After whispering, Li Yan looked up at the sky again. The lightning in the air grew thicker and brighter, and the sound of thunder, instead of ceasing, became continuous and grew louder. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth was thrown into chaos. Li Yan knew that this first lightning tribulation was about to form. He felt the chaotic spiritual energy here and couldn't help but smile wryly. He stepped on his flying sword and flew several dozen more li outward.
Although Li Yan had never undergone a Core Tribulation, he understood the meaning of what Wei Zhongran had just said. According to the records in the classics, for any tribulation—whether it was the initial Core Tribulation, the later Nascent Soul Grand Heavenly Tribulation, or the Spirit Transformation stage's Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation—it was best for the person undergoing it to overcome it with their own strength. When outsiders provided assistance, although it could reduce one's own pressure, their combat strength afterward would be incomparable to that of someone who had relied on their own power. Those who successfully overcame the tribulation on their own often had extremely formidable combat strength among their peers. This was because undergoing a tribulation was not just about withstanding the rules of heaven and earth; in the process, one would receive unprecedented tempering, from the physical body to the state of mind. One could also gain a deeper understanding of the changes in the rules of heaven and earth. The longer one resisted, the more one comprehended, and the tougher one's body was tempered. This was actually an extremely rare cultivation opportunity in a cultivator's life.
By the same token, if someone helped you pass the tribulation quickly, the comprehension and tempering involved would naturally be greatly reduced, which would affect one's future cultivation. Moreover, the heavenly tribulation would also attack the person assisting. This was why so many Golden Core cultivators had come. It was extremely strenuous for a single Golden Core cultivator to share the burden of a heavenly tribulation, and a single mistake could lead to drawing fire onto oneself. This was especially true during the formation of a Nascent Soul. Few Nascent Soul cultivators were willing to help others undergo the tribulation. The heavenly tribulation at that time was not like the one for forming a core; it was a terrifying heavenly tribulation that could instantly kill a Nascent Soul ancestor.
Wei Zhongran's words just now were to tell Li Wuyi to go ahead and form his core. When a true life-or-death situation arose, he would naturally intervene. This was to tell Li Wuyi not to miss this opportunity for tempering. Once the core was successfully formed, everything would be set in stone.
Three days later, Li Yan sat cross-legged four hundred li away from the main peak of Little Bamboo Peak, watching the vast dark clouds dissipate. Although Li Yan appeared calm on the surface, his heart was already in turmoil.
'So this is the power of the Core Tribulation. Even from four hundred li away, I still found it strenuous to resist the chaotic spiritual energy. The heavenly might generated at the same time almost made it impossible for me to stand.' Li Yan sighed inwardly.
Since the first lightning tribulation began to form three days ago, Li Yan and the others had been continuously forced to fly outward. Even Pseudo-Core cultivators like Baili Yuan, Wang Tian, and Gong Chenying had flown another two hundred li outward, finally stopping within a range of three hundred li. As for the hundred or so cultivators at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment like Wei Chituo, who had already touched the threshold of the Pseudo-Core realm, they stayed within a range of three hundred and thirty li. Mid-stage and early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and so on, were divided into different areas of a few or a dozen people. Li Yan was more than four hundred and twenty li away, the outermost cultivator, but this was a result of his own deliberate action.
'I should be able to hold on at about three hundred and seventy li, which is even stronger than some early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. But that would require fully activating the Qiongqi Purgatory body. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to withstand the aftershocks of the Core Tribulation at all.' Li Yan looked at the rapidly dissipating dark clouds in the distant sky and assessed his own cultivation.
'The heavenly tribulation these three days has been more terrifying each day. The second day was more than five times stronger than the first, and today is more than ten times stronger than the first day. This is too terrifying. Golden Core, Golden Core!' As Li Yan thought about it, an even more determined look appeared in his eyes.
'However, Senior Brother is truly remarkable. He actually took on all three days by himself and didn't need Master to intervene. But I imagine no one would want to experience the dangers involved a second time. Now is the time to go and congratulate him.' Thinking of this, Li Yan stood up, looked at the dense streaks of light piercing the sky ahead, and with a light laugh, he also flew toward Little Bamboo Peak.
A distance of several hundred li still required half an hour for the current Li Yan to travel. But just as he stepped on his sword and took off, Wei Chituo had already arrived on his flying Magical Artifact with a loud laugh. Gong Chenying, Yun Chunqu, Wen Xinliang, and Lin Daqiao were all on it, each looking at Li Yan with joyful faces.
