Exploring Immortality Cultivation

On the drill field, Xiong Mo watched the dark clouds above without a care in the world. He affectionately slapped the back of another Primordial Spirit Cultivator standing beside him—though a bit too hard, almost making the other's chest resonate—and said, "Yunxiang, it's all on you this time!"

The cultivator named Yunxiang nearly coughed up blood: "Brother Xiong… a little gentler, if you slap me to death, there'll be no one to help you through your tribulation!"

Xiong Mo rubbed his hands: "Sure, sure. So, how well have you mastered the Prison Thunder Spell? If you can't hold on, should I transform?"

Yunxiang Daoist shrank his shoulders, looking like he wanted to throw up: "Please don't! It'll lower my mental health!"

Xiong Mo looked pleased: "Only the best techniques involve mentally crushing the enemy as well! It's almost time."

"Yes, yes," Yunxiang Daoist said helplessly: "Let's fly off the ground. Safer that way."

Xiong Mo did as suggested and floated with Yunxiang three zhang off the ground. Yunxiang swung her large sleeves, casting several strands of "Elemental Magnetic Qi" from the "Heavenly Song" from her hands. This mana lingered in the air, bound tightly around them by Yunxiang Daoist's spell. When the surrounding Elemental Magnetic Qi became dense enough, Yunxiang brought her hands together in a circle, using the Qi within her body to drive the recently emitted external mana. The Elemental Magnetic Qi swirled continuously around the two, eventually forming a perfect sphere.

Yunxiang wiped the sweat from her forehead: "Alright, the Void Refining Thunder Tribulation can't get through now. Once the tribulation dissipates, and Heaven and Earth's interference stops affecting you, you'll be a genuine Void Refining Grandmaster. Congratulations."

Modern Cultivators face their first heavenly tribulation when progressing from the Golden Core Stage to the Primordial Spirit Stage, and another when advancing to the Void Refining Period. The Void Refining Period is the second hurdle in the "Great Grandmaster" phase, the third stage of modern cultivation. If the Primordial Spirit Stage cultivators are powerhouses who dominate a region, then those in the Void Refining Period are the backbone of the Immortal Alliance.

As they spoke, a bolt of heavenly tribulation struck down. However, the lightning, upon touching the spherical barrier of Elemental Magnetic Qi, was obstructed. Blue arcs of electricity scurried across the surface of the sphere but couldn't harm the two cultivators inside!

If Wang Qi were present, he would instantly recognize the true nature of this barrier—a Faraday Cage, a structure used to block electromagnetic waves!

Xiong Mo roared with laughter: "Ahahaha! What can this tribulation do to me?"

Yunxiang covered her face: "You make it sound like you're the one withstanding it."

Xiong Mo once again affectionately slapped Yunxiang's shoulder: "That's not the point! Ahahaha…"

"I'm dying, I'm dying, my bones are breaking!"

Yunxiang's cries of agony were drowned out by the intensifying thunder.

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While Xiong Mo was undergoing his tribulation at the peak of Xin Mountain, in the rear hall of the Immortal Alliance Main Temple.

A haze enveloped the rear hall, where the All Laws Crown, Chen Jingyun, sat in front of the main entry. Sensing the aura of a heavenly tribulation, he looked towards the middle of the mountain. A rare smile crept onto his stoic face: "Someone's advancing to Void Refining again, huh?"

Suddenly, a violent fit of coughing echoed through the hall. Chen Jingyun immediately stood up and hurried to the door. A middle-aged beauty pushed the door open. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled: "Master Chen, you can come in now. Palace Master Deng is alright."

This woman was none other than the Laser Lady, Mrs. Juli.

Chen Jingyun showed a relieved smile and entered the rear hall. Inside the great room lay a bed, with the Heavenly Sword Palace Master, Sky-Splitting Sword Deng Jiaxuan, lying on it, his complexion as pale as gold paper.

Chen Jingyun sighed in relief: "Brother Jiaxuan, how do you feel?"

