When Yunxi and the other three appeared on the receiving platform, dense spiritual energy wrapped around them. The suppression and rejection they had endured vanished completely. Even their divine sense could extend freely, no longer forced to curl up cautiously within the sea of consciousness. Yunxi almost moan with pleasure.
Han Lian, Yun Chen, Xun Kun, and Bai Feng felt the same. They quietly savored the flow of spiritual energy seeping into their bodies. The dantians and meridians that had been parched before now filled once more.
Xun Kun was a demon cultivator. He needed to circulate his technique to convert spiritual energy into demonic power, so he sat cross-legged on the spot and began to operate his cultivation art.
Spurred by Xun Kun, the other three also began to circulate their arts. In short order, four cultivators and one beast were cocooned by layers of spiritual-energy silk. Spiritual energy, thick enough to liquefy, streamed into them.
Yunxi swallowed spiritual energy like a whale, refilling her dantian and meridians at the fastest possible speed. Only then did she feel truly alive again. Even the Yuányīng within her dantian wore a satisfied expression. She was about to stop when she realized the influx had not ceased. In the blink of an eye, her meridians began to swell.
Helpless, Yunxi could only keep the art running, refining the energy pouring through her meridians and sending it into her dantian. She did not know how long it took. When even her Yuányīng had plumped up a size, she heard a soft pop. Her cultivation flowed naturally into a breakthrough, advancing to mid Out-of-Body.
Pleased, Yunxi prepared to stop, but the tide of energy still did not relent. It continued to surge into her body. Numb with exasperation, she kept refining and channeling, sending purer and purer power into her dantian.
The receiving-platform cultivator watched wide-eyed as Yunxi rose from early Out-of-Body to mid Out-of-Body, then late Out-of-Body, then the late-stage peak, and without any pause stepped into the Void Refining stage. The next instant, a rolling peal of thunder reached every ear on the platform.
The receiving cultivator wiped his face and said, "You cannot undergo tribulation here. There are too many cultivators. I will send you to the tribulation grounds. Do not resist."
Yunxi also sensed that thunder tribulation had locked onto her. She had just been worrying about where to go, since she was unfamiliar with this place. On hearing him, she nodded sharply and allowed his force to guide her to the charred summit of a mountain.
Before she was whisked away, she called out, "Be ready, all of you. The next one to face tribulation might be you."
Han Lian, Yun Chen, and Xun Kun only opened their eyes to glance at Yunxi, then closed them again to continue circulating their arts. They believed her. During the effort to lift the Weiyu Realm, they had already touched the threshold of breakthrough. What they lacked now was accumulation of energy.
The other cultivators from the Weiyu Realm understood Yunxi's reminder at once. Someone shouted, "If you sense the opening for a breakthrough, do not hesitate. Charge. We did our part for the collective ascension. Even if we cannot claim the top merit, we must seize our own fortunes with both hands."
No one here was foolish. Ran Xi Zūnzhě had just set the example. Her words were a clear signal. One by one, people steadied their breathing, focused their minds, and began to run their arts. They would not miss their chance.
Yunxi was now facing the Six-Nine Thunder Tribulation. Yet this time felt unlike any she had endured. The tribulation seemed gentler. Its might was no less, and not a single bolt was spared, but the pain was diminished. Even so, not a single required refinement was omitted. Meridians, dantian, and sea of consciousness all were tempered. The flavor of soreness remained the same.
When the tribulation ended, Yunxi remained conscious. As the spiritual rain fell, she borrowed the gift of Heaven to repair the damage lightning had wrought on her body and meridians. Then she discovered that threaded through the rain entering her body were delicate strands of karmic merit's golden light.
Watching from the side, the receiving cultivator Ling Qingsheng gaped. What had he just seen? The heavens had sent not only spiritual rain but merit. What had this female cultivator done to earn such favor?
His jaw would drop again a moment later.
After Yunxi absorbed the blessings Heaven bestowed, she prepared to leave the tribulation ground, satisfied. The next instant, a cocoon of spiritual energy enveloped her once more. She repeated the process from before, surging from early Void Refining to mid Void Refining, late Void Refining, and up to the peak of late Void Refining, showing signs of breaking through yet again.
Gritting her teeth, Yunxi pressed her cultivation down, then pressed again. Only then did she halt on the very threshold of advancing to the Unity stage. She could not ascend further. She feared unsettling her dao heart. What she had now was enough for walking the Weiling Realm without being bullied. She knew when to stop.
Heaven had already begun to muster a new tribulation, but seeing Yunxi suppress her cultivation so firmly, it could only grumble with a few flashes of thunder within the dark clouds.
Yunxi swiftly changed into a fresh robe and flashed to Ling Qingsheng's side. She smiled and cupped her hands. "Many thanks, Daoyou, for guarding my tribulation."
Ling Qingsheng's mouth twitched. He numbly returned the salute. "Congratulations, Zūnzhǔ, on your great rise in cultivation. I believe you will surely become a powerhouse of the Weiling Realm."
"May your words come true," Yunxi replied with a smile.
They had not exchanged even a few pleasantries when thunder rumbled again in the distance.
"Not good," Ling Qingsheng thought, and vanished from before Yunxi. Two breaths later, Han Lian was sent to the same mountaintop where Yunxi had just weathered her tribulation.
Joy lit Yunxi's face. She called out, "Han Lian, do not worry. This breakthrough will go smoothly. Relax your mind and absorb the energy."
She pointed at the sky.
Han Lian understood at once, smiled, and closed her eyes to await the falling bolts.
Half an hour later, Han Lian had stabilized at late Void Refining. Like Yunxi, she did not ride the gust to the Unity stage in one breath. She preferred a steadier pace.
Next was Yun Chen. The ocean of Buddhist light that filled the sky made Ling Qingsheng's eyes go glassy. This one the Spirit Region would never keep. He would certainly be claimed by the Buddhist Region's great powers.
Yun Chen's cultivation likewise settled at late Void Refining, and he was satisfied.
Xun Kun was the last to break through. Though the spiritual energy here was rich, he needed time to convert it, so his tribulation took the longest of the four. In the end, he too stabilized at late Void Refining.
Yunxi released her flying boat and took the four aboard. They waited near the tribulation peak. She had a premonition that any cultivator who had helped raise the entire realm would also break through. Even Bai Feng had advanced to the seventh tier.
Five full days passed before the wave of breakthroughs among their group of ascenders subsided. Every face shone with irrepressible joy.
Ling Qingsheng felt utterly numb, yet he still had to respectfully register each ascender. He had no choice. Most of the cultivators who had come up now possessed higher cultivation than he did. Only a few fell below him.
Among those few was Han Xiao Zūnzhě. Borrowing the momentum of the collective breakthroughs, she had only advanced to mid Out-of-Body. No matter how she circulated her art thereafter, there was no sign of another breakthrough.