"Little Junior Brother, you need to hurry up with your cultivation. If we hadn't come back to pick you up so we could go and congratulate Senior Brother together, we would have arrived long ago, haha." Amid Wei Chituo's hearty laughter, Li Yan leaped onto the flying Magical Artifact with a smile. Then, with a swirl, they merged into the stream of colored lights and sped toward Little Bamboo Peak.
Under Wei Chituo's full power, the journey of several hundred li took only half an incense stick's time to return to Little Bamboo Peak. With a wave of Wei Chituo's hand, the three martial nephews and a dozen handymen were already back at the front mountain of Little Bamboo Peak. These people, under the protection of Wei Chituo and the others for the past few days, had not been harmed in the slightest. But at this moment, their faces were all deathly pale, and they looked as if their souls had not yet returned to their bodies, clearly having been overly frightened.
Originally, Wei Chituo was also going to protect Li Yan with his spiritual energy, but Li Yan had refused via voice transmission. He also wanted to personally experience the power of the Core Tribulation. Although he was far from forming his own core, personally experiencing it had given him some enlightenment.
Just as everyone arrived above Little Bamboo Peak, they saw Wei Zhongran and his wife, Yan Longzi, the four Peak Masters, and several Golden Core elders in the distance. They were standing in mid-air at this moment, all with smiles on their faces. They did not immediately stop the approaching Foundation Establishment disciples. For the Malevolent Spirit Sect, adding a new Golden Core cultivator was a major event. It was also a good opportunity to boost the confidence of the Foundation Establishment disciples.
Seeing that most of the sect's upper echelon was gathered before them, the cultivators of the various peaks consciously separated and then regrouped according to their respective peaks, forming a circle of the five peaks' cultivators. They just didn't dare to get too close, maintaining a distance of more than ten li from Little Bamboo Peak. Wei Chituo and the others, however, had no such scruples and flew directly above Little Bamboo Peak.
When Wei Zhongran saw his several disciples, he smiled and nodded at them. At that moment, Yan Longzi flicked his large sleeve, and his voice slowly echoed between heaven and earth. "This time, Li Wuyi's successful formation of a Golden Core is a fortunate event for our sect. However, I must disappoint you little fellows. He relied entirely on his own strength to form his core this time. Although he succeeded, he was also injured. Moreover, he needs to stabilize his newly formed Golden Core realm. Therefore, the sect has decided to hold a ceremony for Li Wuyi's promotion to a sect elder on Lord Lao Peak in one month. Alright, you can all disperse now."
As soon as Yan Longzi said this, a hubbub of voices rose from the surroundings. They were somewhat disappointed that they couldn't see Li Wuyi immediately. This was the first time in decades that someone from the younger generation of the sect had successfully formed a Golden Core. They also whispered about Li Wuyi's promotion to a sect elder. This meant that Li Wuyi had ascended to heaven in a single step, reaching the level of a Golden Core elder, which was a position with power almost equal to that of the five Peak Masters.
For a moment, the Foundation Establishment disciples below were in an uproar. Especially Baili Yuan, Wang Tian, Gan Shi, Wei Feng, and the others looked at each other in dismay. According to the seniority ranking in the cultivation world where the capable come first, they would have to respectfully address Li Wuyi as "Martial Uncle" when they saw him again. This made them smile wryly, but it also strengthened their resolve to form their own cores. At the same time, they were disappointed that they couldn't see Li Wuyi. By seeing him now and based on their previous understanding of his cultivation, they could have judged their own situations when they attempt to form their cores.
When Li Changting heard this, she wrinkled her nose. "I'm not going to call him Martial Uncle, hmph, I refuse..." Zhao Min, on the other hand, had a rare half-smile as she looked at the frustrated Li Changting and whispered, "He... is my brother. Do you want to call me 'Martial Aunt'..." Before she could finish, her mouth was covered by Li Changting, who stomped her foot on the flying Magical Artifact in frustration.
"Alright, all of you disperse. What does it look like with several hundred people gathered here?" After speaking, Yan Longzi's expression became stern, and he spoke coldly to the discussing crowd below.
