Chapter 656
"Is Senior Brother about to break through?"
Before the light had fully faded, a slightly anxious voice rang out in the courtyard.
Uncle Pang looked towards the place where the Elder was in seclusion, then turned to Zheng Fa, his expression tense. "What's the situation?"
Standing beside him was the Jiushan Patriarch.
In the courtyard, Xie Qingxue, Xiao Yuying, and Madam Xuanhua were all present.
Even the Blood River Ancestor and Jiao Wuji had rushed over.
Not only that, but over the past eight years, six new Yuanying (Nascent Soul) practitioners had also joined the ranks, now gathered in the courtyard, their faces tinged with anticipation.
It was clear they understood the significance of the two achieving transformation for the Jiushan Realm.
"Sun Daoyu, go calm the disciples down. Tell them not to panic," Zheng Fa said, finally reacting, addressing the newly ascended Sun Daoyu. He then explained to Uncle Pang, "The Master and the Elder have just begun their transformation; I don't know what to expect."
Sun Daoyu cupped his hands and took his leave.
Uncle Pang nodded slowly, his tone relieved. "At least we're far enough away."
Zheng Fa frowned and nodded in agreement.
The transformation process was fraught with danger, and outsiders couldn't get too close.
Fortunately, the Jiushan Realm had prior experience with the Jiushan Patriarch's transformation. When Sister Zhang was in seclusion, she had carefully considered this issue. Now, Sister Zhang and the Elder were almost separated by the entire Wuxian Island:
Sister Zhang's courtyard was on the North Island, right next to Zheng Fa's small courtyard.
The Elder was far away, in the southern part of Wuxian Island, having chosen a quiet spot for his seclusion.
Zheng Fa didn't respond, merely gazing at the flickering sky.
A wild wind whipped up the mist, and dark clouds swirled with thunder and fire.
On Wuxian Island, the storm raged.
"This is even louder than the Patriarch's transformation," Uncle Pang murmured, his worry evident.
"That was one; this is two! Can they be compared?" the Jiushan Patriarch retorted, exasperated. "Besides..."
"They're coming!"
Xie Qingxue suddenly interrupted, her gaze sharp as a sword, directed towards the south.
The Elder's transformation tribulation had arrived first.
...
Uncle Pang was right.
It seemed the two transformation tribulations were influencing each other.
The dark clouds were denser than during the Jiushan Patriarch's transformation, and the thunder was fiercer!
The Elder's seclusion spot had a courtyard that was supposed to be protected.
But a bolt of purple-black lightning struck down, and in the blink of an eye, the courtyard, walls, and house were reduced to ashes.
"Does Senior Brother not have even a single protective treasure?" Uncle Pang's lips trembled as he watched the ferocity of the tribulation.
The Jiushan Patriarch sighed, "He really is having a rough time..."
The expressions of the others were also grim.
Transformation tribulations were already difficult to endure, and the Elder was attempting to transform using his self-created technique, which naturally posed greater risks.
Now, it seemed the thunder tribulation had intensified because Sister Zhang was also breaking through.
This was certainly worrisome.
Yet Zheng Fa's expression remained calm. As the master of the Jiushan Realm, he was well aware of everything within it, and his understanding of thunder techniques was profound.
He could sense the Elder's situation amidst the tribulation.
"Uncle, it's fine..."
"Huh?"
"It seems... the Master is doing this on purpose."
"Doing what on purpose?"
Uncle Pang was taken aback, then quickly understood what Zheng Fa meant.
Amidst the thunder tribulation, a figure clad in golden armor began to take shape.
The armor was surrounded by the hottest, most dazzling lightning, shooting out golden rays in all directions.
The figure within the armor was initially indistinct, even lacking limbs.
But as the bolts of heavenly thunder struck, they carved out his arms and legs, his brows and eyes, and finally, the Elder's face.
"Senior Brother!" Uncle Pang exclaimed, astonished yet somewhat enlightened. "This... this resembles the Thunder God from the celestial formation techniques, doesn't it?"
"Not just that." The Blood River Ancestor suddenly flew over, gazing at the figure. "This is a法身 (fǎ shēn)!"
Indeed, it was a法身.
Zheng Fa had somewhat anticipated this.
When the Elder entered seclusion, the Jiushan Realm didn't have many transformation techniques.
The only complete ones were the two法身 methods from the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.
But what Zheng Fa hadn't expected was that the Elder seemed to have combined the celestial formation techniques with法身, creating a new法身 method.
This Master...
"Senior Brother has such clever ideas?" Uncle Pang voiced Zheng Fa's thoughts.
