Unnamed Isle. The clear sky suddenly shifted, and the weather turned drastically. Dark clouds rolled in, obscuring the heavens above for a radius of more than ten li, pressing down with an almost suffocating weight. Within the cloud cover, lightning flashed and thunder roared; cracks of thunder split the darkened sky, tearing the firmament apart, while a raging storm and powerful winds churned the sea surrounding the islet.
"The heavens have changed!"
Inside the cavern dwelling, Huangfu Bing'er sensed the turbulent energy outside, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
This meant that Junior Brother Ye had successfully broken through the Golden Core bottleneck and formed his core, which was precisely what triggered such a grand cosmic anomaly. If he could successfully withstand this minor Heavenly Tribulation, his core formation would be a complete success.
Under normal core formation circumstances, the cultivator would have already finished condensing their core and be able to move freely, needing only to actively defend against the minor Heavenly Tribulation to pass the most perilous hurdle. She, however, intended to join Ye Qin in resisting it.
Seeing that the minor Heavenly Tribulation was imminent, yet the stone door to the secluded cultivation chamber remained unopened, a subtle unease crept into Huangfu Bing'er's heart. She decisively pushed the stone door open.
To her astonishment, Ye Qin inside the chamber was still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, utterly unmoved by the turmoil outside.
A sharp shock ran through Huangfu Bing'er. She raised her head, devoid of fear, and resolutely gazed up at the oppressive, ink-black clouds overhead.
Across the horizon, a bolt of terrifying, ominous lightning descended with a sharp crack, aiming straight for the islet!
The electric arc ripped through the darkness, a fierce strike landing directly atop the cavern dwelling.
The simple illusion array, the defensive formations laid out inside and outside the cave, and the hundreds of feet of solid rock above the dwelling—all disintegrated like paper. With a deafening boom, the intense lightning strike tore through them all.
The cavern collapsed.
Ye Qin, who had been seated cross-legged within the quiet chamber, was completely exposed to the elements.
Huangfu Bing'er gasped, unleashing sixteen strands of Ice Soul Chilling Light Swords, which formed a curtain of icy radiance above Ye Qin, preparing to physically block the heavenly lightning. Even if it cost her True Essence or destroyed her Nascent Soul magical artifact, she would never allow this minor Heavenly Tribulation to harm her husband.
The Golden Core Skeleton Demon, which had been lying quietly near the stone chamber, suddenly had its dark eye sockets widen in fury. Before the heavenly lightning struck the ice shield, it opened its skeletal jaws wide and roared at the sky, spitting out a pitch-black demonic core. It flew into the air, and the core shot out a silent, black death ray, intercepting the ominous lightning that had torn open the cavern and was about to hit the ice barrier.
The death ray and the dark lightning annihilated each other.
After releasing that death ray, the demonic core of the Golden Core Skeleton Demon immediately looked somewhat depleted. Clearly, emitting that black death ray had consumed a significant portion of its vital energy. Even with its strength, blocking the minor Heavenly Tribulation meant it would inevitably suffer severe injuries.
However, what happened next was far stranger than Huangfu Bing'er could have imagined.
A change began to occur around Ye Qin.
Without any wind, a powerful vortex materialized around his body.
Huangfu Bing'er staggered in astonishment, almost losing her footing, and was forced to retreat to avoid the vortex. If only she had looked closely, she might have noticed that within this swirling air current, there was an extremely faint, ethereal gray light, seeming divine yet illusory, as light as nothingness.
The scattered rubble shattered by the lightning tribulation was caught up in the vortex, constantly enveloping Ye Qin until it finally coalesced into a bizarre stone chrysalis. This stone cocoon completely encased Ye Qin, shielding all outward traces of his presence.
This strange stone cocoon lay quietly within the ruins of the collapsed cavern, silent, like a simple piece of rock.
