The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

The incantation was complete, and golden runes slowly took shape, like swimming dragons, disappearing into the inheritance array above Lin Du's head.

But then a bell rang out, and the array pattern seemed unable to withstand the impact, shattering with a crack. However, the power of the divine rune did not stop; it had already been poured into the Tree of Origin through the inheritance array pattern.

Previously, the nine laws of power on the Tree of Origin had been absorbed into the nine tiny stones in the formation. If Wen Fu or Wei Zhi were here now, they would surely discover that those were clearly the Heaven-Mending Stones broken into small pebbles, the very same small piece they had found in the Great Zhou.

A tree that has lost the power of rules is no longer worthy of being called a tree of origin; it is merely an ordinary towering tree. As the power departs, its flowers and fruits fall, its leaves wither, and it becomes a bare old tree.

Golden light peeked out from the cracks created by the shovel, then grew stronger and stronger, as if it wanted to devour all the filth in the world. The roots quickly turned to ashes, which drifted away in the air like wisps of smoke.

Lin Du quickly flew back, shouting, "Scatter!"

The six people took off at the same time, destroying the tree's root system. The tree slowly fell to the ground, but instead of making the expected loud bang, it sounded like the sound of striking a hollow harp.

Yuan Ye lowered his hands from his ears. "This sound isn't right?"

Ni Jinxuan curiously went over and looked at the tree roots with Yuan Ye on the left and right. They were shocked to find that the tree was full of holes and decayed so much that it would crumble like paper at the slightest touch.

The golden light had faded, but inside there was only a clear and solemn atmosphere, with no trace of the poisonous fog and termites within.

The sky is free from filth, the earth from dust, and all directions are cleansed.

"Hey Junior Uncle, there seem to be words in this tree hole? It looks like some kind of ancient book?" Yuan Ye stuck half his head in and shone a light strip over it.

Lin Du landed lightly, looking down at the tree that was almost as tall as a person even when it was fallen. He seemed to be deep in thought. "Then take it with you."

Just as Yuan Ye was about to retreat, he suddenly bumped into Ni Jinxuan's head. He cried out and fell backward onto the ground with a bump on his head.

Xia Tianwu was startled by the sight. "Junior Sister, are you alright?"

Ni Jinxuan straightened up, touched her forehead, and blinked. "No."

Yan Qing and Mo Lin almost burst out laughing when they saw Yuan Ye still sitting on the ground, grimacing and with red eyes.

"Now look what you've done, you haven't been diligent in your body training."

Yuan Ye covered his head and said, "You don't know anything. Junior Sister has mastered body refinement. How can a carpenter like me compare? Ever since she came out of the Lost Mansion, which of those monsters in the back mountain hasn't been beaten to tears?"

"We have to leave quickly. The core has been destroyed, and the inheritance realm is about to collapse."

As Lin Du spoke, he quickly picked up the key array stones from the ground, while Yan Qing and Xia Tianwu, following their usual techniques for preserving ancient books and medicinal herbs, carefully added two layers of seals to reinforce the tree before finally putting it into their possession.

Just as the group finished their actions, the secret realm began to disintegrate and collapse.

Unbeknownst to them, just as they were witnessing the true Tree of Origin, their junior brother was undergoing the "Core Formation" process under the inheritance formation.

The boy sat cross-legged under the tall thunder tree, his spiritual energy swirling above his head and rapidly flowing into his body. As the lightning energy surged on the tree, it condensed into a ball of eager purple lightning above the boy's head. Finally, the boy's aura changed, and the lightning tribulation crashed down.

"Who is that person who advanced? They seem somewhat familiar?" Sheng Yan looked at the people in the formation.

"He must be a new disciple of the Supreme Sect. He looks like this, which fits their sect's recruitment standards perfectly. His aptitude and face are both quite abnormal." Er Gou looked up at the lightning tribulation falling in the inheritance formation of the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm and felt that something was strange.

"Strange, the Supreme Sect doesn't seem like the type to let their fellow disciples form their cores on their own." Sheng Yan frowned.

Although she had only met the Supreme Sect a few times, she could sense that the camaraderie among the sect members was very strong and reliable.

