Now that President Song had broken through, there was no longer any need to linger on this mountain peak.
Shi Yu walked over to the bodies of the Seven Sons of Yuelin, collected their spatial rings, mustard-seed bags, magic artifacts, and other belongings, then dug a nearby pit to bury the seven corpses.
The deaths of these seven were largely thanks to Fang Yushan. Thus, after tidying up, Shi Yu took the spoils and walked over to Patriarch Fang, offering all of them to him.
Patriarch Fang waved his hand with a smile. “These items are of no use to me. You should keep them, Miss Shi.”
Business was business, and Shi Yu had no intention of taking advantage of his generosity. She shook her head. “How could I do that? If you hadn't saved us today, Patriarch Fang, the consequences would have been dire. These items rightfully belong to you. Even if you have no use for them, someone in your clan surely will.”
Nearby, Master Ji and President Song nodded in agreement.
Unable to decline further, Patriarch Fang smiled and accepted them.
It had already been late afternoon when President Song began undergoing his lightning tribulation, and now that it was over, night had fallen completely.
Countless stars surrounded the full moon high above, shedding a layer of silver radiance. The lake and surrounding mountains were veiled in clear moonlight, creating a tranquil and serene night scene.
However, this tranquility did not last long.
Numerous streaks of light could be seen rushing toward them from the horizon. The commotion caused by the lightning tribulation during President Song's breakthrough was obvious to anyone with eyes. News that someone had undergone a Golden Core lightning tribulation here had likely already spread through the main city of Hengze Prefecture, and these approaching streaks of light were cultivators arriving by cloud boat or flying sword to investigate.
Not wanting to invite unnecessary trouble, President Song decided to leave immediately, saying to the three, “Now that everything here is concluded, let us return to the main city, find a tavern, and continue our conversation there.”
The others nodded. Wasting no time, they took to the air and departed.
Shi Yu and her group boarded President Song's Tier-4 cloud boat as before, while Patriarch Fang summoned his natal flying sword. With a nimble leap, he landed on the dark-colored blade. The flying sword let out a crisp hum before turning into a beam of light that shot into the sky, keeping pace right beside President Song's cloud boat.
This flying sword of his was truly extraordinary. Roughly five feet long, its body resembled black jade, its edge gleamed like cold frost, and its hilt was embedded with a dark green spiritual pearl that emitted a faint glow.
The spiritual pearl exuded a distinct spiritual charm, seemingly containing a trace of spiritual sense within it.
It was actually a flying sword that had birthed an artifact spirit!
Among magic artifacts, the birth of an artifact spirit was extremely rare. Generally speaking, only divine weapons and extraordinary artifacts of exceptional quality—those that had endured countless ages or encountered unique fortuitous circumstances during forging—could possibly nurture an artifact spirit.
An artifact spirit possessed its own intellect and could perceive changes in the outside world. At first, it was merely a haze of vague consciousness, but once it grew to a certain degree, it could communicate with humans and even develop its own personality and preferences.
For cultivators, having a natal magic treasure birth an artifact spirit offered immense benefits. It could grow alongside its master and provide various forms of assistance and enhancements. Unfortunately, such a thing was a matter of luck rather than something one could force; whether one could obtain it depended entirely on personal destiny.
President Song could not help but remark with envy, “Patriarch Fang, this flying sword of yours possesses truly astonishing spiritual charm.”
Patriarch Fang laughed heartily, a tinge of pride visible on his face. “I had someone forge it seven or eight years ago. To obtain this sword, I had to expend quite a bit of effort back then!”
Shi Yu's expression stirred slightly. She studied the sword closely, her gaze lingering a bit longer on the spiritual pearl embedded in the hilt before quietly looking away with a smile. “It is indeed a fine sword.”
The group chatted casually for the remainder of the journey. Upon reaching the no-fly zone of Hengze Prefecture, since those who reached the Golden Core Realm were exempt from such restrictions, they entered the city without hindrance.
Reaching Foundation Establishment earned one the title of Master, while achieving the Golden Core Realm earned one the title of True Lord. A prefecture gaining a new Golden Core True Lord was a grand event for the entire region. Moreover, Lingtai Prefecture was currently in decline, and aside from reclusive Golden Core powerhouses, almost no one had broken through to this realm in the past century. Logically, a major breakthrough like President Song's called for a Golden Core Ceremony, inviting cultivators from across the prefecture to celebrate.
