Chapter 70
“Ah…”
Baek-Cheong was captivated by a strange sensation as she looked at her father.
He looked precarious, as if he might collapse at any moment, yet he never fell.
Beyond merely enduring the heavenly tribulation, he seemed to have taken root in that spot and assimilated with heaven and Earth.
However, the heavenly tribulation clouds above were slowly churning.
Gradually, the ominous energy within the tribulation clouds was being scraped together into a single point, albeit slowly.
It felt like a grace period where Heavenly Dao was preparing its final lightning tribulation.
That time flowed agonizingly slowly.
Amidst the silence, all the Family members looked up at the sky with faces full of worry.
Some held hands while dripping with cold sweat, and others twitched their lips in nervousness.
Baek Mu-Yeong stood in place without even the slightest movement.
Baek-Cheong was likewise speechless, holding her breath.
Then, her gaze drifted naturally toward the center of the swirling tribulation clouds.
Looking at the massively condensing energy made her mind feel a tingling sensation.
“That is…”
In that moment, the geometric Formation Glyphs she had glimpsed while Deciphering the Jinmun Formation Diagram flashed through her mind.
The providence of heaven and Earth is contained within thousands of ancient Formation Glyphs.
Among them, a certain Glyph Form - the most difficult one that she had wrestled with for a long time - flickered before her eyes.
“Lightning qi.”
An energy with a ferocious, destructive, and swift nature.
A violent Formation Glyph that directly contained the wrath of heaven and the will of judgment.
Within the Jinmun Formation Diagram, the Formation Glyphs that materialized lightning qi possessed a distinctly heterogeneous structure compared to Formation Glyphs of other attributes.
A bizarre movement that took a form extending in all directions, only to sharply draw back inward at the ends and converge into a single point.
It seemed to embody the principle of gathering all surrounding electrical currents, compressing them, and liberating them in a single momentary discharge right before lightning struck the Earth.
‘That’s exactly it.’
The massive phenomenon currently occurring within the pitch-black tribulation clouds is exactly identical to the principle contained within the Lightning Glyph in the Jinmun Formation Diagram.
The true nature of the lightning tribulation, which was usually only considered terrifying Judgment of Heavenly Dao, was vividly unfolding through the tribulation clouds before her eyes, interlocking with the providence of heaven and Earth contained in the Formation Glyphs of the Jinmun Formation Diagram.
“Perhaps lightning qi is…”
A low Murmur slipped out of Baek-Cheong without her realizing it.
Tracing the Formation Glyph of lightning qi she had seen back in her mind in the Jinmun Formation Diagram, she instinctively drew up the energy in her Dantian as if in resonance.
And through that drawn-up energy, she tried to mimic the flow of lightning qi - attempting to extend in all directions before being compressed to the extreme and exploding from a single point.
Crackle.
For a very brief moment, a faint lightning qi sparked at her fingertips.
Compared to the heavenly lightning tribulation as massive as Sumeru Mountain, it was an insignificant level incapable of judging anything, but it was undeniably pure lightning qi.
Baek-Cheong did not notice the lightning qi forming at her fingertips, her eyes still fixed on the churning sky.
CRACK-!
Finally, the center of the tribulation clouds burst open with a deafening roar.
The final Judgment of Heavenly Dao took the form of a lightning tribulation and plummeted toward the ground.
It was a majesty on a completely different level from the previous two lightning tribulations.
The lightning tribulation pouring down toward the Eastern Region of the Family Head’s Hall harbored an extraordinary oppressive force in its thickness and momentum alone.
KABOOOM!
A blindingly intense flash exploded from the direction where the Eastern Region was located.
The people watching from behind couldn’t even scream as they covered their faces with their arms.
A tremendous shockwave erupted, as if shaking the entirety of the Yeonha Baek Clan.
Baek Mu-Yeong clenched his teeth so hard out of worry that blood leaked from his mouth.
Baek-Cheong’s body swayed from the fierce impact, but she kept her eyes wide open, facing the flash directly without looking away.
Soon after, the acrid dirt and dust slowly settled to the ground.
Amidst the miserably shattered ruins of the Eastern Region.
A single silhouette was still sitting there.
His once-splendid robes were torn beyond recognition, and red blood seeped from various spots on his charred skin.
His drooping shoulders looked precarious, as if he would collapse at any second.
However, Baek Mu-Jin slowly opened his closed eyes.
He raised his trembling hands and placed them neatly on his knees.
Soon, he rose from the Lotus Position he had steadfastly maintained and staggered to his feet.
And with his entire body covered in blood, he arrogantly looked up at the sky that had judged him.
At that, the pitch-black tribulation clouds hovering over the Family Head’s Hall gradually lost their momentum.
The heavenly tribulation faded and scattered in all directions, as if having fulfilled its duty after unleashing all its lightning tribulations.
At the same time, dazzling sunlight sprinkled through the gaps in the scattered dark clouds, illuminating the ground.
