Chapter 2317: Qing Yuanzi's Tribulation
After seven or eight more waves of golden light fell into the silver cauldron, the rumbling ringing out from within the cauldron suddenly turned into a piercing screech, and Yue Long's expression changed drastically upon seeing this.
"Fellow Daoist Han, please keep the power of heaven and earth at bay until I refine all of the power in the cauldron first."
As soon as his voice trailed off, Yue Long opened his mouth to expel several more balls of blood essence.
After absorbing so much blood essence, the spirit flames beneath the cauldron rose up in a frenzy to encompass virtually the entire cauldron, and the color of the flames also turned into a crimson-golden hue.
The temperature of the flames was so high that the surrounding space was warping drastically, and all of the materials in the cauldron had turned into boiling bubbling liquid with specks of golden light flashing within it.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he pointed a finger forward, and five-colored light flashed within the stone formation, following which all of the giant rocks began to revolve at an incredible speed.
The pillars of golden light that plunged into the formation were stalled for even longer and emerged on the other side even more debilitated than before.
At the same time, Han Li raised his other hand to send a burst of black light flying through the air, and it transformed into a black cloud that was several acres in area to sweep up the pillars of golden light.
Traces of light were flashing incessantly within the black cloud, and it was none other than the black net that Yue Long had given Han Li earlier.
The net appeared to be very thin and fragile, but the golden light was completely unable to escape out of it and could only bounce around inside the net as if it were a living being.
Meanwhile, Han Li was making hand seals in the distance, clearly controlling the treasure from afar.
Yue Long was greatly encouraged upon seeing this, and he began to refine the materials in the cauldron with all his might.
Over 100 palm-sized translucent golden bricks were slowly taking shape in the giant cauldron, and only after close to 100 pillars of golden light had accumulated within the black cloud did Yue Long suddenly yell, "You can release the power of heaven and earth now, Brother Han."
Han Li nodded in response before swiping a finger toward the black cloud from afar, and the black cloud was parted down the middle, forming a gash to allow the pillars of golden light to plunge into the cauldron again.
Thus, the process repeated itself over and over again with Han Li stopping or releasing the pillars of golden light using the black cloud as instructed by Yue Long, and with his assistance, Yue Long was able to focus wholeheartedly on refining the materials in the giant cauldron while perfectly controlling the amount of power of heaven and earth infused into the materials.
However, as time passed, the number of pillars of light in the black cloud increased further and further, and after no more than 15 minutes, around 700 to 800 had already been accumulated.
Even with Han Li's enormous magic power, he was beginning to struggle to contain so much power of heaven and earth.
All of a sudden, he gave a cold harrumph as he swept his sleeve toward the distance, and a ball of silver light around the size of a teacup flew out of his sleeve before instantly swelling to the size of a house, then vanished into the black cloud in a flash.
This was none other than one of the three silver beads that Yue Long had given him.
A dull thump rang out as the silver bead exploded, encompassing the entire black cloud within a layer of silver light.
Once the silver light faded, the golden light within the black cloud also vanished, leaving only the black cloud hovering in mid-air by itself.
These three silver beads were treasures that specifically targeted metal attribute power of heaven and earth, and now that the pressure was completely lifted from Han Li's shoulders, he was able to use the black cloud to intercept more pillars of golden light.
Yue Long had witnessed everything that had just happened, and as opposed to lamenting over the loss of one of those silver beads, a hint of elation flashed through his eyes instead.
Han Li had already lasted far longer than he had expected before using that silver bead, and he was stunned by just how immense Han Li's reserves of magic power were.
It seemed that he really had found the perfect ally, and there was a very good chance that he would be able to successfully refine the Extreme Origin Crystals on this occasion.
Meanwhile, Han Li was appraising the translucent bricks in the cauldron, wondering just how many of them would actually turn into the metal attribute Extreme Origin Crystals.
Two months later, two white-robed women were standing side by side beneath a lush black tree in a hidden valley within the earth abyss.
One of the women was very petite and alluring, while the other was slender and elegant, and the two of them were currently discussing something with serious expressions.
A giant platform had been erected at the center of the valley, and it was of a vibrant green color, as if it had been constructed from massive green logs.
The platform was split up into seven levels with around a dozen treasures of different descriptions placed on the edge of each level.
The highest level of the platform had hundreds of flags of different sizes planted on it, forming an extremely profound formation.
These flags were all of different colors, and they were all giving off astonishing auras, clearly indicating that they were remarkable treasures.
