When a cultivator undergoes a tribulation, whether successful or not, the surroundings will be filled with celestial energy.
Once a cultivator successfully transcends the tribulation, their physique will undergo a tremendous change, the most significant of which is the ability to absorb immortal spiritual energy.
The first day after the change in constitution is the most important period in the life of every immortal.
The spiritual energy absorbed during this period is equivalent to the innate spiritual energy that an ordinary person is born with. The more spiritual energy absorbed, the more one's physique changes, and the greater the benefits for future cultivation.
However, absorbing earth's spiritual energy a day later transforms it into acquired spiritual power. The effects of the two are worlds apart and incomparable.
Now that those people have escaped, although they can still absorb the free-floating spiritual energy of the immortals in the Flame Realm, the effect is vastly different compared to what they have here. And if their physical constitution cannot be completely improved during the first transformation, their future cultivation will be extremely limited.
Xiao Wenbing risked everything, even resorting to deception and trickery to bring about a series of calamities involving tens of thousands of people, all in order to create the densest concentration of immortal spiritual energy.
The stronger the heavenly tribulation, the denser the earth immortal spiritual energy left behind. After the tribulations of tens of thousands of people dissipated, the earth immortal spiritual energy here had reached a near-saturation point, making it an ideal place for cultivation.
The reason he boasted that he could enable everyone to directly possess the Integration Realm after passing through the Heavenly Tribulation and ascending to the Immortal Realm was because of the absolute density of the Immortal Spiritual Energy here.
Unfortunately, frightened by the old tortoise, these cowards all fled. Now, all his painstaking planning had been for naught.
"Haha. Why didn't you say so sooner?" The old tortoise was, after all, a cultivator, but he had been away from the lower realm for too long and had forgotten about this matter. However, after a moment, he came to his senses and asked, "Do you want me to help you capture them back?"
Xiao Wenbing's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Is this acceptable?"
The old tortoise raised its long neck and said, "It was nothing."
"Alright, then please make your move quickly, senior."
With a casual wave of his hand, the old tortoise unleashed countless long beams of light that soared into the sky and scattered in all directions.
Xiao Wenbing swept his divine sense over the area, and each of these rays of light contained immense power, easily comparable to those of Quini and the others. Seeing it unleash tens of thousands of rays in one breath without batting an eye, Xiao Wenbing couldn't help but admire this old tortoise even more.
In a short while, these lights gradually receded, and at the end of each light was a person tightly bound.
These experts who had survived the Heavenly Tribulation and reached the Great Perfection stage were powerless to resist the old tortoise.
Under the old tortoise's command, the light returned everyone to their original positions, and then they dissipated into the void. The old tortoise clapped his hands, as if he had done something insignificant, and said, "I've found everyone for you, how about that?"
Xiao Wenbing bowed deeply to it with heartfelt admiration and said, "Senior, your divine power is beyond my comprehension."
The wind howled, and sand and stones flew everywhere, but once it reached the area within a hundred miles, it immediately subsided and ceased its rampage.
An invisible, transparent light shield firmly sealed off this area, preventing any further energy from penetrating it.
Tens of thousands of people sat cross-legged, diligently absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy. Their entire focus was on absorbing and converting energy, and no one was distracted by anything else.
After the old tortoise displayed its power and captured these people, Xiao Wenbing only said one sentence: "Absorb energy."
Those four simple words jolted everyone awake, and then, apart from breathing, there was no other sound among the tens of thousands of people.
Even Zhang Yaqi and Feng Baiyi, the two women, were giving it their all. No one dared to underestimate the importance of this place.
As for Xiao Wenbing, he readily handed his body over to the god to control, because he knew that only under the god's manipulation could he obtain the greatest benefit for himself.
With his body surrendered to the divine, his mind was now free.
Seeing so many people silently doing their homework, Xiao Wenbing had an idea. Although he couldn't use the energy within his body at the moment, he could still contact the Mirror God. So, with the Mirror God's help, tens of thousands of Nascent Souls appeared simultaneously from the Heavenly Void Ring, dispersing in mid-air to absorb energy.
He then implanted a nascent soul into each of the more than twenty bloodied and mangled cultivators, directly transforming them into external avatars, who then began frantically absorbing immortal spiritual energy.
