Chapter 225: Heavenly Tribulation

Time continued to pass.

Xu Chen had already consumed the tenth Bigu Pill, and the Gathering Qi Pills had also been depleted to the eighth bottle.

The Spirit Stones used as fuel in the pill furnace had also been replaced four times, with more than ten pieces stuffed in one after another.

Although the Spirit Fire had been roasting it the entire time, in truth, Xu Chen had not burned any furnace ash or residue out of the large pearl; however, in this process of constant refining, the luster of the large pearl had become increasingly distinct, especially the layer of pale golden flowing light on the surface, which had become very rich and seemed to carry an ancient and mysterious aura.

Following the method for refining a False Golden Core, Xu Chen had already used his Divine Sense and vital energy to strike hundreds of large and small arrays and Ancient Runes into the large pearl.

With the final array and more than ten Ancient Runes all struck onto it, Xu Chen finally let out a long breath and withdrew his hands.

At this moment, the large pearl looked to have some new changes compared to a while ago; its surface was like an ivory ball emitting a pale golden light, releasing a warm and ancient aura, filled with a sense of exquisite beauty.

Should he nourish the pill before taking it out?

Although the work was finished, Xu Chen felt somewhat hesitant.

When he first looked at the pill formula for the False Golden Core, he had not seen any prompt regarding a step for pill nourishing.

Moreover, this False Golden Core not only lacked any Spirit Qi itself, but from beginning to end, it also had no pill fragrance.

But based on the alchemy habit that all Spirit Pills require nourishing, Xu Chen felt it was better to nourish it.

Therefore, after refining and consuming another Gathering Qi Pill, Xu Chen completed nearly an hour of pill nourishing according to his professional habits, then slapped the pill furnace with both hands; amidst the spraying of Spirit Fire, this False Golden Core, refined for the first time ever using a Nether Beast demon core, rushed out of the pill furnace and was grabbed by Xu Chen in his hand.

However, once the False Golden Core was in his hand, Xu Chen felt a trace of strangeness.

That was that the surface of this Spirit Pill, which was as large as a rice bowl, seemed to be wrapped in a layer of illusory light mist; although it looked very clear and natural, in reality, when it landed in his hand, he always felt a sense of buoyancy and unreality.

This False Golden Core had three layers of complex restrictions struck into it one after another, consuming at least a month of time.

According to the comprehensive view Xu Chen formed after reading all the library materials in the Yuqing Hall's Artifact Refining Hall and Scripture Pavilion, one layer of the restrictions was mainly used to bind vital energy, another was used to form a stable vital energy channel, but he could not understand the outermost layer of restrictions composed of arrays and lines at all; it was as if it were shielding something, and it was actually a very rare space restriction, carrying an illusory aura.

This feeling was slightly familiar to him; after pondering for a moment, he suddenly remembered that this aura was actually somewhat similar to the Blue Space Crystal that the Feng people used to store items.

When he first discovered the blue crystal, there was a similar illusory feeling of seeing things across space, and it was not until he met Feng Feiyi that he learned it was a type of space-attribute material almost unheard of in the outside world.

It was not only hard, but its internal space was also huge.

Because the Feng tribe lacked artifact refining methods, they could only use the most ancient and simple methods to barely open its space, and it actually had no protective function at all.

If this material were placed in the outside world and handed to any Danyuan Realm or Spirit Realm Great Cultivator proficient in artifact refining, they would certainly be able to refine an unprecedented space Magic Treasure.

In other words, this illusory restriction layer on the outside of the False Golden Core actually had the same effect as the ancient Ancient Runes used by the Feng tribe to craft the Blue Space Crystal, and perhaps it was even inherited from such ancient methods, only it had formed a very rare, brand-new array system.

After careful observation, Xu Chen decided to finish it in one go and fuse the False Golden Core into his dantian.

Having spent so much time and consumed so much, whether it succeeded or failed, this was a one-shot deal.

"Ancestors of the Three Purities and Taiyi Xianzun above, may the past masters of the Taiyuan Sect protect me, may the Supreme Elder protect me, may Master and Third Elder protect me, may all my senior brothers and sisters lend me their luck, heaven and earth lend me power, all things shine with spirit, Disciple Xu Chen bows in gratitude, let me succeed in one try!"

Holding the False Golden Core, Xu Chen knelt respectfully in the stone chamber, facing a certain direction in the void, bowed three times to the ground, then stood up, sat down again, and after adjusting his breath slightly, he held the False Golden Core with both hands in front of his lower dantian and began to circulate the fusion technique.

As the technique circulated, an obscure aura radiated from his body, and the vital energy fluctuations between his hands turned into layers of ripples that spread out, wrapping the False Golden Core like flowing water; under the stimulation of the vital energy, the False Golden Core began to vibrate slightly and continuously, eventually becoming more and more blurred, until at one moment, it trembled violently and completely disappeared from sight.

Almost at the same time, an illusory light ball emitting a pale golden glow appeared in Xu Chen's dantian, suspended exactly in the hollowed-out position of his dantian.

And the moment the light ball appeared, the Blue Starlight swirling and flowing in the black hole around it suddenly gathered inward rapidly, actually merging into the illusory array light and shadow on the outside of the False Golden Core, and then continued to flow along with the flickering of the array light and shadow; the blue and gold colors intertwined, looking even more illusory and beautiful.

