Thunder and Fire Refine the Golden Core Within

The night sky was pitch-black and thick, like ink that refused to dissolve. Deep within Shanhe Academy, a tall tower stood quietly. Its stone surface was rough and weathered, its spire seeming to pierce the clouds. On the horizon, an arc of lightning tore through the darkness, and before long, a light rain began to patter down. Crack! A streak of crimson lightning struck the tower. In an instant, the special metal tiles seemed bathed in evening clouds, a deep crimson bordered in gold. Furthermore, glowing "embroidered balls" rolled about atop the tiles. "Little Qin, if it gets too much, run right out!" Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan were both inside the tower, though they had not entered the lightning-drawing chamber. The two of them were genuinely worried; the youth they held in such high regard was simply too reckless. Lightning pierced the night sky, carrying down vast amounts of heavenly light accompanied by unfathomable substances from beyond the world. Filtered by the metal tiles inscribed with special runes, heavenly light along with otherworldly substances such as the pure qi of the nine heavens fell, entering the tall tower. Inside the meditation chamber built of rough-hewn stones, peace was nowhere to be found. Qin Ming was enveloped by the cascading heavenly light, his body turning nearly translucent. "The heavenly light held within summer thunder is indeed violent. Compared to spring thunder, which carries faint wisps of vigorous life energy, it is far more destructive." This was Qin Ming's genuine impression. No wonder even those who staked their lives on a desperate gamble only dared to take the risk during the first thunder and fire of early spring. However, he was no longer the novice he used to be. Having stepped into the second realm, his resistance to the erosion of heavenly light was far greater. He had only endured three waves of heavenly light before the illumination in the chamber dimmed. During the rainy season, the weather was fickle. It had only been a passing shower, brief and quickly tapering off. Qin Ming was in no hurry. He had plenty of time and was prepared to eat and sleep right here in the tower. Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan rushed in immediately. Seeing that only his clothes had been burned through and shredded by the heavenly light, while his skin was merely slightly flushed, they breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, their hearts were deeply shaken. For a youth in the second realm to undergo the baptism of outer heavenly light—if word of this got out, it would inevitably cause a massive uproar. "Brother Ming, I heard you're getting struck by lightning, so I came to keep you company!" Xiao Wu arrived and entered the tower, looking shocked yet visibly excited. He had always modeled himself after Qin Ming, even measuring his own cultivation realm against him. "It's outer heavenly light," Qin Ming corrected him. The tower had filtered out the lightning. Xiao Wu replied, "Close enough. In many people's eyes, there's no difference between it and thunder-fire—it's just as terrifying." Qin Ming turned solemn and said, "You haven't been through this before. Don't take unnecessary risks. Just expose yourself a little at first to test the waters." This was no joke. Back in the Thunder-Fire Gold-Forging Palace, the ground had been littered with severed limbs and shattered skulls, thick with the stench of roasted flesh. Many elders had entered dressed in burial shrouds; it was an act of desperation when their lifespans were nearly spent. Wu Yaozu nodded solemnly. "I know. If anything feels off, I'll pull out immediately." Half a day later, another surge of lightning descended, and ball lightning manifested atop the tower. In the core area within the tower, Xiao Wu wailed like a ghost. Smoke billowed from his entire body, heavenly light spewed from his mouth, his eyes glazed over, and he froze stiff on the spot, unable to run even if he tried. He felt as though he was about to be cooked through, and gibberish began tumbling from his lips. Qin Ming quickly tossed him out. Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan, waiting outside, rushed forward to check on him. It took Xiao Wu quite a while to regain his senses, a lingering dread washing over him. "In that moment, I thought I saw my great-grandmother." Although by the time he was born nearly all of his clan had already died out, leaving only a grandmother by his side, that didn't stop him from suspecting that the white-haired old crone he had glimpsed in his daze was an ancestor coming to "guide" him to the afterlife. Xiao Wu was thoroughly humbled. He really couldn't measure himself against Brother Ming in everything; in some regards, they were simply incomparable! "You didn't do badly either. Enduring three waves of summer thunder's heavenly light without serious injury is impressive," Qin Ming said as he walked out. This had been another shower, producing only four waves of heavenly light—far too brief for his liking. "Indeed, that is already extraordinary!" Even Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan marveled. Xiao Wu shook his head. "Compared to Brother Ming, I'm still miles behind. I was about to be roasted alive." Then he touched his head and instantly let out a miserable shriek. At his touch, his short hair crumbled completely to ash, drifting down in flakes until he was utterly bald. After that, there was only a drizzle of rain accompanied by sporadic flashes of lightning, falling far short of the torrential deluge Qin Ming longed for. During this time, Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan brought grim news. Supposedly, the Grandmaster Assembly was still in session. During the proceedings, one grandmaster had coughed up blood. It was unclear whether old age and frailty had caused his condition to deteriorate after a fierce battle, or if he was merely feigning weakness. Outsiders were abuzz with speculation. Many believed he was fishing, dangling bait rather than truly decaying. However, Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan did not share that view. They felt that while some grandmasters would achieve renewal, others were likely to fail their nirvana. "In the coming period, the number of grandmasters might be cut in half!" This was their pessimistic projection. If the grandmasters risked their lives to take that final step, the success rate for achieving renewal was probably only fifty percent. Qin Ming's heart grew heavy at once. The ease of the past few days vanished instantly, replaced once again by an acute sense of crisis. He asked, "What does the immortal path think? They won't start another conflict, will they?" Zhao Ziyuan shook his head. "No. The Great Reclamation is coming; this is hardly the time for internal strife." Most importantly, several days ago when the Newborn path grandmasters engaged in a bloody battle on the plateau, the eyes of the immortal path's grandmasters had cleared right up, and they had become exceptionally rational lately. Li Qingyue arrived. Learning that Qin Ming was cleansing his physical body with heavenly light, she was quite concerned and entered the tower to observe. "Is this my sister-in-law?" Xiao Wu was also present and greeted her enthusiastically. Then he shot Qin Ming a "resentful" look. "Brother Ming, when did you break that 'destined to grow old alone' constitution of yours?" "Scram and stay over there!" "Fine, fine, I know how to read the room. I'll clear out and leave you two some space, alright?" He immediately got up. Li Qingyue carried herself gracefully and serenely. Faced with his teasing, she showed none of the bashfulness typical of young maidens, nor did she feel the need to offer explanations. Her clear, ethereal aura and unhurried grace—akin to a transcendent immortal—made Xiao Wu feel embarrassed to poke any more fun. "Are you sure this is safe?" Li Qingyue looked at Qin Ming, asking with genuine care. Typically, seeds of the immortal path only began to undergo their preliminary "tribulation" or cleanse their conscious spiritual light with immortal fire upon reaching the third realm, thereby transmuting it toward pure yang. For Qin Ming to use outer heavenly light right after stepping into the second realm to thoroughly cleanse his marrow and purge impurities was downright shocking. "It's fine, I can endure it. This might be my most effective way to break through the shackles of the Newborn path and achieve a leap in my life level, without being held back by time." Li Qingyue understood his mindset. Several grandmasters of the Newborn path were likely nearing their demise, raising the threat of future suppression by the outer realms and the esoteric sect. Furthermore, the Great Reclamation was fast approaching. When that time came, a hundred schools of thought would contend and a thousand sails would race. If Qin Ming remained stranded at the lower rungs, how could he compete against the other paths? This was a grand era. The arts were just beginning to flourish, and all things were possible. Many harbored wild ambitions, yearning to seek the true, surpass the divine, and become ancestors! Li Qingyue informed him, "Jiang Ran should arrive in two days. Even without the Black-White Classic, I can obtain the Eight Views Classic from her." Jiang Ran was Luo Yao's elder sister—the green-robed young woman who had secured the greatest fortune at Black-White Mountain, and currently the strongest near-immortal seed in the immortal lands! Qin Ming shook his head. "No need to owe her a favor. It's just twelve pages of the Black-White Classic; we can simply give it to her!" Afterward, he called Xiao Wu into the meditation chamber as well, preparing to teach them how to practice this extraordinary scripture. Before long, both Li Qingyue and Wu Yaozu were frowning. The prerequisites just to begin cultivating this scripture were absurdly steep. "Heavenly light, divine wisdom, and conscious spiritual light must all blend together—and on top of that, one needs to have mastered the Four Imperials force." Xiao Wu sighed in defeat, feeling it was best to give up. "A special pure yang conscious spiritual light should be able to substitute for the Four Imperials force, and if your divine rainbow is powerful enough, it might work as well," Qin Ming suggested. After all, this was an art originating from an immortal dao arena. He guessed that the orthodox approach primarily relied on pure yang consciousness, supplemented by heavenly light force. Li Qingyue pondered. "Mm. That means one's pure yang conscious spiritual light must reach the level of four overlapping suns before they can cultivate the first twelve pages of the Black-White Classic. As for the subsequent parts of the text, the requirements will probably be even more preposterous." ... The deluge of lightning Qin Ming had longed for finally arrived! Li Qingyue and Xiao Wu had already stepped out of the meditation chamber, watching from outside as heavenly light poured down in a torrent, submerging the youth within. "How many layers of heavenly light have fallen by now? Surely more than eighteen waves?" Yu Gensheng's face was etched with gravity. Bearing so much heavenly light was immense! Inside the chamber, Qin