"At this age, forming the Core Formation is about the same as Lin Du, right?" Er Gou clicked his tongue in amazement. "But forming the Core Formation in this Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, how come the lightning doesn't seem to have any buffer? It just goes down with a crack and then it's gone with a crack. Is this little thing absorbing heavenly lightning or undergoing tribulation?"

Sheng Yan turned to look at him. "Why haven't you formed your core yet?"

"Well, my aptitude is terrible." Er Gou chuckled. "Never mind, this Heavenly Dao Secret Realm is really shabby. I entered three pillars in a row, and only one of them had anything worthwhile."

One bolt of lightning after another struck down, drawing gasps of amazement from the onlookers.

The final bolt of lightning descended from the tree containing the inheritance array. It looked imposing, with compressed lightning power surging and coiling, about to strike the young man's head.

The young girl remained motionless, her eyes closed, meditating under the tree. Even with her hair disheveled and thunderclouds swirling around her, she still displayed a stunning beauty.

Just as the last bolt of heavenly lightning ended, characters began to surge on the Azure Cloud Ranking at the foot of Floating Cloud Mountain. Golden characters rapidly condensed, and the cultivators guarding the mountain hurriedly went over to prepare for the transcription, awaiting the birth of a new genius.

But then, a sudden change occurred.

The lightning struck the boy that day, and before a long string of lightning had finished striking, it suddenly retreated!

The purple-gold lightning enveloped the boy, making his face appear strange and his features sharp and refined, as if he were draped in a purple-gold light.

Now, the light, like a protective shield, was forcibly pulled back by the heavenly lightning. The entire lightning seemed to have been sucked away by something, disappearing in a flash!

"Wow!" The onlookers' eyes widened. "There's even heavenly lightning that can be recalled? This is truly an eye-opener."

Throughout history, there have always been those who failed to survive the tribulation of lightning, and even if they didn't die, they were crippled. There has never been a case where the heavenly lightning could be withdrawn on its own after it had descended. What is going on here?

"Could it be that Heaven doesn't approve? Then why did the last bolt of heavenly lightning strike down and then retreat?"

"I think it's just that Heaven thought he wasn't good enough, otherwise why would he have run away faster than a rabbit?"

Not only did that one bolt of lightning disappear, but the entire cluster of lightning on the tree vanished in an instant.

Qi Zhen opened his eyes blankly, his face showing some bewilderment.

Where is his lightning? Where is his heavenly tribulation? Where is the lightning he planned to use to make him famous overnight? Where is the lightning tribulation? Did it just vanish like that?

The Demon Lord, whose life had been betrayed, was filled with disbelief and incredulity.

Before the Azure Cloud Ranking of Floating Cloud Mountain, the cultivator had been holding his pen for a long time, the ink on the tip of the pen almost dripping down and staining the book. He frowned impatiently.

"Wait, what's wrong with this cultivator? Logically, he should have successfully completed his tribulation and received the Heavenly Dao's tacit approval, so why hasn't his name been mentioned yet? And wasn't there a heavenly lightning bolt with restorative power at the end? Why is it taking so long?"

Another cultivator stationed there also came down from the mountain and asked, "Why did you take so long? Is there some great genius among them? Could it be yet another Lin Du?"

"If only there were another Lin Du, I would have seen a golden light descend swiftly below Lin Du, who is ranked first on the Qingyun Ranking. But it was slow and the name and realm were not fully revealed. I could only vaguely make out the character 'Qi' and another character that looked like 'Zhen,' but it was not clear."

"Hey, be patient, wait a little longer. Maybe it's just a Nascent Soul Tribulation before the age of a hundred?"

As the two were talking, the empty line on the Azure Cloud Ranking suddenly disappeared.

"Huh???" The cultivator's brush trembled, his eyes widening to the point of bursting. "Huh!!"

"How could it go up and then down again? Can the laws of nature err?"

"Could it be that this person died after just surviving their tribulation?"

"How strange! I've been guarding this place for fifty years and I've never seen anything like this!"

"It was gone before it even fully appeared on the screen, not even enough time for me to pour a cup of tea! I wonder where this Qi Zhen is from." The cultivator, having made a wasted trip down the mountain, couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

This was a once-in-a-millennium event, a rare and extraordinary occurrence, which was then sold to the Records of Strange Tales of Central Plains.