66: Golden Core Immortal Clan

Inside the cultivation chamber, silence reigned.

Chen Xu sat cross-legged, the mountain of Spirit Medicine that had been piled before him now gone, replaced by a thick layer of ash.

A massive amount of medicinal power surged within his body, impacting his limbs and bones.

Every inch of his Meridians, every bone, and even every cell of his body had been filled to its limit with extremely pure spiritual energy.

He was at the Peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm and could not advance a single step further.

An unprecedented sense of Perfection and fullness came over him, as if in the next moment, his body would explode from the sheer power.

"Now is the time."

Chen Xu's eyes suddenly opened.

There was no ripple in them, only a profound calmness.

With a thought, the vast, ocean-like spiritual energy within his body began to follow the Meridian pathways.

It madly converged and compressed towards his Dantian Qi Sea.

He was going to break through to the Golden Core!

The moment he began to assault the Bottleneck, outside, the situation changed dramatically.

Above the originally clear Ninghai City, large patches of dark clouds appeared from nowhere, pressing down heavily as if the sky itself was about to collapse.

The speed at which the dark clouds gathered was incredibly fast.

In just a dozen breaths, they covered an area of a thousand miles, turning day into night.

A majestic Heavenly Might descended from the Nine Heavens, enveloping the entire land.

Inside Ninghai City, tens of thousands of Cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level, felt a strong palpitation at this moment.

They looked up in horror at the apocalyptic scene of dark clouds pressing down on the city, with electric snakes dancing wildly, feeling as if it was difficult to breathe.

"Heavenly... Heavenly Might! What is happening?"

A young Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator's face was pale, his legs weak, almost unable to stand steadily.

"It's the Lightning Tribulation!"

An old Foundation Establishment Cultivator said with a trembling voice, "Someone is Undergoing Tribulation! And, judging by this scale, it's definitely not an ordinary Foundation Establishment Lightning Tribulation!"

Chen Family Mansion, main hall.

Bu Yifan suddenly stood up and quickly walked to the window.

She looked at the thick, despair-inducing dark clouds in the sky, feeling the terrifying pressure that made her heart pound.

Her heart instantly leaped to her throat.

"Husband..."

She knew this was Chen Xu's tribulation.

But why was the Heavenly Tribulation for forming a Golden Core so terrifying?

This might was several times stronger than the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation recorded in the Sect's ancient texts!

Boom!

Before everyone could recover from their shock,

A deafening thunderclap exploded in everyone's ears.

Immediately after, a thick purple Lightning Dragon tore through the dark clouds and fiercely struck towards the Chen Family's cultivation chamber!

The lightning was an ominous purple!

"Purple Heaven Divine Lightning!!"

In the city, the old Foundation Establishment Cultivator shrieked the moment he saw the purple Lightning Dragon.

His face was filled with horror and disbelief!

"Impossible! How is this possible! Isn't that just a legend that only exists in ancient texts? It's said that a single strike can severely injure a Nascent Soul True Lord!"

"Who is Undergoing Tribulation? Could it be a Spirit Transformation Great Power descending to the world?!"

At this moment, it was not only Ninghai City that was alarmed.

Deep in the volcanoes of the Southern Border's Hundred Thousand Mountains,

A red-haired old man, whose entire body was engulfed in flames, suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards the east, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt: "What a tyrannical power of Lightning Tribulation, it actually drew the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning... Which Fellow Daoist is attempting to reach the Soul Transformation Realm?"

At the Peak of the snow-capped mountains of Beiyuan, which were frozen for thousands of miles,

A woman in white stopped playing her zither.

Her beautiful eyes reflected the purple lightning that pierced through heaven and earth, and she murmured, "No, although this tribulation is strong, it lacks the Daorhyme of Soul Transformation. Even a Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation is not much more than this... What kind of Prodigy is this, to form a Golden Core and actually attract such a Heavenly Punishment?"

On a nameless small island on the coast of the East Sea, an old man wearing a straw cloak and a bamboo hat, looking like a Mortal fisherman, felt his fishing rod tremble slightly.

He looked up, and a sharp gleam flashed in his cloudy eyes, as if he saw through thousands of miles of Void Realm and witnessed the scene above Ninghai City.

"Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment... So that's how it is. A Foundation unheard of for ages naturally attracts a tribulation unheard of for ages. Interesting, interesting, I wonder if this child can endure it."

...Under the watchful eyes of all, facing the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning that could make even a Nascent Soul True Lord change color,

Chen Xu, who was directly beneath the tribulation clouds,

Made a move that surprised everyone.

