Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 96 Crossing the Golden Core Tribulation

In front of the wooden house, there is a newly dug well with crystal-clear water.

When Li Laoshuan and the villagers saw this, they were so moved that tears welled up in their eyes.

"Master Yan, you...you are truly our great benefactor!"

Yan Chixia said, "You can stay here for now. If you need anything, you can come up the mountain to find me."

He glanced at Zhou Ning and said, "Come with me."

Zhou Ning followed Yan Chixia along the mountain path toward Lanruo Temple.

"Master, when did you have these wooden houses built?" Zhou Ning asked.

Yan Chixia said, "After you go down the mountain, I will have people make preparations. I know that the people of Baihe Village will move sooner or later, so it's good to make preparations in advance so that they have nowhere to stay when they arrive."

Zhou Ning felt admiration.

Master always thinks things through so thoroughly.

Back at Lanruo Temple, Yan Chixia entered the main hall and sat down on a prayer mat.

"You did a good job this time. You not only repelled the people from Black Mountain, but also protected the villagers. This shows that you have made great progress in both your strength and your character."

Zhou Ning bowed his head: "This disciple dares not be complacent. As long as the Black Mountain Demon is not eliminated, this disciple will not dare to slacken his efforts for a single day."

Yan Chixia nodded: "It's good that you have this intention. But you must remember that the path of cultivation is not something that can be achieved overnight. You need time and accumulation. The matter of the Black Mountain Demon cannot be rushed."

He took out a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Zhou Ning.

"This is the final volume of the 'Golden Core Chapter.' Take it back and study it. Once you truly understand its meaning, the Golden Core Tribulation will naturally come."

Zhou Ning accepted the jade slip and solemnly said, "Thank you, Master."

He left the main hall and returned to his residence.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he probed the jade slip with his divine sense and studied it carefully.

The final volume of the Golden Elixir Treatise does not discuss how to condense the Golden Elixir, but rather how to "forget" the Golden Elixir.

"The path of cultivation lies not in the golden elixir, but in the heart. If the Dao is in your heart, the Dao is everywhere. If the Dao is not in your heart, the golden elixir is just an empty shell."

Zhou Ning pondered the sentence repeatedly, as if he had gained some insight.

In the days that followed, he no longer deliberately pursued the Golden Elixir, but instead devoted more time to comprehending the universe and cultivating his mind.

He meditates on the back mountain every day, listening to the wind, watching the clouds, appreciating the moon, and observing the flowers bloom and fade.

He combined the "Concentration Technique" and the "Innate Qi" to integrate his divine thoughts and true essence, allowing him to feel the righteous energy of heaven and earth.

Although his cultivation level did not break through, his state of mind became more and more perfect.

On this day, he was meditating on the back mountain when he suddenly felt the nascent golden core in his dantian throb violently.

He opened his eyes and saw that the sky was covered with dark clouds, thunder rumbled faintly, and streaks of silvery lightning were flashing through the clouds, as if they would strike down at any moment.

"The Golden Core Tribulation is here."

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and thunder rumbled.

Zhou Ning sat cross-legged on a boulder on the back mountain, looking up at the churning tribulation clouds in the sky, his heart surprisingly calm.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

From the moment he became Yan Chixia's disciple, from the moment he first sensed the Qi, from the days and nights he fought against demons and evil spirits and brushed shoulders with life and death, he had been waiting for this day.

The Golden Core Tribulation is the first true tribulation on the path of cultivation.

If successful, one will embark on the path to the Golden Elixir, greatly increasing lifespan and granting immense supernatural powers.

If one is defeated, one's cultivation will be completely destroyed, and one may even die and perish.

But Zhou Ning was not afraid.

He closed his eyes and slowly circulated the true energy within his body.

Within his dantian, the fist-sized golden sphere was throbbing violently, like a heart, brimming with vitality and power.

