Chapter 123: Startling Everyone with a Single Feat

As everyone on the summit of Zhaoyang Peak departed, the cyan Tribulation Cloud in the sky became increasingly distinct. After the passage of one quarter of an hour, it had transformed into a cyan cloud mass several dozen zhang in diameter, hovering at a height of one thousand zhang. Wisps of golden electric light flickered and churned within the Tribulation Cloud, releasing a rumbling, heart-shaking sound of thunder.

Xu Chen watched quietly, his expression calm.

Compared to the scale of the Heavenly Tribulation during the time when Xuanchen Zhenjun underwent Spirit Transformation, this Tribulation Cloud did not even amount to one percent.

The momentum it released did not even amount to one-thousandth.

Yet even so, for the large number of low-to-mid-level Disciples who had never witnessed a tribulation, the pressure released by the Tribulation Cloud made them tremble with fear, and they let out one exclamation after another.

After another half-quarter of an hour, the Tribulation Cloud suddenly brightened, and a bolt of lightning fell from it. It was as thick as an arm; from a distance, it looked almost like an ordinary thunderstorm lightning bolt.

"Boom—"

The thunderbolt landed on the west side of the Zhaoyang Peak summit.

Almost simultaneously, a white-haired old man wearing grey Daoist robes stepped into the air, standing at a height of several dozen zhang just as he met the lightning.

The thunderbolt instantly landed on the old man. The old man's figure was as steady as a rock, but as the scattered electric light splashed and vanished, a thick aura was slowly released.

"Look quickly, the second bolt of Tribulation Lightning is coming!"

Amidst the cheers, the Tribulation Cloud in the sky flashed again, and a bolt of Tribulation Lightning fell once more.

This time, the old man's figure rose by another several dozen zhang, standing at a height of one hundred zhang above the Zhaoyang Peak summit, making it even clearer for everyone to see.

Amidst the splashing and rolling thunder light, the old man's figure only swayed slightly a few times. The aura on his body rose by another large margin, and golden light flickered around his body, slowly manifesting into a golden light-sphere phantom that enveloped him within.

"Wow, the Golden Core has already formed!"

"Look quickly, the Tribulation Cloud has dispersed!"

Amidst the joyful shouts and clamor, the mass of cyan clouds above the Taiyuan Sect quickly dissipated. The light-sphere phantom around Xuanhe Zhenren's body also slowly merged into his body and vanished, and his figure was slowly revealed.

A group of Danyuan Realm powerhouses arrived from all directions, returning to the Zhaoyang Peak summit to cup their hands in salute to Xuanhe Zhenren: "Congratulations to Daoist Friend Xuanhe on the completion of your Golden Core."

"Hahahaha, let us rejoice and celebrate together. This poor Daoist still needs to enter seclusion to stabilize my realm. May all Daoist Friends stay at the Taiyuan Sect for a few more days; once I emerge from seclusion, I shall drink and converse happily with all of you!"

Xuanhe Zhenren laughed heartily, cupped his hands in a bow to the group of Danyuan Realm Disciples, and then took a step, landing behind the mountain of Zhaoyang Peak and disappearing from sight.

Jiu Shixiong smacked his lips, his face full of lingering interest as he said: "That's it?"

Second Senior Sister Yao Yuzhu grabbed his ear and said fiercely: "What do you want? Do you wish for the Second Elder to be struck nine times?!"

Jiu Shixiong immediately covered his ears and begged for mercy: "Senior Sister, let go, please let go, I won't dare to spout nonsense again."

A group of senior brothers and sisters followed suit to beat him up. Xu Chen also took the opportunity to kick Jiu Shixiong's butt twice. Amidst the horseplay, the other watching Disciples also followed along with loud laughter.

"Alright, all Daoist Friends may return to Zhaoyang Peak to continue trading!"

Xuanchen Zhenjun's voice, filled with smiles, rang out in everyone's minds once more. Thus, streaks of colorful Escape Light gathered from all directions back to the Zhaoyang Peak summit, and soon the noisy and bustling trading activities began anew.

The four Great Cultivators had just left, and Xuanhe Zhenren underwent the tribulation and formed his Golden Core; this timing was chosen very subtly, causing the awe all Disciples felt toward the Taiyuan Sect to rise by another notch.

And for the people of Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain, they also felt a hidden pressure.

The Taiyuan Sect does not make a sound, but once it does, it startles everyone.

With the successive appearance of a Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator and a Danyuan Realm powerhouse, the position of the third-ranked Immortal Sect in the Song Kingdom would likely not be shaken by any other Immortal Sect for a long time.

Otherwise, a Spirit Transformation True Monarch alone, while strong, would not be stable enough.

Once Xuanchen Zhenjun left the sect, the Taiyuan Sect's strength would not even be as good as a small Immortal Sect presided over by an ordinary early-stage Danyuan Realm Disciple.

At this moment, those feeling the most envious and bitter were undoubtedly the mid-tier Immortal Sects like the Zhengyang Sect, Taihua Sect, and Haoyun Sect. Perhaps they were once similar to the Taiyuan Sect, or even slightly stronger, but now they were left far behind, and their status in the Immortal World had automatically dropped by one.

And because Xuanhe Zhenren succeeded in forming his Golden Core, all the large and small Immortal Sects and rogue cultivator families who had intended to leave could only stay and wait for a few more days, waiting until they had finished drinking the wedding wine of Xuanhe Zhenren before leaving.

Time flew by, and another three days passed; Xuanhe Zhenren emerged from seclusion.

In everyone's eyes, Xuanhe Zhenren was like a different person before and after this; not only had his white hair turned black and his appearance become much younger, looking like a middle-aged man of about forty, but his aura was also several times deeper. His whole body radiated an irrepressible fluctuation of vital energy, and with every movement, sitting or lying down, there was a faint sound of wind and thunder accompanying him.

