I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

Another week has passed, and Master Zou is still not out of seclusion.

An Xin's body tempering had reached the bone-refining stage, and the medicinal baths at this point were truly maddening. The pain of having one's bones forged was something that even drinking spiritual liquid couldn't alleviate. To increase bone density and strength, the bones were constantly reorganizing, just like forging steel, repeatedly hammering, refining, and hammering again, until they were tempered into steel.

Each time, An Xin would try to enter a meditative state after drinking a bottle of spiritual liquid, but the pain was too intense to concentrate. This time, she couldn't bear it any longer and could only search for Di Ting in her mind's eye for a solution: "...Waaah, Little Nine...it hurts so much, what should I do...can I use..."

Before An Xin could finish speaking, Di Ting hurriedly interjected, "You can't use any drugs with anesthetic effects! And Xin Xin, you must endure this ordeal. Only after you pass this ordeal can you accept the baptism of heavenly lightning."

"You mean... the tribulation of the Golden Core stage?... Little Jiu, please say something... I... I really... can't say anything more..."

"Alright, then listen carefully to what I have to say. Your Golden Core tribulation is different from the ordinary ones because your Foundation Establishment is at the perfect level, so your Golden Core won't be bad either. With some effort, it's possible for you to achieve a perfect Golden Core. Therefore, the tribulation lightning you attract will definitely not be just three ordinary lightning bolts. It's very likely to be the kind that destroys the world. If you can successfully resist it, or even use the tribulation lightning to temper your body, then achieving a perfect Nascent Soul will not be a pipe dream!"

"...Xiao Jiu...do you...do you...have any...biased feelings towards me?"

"By the way, speaking of tribulation lightning, your master hasn't broken through the barrier yet. If he were to cultivate his body like you, he would definitely advance in rank with ease. It's a pity... However, his years of accumulated spiritual energy are still effective, and breaking through is only a matter of time. But whether he can survive the tribulation lightning is hard to say. If you can help him block it and cultivate your body in the process, it will be of great benefit to you when you face the Golden Core tribulation lightning later."

"...You'd better not say anything...it hurts even more now..."

An Xin couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

"Xinxin, are you alright?" Qi Mingxuan, who was also in the medicinal bath, asked worriedly.

They were all currently only at the skin and flesh refining stage of their physical training. Although the pain was gradually increasing, it was still within a tolerable range. They all knew that An Xin had been training her bones for seven days. Unlike her previous composure when leaving the medicine bathhouse, since she started training her bones, her face was always deathly pale, and she no longer chatted and laughed on the way back to the dormitory; she seemed to be enduring the pain. Today was the first time they had heard her cry out in pain, so Qi Mingxuan was very worried.

"Xinxin, how are you?" Fang Yinuo was also very worried.

"Xinxin..."

Her companions, not hearing her speak again, grew anxious and began calling out to her.

"I...I'm fine...I can still bear it...Bone training is quite painful...I'll just grit my teeth and get through it."

"Xinxin, don't push yourself too hard. Tell Master Chen to reduce the amount tomorrow and take it slowly."

"No...no, I'm about to reach the advanced stage of Foundation Establishment...If...if I don't complete Bone Refinement before breaking through to the Golden Core stage, I might...die from the Golden Core tribulation lightning..."

The room fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

Okay, between death and pain, of course I'd choose pain.

"Everyone... don't worry, I can get through this..." An Xin was still thinking about comforting others, which was really heartbreaking.

An Xin tried her best to calm herself down, slowly circulating her spiritual energy and light-based abilities to alleviate the pain. After 1 minutes, she had used up all her light-based abilities, and the medicinal bath had lasted exactly one hour.

Fang Yinuo hurriedly helped An Xin, rinsed off the medicine from her body, and helped her wash up and change her clothes before coming out. Unexpectedly, the four young masters were all waiting outside, their faces full of worry.

An Xin felt a surge of warmth in her heart after seeing everyone's concern, and nodded gratefully to them. After everyone escorted An Xin back to her dormitory, they all went back to their rooms to meditate and regulate their breathing, seemingly lost in thought.

"Xinxin, I know you're working very hard. You're taking it fast but steady, so don't rush things. If you really can't take it, we can take it slowly. This world won't be destroyed overnight."

"No, Xiao Jiu, this world is still quite peaceful, so there's no real rush. What I'm in a hurry for is to complete the mission and return to my original world. The longer I stay in this world, the more attached I'll become to the people and things here, and leaving will be very painful for me. This pain will become a knot in my heart..."

“Xinxin, don’t think about these things. Just cherish the present moment and don’t regret it. There was once an old master who lived a long time. Someone asked him for his secret, and he said: ‘Do what you should do when it’s time to do it.’ In other words, focus on every moment, stay calm and peaceful, and don’t feel sad or happy.”

"To be content with one's lot?"

"You could say that. There are many things and many words that you have to experience and understand yourself to reach the other side of truth."