At that moment, Xiao Yuying seemed to understand.
She suddenly looked at Zheng Fa and sighed, "It's the Jiushan Sect's thunder techniques; they're too powerful."
Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned, then began to grasp the situation:
That makes sense!
When it came to understanding thunder techniques, Zheng Fa could even stand toe-to-toe with the Celestial Sovereign.
The Elder's mastery of thunder techniques might not quite match Zheng Fa's, but he was still among the top ranks in the Jiushan Realm—perhaps only Xiao Yuying could surpass him.
In other words, the Jiushan Sect's research into the essence of thunder techniques was at the level of Dao Fruit.
Uncle Pang, upon hearing this, also understood: "Senior Brother's greatest strength is thunder techniques... and with Zheng Fa as his disciple to teach him..."
"He got the position of Sect Master by chance, and Zheng Fa is also a lucky find. How come this法身 technique... seems like a gift from a disciple?"
"No, his disciple was snatched!"
He looked at the Elder amidst the thunder tribulation, and instead of feeling worried, he was now gritting his teeth in frustration.
"Why doesn't this Yuan die in the tribulation!"
...
He didn't die.
In fact, due to the peculiar nature of this法身, when the Elder passed through the transformation tribulation, that法身 remained vibrant and full of life.
He glanced at the dark clouds still lingering in the sky, his expression somewhat puzzled, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he charged into the void, hands forming seals, his voice booming like rolling thunder throughout the Jiushan Realm:
"After thirteen years of great dreams, today I shall transform for the Jiushan Sect..."
"Cough!"
A cold cough suddenly interrupted his words.
The Elder's法身 froze, turning to look at the source of the voice, only to see the Jiushan Patriarch standing there, looking very displeased, his aura... was that of the transformation stage?
"Patriarch? You transformed?"
"Get down! Is transforming such a big deal?" the Jiushan Patriarch huffed. "I haven't said anything, so why are you shouting?"
The Elder's法身 fell silent for a moment, the golden light on his armor dimming slightly. He released his hand seals, and the法身 dissipated, revealing his true form. He then reluctantly landed beside Zheng Fa and the others, his gaze shifting—
"You all have achieved Yuanying?"
The newly ascended disciples nodded in unison.
"You foolish bird... I mean, you can also..."
Looking at the Yuanying aura surrounding the Elder's disciple, he was utterly bewildered.
He looked at Zheng Fa with a questioning expression, as if doubting whether he was suffering from dementia, and cautiously asked, "How many years have I been in seclusion?"
"About fourteen years."
"Then why do I feel like I've been in seclusion for fourteen hundred years?" The Elder pointed at the likes of his disciple. "Where did all these Yuanying come from in the Jiushan Sect?"
There were indeed quite a few new Yuanying here.
In these eight years, six Jindan (Golden Core) disciples had successfully ascended.
To put it into perspective, even counting the Jiushan Patriarch and Zheng Fa, the total number of Yuanying cultivators originally cultivated by the Jiushan Sect was only six.
In Zheng Fa's view, this was merely the starting phase of the first fifty-year plan, not yet reaching the explosive stage.
To the Elder, this felt like a complete upheaval.
"Senior Brother, this is just your lack of experience." Now seeing the Elder lively and successfully transformed, Uncle Pang was filled with envy and jealousy. "When you were Sect Master, it was a challenge to produce even one Yuanying."
"But with Zheng Fa as Sect Master, one a year is a minimum!"
The Elder fell silent for a moment before speaking, "He is my disciple."
"…You’ve been in seclusion for so many years, and the Patriarch only transformed with Zheng Fa's help!"
"He is my disciple."
"…Is that all you can say?"
"I transformed."
Zheng Fa had to interject; if this continued, he feared Uncle Pang might go mad.
"Master, what's the deal with this法身?"
A proud smile spread across the Elder's face. "Did you notice the wonders of my Shenxiao法身?"
"Is it a combination of the法身 techniques from the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor?"
The Elder nodded with pride. "In terms of transformation, I only knew how to condense the法身. Then I thought, why not try following the Thunder God from that celestial formation?"
"This Zhou Tian Shen Lei formation was created by me; I'm familiar with celestial formations, and my thunder techniques are no slouch either."
"My idea was to use my own body to set up a celestial formation, and it actually worked..." At this point, the Elder glanced at the Jiushan Patriarch with a hint of regret. "I thought I had created the first法身 technique of the Jiushan Sect."
Hearing this, Zheng Fa nodded, curious. "What makes this法身 so special?"
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