Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

333: TribulationAt the core of the cold and dead-silent altar, the phantom composed of pure ice-blue light—the will of the God of Bingyi—crossed the Void Realm, directly imprinting cold and seductive words deep into Lin Jingyu’s Sea of Consciousness.

Its voice was ancient and ethereal, carrying a sense of indifference that looked down upon all living beings, as if it were bestowing a grand Opportunity.

However, Lin Jingyu only slowly raised his head, his gaze calmly ”looking” in the direction of the phantom.

His eyes were as deep as an ancient well, without the slightest ripple. There was no awe in the face of an ancient deity, nor any panic or fear, only an ice-sealed calmness.

”...” He did not respond, and not even a trace of Divine Sense fluctuation escaped, as if the voice resounding through his Soul was merely a passing breeze.

This thorough disregard was more insulting than the most vicious abuse.

The phantom of the God of Bingyi flickered slightly. In those eyes forged from eternal ice, a trace of imperceptible astonishment seemed to flash by, immediately replaced by an anger at having its dignity provoked by an ant.

It had survived for endless years, and even as a remnant will, it had never been so contemptuously ignored by a mere Human Race Cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage.

”Unappreciative!”

The phantom’s voice suddenly turned harsh, like the bone-scraping cold wind of midwinter, instantly sweeping through the entire cave.

”Since you are unwilling to accept this deity’s favor, then together with this failed vessel, become the nourishment for this deity’s return to the world!”

Before the words faded, the entire altar shook violently!

The black shadows within the nine sky-supporting ice pillars let out silent roars, and the extracted energy surged suddenly, like nine roaring ice-blue Dragons.

It no longer merely poured into the crystal coffin where Fei Yangyang was located, but split off a large portion, which, as if possessing life, surged crazily toward the corridor entrance where Lin Jingyu was hiding.

At the same time, the ice-crystal ground beneath Lin Jingyu’s feet and the surrounding walls instantly lit up with countless previously hidden runes, forming an enormous cage.

Extreme cold instantly condensed, and the air cracked with a ”crackling” sound, as if space itself had been frozen and locked!

Lin Jingyu had long been prepared. The moment the runes lit up, he pushed his Thunder Shadow Steps to the limit, his figure transforming into a twisted purple lightning bolt in an attempt to escape this area.

However, this Formation was the fundamental place that the God of Bingyi had managed for countless years, containing a trace of incomplete Heavenly Law power; how could it be easily broken?

”Hum!”

An invisible yet mountain-heavy Law pressure descended with a boom, as if the weight of the entire ice field were pressing down on his shoulders.

His speeding figure stalled abruptly, and the protective thunder light around his body was compressed, crackling and flickering uncertainly.

In the next second, the endless frenzy of ice-blue energy arrived, instantly swallowing him whole.

A transparent ice coffin, similar to the one holding Fei Yangyang but with more complex runes and a more intense cold, condensed from the Void Realm, sealing Lin Jingyu firmly inside.

The walls of the ice coffin were several feet thick, and the interior was filled with extreme cold currents and refining power, viscous like liquid absolute zero, crazily eroding his Physical Body, freezing his Qi, and obliterating his Divine Soul.

”As expected... the final target has always been me, this perfect vessel for ’climbing the Immortal Ladder’.”

Lin Jingyu sneered in his heart, not surprised by this outcome.

From the moment the information panel revealed the truth, he knew that this altar was both Fei Yangyang’s prison and would inevitably become his battlefield.

He did not struggle in vain to attack the ice coffin, as that would only accelerate the consumption of his power.

He immediately cast aside all distracting thoughts, operating the Spirit Refining Art and the Evergreen Art simultaneously to an unprecedented limit.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, the six spiritual lakes, which had already expanded significantly, surged wildly, whipping up monstrous waves. The majestic and condensed power of his Divine Sense transformed into the strongest barrier, guarding the clarity of his mind.

It resisted the pervasive extreme cold that attempted to freeze his thoughts and assimilate his will.

Within his Divine Soul, three ”Blades of Spiritual Sense”—intangible, formless, yet incomparably sharp—which had been nurtured for a long time using the secret techniques of the Spirit Refining Art, quietly hovered, drawn but not released. This was the trump card he had prepared for the final decisive battle.

In his Dantian, the Evergreen Spiritual Power was like a river forced into a desperate situation, surging and flowing at an unprecedented speed, with the gentle and profound power of longevity being stimulated to the limit.

It tenaciously nourished the Meridians and internal organs that were constantly damaged by the bitter cold, engaging in a desperate tug-of-war with the refining power pouring in from the outside.

The Thunder True Intent was triggered autonomously, with wisps of purple lightning flickering everywhere in his body. The extremely yang and rigid aura barely dispelled the cold that had invaded his bone marrow.

This was a torture of will and endurance. Every minute, every second, was like suffering in a sea of knives, a mountain of fire, or the Nine Nether Ice Prison.

The God of Bingyi was clearly intending to use this grinding technique to first obliterate his will to resist, and then leisurely devour his perfect Foundation and the Origin of his Divine Soul.

Time lost its meaning in this absolute confinement and pain.

Perhaps it was one day, perhaps three days?

Lin Jingyu’s Qi was being consumed rapidly, and his Divine Sense barrier began to show fine cracks. His Physical Body was covered in frostbite. If not for the miraculous nature of the Evergreen Art and the solid Foundation laid by devouring the Origin of the guardian deity earlier, he would have already collapsed.

But he always held fast to that single undying light deep within his mind, like a candle flame swaying in a snowstorm but never extinguished.

Just at the moment when he felt he was about to reach his limit, and the refining power of the ice coffin had begun to erode the core of his Dantian!

”This is the moment!”

A look of determination suddenly erupted in Lin Jingyu’s eyes!

With a thought, he summoned the purple divine fruit that had been gifted to him by the Mysterious Youth at the peak of Thunder Mountain. It was the size of a dragon’s eye, wrapped in fine electric snakes, and exuded an aura where destruction and vitality were intertwined. It appeared in his hand, and he swallowed it without hesitation.

”Boom!”

The divine fruit dissolved upon entering his stomach, as if a thunderous sun had been detonated within his body.

Unimaginable, violent thunder energy exploded, like billions of wild horses freed from their reins, crashing crazily through his Meridians.

This power was far more overbearing and violent than the refining power of the ice coffin outside, instantly stretching his Meridians until they fractured inch by inch.

However, at the very instant this destructive energy was about to tear Lin Jingyu completely apart, his Nine Heavens Thunder Canon Foundation Establishment stage Cultivation Technique, which he had already been operating to the limit, acted like a primordial flood that had found a spillway, and began to crazily guide and tame this power.

”Crack! Crack!”

It was as if countless shackles within his body had been broken! Outside the ice coffin, the sky of the entire Profound Ice Secret Realm suddenly turned dark!

Thick, heavy dark clouds ignored the barriers of the Secret Realm and gathered out of thin air. Within the clouds, electric snakes danced wildly and thunder roared!

A majestic Heavenly Might, substantial as if it were real, penetrated the layers of barriers of the divine temple and descended upon the altar, firmly locking onto Lin Jingyu in the ice coffin.

Perfect Foundation Establishment, triggering the Heavenly Tribulation.

To forge a perfect Foundation, it is not enough to simply have sufficient inner resources.

It also requires the test of Heaven and Earth.