Huangfu Bing'er stared at the cocoon, her mouth slightly agape in undisguised amazement, momentarily stunned. This was perhaps the most bizarre event she had ever encountered in her cultivation journey.
Meanwhile, the vast expanse of dark clouds above could not locate Ye Qin's aura after delivering the first bolt of dark lightning. The thunder could not fall; the massive cloud banks gathered over a wide area in the sky, the silver serpents dancing aimlessly. Unable to find a breach, the minor Heavenly Tribulation was long delayed in its completion.
Weather anomalies in the East Sea could stem from many causes: typhoons at sea, a cultivator breaking through a realm, a demonic beast advancing its cultivation, a demon tribe taking human form, or the appearance of a rare treasure, among others. All these could trigger a celestial change.
The small islet Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er had chosen was surrounded by hundreds of li with no other large islands nearby, nor any Golden Core cultivators—a rather remote location.
However, since this area fell within the domain of the Northern Isles of the East Sea, where cultivators were numerous, it was inevitable that other practitioners might pass by chance.
The heavenly change over this nameless islet naturally drew their attention.
The large patch of dark clouds lingering above the islet refused to dissipate or move on. This was clearly not caused by a storm, and the demon race did not dare appear in the East Sea Isles to take human form. Therefore, the most likely remaining possibility was that a cultivator was attempting to form a Golden Core.
"Look, what is that?"
These Foundation Establishment cultivators, passing by in small groups, hunting sea beasts near the islets, all paused, staring in surprise at the nameless island shrouded in changing winds and clouds.
"A cultivator must be forming a core on that island."
"Strange, that island is barren. Why would a cultivator choose to condense a core here?"
"The Northern Isles will have another Golden Core cultivator soon."
These cultivators shook their heads in confusion and then moved on.
If everything proceeded normally, the minor Heavenly Tribulation following a Golden Core formation would disperse within half a day.
This matter held little consequence for them. For Foundation Establishment cultivators like themselves, at most, they would feel envy or jealousy, perhaps fantasizing excitedly about their own day coming, but nothing more.
After all, a Golden Core cultivator was not someone to be provoked lightly.
Yet, the over ten-li-wide mass of clouds above the islet stubbornly remained gathered, not scattering even after half a day, and only one bolt of the minor Heavenly Tribulation had fallen—the subsequent bolts were missing.
This struck many passing Foundation Establishment cultivators as very peculiar, suggesting something was seriously amiss, prompting them to consider other possibilities.
This island must hold some anomaly!
Perhaps this wasn't a cultivator forming a core, but some other scenario.
Once this possibility dawned on them, these cultivators began to stir with interest.
Excluding cultivator core formation and demon race transformation, the other potential causes could lead to immense gains.
They labored endlessly in the East Sea, hunting demonic beasts and seeking cultivation opportunities, precisely for such benefits!
Now, such a benefit might be right before their eyes; how could they remain unmoved?
The cultivation world has always favored the bold; the timid starve.
Heavenly materials and earthly treasures are only seized by those daring enough to risk danger.
Immediately, some cultivators, disregarding the peril of the dark clouds and the heavenly lightning, flew toward the afflicted island.
Seeing someone take the lead, the other cultivators naturally refused to lag behind, rushing forward in a scramble.
If there truly were benefits to be had, whoever seized them first would gain them; no one would willingly trail behind.
When these passing Foundation Establishment cultivators, numbering about twenty—a mix of early, mid, and late-stage—gradually approached within a few li of the islet, they witnessed a sight that shocked them profoundly.
On this desolate little island, there was already a woman present.
A veiled woman of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, controlling sixteen ice swords. Beside her lay a terrifying seventh-rank Golden Core Skeleton Demon, resting docilely nearby. This skeletal monster was not attacking the woman, suggesting it was likely her puppet.
On the mountain peak of the islet, at the center of the collapsed cavern, was a massive stone cocoon where the lightning had struck.
All of this was excessively bizarre.
The strangest element, without a doubt, was the stone cocoon.
