A reincarnated girl, who begins by possessing a cultivator.

Xie Zhi Qiu's face was full of confidence.

In the blink of an eye, a few days later...

A surge of powerful wood and metal elemental magic erupted from Hidden Sword Peak like a volcanic eruption.

Upon sensing this aura, the cultivators of the Ancient Sword Sect, especially the higher-ups, transformed into streaks of light and arrived around Hidden Sword Peak.

"It's finally about to begin. I hope Xie Zhi Qiu can successfully form his core."

Zhou Zhen and the others looked extremely solemn.

Xie Zhi Qiu has dual-attribute spiritual roots of metal and wood. Generally speaking, the first seven lightning strikes are ordinary heavenly lightning, while the eighth and ninth strikes are fire lightning tribulations specifically targeting metal and wood attributes.

The last two are the most crucial; most Foundation Establishment cultivators who attempt to form their Core form die during the Trial of Strange Lightning.

If Su Chun were to form her core, she would need to withstand five bolts of different colored lightning, a difficulty that is enough to make one despair.

Xie Zhi Qiu sat cross-legged in the center of the Heavenly Tribulation Platform on Hidden Sword Peak, a platform specifically for breaking through cultivation realms.

Every faction has its own Heavenly Tribulation Platform, which is equipped with a lightning-blocking array to neutralize some of the power of the heavenly lightning.

"here we go."

Xie Zhi Qiu looked up at the tribulation clouds gradually gathering in the sky, took a deep breath, and then waved his hand, and a pile of spirit stones, various pills, and treasures appeared in front of him.

In order to overcome the tribulation, Xie Zhi Qiu specially borrowed several magical treasures from the sect, which could also help him withstand some of the power of the heavenly tribulation.

Su Chun and the other eight also left Hidden Sword Peak and came to the nearest mountain peak to watch Xie Zhi Qiu undergo his tribulation from afar.

"Senior brother, keep it up! You must succeed!"

Everyone was silently praying for Xie Zhi Qiu.

After the thunderclouds had fully gathered, a fierce wind began to rise between heaven and earth, with thunder and lightning flashing in the clouds. The heavenly might made many cultivators who had not undergone heavenly tribulation tremble with fear.

Shortly afterward, the first bolt of lightning struck from the thunderclouds.

Lightning illuminated the sky

"coming."

Xie Zhi Qiu immediately inhaled hundreds of spirit stones, activated the Thunder-Slaying Array, and raised his hand to condense a magic shield.

The lightning first struck the Thunder-Suppressing Array, and some of its power was diluted by the array's effect before landing on Xie Zhi Qiu's magical shield.

Xie Zhi Qiu merely frowned before blocking the attack; his magical shield remained intact.

"This is really easy. When I used the Foundation Seizing Technique, it was almost fatal."

Su Chun muttered to herself.

With so many helpful methods, we don't even need to worry about the first seven bolts of heavenly lightning; we're sure we can get through them.

It is rare for a cultivator from a sect to die from ordinary heavenly lightning after achieving the Core Formation stage.

However, nine out of ten cultivators in sects who reach the Core Formation stage die under the strange-colored lightning.

Chapter 56 Successful Core Formation

With the help of various means, Xie Zhi Qiu survived seven tribulations of lightning.

Three magical artifacts were damaged, three Heavenly Tribulation Pills were consumed, and half of the spirit stones were also used up.

Looking at Xie Zhiqi's condition, his face was pale, cold sweat was pouring down his forehead, his whole body was trembling, and a wisp of blue smoke was emanating from his body.

Although he managed to safely withstand the first seven bolts of heavenly lightning using various methods, he knew that the last two were the most dangerous.

The previous seven bolts of lightning combined were not as dangerous as the eighth bolt.

Xie Zhi Qiu took a deep breath, swallowed the Rejuvenation Pill and the fourth Heavenly Tribulation Pill, and also summoned a bowl that emitted an earthen-yellow light.

This is a low-grade earth-attribute defensive magic item. The eighth heavenly lightning is a fire lightning tribulation, and using an earth-attribute defensive magic item is the best way to resist it.

The Fire and Thunder Tribulation contains both fire and thunder attributes.

The dark clouds in the sky seemed to be burning with raging fire, turning a fiery red. The violent aura made even those Core Formation cultivators shudder, because they had suffered greatly under this fire and lightning tribulation in the past.

Nobody wants to go through that again.

"The eighth tribulation of fire and lightning is coming, senior brother, you must get through it."

Mei Ruoshui and the others trembled slightly, all of them afraid that Xie Zhi Qiu would fail.

Su Chun appeared calm on the surface, but in her heart she was also praying for Xie Zhi Qiu.

Xie Zhi Qiu sensed the terrifying aura above his head and instinctively took out the Golden Essence Pill that Su Chun had given him.

But then he thought that this was only the eighth heavenly lightning strike. If he used the pill during the eighth strike, he would have no other trump cards to defend against the ninth Golden Sun Lightning strike.

"No, this pill must remain in the ninth heavenly lightning strike."

