Despite the awkward unveiling of the Xiyi Formation Cards, the sales were somewhat decent. It was enough to offset the production and labor costs of the initial investments.
The profits weren't much to Tianyi or Daoyi, who received stipends from Mengfei, but for Xi Ri, the extra income was significant. With it, he could do many things and purchase many materials he could not before. Although everything appeared to be smooth, an unforeseen problem cropped up from an unexpected source.
The source of the problem was Tianyi. Because Tianyi was the one who created the formation cards, there was no one more knowledgeable concerning their production. Daoyi, who was unexpectedly adept at business, handled the marketing and finances while Xi Ri was the face and the merchant in charge of selling the wares. This left Tianyi with the production of the so-called wares.
If the first thing Tianyi despised were pain, then the second would be tediousness.
Not boredom, pure tediousness.
The moderate success mentioned previously was only on the scale of the whole sect. The sales were enough to force Tianyi to continuously produce the Xiyi Formation Cards every day to meet demands. This presented a problem as aside from Daoyi, both Tianyi and Xi Ri were busy, ut Tianyi and Xi Ri were the primary ones researching the Xiyi Talisman. Thus progress was brought to a screeching halt.
But this was where Xi Ri's relationship skills came into play. With Tianyi's permission, several of Xi Ri's associates were taught how to produce the Xiyi Formation Cards. They were only taught the procedures and not the underlining principles, so they did not know the mechanisms.
Xi Ri even found one or two more disciples that he knew with good temperament and reputation and made clerks. All of them were paid with the profit made from the Xiyi Formation Cards. Having resolved the situation, Tianyi and Xi Ri were able to continue the development of the Xiyi Talisman once more.
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It was an ordinary day where the trio had gathered together, sometimes Xia Yushan would visit, but today was not such a day. Tianyi suddenly froze mid-motion, drawing the attention of the other two. Tianyi stood up, and his figure seemed to disappear as if he teleported.
Tianyi reappeared a far distance away from Daoyi and Xi Ri. Seeing the black clouds gathering overhead, both Daoyi and Xi Ri understood why he moved away. Daoyi was already used to it, but Xi Ri only became immune to the random bouts of tribulation lightning Tianyi incurred after visiting Jade Peak for the Xiyi Talismans.
Unknown to the two, this wasn't the usual tribulation lightning that would periodically strike Tianyi without warning. This tribulation lightning came because his core needed to advance. In other words, this was Tianyi's Minor Lightning Tribulation. After he passed this, he would enter the Purified Core Stage of the Core Formation Realm.
Dazzling lightning of mixed colors struck Tianyi from above. Tianyi did not resist and allowed the lightning to penetrate his body towards his nine spiritual cores. Compared to the regular lightning strikes he received, this one was positively cute as those had already reached the power of the Nascent Soul Realm. The only thing abnormal about these heavenly lightning strikes for a core formation master was the sheer size and quantity.
The tribulation lightning struck and covered all nine of Tianyi's spiritual cores. They were like a shell and caused his cores to appear like they had been formed from the lightning itself. Afterward, the lightning became red. Then orange, yellow, and finally gold.
Tianyi frowned when more lightning struck him; the lightning had a tinge of violet within. As more and more lightning struck Tianyi, their color entirely became violet gold.
The grade of a spiritual core determined the potential of a core formation master because of the quality of true qi it produced and the type of tribulation lightning that would be summoned at the third minor tribulation: Mixed colored, red, orange, yellow, gold, and violet gold lightning.
A mixed color core grade master could only summon mixed color lightning, and a violet gold core master would call all the lightning from mixed color to violet gold. There was a reason why a core formation master would not summon lightning of a higher grade because a spiritual core could not withstand the power of lightning of higher grade.
Although Tianyi only had one violet gold grade spiritual core, it invoked violet gold lightning for all nine of his cores. If Tianyi wasn't careful, there was a real chance that his eight Yang Cores would shatter under the violet gold lightning.
If such an event occurred, then it wouldn't merely be the loss of eight spiritual cores and his ability to produce the true qi of chaos. His martial body would be able to shrink unhindered, and he would be imploded to death by it.
It was ironic that the Minor Lightning Tribulation that was within the power of the Core Formation Realm would be more dangerous than the normal tribulation lightning at the Nascent Soul Realm for Tianyi.
When the violet gold lightning revealed its true might and struck Tianyi, all nine of his spiritual cores became enveloped by it. Sweat slid down Tianyi's brows as he entirely concentrated on defending against the tribulation lightning.
Tianyi revealed a slight smile as the lightning covering his Dragon Yin Pearl Core disappeared and revealed its shrunken, but the violet gold light it emitted became even more dazzling. Because his Dragon Yin Pearl Core was actually of the violet-gold grade, it passed the Minor Lightning Tribulation first.
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Suddenly the Dragon Yin Pearl became like molten gold, shining brilliantly like a sun. Simultaneously, the other eight spiritual cores seemed to have increased in power as the violet gold lightning's power that they had trouble resisting no longer affected them.
Moments passed like this before all the tribulation lightning dispersed from within Tianyi's dantian and revealed the eight small cores that shone with a black light. Without the threat of the tribulation lightning, Tianyi's nine spiritual cores reverted to their original colors. The only difference was that the eight Yang Cores now emitted a violet gold light that was only slightly less dazzling than the Dragon Yin Pearl Core.
They could be considered half violet-gold grade spiritual cores. "So that's what happens when you forcibly overcome a Minor Lightning Tribulation a grade higher."
