Ye Ju and Xiaobai dragged the sea monster to the sea in front of the ship. Xiaobai dug into the sea monster's head and extracted a fist-sized inner core.
"Sister, this sea monster is already at the Demon Emperor level, no wonder Xiaobai couldn't defeat it." Xiaobai looked dejected.
"What rank is Demon Emperor? Xiaobai." Ye Ju patted Xiaobai's head and asked curiously. Back then, when she first met Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo was third rank and Xiaobai was second rank.
"Sister, I'm currently fifth rank and about to ascend to sixth rank, Xiao Mo is sixth rank, and this sea monster Demon Emperor is tenth rank or above." Xiaobai was still unhappy.
Good heavens, a fifth-rank fighting a tenth-rank opponent, truly a fearless newborn calf! It was fortunate that Ye Ju acted decisively and joined forces, allowing one person and two beasts to take down this sea monster.
"Xiaobai, you are still young, Sister believes you will definitely become stronger, and I will rely on you in the future!" The little fellow needed encouragement, she couldn't let him lose confidence after one battle.
Ye Ju didn't know her own rank or combat power, it seemed she lacked combat experience. She encountered a formidable beast on her first day at sea, and navigating at night would likely be even more dangerous. It was fortunate that Xiaobai and Xiao Mo were unharmed, only their spiritual power was severely depleted.
As it was getting late, they planned to spend the night within the barrier and not sail at night. Ye Ju found some spare purple bamboo, shaved it into strips about four fingers wide, and intended to grill them on the spot. She chopped off all the sea monster's tentacles, cutting them into sections of about forty to fifty centimeters each. She pierced them directly with freshly made bamboo skewers. She brought the stone stove to the deck at the bow of the ship, hung up several night-blooming pearl lanterns, and directly grilled them over the open flame. Ye Ju was responsible for continuously flipping and re-cutting the meat to make it more flavorful, while Xiaobai brushed on the sauce Ye Ju had prepared. To be honest, although the sea monster's tentacles had strong defenses, after being grilled, the meat was tender and juicy, and extremely delicious. Xiao Mo, shrinking its body, also climbed onto the deck and, after letting it cool, devoured the grilled squid segments one after another.
Ye Ju had the smallest appetite. After eating her fill, she roasted for the two gluttons. They had consumed a lot of spiritual power in their battle today, and conveniently, the sea monster's meat contained a large amount of demon power. These two brats didn't need any transformation or absorption. In terms of bloodline, these two brats crushed the sea monster, but unfortunately, they were still underage!
By the time Ye Ju's hands were about to break, the two gluttons were finally full. Their appetites were astonishing; did they not usually eat enough? The uneaten portions were frozen and moved to the stern of the ship. The rest of the sea monster's body was discarded, left to sink into the sea.
Ye Ju was unaware that Xiaobai and Xiao Mo had been stimulated. If spirit beasts couldn't protect their master, how could that be acceptable? Moreover, there were always stronger beings outside. They had been arrogant on the island before, and they wanted to become stronger! Eating the sea monster's meat could make them stronger. Not only that, after eating the spiritual spring water, Xiaobai and Xiao Mo also ate the blue scale bead.
As for the sea monster's inner core, Ye Ju told them to handle it themselves. Later, Xiao Mo ate it. After finishing, Xiao Mo hid at the bottom of the ship to cultivate. Xiaobai also retreated into the cabin and fell into a deep sleep.
Fine, now Ye Ju had to keep watch. Ye Ju held her talisman, feeling inexplicably at peace. The sound of waves lapping against the ship was still present. Although they were within the barrier, the boundless darkness still brought inner fear. The light of the night-blooming pearls was as weak as grains of rice in the vast ocean, and could be extinguished by strong winds and waves at any moment. Ye Ju placed the talisman aside, released a wisp of her divine sense to alert the barrier, and slowly entered a state of meditation.
Ye Ju also felt a sense of urgency today. What if they encountered even more powerful enemies? There was only one way: to become stronger!
Ye Ju's state of mind changed. She heard a barrier somewhere break. The five-colored beads in her Dantian began to spin madly, following the pattern of the Tai Chi Bagua diagram: Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things. The five-colored beads rotated, centered around the white and blue beads, resembling the eyes of the two black and white fish in the Bagua diagram. The other beads revolved around these two like stars surrounding the moon. A large amount of spiritual energy elements poured into her Dantian, with water elements being the most abundant. The white light points were also unwilling to fall behind, continuously absorbing and compressing.
