Golden Elixir Thunder Tribulation

At the foot of Qingyun Mountain.

In front of the ant grave.

Zhao Feng was dumbfounded.

One second he was at the city gates, and the next he was standing before this grave?

What kind of technique was this?

Before he could figure it out, his vision blurred again.

The howling wind roared for a brief moment before stopping.

The scenery shifted and then locked into place.

Zhao Feng blinked, finding himself standing in a courtyard.

Paved with bluestone slabs, an old locust tree provided a canopy of shade, and the vermilion gates were tightly shut.

He recognized this place.

The Tianyan Sect.

"Senior... what... what kind of technique is this?" Zhao Feng's voice trembled.

Lin Yan casually replied, "Just a little trick, not worth mentioning."

Zhao Feng shut his mouth.

A little trick?

Taking a living person from the city gate to the foot of the mountain, and from the foot of the mountain to the peak—two round trips in the blink of an eye—and this was called a little trick?

He didn't dare to ask anymore.

There were some things he simply wasn't meant to know.

"Creak—"

The door to the eastern wing opened, and Liu Ruyan walked out.

The young girl wore a moon-white ruqun dress, her hair loosely pinned up with a jade hairpin, her face still bearing the flush of recent cultivation.

Seeing Lin Yan, her eyes lit up. She hurried over to the rocking chair, folded her hands, and bowed respectfully.

"Master has returned."

As soon as she spoke, the door to the western wing also opened.

Ye Xiaoqin peeked out, saw Lin Yan, and quickly ran over, bowing just as properly.

"Master."

Lin Yan looked at his two disciples, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. He didn't even have to teach them these rules; it certainly saved him a lot of trouble.

He handed over the bag of green tangerines he was carrying.

"Have a taste. Your master bought them in the city."

Ye Xiaoqin accepted the tangerines with both hands and lowered his head, "Thank you for the reward, Master."

Liu Ruyan wasn't nearly as reserved. She grabbed a green tangerine from the bag, peeled it, broke off a segment, and popped it into her mouth.

Her small face instantly scrunched up, her eyes narrowing into slits, but the corners of her mouth desperately tried to curve upward.

"So... so sweet."

Lin Yan laughed out loud at the sight of her sour yet stubborn expression.

He then handed the daily necessities he had just bought to his two disciples, who carried the items back to their rooms.

The courtyard fell quiet.

Zhao Feng was utterly bewildered!

What had he just seen?

The Young City Lord!

The son of the Qingyun City Lord, Ye Xiaoqin!

Why was he here?

And calling the Senior 'Master'?

Wasn't he...

Zhao Feng took a deep breath, swallowing all his questions.

Do not ask what shouldn't be asked.

Do not look at what shouldn't be seen.

Lin Yan lay back on his rocking chair and closed his eyes.

Supporting himself against a pillar, Zhao Feng slowly dragged himself to the center of the courtyard and fell to his knees with a heavy thud.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving my life. Zhao Feng will never forget your kindness in taking me in!"

"From this day forth, whatever Senior asks Zhao Feng to do, Zhao Feng will do. I will brave mountains of blades and seas of fire without batting an eye."

Lin Yan opened his eyes and glanced at him.

"Get up. Stop kneeling at the drop of a hat."

Zhao Feng didn't move.

"It is this junior's honor to bow to Senior, it's just..."

"It's not that this junior intentionally disobeys Senior's orders, it's truly because... my limbs have been broken by someone. I cannot stand."

Awkward!

Lin Yan rubbed his nose.

"Zhao Feng."

"Here."

"Have you thought it through? Are you truly willing to join my sect?"

Zhao Feng raised his head, his eyes red but his gaze resolute.

"Senior, this junior's life was saved by you! I have nothing left now—no sect, no cultivation, and I can't even stand."

"Since Senior does not despise this junior for being a cripple and is willing to take me in, this junior... this junior's life belongs to Senior from now on!"

[Ding! Target's initial loyalty detected at 58%, meeting the requirements for an Outer Sect Disciple.]

Lin Yan raised an eyebrow.

58 loyalty?

For a seasoned veteran like Zhao Feng, who had struggled in the cultivation world for decades and was accustomed to deception and the law of the jungle, offering 58% loyalty to someone was already remarkably high.

"Alright then, from now on, you will serve as the Outer Sect Deacon of my sect, handling various chores."

[Ding! The Tianyan Sect has gained a new Outer Sect Disciple!]

[Reward received: Outer Sect Disciple Trait Draw x1, Sect Points +100.]

"Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Sect Master!"

Overjoyed, Zhao Feng hurriedly kowtowed again, trembling with excitement.

He originally thought he would at most be a gatekeeping handyman, but to his surprise, he was directly appointed as an Outer Sect Deacon!

But after the excitement faded, he felt a bit dejected. Lowering his head, he said, "It's just... this subordinate is currently a cripple with a destroyed dantian and broken limbs. I'm afraid I won't be of much help to the Sect Master and will only drag the sect down..."

"A cripple?"

Lin Yan smiled. He casually took out a translucent white pill from his sleeve and flicked it with his finger, landing it perfectly in Zhao Feng's hand.

"Eat this, and your injuries will heal."

The system had originally rewarded him with two Nine-Revolution Body Sculpting Pills. He gave one to Ye Xiaoqin, leaving one.

Keeping it would be a waste, so he might as well give it to Zhao Feng.

Besides, there were plenty in the system shop that could be exchanged at any time.

Holding the pill that emitted a faint medicinal fragrance, Zhao Feng was completely stunned. He looked up in disbelief, "Sect Master, this... will this really cure me?"