....................................

Nothing in the night

The next morning, a sudden notification disrupted An Xin's upcoming cultivation.

"Senior Brother, what brings you here?" Li Qingchuan asked Qin Baiyu, puzzled, when he saw that all his senior brothers and uncles had arrived.

"Let me explain. This morning, I received a report from villagers in the nearby Fulin Village that one of their villagers hadn't been seen for a long time, but recently they've been hearing crying sounds around his house, especially the cries of children. Some people have also heard the cries of a woman. However, when the village chief went to open the house, he didn't see anyone inside. They were too scared to investigate further and could only ask us for help." Master Qiu quickly explained the whole story.

"Why didn't you call the police?" An Xin asked, puzzled.

“They reported it to the police. Because the villager hadn’t shown up for a long time, the village chief reported it to the police a long time ago. The police came to check, but they couldn’t find him. After investigating for several days, they had no clues and could only classify him as a missing person.”

Master Qiu didn't take it too seriously; there were plenty of people who went to other places and encountered trouble without returning to their villages. However, he was a little suspicious about others hearing the crying, so he called over his junior brother Zou's disciples, wanting them to investigate. After all, his junior brother Zou was in seclusion, and the affairs of the temple were all divided among them, so they really didn't have time, and these disciples were among the best in the temple.

“Nephews, we can’t leave right now, and you are the ones with the highest cultivation levels in the temple besides us. How about this, Qin Baiyu is in charge of the temple’s affairs, so let your second senior brother Li Qingchuan lead the team in his place.”

"Yes, Wei Ran and Xin Xin have both leveled up recently, so their combat strength is guaranteed. Your Uncle Zheng has high hopes for you two~"

"Alright, enough chit-chat. You three hurry up and pack your things. We'll leave after lunch, and the sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back!"

"Yes, disciple obeys!" Li Qingchuan bowed respectfully and then led his junior brothers and sisters away.

"Senior brother, senior brother, is it dangerous for us to go out this time?" An Xin asked Li Qingchuan with curiosity and excitement as soon as she left the meeting room.

"Probably not, otherwise they wouldn't have let me lead the team."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

“In the past, when we went out to investigate or exorcise ghosts, there would always be a Taoist priest leading the team.”

"Oh, no wonder, you even called on a newbie like me. It's probably not too dangerous. Okay, we'll listen to you, senior. Senior, could you create a group chat first and tell us the precautions later? I have a pharmacology class today, and I have an exam at 10 o'clock. I can't skip it." After saying that, he disappeared.

Wei Ran and Li Qingchuan looked at each other and laughed: You have to admit, Junior Sister is really too busy, she doesn't even forget to make the most of these two hours.

At 1 p.m., the three of them gathered at the entrance of the temple. Just as Li Qingchuan stepped off the stairs, An Xin called him back.

"Second Brother, tell me where to go, and I'll fly you there!"

"Haha, I almost forgot about our junior sister's ability to fly using objects. Come on, look here." Li Qingchuan zoomed in on the map on his phone. "Like this, I'll stand in front of you and act as your guide."

"Haha, that's great!" An Xin enlarged the ruyi scepter in her hand, stepped onto it herself, and then called to her two senior brothers to stand firm. "Senior brothers, get ready, let's go!"

With a "whoosh," the three of them flew far away. The two senior brothers immediately turned into mischievous kids, excitedly shouting in the air. What's more, Wei Ran took out his phone and took all sorts of pictures with his senior brothers and sisters, and even posted them in the group chat of six young masters and ladies, making the others envious and spewing sour grapes in the group.

After flying for only half an hour, they arrived at the area of ​​Fulin Village. They jumped off the tablet, and Li Qingchuan wanted to go find the village chief, but An Xin stopped him.

"Second Brother, let's take a walk around the village first and survey the environment. Once we understand the terrain and situation, we can go find the village chief. After all, we don't know who's good and who's bad right now, so let's not alert them."

"That makes sense! Junior Sister's mind works pretty well!"

So the three of them, like college students on a budget trip, wandered around the village.

Fulin Village boasts beautiful scenery, nestled against mountains and surrounded by water, with birdsong and fragrant flowers. Low-lying houses with blue bricks and tiles stand side by side. It's clear that this village is relatively wealthy; after all, what remote village has such clean and tidy blue brick and tile houses with a certain age and courtyards?

As An Xin walked, she activated her Heavenly Eye and Heavenly Ear. She saw that the most remote corner of the village was shrouded in red and black mist. Listening carefully, she could hear intermittent breathing sounds and faint sobs coming from the mist-shrouded courtyard. However, she couldn't see or hear everything clearly, and felt frustrated: "My cultivation is still too low. If this blood energy and resentment energy were even slightly stronger, it would affect my supernatural abilities."

Without making a sound, An Xin led her two senior brothers over. Once they were closer, An Xin asked, "Senior brothers, we've walked through this village. Do you see anything amiss here?"