Ji Fenghe left with the Laughing Gas Pill formula in hand and a mischievous grin on his face.
Ye Xuan did not know what Ji Fenghe intended to do, but he had a feeling Ji Fenghe would stir up trouble in the outer sect.
The Laughing Gas Pill had no real destructive power; it merely made people laugh. But at the thought of hundreds of people laughing at him at once, their faces twisted, Ye Xuan shuddered.
Ye Xuan shook his head. In any case, Ji Fenghe was reasonably strong now, and practically none of the outer sect's Qi Refinement disciples were his match. As long as he provoked the enforcement squad, he should be able to come through unscathed.
Over the next few days, Ji Fenghe bustled about every day, refining more than a dozen batches of Laughing Gas Pills in succession. He even ground some of the pills into powder before quietly leaving Wood Spirit Peak.
Several more days passed before Ji Fenghe returned, his face bruised and swollen. Yet he wore such a strange smile that Ye Xuan almost thought he had taken a Laughing Gas Pill himself.
But no matter how Ye Xuan questioned him, Ji Fenghe kept his lips sealed about what he had done.
A month soon passed, and Zheng Huaiyuan emerged from seclusion.
Before long, news that Zheng Huaiyuan was about to break through to Nascent Soul spread like wildfire throughout the outer sect.
Most of the outer sect's Golden Core elders gathered at Wood Spirit Peak, packing the entire peak so tightly that not a drop of water could get through.
"There are actually this many Golden Core elders in the outer sect?"
Ye Xuan watched as cup after cup of tea was carried into the main hall. Fortunately, Wood Spirit Peak's palace was large enough to accommodate hundreds of Golden Core elders.
"More than this. Most of these are Peak Masters, at the Golden Core late stage or peak. And this isn't all of them either. You'll see when it's time to observe the tribulation."
Ji Fenghe had once been fortunate enough to accompany Zheng Huaiyuan to witness a Golden Core expert's Nascent Soul Tribulation, so he knew more about the Azure Feather Dao Sect's deep reserves than Ye Xuan did.
Sure enough, as the observation day approached, more and more Golden Core experts arrived. Ye Xuan even saw Wu Yuehua, along with some inner sect heavenly prodigies.
The day of the observation arrived.
A streak of light came whistling over from the inner sect, and every Golden Core cultivator on Wood Spirit Peak rose to pay their respects.
"Greetings, Seventh Elder!"
"All right. Today is Fellow Daoist Zheng Huaiyuan's tribulation day. Everyone, withdraw a hundred li."
Qi Yue flicked his sleeve, and an observation platform rose into the air. All the Golden Core experts followed him a hundred li back.
Wood Spirit Peak's mountain-protecting formation activated, ensuring that no one remained within a hundred li of the peak.
As Zheng Huaiyuan's disciples, Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe were also among the spectators.
The others in the Foundation Establishment Realm and Qi Refining Realm could only stay farther back, hovering in the air and gazing toward Wood Spirit Peak from afar.
"Huh? Mo Qi, you're here too?"
Standing on the observation platform, Ji Fenghe looked around. Suddenly spotting someone familiar, he called out.
But Mo Qi seemed thoroughly displeased with Ji Fenghe. Hearing Ji Fenghe call him, he shot him an angry glare, then turned away.
Each Peak Master could bring one disciple onto the observation platform, so there were quite a few Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment disciples there as well.
Some disciples turned at Ji Fenghe's shout, then all glared at him as though they bore a grudge against him.
Noticing Ye Xuan's curious gaze, Ji Fenghe rubbed his nose awkwardly, then turned his head away.
Earlier, Ji Fenghe had taken some Laughing Gas Pills to share with Mo Qi, making him laugh for a full hour. Then the two had joined forces like a wolf and its accomplice, playing tricks on their friends and family and even handing out over a hundred pills.
That continued until someone ground the Laughing Gas Pills into powder and scattered it over Dao Preaching Peak. Hundreds of outer sect disciples laughed until they cried in front of the elder preaching the Dao...
