A reincarnated girl, who begins by possessing a cultivator.

The Senior Brother Jiang that Mu Zhuohua mentioned was naturally the former peak master of Hidden Sword Peak.

"Oh, I remember now, when you were still a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Junior Brother Jiang saved your life."

Zhou Zhen immediately remembered what had happened.

The Fire Phoenix Sword is Mu Zhuohua's favorite sword besides her natal magic weapon. The fact that she was willing to lend it to a junior to fight against the heavenly tribulation is already an immense favor.

Core Formation cultivators who don't get along would never do this.

Xie Zhi Qiu forced out two more drops of essence blood from his body. Foundation Establishment cultivators can only use essence blood to activate the full power of a magic weapon; otherwise, its power will be reduced.

Meanwhile, the golden lightning tribulation in the sky was about to descend. Golden lightning intertwined to form a giant golden lightning sword, which emerged from the clouds with dazzling light.

Xie Zhi Qiu then exerted all his power on the Fire Phoenix Sword in his hand.

He planned to use offense as a defense against this ninth heavenly lightning strike.

Anyway, it's all over now, there's nothing to be afraid of anymore. The real fear has disappeared with the disappearance of the eighth heavenly lightning.

"kill!"

Xie Zhi Qiu watched as the giant sword fell from the thunderclouds, letting out a roar like a wild beast. He rose into the air, and the Fire Phoenix Sword in his hand burst into dazzling flames.

The flames coalesced into a fire phoenix, which, with an indomitable gaze, pounced on the golden giant sword.

When the two forces collided, the world lost its color, all vision was obscured by white light, and only the roar could be heard.

Whether it succeeds or not, we can only wait for the result now.

As the energy generated by the collision of the two forces gradually dissipated, everyone hurriedly looked towards the direction of Hidden Sword Peak.

The golden giant sword had vanished, and a figure, accompanied by a cracked red sword, fell from the sky, eventually landing on the Heavenly Tribulation Platform.

The golden thunderclouds in the sky gradually dissipated, turning back into ordinary dark clouds.

"Big...Senior Brother?"

After Lu Yi and the others realized that the power of the tribulation clouds was fading, they immediately flew to the Heavenly Tribulation Platform of Hidden Sword Peak.

They could no longer sense Xie Zhi Qiu's life force; his presence vanished at that moment.

Therefore, everyone naturally assumed that Xie Zhi Qiu had failed in his tribulation.

"Oh no! It still failed?"

Zhou Zhen and the others were disappointed.

However, just as they were about to leave in disappointment, a golden light pierced through the dark clouds and shone on the charred body on the Heavenly Tribulation Platform.

A bead emitting a golden and green light descended along the golden light and entered Xie Zhi Qiu's body.

Then his charred skin gradually cracked open, revealing new flesh, until the charred skin completely fell off, and a young man who looked to be in his early twenties lay on the Heavenly Tribulation Platform.

"This? It actually succeeded?"

Chapter 57 Training Grounds

Xie Zhi Qiu successfully formed his core, which directly increased his lifespan by five hundred years, thus restoring him to his youthful appearance.

After all, the age when human vitality is at its peak is around eighteen years old.

Of course, some cultivators do not like a youthful appearance and do not need to deliberately maintain their youthful appearance.

Xie Zhi Qiu sat up, looked at his hands, and his face was full of joy.

"Great! I have successfully formed my core! Master, fellow disciples, Xie Zhi Qiu has lived up to your expectations."

Xie Zhi Qiu burst into excited laughter.

"Senior Brother, that's wonderful, congratulations!"

Lu Yi and the others were the first to arrive at Xie Zhi Qiu's side, and they were genuinely happy for Xie Zhi Qiu's formation of the Core Formation.

Xie Zhi Qiu glanced at everyone, then lingered on Su Chun for a moment.

“Junior Sister Su, I am deeply grateful. Without your Golden Essence Pill, I would never have been able to form my core. If you ever need anything in the future, please feel free to ask. As long as it is within my power, I will certainly not refuse.”

Xie Zhi Qiu used his divine sense to express his gratitude to Su Chun.

Su Chun smiled and nodded.

At this moment, Zhou Zhen and others also arrived.

"Zhi Qiu, congratulations! From today onwards, you are the official peak master of Hidden Sword Peak."

Xie Zhi Qiu immediately took out brand new clothes from his storage magic item and put them on.

"Yes, Senior Uncle."

Zhou Zhen immediately shook his head.

"Now that you have formed your core, we are fellow disciples. From now on, let's address each other as equals."

Xie Zhi Qiu greeted Su Chun and the others, then left Hidden Sword Peak and went to the secluded cultivation place of the three Nascent Soul elders of the Ancient Sword Sect.

After they left, the disciples of the Ancient Sword Sect began to discuss among themselves.

"I never expected that after fifty years, Hidden Sword Peak, which has not taken in many disciples, would produce a Core Formation cultivator. Alas! I am about to undergo my tribulation, but I have absolutely no confidence."

