Chapter 52 (Part 1)

Half a year later, violent winds suddenly swept across Holy Sun Peak. The entire sky darkened, and lightning flickered through the clouds above.

Yu Yu opened his eyes, got up from the ground, and swiftly flew toward Lingji’s cave residence.

“Don’t go. Your Eldest Senior Brother is about to undergo his tribulation. If you go over now, you’ll draw the tribulation lightning onto yourself.”

Qingyang appeared just in time and grabbed his little disciple.

“No, Master, I haven’t given Eldest Senior Brother the spiritual liquid yet!”

Yu Yu struggled as he spoke. Of course he knew he could not approach someone else while they were undergoing tribulation, but there was no other choice!

“Take it out. I’ll deliver it to him.”

The moment Qingyang heard that, he immediately spoke.

“Master, here.”

Yu Yu took out ten bottles of spiritual liquid and packed them into a jade box.

“Wait for me to come back.”

Qingyang vanished from in front of Yu Yu in an instant. When Yu Yu looked again, Qingyang had already appeared outside Lingji’s cave residence.

“Lingji, keep the spiritual liquid safe. When your spiritual power is almost depleted, drink a mouthful. It can restore more than half of your spiritual power.”

Qingyang threw the spiritual liquid straight into his eldest disciple’s cave residence, then returned to his little disciple’s side at top speed.

The very instant he teleported back, the tribulation lightning in the sky descended.

“Rumble!”

“That was close!”

Qingyang patted his chest. Although this bit of tribulation lightning would not hurt him even if it struck him, who would want to be struck by lightning for no reason?

Qingyang certainly did not, so he was glad he had come back in time.

“I didn’t expect Eldest Senior Brother to undergo his tribulation directly inside his cave residence either. I didn’t have time to give him the spiritual liquid in advance.”

Yu Yu squatted on the ground, his face full of guilt.

“This has nothing to do with you. Your Eldest Senior Brother was too impatient.”

How could Qingyang blame his little disciple? If anyone was to blame, it was his eldest disciple for being too eager to become a Daoist Lord.

“He was indeed a little impatient. Qingyang, did Lingji suddenly undergo tribulation because he could no longer suppress the tribulation lightning?”

Qingsheng carried Lingbao over to Holy Sun Peak so that he could watch Lingji’s tribulation lightning as he advanced to the Tribulation stage and prepare himself mentally.

This was tribulation lightning second only to the ascension tribulation. It was beneficial to watch more of it.

“Replying to Eldest Senior Brother, that is indeed the case.”

Qingyang nodded. When he went to deliver the spiritual liquid, he had been able to tell that Lingji could have undergone tribulation long ago. He had simply kept suppressing himself because he wanted to make his cultivation more profound and solid.

Unexpectedly, he suppressed it too far, and in the end, he could no longer hold it back at all. That was why he began undergoing tribulation right inside his cave residence.

“Once Eldest Senior Brother finishes his tribulation, his cave residence won’t be fit for anyone to live in anymore.”

Yu Yu simply sat down on the ground. Of course, the moment he sat, spiritual plants built him a cushion so the Dao robe on his body would not be dirtied by the mud.

“Little Junior Brother, make one for me too.”

Seeing this, Lingbao also wanted to experience what it felt like to sit on spiritual plants.

“Oh.”

Yu Yu obediently made three more spiritual plant cushions.

Qingyang and Qingsheng exchanged a smile when they saw this, then sat down as well.

To say nothing else, cushions made from spiritual plants were truly extraordinary. Not only did they calm the heart and settle the mind, spiritual energy continuously gathered toward them.

More importantly, they were still alive.

“Little Junior Brother, later, use Gathering Spirit Grass to weave a cushion for that child Jingxin!”

Although Lingbao thought this cushion was very comfortable to sit on, he would not ask for one for himself because of that. But his future grand-disciple should probably need a cushion woven from Gathering Spirit Grass.

Aside from gathering spiritual energy, it could also calm the heart and settle the mind. It was good stuff.

“Sure, no problem.”

Yu Yu agreed directly. This was his latest discovery.

