Since the four primary meridians had caught up to the rest, perhaps because she had finally reached a state of perfection, Gu Ningyun's physical endurance had also improved significantly.
As she absorbed the lightning in the current area, her body no longer felt like it was on the verge of collapse. Instead, she felt like a fish in water—everything was smooth and natural.
Since her physical endurance and pain tolerance had both increased, and seeing as she was already here, there was no reason for her not to venture into the zone corresponding to the early Foundation Establishment stage.
After adjusting her state and mentally preparing herself, Gu Ningyun focused her mind.
A drop of Yimu spirit liquid was transferred from her space to the underside of her tongue.
The central zone of the Shocking Thunder Platform was as quiet as ever, appearing as harmless as an ordinary jade platform.
However, Gu Ningyun knew exactly what terrifying energy lay hidden beneath that jade surface.
She extended her right index finger, steeled her resolve, and pressed it within the final circle.
Instantly, lightning dozens of times more powerful than the outer rings snapped against her finger, throwing it back.
The fingers are acutely sensitive, and though her finger had only been in contact with the lightning for a fleeting moment—too brief for her to even feel the pain before it was repelled—it was enough.
Following the impact, an excruciating, bone-piercing pain radiated from her index finger. In that infinitesimal contact, the tip of her finger—the entire first phalanx—had been blasted into ash!
She hurriedly swallowed the Yimu spirit liquid. Star power had already begun to surge through the shattered stump on its own. Every time the residual lightning power continued to damage the flesh, the star power would regenerate it.
As for the finger bone that had been turned to dust, the star power was powerless.
However, at that moment, the Yimu spirit liquid was guided to the wound by her wind spirit energy.
The green liquid, brimming with dense life force, writhed over the bone. An excruciating itch began to spread from the severed finger.
Gu Ningyun couldn't help but let out a muffled groan. She felt a desperate urge to grind her fingertip against the ground to stop the itching!
The mosquito bites from her past life were nothing compared to this; this sensation was thousands of times more intense!
Just as Gu Ningyun gripped her right wrist with her left hand, trying to find some way to distract herself, the 《Record of Primordial Stars》 began to circulate faster on its own. Silvery-white star power poured out from the wound.
Within Gu Ningyun's divine sense, tens of thousands of silvery-white threads wove together, spiraling upward alongside the regenerating bone.
When the star power touched the new surface of the bone, the excruciating itch vanished.
Under the healing of the Yimu spirit liquid, the bone grew at a rapid pace. The star power wove itself into the structure, and flesh began to reform over the bone.
As the last bit of the Yimu spirit liquid was consumed, the star power flowed through one last time, and Gu Ningyun's finger was fully restored.
She flexed her finger. She had originally planned to repair the bone first, and then swallow another drop of Yimu spirit liquid if the star power couldn't regenerate the flesh.
To her surprise, the star power could not only regenerate flesh but also suppress the discomfort of the bone's growth. It was truly an unexpected boon.
Yimu spirit liquid was a heaven-and-earth treasure brimming with life force; she could understand it being able to regrow bone. But where did the healing ability of star power come from?
Gu Ningyun mentally prodded the 《Record of Primordial Stars》 in her sea of consciousness.
During her usual meditation, she could absorb the energy of the sun and moon in addition to the countless stars.
The sun's heat could incinerate objects, so the offensive power of her star power was likely formidable.
As for this healing ability, could it be that the energy from a specific star was rich in life force and capable of healing?
The 《Record of Primordial Stars》 naturally ignored her prodding and continued to circulate calmly beside her primordial spirit.
Gu Ningyun gave a helpless smile and stopped dwelling on it.
She directed her divine sense inward to examine her newly repaired index finger and was instantly stunned.
Beyond the white, solid back half of the finger bone, a section that was completely different from her other bones appeared in her vision.
Silvery-white threads were woven into the bone, looking perfectly natural.
From a side angle, she could see bright white flashes on the surface of the bone, like arcs of lightning.
She could feel this same power within the newly grown flesh of her finger as well.
Gu Ningyun curled her index finger, trying her best to suppress the surging emotions in her heart.
She could clearly feel that the strength of this single section of bone had already reached the peak of level twelve Qi Refining.
If Foundation Establishment weren't a major bottleneck that was difficult to break through, its strength might have risen even further.
Suddenly, Gu Ningyun looked toward the very center of the Shocking Thunder Platform, her eyes shining with brilliance.
She had the Yimu spirit marrow in her space, and the Yimu spirit liquid could regenerate, so she didn't feel much pain in using it.
Compared to the gain in strength, what was a bit of excruciating itch and pain?
Furthermore, she had her star power. She only needed to endure the initial itch of the bone regeneration.
Having made her preparations, Gu Ningyun extended her index finger again. This time, she carefully controlled it, allowing only a strand of lightning a hundredth the thickness of a hair to enter her body.
Following the path of the lightning, the bone was shattered and then immediately regenerated under the healing of the Yimu spirit liquid and star power.
After tempering the bone, she tempered the flesh around it, refining her body section by section.
She didn't know how much time had passed—it was long enough that Wen Xuan's groans of pain on the other side had quieted significantly—before Gu Ningyun finally finished her last Minor Orbit and withdrew her index finger from the central zone.
Although only one level separated the Foundation Establishment stage from level twelve Qi Refining, it was the gap of a major realm, one that could not be easily overcome.
The fact that Gu Ningyun could refine the lightning from the central zone of the Shocking Thunder Platform with the help of her Innate Star Body and her treasures was already quite impressive.
Through her divine sense, Gu Ningyun saw that her body had undergone a complete transformation compared to before she had begun her body tempering on the platform.
From her skin to her flesh, bones, meridians, and organs—every part of her body had been tempered to the limit by wind spirit energy, star power, and lightning.
Her body-refining cultivation had reached the peak of level twelve Qi Refining, just a hair's breadth away from breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
Silvery-white threads wove and flowed through her bones, meridians, and flesh, looking as if they were engraved with countless star maps.
Faint, bright white reflections flickered occasionally, adding a touch of mystery to these stellar patterns.
Beneath this white imagery, there was also an inscrutable aura—light, sharp, reckless, and free. Like the wind, it could not be defined.
Before she had even begun her cultivation, her body had been cleansed by spirit spring water.
At Xiaoyao, she had undergone systematic body-refining practice.
And this time, her body had been shattered by extremely powerful lightning and reconstructed by absorbing Yimu spirit liquid, wind spirit energy, star power, and lightning.
Even though her body-refining cultivation was only at the peak of level twelve Qi Refining, Gu Ningyun could vaguely sense that her body possessed a profound foundation and immense potential.
Moreover, she possessed a top-grade wind spirit root and the Innate Star Body.
Having finished her body refining, Gu Ningyun turned her attention to her two cultivation techniques.
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