The fierce wind made the robes of the two men in the air flap loudly. They did not continue to speak, but just stared at the courtyard fifty li away.
...
Li Yan didn't know how long he had walked in the void. One by one, stardust particles of different lustrous colors were slowly left behind him.
It was as if an unknown force was pulling him forward, letting him feel the strange power emanating from the vast expanse of stardust, constantly comprehending, constantly walking.
Until a certain moment, a strange, gloomy golden stardust appeared in his eyes. This stardust was different from all the surrounding blue, golden, cyan, and other stardust.
It became clearer and clearer in Li Yan's eyes. Although its light was dim, it made him unable to move his gaze away even a single bit.
The gloomy golden stardust seemed very strange among the bright stars—noble and cold, serene and vast. Li Yan, in an unconscious state, stopped and no longer moved forward.
His eyes were fixed on the fist-sized, gloomy golden stardust, staring intently. An invisible thread slowly formed between his heart and this stardust.
Just like that, he didn't know how long he stood there, whether it was a brief moment or an eternal age. That gloomy golden stardust was actually pulled over by his gaze bit by bit, and finally slid into his body.
The moment the stardust entered his body, Li Yan's consciousness instantly crossed thousands of mountains and rivers and returned to his own physical body. He suddenly woke up. In a daze, he felt that what had happened before was just a very short dream.
But when he looked around, his eyes fell upon a layer of dust as deep as a foot in the room. His long hair had already fallen to the ground, and the hem of his long robe was buried in the dust.
At this moment, although Li Yan was still somewhat dazed, he didn't care about anything else and immediately looked inside himself with his Divine Sense. He remembered that gloomy golden stardust entering his body just now.
Immediately, he was stunned. The five great cauldrons in his Dantian's Purple Mansion had actually turned a gloomy gold, and his two Natal Magical Treasures had flown into the Five Elements Spirit Power cauldrons at some unknown time.
Following the endless cycle of the five elements, they leaped in and out of the cauldrons one by one, like fish leaping over a dragon's gate, one after another.
And what made Li Yan even more confused was that a thin layer of frost had condensed on the walls of the five Spirit Power cauldrons. These things were never recorded in the "True Scripture of Gui Water."
For a moment, Li Yan didn't know what had happened. He could only quietly watch his Dantian's Purple Mansion.
It was already unusual for his Natal Magical Treasures to fly from the Dantian lake into the Spirit Power cauldrons without his control. Now, not only had the five Spirit Power great cauldrons silently changed color, but they had also formed a layer of inexplicable frost.
Li Yan checked with his Divine Sense over and over again, carefully searching every part of his body, not even sparing a single hair on his body.
The result was that he did not find any discomfort or abnormality in his body.
After a little thought, he could only try to circulate his meridians according to the route of the "True Scripture of Gui Water," first wrapping a little bit of the thin frost with his Spirit Power to see if he could refine it.
Just like how he had found the Heart-Entangling Twin Gu last time, he probed with his Spirit Power bit by bit. It was just that the moment he circulated the True Scripture of Gui Water, the Spirit Power carrying a bit of thin frost made him enter a state of cultivation that he couldn't stop.
After each cycle, not only did the frost not decrease, but the walls of the cauldrons became slightly thicker, producing more frost.
At first, Li Yan's goal was still to see if he could refine this frost. But as the frost gradually thickened, Li Yan found that the magical power in his body became more and more profound, filling him with a feeling of inexhaustible energy.
Thus, he slowly immersed himself in an endless state of cultivation.
And just as Li Yan subconsciously thought that he was only briefly circulating his meridians, more than ten years had passed. At this time, the five Spirit Power great cauldrons on his Dantian lake had turned into five ice blocks flashing with a gloomy cold luster.
The Dantian lake below had also gradually turned into a sea of ice. Only in the center of each Spirit Power cauldron was there still a trace of Spirit Power that could be cyclically generated.
On this day, when Li Yan had just completed another cycle, the last trace of water vapor in his Dantian lake trembled violently the moment it entered the five Spirit Power great cauldrons.
The trembling became more and more intense. As the five Spirit Power great cauldrons shook continuously, the large pieces of ice that had condensed in the cauldrons began to crack.
They turned into tiny crystals. And at the same time, the Dantian lake below the great cauldrons was also shaken by the strong force caused by the trembling.
First, long cracks appeared on the solid ice of the Dantian lake. As the great cauldrons above trembled violently, the cracks on the solid ice of the Dantian lake became more and more numerous, denser, and longer, crisscrossing in a chaotic mess.
Finally, to Li Yan's shock, it shattered into pieces of ice and flew into the sky. Then, after these pieces of ice flew into the air, they also turned into tiny crystals in the next moment, fluttering and dancing in the sky, filling it with a heavy ice mist.
"Spirit liquid condensing... this is... Core Formation?"
Li Yan, who was still half-asleep, quickly woke up completely. The transformation of Spirit Power into liquid was Foundation Establishment. Condensing it into a solid form was the Golden Core.
Others needed to painstakingly search for that one opportunity to form a Golden Core, but Li Yan, in the course of his cultivation, had automatically triggered the signs of Core Formation.
Startled, Li Yan had no time to think about how all this had come about.
At this moment, his Dantian lake had turned into a world of five-colored ice crystals flying all over the sky. This also made Li Yan's qi and blood become exceptionally active.
These tiny five-colored ice crystals, because the Dantian lake was already full, began to fly towards Li Yan's four limbs and bones.
Li Yan only felt his aura expand at an astonishing speed. This was not the feeling of fullness from an increase in strength.
Instead, Li Yan felt that the Spirit Power in his body was out of control, showing signs of his body exploding.