Ye Ju didn't know what this situation represented, but she knew that the white bead absorbed the spiritual spring water more actively. She couldn't move now. She extended a finger to telekinetically grab the purple bamboo water flask, opened the lid, and poured the spiritual spring water into her mouth. After finishing the flask of spring water,
Finally, the white bead became the same size as the blue bead. Ye Ju suddenly had a realization, retracted her divine sense, picked up the talisman, and rushed out of the barrier. Indeed, after a while, thunder rumbled above, signaling the impending tribulation. Ye Ju vaguely knew that the white and blue beads in her Dantian were about to form Golden Cores.
Ye Ju mobilized all her spiritual power. Tribulation clouds formed in the sky above, and a bolt of lightning struck down. Ye Ju swung out ice blades to resist. The talisman had already entered her Sea of Consciousness as the lightning tribulation descended. Ye Ju knew that she had to endure the lightning tribulation herself; the talisman entering her Sea of Consciousness was to protect her soul.
The second lightning tribulation also struck Ye Ju with a rumble, giving her no chance to breathe. Ye Ju also swung out three ice blades to resist. Ye Ju stood on the sea surface, her spiritual power transforming into a tangible dress, protecting her entire body, as she braced for the third lightning tribulation:
"Ice-fireball, go!" Ye Ju shouted.
The fourth bolt struck with immense power, and Ye Ju continuously launched two ice-fireballs to meet it head-on.
Rumble~ Rumble~
"Ice Seal!" Ye Ju faced the fifth lightning strike and instantly froze herself, then shattered it with ice-fireballs.
The sixth...
The seventh...
The ninth, Ye Ju used water spiritual power to mobilize the energy of the sea and charge towards the sky. With a rumble, the tribulation clouds dissipated. At this point, Ye Ju was exhausted, her spiritual power severely depleted.
Just as Ye Ju thought it was over, the tribulation clouds rapidly gathered again. Another lightning tribulation struck. Ye Ju, utterly exhausted, decided to endure it with her physical body. She used her last bit of spiritual power to protect her heart meridians. Instantly, lightning surged through her body, and Ye Ju felt a tingling sensation, but it was bearable. Compared to the previous body tempering with stone milk, it was a mere trifle.
Now Ye Ju had confidence. Her spiritual power was gone. Since her body could withstand the lightning tribulation, she simply sat on the sea surface and meditated to absorb spiritual energy. Ye Ju ignored the tribulation clouds above, mobilized her Dantian to absorb the five elements, and absorbed them frantically, returning to her origin. Five-colored light points continuously poured into Ye Ju's body.
The lightning tribulation in the sky seemed provoked and enraged. It unleashed three consecutive lightning tribulations, striking Ye Ju. The lightning instantly coursed through Ye Ju's body along the extraordinary meridians and eight collateral channels. Her hair had been scorched black, and her beautiful locks were lost. The white bead in her Dantian spun rapidly, emitting white energy that closely followed, repairing the meridians damaged by the lightning. The bipolar diagram in her Dantian spun wildly, drawing the lightning into her Dantian, but it was absorbed by the yellow bead. The lightning entered the yellow bead like water entering a sponge, its power greatly reduced, leaving only faint electrical currents. Only then did Ye Ju feel more comfortable.
The sixth lightning tribulation... also like this. The yellow bead seemed to be a bottomless pit, absorbing all the lightning.
The seventh lightning tribulation...
The tribulation clouds in the sky were likely bewildered...
When the last lightning tribulation struck, the yellow bead in Ye Ju's Dantian absorbed the power of the lightning, and faint electric light flickered. The tribulation clouds dispersed, and a sweet rain fell from the sky. This was a gift from heaven. Ye Ju's entire body was bathed in this heavenly bestowed grace, repairing all her meridians. Her hair instantly grew back to its original length, and the scorched skin from the lightning strikes grew new skin as tender as a newborn infant's. Internally, she also grew ice crystal jade bones.
Ye Ju's Dantian now held two golden Golden Cores, and the other beads seemed like subordinates in front of the Golden Cores.
Ye Ju was carried back to the ship within the barrier by the waves and collapsed on the deck, having narrowly escaped death. Ye Ju recalled enduring eighteen lightning tribulations and forming two Golden Cores. She also had three more beads in her Dantian, which meant she would have to endure three more times, twenty-seven strikes?