The blurry figure blocking their path slowly became clear. When Zhu Luomu and the others saw who it was, they all bowed deeply in respect.
"We greet the Sect Master!"
The person was dressed in white with an aged face. It was Xing Ming, who had not shown himself for a long time.
"That's enough. Do not approach!"
After repeating his command, Xing Ming's figure flickered and vanished without a trace, leaving behind a group of cultivators staring at each other in bewilderment.
Immediately after, Xing Ming's voice overpowered the sound of thunder in the distance, echoing throughout Falling Star Valley.
"All disciples, return at once! Do not approach within three hundred li of the lightning. Violators will be executed!"
This command reverberated for a long time, instantly calming the somewhat chaotic Falling Star Valley. Many people hesitated for a moment before halting their steps.
"Senior Brother Zhu, could something have happened in the inner valley? Even the Sect Master has come out!"
In recent years, Zhu Luomu's star had been on the rise, suppressing all other disciples. Whether one was dissatisfied or not, among those who could cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage, few were not sharp-witted.
His master was the current Sect Master, so it was natural to show goodwill to Zhu Luomu. Now that they were ordered to stay here, their gazes naturally turned to him.
The direction where the storm clouds were gathering was deep within the valley, and the current phenomenon looked very much like someone had triggered the restrictions of the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation, invoking the power of wind and thunder.
Zhu Luomu frowned. He faintly felt that something was wrong. He had seen similar situations in some ancient texts, but before he could confirm it, someone spoke with a hesitant tone.
"This doesn't seem to be the activation of a formation restriction... it looks more like a Heavenly Tribulation. Is someone undergoing Core Formation?"
As soon as this person spoke, the eyes of three or four others in their group of Foundation Establishment cultivators flickered, as if they had also thought of this possibility.
The rest of the cultivators were jolted. A bolt of lightning flashed through their minds, and they immediately looked at the speaker. That person was one of the oldest Foundation Establishment cultivators in the valley, with the longest years of cultivation.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator forming a Golden Core or a Golden Core cultivator forming a Nascent Soul was a major event for a sect. High-level cultivators would inevitably be present to act as guardians, and all unrelated personnel would be driven away.
If it were a rogue cultivator, they would find an extremely remote and desolate place to avoid being sneak-attacked and killed while facing their Heavenly Tribulation.
It had been over three hundred years since anyone in Falling Star Valley had undergone Core Formation, so very few had ever witnessed it.
It was common for cultivators to use their magical power and formations to manipulate the forces of heaven and earth. So, even with the lightning and thunder, their first reaction wasn't that someone was casting a spell or had triggered the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation.
After witnessing the power of the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation last time—a sky full of stars, dreamlike and fantastical, trapping and killing a Golden Core cultivator—the sudden appearance of a wind and thunder phenomenon in the deep valley didn't immediately make them think of a Heavenly Tribulation.
Even the cultivator who had spoken was only over one hundred and seventy years old and had likewise not witnessed the last person in Falling Star Valley to transcend a tribulation—Lin Xinghe's tribulation scene.
But he was still the first to react, because he had once been fortunate enough to witness someone else's tribulation from afar during his travels.
"If it really is a Senior Brother undergoing Core Formation, that would be wonderful."
After a moment of silence, all the cultivators here were ecstatic. Although they couldn't enter the deepest part of the Heavenly Tribulation and were still hundreds of li away, with such a massive commotion, they could already see some things from here.
Being able to watch someone's Core Formation from beginning to end at such a distance would not only be a great reference for their own future Core Formation but could also lead to insights in their cultivation. The benefits to their own cultivation progress were beyond words.
"I wonder which Senior Brother has had such an opportunity?"
Someone asked in a low voice. There were several Foundation Establishment cultivators in the deep valley who were in seclusion year-round. They were not very familiar with the area where the core disciples lived. They could only make a rough guess about who might live in a certain area.