An extremely powerful aura of coercion suddenly descended from the dark, sunless sky.

Above the dark mountain ridges over the canyon, a mass of red light mist appeared out of thin air and began to gather.

Feeling this suddenly arrived terrifying aura, the entire Feng tribe became panicked and restless.

"Thunder Tribulation?!"

Xu Chen, who was carefully observing the changes in his dantian, suddenly looked up at the ceiling of the stone chamber.

Although he could not see the situation outside and did not see the state of the gathering Tribulation Cloud, he was very familiar with this aura.

When the Great Elder and Master underwent their tribulation, it was this same feeling.

This is damn life-threatening.

The Jade Slip recording the pill formula for the False Golden Core had never described that a Dan Tribulation would descend during the process of fusing a false pill.

Because Demon Beasts had already experienced the Heavenly Tribulation when they reached the Golden Core Realm.

This method was just a shortcut, and there should not be a Heavenly Tribulation at all.

But right now, the Heavenly Tribulation had indeed appeared.

While Xu Chen was completely bewildered, he heard a flurry of hurried footsteps and low, anxious voices outside the stone chamber; he quickly stood up and pushed open the stone door to go out, only to see the Clan Leader, the Elders, Feng Yi, and a large group of people anxiously arguing with Feng Feiyi.

Seeing Xu Chen suddenly come out, the Clan Leader and the others immediately showed joy and hurried up to him, transmitting their voices: "Benefactor, we do not know what happened, but suddenly an extremely terrifying aura appeared outside; I fear a powerful Nether Beast we have never seen before is attacking. Benefactor should follow us to hide in the Ancestral Temple."

Feeling the aura of the thunder tribulation still continuously strengthening, Xu Chen quickly waved his hand and transmitted his voice: "Do not worry, this is not some powerful Nether Beast, but a Heavenly Tribulation; it is aimed specifically at me. You all must quickly leave the cave; I need to go outside to endure the thunder tribulation, otherwise, I fear this cave will not be preserved!"

After speaking, Xu Chen flickered and turned into a stream of light, heading straight for the outside of the cave.

After the Clan Leader, the Elders, and the others were stunned for a moment, they also hurriedly ran out in a swarm, while loudly shouting to the tribesmen to pass on the order, telling everyone to quickly leave the cave and wait in the canyon outside.

After Xu Chen rushed out of the cave, in the sky above the canyon, which was usually filled with rolling black mist and pitch black, one could clearly see a patch of red light mist gathering at a height of a thousand feet, with wisps of golden electric light flickering within it, emitting sounds like muffled thunder, looking exceptionally clear and striking in the dark, gloomy sky.

What a bizarre Tribulation Cloud.

Looking at the blood-red Tribulation Cloud, Xu Chen felt a sense of horror.

This aura was very similar to the thunder tribulation of the Mortal World, but the color was completely different, as if a mass of blood-colored demonic clouds were rolling over the canyon.

And for the Nether Human Race, who had never seen or experienced a thunder tribulation, this aura felt like a natural enemy, posing a huge threat to everyone, especially the group of Feng warriors who had already restored their tribal patterns and awakened their Divine Pattern Battle Techniques, feeling that the divine patterns within their bodies were restless, as if they wanted to burst out of their bodies.

Men, women, old, and young rushed out of the cave, and seeing this bizarre scene in the sky, they were all terrified and pale, with some even letting out panicked screams.

As the Feng people and people from other tribes all ran out of the cave and gathered in the canyon, looking up at the sky in fear, Xu Chen soared into the air, turned into a stream of light, rushed out of the canyon, and headed several miles away.

At the same time, a voice rang out in everyone's Soul: "This matter has nothing to do with you all; do not be afraid, and remember not to approach me, otherwise there may be danger!"

As Xu Chen spoke, in the blink of an eye, he was already several miles away.

And the red Tribulation Cloud gathered above the canyon also rolled and chased after Xu Chen.

The warriors of several tribes almost all spread their light wings and soared into the air, following him out of the canyon like streams of red light.

"Everyone stand here and watch, no one is allowed to approach the Benefactor!"

Feng Yi spread his light wings and hovered a hundred feet in the air, releasing a powerful Soul aura to suppress the entire scene; additionally, Feng Liu and the others also released their Divine Pattern Battle Techniques, shouting loudly to convey the same message, so all the tribal warriors who rushed out of the canyon all obediently stopped, each flapping their red light wings while hovering in the air, gazing in the direction of Xu Chen.

At this moment, Xu Chen had already reached ten miles away.

The Tribulation Cloud above his head followed him like a shadow the entire way; not only did its range grow larger and larger, but its momentum also became increasingly powerful, until finally, the rolling Black Mist churning between heaven and earth completely dissipated under this terrifying pressure.

This area of several hundred miles within Minghuang Di Jie revealed a cleanliness and emptiness never seen before, clearly visible even to the naked eye.

However, apart from the crimson Tribulation Cloud in the sky and the churning golden lightning, one could only see a young human wearing a grey-white Daoist robe standing in the wilderness, looking up at the sky above the pitch-black, vast, and lifeless land.

(End of this chapter)