The liquid true essence has been completely condensed, and it only needs the tempering of the heavenly tribulation to transform into a solid golden elixir.

"Come on," he whispered.

As if in response to his call, a silver-white bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, heading straight for his head.

Zhou Ning neither dodged nor parried with his sword.

He formed a hand seal, concentrating his true energy above his head to create a golden light shield.

"boom!"

The lightning struck the light shield, producing a deafening explosion.

The light shield trembled violently, but then stabilized.

Zhou Ning felt a powerful electric current surge into his body, flowing along his meridians. Wherever it passed, the meridians were widened and strengthened, and his muscles and bones were tempered to be more resilient.

We withstood the first bolt of lightning.

However, the Golden Core Tribulation consists of nine heavenly lightning bolts, each stronger than the last.

The first course is just an appetizer; the real test is yet to come.

Dark clouds surged, and a second bolt of lightning struck.

This time, the lightning was twice as thick as the first one, and its color changed from silvery-white to pale gold.

Zhou Ning poured more of his true essence into the light shield to withstand the attack.

"boom!"

Several cracks appeared on the light shield, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Zhou Ning's mouth.

He had consumed nearly 20% of his true energy, but he did not back down.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

Each bolt of lightning was stronger than the last, and Zhou Ning's protective shield shattered completely under the fifth bolt.

He had no choice but to draw his Qingfeng sword, infuse it with his true essence, and use the sword's energy to fight against the heavenly lightning.

As the sixth bolt of heavenly lightning struck, Zhou Ning unleashed the "Demon-Slaying Slash," sending a golden sword aura to meet it.

"boom!"

The sword energy collided with the heavenly lightning, producing a deafening explosion.

The lightning was dispersed, but Zhou Ning was also knocked back several steps, his hands went numb, and a small crack appeared on his Qingfeng sword.

The seventh bolt of lightning struck down.

This time, the lightning turned purplish-gold, as thick as an arm, and carried a world-destroying power.

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth, concentrated all the remaining true essence in his body into the tip of his sword, and unleashed the "Sky-Splitting Slash".

Four golden sword energies flew out from the Azure Edge Sword, intertwining in the air to form a sword net, meeting the heavenly lightning.

"Boom!"

The sword net collided with the heavenly lightning, unleashing a dazzling burst of light.

Zhou Ning was thrown away by the blast wave and crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The cracks on the Qingfeng sword had increased, and it was almost broken.

However, the seventh bolt of heavenly lightning was also shattered.

There are two more.

Zhou Ning struggled to his feet, took out the life-saving jade talisman given to him by Yan Chixia from his bag, and held it in his hand.

This is his last resort, and he doesn't want to use it unless absolutely necessary.

The eighth bolt of lightning struck down.

This time, the lightning turned pure gold, as thick as a bucket, and carried an aura of annihilation.

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth and crushed the jade talisman.

A golden sword light burst forth from the jade talisman, shooting straight into the sky.

The sword light was pure and vast, carrying Yan Chixia's unique righteous spirit, and collided with the heavenly thunder.

"boom--!"

The two forces collided, producing a deafening explosion.

The entire back mountain trembled, boulders rolled down from the summit, and birds in the pine forest flew into the sky in terror.

The lightning was dispersed by the sword light, but Zhou Ning was also thrown away by the aftershock, crashing into a large tree and spitting out blood.

His clothes were tattered, his body was covered in wounds, and his internal energy was almost completely depleted.

The last one.

The ninth bolt of heavenly lightning was brewing in the tribulation clouds, but it did not strike down for a long time.

But Zhou Ning could feel that the oppressive force was getting stronger and stronger, as if the entire sky was about to collapse.

He struggled to his feet and took the Buddha relics out of his bag.

The Buddha relic emitted a warm golden light, dispelling the chilling aura around it.

He held the Buddha's relic in his hand and poured his last bit of true energy into it.

"bring it on."

The ninth bolt of lightning struck down.