Swing the sword at the future female devil

Chapter 377 Core Formation!

At this moment, Duan Huaige was unaware that, thanks to Miss Qiu Xi's scheme, he had become a delicious piece of cheese, something everyone wanted to lick. Even Xie Cangling, the Minister of Rites who always strictly adhered to the rules of friendship, was swayed by her to have some different thoughts.

Of course, the transformation of Xiao's social anxiety was not entirely due to Yan Wang's efforts. The awakening of the Tea Emperor's bloodline when he helped Duan Huaige change to Sagittarius was also a great help.

However, seeing how easily she had taken Yan Qiuxi back, Miss Shuangjiang suddenly felt a little suspicious.
How could this girl possibly come with me willingly? Is she planning something incredibly outrageous again?

Or should we try breaking her legs beforehand?

Returning to the long-lost neighborhood, Duan Huaige felt as if she had been transported to another world. The auntie at the convenience store at the entrance of the neighborhood sat in a rocking chair, cracking sunflower seeds, while residents came and went, carrying large and small bags, seemingly preparing for the upcoming New Year.

"Hey? Huaige, Xiyu, where have you been lately? Your parents said you went out to participate in a competition? Did you win any awards?"

"Almost, the opponent was too strong." Duan Huaige replied casually. Now, seeing this aunt, he could still recall the scene when Xiao Jiang sneakily kicked him but ended up kicking a chair, making him jump in pain, and finally made him carry him over to buy safflower oil.

"Oh, that's alright. Keep up the good work next time!"

Their once peaceful lives have now become tumultuous, leaving them somewhat disoriented. They wonder if the karmic consequences of Yan Qiuxi's talk of world-ending destruction will affect these ordinary people.
Duan Huaige suddenly felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders increase. After hurriedly sending Little Jiang the Great Demon King home, Duan Huaige immediately returned to his own home.

The house was quiet and deserted. It seemed that Duan's parents had gone to work. Duan Huaige returned to his room, summoned the Mountain and River Map, and began to prepare for his breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm.

Sitting cross-legged near the Spirit Nourishing Tree, Duan Huaige's aura was as solid as a mountain. The surging spiritual power within his body was being compressed and purified by an invisible force, launching a final assault on the legendary solid core—the Dao Pill.

Within his dantian, a raging torrent was now churning. The extremely pure spiritual energy of mountains and rivers, like boiling molten mercury, swirled and collided violently in his dantian, releasing a heart-pounding energy fluctuation with each compression.

The time has come!

A phantom image of an ancient scroll shot up from the top of his head, growing longer in the wind and instantly covering half the sky.

It was his most precious Daoist treasure—the Mountain and River Map!

The scroll unfolds, no longer a phantom, but a real and magnificent landscape! The continuous blue mountain range rises abruptly from the ground, the scroll forming a small world protected by the ancient will of the mountains and rivers, isolating it from the raging winds and the increasingly heavy pressure of heaven and earth.

Duan Huaige then produced a series of scrolls gleaming with golden light, which contained the corresponding diagrams of Duan Huaige's cultivation techniques for alchemy!

His hands formed hand seals so fast they left only a blur, silently hammering his Dao foundation according to the operational route of the Mountain and River Core Formation Method diagram. As the Dao foundation gradually manifested the shape of a Dao Core, the oppressive force of heaven and earth outside grew increasingly terrifying. Above the nine heavens, a blindingly white bolt of lightning tore through the thick, dark clouds, carrying a violent aura capable of destroying all things, and slashed straight down! Its speed and power far surpassed that of an ordinary Core Formation tribulation.

The tribulation lightning struck fiercely against the mountain barrier manifested by the Mountain and River Map. The majestic mountain phantom fluctuated violently, and Duan Huaige frowned slightly, gritting his teeth as he continued to rapidly refine the Dao Pill.