A cushion woven from living Gathering Spirit Grass was more effective than one woven from grass after it had been picked.

At most, when the time came, he would plant a clump of Gathering Spirit Grass indoors for Jingxin. In any case, as long as there was spiritual energy, they could live.

“Thank you, Little Junior Brother. This is your payment.”

Lingbao did not ask for it for free either. He took out ten supreme-grade spirit stones in exchange.

To be honest, a cushion made of Gathering Spirit Grass was not worth ten supreme-grade spirit stones. It was just that its effect of calming the heart and settling the mind was greatly beneficial to cultivators.

Jingxin had suffered since childhood, and Lingbao feared the child might easily take the wrong path during cultivation.

People who had suffered too much tended to be rather sensitive and suspicious. Letting him quiet his heart every day would also help his mind cool down, preventing him from making wrong decisions.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony and will accept them. Many thanks, Senior Brother Sect Master.”

Although it was not worth this many supreme-grade spirit stones, Yu Yu would not refuse spirit stones delivered right before his eyes.

In any case, Senior Brother Sect Master and the others were all tycoons. Ten supreme-grade spirit stones were only a drop in the bucket to them.

Seeing Yu Yu accept the spirit stones, Lingbao smiled in relief.

He had offered them voluntarily. If Yu Yu declined, that would be too polite.

They were senior and junior brothers. It was only right for a senior brother to look after his junior brother a little more. Being too polite would make it seem as though there was no senior-junior brotherly affection between them.

“Rumble!”

Tribulation lightning kept descending, the sound so loud it even affected Yu Yu and the others’ conversation, so everyone simply shut their mouths.

One by one, they sat on the ground and watched Lingji undergo tribulation. Qingyang even took out a plate of five-spice fried sunflower seeds.

These were low-grade spiritual plants that Yu Yu had cultivated from ordinary plants. Aside from being eaten as a snack, they were the same as ordinary low-grade spiritual plants. Eating them had no effect on them.

Eating them was purely to satisfy the mouth. The tiny bit of spiritual energy inside was not even enough to get stuck between their teeth.

“Crack, crack, crack.”

It was all the sound of cracking sunflower seeds. Even under the tribulation lightning, its presence could not be covered up.

“I say, Senior Brother Lingbao, isn’t setting up a soundproof barrier just to crack sunflower seeds a bit too much?”

Yu Yu really wanted to move farther away from them. This was too embarrassing.

“Not too much. Not too much at all. What cracking sunflower seeds needs is atmosphere. The thunder is too loud and affects our performance.”

This was not Lingbao’s first time eating them, so he naturally knew what posture made cracking sunflower seeds the most satisfying.

“…”

Cracking sunflower seeds still needs atmosphere? Aren’t you afraid Eldest Senior Brother will charge out from inside and skewer you on his sword?

He is undergoing tribulation, yet you people are cracking sunflower seeds here and watching the show. You even need atmosphere. Is this something humans do?

“Little Junior Brother, don’t always think about cultivation. You still need to learn to enjoy life more.”

Lingbao patted Yu Yu’s shoulder as he spoke. While one was young, one could not miss out on the enjoyment one ought to have. Otherwise, when one reached their age, one would regret cultivating so desperately back then and causing oneself to enjoy nothing at all.

“No. Senior Brother Lingbao, you enjoy it yourself!”

Yu Yu refused without even thinking about it.

Enjoyment? Before he grew up, he would not stop being a grind king.

Even if he was going to enjoy life, it would not be too late to do so after he reached Nascent Soul, or even after he returned to Blue Star.

Right now, he only wanted to grow up. Everyone who stopped him from growing up was an obstacle on his path and had to be looked down upon by him.

“Tsk. Little Junior Brother isn’t easy to trick!”

Seeing that he had failed to trick Yu Yu, Lingbao could only put the sunflower seeds away regretfully.

The sunflower seeds had clearly been planted by Little Junior Brother and fried by Little Junior Brother, yet Little Junior Brother himself did not taste even one.

