The Lightning Tribulation Again
Is it another heavenly tribulation? Baek Cheong sat cross-legged on the jade bed, eyes closed, observing her inner self. The dantian, having finished its breakthrough, had expanded to double its previous size. The amount of spiritual energy flowing through her limbs and meridians had increased, and the sensation within her energy channels felt significantly smoother. However, she had no time to savor the joy of the breakthrough. That energy. The mysterious force that had surged within her dantian just before the breakthrough failed wouldn't leave her mind. It was different from any of the five elemental attributes, and it wasn't lightning energy either. It had risen without warning or signal, joining the semi-union and helping to shatter the barrier. Only one thing could be responsible for such a feat. It has to be the Integrative Hidden Spiritual Root.
It was an existence that lay dormant deep within her dantian, slowly eroding the nourishment of her five-element spiritual roots. There was no doubt that the hidden root was the one that had emitted that unknown energy to aid her breakthrough. She turned her inner gaze to the deepest part of her dantian, observing the spot where the hidden root usually curled up. But she sensed nothing. It had disappeared without a trace, acting as if it hadn't just been spewing out energy moments ago. Are you playing games with me now? It was infuriating that it only popped up when it wanted to manifest and then hid immediately afterward. It was a burden she couldn't catch, couldn't remove, and couldn't even detect under normal circumstances. If it could talk, she would have liked to give it a piece of her mind, but there was no chance it would ever be a conversational partner.
Still, I have to check what I can. Even if she couldn't observe the Integrative Hidden Spiritual Root directly, there was a way to gauge it indirectly. Since the hidden root grew by stealing nourishment from her five-element roots, she could infer its activity by observing the state of those roots. She shifted her gaze to observe the five-element roots. Five stars were rooted in her dantian: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The roots, which had once been murky, had grown and become clear through repeated breakthroughs. However, it was impossible to tell just by looking how much nourishment was being stolen. Baek Cheong didn't rush; she watched for a long time. After observing for a while, she felt a subtle difference. ...It’s faster.
The problem was the speed at which the nourishment was being drained. The Integrative Hidden Spiritual Root had been slowly eroding the nourishment of her five-element roots for a long time. To compensate for this erosion, she had been taking one talisman-inscribed attribute pill every month. One pill a month was enough to amply replenish the nourishment the hidden root stole, and the cycle had never changed, whether she was at the 5th or 6th star of the Qi Refining stage. But now, she felt that the flow of nourishment leaving the five-element roots had increased compared to before. It was a change so subtle that it would have been difficult to notice if she hadn't been observing for so long, but once she saw it, she couldn't deny it. At a rough estimate, the cycle had shortened by about a day.
One day. It was a difference of only a single day. She could easily handle a one-day reduction in the dosage cycle with her talisman-inscribed pills. It wasn't urgent enough to cause a sense of crisis. However, what mattered more than the number itself was the fact that for the first time, there had been a change in the rate of erosion that had remained constant until now. When something that had been unchanging begins to change, one never knows what the next change will be or when it will come. I guess I won't be able to rest easy until I properly achieve the Five Elements Union. The only fundamental solution for the Integrative Hidden Spiritual Root was the Five Elements Union. Once she completed the union, the hidden root wouldn't parasitize her but would instead fully fuse with the five elements. But the Five Elements Union was a realm she could barely approach only after reaching the Golden Core stage. As someone at the 7th star of Qi Refining, it was a distant story beyond her reach.
But why this time? Unlike other times, Baek Cheong pondered the reason why the hidden root had manifested its energy this time. She had broken through realms before. She had used the semi-union as a means of breakthrough when crossing from the 5th to the 6th star as well. Each time, the hidden root had shown no reaction. Only this time had it spewed out energy on its own to help her. She thought about what had changed since the 5th and 6th star breakthroughs. The most notable change was in formation arts. After breaking through the 6th star, she had clung to the Formation Atlas. As she deciphered each character-pattern, she grasped the principles of heaven and earth, gradually realizing how the five elemental energies interacted, countered, and intertwined into a single character-pattern. Formation arts were a craft that dealt directly with the principles of heaven and earth. Since it was a process of experiencing and learning the principles of the five elements through character-patterns, it was an inevitable consequence that her understanding of the Five Elements Union would deepen along with it.
And in doing so, the completion of the semi-union also increased. As her realization deepened, it affected the semi-union. The semi-union was an incomplete state that hadn't reached the Five Elements Union. But even in an incomplete state, as the degree of completion increased, it drew closer to the true union. Because the semi-union had drawn closer to the true union, the hidden root had been stimulated. By dealing with formations, my realization deepened; as my realization deepened, the semi-union drew closer to the true union; and as the semi-union drew closer, the hidden root reacted. The cause and effect were linked like a chain. It's not easy. It was a double-edged sword that the completion of the semi-union was rising even though she couldn't properly achieve the Five Elements Union. The higher the completion, the stronger her breakthrough power, but the risk of stimulating the hidden root also increased. It was a problem if the completion rose, and it was a problem if it stimulated the hidden root.
