Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage were cautiously exploring the stone cocoon near the small island.
Hearing the whispered conjectures about what might be inside, their minds immediately began to stir with excitement.
The thought of the possibilities made them nearly frantic with suppressed eagerness.
If such phenomena could stir the heavens, it wasn't just a Demon Beast reaching Core Formation, but perhaps a rare treasure being born! And a treasure capable of inducing a minor Heavenly Tribulation—that was no ordinary item.
Ordinary magic tools or Nascent Soul artifacts were utterly insignificant compared to a natural treasure that could summon even a lesser Heavenly Tribulation.
Possessing such a treasure meant one could stride unimpeded among peers of the same cultivation level.
The more they gazed at the strange stone cocoon, unable to probe its interior with their divine senses, the more convinced they became.
Some impatient and reckless fellow suddenly charged toward the cocoon.
The dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators instantly erupted in chaos, their spiritual artifacts flashing out.
They scrambled toward the stone cocoon while desperately trying to block others from approaching it. "I spotted this treasure first, get lost!" "Damn it all, perish!" One cultivator, displaying immense ferocity, swung his club-like artifact in wide, sweeping arcs that covered dozens of yards.
However, he couldn't hold his ground for even a moment before being hacked into pieces by the enraged cultivators behind him. "Ah! Kong Ping, you despicable wretch.
I treated you well in the past, yet you strike me from behind!" "Brother Zhang, forgive me, but I must have this treasure!" In the cultivation world, reality was sometimes this insane and merciless.
With a treasure in hand, one's strength would surely skyrocket.
For such an item, familial bonds meant nothing, and turning on sworn brothers was commonplace.
For a treasure that provoked a minor Heavenly Tribulation, whoever seized it first would claim it; at this moment, nobody cared about anyone else. "Seeking death!" Duofu Bing'er's eyes sharpened, and sixteen ice swords shot from her hands.
The small desolate island became a chaotic melee of one or two dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, their varied artifacts erupting in dazzling light.
For the next two days, the small island descended into a storm of slaughter, and the corpses of twenty to thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators lay strewn about.
Yet, Foundation Establishment cultivators, alerted by the thousand-mile sound transmissions from their comrades, continued to rush to the location, eager to seize the stone cocoon.
As for what was truly inside the cocoon, no one had the leisure to discern.
Since it could drive so many Foundation Establishment cultivators into a frenzy of grabbing, it must be a paramount treasure; securing it first was the only priority.
On the small desolate island, the veiled woman and the Golden Core Skeleton Demon firmly occupied the position nearest the stone cocoon, guarding it relentlessly.
Any cultivator who dared approach the cocoon was met with her sharp reprisal.
The dark clouds had gathered densely for two days, but the lightning tribulation had yet to descend.
This abnormality only fueled the madness of the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Within the cocoon on this island was either a seventh-tier Demon Beast or an extremely valuable strange treasure.
Either prospect was enough to set their hearts racing.
Though this small island was quite remote, and the fighting cultivators tried their best to avoid attracting external attention, the commotion inevitably spread, catching the notice of Golden Core stage cultivators on nearby islands.
On the third day of the unrest, a white-bearded Golden Core Elder arrived, descending upon the island atop a cloud. "Hmph! All of you, stop this instant! Such chaos—what decorum remains!" The moment the white-bearded elder appeared, a cold snort was enough to yank the frenzied, fighting Foundation Establishment cultivators back to a semblance of calm.
Upon realizing the newcomer was a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, the faces of the Foundation Establishment cultivators turned ashen, and they voluntarily backed away.
No Foundation Establishment cultivator dared to challenge a Golden Core expert for treasure. "This junior pays his respects to Martial Uncle Li." Surprisingly, one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators recognized the Golden Core expert. "Mm." The white-bearded elder nodded calmly, ignoring the surrounding cultivators.