Some cultivators at the late Foundation Establishment stage or above within the Ancient Sword Sect looked melancholy.

They were cultivators of the same age as Xie Zhi Qiu, and some were even older.

Su Chun looked at Lu Yi and Mei Ruoshui.

"Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, now that our Eldest Senior Brother has broken through to the Core Formation stage, if you two can also achieve Core Formation, then our Hidden Sword Peak will truly be a source of glory."

These words sounded like a joke, but Su Chun's hope came from the bottom of her heart.

"Stop belittling us. Given our current situation, even if you still have the Golden Essence Pill, you'll likely fail. Let's prepare for a few more years and head over to Senior Brother's cave to wait for his return."

With that, Lu Yi and the others flew to Xie Zhi Qiu's cave. There were no restrictions or magic arrays set up in the outer cave, so they could go in directly.

As for Xie Zhi Qiu, after he forms his core, he needs to become a disciple of a Nascent Soul elder.

The three Nascent Soul ancestors of the Ancient Sword Sect are Xuan Jianzi, who is at the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

Fire Spirit Fairy, peak of the early Nascent Soul stage.

Qingyang Daoist, early stage of Nascent Soul.

This time, Xie Zhi Qiu became a disciple of Daoist Qingyang, mainly because both of them specialized in wood-attribute techniques, making them a perfect match.

There are naturally apprenticeship gifts. Daoist Qingyang bestowed upon Xie Zhiqi a low-grade magic sword for Core Formation stage cultivators, as well as a low-grade defensive magic treasure for Core Formation stage cultivators.

After Xie Zhi Qiu returned, Zhou Zhen took the opportunity to return all the advanced cultivation techniques of Hidden Sword Peak to Hidden Sword Peak, so there was no shortage of cultivation techniques.

After Xie Zhiqi returned to his residence at Hidden Sword Peak, Lu Yi and the others immediately stood up.

"Greetings, Master."

Xie Zhi Qiu immediately rolled her eyes.

"Get lost, stop insulting me. I won't take an old disciple like you. Let's just call each other fellow disciples. After all, I was able to form my core thanks to the eight of you supporting me. Otherwise, I would probably have turned to ashes by now."

Upon hearing this, the eight men burst into laughter.

"Haha, I'm just teasing you. Senior Brother, which ancestor did you defeat as your master? Did the ancestor reward you with any treasures?"

Lu Yi quickly stepped forward and asked with a grin.

Xie Zhi Qiu answered truthfully.

"It was Senior Qingyang. As for the apprenticeship gift, he bestowed upon me two low-grade magic treasures."

Xie Zhi Qiu took out a cyan sword and a dark green token.

"Excellent, truly excellent. I hope that one day I too can achieve the Core Formation stage and receive a reward."

Lu Yi looked on with envy.

After some banter, everyone sat down again and started drinking tea. To celebrate his Core Formation, Xie Zhi Qiu brought out all of his spiritual tea, which was more than enough to satisfy everyone.

The cave was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

However, as they were chatting, Xie Zhi Qiu suddenly brought something up.

"By the way, second junior brother, third junior sister, I think there are some things I should tell you all."

These words caused Lu Yi and Mei Ruoshui to exchange a glance.

"Yes, now that you have formed your core, Senior Brother, you can certainly speak."

Su Chun and the others were somewhat puzzled.

"Senior Brother, have you three been hiding something from us?"

Peng Zhan asked a question.

"It's not so much about hiding it, it's just that the time wasn't right before, but now we can talk about it."

Xie Zhi Qiu said with a serious expression.

What secret was he trying to tell us? It was actually about where the previous peak master had gone with a group of elite disciples.

Before the previous peak master left, he actually spoke with Xie Zhi Qiu, Lu Yi, and Mei Ruo Shui. After all, venturing into the Nascent Soul Cave was fraught with danger, so he definitely needed to make arrangements for his affairs in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Now that Lu Yi and Mei Ruoshui are about to reach the Core Formation stage, Xie Zhi Qiu thinks that if absolutely necessary, they might as well go and explore again.

First of all, this Nascent Soul Cave is located within the territory of the righteous path, and the owner of the cave is at least a mid-Nascent Soul expert.

Normally, other sects would inform the Core Formation cultivators of other factions to explore together, but the Ancient Sword Sect has a unique style, and most of the inheritance of each faction is obtained by fighting their own battles.

Therefore, it is rare for several factions to unite and explore secret realms or the caves of powerful individuals.

The main problem was that the Hidden Sword Peak Master was very well prepared. The disciples he brought were all at or above the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, including three Pseudo-Core Formation cultivators and several late-Foundation Establishment cultivators. Coupled with some special sword formations, they were at least equivalent to the combat power of five Core Formation cultivators.

Under normal circumstances, it should be enough to explore the cave dwelling of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Who knew, they all perished.

After hearing this, Su Chun was intrigued. The cave dwelling of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was indeed worth exploring.

However, it seems unnecessary for her to take this risk right now.

Moreover, she actually had a better option, which was the things left behind by her master, Qu Xinyao.