Xie Zhi Qiu suppressed the urge to use the Golden Essence Pill.

At the same time, the fire and thunder from the sky are about to descend.

Xie Zhi Qiu offered a drop of his essence blood and applied it to the defensive magic weapon. The alms bowl immediately unleashed its power, rapidly enlarging and covering Xie Zhi Qiu's head.

"Come on, I'm not afraid of you."

Xie Zhi Qiu roared and raised his hands, pouring magical power into the magic weapon.

Immediately afterwards, a crimson bolt of lightning, like a meteor, fell from the fiery cloud and crashed heavily onto the alms bowl.

In that instant, Xie Zhi Qiu felt what it meant to be crushed by Mount Tai. He felt as if a huge mountain had fallen and was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

The power of the magical artifact quickly cracked, and with a crack, the power of the alms bowl was shattered by the fire and lightning. The alms bowl temporarily lost its power and fell to the side.

Flames and lightning mercilessly engulfed Xie Zhi Qiu.

"what!"

At the same time, a shrill scream echoed through the heavens and earth.

Flames were scorching Xie Zhi Qiu's soul, and lightning was baking his body; it was a double torment of body and soul.

The scream filled the surrounding cultivators who were watching Xie Zhi Qiu form his core with terror.

"Gurgle!"

Zhou Zhen and the other Core Formation cultivators instinctively swallowed hard. The double burning sensation from the fire and lightning was something they would never forget.

"Senior Brother, you must hold on! Your will must not be defeated by Huo Lei."

At this stage, Xie Zhi Qiu could only rely on her willpower to fight back.

Xie Zhi Qiu, engulfed in flames, felt his consciousness becoming drowsy.

"Senior Brother, think of your family, your junior brothers and sisters, and the people you care about. For their sake, you cannot lose to the heavenly lightning."

Just then, Su Chun's voice suddenly echoed in Xie Zhi Qiu's mind.

The sound was like a cold spring, waking Xie Zhi Qiu.

Xie Zhi Qiu's mind raced through his entire life, and through a series of familiar faces.

"I can't let them down."

Xie Zhi Qiu's will became strong once again.

The test of fire and lightning lasted for nearly three minutes, after which the fire and lightning slowly dissipated.

Looking at Xie Zhi Qiu again, he hadn't lost consciousness, but his whole body was charred black, as if he had been roasted.

The thunder did not dissipate.

"They actually made it through?"

Zhou Zhen and the others glanced at the tribulation clouds and knew that Xie Zhi Qiu had withstood the eighth heavenly lightning.

"Great! The tribulation clouds haven't dissipated, and Senior Brother has withstood the eighth heavenly lightning strike."

Lu Yi and the others were excited.

But Su Chun's words poured cold water on the situation.

"However, the eldest brother's condition is extremely poor. The ninth heavenly lightning strike is a life-or-death situation."

Although Xie Zhi Qiu survived the eighth challenge, his condition was indeed too poor, not like someone who could survive the ninth challenge.

The thunderclouds in the sky quickly turned golden, and the lightning also turned into golden lightning.

Xie Zhiqi struggled to lift his head, glanced at Jin Yanglei who was preparing, took another deep breath, and endured the pain in his body. He used his magic power to swallow various pills, including the Golden Essence Pill, the Heavenly Tribulation Pill, and the Spirit Recovery Pill.

In particular, after he swallowed the Golden Essence Pill, his charred body gradually turned golden.

This scene was quite shocking and unexpected to the Core Formation cultivators.

"Golden Essence Pill? Where did this kid get such a rare and precious pill?"

Very few people can refine this elixir. No one in the Heavenly Dao Alliance can refine it. As far as they know, only the Nine Kingdoms Alliance and the Righteous Path have alchemy rooms that control the method of refining this elixir.

It's impossible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to obtain such a pill on their own, and even if they did, a Foundation Establishment cultivator definitely couldn't afford it.

Let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators, even Core Formation cultivators in sects probably don't have that kind of financial resources.

This pill was the one Ding Yuqin had left over after she formed her core.

She has a good master, whom Qu Xinyao personally went to the Nine Kingdoms Alliance to find someone to buy.

I got five in total. I gave three to Ding Yuqin and two to Yue Ningxuan.

As a master, Qu Xinyao's care for her two disciples was already impeccable.

With the help of various elixirs, Xie Zhi Qiu recovered considerably.

"This is the last strike of heavenly lightning. It's all or nothing. Let's give it our all."

A blazing sword flew out from Xie Zhiqi's body.

This is a mid-grade magic weapon for Core Formation stage cultivators. Just by looking at its design, you can tell it's for female cultivators. He borrowed it from Mu Zhuohua.

"This is your Fire Phoenix Sword, Junior Sister Mu. You actually lent it to someone else to undergo tribulation. Aren't you afraid it will be damaged by heavenly lightning?"

Everyone looked at Mu Zhuohua with some surprise.

"Oh well, it's bad now. Xie Zhi Qiu was the hope of Hidden Sword Peak. I owed Senior Brother Jiang a favor back then, and now that he's gone, I can only repay it to his disciple."