Upon entering the cave entrance and passing through a short tunnel, they were met with a cavern the size of a courtyard. Ever-bright pearls were embedded in the stone walls, illuminating the interior as bright as day.
Aside from the ever-bright pearls, intricate array patterns were carved all over the stone walls.
Zhou Fei led them to the innermost part of the cavern, rounding a protruding rock to reveal a winding staircase leading downward.
Following the stairs down, they arrived at another spacious cavern.
Unlike the one above, several stone doors were set into the walls of this cavern, suggesting hidden chambers lay behind them.
Zhou Fei brought them to a stone door on the right and pressed his jade seal against it.
The stone door opened in response to his spirit energy.
As they stepped inside, Gu Ningyun's eyes lit up.
Before them sat a purple jade platform, slightly larger than the spirit spring in her space.
The sides of the platform were adorned with carvings depicting scenes of cultivators undergoing heavenly tribulations.
This was undoubtedly the Shocking Thunder Platform.
Before she could examine it more closely, Zhou Fei tossed his jade seal into the air above the platform.
The jade seal hovered directly over the center of the Shocking Thunder Platform, spinning slowly.
“Have any of you performed body tempering before? What is the current strength of your physical bodies?”
It seemed the subsequent steps depended on their physical resilience.
Gu Ningyun did not hide the truth. “Indeed, we have. Our current physical strength is on par with our cultivation.”
Wen Xuan and the other three nodded in agreement. To use the lightning of the Shocking Thunder Platform for body tempering, they naturally had to account for the intensity of the lightning power.
Zhou Fei nodded slightly and fell silent. He began to form hand signs, guiding spirit energy from the jade seal down into the center of the Shocking Thunder Platform.
Like a drop of water falling into a spring, a lustrous purple light ignited at the center of the Shocking Thunder Platform and spread across the entire jade platform like flowing water.
By the time the purple light reached the final stage of its expansion, beads of sweat had formed on Zhou Fei's forehead.
He ignored them, waiting until the purple light on the jade platform stabilized before reclaiming his jade seal. He turned to the five of them with a slight smile.
“Look at the surface of the Shocking Thunder Platform. There are six concentric circles of increasing size, radiating from the center.
“These circles divide the lightning's intensity on the platform into seven levels.
“The area from the edge of the jade platform to the first circle corresponds to the power of a level seven Qi Refining strike.
“The zone between the first and second circles corresponds to level eight.
“And so on, with the area between the fifth and sixth circles corresponding to level twelve.”
At this point, he paused, his tone turning somewhat solemn. “The area within the final circle corresponds to the early Foundation Establishment stage. Do not set foot there if you cannot withstand the force.”
Following the supplementary explanations from Jiang Yao and Mu Chenze, the group saw that the six circles on the Shocking Thunder Platform were composed of array patterns and artifact patterns. They glowed with a golden light against the purple jade, making them very distinct.
Gu Ningyun and the others followed Zhou Fei's explanation and nodded to show they understood.
Seeing that they were clear on the details, Zhou Fei said, “With my current cultivation, I can only activate the Shocking Thunder Platform to this intensity. For your current realms, this should be the most suitable.”
“Indeed. Fellow Daoist Zhou is truly reliable,” Mu Chenze teased with a smile.
Zhou Fei blinked. Ever since the conversation with his brother, the tension that had been gripping him finally eased a little upon seeing the five of them again.
He smiled faintly. “The lightning on the Shocking Thunder Platform will damage your clothes. You should split into two groups and take turns tempering yourselves.”
Jiang Yao scratched his head and met Mu Chenze's gaze, letting out a sudden snort of laughter.
Mu Chenze opened his folding fan, covering the lower half of his face as he fanned himself to hide his embarrassment.
Never having personally faced a tribulation, they were not as deeply impressed by the effects of lightning as cultivators who had experienced it.
When Mu Chenze had previously suggested that Jiang Yao join Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan in one group while he and Jun Luo stood guard, he had only considered their safety. He hadn't expected to overlook this particular detail.
Jiang Yao then said, “In that case, Ningyun, you and Wen Xuan should go first.”
Gu Ningyun watched as one scratched his head and the other fanned himself, finding it quite amusing.
Seeing her struggle to suppress a laugh, Wen Xuan leaned her hand on Gu Ningyun's shoulder and replied, “Alright, let's do it that way.”