However, since they were currently away from their home prefecture, holding such an event was inconvenient, so it would have to wait until they returned to Lingtai Prefecture. For now, only the four of them gathered in a private room for a modest feast, drinking together late into the night.
During the banquet, President Song and the other two expressed their sincere gratitude to Patriarch Fang once more for his timely intervention. After several rounds of toasts, as the hour grew late, Patriarch Fang mentioned that his youngest daughter needed care and stood to take his leave.
Before departing, he agreed with Shi Yu that she would come to the Fang Clan mansion in three days to refine the Mengtian Pill, promising to prepare all the necessary spiritual plants in the meantime. Shi Yu naturally agreed, as she also needed time to study the pill recipe.
Watching his departing back, Master Ji sighed with emotion. “Patriarch Fang truly cares for his youngest daughter beyond measure...”
Shi Yu nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”
Fang Sheng possessed the Calamity Physique, a curse that brought misfortune and dragged down the entire clan. Yet neither her family nor Patriarch Fang had given up on her, which was truly remarkable... After all, at times, the cultivation world was far colder and more transactional than the mortal realm, putting profit above all else.
Shaking her head, Shi Yu brushed aside the stray thoughts lingering in her mind.
With no outsiders present, she recalled the scene of President Song's breakthrough and could not help asking, “President Song, what exactly is a Two-Nine Lightning Tribulation...?”
In her past life, although she had cultivated to a high realm in the Xian Yuan game, a game was just a game in the end. There were still many differences between it and the real cultivation world—for instance, the lightning tribulations when forming a Golden Core in the game always consisted of nine strikes, with no talk of One-Nine or Two-Nine tribulations.
President Song was feeling a bit tipsy from the spiritual wine. Half-drunk, he let out a hum and said, “Lightning tribulations are terrifying things! Golden Core lightning tribulations vary anywhere from a One-Nine Lightning Tribulation to a Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation. A One-Nine Lightning Tribulation means a total of nine lightning strikes, while a Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation naturally means eighty-one strikes.”
Master Ji chuckled beside him. “Don't think that fewer strikes are better. Remember this, Little Yu: the more lightning strikes there are, the higher the quality of the formed core! Of course, whether one can actually survive it is a whole different story, hehe.”
“My Two-Nine Lightning Tribulation was decent enough.” President Song glanced at Shi Yu. “You still have a long way to go, so knowing these things won't do you much good for now. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, you'll come to learn all of this in due time. Come on, today is a day to celebrate, drink a few more cups with this old man!”
...
When they left the tavern, there were still many cultivators bustling about on the wide streets.
Shi Yu pulled out a veil to cover her face, thinking to herself, Right now, outsiders assume I died in the Yanyang Spiritual Realm. That's fine too; it will save me a lot of hassle and trouble.
Returning to her room at the inn, she lay on the bed, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
“A year and a half has already passed.”
The last time she lay on a bed was before entering the Yanyang Spiritual Realm. She had thought she would wrap things up quickly and return to Lingtai Prefecture, never expecting that a year would pass inside the realm, followed by another half-year wait after coming out.
“Once I finish this business with the Fang Clan, I can head back to Lingtai Prefecture.”
Right now, she truly missed her cave dwelling back in Lingtai Prefecture. Although cultivators' detachment from worldly ties was common, that cave dwelling with its chickens, ducks, fish, spiritual grain, and spiritual vegetables was full of cozy, homely warmth, making it feel like home and inevitably sparking her nostalgic longing.
Sighing softly, Shi Yu touched the life scale below her eye and murmured, “Qingzhou, where are you now? Have you returned to Lingtai Prefecture?”
Qingzhou had departed without saying goodbye and left no means of communication. Fortunately, the life scale reacted from time to time, letting Shi Yu know he was safe and sound.
As she spoke those words, the life scale flashed briefly once more, sending a gentle chill to her fingertips as if in response.
With their pact binding them, a subtle connection existed between them in the void, easing Shi Yu's heart a little.
Settling her mind, she sat up and pulled out the Mengtian Pill recipe scroll Patriarch Fang had given her earlier, intending to use the space within the 《Illusory Resemblance Art》 to carefully study and experiment with it as practice.
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