“Senior Brother Sect Master, everything you’re eating and sitting on right now was made by me. Doesn’t your conscience condemn you for tricking me?”

Yu Yu puffed out his cheeks. Couldn’t he just speak properly? Why did he insist on tricking him?

“Pfft. Now that’s right. That’s the expression a child should have.”

Lingbao reached out and poked his little face. The puffed-up cheeks immediately deflated.

“Senior Brother, I’m angry.”

Yu Yu slapped his hand away, and his cheeks puffed up again.

“Pfft.”

This time, never mind Lingbao, even Qingyang and Qingsheng could not hold back.

“Master. Martial Uncle.”

Yu Yu widened both eyes at them. How could there be people who liked watching a child make a fool of himself? Am I not your favorite cub?

“Ahem. Lingji’s tribulation lightning is almost over.”

Qingyang really could not withstand the sight of his disciple looking at him with those adorable, cutely sparkling big eyes, so he reminded everyone that today, Lingji was the main character.

“That’s right. Lingji is the focus.”

Qingsheng was the same. His little martial nephew was so cute it was practically cheating. Now his heart was filled with self-reproach, and he felt that bullying a child was truly something he should not have done.

As for Lingbao, before Qingyang and Qingsheng even opened their mouths, he had already pretended that the person who had bullied someone just now was not him. He stared at Lingji undergoing tribulation with the most focused gaze.

Seeing that he did not dare look at him, Yu Yu took a few breaths and told himself not to take things seriously with a group of elderly people whose mental age was not even three years old.

They were his master, his martial uncle, and his senior brother. He was the junior, the younger brother, and could not be disrespectful.

After constantly persuading himself in his heart, Yu Yu finally made himself forget the memory of being bullied just now.

At the same time, he thought to himself that every single one of them was too childish. He was an adult and would not lower himself to the level of childish ghosts. He should focus on Eldest Senior Brother instead.

Yu Yu had not actually been angry in the first place. He was only afraid that if he did not show some anger, Lingbao would treat him like a toy all day.

Did he not know that if you poked a child’s face too much, the child would drool?

Rumble!

The final bolt of tribulation lightning descended. Relying on the spiritual liquid his little junior brother had sent him, Lingji held on until the very end. He carried his sword and charged toward the tribulation lightning.

The final bolt of tribulation lightning first struck his sword, then struck his body.

Although Lingji’s body swayed a few times when the tribulation lightning struck him, he held on.

Using tribulation lightning to temper the body was something sword cultivators and body cultivators did most often. At the same time, they used the tribulation lightning to increase the lightning resistance of their bonded spirit sword, lest they encounter stronger tribulation lightning and have it split the sword apart.

Starting from the Golden Core tribulation all the way to the Tribulation stage, Lingji had followed what Qingyang taught him. Not only had his body become powerful, his bonded spirit sword’s quality had also improved.

As long as he added just a little more material, his bonded sword would be able to transform from a spiritual weapon into a Dao artifact. That would multiply his combat strength enormously.

Once the tribulation lightning passed, sweet rain descended from the heavens. Yu Yu watched cheerfully as his Eldest Senior Brother accepted the gift of heaven and earth. To cultivators, the spiritual rain sent down by the Heavenly Dao after each tribulation was an extraordinary tonic.

As long as one absorbed the Heavenly Dao’s spiritual rain, one could save the time needed to stabilize one’s realm and cultivation.

Undergoing tribulation within the sect was fine. Out of consideration for being fellow disciples, everyone would not go over to snatch the spiritual rain. But if it were loose cultivators outside, nine out of ten would have the gift of the Heavenly Dao snatched away.

In that case, if they wanted to completely stabilize their realm and cultivation, they would need several decades, or even a hundred years.

After a cultivator underwent tribulation, the spiritual power inside their body had long since been almost exhausted, and their body would also be injured.

Whether healing injuries or recovering spiritual power, they needed an enormous amount of spiritual energy. Merely absorbing enough spiritual energy required a very long time, let alone spending a large amount of time refining it.

Only the gift of the Heavenly Dao could be absorbed immediately and did not require much time to refine.

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