The turtle and the toad had broken through at the same time, creating massive phenomena. Even the areas tens of kilometers away from the Ziling Sect were affected, and all the wild beasts madly fled in fear. Far away from them, the people in Ziling City felt the oppressive sensation of a natural calamity approaching and became restless.
The lightning tribulation lasted for an indeterminate amount of time. Eventually, the sea of lightning in the sky gradually vanished.
Tranquility returned.
Xiang Shaoyun was too busy to check on the turtle and the toad. Instead, he rushed to the cave to see how much of the flux goldthorn energy remained. When he arrived, he found that about one third of the flux goldthorn energy had been used. It was clear that the two beasts had used a large amount of energy for their breakthrough.
Xiang Shaoyun hurriedly absorbed the remaining energy into his astral cosmos sea, not wanting to waste it by letting it continue to dissipate. After all, the flux goldthorn energy could likely support his cultivation all the way to the Saint Realm. Only after retrieving it did he go to the turtle and the toad.
They hadn’t gone too far away from the sect. About 100 mountains near them had been destroyed. The area was in a complete mess, and flame and lightning energies still rampaged in the region, not leaving even a single blade of grass intact.
Xiang Shaoyun did not hold back, and he absorbed the flame and lightning energies in the surroundings since they were natural energies left behind by a saint-grade tribulation and could greatly enhance his cultivation.
Money also rushed over and hurriedly absorbed the lightning energy, not wanting to waste any of it. The turtle and the toad, who were recovering from their breakthrough, were completely ignored. They were gloomy when they discovered they were ignored despite having just survived a lightning tribulation to become Demon Saints.
However, they didn’t have the time to indulge in their gloominess. They focused and repaired their damaged bodies, forging true Demon Saint bodies. Xiang Shaoyun naturally wouldn’t disregard them completely. He heaved a breath of relief when he found they were still alive. He stood guard for them, ensuring that they could recover in peace.
After absorbing the flame and lightning energies, Xiang Shaoyun’s flame and lightning stars grew considerably. The unique energies contained within the stars were incredibly destructive, capable of instantly killing a regular person by mere contact. Only someone like Xiang Shaoyun with a tough body could ignore the two energies’ destructiveness and absorb them forcefully.
After an unknown amount of time, the turtle and the toad were finally almost fully recovered. Their massive bodies shrunk as they turned back into their human forms. They now looked much younger than before, and a powerful devilish aura still lingered around them as they still couldn’t fully control their new strength.
With each step they took, a radiant brilliance would light up around them. The radiance was extremely oppressive, as though one’s eyes would go blind from being stabbed just by looking at them. This was a unique attribute the pair had obtained from absorbing the flux goldthorn energy, and they could now utilize the energy to kill their enemies.
“Thank you for blessing us with this success, young master,” said the two respectfully.
They might be Demon Saints now, but they had long opted to serve Xiang Shaoyun. Thus, the thought of betraying him never crossed their minds. In any case, they were connected to Xiang Shaoyun through karma, and they would not be able to escape the arrangements of fate.
“See, I told you it would be fine. Do you believe me now?” said Xiang Shaoyun with a smile. His face turned solemn. “You will need to watch over the sect for the coming days. I am going to enter seclusion for a while.”
“Don’t worry, young master. With me here, nobody can touch this place,” said the turtle.
The toad hurriedly said, “That’s right. I can swallow any regular Saint alive.”
“That’s good to hear. Don’t create trouble, or you will regret it,” warned Xiang Shaoyun sternly.
He brought the two back to the grand hall and gathered the elders to introduce the two to them. They were incredibly pleased to learn that the two were now Demon Saints. The stronger the sect became, the safer the elders would feel. The two beasts were appointed as sacred elders, taking on the task of protecting the sect.
Afterward, Xiang Shaoyun spent some loving time with Tuoba Wan’er and Gong Qinyin, then entered seclusion with Money. The two women wasted no time and also entered seclusion separately.
As for Xia Liuhui, instead of waiting for Duo Ji to come out of seclusion, he returned alone to the Sacred Deer Academy, bored. He vowed to recruit some genius disciples from the academy on Xiang Shaoyun’s behalf.
Du Xuanhao was placed in charge of the sect’s defenses. He also needed to manage the new recruits sent over by their numerous subordinate organizations. He oversaw the recruits’ cultivation and helped them grow as quickly as possible.
As for Han Pojun, he took a trip back to the Han Clan to see if he could recruit some people. The Han Clan was located in the Yu Province, which was under the Yu Clan’s rule. Countless organizations in the province were related to the Yu Clan in some shape or form, so there was little space for the Han Clan to grow further there. Thus, it was better for him to get some of his fellow clan members to follow Xiang Shaoyun. They would perhaps have a better future in the Ziling Sect.
As for the villains, they went missing. They seemed to have left the sect, but it was probable that they had entered the Buried Monarch Mountain Range to look for new opportunities.
Guo Po, Xiang Shaoyun’s disciple, was trained alongside the regular disciples. He was born crippled, so he naturally faced many insults and instances of bullying when placed among the regular disciples. However, Xiang Shaoyun had said that he shouldn’t be given any special treatment. Guo Po would be required to stay with the regular disciples for a year, open up his meridians as quickly as possible, and enter the Astral Realm.
Of course, Xiang Shaoyun wasn’t so strict that he gave Guo Po no resources. After all, Guo Po was still a cripple. It wouldn’t be easy for him to enter the Astral Realm. Thus, Old Yao was in charge of giving him a medicinal bath once per month to properly nurse his body. With the medicinal bath, entering the Astral Realm wouldn’t be as hard as Guo Po had imagined.
Pang Tongyuan and the other loyalists were in charge of managing the sect’s general affairs. They had been crippled during their imprisonment, but with Old Yao’s help, they recovered greatly. For now, they would still be of some help to the sect.
As for Ziling City, it was placed under Qian Furen’s administration, and Qian Furen himself was appointed governor. One could say that Qian Furen had placed his bet correctly in the recent conflict, allowing his clan to rise rapidly.
The Qian Clan had always been a merchant clan. They knew that there were still many things to be done at the Ziling Sect and that a large number of spirit crystals would be required. Thus, they took control over all the trades in the city and started accumulating wealth for the sect to consolidate their position and show their support to the sect. This was their way of repaying the sect for their current position in the city.
