying speeds were naturally much faster than his. And here, apart from the three martial nephews and a dozen handymen from Little Bamboo Peak who had been grabbed by Wei Chituo, the one with the lowest cultivation level standing in the air now was himself.
Seeing no less than several hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, Li Yan, on one hand, marveled at the profound foundation of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and on the other hand, knew the purpose of these people being here. That was to observe the process of forming a Golden Core up close. This was something every Foundation Establishment cultivator paid close attention to. This observation would bring them untold benefits for their own future attempts at forming a Golden Core. But for Qi Condensation disciples, seeing this was not of much use, because they could not feel the direction of the spiritual energy in the air, nor did they have the profound understanding of the weather that Foundation Establishment cultivators did. So Li Yan thought he was just here to watch the show.
The last time someone in the Malevolent Spirit Sect had attempted to form a Golden Core was forty years ago. This kind of opportunity was absolutely something that could only be chanced upon, not sought. Therefore, everyone wanted to observe from the closest possible distance. But Yan Longzi and the others would absolutely not allow this situation. The lightning tribulation had a large area of effect and did not recognize who was undergoing the tribulation. If it struck them all at once, and they couldn't be saved in time, it would be a huge disaster.
Li Yan's gaze swept over briefly and he noticed a few people. These people were all at the Pseudo-Core Realm. Their expressions were particularly grave right now. They didn't talk to anyone but had their Divine Senses fully open, their eyes fixed on the core cloud and lightning tribulation over at Little Bamboo Peak. For example, Baili Yuan , Wang Tian, and Gong Chenying . For them, this was no less important than their own attempt at forming a Golden Core.
Of course, there were also those with extremely grave, even worried expressions, whose focus was not on whether the Golden Core would be formed successfully, but on Li Wuyi himself. They knew that the consequence of failing to form a Golden Core was, at best, being severely injured by the backlash, and at worst, a sharp drop in cultivation, or even direct death. These people were naturally Li Yan's senior martial brothers and sisters, as well as an anxious-looking Li Changting and an even paler Zhao Min. Needless to say, Li Yan's group, apart from Miao Wangqing who was still in seclusion and knew nothing, the others all had tense expressions. Li Wuyi's position on Little Bamboo Peak was unshakeable. He was gentle and considerate, and took great care of his junior martial brothers and sisters. Everyone knew the depth of Li Changting's feelings for him. At this moment, her jade-like hands were constantly twisting a few strands of black hair, but it was obvious her arms were trembling slightly. Zhao Min had been watched over by Li Wuyi since she was a child. In Li Wuyi's own words, they were like brother and sister. Zhao Min embraced the terrified Li Changting's shoulders, at this moment seeming more like Li Changting's senior sister.
Li Yan did not go over to join Wei Chituo, Gong Chenying, and the others, nor did he walk toward Li Changting. Instead, he chose a more remote spot for himself and quietly watched everything before him, while also whispering softly, "Senior Brother, you can definitely do it!" At this moment, Li Yan and the others did not know that Wei Zhongran and his wife had already rushed out of seclusion. Otherwise, they might have felt more at ease.
Amidst the whispers of some people around them, the churning of the dark clouds above the southeast corner of Little Bamboo Peak became more and more violent. The sound of the wind grew into a howl, and lightning continuously flashed from the dark clouds that descended from the sky, followed by a series of rolling thunderclaps. And with Li Wuyi's small courtyard as the center, the dense clouds, which already covered dozens of li, were still expanding outward. In the dim and dark world, they had expanded to nearly seventy or eighty li in a short while.
At this moment, looking from afar, the dark clouds descended from the sky, a pillar connecting heaven and earth. The lowest part of the dense clouds was only about ten zhang from the roof of Li Wuyi's small courtyard. As everyone watched, dumbfounded, a dazzling white light shone brightly from within the dark clouds. This white light was so dazzling that it was impossible to look at it directly. The white light was a huge bolt of lightning, several hundred li long, that descended from the sky. It made Li Yan and all the surrounding cultivators suck in a cold breath, their scalps tingling and their minds unsteady.