The veiled woman was also staring blankly at the cocoon, at a loss. No cultivator forming a core had ever presented such a bizarre situation. The stone cocoon sealed the cultivator, preventing the minor Heavenly Tribulation from descending promptly.
The woman’s strength, possessing a Golden Core Skeleton Demon, naturally inspired a measure of awe among these Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Upon reaching the vicinity of the islet, the nearly twenty passing Foundation Establishment cultivators realized the situation differed from their initial assumptions. They saw no immediate rewards, only a strangely shaped stone cocoon.
Because the cocoon was extraordinarily sealed, with no aura leaking out, these cultivators probed it with their divine senses. Unfortunately, they could not penetrate the sealed structure and discerned nothing of substance.
"How strange this stone cocoon is?"
"Could it be... could it truly be a demon tribe member transforming here? Legend says only a demon transformation results in such strangeness." Someone among the timid cultivators voiced this possibility.
A wave of icy chill shot down their spines, and an intense dread swept through their hearts. These cultivators nearly trembled uncontrollably, shaking with terror.
The demon race had not appeared in the East Sea Isles for a long time, making this possibility extremely frightening.
However, it could not be entirely dismissed.
This possibility made them almost flee in terror.
Fortunately, there were rational individuals among them.
"Impossible! Only ninth-rank demonic beasts might transform into demon cultivators, and such a transformation would alert the region for thousands of li. If they transformed, our Nascent Soul Ancestors would surely have been disturbed long ago.
Why would it fall to us to investigate here? The might of this minor Heavenly Tribulation could only spread for a few hundred li around. This is merely Golden Core level power. In the cultivation world, many demonic beasts form cocoons—cave demons, insect demons, etc., all cocoon. This stone cocoon might contain a sixth-rank earth-elemental demonic beast, or perhaps a Stone Sprite, condensing its core here and about to break through to the Golden Core stage, thus triggering the tribulation."
A calmer cultivator suggested an alternative possibility.
"Since the Heavenly Tribulation has formed, it seems it has already condensed its core. Why don't we crack open the stone cocoon? If there is a seventh-rank earth-elemental demonic beast inside, everything will become clear."
"Exactly. The probability of a seventh-rank Golden Core demonic beast inside the cocoon is the highest. If we can subdue it while it is extremely weak after passing the tribulation, we will profit immensely."
A cultivator proposed this plan.
The surrounding dozen or so cultivators nodded in agreement.
However, though the idea was floated, not a single cultivator was willing to step forward and break the cocoon immediately.
These one or two dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators were loosely organized—some in twos or threes, others in groups of four or five, or alone. They lacked coordinated understanding.
Before the situation was fully clarified, few were willing to undertake such a risky action. If the demonic beast emerged upon the cocoon being broken, the cultivator who broke it might be the first to be killed.
Most cultivators preferred to wait for a chance to snatch the prize later.
As they were discussing, they suddenly felt a sweep of chilling killing intent from a cold light and quickly turned to investigate.
"My husband is condensing his core here. Anyone who dares approach this area will face my ruthlessness."
Huangfu Bing'er held her ice swords, watching them coldly.
These Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged glances. Perhaps intimidated by Huangfu Bing'er’s Golden Core Skeleton Demon, they fell silent for a moment. However, with nearly sixteen or seventeen of them present, they were not entirely fearful of her threat.
"Hah! Who are you trying to fool? In the East Sea cultivation world, who has ever seen a core formation happen like this? According to cultivation world rules, whoever sees a benefit shares in it. This object does not belong to you alone."
Among the crowd of cultivators, a middle-aged man with a crooked neck looked at the stone cocoon with suspicion. Even if it were a Golden Core demonic beast, it should have broken out of the cocoon by now.
A sudden thought struck him, and he speculated, "You don't want others near this object... Could it be that what’s inside this cocoon isn't a Golden Core demonic beast, but a rare treasure?"