[Year 220]
[System Update: Your descendant Li Xinghuo has successfully advanced to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.]
Two years had passed since that last spiritual assembly.
Li Kuanghua now sat in meditation upon the ocean's surface. Stretching out for 300 miles in every direction, centered on her, countless crabs had meticulously arranged themselves into a vast, protective circle, cordoning off the area.
Qing Yuan – now bound by a pact to serve as the Li family's Dao Protector for a century – stood with the two other surviving transformed Crab Spirit Beast leaders.
All three stared upwards at the sky, where the tribulation clouds were gathering, growing ever more dense and ominous. A potent mix of deep regret and raw fear was etched upon their faces.
Their regret stemmed, first, from their initial decision to lay siege to Li Kuanghua. That miscalculation had cost their clan one of its transformed leaders and forced Qing Yuan himself into a century of servitude as the Li family's guardian.
Their second, more immediate, source of dread was the sheer, terrifying power emanating from the tribulation clouds now completely filling the heavens above.
The events of their siege against Li Kuanghua two years prior remained seared into their memories.
Beyond the terrifying black-misted entity, it had been Li Kuanghua herself, then merely at Golden Core Peak, who had instilled the deepest dread in them. And now, observing these tribulation clouds, still gathering and not yet fully manifested, they could already sense within them the overwhelming pressure of a full Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation!
And the Source of this terrifying celestial phenomenon was that young woman at its heart, the one who appeared so deceptively frail.
A Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation represented the absolute apex of power for a Nascent Soul's Heavenly Tribulation, yet somehow, it seemed even this was not her ultimate threshold...
"The Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation... Never in all my years have I laid eyes upon such a thing!" One of the Crab Spirit Beast leaders exclaimed.
"When I was but a child," another added, "I witnessed one of our clan's own Old Ancestors face an Eight-Nine Lightning Tribulation. He held out for merely half a day before his form was obliterated and his Dao extinguished."
But Qing Yuan sensed something was terribly wrong.
His voice was heavy as he declared, "This woman... for her breakthrough, she has made no preparations whatsoever! No defensive arrays to mitigate the tribulation's might... She means to withstand it directly!"
"WHAT?!!" the other Crab Spirit Beast leaders gasped in unison.
The faces of the other two transformed Crab Spirit Beasts also contorted in disbelief.
They looked again: the lightning in the sky was poised to strike, and yet this Li Kuanghua... had she truly made no defensive preparations whatsoever?
.....
In this, however, their assumptions were mistaken.
The Li family was indeed actively preparing at that very instant, just not for Li Kuanghua to erect any conventional defensive formations!
[System Notification: Your descendant Li Yunbing is, at this moment, spearheading the forces of the Azure Cloud Three Regions in their most significant counter-offensive against the Wu Clan seen in many years!]
[Wu Clan Corpse +1 Acquired]
[Foundation Establishment Stage Wu Clan Corpse +1 Acquired]
[Wu Clan Corpse...]
"CHARGE!"
At that very moment, on the Azure Cloud region border, Li Yunbing – still presenting the identity of Jiang Chenghuan to the world – stood upon the battlefield, his gaze fixed on some distant point.
Region Prince Feng Qingyang, Mi Zhunqi, Ye Xiu of the Myriad Arts Sect, and other long-time allies of the Li family – all of them had plunged into the depths of the Endless Forest, carrying the fight directly into the Wu Clan's heartlands!
It was a fierce engagement. Wu Clan warriors fell in droves. Among the Azure Cloud region forces, a dedicated unit moved swiftly, gathering the enemy dead, packing the corpses into storage rings, and dispatching them back to Li Yunbing.
.....
The Auric Empire, Auraria City.
Jadeflame Tower.
This establishment was Auraria City's preeminent trading hub. A rich, aromatic scent of medicinal herbs constantly drifted from its doors, and a throng of cultivators, drawn by recent news, could always be seen gathered outside its entrance.
The reason was simple: two years prior, a Rank 6 Alchemist had taken up residence in Auraria City.
This master alchemist had made it known that she could successfully refine any medicine up to Rank 6 or Rank 7. Furthermore, her success rate in pill concoction and her material utilization efficiency when working with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures reportedly achieved a remarkable sixty percent.
For common alchemists, pill refinement always comes with a success rate. Typically, one might provide three full sets of the required Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and count themselves fortunate to receive even a single successful batch of medicine in return. So, an alchemist capable of a sixty percent success rate, and one who has attained the esteemed Rank 6 at that – how exceedingly difficult would such a master be to encounter?
Furthermore, masters of such extraordinary skill typically wouldn't refine medicines for the general cultivator populace simply for meager returns; they often have their own sects or patrons to serve.
Consequently, Jadeflame Tower was now perpetually besieged by a veritable ocean of people.
Cultivators had long since submitted their precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, terrified of letting such an unparalleled, heaven-sent chance slip through their fingers.
Beyond those with specific requests, throngs of lower-level Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators also congregated outside. For them, even the ambient Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi that naturally diffused from the tower when a Rank 6 Alchemist was at work was immensely beneficial to their own practice.
[System Update (Li Yaoqing): Your descendant Li Yaoqing, currently residing in Auraria City within the Auric Empire, is engaged in refining medicines for numerous cultivators. Through these services, she has acquired a substantial amount of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. She has now commenced utilizing these resources to develop and concoct spirit elixirs specifically designed to enhance physical body strength.]
[Now Refining: Rank 7 Starforged Adamant Elixir]
[Use: Strengthens innate bone structure and overall physique.
Effect: Upon consumption, imbues the physical body with the 'Power of Starforged Adamant', elevating physical might to be on par with the full, True Qi-condensed strength of a False Core stage cultivator.
Warning: If the user's baseline physical power is insufficient, consumption will result in bodily explosion and death.]
[Now Refining: Rank 6 Divine Rock Golden Eye Elixir]
[Effect: Upon consumption, opens the 'Heavenly Eye', allowing clear perception of Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi intensity within a 100-meter radius. Also pushes the physical body towards its ultimate potential, rendering its toughness akin to that of an early-stage Rank 6 spirit ore.]
[Now Refining: Rank 7 Mythweave Dragon Elixir]...
Within Jadeflame Tower, Li Yaoqing focused intently, her Soul Fire dancing as she meticulously concocted these medicinal powders.
Her expression was one of deep concentration. In former times, she would never have countenanced refining pills for strangers. But the clan now lacked any steady provision of resources, and their very survival was a struggle. Thus, she had no alternative but to offer her skills for hire here in Auraria City.
She had never imagined, however, that the rewards for her services would be so unexpectedly bountiful.
"For the foreseeable future, I shall continue refining medicines here in the Great Jin Empire," Li Yaoqing resolved. "It will serve well to bolster our clan's depleted resources."
---
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