He circled the island once, observing the strange stone cocoon.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators watched his actions, murmuring amongst themselves. "Isn't that Martial Uncle Li Haonan from the Heavenly Dao Alliance? He's the most powerful mid-stage Golden Core cultivator around here.
Why is he here? His Myriad Flower Island is the closest; he must have gotten wind of this first.
Damn it, I wonder which son-of-a-bitch tipped him off.
With him here, we’ve definitely lost our chance." One cultivator expressed extreme anger.
This site's new address has changed to: [censored], please log in to read! After circling the island in the air once, the white-bearded elder landed and walked toward the stone cocoon.
Huangfu Bing'er stood silently, her ice swords held ready, blocking the path.
The white-bearded cultivator was momentarily startled that someone dared to obstruct him, and he shouted, "Child, considering your hard-earned cultivation, move aside!" Huangfu Bing'er did not budge; her stance was utterly resolute.
The white-bearded elder became enraged and waved his sleeve, summoning a violent gust of wind blades that sprang up from the ground.
Huangfu Bing'er immediately used her ice sword artifact to parry dozens of mid-level wind blades.
She gasped softly, staggered back several feet, spat out a mouthful of blood that stained her veil, and her face grew considerably paler.
Two days of continuous fighting had already drained much of her spiritual power.
The elder's casual strike had injured her severely.
The white-bearded elder paid her no mind and walked toward the stone cocoon.
Huangfu Bing'er watched the white-bearded elder's movements anxiously.
She knew her strength was insufficient to stop a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator from reaching the cocoon, but she desperately hoped this Golden Core master would not harm it.
The white-bearded elder approached the cocoon, studying it for a moment.
Finding his divine sense still unable to penetrate its interior, a flicker of surprise and curiosity crossed his face.
However, he quickly adopted an air of disdain.
Pointing at the cocoon, he addressed the surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators, "It’s just a stone cocoon, likely a stone-attribute Demon Beast forming its core here.
What’s so strange about that? So many of you from the Heavenly Dao Alliance fighting amongst yourselves over this—what manner of conduct is this? A seventh-tier stone-attribute Demon Beast is worth inviting the attention of a hundred thousand cultivators to guard.
You juniors need not fight anymore.
I shall take it." He produced a storage pouch and beckoned toward the cocoon, "Receive!" using a storage spell to try and pull the cocoon away. "Eh!" The white-bearded elder uttered a sound of surprise.
The stone cocoon was exceedingly strange; it remained utterly motionless, as if rooted firmly to the island.
His spell only managed to collect a few scattered pebbles from the ground; it had no effect on the cocoon itself.
Many Foundation Establishment cultivators nearby were watching how he would manage to collect the cocoon.
Failing to secure the cocoon made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
If he couldn't even take this cocoon, he would lose considerable face in front of these junior cultivators today.
The white-bearded elder paused, then cast a divine power spell upon himself, causing his entire body to shine with golden light.
He then pressed both hands onto the stone cocoon, shouting fiercely, intending to use brute divine strength to yank it from the ground and place it into his storage pouch.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning split from the overhead dark clouds.
Crack! This site's new address has changed to: [censored], please log in to read! This flash of lightning descended from the sky, striking the unprepared white-bearded elder.
The lightning arrived too abruptly.
The elder was exerting his full divine strength, trying to dislodge the cocoon, and in that moment, he couldn't react in time to defend against the lightning tribulation.
In haste, the white-bearded elder only managed to throw up a protective shield around himself before the dark thunderbolt slammed into him.
With a whoosh, the thick protective shield was instantly shattered by the dark lightning.
The electricity then snaked across his body, causing the white-bearded elder to convulse.
Lightning enveloped him, stars danced before his eyes, his eyebrows and beard were completely scorched, and his skin split open.
He groaned and stumbled back several paces from the stone cocoon, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
If the protective shield hadn't momentarily blocked some force, and if his formidable mid-stage Golden Core spiritual power hadn't held him up, that single bolt of lightning might have caused catastrophic damage to his physical body instantly.