Not only did he not summon any Magic Treasure for defense, but he let out a long roar, his figure soaring into the sky, actively meeting the roaring Lightning Dragon!

"Good timing!"

His black hair danced wildly, his clothes flapped in the wind, and his eyes were filled with Battle Intent.

Under countless horrified gazes, he punched out with his bare hands!

He was actually going to use his Physical Body to withstand the Heavenly Lightning!

Crazy! Everyone who saw this scene had only these two words left in their minds.

Boom!!!

Fist and Lightning Dragon collided with a bang!

Visible purple electric ripples spread wildly in all directions from the point of impact.

Chen Xu's figure trembled violently in mid-air, his whole body enveloped in electric light, emitting crackling sounds.

Excruciating pain and numbness spread throughout his body, as if trying to tear his Physical Body apart and grind it into dust.

But he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

Not only was he not knocked down by this blow, but he circulated his Cultivation Technique, forcibly drawing the extremely violent power of the Lightning Tribulation into his body!

Body Tempering!

He was using the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning to temper his body!

The violent power of the lightning rampaged through his Meridians, wantonly destroying them.

But for every bit of destruction, a powerful surge of vital essence immediately flowed in, repairing it.

And making it tougher and wider than before!

This vital essence was precisely the essence of the medicinal power he had stored in his body after devouring that massive amount of Heaven And Earth Treasure.

It was also the source of his confidence in acting this way.

The first Lightning Tribulation had been endured!

The tribulation clouds in the sky seemed to be enraged, beginning to churn violently.

Boom! Boom!

Immediately after, the second, the third... purple Lightning Dragons, each thicker and stronger than the last, roared out from the tribulation clouds one after another, fiercely striking down at Chen Xu.

And Chen Xu, always stood his ground.

Each time, he rushed up in the most direct way to break them apart.

Then he madly absorbed the dissipated power of the Lightning Tribulation.

His Physical Body, through these repeated destructions and Rebirths, was rapidly growing stronger at an incredible speed!

A faint jade-like luster began to appear on his skin.

Within his bones, there seemed to be the roar of thunder.

Even his blood carried faint purple electric sparks.

The Three-Nine Lightning Tribulation... the Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation... In the blink of an eye, fifty-four Purple Heaven Divine Lightning bolts had already fallen.

The tribulation clouds in the sky not only did not dissipate but became even thicker and more oppressive.

The power brewing within them made even the Nascent Soul Ancestors, who were observing from thousands of miles away, feel waves of palpitation.

"It's not over... It's still not over!"

"This... This is the Nine-Nine Supreme Lightning Tribulation! Throughout history, those who could attract such a Heavenly Tribulation were without exception Supreme beings who would later shake the Nine Heavens and become a hegemon of a region!"

"Who exactly is this child?!"

All the old monsters who were observing completely lost their composure.

They realized that they were witnessing the birth of a legend!

At this moment, Chen Xu's condition was extremely poor.

His entire body was scorched black, his clothes had long turned to ashes, and his body was covered in cracks.

Blood continuously seeped from the cracks.

And was instantly vaporized by the violent lightning.

If not for the massive amount of medicinal essence within his body continuously providing vitality,

He would probably have long turned to ashes under such terrifying Lightning Tribulation.

Even so, his consciousness began to blur.

He was relying solely on an indomitable will to painstakingly hold on.

"Only one more left..."

He raised his head, looking at the tribulation clouds that had already turned into a sea of purple lightning.

There was no fear in his eyes, only madness.

However, at this moment, the churning sea of lightning suddenly calmed down.

All lightning, all sound, disappeared without a trace in this instant.

An eerie silence enveloped heaven and earth.

Chen Xu was stunned, and an alarm blared in his heart.

No!

The Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation, the final stage, was not a lightning punishment, but rather... a Heart Demon Tribulation!

The moment this thought flashed through his mind,

The surrounding scenery underwent a drastic change.

The scorched earth, the broken mountains and rivers, the churning tribulation clouds... everything disappeared.

In its place was a warm and bright living room.

On the LCD TV on the wall, his familiar evening news was playing.

In the air, the aroma of food wafted.

A woman wearing an apron, with slightly graying hair, came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming plate of braised pork, and seeing him, a loving smile appeared on her face.

"Xiao Xu, you're back? Go wash your hands quickly, dinner is ready. Today, Mom made your favorite braised pork."

A middle-aged man wearing reading glasses, who was reading a newspaper, also looked up, adjusted his glasses, and said gently, "Don't work too hard, your health is important."