From now on, I'll have to change how I break through realms. She couldn't keep using the method of relying on the semi-union every time she raised her realm. She needed an alternative, whether by preparing other means or reducing her reliance on the semi-union. ...But it's a long way to the 8th star. However, she had just broken through to the 7th star of Qi Refining. It would take at least a year to reach the next realm, the 8th star. She was only 11 years old, with plenty of growth left. I'll think about it later. There was no need to stress over it in advance unless it was an immediate fire. The increased rate of erosion by the hidden root wasn't at a dangerous level yet, and it wouldn't be too late to worry about changing her breakthrough method when the next breakthrough came into view.
"Phew." Baek Cheong exhaled deeply, clearing her thoughts. She stepped down from the jade bed and pushed the stone door open. She navigated the maze-like cave passages and informed Elder Jin that she had finished using the training room. "Oh, you're done already?" "Yes, I broke through safely." "What a commendable child." Elder Jin's white eyebrows rose and then lowered. After hearing the brief praise, she bowed her head and turned back. Her steps toward her residence were light. Her worries about the hidden root hadn't vanished entirely, but concluding that it wasn't an urgent problem gave her peace of mind. Upon entering her residence, she sat straight down on her bed. Qi Refining 7th star. She finally savored the joy of the breakthrough, her small chest swelling with pride. It had been only a little over a year since she was judged as "trash" with a five-element spiritual root during the root examination. Compared to others of her age with heavenly roots, she was slow, but for someone with a five-element root, it was an impossible speed. A smile naturally crept onto her lips at the pride she felt.
I can't miss this time either. She had developed a habit whenever she raised her realm. It was to unleash her Divine Sense at full power. It was like a small annual event where she felt the expanded range of her Divine Sense with her whole body. She closed her eyes, steadied her Divine Sense, and released it with all her might. Her Divine Sense, spanning 27 zhang, easily cleared the room and stretched out in all directions. It crossed the walls, passed the paths, and swept over the tiled roofs of neighboring buildings. It was a range that reached significantly further than the 23 zhang she had at the 6th star. The edge of her Divine Sense flickered at a distance that was just about to reach the outskirts of her residence. It really has expanded. Just as she was savoring the sensation with satisfaction, ...? A strange sign caught the edge of her Divine Sense. A feeling of oppression, as if pressing down from the sky. A pressure, as if the entire atmosphere had turned into a giant boulder and was crushing the ground, was transmitted through her Divine Sense. It was an extremely familiar sensation. I think I felt this last time, too. She had felt the exact same sign when she broke through to the 6th star and unleashed her Divine Sense. At that time, her father was in the middle of breaking through to Golden Core. Don't tell me, again?
Baek Cheong jumped up and approached the window. As she threw the window open, the sky outside came into view. Pitch-black clouds were swirling toward the clan's upper atmosphere. Thick, dark storm clouds were taking shape like a typhoon, covering the sky. It was a Heavenly Tribulation Cloud she could recognize at a glance. What kind of annual event was it that a Heavenly Tribulation Cloud appeared every time she raised her realm and unleashed her Divine Sense? At least it's not me this time. Baek Cheong confidently excluded herself. Her breakthrough was already over, and she had never done anything that defied heaven. The Heavenly Dao wouldn't take offense just because she had caused a little chaos on the Nameless Board. Probably. A guilty conscience made her add that extra thought. Then whose tribulation is it? She leaned against the window and observed the direction in which the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud was gathering. The cloud was forming toward the deepest area of the clan, inside the Clan Head Hall. It was the direction where her grandfather's Supreme Elder Hall was located. Grandfather. Baek Mu-ae, the Supreme Elder of the Yeonha Baek clan and a Golden Core master. He had been in seclusion for quite a while, so he must have been accumulating his energy inside. She guessed that her grandfather, who had stayed in the Golden Core stage for a long time and honed his realm, was finally moving from the Golden Core mid-stage to the late-stage.