Even so, the injuries he sustained were severe; it would take him at least ten years to fully recover.
After taking that strike, the white-bearded elder hastily deployed several powerful Nascent Soul artifacts to shield himself, lest he suffer another strike.
As soon as the white-bearded elder moved away from the stone cocoon, the dark clouds immediately reverted to their previous state, completely still.
The surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had been watching from a distance, were all startled by the sudden descent of the lightning tribulation.
Since the mass of dark clouds had remained silent for days, all the Foundation Establishment cultivators present had dismissed it as a non-issue.
Now that it had acted, the cultivators jolted awake—the minor Heavenly Tribulation was clearly not over.
If they were to touch the stone cocoon, they risked being instantly vaporized like that.
The white-bearded elder cursed his bad luck inwardly.
Why did the lightning strike only when he tried to move the cocoon? He gritted his teeth in frustration.
He positioned several artifacts above his head to intercept the lightning tribulation and once more tried to use his divine power to lift the cocoon.
But the stone cocoon remained absolutely unmoved.
He endured several more bolts of heavenly lightning, yet the dark clouds overhead showed no sign of dissipating.
When would this lightning tribulation ever end? "This object is extraordinary.
I shall return and study it thoroughly," the white-bearded elder declared, feeling stifled.
After enduring several lightning strikes, on top of his existing serious injuries, he felt overwhelmed.
His face flushed with shame.
He muttered a perfunctory excuse and sullenly ascended on his cloud, flying away.
Having been humiliated in front of a crowd of junior cultivators, he simply couldn't bear to stay any longer.
The observing Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged bewildered glances, overcome by a feeling of absurdity.
A dignified mid-stage Golden Core cultivator couldn't even manage this stone cocoon and ended up fleeing in disarray.
Time passed swiftly over the East Sea.
The scorching sun set and rose again, day after day.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had flown by.
During this period, more Golden Core cultivators, having heard tales of this strange stone cocoon, arrived at the island, curious to test if their abilities surpassed those of Martial Uncle Li Haonan of the Myriad Flower Dao.
But the results proved that the stone cocoon was incredibly difficult to move.
As long as no one touched it, the clouds in the sky remained quiescent.
But the moment anyone attempted to move the cocoon, they were guaranteed a lightning strike.
This heavenly tribulation would not cease until the stone cocoon broke open.
They desperately wanted to claim the cocoon, but the lightning tribulation was too fierce, battering them until their scalps were singed, forcing them to flee in ignominy.
After suffering a bout of lightning tribulation, even a Golden Core cultivator would need to enter secluded cultivation for several months just to recover.
Even Golden Core cultivators were unwilling to willingly invite a lightning strike upon themselves.
Over time, fewer Golden Core cultivators were willing to attempt the feat.
And the Foundation Establishment cultivators were even more afraid to touch the cocoon.
One minor Heavenly Tribulation lightning strike could easily annihilate their souls.
This strange stone cocoon remained isolated on the island, gradually attracting fewer and fewer visitors.
Only one graceful figure, accompanied by a Golden Core Skeleton Demon, still guarded the island day and night, never leaving even a half-step.
As for the Nascent Soul cultivators in the northern island regions, none had yet made an appearance.
If this stone cocoon could trigger a great Heavenly Tribulation spanning thousands of miles, they might deign to investigate.
But a cocoon that only summoned a minor Heavenly Tribulation was surely of limited use.
Such minor tribulations were common over the East Sea.
In their eyes, this was an object entirely devoid of investigative value, and they paid no mind to this insignificant anomaly.
A very small minority of Foundation Establishment cultivators, like the squint-eyed middle-aged man whose mind was obsessed with rare treasures, along with a few others who solely hoped to pick up a bargain, knew the might of the minor Heavenly Tribulation yet refused to give up hope.
They frequently lingered around the island, determined to see what was inside the cocoon once it finally cracked open before they would leave.