Chapter 60: Void Refining

Chapter 60: Void Refining

Zhang Yuhe quickly swept his gaze over the small island in the center of the lake and nodded in satisfaction.

"This is the place."

With a wave of his right hand, Sword Qi quickly swept across the island, clearing away the trees and weeds.

Soon, Zhang Yuhe cleared a large open space in the center of the island.

In the middle of the open space, there was a raised platform carved out by the Sword Qi.

Zhang Yuhe flew down onto the platform and, with a wave of his right hand, tall pillars flew rapidly toward the perimeter of the island.

Ren Water Lightning Absorption Array.

This was a Formation he had found in the Book Building.

This Formation served no other purpose; it could only weaken the power of the Heavenly Tribulation to a certain extent when a Cultivator was Undergoing Tribulation.

Its principle was somewhat similar to the lightning rods of the Blue Planet.

Of course, the actual operational rules of the Formation were definitely different from a lightning rod.

These pillars were called Lightning Absorbing Pillars. A total of twenty-eight Lightning Absorbing Pillars stood tall around the outer edge of the island, arranged according to the positions of the constellations.

The Lightning Absorbing Pillars were also a special type of Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure if used individually.

Their power was not much inferior to a normal Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure.

This was only possible because Zhang Yuhe possessed superb Artifact Refining skills, and after wiping out the He and Li families.

He had collected a large amount of Materials. Otherwise, gathering all the Materials for these pillars would have been no easy task.

For an ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivator, just these twenty-eight pillars alone…

…they probably wouldn't be able to obtain them even after a lifetime of struggle.

Cultivation not only required talent, but mastering a good craft was also extremely important.

Of course, mastering multiple crafts would definitely be even better.

Just like Zhang Yuhe, whether it was Alchemy, Artifact Refining, drawing talismans, or engraving Formations, he could do it all himself.

He never had to ask anyone for help with anything.

Once the twenty-eight Lightning Absorbing Pillars were in place, Zhang Yuhe quickly carved Formation lines around the island.

Before long, these Lightning Absorbing Pillars were linked together by the Formation lines.

Zhang Yuhe pinched a hand seal.

"Activate Formation."

A pale blue light rose from the Lightning Absorbing Pillars and then swept toward the distant lake surface.

The entire lake surface was soon enveloped in a faint blue light.

"Done."

Seeing that the lightning absorption array was successfully set up, Zhang Yuhe breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to ordinary Tier 6 Formations, the Lightning Absorption Array was indeed somewhat complex.

Whether it was those twenty-eight Lightning Absorbing Pillars or carving the Formation lines on-site…

…neither was something an ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivator could handle.

The Lightning Absorption Array was already activated.

Zhang Yuhe walked to the platform in the middle of the island and slowly sat down cross-legged.

With a wave of his right hand, five Formation Flags landed around the platform.

Then, he took out a black Formation Plate and placed it not far in front of him.

Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array.

When a Cultivator broke through a Realm, they would attract a massive convergence of surrounding Spiritual Qi.

Because breaking through a Realm inherently required a vast amount of Spiritual Qi to support it.

Normally, the Spiritual Qi gathered from the outside would be sufficient for the Breakthrough.

However, Zhang Yuhe thought to himself…

…wouldn't it be even better with the boost from the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array?

There was no harm in having more Spiritual Qi.

After quickly carving a few runes, Zhang Yuhe swiftly pinched a hand seal to activate the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array.

With the Formation ready, he pulled out several small jade bottles from his ring and placed them in front of him.

These jade bottles contained various Medicinal Pills for recovering mana and healing wounds.

Facing a Heavenly Tribulation for the first time, Zhang Yuhe did not dare to be careless in the slightest.

Although he had never seen anyone else Undergoing Tribulation…

…according to ancient records, the power of any Heavenly Tribulation was extremely formidable and could not be underestimated.

The Heavenly Tribulation that a Cultivator had to face when breaking through to the Refining Void Realm was called the Seven-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.