Golden Core.
A half-immortal realm that transcended human limits, extended the limits of lifespan, and manipulated the Qi of Heaven and Earth.
It was a historic moment when a new Golden Core Cultivator was finally born in the Yeonha Baek Clan.
“The Clan Head has…!”
“Long live the Yeonha Baek Clan!”
A Murmur erupted among the watching crowd, ending their bated breath.
They were shouts filled with relief, joy, and blind respect for the Clan Head who led them.
Even though he had just entered the Golden Core stage, the momentum rising from Baek Mu-Jin’s body was incredible enough to surpass most Early Golden Core Stage cultivators.
It was a natural result, as it was a breakthrough achieved after stepping down from the Clan Head position, entering a long closed-door cultivation, and compressing his Dantian to the absolute limit of the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment Stage.
“Haa…”
Only then did Baek Mu-Yeong relax his stiff shoulders and let out a long sigh of relief.
“Elder brother has finally done it.”
It was a voice filled with deep relief, liberated from the burden of the Clan Head’s absence and the terror of the heavenly tribulation.
Baek Mu-Yeong turned around to speak to his Niece and share the joy.
“Cheong-A, elder brother has safely…”
However, Baek Mu-Yeong’s words could not be finished and stopped short.
And his pupils trembled minutely.
Meanwhile, Baek-Cheong was not mingling among the cheering crowd.
She was blankly staring at the clear sky where the tribulation clouds had all scattered.
She was looking up, her eyes lost in very deep thought.
Her lips twitched slightly as she quietly chanted something.
“Thunder…”
It was a bizarre Murmur with an unknown meaning, sounding like some sort of spell or Incantation.
And from the surroundings enveloping Baek-Cheong, a faint but Heterogeneous Qi arose.
Crackle.
The form of lightning qi was inherently so ferocious that it seemed to tear the atmosphere apart.
It was an incomparably shabby and minuscule level compared to the majesty of the heavenly tribulation that had just plummeted from the sky and smashed the Eastern Region, but it was unmistakable lightning qi.
“L-Lightning qi…!”
An elder who had been cheering while standing closest noticed the Heterogeneous Qi of lightning and stumbled backward in utter shock.
And at his startled reaction, the gazes of the surrounding Family members gathered on Baek-Cheong one by one.
The sound of someone sharply inhaling and swallowing their breath broke the silence.
“Did she truly gain enlightenment from the heavenly tribulation…”
Baek Mu-Yeong quietly looked at his Niece with a stiffened face.
Lightning qi was rising from the body of his young Niece, who was merely at the Qi Condensation Stage.
Originally, lightning qi was a domain of the Heavenly Dao that even a Great Cultivator could not easily handle.
Yet, an event that was impossible according to common sense was unfolding right before his eyes.
“Perhaps Heavenly Dao does not fear her, but rather holds her dear…”
However, this was something that happened because Baek-Cheong had deciphered the Language of Formations through the Jinmun Formation Diagram and caught a glimpse of the providence of heaven and Earth.
While directly witnessing the heavenly tribulation with her own eyes, she had just awakened to the principle of the ancient Formation Glyph that materialized lightning qi.
Because she unconsciously chanted the Formation Glyph, her spirit root responded, causing the energy to manifest on its own.
However, there was no way the watching Family members or Baek Mu-Yeong could know the deep inner workings.
In the eyes of the people, it merely appeared as a bizarre phenomenon where the energy of lightning was leaking from the body of a Qi Condensation-stage kid.
“Ah…”
Soon, Baek-Cheong’s bizarre Murmur stopped.
The faint lightning qi hovering around her also died down like a lie and scattered into the atmosphere.
“So this is what it meant…?”
Awakening from her thoughts, Baek-Cheong slowly lowered her head and was able to see her surroundings.
And she came face-to-face with dozens of gazes surrounding her mixed with shock, awe, or surprise.
“…Why are you all acting like this?”
Because Baek-Cheong knew nothing, she tilted her head with an innocent face.
However, no one dared to answer her question.
It was a phenomenon difficult to describe, making it hard for anyone to open one’s mouth hastily.
“Ah! What about father? Did he safely ascend to the Golden Core?”
“Huh? U-Uh, yeah… He certainly did.”
Baek Mu-Yeong answered, unable to hide his bewilderment at the sudden question.
And, recalling the fact that he had forgotten due to the novel shock, he turned his head.
There, Baek Mu-Jin also wore an expression, unable to hide his surprise.
“Father!”
Unaware of that fact, Baek-Cheong approached her father with a bright expression.
Soon, she confirmed his safe appearance up close and, feeling relieved, embraced him.
Baek Mu-Jin patted his beloved daughter’s shoulder out of habit, but he couldn’t hide his dumbfounded appearance.
“…”
And so, despite the birth of a Golden Core Cultivator, the people and Baek Mu-Yeong became engulfed in a bizarre silence.