Zhu Luomu, however, suddenly thought of one person, and that person's residential courtyard should be within the area where the dark clouds were gathering.
'It can't really be him, can it!'
Xing Ming stopped fifty li away from the ink-dark clouds. In just a few dozen breaths, the black clouds there had already thickened to a thousand yards, like an invisible great mountain descending from the sky.
'Black clouds descend upon the city, threatening to crush it!'
Xing Ming couldn't help but think of this phrase. The thick clouds were slowly rotating in the sky, and a huge vortex had formed in the center of the cloud layer. As it rotated, it continued to press down, as if wanting to destroy everything.
And directly below the eye of the huge vortex in the sky, a small courtyard appeared so lonely and helpless.
When Falling Star Valley established these courtyards for the core disciples to live and cultivate in, the distance between two courtyards was at least a hundred li. Besides the fact that most cultivators disliked being disturbed by outsiders, another very important reason was to prevent others from being implicated when someone was facing a Heavenly Tribulation during Core Formation.
"Who is residing in that courtyard?"
Just as Xing Ming was silently observing the courtyard, a clear voice suddenly sounded in his ear. Xing Ming was startled at first, but he immediately returned to normal.
There was only one person who could come to his side so silently within the sect's grand formation without him noticing. He quickly bowed to a spot in the empty space beside him.
"Martial Uncle, why have you come out of seclusion!"
As he bowed, the empty space there distorted slightly, revealing the figure of a red-robed youth. It was the Grand Elder of Falling Star Valley, Tianxingzi, who had not shown his face for decades.
After Tianxingzi appeared, his gaze was fixed on the courtyard dozens of li away, a strange light in his eyes. For a disciple in the valley to be able to form a Golden Core was, of course, a blessing from the heavens.
"Reporting to Martial Uncle, it is the disciple named Zhang Ming!"
Xing Ming had just confirmed the location where the Heavenly Tribulation was about to strike and immediately thought of the person in that courtyard.
"Zhang Ming? You mean that Body Cultivator?"
Tianxingzi's gaze sharpened. Only nineteen years had passed, but he had also remembered this name in an instant.
At this time, Tianxingzi's severed arm had already recovered, but his face was still abnormally pale. In the battle nineteen years ago, Tianxingzi had lost a great deal of Essence Blood, and it could not be recovered in such a short time.
He had not yet reached the time when he could truly come out of seclusion. It was just that during his cultivation today, he suddenly sensed an oppressive might that made his heart palpitate, waking him from his cultivation.
Startled, he thought that some powerful cultivator had come to Falling Star Valley again. But with a sweep of his Divine Sense, he found that a Heavenly Tribulation was descending.
The reason he chose to come out of seclusion now was that he felt a heart-pounding sensation from the might contained in this Heavenly Tribulation.
If he hadn't seen the great Heavenly Tribulation that his own master had passed when forming his Nascent Soul, he really wouldn't have a good basis for comparison and measurement.
This had far surpassed the might of any Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation he had ever seen, but it was still far from the great Heavenly Tribulation of Nascent Soul Formation.
But this was enough to shock Tianxingzi. This was more than three times greater than the commotion when he formed his core back then, and all of this was just the beginning.
Faced with such a shocking change, Tianxingzi immediately flashed to this place to confirm.
"It is indeed that person!"
Xing Ming's reply was also very brief.
"How is this possible? Isn't he a Body Cultivator? And a cultivator with a four-lineage Profound Spirit Root at that. How can he form a core? And this commotion... at least an eighth or ninth-rank Foundation Establishment could have such might."
Tianxingzi, who was already shocked, had his expression change several times. Although he was not an eighth-rank or higher Foundation Establishment, his judgment was not weak at all, and he saw the clue at a glance.
"It is because of this that this martial nephew is also at a loss. But one's spirit root attribute is something that cannot be concealed. With his Profound Spirit Root aptitude, at most he could achieve a fifth-rank Foundation Establishment, which would already be a great fortune."