At the center of the flag formation sat a silver futon with a diameter of around a foot.
Within a radius of half a kilometer around the platform stood thousands of humanoid or beastly statues of different forms and materials, but all of them were extremely life-like and half-knelt toward the giant platform.
Furthermore, the entire valley was laden with jade bricks of different colors, basking the entire valley in a layer of faint spiritual light.
"Father has made extensive preparations for this heavenly tribulation, so there should be a very good chance that he'll be able to successfully transcend it, so why is it that he's looked so concerned these past few days?" the elegant woman asked with tightly furrowed brows.
"I certainly wouldn't dare to proclaim that I can guess Master's thoughts, but I think he's most likely just concerned about his heavenly tribulation. After all, if he were to fail, then his cultivation journey would draw to a conclusion," the petite woman replied.
"That's true. Each major heavenly tribulation is more fearsome than the previous one, and there's no end to them unless one can ascend to that higher realm. Father has already transcended so many tribulations; the upcoming major heavenly tribulation is definitely going to be far more fearsome than what we can imagine. We can only pray that Father will be able to successfully transcend it. In any case, I'll be sure to assist him with all my might," the elegant woman said in a determined manner.
"You've cultivated arduously for all these years and finally reached the Body Integration Stage precisely because you wanted to repay Master for the kindness he's shown us. It's a pity that I don't possess the Heavenly Yin Physique, so I won't be of any help to Master here," the petite woman sighed.
The two women were none other than Yuan Yao and Yan Li.
Among them, Yuan Yao had been accepted by Qing Yuanzi as his foster daughter, and had reached the early-Body Integration Stage.
As for Yan Li, the spiritual pressure emanating from her body indicated that she was at the late-Spatial Tempering Stage.
This was the day that Qing Yuanzi had prepared to transcend his tribulation, and in preparation for this day, Qing Yuanzi had used all types of secret technique to delay this tribulation, as well as expended a vast amount of resources and effort to get Yuan Yao to her current cultivation base, all so that she could unleash a certain rare ability to help him transcend this tribulation.
Yuan Yao was aware of this, but Qing Yuanzi had used a secret technique to transition her and Yan Li back into human bodies, and helped her reach the Body Integration Stage in such a short time, so she was still very grateful toward Qing Yuanzi and was willing to help him at all costs.
This valley was the place that Qing Yuanzi had chosen to transcend his tribulation.
Many preparatory measures had been set up here, and hundreds of powerful restrictions had been created around the valley in case anyone tried to take advantage of this opportunity to plot against him.
Currently, Qing Yuanzi was praying and basking in the scent of incense in a temporary cave abode not far away from the valley, priming himself into the best condition to face this tribulation.
After continuing the conversation for a short while longer, both Yuan Yao and Yan Li fell silent and continued to wait with a hint of anxiety in their eyes.
Close to half a day later, the grey clouds in the sky began to churn, and a peculiar aura began to emanate from within the valley.
All of a sudden, a ball of azure light appeared in the distance before reaching Yuan Yao and Yanli after just a few flashes.
"Yuan Yao pays her respects to her father."
"Yan Li pays her respects to her master."
Yuan Yao and Yan Li immediately fell to their knees in Qing Yuanzi's presence.
The ball of azure light faded to reveal the elderly Qing Yuanzi, and he instructed, "Only Yao'er can help me during this heavenly tribulation, so Yao'er needs to come with me. In the meantime, you stay here and hold down the fort, Yan Li."
"Yes!"
"As you wish!"
The two women naturally didn't raise any objections.
Qing Yuanzi nodded as he swept a sleeve downward, releasing a burst of azure light to sweep up Yuan Yao, following which both of them vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted on the highest level of the giant platform, and the duo reappeared.
"You stay here for now, Yao'er; I'll instruct you to step in when required. Make sure you don't act too early or too late or you'll miss the opportunity," Qing Yuanzi instructed in a benevolent manner.
"Rest assured, Father, I know what to do," Yuan Yao replied with a serious expression.
"Haha, I have full trust in you, but make sure you take extra care. This heavenly tribulation is going to be very formidable, and you could easily get swept up in it if you're not careful," Qing Yuanzi cautioned with a smile.
Yuan Yao naturally nodded in response.
In the air above a rocky region far away from the valley, fierce winds were suddenly swept up, and a pair of massive black claws extended out of the wind before wrenching the space apart in a vicious manner.