If he passes the tribulation, he'll be in the late Golden Core stage. Her grandfather had been a pillar of the clan for a very long time. As a great cultivator who had deeply grasped the realm of a half-immortal, he would easily handle a lightning tribulation that crossed a small realm boundary. She thought it would be different from the dizzying breakthrough where her father had to endure while vomiting blood when he leaped from Core Formation to Golden Core. Confidence that he would break through safely outweighed her worry. More importantly... Other thoughts raised their heads in the place where her worry had vanished. Lightning tribulation... The lightning from the heavenly tribulation. Observing the lightning tribulation up close during her father's Golden Core tribulation had been the decisive moment that led her to awaken lightning energy. She had felt the principles of the lightning energy character-pattern with her whole body while watching the energy of the lightning tribulation pouring from the clouds, and later, she succeeded in manifesting lightning energy from the lightning energy character-pattern by grasping the principle of "Strip Away the Illusory Form, Preserve the Essence."
Lightning tribulation, lightning energy, and the lightning energy character-pattern are different. Another opportunity had come to observe the lightning tribulation and examine the differences. However, she couldn't be satisfied with just observing from up close. Before, she had observed it by chance while not even knowing of the existence of lightning energy. The harvest had been great, but it was a coincidence, and an opportunity she had faced without preparation. Now, the situation was different from back then. She already knew about lightning energy, knew how to handle formation arts, and could deploy formations with the Five Elements Banner and Five Elements Puppets. I don't want to stop at just observing. She wanted to grasp even a fragment of the lightning tribulation. Her understanding of lightning energy was still shallow. If she could directly feel the flow of lightning energy in an environment where the lightning tribulation was pouring down, she felt she could reach a deeper level. To do that, I need to set up a similar environment. To set up a similar environment, formation arts were indispensable. The Five Elements Ten-Thousand-Thunder Formation was a formation that generated lightning energy through the collision of metal and water attributes within a five-element formation. By simultaneously activating the formation at the moment the lightning tribulation fell, she could feel the lightning energy of the Heavenly Dao and the lightning energy reproduced within the formation together. Just looking at the lightning tribulation from the outside and groping for the principles of lightning energy within her own formation at the same time had to be a world of difference.
The problem is the location. She couldn't deploy a formation where everyone was watching. When she tested the Five Elements Ten-Thousand-Thunder Formation at the training ground before, the thunder had echoed, and her father had come running. If lightning exploded in an unexpected place while the tribulation was striking, the entire clan could be turned upside down. It had to be a place where it wouldn't catch people's eyes. Baek Cheong finished her thoughts and moved quickly. She grabbed the storage pouch she had placed next to her bed and tied it to her waist. Inside were the Five Elements Banner and five Five Elements Puppets. She opened the door of her residence and stepped outside. The clan's servants were already in an uproar. As the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud covered the sky, murmuring voices and hurried footsteps were flocking toward the Supreme Elder's residence. It was a scene similar to her father's Golden Core tribulation. Since everyone is going that way... Baek Cheong moved in the opposite direction of the people's flow. Now, while everyone's gaze was fixed on the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud, was her chance. She headed toward Baekryeonsan, avoiding people's eyes. She entered the mountain, looking for a place where she could deploy the formation without being noticed. The pitch-black Heavenly Tribulation Cloud loomed through the tree branches. As she went deeper, a clearing surrounded by old trees appeared. It was a distance from which she could sufficiently observe the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud, even though the branches were thick and covered the surroundings. This should do.
Baek Cheong took out the Five Elements Puppets one by one from the storage pouch and stood them up in the clearing. Cheongroe, Jeokroe, Geumroe, Baekroe, and Heukroe. The five puppets of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water attributes lined up in a circle, setting the foundation for the formation. She attached one character-pattern talisman she had prepared in advance to the chest of each puppet. Source, Main Body, Boundary, Anchor, Support. Once the five roles were assigned, she took out the Five Elements Banner and planted it in the center of the puppets. The five-colored cloth fluttered in the wind, and the energy of the five elements began to swirl. The framework of the formation was set, and it was in a state where she could activate it immediately by injecting energy. However, she didn't activate the formation yet. She had to activate it at the very moment the lightning tribulation fell to feel the lightning energy of the Heavenly Dao and the lightning energy of the formation simultaneously. If she activated it too early, it would miss the tribulation, and if she was too late, she would miss the opportunity. The split second was the key. Having finished her preparations, she looked up at the sky. Through the tree branches, the lightning tribulation was condensing in the center of the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud. Like her father's time, the distant and deep gaze of the Heavenly Dao was pressing down on the ground through the hole in the clouds. Grandfather, please pass through safely. While praying for her grandfather's safety on one side, she was retracing the order of injecting energy into the five-colored cloth of the Five Elements Banner in her mind on the other. The order of injecting energy and the direction of the roles by attribute. She calculated it several times in her mind and waited for the time. There was no room for error. Rumble. The Heavenly Tribulation Cloud roared above the sky. The vibration that shook the earth rose through the tips of her toes. It was the precursor to the lightning tribulation falling. Baek Cheong held her breath and reached out toward the Five Elements Banner.