It's... Dad, Mom.

Chen Xu's body suddenly stiffened.

He looked at the scene before him, so familiar it couldn't be more familiar, looking at his parents' familiar faces etched deep into his Soul.

A surging tide instantly drowned his rationality.

Endless longing, endless sorrow, endless guilt, broke through his rock-solid Dao Heart.

"Dad... Mom..."

His voice trembled.

Two lines of hot tears uncontrollably slid from his eyes.

He was back?

He actually came back!

"Silly child, why are you crying?"

His mother walked over, tenderly wiping away his tears, and chided, "You're such a big person, yet still acting like a child. Did you suffer some grievances outside? Tell Mom."

His father also put down the newspaper and walked over, patting him on the shoulder, sighing, "You child, you always only report good news and hide the bad. Don't bear everything alone, home will always be your backing."

The warmth of his parents, the warmth of home.

All of this was so real that he couldn't distinguish between illusion and reality.

He just wanted to sink into it.

He was too tired. In this cultivation world where the strong prey on the weak and human lives are like grass, every step he took was like treading on thin ice.

He had to scheme, to kill, to carry the fate of the entire Family forward.

He was truly too tired.

If this was just a dream, he would rather never wake up.

"Xiao Xu, why aren't you speaking? Why are you still crying?"

His mother looked at him, her eyes full of worry: "Tell us, why did you leave us? Do you know how much we missed you?"

His father's eyes also reddened: "Son, come home, don't leave. We don't want anything, just for you to be safe and sound."

Come home... Don't leave... These two sentences struck Chen Xu's heart heavily.

His Dao Heart, at this moment,

Trembled violently, almost completely collapsing.

However, just as he was about to completely sink into this sea of warmth, another scene involuntarily appeared in his mind.

Ninghai City, Chen Family Mansion.

Bu Yifan stood by the window, looking at the sky with worry.

She tightly held the jade talisman he had left behind.

Chen Daoxuan and Chen Daochu, along with other Chen Family children, were nervously guarding outside the cultivation chamber.

Jade Purity Daoist and Chu Xuan were leading the Family guards, standing by in full battle array.

And those aunts, those loyal Guest Elders, those Family disciples who regarded him as their backbone... They were all waiting for him.

Waiting for him to emerge from seclusion, to lead the Chen Family to glory.

If I fall here, what will happen to them?

If my Dao Heart collapses, what will happen to them?

In an instant, a sharp pain came from the bottom of his heart.

On one side were his parents, who gave birth to him and raised him, and whom he owed a lifetime of debt.

On the other side were his Family, who trusted and relied on him, and whom he had promised to protect for life.

How to choose?

Tears had long blurred his eyes.

He looked at the faces of his parents before him, full of expectation and concern, and slowly knelt down.

Then he heavily kowtowed three times.

Each kowtow made the floor thump loudly.

"Dad, Mom, your son is unfilial!"

"The past is gone, in this life, I am Chen Xu, and I shall protect my Family in this world!"

"If there is a next life, I will repay your nurturing grace!"

Tears streamed down his face, his voice hoarse.

The moment his voice fell, he used his Supreme will to condense a Heart Sword.

And fiercely slashed down at this illusion, which he was so reluctant to leave!

"Slash!"

Crack—!

The entire world shattered like a broken mirror, piece by piece!

The Heart Demon Tribulation, broken!

When Chen Xu's consciousness returned to his body, he felt that his Dao Heart was unprecedentedly complete and clear, without a single flaw.

At the same time, the dormant power of the Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation in the sky seemed to find an outlet.

It transformed into a vast torrent of energy.

It fused with his complete Dao Heart and poured entirely into his Dantian Qi Sea!

Buzz—!

Within his Dantian Qi Sea, the nascent Golden Core, after receiving this energy fused with the Heavenly Tribulation and the complete Dao Heart, began to undergo a transformative qualitative change.

It was no longer a simple aggregation of energy, but began to emit a certain... "Dao"rhyme!

At this moment, above the Nine Heavens, in the deep and ethereal Void Realm,

A wisp of Primordial Violet Qi, as if drawn by some attraction, crossed boundless time and space.

It silently merged into Chen Xu's nascent Golden Core.

[Ding!]

[Detected that the host, with the unprecedented Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, has overcome the Nine-Nine Supreme Lightning Tribulation, severed the Heart Demon of the past, forged a complete Dao Heart, and attracted the "Beginning of the Great Dao" — Primordial Violet Qi!]

[The host's Golden Core quality has undergone an unknown evolution!]