Finally, a tiny head emerged from the Heavenly Void Ring. The Butterfly Fairy flew out happily, and only after Xiao Wenbing's stern reprimand did she pout her cherry-like lips and begin to absorb the immortal spiritual energy.
Butterfly Fairy was originally only at the Nascent Soul stage, and in theory, she was not able to absorb anything. However, she recognized Xiao Wenbing as her master, and they had signed the most intimate master-servant contract. Therefore, when Xiao Wenbing possessed the Immortal Spirit Body, Butterfly Fairy, who was connected to him by blood, also possessed the same physique.
After some consideration, adhering to the principle of "if you're going to take advantage of someone else's opportunity," he released the serpent incarnation and the demon incarnation. Finally, the demon incarnation flicked his finger, and a flying sword message attracted four immortals, including Quini. These immortals, who were destined to recognize him as their master, joined the massive army of ten thousand people.
Having done all this, Xiao Wenbing finally looked at the Turtle God.
The old tortoise watched him finish everything and laughed, "You're really clever, kid. You don't even let the slightest opportunity slip by."
Xiao Wenbing chuckled and said, "Senior, I am no match for you. In order to protect myself, I must use every bit of my strength."
"Self-preservation?" The old tortoise looked at him strangely and asked, "Who have you offended?"
"Don't know?" Xiao Wenbing shook his head and repeated the Mirror God's deduction.
The old tortoise frowned and said, "A thousand or so immortals are nothing. It's a pity I'm too tired, otherwise I would have just helped you get rid of them."
"Are you too tired?" Xiao Wenbing asked in surprise, looking the old man up and down, but he couldn't see what was so tiring about him.
"Yes." The old tortoise yawned widely, indicating that he was really tired.
"Senior, where have you been since we last met?"
"Go home and sleep," the old tortoise said matter-of-factly.
"Oh...you've been sleeping?"
"That's why I'm tired."
He pursed his lips, realizing he couldn't understand the old tortoise's words at all.
"Then why did you come out?"
"I was sound asleep when a bolt of lightning struck, and that's when I woke up."
"Thunderbolt...were you awakened by a thunderbolt?" Xiao Wenbing chuckled. He now understood why the old tortoise was so angry when it first came out; it turned out it had been disturbed from its sleep.
However, this old tortoise was indeed powerful. He was struck by the eighth bolt of heavenly lightning in the chain of ten thousand calamities, but he was not only unharmed, but also displayed great power and dispersed the heavenly tribulation.
Such power far surpasses that of the Treasure God. It seems that even among the gods, this old tortoise is a figure of considerable stature.
"Yes." The old tortoise opened its mouth wide, exhaled a thick breath of hot air, and stuck out its thick tongue, which now had a faint red mark on it. "It hit my mouth right there, ouch!"
Book VII, Chapter 6: Those who believe in me will become gods (Part 1)
As the majestic wind blew by, the celestial aura gradually dissipated.
Elder Yan slowly finished his work, opened his eyes, and suddenly a pair of large, emerald-green eyes appeared in them.
His eyes widened suddenly, and his heart stopped beating in his chest. Less than three inches in front of him, a snake-headed, human-bodied monster sat cross-legged, its ugly and terrifying face appearing even more grotesque and frightening.
With a whoosh of wind, and a blur before my eyes, the snake-headed, human-bodied monster had vanished.
His heart skipped a beat; the shock was immense. A gust of wind blew by, and he felt a chill on his body. He realized that his clothes were completely soaked.
"Is Xiao Yan alright?"
Elder Yan quickly turned around, and Quini was already standing behind him.
"Elder Yan, you're the first to finish your training, that's really unexpected." A clear and familiar voice came from behind.
"Really?" Elder Yan was taken aback, a look of unexpected surprise flashing across his face.
After surviving the heavenly tribulation, everyone has one day to absorb immortal spiritual energy, and this is fair to everyone.
However, a day later, when the immortal energy dissipates, what they need to do is to convert the absorbed immortal spiritual energy into their own.
After the Heavenly Tribulation, the faster a person's physique is suited to cultivation in the Immortal Realm, the greater their transformation speed will be. In other words, they will have a significant advantage in the process of cultivating immortality.