Once the groups were decided, Zhou Fei led Mu Chenze and the other two out, closing the stone door behind them to block their view.
“There are cultivation chambers set up here, equipped with spirit gathering arrays. Please, follow me.”
Before Zhou Fei could lead the way, Mu Chenze said, “Fellow Daoist Zhou, there's no need to trouble yourself. I think right here is fine.”
Zhou Fei froze. Right here, outside the bare stone chamber door?
He couldn't help but carefully observe Mu Chenze's expression.
Though Mu Chenze was young, he had been meticulously raised by his family. After the practical experience he gained through Gu Ningyun's strategies during the New Disciple Competition, he wasn't about to let his expression slip.
He simply looked at the tip of Zhou Fei's nose with a polite, gentle gaze, calmly waiting for Zhou Fei's reaction.
Beside Mu Chenze, Jun Luo had already pulled out a peach wood sword.
He condensed a wisp of ice spirit energy in his left hand, slowly sliding it from the blade's hilt to its tip.
He hadn't finished his thirty thousand sword swings for the day. This cavern was spacious enough, making it a perfect place for him to hone his sword.
Seeing Jun Luo's fluid movements, Zhou Fei was stunned once again.
He was a clever man. Although Mu Chenze and the others hadn't said it outright, they weren't hiding it either.
He could naturally tell that they were guarding against him.
However, it was only normal for cultivators to be cautious when away from home.
Moreover, he had plotted against them before.
Even though he hadn't succeeded, it wasn't because he had stopped himself, but because these children had avoided his trap.
Sighing deeply in his heart, he waved his hand and entered one of the stone doors himself. “Fine, fine.
“I will be cultivating in this chamber. If you need anything, just call for me.”
...
The activity outside could not be heard within the stone chamber.
Once the stone door was closed, Gu Ningyun walked over and tested the mechanism a few times.
After confirming it could be opened normally, she returned to the Shocking Thunder Platform.
Wen Xuan held her Spirit-Attuning Jade Pendant. “Mu Chenze just sent a message. He said they're guarding right outside the door and told us to focus on drawing the lightning for body tempering.”
Gu Ningyun glanced at the jade pendant and then at the stone door, feeling a sense of warmth and security.
The Shocking Thunder Platform was circular, so the two of them each took half.
Gu Ningyun stretched her body, set her shoes and socks aside, and removed the storage bag from her waist—the one she used to feign poverty.
As for the storage bag issued by Xiaoyao to its disciples, the 《Xiaoyao Basic Guide》 stated that it was engraved with artifact patterns designed to isolate and guide lightning, so it was not at risk of being destroyed. She had tucked it under her clothes before leaving, so there was no need to worry about it now.
The storage ring on her left finger was a reward for placing in the top three of the individual matches during the New Disciple Competition. It could turn invisible, so Gu Ningyun had never taken it off.
She had checked the notes left by its creator regarding lightning when she first received the ring; it was also safe.
Having made her preparations, Gu Ningyun tentatively lifted a foot and stepped onto the jade platform.
The moment her toes touched the surface, a strand of lightning no thicker than a hair surged in through her foot.
Gu Ningyun quickly circulated the 《Xiaoyao Wind Records》.
Her wind spirit energy carried the lightning through her Huiyin, Qugu, and Zhongji points...
It passed through the twenty-four points of the Ren Meridian and the twenty-eight points of the Du Meridian, performing a Minor Orbit cycle just as she would during normal meditation.
After completing one cycle, that small amount of lightning power was tempered and absorbed by her meridians and acupoints.
Feeling that her body could handle it, Gu Ningyun sat cross-legged in the outermost zone and focused on drawing in the lightning.
The lightning surged into her body like a torrent through the points where she touched the jade platform.
Gu Ningyun pushed her cultivation technique to its limit. The fifty-two acupoints of her Ren and Du Meridians worked in unison, pulling the lightning power into the points to prevent it from running wild within her body.
This time, the lightning power was not as thin as a strand of hair. If she failed to control it, it would certainly cause damage to her body.
Gu Ningyun meditated in silence, her mind exceptionally calm.
The 《Xiaoyao Wind Records》 and the 《Record of Primordial Stars》 circulated simultaneously, increasing the flow of spirit energy and star power by seventy percent.
The lightning power flowed through the fifty-two acupoints and into the Ren and Du Meridians. While tempering those two meridians, it was guided by Gu Ningyun into the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.
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