For over ten days, the winds were calm and the waters still.
Taking advantage of this quiet interlude, Qin Sang and Li Yufu split up to scout the nearby waters and eliminate any potential threats.
They returned from afar in the early morning and touched down on the island.
Qin Sang opened his mouth, about to say something, when an inexplicable pressure suddenly manifested without warning. Its source was the very islet where Yunyouzi was.
Though faint at first, this pressure sent a tremor of dread through both Qin Sang and Li Yufu.
Immediately afterward, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to fluctuate violently.
In an instant, the once-calm waters churned with fierce waves that crashed against the shore. Gale-force winds and towering swells filled their vision as a terrifying tempest loomed.
Qin Sang and Li Yufu exchanged a glance, their expressions turning solemn.
"It's the heavenly tribulation!"
Qin Sang said hurriedly in a grim voice, "Stick to our plan. Go guard the north, and leave the other directions to me."
"Understood!"
Without wasting words, Li Yufu immediately flew north on his flying sword, producing rolls of thunderous sound in his wake.
Under Qin Sang's guidance, he had already comprehended the divine ability of sword qi thunderous roar.
Qin Sang glanced at the vortex in the heart of the storm, summoned the white crane, and sent a message to Bai.
"Go guard the west. If any demon beasts appear, kill them on sight."
Qin Sang pointed west, and the white crane flew off eagerly.
Having been cooped up in Peach Blossom Valley for so long, it was finally given a chance to stretch its wings, its cry filled with excitement.
Bai and Qin Sang set off soon after, taking the east and the south respectively.
Four Core Formation experts now guarded the island.
Meanwhile, the storm raged with escalating fury.
At the center of the storm, the grand formation could no longer remain concealed, revealing the spirit island to the world.
Yunyouzi stood alone atop a mountain peak, gazing up at the firmament.
It was midday. The sky had been clear for ten thousand li, but as the storm arose, dark clouds emerged from nowhere, blanketing the sky in dense darkness within mere breaths.
Rumble, rumble...
Muffled thunder rumbled from the dark clouds, and flashes of lightning darted across the sky.
Qin Sang hovered in midair from a distance, gazing intently at the spirit island.
Suddenly, wondrous light erupted at the storm's center. Amid the radiant glare, shadows of spirit banners and precious mirrors materialized, forming an immense curtain of light that enveloped Yunyouzi within.
"What a formidable spirit formation!"
Even from this distance, Qin Sang could sense the formation's extraordinary power.
Knowing that such an intricate array must have been meticulously prepared by Yunyouzi to aid in his tribulation crossing, and seeing the extensive preparations he had made, Qin Sang felt slightly more at ease.
Surrounded by the spirit formation, with illusions manifested by the precious mirrors and spirit banners dancing about, Qin Sang found that even channeling his Heavenly Eye divine ability was not enough to see Yunyouzi clearly or discern his condition.
Boom!
A thunderclap resounded as the clouds grew thicker and denser.
Qin Sang was startled and looked up.
The Nascent Soul Tribulation comprised the three tribulations of wind, thunder, and fire, as well as the heart demon tribulation. This was merely the omen before Nascent Soul formation, and the first wave was not even the lightning tribulation, yet the lightning within the dark clouds already displayed such terrifying might.
Once the true lightning tribulation descended, who knew how terrifying it would be?
The surroundings were dim and shadowy.
Monstrous waves surged to the heavens.
The storm raged ever more fiercely.
Yet the spirit formation around Yunyouzi remained resplendent, completely unperturbed.
As time passed, the fluctuations in spiritual energy grew increasingly violent.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth grew turbulent. Visible surges of spiritual energy poured ceaselessly toward the spirit island like water swallowed by a great whale, converging above Yunyouzi's head.
Compared to the vast expanse affected by Yunyouzi now, Qin Sang's own Core Formation paled completely in comparison.
The pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth merged and compressed in midair, sparkling with flecks of spiritual light to form a dreamlike wonder resembling a starry sky.
The starry sky hung overhead as starlight gathered into a Milky Way flowing across the sky.