Tianyi returned to Daoyi and Xi Ri, who had already guessed that the lightning they had thought was the regular tribulation lightning that struck Tianyi, was his Minor Tribulation of Lighting.
"Congratulation Senior Brother on transcending your Minor Lightning Tribulation." Daoyi was the first to congratulate Tianyi on his success.
"Senior Brother, how long has it been since you entered the Core Formation Realm?" Xi Ri asked, his voice containing a trace of disbelief.
"Hm? About five to six years now. Why?" Tianyi looked at Xi Ri, who still had a stunned expression in front of him.
"Senior Brother, do you know what the youngest age someone reached the Nascent Soul Realm in the history of the Huang Realm was?" Xi Ri suddenly asked out of nowhere.
"Ummm, fifteen years of age?" Tianyi guessed.
"Sixteen years old," Xi Ri said. "And do you know the second-youngest age someone reached the Nascent Soul Realm?" Tianyi shook. "Twenty-six years, a mere twenty-six years. And third is thirty-six years of age, Grand Elder Xi, your mother."
"So?" Tianyi asked, still not getting the point that Xi Ri was trying to make.
"Senior Brother, you have a chance of being on the same level as that first place. You haven't reached seventeen years of age yet, so you could possibly gain the title as the youngest nascent soul grandmaster in the history of the Huang Realm."
"That's amazing," Daoyi said as she clapped her hands together.
"I don't think it's that amazing," Tianyi said, feeling slightly embarrassed by the admiration shining through Daoyi and Xi Ri's eyes.
"If Senior Brother hadn't been occupied researching the Xiyi Talisman, perhaps you could have reached the Nascent Soul Realm a year ago." Xi Ri said, regret coloring his voice.
Tianyi waved his hands at Xi Ri's concerns. "You overestimate me. Even if I weren't busy with the Xiyi Talisman, I wouldn't have reached the Nascent Soul Realm in the previous year. My cultivation method is a bit unique..."
"I still think it's really amazing. Even if Senior Brother can't become number one, you can definitely be number two and beat your mother's record," Daoyi said while Xi Ri nodded in agreement.
"In the history of the Huang Realm, sixteen may be the age of the youngest nascent soul grandmaster, but what about in the primordial era? I heard that there were even children born at the Core Formation Realm." Although he was ecstatic at the praise, Tianyi said he didn't let it go to his head.
"Besides, do you two know what age the youngest person ascended to immortality was?" Tianyi asked Xi Ri in return.
Both Daoyi and Xi Ri immediately nodded. How could they not know?
"It's Master/Grand Elder Xi." Daoyi and Xi Ri said.
"Yes," Tianyi said. "Mother was the third youngest nascent soul grandmaster, but she placed first in attaining immortality. The second youngest was already over a hundred years old. She placed even lower when talking about the youngest core formation masters. In the end, the most important thing is still attaining immortality."
"Senior Brother is right; I was shortsighted." Xi Ri said. In the end, weren't they cultivating to attain immortality? What was the point of competing against others? The most important thing was to prove your path and achieve immortality.
But after a moment, Tianyi added. "...but this record has existed for eons. I guess it is pretty amazing that I will reach the Nascent Soul Realm soon. Although I probably can't take first place, there is a huge chance for second place."
Xi Ri, who was full of praise for Tianyi moments before, turned completely silent. So everything before was nonsense?
"Senior brother does indeed care about being the best," Daoyi said matter of factly.
Before Tianyi knew it, another year had already passed since he returned. He was officially already seventeen, but his appearance had stayed the same. That also included his height, much to his chagrin.
The day was just a typical day like any other; Tianyi was sitting in the garden as he read the book in his hand. His cultivation in both his spiritual and martial path was already at its peak. With the constant tribulation lightning, the automatic generation of true qi, and the Heavenly River Stellar Avatar, it would be hard for Tianyi not to improve even if he actively sabotaged his cultivation.
Nothing needed to be said for his spiritual cultivation. Tianyi's martial cultivation had also reached the peak, at least theoretically. His martial body didn't possess acupoints in the normal way. Instead, he turned the numerous stars inside into his acupoints, giving him limitless acupoints. Even now, new acupoints continue to open, but he already possessed the power of a peak acupoint opening master.
At this very moment, Tianyi could invoke the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation whenever he wanted. However, he had yet to do so.
Tianyi paused and looked up from the book as he felt a presence within the Jade Peak Palace's formation. Tianyi froze as he saw the person who he hadn't seen for nearly two years.
When he had learned that his mother wasn't at the sect, Tianyi's hadn't thought much of it. He wasn't a real teenager, and he had experienced separation from his family in his past life. But when his mother appeared in front of him again, a sense of forlorn joy assaulted him.
Xi Mengfei stood in the garden across from Tianyi, her gaze unspeakably complicated as she looked at her Tianyi. For a moment, neither of the two moved, their emotions having petrified them.
Tianyi recalled the smile the avatar created from the talisman his mother had given him, and an unknown tranquility washed over him. Before he realized it, he found that he had already stood up and in front of his mother.
Mengfei raised her hand forward to caress Tianyi's head but stopped as she realized that Tianyi had grown during the time she was away. When Tianyi was younger, her immortal sense had practically enveloped Tianyi all day, and his growth was nothing in her eyes because of how gradual it was.
She had never felt the passage of time as clearly as she did now, not even all those years of isolated cultivation. In the end, Mengfei reached out with her left arm and gave Tianyi a half hug. Unknown to Tianyi and Mengfei, both of them had the same facial expression that neither could see.