The breakthrough from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Golden Core realm requires enduring the Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation.
The Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation is extremely dangerous!
Generally speaking, with adequate preparation, one has about a fifty percent chance of surviving the tribulation.
However, Little Dezhi, having advanced too rapidly, was completely unprepared for it. Facing the Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation, he was doomed to die!
"Little Dezhi..."
Yun Peng Zhenren of the Deyun Sect was immensely anxious, yet he was utterly helpless, able to do nothing but watch the tragedy unfold.
Little Dezhi's cultivation increased rapidly. At the center of his Foundation Establishment spiritual sea, a small vortex appeared. The liquid true essence continuously compressed and condensed, eventually forming a tiny solid true essence crystal.
This solid true essence crystal was crystal clear. Despite its small size, it emanated a powerful pressure, the unique pressure of a Golden Core cultivator.
The solid true essence crystal rotated, absorbing a portion of true essence with each revolution, growing stronger.
Soon, the crystal transformed into a perfectly round bead, adorned with five golden dragon patterns.
A Golden Core with five dragon patterns was neither outstanding nor poor; it was standard.
As Little Dezhi's Golden Core just formed, the wind and clouds churned above his head, gathering a massive amount of black tribulation clouds.
Within the tribulation clouds, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, unleashing an aura of world-destruction.
The Heavenly Tribulation was imminent!
Little Dezhi also sensed the descent of the Heavenly Tribulation, his face drastically changing.
"Not good, I'm doomed!"
He was utterly incapable of resisting the tribulation now!
If the tribulation lightning struck, he would surely die!
At this critical moment, the third of the "Dao Propagation" auspicious signs descended with a roar.
The sky erupted in brilliant light.
Streams of spiritual light bloomed like lotuses.
The spiritual light fell, gathering above the heads of every elite disciple.
The elite disciples felt a warmth spread through their bodies. Bathed in the spiritual light, their true essence became more vigorous and cohesive.
Rumble!
The first bolt of tribulation lightning struck down fiercely.
It was as thick as a bucket, carrying an aura of destruction, terrifying beyond measure.
Little Dezhi wore a wry smile, closing his eyes to await his fate!
He had no means to resist the tribulation lightning; it was impossible!
The next second, something astonishing happened.
A halo of spiritual light rose from above Little Dezhi's head.
The spiritual light radiated, illuminating heaven and earth.
The formidable tribulation lightning, as if encountering its natural nemesis, instantly weakened.
Whoosh!
Touched by the spiritual light, the tribulation lightning lost all its power, transforming into wisps of faint lightning that dissipated into the world.
Not only that, but the tribulation clouds above Little Dezhi's head also slowly dispersed under the illumination of the spiritual light!
Little Dezhi's aura surged, his strength increasing at an astonishing rate.
Soon, his cultivation stabilized completely, and he became a true Golden Core cultivator!
He had successfully survived the tribulation!
He had overcome it so inexplicably!
What the heck!
What was going on?
All the Golden Core elders present were stunned into silence!
They simply couldn't believe their eyes.
The immense power of the Heavenly Tribulation had been dispelled by a mere halo of spiritual light!
This was… this was unscientific!
"Fellow Daoist Chilian, what exactly was that halo of spiritual light?"
Chilian
o(⊙﹏⊙)o
Stunned!
Utterly shocked!
He hadn't heard a word of what everyone was saying, lost in his own stupor of disbelief!
"Fellow Daoist Chilian, Fellow Daoist Chilian..."
After being called for a long time, Chilian finally managed to regain some semblance of composure.
He stammered,
"Uh, I, I can't be sure either, but I've heard legends about a certain auspicious sign, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Light!"
"Uh... the legend is perhaps too exaggerated, saying this auspicious sign can resist a portion of the Heavenly Tribulation's power... Uh, well, maybe it's not exaggerated after all..."
Initially, Chilian didn't believe such legends. How could an auspicious sign resist the power of the Heavenly Tribulation?
It was a joke!
The cultivators were well aware of the immense power of the Heavenly Tribulation; it was the power of the world's rules and order, incredibly potent!
In the cultivators' understanding, one could only face the Heavenly Tribulation head-on; there were no shortcuts.
But now, it seemed the "Heaven and Earth Spiritual Light" could indeed resist the Heavenly Tribulation!
At this moment, several more elite disciples broke through their bottlenecks, beginning their ascent to the Golden Core realm.
Rumble!
Rumble!
The powerful Heavenly Tribulation struck down.
Rounds of spiritual light ascended.
Whoosh!
The spiritual light radiated, illuminating heaven and earth!
The power of the Heavenly Tribulation was dissolved.
It was a calm and effortless breakthrough.
Thus, over a dozen elite disciples successfully passed their tribulations and advanced to the Golden Core realm.
The assembled Golden Core elders.
o(⊙﹏⊙)o
Stunned!
Still f***ing stunned!
They could now remove the word "perhaps" from their thoughts. The "Heaven and Earth Spiritual Light" didn't just seem to dispel the Heavenly Tribulation; it truly did!
It was too incredible!
At this point, even more elite disciples prepared to break through their bottlenecks and ascend to the Golden Core realm.
The assembled Golden Core elders felt both surprise and helplessness.
"Little ones, don't break through anymore. If you reach the Golden Core realm, you won't be able to participate in the Selection Tournament..."
Though they said this, the temptation of breaking through to the Golden Core realm far outweighed that of the Selection Tournament.
Many elite disciples chose to break through!
Before long, nearly a hundred elite disciples had successfully advanced to the Golden Core realm.
The Heavenly Tribulations of these hundred-odd elite disciples were all dispelled by the spiritual light, making their breakthroughs extremely smooth.
The third auspicious sign, "Heaven and Earth Spiritual Light," was truly terrifying!
The minds of the assembled Golden Core elders were shattered. They had never imagined the Heavenly Tribulation could be "played" with like this!
With their seniors here, anything was indeed possible!
At this moment, Hao Ren had only finished uttering the first character of his "Dao." Two more characters remained.
"Ke..."
As the second character was spoken, various outrageously powerful auspicious signs began to manifest.
The fourth auspicious sign: "Five Peaks Suppress the Mountains and Rivers"!
The phantom image of a mountain peak suddenly ascended.
Majestic and precipitous, it stood firm.
Mount Hua, the Western Peak!
Simultaneously, phantom images of four other peaks rose from the ground.
Mount Song, the Central Peak!
Mount Tai, the Eastern Peak!
Mount Heng, the Southern Peak!
Mount Heng, the Northern Peak!
The phantom images of the five peaks shook violently, causing the mountains and rivers to tremble.
An incomparably powerful force poured down.
The profound intent of the mountains permeated the bodies of the disciples, rapidly strengthening their physiques and boosting their power!
This was body refinement through auspicious signs!
After being tempered by the "Five Peaks Suppress the Mountains and Rivers" auspicious sign, the physiques of the elite disciples became more than ten times stronger.
Do not underestimate this increase in physique; it would greatly enhance their combat effectiveness.
Envy!
They were truly crying with envy!
The assembled Golden Core elders watched the elite disciples' physiques strengthen, their mouths watering.
Yun Tianzhong and the Little Monkey King gained the most. These few individuals' physiques were already comparable to ordinary Golden Core cultivators; how enviable!