Among tens of thousands of cultivators who have survived the Heavenly Tribulation, Elder Yan was the first to complete the transformation of immortal power, indicating that his physique is particularly suitable for cultivating immortality. At the very least, he is one in ten thousand, equivalent to a spiritual body among cultivators.
Elder Yan turned around and saw Xiao Wenbing and the two women, Zhang and Feng, sitting in a circle, leisurely looking around. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to have finished their practice long ago.
He was filled with mixed emotions. He had thought he was the first one there! But it turned out he was far behind the other three. However, given their special status, it was normal for him to be inferior.
Looking closely, besides Xiao Wenbing and the other two, and the four Venerables including Quini, he was indeed the first one to finish his practice.
In his smug satisfaction, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, where is that great monster?"
"A giant monster?" Xiao Wenbing was taken aback, then suddenly laughed, "It really is a giant monster."
Thinking of the colossal body of the Turtle God, spanning hundreds of kilometers, what else could it be but a gigantic monster?
Zhang Yaqi smiled slightly. Having undergone the baptism of heaven and earth, this beautiful woman exuded an even more beautiful and captivating charm: "Elder Yan, Senior Turtle God has just departed."
Indeed, while they were all focused on absorbing and practicing their skills, the Turtle God had yawned several times in succession. Moreover, the yawns were as loud as thunder. Xiao Wenbing couldn't bear to watch any longer and had no choice but to ask the old man to return to the underworld.
However, seeing the old tortoise's relieved expression and the tortoise shell's endless thanks for "taking care, benefactor," Xiao Wenbing immediately understood that the old tortoise was only treating them differently because the tortoise shell could become a god!
"Turtle God? Is that a deity?"
"good."
Elder Yan suddenly realized why Xiao Wenbing was so confident in helping tens of thousands of people successfully pass their tribulations; it turned out he had this trump card.
A day later, everyone finished their practice. With Elder Yan's tireless explanation, they all understood a "fact": the monster that had defeated the Heavenly Tribulation was a true deity summoned by Xiao Wenbing from the God Realm.
Elder Yan's description was extremely accurate, and his admiration for the Turtle God was heartfelt. The Turtle God's powerful strength, which could even shatter heavenly tribulations, made the four Venerables, including Quini, yearn for it.
After finishing his narration, Elder Yan floated to Xiao Wenbing's side. He hesitated for a moment, then respectfully asked, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, is that tortoise god your guardian spirit?"
Shabir and Quini exchanged a glance, amused. They had both met the Treasure God and the Turtle God before and knew that these two were not the same person, but since it concerned the gods, they did not tell anyone.
That's why Elder Yan and the others believed that the Turtle God was Xiao Wenbing's guardian deity, because no one would have imagined that Xiao Wenbing would receive the favor of two deities at the same time.
Xiao Wenbing looked at him, then suddenly revealed a mysterious smile. He said, "Elder Yan, some things are better left unsaid..."
Elder Yan was startled. He looked up and saw a hint of dissatisfaction in Xiao Wenbing's eyes. He felt a sense of panic and quickly bowed his head.
"Yes...yes..." Elder Yan bowed respectfully. After hearing Xiao Wenbing's words, he was convinced that this was the Treasure God and had the utmost respect for the Treasure God's power.
Xiao Wenbing stood up and said to Queenie and the others, "Queenie, this matter is settled. You can now acknowledge your master."
The four Venerables, including Quini, showed joy on their faces. They had originally worried about whether they could survive the series of tribulations after ascending to the Immortal Realm, but after hearing Elder Yan and the others' words, their worries were long gone.
Even a series of tribulations affecting tens of thousands of people could defeat a deity...
With such a powerful entity backing us, what can't we do?
As if they had heard Xiao Wenbing's words, they all stepped forward at the same time, facing Xiao Wenbing.
He respectfully kowtowed.
Biting his finger, Xiao Wenbing drew a mysterious symbol on each of their foreheads. He muttered incantations, then suddenly his eyes widened, and he roared, "Hurry..."
Quinni and the others trembled, their eyes dimmed, as if something had been added to their souls, or as if something had been taken away from them, and they were momentarily dazed.
This feeling was very strange, giving them a very uncomfortable feeling, but at the same time, they felt extremely excited. The two completely different feelings intertwined, making it difficult for them to control themselves.