Mo Qi had been confined to quarters and would have to remain confined for another three months after this observation.
Fortunately, Zheng Huaiyuan had been in seclusion lately. Otherwise, he would surely have beaten Ji Fenghe upon hearing the news.
On Wood Spirit Peak, Zheng Huaiyuan took a deep breath and rose into the air. After cupping his fist toward the observation platform, he unleashed his full strength and began his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.
"It's begun."
On the observation platform, Qi Yue spoke with a solemn expression. All the Golden Core cultivators stopped talking as well and focused on Wood Spirit Peak.
If they could learn from Zheng Huaiyuan's experience this time, they would have a little more confidence when breaking through to Nascent Soul themselves.
Above Wood Spirit Peak, thunderclouds soon descended and rapidly spread outward.
At the same time, a terrifying pressure emanated from the thunderclouds. Qi Yue waved his hand, and the formation on the observation platform lit up, blocking all of it.
The instant the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement disciples outside the observation platform felt that pressure, their expressions changed drastically. They fled backward at once, only stopping after retreating another hundred li.
"Tribulation clouds spanning forty-nine li. Not bad."
Stroking his beard, Qi Yue nodded as he watched the tribulation clouds overhead, which had stopped expanding.
Over these past days, Ye Xuan had also learned something about breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Nascent Soul tribulation clouds could span a maximum of a hundred li and unleash eighteen lightning strikes.
The larger the tribulation clouds, the more powerful the lightning tribulation, and the greater one's future achievements.
If the tribulation clouds reached more than seventy li across, there would be a strong likelihood of being able to attempt the Spirit Transformation Realm later.
"I wonder how large the thunderclouds will be when I break through to Nascent Soul."
Ji Fenghe stared blankly at the tribulation clouds overhead. His talent was somewhat better than Zheng Huaiyuan's, so if he could break through to Nascent Soul in the future, his tribulation clouds should be larger.
Someone like Zheng Huaiyuan, whose tribulation clouds reached forty-nine li, was already considered fairly good in the Azure Feather Dao Sect. When many outer sect elders broke through, their tribulation clouds spanned only thirty-odd li.
Boom!
The lightning tribulation began. An immense bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking toward Zheng Huaiyuan.
"Much bigger than the lightning during my Golden Core Tribulation."
Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes at the descending lightning. This was only the first bolt, yet it was already more than ten times as powerful as the ninth bolt that had descended upon him.
Boom!
Lightning struck down again and again. Standing in midair with a longsword in hand, Zheng Huaiyuan cleaved the bolts apart.
The first ten bolts posed no difficulty whatsoever for Zheng Huaiyuan.
But starting with the eleventh, each bolt's power increased sharply.
At the twelfth bolt, Zheng Huaiyuan brought forth a Pill Cauldron to protect himself.
With the fourteenth bolt, Zheng Huaiyuan failed to disperse the lightning completely for the first time.
This left Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe deeply worried.
The sixteenth bolt blasted Zheng Huaiyuan out of the sky and onto the protective formation, his hair disheveled and blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
At the seventeenth bolt, the Pill Cauldron shattered, and Zheng Huaiyuan roared within the lightning.
For the eighteenth bolt, Zheng Huaiyuan activated eighteen protective jade pendants in succession and summoned another Pill Cauldron. Longsword in hand, he flew into the sky to meet the lightning.
Boom!
The lightning engulfed Zheng Huaiyuan, whose roar shook the heavens.
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Looking toward the lightning tribulation, Ye Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Zheng Huaiyuan's roar within the lightning was full of vigor. Surviving the lightning tribulation would pose no problem at all.
"He's made it."
Qi Yue narrowed his eyes. He could sense Zheng Huaiyuan's abundant vitality within the lightning tribulation.
At last, the lightning dispersed, and the tribulation clouds vanished completely.
Zheng Huaiyuan stood proudly as a powerful presence burst forth from him.