This is a phenomenon that early-stage Disciples have after advancing; after a certain period of cultivation and stabilization, this aura will slowly converge.

Although forming a Golden Core does not require a grand celebration like Spirit Transformation, since so many Disciples were gathered by chance, the Taiyuan Sect still held a grand and lively banquet, setting out hundreds of cushions and stone tables on the plaza at the summit of Zhaoyang Peak to celebrate the grand event together.

Of course, since all the sects and Disciples had just made a fortune by exterminating Soul Beasts, the Taiyuan Sect naturally received many gifts, and by collecting wealth to replenish the treasury, the three Elders and the group of Disciples were all so happy they couldn't close their mouths.

With so much wealth, the Taiyuan Sect had henceforth cast off its past embarrassment and would never again be associated with the words "too poor to eat dirt."

And at this time, although a large number of Immortal Sects and Disciples were leaving the Taiyuan Sect in groups, in reality, a large number of rogue cultivators were still gathering from all directions.

Several major Immortal Sects jointly issued the Immortal Alliance Order, long-term recruiting Disciples from the populace to exterminate Soul Beasts.

As long as the Nether Qi in Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley was not completely dissipated, this mission would continue.

Currently, according to the arrangements of the five True Monarchs, the large and small Immortal Sects and rogue cultivators of the Song Kingdom Immortal World all had the obligation and responsibility to do their best for this matter.

Of course, it didn't matter if those with too low a cultivation came or not.

But as the news of the high exchange rate of Soul Beads for Spirit Stones spread wider, those small sects and clans that were originally too far away and didn't want to participate, or rogue cultivators who didn't want to be cannon fodder, all rushed over like old cats smelling salted fish, charging into the black-wind-filled Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley with hot blood, rolling up their sleeves to begin their treasure-hunting life.

There might be danger, but it could no longer be compared to the situation where Soul Beasts were everywhere after the Array was breached. As long as they didn't go too deep according to their own strength, they would almost never encounter any major danger.

After all, the innermost core area of the Array was being cleared by the Danyuan Realm powerhouses of large and medium-sized Immortal Sects, and the outer circle was being repeatedly besieged by a large number of Zhenyuan Realm Disciples. After two rounds of extermination, there were very few Soul Beasts left that posed a threat in the outer Black Wind.

If they were lucky enough to kill one or two and harvest one or two Soul Beads, according to the current exchange price, that would be ten or twenty Spirit Stones.

Such a generous return was almost the same as picking up money.

Therefore, everyone believed that in another month or two, almost all the Disciples of the Great Song would be attracted here, and the Taiyuan Sect would remain lively for a long time.

And with so many Disciples gathering for long-term trade, eating, drinking, and sleeping, plus the need to replenish a large amount of pills and Magic Treasures, and the need to trade the large amount of Spirit Materials and Spirit Medicine they collected besides Soul Beads, this would inevitably form a huge trading market.

Therefore, Xuanchen Zhenjun decided to start large-scale construction of buildings and halls near Black Wind Ridge and the Taiyuan Sect. While opening shops for trading Soul Beads, pills, Magic Treasures, and Spirit Materials, he also directly incorporated the group of rogue cultivators from Wild Wolf Valley and the Five Thunder Sect as outer-sect Disciples, teaching them some basic Taiyuan Sect techniques, and in the future, they could exchange for various pills, Magic Spells, and Magic Treasures from the sect according to their contributions.

Thus, Wild Wolf Valley also leaped from a place for rogue cultivator trading to become an outer-sect industry of the Taiyuan Sect. The Taiyuan Sect allocated several thousand Spirit Stones to begin large-scale expansion of Wild Wolf Valley, preparing to build this place into a gateway for entering Black Wind Ridge and the Taiyuan Sect, responsible for receiving Disciples from all over and outer-circle procurement and trading.

And as the industries increased, the Taiyuan Sect's manpower suddenly became stretched thin. The group of senior brothers and sisters were busy in a mess all day long; not to mention having no time for cultivation, they didn't even have time to eat or drink, flying back and forth in the sky all day long.

Xu Chen's matter of going to Yuqing Hall to get the Seven-Star Golden Toad was also delayed again and again. After a full month, when the construction and arrangement of various industries gradually got on the right track, he finally had some free time.

And at this time, Lan You had received the order from the Yuqing Hall Sect Leader Longyang Zhenren and was still in Black Wind Ridge killing Soul Beasts while waiting for him.

This day, Xu Chen finally packed up, bid farewell to the three Elders and the various senior brothers and sisters, and set off, arriving at Wild Wolf Valley alone.

The current Wild Wolf Valley was completely different from what it had been several months ago.

The surroundings were already wrapped in the Black Wind overflowing from Black Wind Ridge, but on the nearby mountain ridges, a large number of Qingfeng Liuyun Arrays had been set up, blowing the churning black mist to the surroundings, making the area within a hundred li of the valley clear, and one could even see the sky above the valley.

In addition, to guide all the arriving cultivators, Spirit Light Arrays were set up all the way from the outskirts of Nanyang City to the edge of the Black Wind, forming a shimmering path of spirit light amidst the crisscrossing mountain ridges and canyons, which could be seen from dozens of miles away in the sky.

However, because of the large-scale leakage from Black Wind Ridge, mortals could not enter the black mist to survive, and with the occasional appearance and harassment of Soul Beasts, the number of people in Nanyang City had decreased significantly; yet, the number of mortal experts with thick Qi and cultivators had increased more and more, and all day long one could see the figures of Immortals riding Magic Treasures and Escape Lights coming and going, causing this small, formerly frontier city of the Southern Border to gradually transform into a city specifically for the gathering of Immortals.

(End of this chapter)