Deng Jiaxuan gave a weak smile and nodded to Mrs. Juli: "Not too bad. Thank you, Mrs. Juli, for saving me."

Mrs. Juli shook her head: "It's only right."

Over half a month ago, Mrs. Juli had brought the severely injured Deng Jiaxuan to Xin Mountain and requested Master Chen's protection. Since then, she had stayed in the rear hall, healing Deng Jiaxuan's injuries.

Chen Jingyun voiced his doubts, "With so many of you going together, even if the Daoist of Uncertainty is very strong, he shouldn't have caused such injuries, right?"

Deng Jiaxuan shook his head, "It has nothing to do with the Daoist of Uncertainty... cough cough, it's all because I'm useless. I fell before I even got to see the enemy."

"Weren't you just supposed to wait in the Southern Sea for seven days?"

Deng Jiaxuan wanted to speak further, but Ma Juli stopped him and answered on his behalf, "Bai Ze God Monarch's Bai Ze's Algorithm was not yet perfected and missed one thing. The Daoist Bu Rong from Mysterious Palace is known for his fiery temper and is the least likely to forgive the Daoist of Uncertainty for his treachery. In attempting to block the Daoist of Uncertainty, he actually released True Fire. Bai Ze God Monarch's plan was just to tie down the Daoist of Uncertainty for a moment, but Daoist Bu Rong relentlessly pursued him for thousands of miles which disrupted the plan, and as a result..." Here, Ma Juli shook her head and smiled bitterly, "Both master and disciple were exhausted from their fight over the Beiming Sea and both plunged into it. Palace Master Deng, on the other hand, suffered a relapse of his old wounds while hurrying from the Southern Sea to the Beiming Sea."

"And where are the two of them now?"

"Daoist Bu Rong has the Immortal Alliance Communication Magic Artifact with him, we've located him, but the whereabouts of Daoist of Uncertainty are still unknown."

The three discussed the issue about the Daoist of Uncertainty a bit more. Then, Ma Juli got up to leave. Deng Jiaxuan then asked Chen Jingyun, "How is the Immortal Institute?"

"Same as always. Teaching is not my strong suit, so I've not meddled much there."

Deng Jiaxuan nodded and smiled, "That's best... I still need to secretly go into seclusion to heal. I'm going to have to trouble you with overseeing the overall situation again."

"Also, someone has just undergone a tribulation, a Void Refining Thunder Tribulation, in the direction of the Immortal Institute."

"That must be the kid from Spirit Beast Mountain, cough cough," said Deng Jiaxuan. "I felt it too."

Chen Jingyun looked somewhat hesitant, "There is one last thing I'm not sure whether to mention or not. It's about the new disciple named Wang Qi..."

At that moment, Laser Lady Ma Juli ran back into the hall in disarray, "Master Chen, there's a problem!"

Deng Jiaxuan instinctively reached for the Heavenly Sword, which caused his injury to act up and triggered a bout of coughing, "Cough cough, what happened?"

Ma Juli pointed outside, "You see."

Deng Jiaxuan followed her finger and looked outside. Beyond the rear hall, a mist shrouded everything, within which several golden bridges were faintly visible.

"Isn't that the 'Hongmeng Qi Formation' of the Wanfa Sect?"

Chen Jingyun nodded, "I set it up."

The Hongmeng Qi Formation, it distorts the time and space within the fog. To break the formation, one must walk all the Hongmeng Golden Bridges without repeating their steps. This formation is based on the 'One Breath Stroke', also known as 'Single Stroke Painting', which is a derivative of Topology.

Ma Juli asked cautiously, "Do you remember how many Array Flags you used?"

"Seven, this way is the most secure."

Ma Juli's face showed utter despair, "But wasn't it proven that seven bridges have no solution?"

"The enemy can't get in."

"But have you thought about how we're going to get out!"

A look of surprise emerged on Chen Jingyun's face.