Both of her cultivation techniques were now unlocked to level twelve of Qi Refining, and her twelve primary meridians had been fully tempered during this body-refining session.
During her future meditation sessions in the Qi Refining stage, she would no longer need to divert spirit energy and star power specifically for body refining.
She only needed to follow the techniques to absorb spirit energy and star power, breaking through level by level and expanding her dantian until she reached the peak of level twelve.
With her physical condition and cultivation progress fully assessed, Gu Ningyun opened her eyes. She stretched her stiff body while checking on Wen Xuan’s progress.
Previously, she had been entirely focused on her own body refining, leaving only a sliver of divine sense on the surface of her body to stay alert for any sudden dangers.
Although Wen Xuan was sitting right across from her, Gu Ningyun hadn't paid much attention to her situation.
As she looked over now, she froze in shock.
The center of the Shocking Thunder Platform was a perfect circle. Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan were currently sitting side-by-side just outside the eastern and western edges of this circle.
What stunned Gu Ningyun wasn't Wen Xuan's position, but her current state—she looked like a statue in white undergarments, her head completely encased in a shell of dried blood scabs.
If not for the familiar aura she sensed, Gu Ningyun would hardly have recognized her friend.
Her eyes widened in surprise, but then her own expression stiffened.
Why did her face feel so tight?
Gu Ningyun reached up to touch her face and swept her divine sense over herself.
Good heavens. She was in the exact same state.
The inner layer of her disciple robes had a cleaning function, so her body was clean wherever the fabric touched her skin.
But her head, which wasn't covered by clothes, had suffered a terrible fate.
Gu Ningyun had to cast the Cleaning Technique five times in a row before she finally felt clean. Instantly, a smooth, white "braised egg" was peeled out.
Gu Ningyun’s pupils shrank as she reached up to touch the top of her head in disbelief.
She wondered why she had smelled something burnt earlier—it turned out her hair had been blasted away by the lightning!
While she was still patting her smooth scalp, Wen Xuan finished her tempering and opened her eyes.
Immediately, Wen Xuan pointed a finger at Gu Ningyun and slapped the surface of the Shocking Thunder Platform, howling with laughter.
Seeing her laugh so hard, Gu Ningyun actually felt more at ease and stopped fussing over her bald head.
Wen Xuan continued to laugh. "Hahahaha! Oh, this is killing me! Ningyun, are you planning to become a monk for the trip to Penglai? Did you shave your head on purpose?"
As she laughed, the blood scabs on her own face and head began to peel off, revealing a shiny, glinting scalp.
Gu Ningyun offered a faint, silent smile. She silently retrieved a recording stone from her storage ring and captured her friend's foolish appearance.
Only after Wen Xuan had laughed her fill did she scramble up from the ground and sweep her divine sense over her own body.
Wen Xuan’s laughter died in her throat.
Gu Ningyun tucked away the recording stone, which was now filled with precious footage. With a flick of her hand, she cast five Cleaning Techniques on Wen Xuan.
Once Wen Xuan was rescued from her crust of scabs, Gu Ningyun noticed the shattered remains of pill bottles at her friend's feet—bottles that had been blasted to pieces by lightning. She looked back at her own side of the platform and saw a similar mess.
She performed a hand seal and, together with Wen Xuan's Cleaning Technique, wiped the platform perfectly clean.
Their spells met in the middle of the platform. Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan turned their heads at the same time, sharing a look and a laugh.
Wen Xuan’s situation was different from hers.
Perhaps it was because Wen Xuan didn't use wind spirit energy and star power to temper her body during daily cultivation as Gu Ningyun did.
Combined with the fact that her cultivation was a level lower, Wen Xuan's progress with the lightning tempering was much slower.
Although both had been too immersed in their own refining to pay attention to the other, Gu Ningyun had still sensed that Wen Xuan never attempted to draw in the lightning from the very center.
Gu Ningyun still had some Yimu spirit liquid left in her space and had considered lending it to Wen Xuan so she could try the center.
But the moment the thought arose, she dismissed it.
Everyone’s circumstances were different.
The very center of the Shocking Thunder Platform contained lightning equivalent to the early Foundation Establishment stage.
Gu Ningyun could endure it because of her daily tempering, her two unique cultivation techniques, her iron will, her Innate Star Body, and the Yimu spirit liquid. It was the result of many factors working together.
Even so, she had suffered immensely during the final stage of refining, her consciousness nearly slipping away several times.
Wen Xuan was different.
After spending so much time together, Gu Ningyun had realized that Wen Xuan possessed an Innate Pill Body, making her exceptionally talented in alchemy and fire control.
With such a constitution, she likely wouldn't be able to withstand the lightning at the very center of the Shocking Thunder Platform.
The other reason was the sheer agony of that final refinement.
Even Gu Ningyun had only managed to endure it because her pain tolerance had significantly increased.
Wen Xuan had an exceptionally resilient character; she never backed down from setbacks and only grew more courageous with every challenge.
But no matter what, she was still just a ten-year-old child who had only been practicing cultivation for a little over three years.
Her ability to endure pain was naturally limited.
No matter how great a chance the Shocking Thunder Platform was, it was just that—a chance.
It wasn't worth risking one's life over.
Furthermore, Wen Xuan was a professional alchemist herself.
She was naturally very aware of her own physical condition.
With the aid of unlimited pills, raising her body-refining cultivation solidly to the middle stage of level twelve Qi Refining was already an excellent achievement.
Gu Ningyun's final consideration was to keep her trump cards hidden.
Wen Xuan was indeed a trusted companion, but everyone had their secrets.
If Wen Xuan or her other three friends were in danger and desperately needed a life-giving treasure to save them, she would certainly provide the Yimu spirit liquid without hesitation.
Otherwise, there was no need.
Though she had processed all these thoughts, only a moment had actually passed.
Once she had reached a conclusion, Gu Ningyun stopped dwelling on it.
Wen Xuan had already taken the lead, stepping down from the Shocking Thunder Platform.
Except for the central zone, the rest of the platform was now like level ground to them.
However...
After rummaging through their storage bags to find green outer robes and dressing themselves fully, Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan looked at each other's shiny, bald heads and fell into a long silence.
Gu Ningyun reached into her storage bag again and pulled out two black hooded cloaks.
"I only bought these because I was curious about how they'd look. I didn't expect them to come in handy so soon."
When Wen Xuan saw Gu Ningyun’s wide, almond eyes darting around, she immediately knew what the girl was thinking.
This girl was full of mischief.
She reached out, took the cloak, and put it on. The loose hood covered her head completely.
Gu Ningyun pulled her head over and adjusted the hood for her, making sure not a single trace of her bald head was visible.
Once they were both ready, they pushed open the stone door and walked out.
Mu Chenze and Jun Luo were huddled together, engraving array patterns onto a bluestone slab.
Jiang Yao was sitting by the door with several jade slips and hundreds of scattered drafts next to him; it looked like he was drawing a disassembly diagram for a spear.
Hearing the sound of the stone door, the three of them looked up simultaneously.
"How long did our body refining take?"
Mu Chenze answered instinctively, "Jun Luo has practiced his sword thirty times. No more, no less—exactly thirty days have passed."
Jun Luo: "..."
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