"Xiao Yin!"
Chen Jinshu called out toward the nest perched in the plum-blossom tree.
The moment Xiao Yin heard her voice, it dove down swiftly.
"I've prepared everything you'll need for your tribulation," she said as she handed over three items: a phoenix descendant's belly feather, a spirit fruit for cultivation, and another for physical enhancement.
"In the next few days, we'll head to the sect's inner sanctum for cultivation."
"Thank you, Master. I will break through successfully."
Although Xiao Yin had changed greatly in appearance over time, its bloodline still wasn't pure. Breaking through to the Golden Core stage would almost certainly involve a painful refining of both body and bone.
"I remembered something. There's a whip technique called Falling Star Tribulation Whip. Its power increases severalfold under moonlight," the sword spirit spoke up suddenly.
"But it requires star essence for cultivation."
"What element is it?" Chen Jinshu asked.
"Metal and earth," came the reply.
"That figures," she said, unsurprised. Most whip techniques leaned toward metal, fire, or lightning.
"There's also Dragon's Wrath: Heartburn Whip—fire-based. Violent and intense. Every strike ignites your own blood essence, but those struck feel as if their bodies are engulfed in flame."
"Sounds costly to wield," Chen Jinshu murmured. Still, both whip techniques sounded promising. She wondered how they would compare to the one she had just obtained from the Tianyue Peak Master.
"Tell me the full content of these two techniques," she said. "I want to study the commonalities among all three."
"And what about my soul essence restoration…?"
"As it happens, I just picked up a vial of third-grade Spirit Restoration Elixir at the market today. You're in luck."
She retrieved the bottle from her storage pouch. The elixir had strong nourishing effects on soul-based entities.
"Yes!" the sword spirit let out a gleeful cheer, looping several times in the air around her.
"All right, enough. Start talking. I'm heading to the sect's inner sanctum soon."
The sword spirit dived into her sea of consciousness and began projecting lines of golden script into the air. Chen Jinshu immediately took up brush and paper and began copying it down.
…
An hour later, Chen Jinshu arrived at the sect's inner cultivation cave with Xiao Yin in tow.
Though called the "core cave," this training ground wasn't actually built on the main spiritual vein but rather on a large branch of it, located on the southeastern edge of the sect grounds. Its remote location made it ideal for private cultivation.
"Elder Zhang, I'd like to register for a few months of closed-door training," she said quietly to the old man at the entrance.
Despite his age, the elder's cultivation was about the same as hers.
"You told me two days ago already. I saved the spot for you. Go on," he said with a casual wave.
Chen Jinshu nodded and followed the guidance of her token.
Moments later, she arrived at a spacious cave.
"This place is quite roomy. More than enough for multiple people to cultivate at once."
After activating the formation, she released Xiao Yin from her pouch.
"The spiritual energy here is so dense!" the sparrow exclaimed with excitement. It was already eager to refine the three items needed for its breakthrough.
"Good. Stay here and focus. I'll be inside the spirit field. Call me when you're ready."
With that, she entered her inner spirit plant world to tend to her fields. A round of spiritual herbs had just been harvested, and she needed to replant while the soil was still fresh.
Back outside, Xiao Yin swallowed the two fruits in one go, then placed the phoenix feather before itself, calmly breathing in and out as it absorbed the energy.
A white cocoon of spiritual energy soon enveloped its body.
…
Two months passed in a flash.
Chen Jinshu had remained in the spirit space the whole time, diligently practicing her whip techniques. She had already reached the minor completion stage. Her cultivation had also advanced, inching ever closer to the second layer of Golden Core, though the pace was slightly slower than during the Foundation Establishment phase.
The Five Realms Alliance had not yet announced a date, but her master had estimated it would take place within half a year.
She planned to reach the third layer of Golden Core before then, and to master her new whip technique to full proficiency. That way, she would stand a strong chance of achieving good results at the gathering.
Just then, she sensed a pulse from her soul contract—Xiao Yin was on the verge of breaking through.
"So soon?" she murmured, startled. Only two months had passed.
She quickly summoned the projection of the outer world from her furnace space.
A large white cocoon now floated in the center of the cave.
Beast cultivators, like humans, had to endure a tribulation when advancing to Golden Core.
The sect's inner sanctum was meant for cultivation, not tribulations.
She needed to find a safer place—quickly.
With no time to waste, she exited the spirit realm and instantly felt the intense energy building within Xiao Yin.
She reached out and stored the cocoon into her spatial tool.
"Master's Yuqiong Island should be a safe place for this."
Without delay, she soared toward the island.
When she next appeared, she was already on the eastern reef of Yuqiong Island.
"This tribulation is going to be brutal. I hope it pulls through."
Her eyes stayed fixed on the cocoon at the center of the island. The once-white shell had begun shifting into a golden-red hue. If all went smoothly, it would eventually become a full crimson-gold.
The phoenix feather she had acquired from the Feng Clan had belonged to a fire-element phoenix beast, and the purification process was aligning the Yinshan Sparrow toward fire.
Crack.
A series of fine fractures split across the surface of the cocoon, as if it were moments from hatching.
At the same time, the clouds above roared with the start of the tribulation. Countless streaks of lightning coiled and churned like serpents, each strike just as powerful as the violet-gold tribulation she had once endured.
The storm gathered, expanding beyond three zhang in height.
A deafening crash shook the heavens.
A blast of crimson-gold lightning surged down from the sky.
In a flash, it struck Xiao Yin, which had just poked out its azure-feathered head.
A piercing, anguished cry tore through the air.
Its green feathers fell away in layers, and from beneath its skin flowed not blood, but molten gold, bright and searing like lava.
Even from a distance, Chen Jinshu felt the pain ripple through her consciousness.
Their souls were bonded.
When Xiao Yin suffered, she could feel it.
"Come on," she whispered.
The first two strikes were manageable, but the third would be the most difficult—a phoenix tribulation.
It would bring the beast to the brink of death, leaving only a sliver of life force, from which it would have to be reborn through sheer will.
Clang—
The sparrow's scream cut through the air like a blade, filled with pain and defiance. Even Chen Jinshu felt a pang of sorrow deep in her chest.
But she had faith. It would survive.
Then came the third strike.
A column of crimson-gold fire lightning swallowed the sparrow whole.
Its cries stopped.
The spiritual link between them thinned, nearly vanishing.
And then, from the gray ash, a brilliant beam of golden light erupted.
A phoenix-like screech echoed across the sky.
"It made it!"
From the heart of the smoke, a massive luan bird soared upward. Its feathers were a gleaming blue, and the tips of its tail blazed with red.