To forge several Dao Pills during the Heavenly Tribulation, besides being able to withstand the attacks, you also need to be fast! Time is life!
"Boom——!"

The second lightning tribulation struck, and the terrifying lightning and fire instantly engulfed him. His robes, which were as tough as magic weapons, turned to ashes in an instant. His skin was charred, carbonized, and cracked inch by inch in the lightning and fire, revealing the bright red muscles and stark white bones underneath! But the factors released by the red lotus in his dantian were rapidly repairing his injuries.

A scorching and domineering power erupted suddenly, surging and roaring along his meridians, flesh, and bones! The charred dead skin peeled off rapidly, the carbonized tissue was burned to ashes, and new flesh and blood grew and reorganized at a speed visible to the naked eye!
He was as if he were in a furnace of heaven and earth, using his own flesh and blood as an iron blank, heavenly thunder as a giant hammer, and the red lotus true fire as a furnace fire, undergoing the most cruel and thorough forging!
Fortunately, Duan Huaige had previously refined the internal space of a fragment of the Jiangshan Sheji Tu (Map of Mountains and Rivers) within the Causal Array, absorbing a large amount of spiritual energy from the mountains and rivers, and even gaining earth vein dragon energy. Now, all of this accumulation has been transformed into fuel for his breakthrough!
While the physical tribulation was still raging, the tribulation of the soul had already descended! An invisible, chilling, and eerie power had quietly penetrated the defenses of the Mountain and River Map, ignoring the physical barrier, and pierced straight into the depths of Duan Huaige's sea of ​​consciousness!

An indescribable, excruciating pain erupted from the deepest recesses of his soul, far surpassing the physical agony of being tempered by lightning and fire. His consciousness was as if plunged into a raging vortex, countless chaotic thoughts, deliberately forgotten fears, deep-seated obsessions, greed, resentment... like lurking venomous snakes, instantly awakened by this chilling calamity, frantically tearing at his clear mind.

Duan Huaige almost gritted his teeth to pieces when a faint, warm, jade-like light quietly bloomed from the very core of his consciousness.

It was a phantom image of a blue lotus bud about to bloom! It was rooted in Duan Huaige's resilient soul power, its petals slightly unfurling, radiating a cool, clear, and serene glow.

"The lotus remains unstained, and the lamp of the heart burns eternally!"

The radiance of the azure lotus was not forcibly dispelled, but rather cleansed the defilement of the soul with a supreme tranquility and clarity. It guarded the unextinguished lamp of the mind, which remained steadfast and constant no matter how the inner demons attacked, tore, or tempted it.

The third, fourth, and fifth bolts of tribulation lightning arrived one after another! Each one was thicker and more violent than the last! Pale white, blazing gold, and deep purple lightning tore through the sky and lashed down fiercely.

Duan Huaige's heart sank—his cultivation technique was already heaven-defying, and now he had to condense four Dao Pills in one go under the tempering of heavenly lightning! This challenge was truly enormous.

No, that's not right. Perhaps my initial approach was flawed! I shouldn't have allowed each cultivation technique to condense a Dao Pill independently. Instead, I should have fused all the techniques together to create a unique Dao Pill.

Duan Huaige had a sudden inspiration. He waved away those exquisite diagrams of the alchemy technique, because the path he was about to take had never been walked before!
The Spirit Tree trembled, its branches and leaves falling in a flurry, transforming into extremely pure spiritual energy to supply Duan Huaige. Even though this might expose her to the effects of the Heavenly Tribulation, she still did not back down.

Within the shimmering white light, a curled-up figure was slowly coalescing at the heart of the Spirit Nourishing Tree.

Rather than saying she was trembling at the power of the heavenly thunder, it would be more accurate to say she was trembling with excitement at the path her master was about to embark on!

With such a great father, how could I not transform into the legendary Tree of Life? Dad, fly high, I guarantee you'll have plenty of spiritual energy to absorb!
(End of this chapter)