Startled, Li Yan began to crazily circulate the "True Scripture of Gui Water's" method of gathering qi and returning it to the sea, trying to suppress these scattered five-colored ice crystals back into his Dantian.
Finally, after some effort, after about a quarter of an hour, he forcibly pushed the scattered five-colored ice crystals back into the Dantian lake.
Li Yan broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly recalled the Core Formation cultivation manual in the "True Scripture of Gui Water" in his mind and began to rapidly follow the condensing cultivation manual's route, slowly guiding these still restless and dancing five-colored ice crystals.
He allowed these scattered spiritual energies to gradually form a long ribbon of light, continuously attracting more scattered five-colored ice crystals from the surroundings bit by bit.
Finally, he moved it bit by bit to the top of the mouths of the five Spirit Power great cauldrons, moving slowly in a regular circular path.
Slowly, a long five-colored spirit python condensed from the spirit power ice crystals manifested. Its body was divided into five colors, from head to tail: black, green, red, yellow, and white, like a five-ringed snake.
The arrangement of the spirit power ice crystals was precisely the cycle of generation and restriction of the five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal.
The python's head was pitch black, formed by Gui Water Spirit Power. Its pair of icy eyes had no emotion, and it had four long fangs on its upper and lower jaws, curved like hooks over its lips.
Its body was colorful and vibrant. As it moved, it looked very ferocious.
The moment the five-colored spirit python completely absorbed all the surrounding five-colored ice crystals, Li Yan sensed an incomparably heart-pounding pressure suddenly arise in the sky outside.
With a sweep of his Divine Sense, the world outside had already changed abruptly. Amidst the strong wind, countless dark clouds gathered towards his location from all directions, just like the scene when he saw his Eldest Senior Brother forming his core back then.
At this moment, Li Yan's state of mind became even more focused. While circulating his cultivation method, he pointed a finger towards the corner of the room.
With a soft hum, a small purple flag flew out directly from under the ground and instantly flew towards Li Yan's left wrist, disappearing in a flash.
Li Yan knew that the Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation was coming outside. The "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" he had set up in the room could not withstand the might of the Heavenly Tribulation at all. It would be good if it could last for a few breaths.
But that would be of no use. If this treasure were to be destroyed, Li Yan would be heartbroken. So he simply put it away.
At this time, the five-colored spirit python in Li Yan's Dantian had completely formed. The moment it formed, it began to coil with its head and tail connected, circling above the five Spirit Power great cauldrons in a circle.
At an extremely fast speed, the five colors on its body became blurred.
Just as the head and tail of Li Yan's five-colored spirit python connected, the thick, leaden clouds in the sky had already descended to less than fifty yards above his courtyard.
Immediately, a huge bolt of lightning, a full ten yards thick, struck down from the thick clouds and directly landed on Li Yan's location.
Zhu Luomu and the others, who were still hundreds of li away, saw a flash of electric light suddenly fall from the thick dark clouds, turning the entire dark horizon into a sheet of ice blue in an instant, illuminating the world.
They didn't hear any sound, only felt the ground below them tremble violently. A short while later, a huge sound that tore the heavens and earth apart finally came from the distant horizon...
The ice-blue light was dazzling, and the loud sound echoed through the clouds. As the ice-blue light slowly dissipated, Li Yan was still sitting cross-legged, but the courtyard he was in was long gone.
Li Yan's body was suspended in mid-air. Below him was a large pit a full thirty yards deep, with dust and smoke rising straight out of it, like a giant beast exhaling.
Li Yan's long black hair danced wildly in the fierce wind. He slowly retracted a fist, on which blue electric light still lingered, crackling.
Just now, the moment the thick bolt of lightning struck, Li Yan, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes. He formed a fist with one hand, raised his arm, and punched fiercely towards the sky.
Just as he threw the punch, the thick bolt of lightning had already instantly torn apart the restriction outside his cultivation room. The incomparably sturdy roof was like a thin sheet of paper, and a large hole appeared silently.
The next moment, the ice-blue lightning collided with Li Yan's counterattacking fist.
Compared to the thick bolt of lightning, Li Yan's punch was like an ant facing the heavy stomp of a giant's foot. He could only raise his thin tentacles in defiance.
The moment the two collided, a faint silver light suddenly flashed on the surface of Li Yan's fist. Then, a ball of even more dazzling blue light exploded horizontally between his fist and the thick bolt of lightning.
With a loud "Boom!", the force of the blast shot out in all directions. The area within a thousand yards was filled with a chaotic whirlwind. The courtyard Li Yan was in was turned into countless specks of dust in an instant and then swept away by the whirlwind, its whereabouts unknown.
And it was only then that the rolling thunder caused by this bolt of lightning from deep within the ink-black clouds finally came out.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. It was clear that the speed of this bolt of lightning had reached its extreme.
This clap of thunder was already drowned out by the huge sound just now, so all the people heard was a huge sound that shook for hundreds of li, and the earth shook and trembled.
In the distant void, Xing Ming's eyelids twitched. A look of shock appeared on his face.
"He... his physical body is so... powerful!"
Although the Heavenly Tribulation had just begun, the Heavenly Tribulation that Zhang Ming had attracted had already exceeded his expectations.
Tianxingzi had previously said that the oppressive might was astonishing. This was not just empty talk. Just now, the collision between the two sides had already reached thirty percent of the might of all the Core Formation Heavenly Tribulations that Xing Ming had ever seen.
But at this time, Zhang Ming, who was still sitting cross-legged in the air, had a calm expression, clearly not having used much strength, and still had plenty to spare.
This was completely different from the Zhang Ming that Zhu Luomu and the others had described before. And Xing Ming was different from Tianxingzi. He had personally tested Zhang Ming's aptitude and cultivation back then.