Xing Ming had just seen that the place of the Heavenly Tribulation was Zhang Ming's courtyard, and for a moment, he couldn't figure it out.
"Then there is only one possibility. There is a problem with this person's bloodline. It is said that among the descendants of some imperial families, if there are cultivators among them, the so-called 'Hidden Dragon Blood' will appear. But I have only seen this saying in ancient books and have never seen a true record of it among the descendants of those so-called imperial dynasties."
Tianxingzi pondered for a moment and then thought of a possibility. It was just that he had previously regarded the so-called descendants of the dragon that the mortal emperors boasted of as a joke. Now, he couldn't help but remember it.
This was the first time Xing Ming had heard of "Hidden Dragon Blood," and a look of doubt appeared on his face.
"Martial Uncle, could it be that in ancient times, or even in the distant past, the human race and the Dragon Clan intermarried? But with the pride of the Dragon Clan, how could they allow their clansmen to marry outsiders?"
Although Xing Ming had never seen a true member of the Dragon Clan, he had seen some Flood Dragon races.
Even with such a thin bloodline, the Flood Dragon clan was incomparably arrogant. They would never intermarry with cultivators of other races and have children.
Tianxingzi shook his head.
"I have only seen such a record. Otherwise, I can't think of any other way to explain this situation. A Profound Spirit Root forming a core, and with such a huge commotion!"
With their knowledge, they would never think that there was a problem with testing the other party's spirit root attribute. They would never, even if they racked their brains, think that there was an ancient sect that specialized in Miscellaneous Spirit Roots.
At this time, the alternating lightning and thunder in the sky was already deafening, its sound shaking the heavens.
"Then what should we do now?"
Looking at the courtyard where lightning was beginning to pour down, Xing Ming asked.
"The Heavenly Tribulation has arrived. We can only watch and see what happens! If we had known earlier that this child might have the so-called 'Hidden Dragon Blood,' we could have really drawn his Essence Blood for later use!"
Tianxingzi said faintly, thinking of the descriptions of "Hidden Dragon Blood" in his heart, and he already felt some regret.
If Zhang Ming's Essence Blood were to be extracted and refined into a pill, according to the description in the classics, it would not only have the miraculous effect of strengthening the body and rapidly recovering from injuries, but it would also have a certain auxiliary effect on Nascent Soul Formation.
In an instant, Tianxingzi couldn't help but associate it with Zhang Ming's physical body, which was far superior to his peers. At this moment, he had a feeling of enlightenment, and the probability of the other party possessing "Hidden Dragon Blood" increased by a few points.
Xing Ming, of course, understood the meaning of his words. Regardless of the quality of the other party's Essence Blood, once the Heavenly Tribulation began, it would be extremely difficult for them to capture Zhang Ming.
Under the Heavenly Tribulation, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would be unwilling to casually touch Zhang Ming, as that would trigger a powerful Heavenly Tribulation to attack them.
Usually, when one wanted to take advantage of an enemy's tribulation to kill them, it was at the end of the Heavenly Tribulation, when the other party was at their weakest.
"If he is not killed but is seriously injured, there might still be a chance..."
Xing Ming muttered. Hearing this, Tianxingzi turned to look at him, then looked again at the ink-dark clouds.
A tribulation transcender generally had only four outcomes.
Failure in transcending the tribulation, turning to dust and smoke; failure in transcending the tribulation but not perishing, and being seriously injured; being seriously injured after successfully transcending the tribulation; and transcending the tribulation unscathed.
The first kind goes without saying. Under the Heavenly Tribulation, the entire person would be turned to dust and smoke, with not a single bit left. This would be of no significance to Tianxingzi and the others.
Among the latter three, the most common were the first and second situations. The chance of the third situation occurring was very small, so small that it was one in ten thousand. Those who could transcend a tribulation were already extremely few, so one in ten thousand was like nothing.
Even if a cultivator could completely transcend a tribulation, he was often at his weakest right after transcending the tribulation, which was the easiest time to be killed.