Hearing this, the cultivators below all bowed in unison and didn't dare to say another word here. They hurriedly rushed back to their cave residences. They also had things on their minds. These three days had also given them a lot of enlightenment. They naturally had to go back into a short seclusion to comprehend it. This was especially true for the Pseudo-Core cultivators. Seeing that they couldn't see Li Wuyi, they immediately left at high speed.
Seeing the disciples disperse, Yan Longzi and the others also smiled and cupped their hands at Wei Zhongran before turning into long streaks of light and flying away. Before leaving, Li Yuyin sent a voice transmission to Wei Zhongran, which made him look at his wife with an embarrassed expression. Li Yuyin, on the other hand, winked at the beautiful palace-dressed woman, and her pair of charming eyes swept over Wei Zhongran once more. Only then did she giggle and fly away. The palace-dressed woman looked at Wei Zhongran with unkind eyes. Wei Zhongran spread his hands with an innocent look, about to explain. But at that moment, Li Changting and Zhao Min on the other side also flew away directly. The palace-dressed woman seemed to want to go forward and speak, but she saw one of the two women looking lost in thought and the other acting as if she hadn't seen her, flying away directly. A trace of gloom couldn't help but appear in her eyes.
Wei Zhongran gently patted her on the shoulder. The palace-dressed woman still kept her head down without speaking. Seeing this, Wei Zhongran could only sigh softly.
Then he turned his gaze to the several disciples in front of him. After his gaze swept over them, a smile gradually appeared on his face. When his gaze rested on Li Yan and Gong Chenying, it was filled with admiration. One of them had soared from the seventh layer of Qi Condensation all the way to the late stage of the tenth layer of Qi Condensation, and the other had directly reached the Pseudo-Core realm. This greatly surprised Wei Zhongran, especially Li Yan's constitution, which was so heaven-defying that it greatly exceeded his expectations.
"You have all done very well. I was in seclusion during this period and did not give you any guidance, yet you have all made great progress. Good, very good. My wife and I came out of seclusion too hastily this time. We will talk about other matters in a month." A trace of fatigue appeared on Wei Zhongran's face. He had been affected by directly interrupting his seclusion after sensing the abnormality on Little Bamboo Peak. Especially these three days, although he did not intervene, he had kept his magical power at its peak at all times in case of emergencies, and his mental energy consumption was also extremely severe.
After speaking, he turned and flew down toward Little Bamboo Peak. The palace-dressed woman nodded lightly at Li Yan and the others and also flew down with a somewhat gloomy expression. But before turning around, she gave Li Yan another glance and then disappeared into the vast sea of bamboo. The others didn't pay much attention, but Gong Chenying saw it, and her heart couldn't help but skip a beat, though she didn't speak.
Led by Wei Chituo, the six of them respectfully bowed in mid-air to see them off. Seeing the two go far away, excitement slowly appeared in Wei Chituo's eyes. He then quickly stood up straight. "Hehe, Junior Brothers, congratulations on all being promoted one level. This is worth celebrating, ah, hahaha..." As he spoke, a look of joy appeared on his face, and he finally burst into laughter. These words came so abruptly that they stunned the other five. But the people here were not stupid and immediately understood.
"Ho ho, Second Senior Brother, are you that eager to usurp the throne?" Lin Daqiao curled his lip and teased.
"He's been holding it in for a long time," Yun Chunqu said suddenly.
"What's the benefit? Otherwise, this doesn't necessarily have to go in order. Sixth Junior Sister is now at the Pseudo-Core realm. We could also rearrange based on ability. Second Senior Brother, am I right..." Wen Xinliang showed a rare smile.
Gong Chenying and Li Yan also couldn't speak, both looking at Wei Chituo with smiles.
Li Wuyi had successfully formed his Golden Core. From now on, he was no longer their peer. This was an iron law of the cultivation world: strength determined everything. The next time he came out of seclusion, he would probably be addressing Wei Zhongran as a fellow Daoist of the same generation. This had nothing to do with anything else; it was a recognition of one's strength. So Wei Chituo and the others didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. It had almost always been like this since ancient times. In that case, Wei Chituo would be the Senior Brother of Little Bamboo Peak. Li Wuyi had been pressing down on his head for decades. He couldn't win a fight, nor could he win an argument. Now he could finally hold his head high. With a turn of events, he would be the boss of Little Bamboo Peak besides his master and martial mother. He couldn't help but feel a little excited, but he pretended to be calm as he congratulated the others.