271: Chapter 271 Breakthrough of the Heavenly Heart

"Let's head in as well," Gao Feng said to Luo Li.

Luo Li nodded, then turned to look at Tian Xin. "Sister Tian Xin, aren't you joining us?"

Tian Xin shook her head, her eyes flashing with the light of wisdom. "I am right at the cusp of a Breakthrough. Although the power of lightning in the pool is mild, it is still too violent for me to use to charge at my Bottleneck. I plan to stay here by the edge of the pool and use the dissipating lightning energy to integrate the power of Talismans into my own spiritual power for a final attempt."

"Alright! Be careful then!" Gao Feng knew Tian Xin had her own plans and did not force her.

He and Luo Li exchanged a glance and stepped into the Spirit Tempering Pool together.

Sizzle!

As soon as he entered the pool, a numbing yet overbearing power surged through his skin and instantly flooded into his limbs and bones!

That mild lightning power was like countless tiny steel needles, frantically washing through his Meridians! A sharp pain originating from the depths of his Soul caused Gao Feng's brow to instantly furrow!

What overbearing power!

Gao Feng's heart tightened; he dared not be careless and immediately circulated the Town Prison Divine Body Art. Golden blood energy surged within his body, resisting that violent scouring.

However, the lightning power not only impacted the Physical Body but also carried an interference that targeted the mind, making one feel agitated and making it difficult to concentrate.

Just then, with a thought, Gao Feng drew a sliver of the newly formed Resonance Spiritual Liquid from his portable space.

A cool and gentle energy instantly flowed through his Sea of Consciousness, sweeping away the irritability and making his mind clear and translucent in an instant.

By the poolside, seeing that Gao Feng had stabilized himself, Luo Li raised her fair hand, and the flowing sound zither appeared on her lap.

Clang—

A clear zither note rang out, and a melodious, tranquil melody slowly flowed forth.

It was precisely the Pure Heart Melody for calming the spirit!

The zither music seemed to possess a magical power, turning into invisible sound waves that precisely enveloped Gao Feng's body, further neutralizing the mental interference brought by the lightning power.

Under the dual assistance of the Resonance Spiritual Liquid and the Pure Heart Melody, Gao Feng completely discarded all external distractions and immersed his entire mind in the tempering of his Physical Body.

He could clearly feel that the hard-to-detect Impurities accumulated in his Meridians over the years were being scoured, stripped away, and crushed bit by bit by that overbearing lightning power!

Although the entire process was painful, he could feel himself becoming stronger every moment!

His Meridians became tougher and wider; circulating his Foundation Establishment Stage One Early Phase spiritual power was now several times smoother than before! His Foundation was bolstered to an extreme!

And his Physical Body, under the constant tempering of this lightning power, saw its bones and muscles become increasingly powerful, with every inch of muscle filled with explosive strength! His close-combat burst power was enhanced once again!

On the other side, Luo Li also benefited immensely.

The Pure Heart Melody she played actually produced a wondrous resonance with the lightning power in the pool!

Slivers of silver electrical arcs leaped along with her zither music, merging into her body and constantly vitalizing her spiritual power.

Seven days later, when she put away the ancient zither, her aura had surged significantly, stepping firmly from Foundation Establishment Stage One Early Phase into Foundation Establishment Stage One Middle Phase! Her mastery of musical Spells also became more proficient; whether it was calming spirits or disturbing enemies, the effects were greatly enhanced!

While everyone was focused on their Cultivation, a discordant disturbance rang out from the pool.

It was Lei Lie!

Relying on his innate Lightning Spiritual Root, he was like a fish in water within the pool. At this moment, he was smugly activating his lightning arts, deliberately stirring up waves of violent lightning around him to interfere with the nearby Disciples' Cultivation.

"Ah!"

Pfft!

Soon, three Disciples with weaker Foundations could not withstand this sudden pressure; they spat out blood and were forced to retreat from the Spirit Tempering Pool in a pathetic state.

Seeing this, the smugness on Lei Lie's face intensified.

His gaze swept around and finally landed on Gao Feng, who was Cultivating nearby with his eyes closed, and a hint of malice flashed in his eyes.

"Hmph! A brute from a Menial Laborer background dares to steal my spotlight!"

With a thought, a violent aftershock of lightning arts, like a venomous snake, swept toward Gao Feng's direction!

However, to his surprise, facing this lightning aftershock that would be enough to throw an ordinary early Foundation Establishment Cultivator into a panic, Gao Feng didn't even lift an eyelid!

He didn't even activate any spiritual power for defense; with just a flash of golden light on his skin, his powerful Physical Body was like the sturdiest reef, forcibly smashing that lightning aftershock into pieces!

Lei Lie's pupils shrank, his heart filled with disbelief.

Just then, Su Ning, who was on the other side, furrowed her elegant brows. She saw that Lei Lie's actions were affecting a Junior Sister near her who was only at the Qi Refinement Stage. She immediately gave a cold hmph and lightly made a stroke in front of her with her jade-like hand.

An invisible spatial barrier instantly appeared, isolating all the lightning aftershocks and protecting that shivering Junior Sister.

By the poolside, Elder Mo Chenzi had already seen everything. On his face, which was usually as calm as an ancient well, a hint of anger finally surfaced.