Before long, an earth-shattering boom erupted. The starry sky abruptly collapsed inward, and boundless spiritual energy transformed into a blinding pillar of light that plummeted from the heavens!
Boom!
The spirit island shook, and even the storm and thunder paused for a fleeting instant.
At the same time, where the starry sky had once been, swathes of seven-colored clouds inexplicably surfaced, vibrant and magnificent—more gorgeous than the most breathtaking sunset glow.
"He did it!"
Qin Sang and Li Yufu gasped almost simultaneously, yet their hearts only tightened further.
The appearance of the iridescent clouds and the stability of the spiritual energy meant that Yunyouzi had successfully coalesced his Nascent Soul. Only one final hurdle stood between him and complete Nascent Soul formation!
The heavenly tribulation!
The thought had only just flashed through Qin Sang's mind.
After that brief lull, the tempest, dark clouds, and lightning launched a frantic counterattack, unleashing the raw might of heaven and earth with heart-stopping fury.
At that exact moment, Qin Sang noticed the wondrous light of the spirit formation around Yunyouzi flickering and dimming.
"The heavenly tribulation has begun!"
Qin Sang's gaze darkened.
This was the first time he had witnessed a heavenly tribulation in person, and he recalled the records he had read before.
It was said that among the myriad creatures in heaven and earth, each underwent different tribulations along their path of cultivation.
For immortal cultivators, the first two tribulations were the yin fire and bifeng wind, followed closely by heavenly thunder.
The yin fire ignited beneath one's Yongquan acupoint and burned straight up into the Niyuan Palace. If one's physical body was frail, the five viscera would turn to ash, and the limbs would rot away. The bifeng wind arose within the soul, like steel blades scraping bone as it tore through the purple palace.
Although these two tribulations also affected the outside world, their outward commotion was relatively modest.
Fortunately, the three tribulations varied in intensity; the bifeng wind and yin fire were weaker than heavenly thunder. So long as a cultivator was not overly reckless and was thoroughly prepared, they could generally withstand the first two tribulations.
Furthermore, their physical body and origin soul would reap substantial benefits once the tribulation passed.
The true arbiters of life and death were the heavenly thunder and the heart demon tribulation!
'The yin fire has already ignited,' Qin Sang thought to himself, staring fixedly at the heart of the storm and observing the ripples in the spirit formation.
Since there was little need to worry about the yin fire and bifeng wind, Qin Sang withdrew his gaze and scanned their surroundings to prevent anyone with ill intent from sneaking close and interfering with Yunyouzi's tribulation.
Worried about the white crane, he flickered across the area, patrolling back and forth.
A few minor aquatic demons had been disturbed from the lakebed, but upon sensing the terrifying might of the heavenly tribulation, almost all fled in panic, none daring to draw near.
Seeing that all was calm, Qin Sang returned to his original spot and looked toward the center of the storm.
By now, he noticed that the storm was fiercer than before. The space around Yunyouzi had darkened even further, and the wind seemed to take on a tangible form, as though draped in a hazy gray veil.
"Is this the bifeng wind? He has already passed the yin fire."
Qin Sang was too far away to feel the true force of the bifeng wind.
He looked up at the sky, where dark clouds roiled and thunder crashed incessantly.
"Once he passes the bifeng wind, heavenly thunder will be next," Qin Sang muttered under his breath.
As his gaze returned to the center of the storm, his brows knitted tightly together.
'Why does the intensity of this gray bifeng wind seem somewhat abnormal?'
According to the ancient records Qin Sang had read, the external manifestation of the bifeng wind typically signaled the peak of its power, after which it would gradually subside.
Yet now, an unexpected change seemed to have occurred!
The gray bifeng wind gathered in ever-greater volume, congealing into a heavy veil.
Influenced by it, the storm outside turned exceedingly violent. The wind and waves in the waters around the spirit island raged with abnormal fury, showing no sign of abating.
Amid the battering storm, one could not help worrying that the spirit island might be torn apart.
This tribulation was lingering on without ending!
'What is happening? Were the records inaccurate, or has something gone wrong with Yunyouzi?'
Qin Sang's heart tightened as he stared unblinkingly at the heart of the storm.
Chapter 1119