After the huge, mind-numbing bolt of lightning flashed, it did not disappear like the small bolts of lightning before it, followed by continuous thunder. Instead, after flashing once without any sound, the light suddenly became even more dazzling, illuminating this part of the world and changing its color. Then, a clap of thunder that seemed to tear the heavens apart exploded in the sky with a "kacha-la-la," shaking the cultivators a hundred li away into a daze. Many of the Foundation Establishment cultivators with lower cultivation levels stumbled on their flying Magical Artifacts, and more than half of them were on the verge of falling. Li Yan also swayed on his feet. As his mind roared, his flying sword instantly lost control and fell directly downward. But it was only a moment of daze. The spiritual energy in Li Yan's body suddenly erupted, and the flying sword below was once again pulled to his feet. Li Yan was horrified. He never thought that standing a hundred li away, he would be struck into a daze by a bolt of lightning tribulation. And this was just the first lightning tribulation, and just the initial formation of it. Just as Li Yan managed to stabilize himself, many miserable cries sounded around him. Li Yan looked up at the clouds. It was like dumplings being dropped into a pot; many cultivators were falling directly downward. Apparently, these Foundation Establishment cultivators had failed to withstand the pressure of the initial formation of the lightning tribulation and had already lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Li Yan's brows furrowed. He swept his gaze briefly and saw a mountain cliff not far from him. He quickly flew over on his sword. The place where he had been standing in the air was already very remote, so few people had noticed him. Although Li Yan had stabilized himself in the air, he didn't want to attract others' attention. Looking around at the at least forty or fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators who had fallen, who should all be early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, Li Yan didn't want to be pointed at for how a Qi Condensation cultivator like him could still be floating in mid-air. Moreover, he reckoned that when the real lightning tribulation unfolded, he would probably be unable to withstand the pressure. It was better to land directly on a mountain peak. If he still felt the pressure was too great later, he would quietly move further away to a more distant mountain peak.
The moment Li Yan landed on the mountain peak, he suddenly looked up, because he felt two powerful Divine Senses following him. The last thing Li Yan wanted was for his cultivation to be seen. After landing lightly on the mountain cliff, his brows furrowed. He followed the Divine Senses and looked, and a wry smile appeared on his face. He was very familiar with the owners of these two Divine Senses. One was Gong Chenying, and the other was actually Zhao Min. When she saw Li Yan look over, Gong Chenying nodded at him, withdrew her gaze, and looked at the tribulation cloud again. Zhao Min, on the other hand, had a strange look on her face. She couldn't believe that Li Yan's cultivation had reached such a level that he could still float in mid-air when the lightning tribulation first formed.
Gong Chenying, on the other hand, was not so surprised. When the first clap of thunder sounded, she had immediately thought of Li Yan, afraid that he would not be able to withstand it. But when her Divine Sense swept over Li Yan and saw that he had stabilized himself and was immediately flying toward the mountain peak, her heart relaxed. As for Li Yan's cultivation, she no longer regarded him as a Qi Condensation cultivator. Li Yan had given her too many surprises, so she focused her mind on the lightning tribulation again. This lightning tribulation was extremely important for her future attempt at forming a Golden Core. Now that she had also reached the Pseudo-Core Realm, this opportunity could provide her with crucial help in the future.
Just as this first lightning tribulation was forming, a powerful voice, seemingly unaffected by the earth-shattering thunder, echoed in all directions amidst the thunderclaps. "Wuyi, do as you will. Your master will take care of everything." This voice rolled in, seemingly even more domineering than the first lightning tribulation.
Li Yan was shaken upon hearing this and couldn't help but whisper, "Master."
In the distance, Wei Chituo and the others' faces lit up with joy upon hearing this voice. Although they knew that even if their master was not here, the Sect Master and others would help, but after hearing Wei Zhongran's voice, it was as if they had taken a calming pill.
When Li Changting heard Wei Zhongran's thunderous voice, her pretty face also relaxed. Although her aunt had given her a guarantee via voice transmission before, she felt even more at ease now. Even Zhao Min beside her, who had been frowning tightly, her brow slowly smoothed out after hearing this voice, though the corner of her mouth initially curled.