There were seven rounds in total, with nine tribulations in each round.

In other words, he had to withstand a total of sixty-three strikes from the Heavenly Tribulation.

And the power of each of these tribulations was equivalent to a single strike from a Void Refining Cultivator.

Furthermore, they would grow stronger and stronger with each successive strike.

Not only that, but according to the records, the power of the Heavenly Tribulation also varied from person to person.

The stronger a Cultivator's Aptitude and talent, the more powerful the Heavenly Tribulation they triggered would be.

In the history of Yu Fantian, countless prodigies had fallen under the Heavenly Tribulation.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuhe couldn't help but get a headache.

When it came to Aptitude and talent, who in the history of Yu Fantian could compare to him?

It was hard to imagine just how powerful the Heavenly Tribulation he would draw would be when he broke through to Void Refining in a moment.

He felt a little bit of trepidation.

Therefore, to cope with this Heavenly Tribulation, Zhang Yuhe had made extensive preparations.

"I hope nothing unexpected happens."

As long as he survived this Heavenly Tribulation, he would have a better idea of what to expect when Undergoing Tribulation in the future.

Whew…

Zhang Yuhe gently exhaled.

"Come on, live or die, let's see just how powerful this Heavenly Tribulation really is."

Zhang Yuhe silently circulated the Mixed Origin Heavenly Scripture, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi rushed toward him in surges.

As the Spiritual Qi poured in, the sea of Spiritual Qi within his Dantian began to churn with monstrous waves.

A small, golden figure emitting a dazzling light floated above the sea of Spiritual Qi.

Suddenly, the small golden figure opened its eyes and took a deep breath, sucking a massive amount of Spiritual Qi into its mouth.

As the small golden figure opened its eyes, the Spiritual Qi within a radius of over a hundred thousand miles began to surge wildly toward the lake.

The Yao Beasts in the Cloud Python Mountain Range seemed to sense some sort of crisis; they fled from the lake and ran frantically into the distance.

As the Spiritual Qi rapidly poured in, the aura on Zhang Yuhe's body began to rise slowly.

Suddenly, the small golden figure floating above the Dantian sea burst with a scorching light.

The golden light swept across, illuminating the entire Dantian into a golden ocean.

The small golden figure gradually began to solidify.

Transforming from illusion to reality—this was Void Refining.

Before the Refining Void Realm, a Cultivator's Nascent Soul within the Dantian was originally just an illusory body, though it was visible.

It could also leave the body and even use Divine Abilities and Magic Treasures to fight.

But at this stage, the Nascent Soul was actually just an illusory body.

Although an illusory Nascent Soul could use Divine Abilities and Magic Treasures to participate in combat…

…the Nascent Soul itself was incredibly fragile; once hit by an attack, it would immediately dissipate.

For a Cultivator, the dissipation of the Nascent Soul meant death.

Therefore, before reaching the Refining Void Realm, almost no Cultivator would let their Nascent Soul leave the body to participate in combat.

Only when their Physical Body was destroyed by an enemy would a Cultivator let their Nascent Soul leave the body to flee.

As for whether they could successfully escape, that was another matter.

And a Cultivator breaking through to the Refining Void Realm was, in essence, a process of the Nascent Soul transforming from illusion to reality.

At this moment, the Nascent Soul in Zhang Yuhe's Dantian was slowly solidifying.

The surrounding Spiritual Qi continued to pour in, and the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array operated rapidly.

The Spiritual Qi around Zhang Yuhe had become so dense that it was like raindrops, surging and converging toward his Dantian.

…

Time slowly passed.

The surge of Spiritual Qi around the lake lasted for a full three days.

Suddenly, the small golden figure in Zhang Yuhe's Dantian burst with a scorching golden light once again.

Zhang Yuhe felt his entire body relax, as if he had stepped over a threshold and entered a brand new world.

The Nascent Soul had thus solidified.

The Refining Void Realm had been achieved.

In an instant, the surrounding weather changed abruptly, and the sky was enveloped in darkness.