On the ground, leaves and dust were swept up in a whirlwind, the gusts growing stronger and stinging people's eyes.
Above, the lightning cracked and roared with terrifying power.
Suddenly!
A massive bolt of lightning, without warning, silently crashed down, striking directly within the Lingxian Sect.
For a brief moment, the world seemed to hold its breath in utter stillness.
Moments later, a deafening boom echoed across the land, delayed but immense.
It was as if this bolt of lightning signaled the beginning of something greater. Following its lead, countless lightning strikes hidden within the rolling clouds cascaded down like a torrential downpour, all striking in the same direction!
Every one of those bolts converged on the entrance of the Natural Platform, which absorbed them entirely.
In the next instant, the bolts were funneled through the inner structure of the Natural Platform and channeled directly into Lin Xiao's body.
Seated above the pool within the platform, Lin Xiao's forehead began to steam as the lightning struck him repeatedly.
This round of tribulation lightning was far more powerful than the one he faced during his Golden Core stage.
But Lin Xiao's cultivation had also advanced beyond what it once was.
With the Natural Platform refining and purifying the lightning, its impact was stronger but also mitigated much of the unnecessary damage to his body.
Pure, unadulterated tribulation lightning crackled through Lin Xiao's body.
Inside him, his Nascent Soul began to shrink, becoming more condensed with each bolt until it was no bigger than the size of a palm, sitting solidly in his dantian.
The Nascent Soul, suspended within his dantian, greedily absorbed the massive influx of converted spiritual energy.
As it soaked in the energy, it began to swell once again.
But before it could fully expand, a flash of golden light shimmered across the surface of the Nascent Soul.
When the light faded, a translucent golden membrane coated the Nascent Soul's exterior.
The enormous amount of spiritual energy being absorbed was now tightly bound by this membrane, unable to escape.
With the energy unable to dissipate outward, it began to form a deep, clockwise-rotating vortex within the Nascent Soul.
As more and more spiritual energy surged in, the vortex spun faster and faster.
As it spun at breakneck speed, a tiny point formed at its center.
Gradually, the tiny point began to grow, condensing into a radiant, multicolored pearl.
This pearl rotated along with the vortex, drawing and channeling the spiritual energy through Lin Xiao's body before releasing it back into the world.
The energy being expelled grew stronger with each wave, expanding in larger and larger circles.
Outside, the observers watched as the continuous lightning strikes seemed to stir the air itself, creating a swirling vortex.
Those with cultivation could clearly sense that the spiritual energy in the area was being drawn into a focal point by some unknown force, rotating in ever-growing patterns.
Inside the Natural Platform.
When the tiny pearl inside Lin Xiao's Nascent Soul seemed to have absorbed enough spiritual energy, the rotation of the vortex suddenly reversed.
Instead of absorbing, it began releasing spiritual energy, transforming the surrounding natural energy into a concentrated, potent force that rippled outward.
The waves of energy being released grew thicker and denser with each pulse, spreading farther and farther!
Outside, Lao Pantou could feel the surge of spiritual energy being unleashed and smiled with satisfaction.
He knew Lin Xiao had successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.
This release of spiritual energy back into the world was the hallmark of a successful breakthrough.
However, due to Lin Xiao's unique cultivation method, the energy being released wasn't just raw spiritual energy—it had already been refined into vital essence.
What Lao Pantou hadn't expected was the sheer scale of Lin Xiao's spiritual energy release!
The entire Northern Mountain range was bathed in this energy.
In the forests, fields, and even within the soil, seeds waiting to sprout burst forth, while plants that had already grown became even more lush and vibrant.
People in the region, even the ordinary mortals, felt lighter, their bodies rejuvenated.
Those suffering from chronic illnesses found their symptoms easing with each breath they took.
As the wave of vital essence washed over the cultivators, they felt their own spiritual energy stir, restless and energized.
Though it wasn't the best time for them to meditate, they realized their cultivation techniques had begun circulating automatically within them.
Meanwhile, on the Heart Trial Road, the black mist swirling around each participant began to visibly thin under the relentless waves of vital essence.
Sun Yigao and Qin Jianghe, who had been closely monitoring the situation, quickly noticed the change.
They exchanged looks of joy.
As the outside world transformed, those still within the Heart Trial Road also experienced dramatic shifts in their dreamscapes.
Within the interconnected dream world, what had been a sky full of dark clouds and lightning suddenly unleashed a torrential downpour.
The lightning that had streaked through the clouds gathered into a single massive beam of light.
In the span of a breath, the beam exploded in the sky!
In that instant, all the darkness and gloom was shattered.
The thick layers of oppressive clouds were scattered to nothing.
A brilliant sun emerged, casting its light over the land, illuminating it as if it were midday.
A gentle breeze swept across the land.
Those who had been trapped in their personal nightmares suddenly felt a surge of courage welling up inside them.
It was as if some invisible force was encouraging them to break free of their terrors.
In the depths of the blood marsh, where he had been sinking with only his eyes above the surface, Shen Yingzi used every last bit of his strength to pull out a talisman from his robes.
It was a protective talisman his father had painstakingly acquired for him, meant to ward off evil.
With a desperate motion, he slapped the talisman against the ghostly figure of the woman dragging him down!
A shrill, agonized scream echoed as the ghostly figure dissolved into nothingness.
The blood marsh beneath him vanished along with her, leaving him standing firmly on the ground. Before him stood his mother's gravestone, quietly waiting.
Next to it, a single green shoot that had sprouted from the ground now bloomed into a delicate pink flower.
Silent, elegant, and beautiful—just like the image of his mother in the painting that hung in his father's study.
Behind him, he heard the sound of his father calling out for him, though belatedly.
On the other side, Xuan Yuan Haoyue, who had been struggling against her attacker, suddenly found a cold clarity in her heart as the man's neck lowered toward hers.
She stopped resisting outwardly and gathered her strength.
Just as the man's neck came into view, she lunged forward, sinking her teeth into his exposed skin!
She bit down with a force she never knew she possessed, using every ounce of strength from the past ten years of her life.
In an instant, her sharp teeth pierced his flesh, and hot blood gushed into her mouth.