Ming's body was scorching hot, like a brand glowing red-hot from the forge, making onlookers fear he might melt away. He had many extraordinary arts to cultivate—from the Five Elements principles to the Dragon Snake Scripture, and on to the Golden Cicada Scripture and the Indestructible Butterfly Scripture. Now that he had reached the second realm, these techniques were ripe for advancement. Back in the first realm, their subsequent chapters had been too difficult to practice, but now they presented no obstacle. Relatively speaking, progressing in them was a matter of course. As for the silk book method, it was already woven into his very flesh and blood! Noticeably, the volume of his heavenly light was expanding dramatically. "No wonder back in the first realm, some had already mastered the Three Imperials force, yet at the grandmaster realm, the upper limit is still only the Six Imperials force. The further along one gets, the harder it is to advance." At this moment, Qin Ming gained a flash of insight. It was just like a child who possessed an exceptional constitution in youth: as they grew older and taller, their physical "volume" increased, but their bodily constitution was not necessarily better than before. If they suffered from malnutrition or lacked exercise, they might even turn sickly. However, for Qin Ming, this posed little problem. Tempering his body with heavenly light was a violent baptism. So long as he survived, the growth in volume would never allow his heavenly light force to regress. He could clearly feel his Four Imperials force improving, though the increase was not as pronounced as in the past. "It seems refining heterogeneous substances and cultivating other extraordinary arts are both essential!" Starfire Essence, legendary Astral Malice, and the like all belonged to branches of heavenly light. Qin Ming planned to refine them once he left this place; today's focus was primarily using outer heavenly light to cultivate extraordinary arts. Dazzling heavenly light, accompanied by other mysterious substances from beyond the world, cascaded down and submerged Qin Ming. The extraordinary arts he had learned in the first realm circulated continuously, all undergoing a complete sublimation! His next choices were naturally crucial. His primary focus was the Withering and Thriving Classic, followed immediately by the Black-White Classic. These two scriptures served as the fundamental guides to swiftly opening the subsequent path of the second realm! Moments later, an astonishing change took place in Qin Ming. His black hair lost its luster and turned stark white—a manifestation of the true essence of withering. He seemed to have aged a century in an instant. If this kind of heavenly light force were struck into an opponent, the effect would be terrifying. Soon after, vigorous vitality surged within him, flourishing as he rapidly recovered. Black hair grew anew, and his flesh and bones turned as crystalline as divine glaze. The Withering and Thriving Classic contained the profound principles of life and death, as well as an understanding of yin and yang. Qin Ming had coveted it for a long time. Recently, not only had he obtained it, but he had now brought it to great completion right here. Next, he turned to cultivate the Black-White Classic. Instantly, black and white light intertwined and surged around him, gradually forming a flawlessly unified black-and-white yin-yang diagram—a breathtaking sight. Not only Qin Ming himself, but even the onlookers outside the meditation chamber could sense its profound mystery. Such a phenomenon was exceedingly rare and extraordinary! Qin Ming took a deep breath to settle his mind. He was certain that the Black-White Classic was even more formidable than the Withering and Thriving Classic and suited him better; it was undoubtedly the optimal scripture for him at present. "Right. In the early second realm, I can only incorporate two or three new extraordinary arts. Practicing more than that will cause strain." This was Qin Ming's realization. The main issue was that his earlier arts—the Five Elements arts, the Dragon Snake Scripture, and the others—had all advanced alongside him and required honing and consolidation. Qin Ming knew when to stop; he reserved space for the Eight Views Classic. He possessed other extraordinary arts, but it was not appropriate to practice them now. He would have to wait until he reached the mid-second realm. Having mastered the Black-White Classic, he began combining dragon and tiger, using the silk book principles to govern the various techniques, fusing them and internally refining them as a great medicine. Before long, amid the piercing heavenly light, a golden core formed within Qin Ming's body, illuminating every inch of his flesh and blood and releasing a genuine medicinal fragrance. This was achieved solely through internally refining the "great medicine" of the various extraordinary arts, even before integrating Starfire Essence, Astral Malice, and other components. It filled Qin Ming with immense anticipation for the future. At this moment, he clearly felt his constitution, heavenly light, and overall power steadily rising. When the torrential lightning finally vanished, his entire body was clean and bright, and the golden core within had been tempered to a state of flawless perfection. "Hiss!" Yu Gensheng sucked in a breath of the night mist and murmured, "Exactly thirty-six waves of heavenly light, each surging like a tidal wave. That number holds deep significance." Hearing this, Li Qingyue's beautiful eyes shone with wonder. "It resembles the four-nine heavenly tribulation of ancient legend."