It’s been two days since Bai Susu slew Pill Master Hu.
The atmosphere of Shunshui Street was several degrees more intense than usual.
Although many Loose Cultivators secretly applauded the death of Pill Master Hu, it also made everyone realize the ruthless nature of the Lingyin Sect.
The Loose Cultivators acted more discreetly and cautiously, fearing to provoke the Inner Sect disciples from Lingyin Sect.
At dawn, Chen Ye had just finished a night of meditation.
In the past two days, he consumed a total of four Qi Gathering Pills, increasing by eighty skill points in total.
Combined with passive gain, he increased by a total of one hundred and ten skill points.
[Evergreen Technique Limit Break: 160/800]
The distance to the next realm is within reach!
Now Chen Ye became even more cautious, focusing solely on stockpiling supplies and secluded cultivation.
He wanted to avoid any trouble, just focusing on cultivating peacefully, waiting for the Outer Sect competition of the Lingyin Sect.
With the remaining fifty-six Spirit Stones on him, he purchased a total of sixty Fire Stones over the past two days.
Now he had a total of ninety Fire Stones.
Chen Ye only kept twenty-six Spirit Stones in case of emergency.
Fire Stones are special minerals containing Spiritual Fire.
The Spiritual Fire within them is rich with yang energy, and the fire is purer and more stable.
For Low Tier Alchemists, when their own Spiritual Power is insufficient to sustain the Alchemy Furnace for long periods, they often spend Spirit Stones to purchase Fire Stones, using the Spiritual Fire within them to substitute their own Spiritual Power output to maintain the operation of the furnace.
Additionally, they are also highly effective in resisting severe cold and maintaining constant temperature.
Chen Ye stockpiled a large number of Fire Stones because of their significant dual purposes.
After inventorying his supplies, Chen Ye was suddenly chilled to the bone.
Intuitively, it felt like something major was happening.
Just at that moment, there was a creak as the gate of the neighboring courtyard opened.
Ping Zhuo came out carrying his Red Hammer, seemingly ready to work at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
Their eyes met, and Ping Zhuo grinned, intending to greet him.
"Boom!"
A deep, soul-shaking rumble came unexpectedly from the depths of the Three Thousand Great Mountains!
This sound wasn’t ordinary thunder, more like a colossal being’s thundering roar, with an overwhelming pressure that swept across the entire Yunxi District!
"What’s happening?!" Ping Zhuo’s face changed drastically, quickly looking up at the sky.
Chen Ye’s heart also trembled. He almost simultaneously rushed outside with Ping Zhuo, looking up.
Only to see a glacier-blue vortex over the distant mountains, occupying the entire sky!
The vortex was as deep as the sea, with flickering lightning at its center, vaguely revealing distorted spatial rifts.
An overwhelming bone-chilling cold, not from wind or snow, emanated madly from the vortex itself!
"A... Nascent Soul Celestial Tribulation?!"
Ping Zhuo was aghast.
As a Spirit Treasure Sect disciple, his insight far surpassed that of common Loose Cultivators. He recognized at once that this end-of-world phenomenon was the legendary catastrophe that occurred only when a Golden Core True Man attempted to break through the Nascent Soul realm!
Chen Ye’s pupils shrank, his heart sinking to the bottom.
Though anticipated, witnessing it in person brought a shock and sense of oppression beyond his imagination!
"Rumble—"
Before the two could react, a thunderous column as thick as a mountain ridge suddenly shot down from the center of the vortex.
Ripping through the sky, it struck precisely on a mountain peak deep within the Great Mountains!
In an instant, the world shook, mountains and rivers quaked!
Terrifying shockwaves spread out with unparalleled speed.
The mountains and forests along the way were as fragile as paper against this force; towering ancient trees were uprooted, and hard rocks were easily shattered.
Despite the distance, the entire Yunxi District began to tremble violently!
The roof tiles clattered, and many shabby stalls collapsed.
The Loose Cultivators on the streets stumbled, cries of alarm and screams echoed!
Earth and mountains trembled.
The two men almost couldn’t stand firm.
Ignoring the equally shocked Ping Zhuo beside him, Chen Ye turned abruptly and rushed back into the courtyard.
Watching Chen Ye’s back, Ping Zhuo opened his mouth but ultimately gritted his teeth and ran toward the more fortified central area of the market.
He had no disciples to protect; preserving his life was most important!
"Bang!"
Chen Ye burst through the courtyard door.
The courtyard was in disarray; the snow piled in the corner had been scattered, while the plum tree swayed violently, scattering blossoms everywhere.
His two disciples were huddled together, trembling under the eaves with terror and confusion written across their small faces.
"Zhiwei! Qing Jun!"
Chen Ye took two strides to their side, wrapping the frightened little ones tightly in his arms, shielding them with his body.
"Master!"
Feeling the familiar embrace and scent, the little ones seemed to find their anchor.
Qing Jun burst into tears, clutching tightly at Chen Ye’s clothes.
Chen Ye’s expression slowly stabilized.
Initially, he was just shocked by the scene.
But he quickly realized that this True Man’s tribulation would not widely affect Yunxi District, only causing unusual weather.
From the original plot, he remembered that this person came from Yan Kingdom’s top sect, Refining God Sect.
The Refining God Sect, also known as the Refining God Sword Sect.
As the name implies, this sect was founded on the sword, holding the dominance in Yan Kingdom’s Cultivation Realm.
Within the sect, disciples of both genders focused on cultivating the Sword Dao.
Their sect’s Cultivation Techniques were fierce and dominant, focusing on refining the Primordial Spirit through Sword Intent.
Disciples of the Refining God Sect often had proud personalities, and their combat power exceeded that of their peers.
Due to changes in the Celestial Tribulation, after this person’s first failed attempt, they vanished without a trace.
It would trigger a series of chain reactions,
starting from the Refining God Sect, affecting the entire Cultivation Realm of Yan Kingdom...
But that’s a matter for later, not something Chen Ye could consider now.
The two little bodies in his embrace still shivered like fledgling birds in the wind.
Chen Ye tightened his arms, trying to give them a negligible sense of security with his body.
The apocalyptic scene just now, not to mention the children, even made his adult soul shudder.
"Master..." Qing Jun sobbed, her little face buried in his chest, her voice muffled, "Such a loud thunder just now..."
The White Furred Ball, rarely so close to him.
"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid,"
Chen Ye gently patted their backs, his voice as warm and steady as possible,
"That wasn’t thunder, it was... it was gods in the sky fighting. Now they’ve finished, so it’s okay."
Zhiwei was still trembling, but her black eyes were very calm: "Master, there are no gods in this world... Was it someone undergoing tribulation?"
Her trembling was physiological, not from genuine fear.
Or rather, with her special constitution, the only two things in the world that could scare her.
Besides Chen Ye, were Qing Jun...
All other matters were insignificant to Lu Zhiwei.
Nothing more than death.
Chen Ye was stunned; he thought explaining the Nascent Soul Celestial Tribulation to them now would be like telling a fairy tale.
So he tried comforting them in ways they could understand, but unexpectedly, his elder disciple was more mature than he thought.
"Mm... But with Master here, no one can hurt you."
After calming his two disciples, Chen Ye surveyed the small courtyard that had been thrown into chaos.
The originally tidy blue-bricked ground was now covered with fallen debris and plum blossom fragments. The wicker swing by the west wall swayed alone, adding to the desolation.
"Yunxi District, in the end, still isn’t safe enough."
Chen Ye frowned secretly.
Although the market had protections from the Lingyin Sect’s array, if a cold disaster triggered a large-scale Beast Tide or turmoil, it might not be truly safe either...