"Lei Lie!"

An angry shout, like a clap of thunder, exploded in Lei Lie's ears!

"As fellow Disciples, instead of thinking of helping each other, you maliciously interfere with others' Cultivation! Do you admit your guilt?!"

Lei Lie was shaken by this shout until his blood surged. His face turned pale, and he hurriedly defended himself, "Elder, I... I just didn't control my strength well during Cultivation..."

"You still dare to quibble!" A cold light flashed in Elder Mo Chenzi's eyes. "You are sentenced to temper yourself in this pool for three additional days! If there is a next time, get the hell out of Tian Xuan Mountain!"

Lei Lie was both shocked and furious, but he dared not disobey the orders of a Golden Core Elder. He could only grit his teeth and dive to the bottom of the pool with a face full of resentment.

The seven days of tempering soon came to an end.

When Gao Feng opened his eyes again, he only felt refreshed, his body filled with inexhaustible strength.

Although his cultivation still remained at Foundation Establishment Stage One Early Phase, the stability of his Foundation and the strength of his bones and muscles were far superior to before!

And on the evening of the seventh day of tempering, Tian Xin, who had been sitting cross-legged by the pool, suddenly erupted with a powerful aura!

The spiritual power around her seemed to boil, frantically converging toward her Dantian! That Bottleneck that had troubled her for a long time was finally completely broken through at this moment by her great perseverance and wisdom!

Foundation Establishment! Success!

A spiritual power fluctuation belonging to the Foundation Establishment Stage One Early Phase spread out from her body!

She slowly opened her eyes and lightly tapped her fingertip. An ice-blue glowing rune appeared out of thin air, instantly freezing a rock!

A simplified Foundation Establishment Ice Seal Talisman!

She had succeeded! She became the third Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the team, and her combat power received a qualitative leap!

From this tempering, all three of them had gained much.

And Gao Feng's portable space also produced a wondrous resonance because of the three of them Cultivating.

He was surprised to find that at the source of that spiritual spring, several drops of milky-white liquid, like nectar, had actually been born.

spirit marrow!

A stream of information flooded into his mind; this was spirit marrow, with a quality more than five times higher than spiritual liquid! Not only did it contain more refined spiritual power, but it also had the miraculous effect of repairing Meridians and nourishing the Physical Body!

Although the space did not undergo a major upgrade, this improvement in resource quality allowed Gao Feng to see infinite possibilities for the future!

On the day after the Spirit Tempering Pool tempering ended, Elder Mo Chenzi once again gathered all the True Disciples on another even more magnificent peak.

At the summit of this peak stood a huge and ancient bronze gate, engraved with countless profound runes, emitting a desolate and vast aura.

"The second stage of the intensive training, the Myriad Race Secret Realm trial, begins now!"

Elder Mo Chenzi's voice was like a great bell, echoing in everyone's ears.

"This Secret Realm was opened by a Sect powerhouse using a supreme Divine Ability. Within it are Sealed low-level projections of tens of thousands of different races. The strength of these projections will automatically match your cultivation when you enter the formation."

"What you need to do is enter the Secret Realm as a team, kill the designated projections, and obtain Combat Merit Tokens!"

"This trial assesses not only your individual combat power but also your teamwork capabilities and your ability to deal with the various Myriad Races!"

"The final number of Combat Merit Tokens obtained will directly determine your priority in the subsequent legion organization! The higher the combat merit, the higher the resource allocation and positions you can obtain!"

"Now, form your own teams and prepare to enter the formation!"

Elder Mo Chenzi's words caused a commotion among all the Disciples present.

Those Disciples from aristocratic families already had fixed circles and quickly formed teams in groups of three to five.

Lei Lie even directly recruited two Senior Brothers in the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment to form a powerful 'Assault Team.' The look he gave Gao Feng was full of provocation and disdain.

Gao Feng ignored him and instead turned his gaze toward Su Ning, who was not far away.

"Junior Sister Su Ning," Gao Feng took the initiative to walk over.

Su Ning's cold gaze looked over; she didn't speak, as if waiting for him to continue.

"We would like to invite you to join our team," Gao Feng said straightforwardly.

Tian Xin and Luo Li also walked over, giving Su Ning friendly smiles.

A flash of surprise appeared in Su Ning's eyes. She hadn't expected that Gao Feng would take the initiative to invite her, someone with a withdrawn personality who disliked socializing.

She sized up the three people in front of her.

Gao Feng had a powerful Physical Body and was invincible in close combat; he was the perfect vanguard and tank.

Tian Xin had just broken through to Foundation Establishment, and her Talisman attainments were unfathomable; she was a powerful long-range battery and crowd controller.

Luo Li's musical Spells were mysterious; she could provide support, control the field, and calm the spirit, making her the perfect lubricant for the team.

And she herself was proficient in space Spells, excelling at detection, imprisonment, and evading danger.

If the four of them joined forces...

A thought flashed through Su Ning's mind, and on her face, which had been frozen for ten thousand years, a rare hint of interest actually surfaced.

"Fine."

A single cold word escaped her lips.

Just like that, a team that seemed somewhat strange to others but was actually a perfect team with 'full functional coverage' was officially established!