"It's not just that my limbs were broken; my dantian was also shattered by Wu Shan's palm strike!"

Zhao Feng had seen pills that could reconstruct limbs, but a medicine that could reconstruct a dantian—let alone seeing it, he had never even heard of it.

Lin Yan glanced at him, his tone carrying a hint of impatience. "Do you know that sometimes you really talk too much nonsense?"

Although this guy was good at flattering, too much flattery could get annoying.

Zhao Feng shivered under Lin Yan's gaze and instantly didn't dare to ask anything else.

He hastily stuffed the Nine-Revolution Body Sculpting Pill into his mouth, afraid that if he delayed for even a second, the Sect Master would change his mind.

The pill melted in his mouth instantly, lacking any bitterness and instead carrying a refreshing, soul-soothing fragrance.

The next second, an unimaginably warm and majestic current instantly exploded from his stomach. Like a bursting river, it swept through every inch of his limbs and bones.

First were his limbs.

The originally broken, dislocated, and long-necrotic bones emitted a series of fine cracking sounds as they were enveloped by the warm current.

The broken bones automatically realigned, healed, and reconstructed themselves. The once-hideous wounds scabbed over and fell off at a visible rate, revealing smooth, brand-new skin.

The deep, bone-piercing agony gradually dissipated under the wash of the warm current, replaced by a long-lost, empowering tingling sensation.

Next were his meridians.

Surging spiritual energy flowed freely through his meridians, washing away years of accumulated impurities, making his meridians more than twice as broad and resilient as they were at his peak.

Finally, his dantian.

The sea of qi in his dantian, shattered into ruins by a palm strike, slowly condensed and took shape under the nourishment of the warm current.

The originally shattered walls of his dantian became indestructible, and the capacity of his sea of qi surged several times over.

Zhao Feng closed his eyes, feeling the long-lost power within his body, and tears instantly streamed down his face.

He had thought he was doomed to be a cripple for the rest of his life. He never expected to see the day he would be reborn.

But right at this moment, a sudden change occurred!

A gust of wind blew past the old locust tree in the courtyard, causing its leaves to rustle.

Zhao Feng's entire body trembled, and his mind achieved complete clarity.

Decades of insights into swordsmanship, experiences of life-and-death struggles, and a Dao heart reforged after losing his cultivation, all perfectly merged together at this moment.

He had unexpectedly entered a state of epiphany!

The wind and clouds between heaven and earth suddenly changed.

The originally clear sky was instantly covered with dark clouds. The oppressive cloud layer weighed heavily over the Heavenly Evolution Sect. Lightning snakes rolled and slithered through the clouds, emitting muffled, rumbling booms.

Lin Yan looked up at the sky with a dumbfounded expression. "Holy shit? What's going on?"

He knew absolutely nothing about cultivation. How could he know that a cultivator breaking through to the Golden Core stage would attract a Minor Heavenly Tribulation!

"Sys, what's going on?"

[Ding! Detected that after outer disciple Zhao Feng consumed the Nine-Revolution Body Sculpting Pill, his physical body was reconstructed. Borrowing the Enlightenment Tree to enter an epiphany, his state of mind has broken through, triggering the opportunity to advance from the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage! He is currently undergoing the Golden Core Tribulation!]

"You have to undergo a tribulation for the Golden Core?"

[Breaking through from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core is the first Heavenly Tribulation in cultivation. If survived, the Golden Core is formed, and lifespan increases to five hundred years. If not, the body perishes and the Dao vanishes!]

...

In the blink of an eye!

Crack!

A cyan tribulation lightning bolt, as thick as a bowl, tore through the clouds and struck straight towards Zhao Feng, who was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard.

Zhao Feng suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a sword.

He neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the tribulation lightning to strike his body.

The medicinal power of the Nine-Revolution Body Sculpting Pill had yet to fully dissipate. Not only did the power of the tribulation lightning fail to harm him, but it was also completely absorbed by his body, tempering his flesh and his Golden Core.

Crack! Crack!

Two more bolts of tribulation lightning fell in quick succession, each thicker than the last.

Zhao Feng sat cross-legged and motionless, like a solid rock, forcefully enduring the three bolts of the Minor Heavenly Tribulation.

The moment the final bolt of tribulation lightning dissipated, the dark clouds scattered, and sunlight spilled down once more.

A pillar of golden light erupted from Zhao Feng's body, shooting straight up into the heavens!

A lustrous, translucent Golden Core, swirling with faint golden light, slowly rotated within his dantian, radiating the majestic pressure of the Golden Core stage.

"Hahahahahaha!!"

Zhao Feng suddenly stood up and let out a long howl toward the sky, his voice filled with long-suppressed excitement and ecstasy.

The howl pierced the clouds and cracked the stones, echoing throughout the entire Azure Cloud Mountain.

Having swallowed a Golden Core into the belly, my fate is determined by me, not the heavens!

Not only had he recovered his cultivation, but he had also taken a step further, breaking through to the Golden Core realm!

A Golden Core Ancestor!

Even in the Heavenly Sword Sect, there were only a handful of people, the Sect Master and a few elders, who had reached this level!

The thunder stopped.

Zhao Feng looked down at his hands. Beneath the skin of his palms, a faint golden light could be seen flowing.

He turned his head and looked at the white-clad figure under the old locust tree.

Lin Yan was leaning back in his rocking chair, his legs crossed, with a calm expression.

It was as if what had just occurred was not a Golden Core lightning tribulation, but merely a normal thunderstorm.

Zhao Feng walked over, bent his knees, and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"My Lord!"