Chapter 78: Watching the Heavenly Tribulation, Bearing Thunder Scales! (First Update)

Raindrops fell on his face, and the villagers were still somewhat incredulous, "Quick quick quick, hurry and pinch me, I'm not dreaming, am I?"

The honest Er Niu beside him, hearing this, immediately sprang into action and pinched him hard.

A pig-slaughtering wail instantly echoed through the whole group.

"You really pinched me!"

Da Zhu winced in pain, gritting his teeth, yet joy shone from his brows and eyes, impossible to hide.

Er Niu gave a foolish grin and answered solemnly, "You told me to pinch you; now it seems we're not dreaming—want another pinch?"

The crowd burst out laughing, unable to hold back their hilarity.

The previously heavy mood was finally swept away by this downpour; though the sky was thick with dark clouds and gloom, everyone's expressions were bright and cheerful.

They were happier than even during New Year.

Nothing feels more fortunate than surviving a calamity.

Everyone had prepared to abandon the village, but fortunes turned, and a glimmer of hope appeared.

"That's great—such heavy rain, even if it can't put out the mountain fire, it should at least reduce the blaze."

"Maybe we don't have to leave the village after all, and the village won't be completely burned down."

"Then my chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep are surely saved."

Everyone immersed in joy, running wildly in the rain, hoping the downpour would last several days and nights to ease the prolonged drought.

Hu Xiaocao carefully shielded the statue, lest it get wet from the rain.

"It's the Mountain God Grandfather showing his power, summoning this rain; I knew he wouldn't stand idly by."

Hu Xiaocao's words awakened the dreamers.

Clearly, the firefighters and meteorological station had said no rain would fall this period, yet suddenly this downpour appeared with no warning.

Its appearance was both timely and sudden.

If not the Mountain God, then who could it be?

As for why the Mountain God didn't act earlier, the villagers have already conjectured that he must be saving up a big move—after all, summoning clouds and rain takes time, so this rain came down so heavily.

Hu Xiaocao's mother was the first to kneel, "Thank you, Mountain God Grandfather, for letting Longyuan Village escape disaster."

The village chief quickly followed, "Thanks, Mountain God Grandfather, for preserving our existence."

The other villagers naturally did the same.

Amid the torrential rain, the villagers of Longyuan Village knelt in gratitude, their devout expressions as if carved from the same mold.

This scene deeply shocked the others.

The firefighters and some police were simply dumbfounded.

Because there weren't enough hands here, plus organizing the villagers' relocation and so on, additional police were drawn from nearby.

This included Sun Zhenbang and others who had previously dealt with the village.

Although Sun Zhenbang and his group had already heard of Longyuan Village's Mountain God legend and knew the villagers believed in it, seeing the scene still left them somewhat shocked.

The firefighters couldn't help but complain, "What's going on? The people of Longyuan Village are too superstitious—what does this have to do with the Mountain God?"

"What era is this, yet they still believe in the Mountain God legend?"

"I heard earlier that a local official came to promote fire prevention knowledge, but was shocked by Longyuan Village's superstition; I thought it was exaggerated, but I didn't expect this."

"Longyuan Village had even held a large-scale ceremony to worship the Mountain God before."

Others were originally pleased with the rain, but seeing Longyuan Village's actions, they couldn't help but gossip.

This rain is indeed miraculous, but not to that extent.

Countless raindrops fell on the mountains and forests; upon contacting the flames, they emitted a continual sizzling, after which the fire diminished and a wisp of white smoke rose.

Amid the flashing lightning and thunder, people soon noticed something odd.

"Why is the lightning striking the same spot over and over, as if it had eyes?"

Hearing this, Sun Zhenbang's eyes flickered; he quickly looked toward the distance, and memories surfaced in his mind.

He saw the mountain peak shrouded in dark clouds, lightning serpents dancing, and indeed they were almost all striking the same direction.

How similar this scene is to the previous one!

The meteorological station observers were even more bewildered.

"Strange—there are clearly no conditions for rain, and there weren't thick clouds before, making it impossible to form such overcast skies; how did this huge thundercloud appear?"

This massive thundercloud seemed to appear out of nowhere with no sign; the meteorologists racked their brains, losing hair over it, yet found no answer.

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.

Sun Zhenbang's pupils contracted slightly; the same thing happened last winter.

The odds of such similar weather occurring are truly minuscule.

If the first time was an accident, what about the second?

It's far too coincidental!

It's the same mountain, and the lightning strikes only one spot.

What is special about this mountain? Could it be a magnetic anomaly?

A passing villager, having overheard the meteorologists, spoke mysteriously: "It must be the Mountain God Grandfather who summoned it—perhaps he is undergoing his heavenly tribulation."

Everyone's expressions became even more speechless.

Apart from the villagers of Longyuan Village, others don't really believe in the Mountain God legend.

But that doesn't matter; what matters is that, under the rain, the uncontrollable fire that had raged for days was finally brought under control.

At this moment, Ye Qin on the mountain is indeed undergoing his heavenly tribulation.

The sky is thick with dark clouds; he draws the tribulation lightning by observing the clouds, summoning the dark clouds, which themselves contain some lightning power, aided further by the tribulation lightning!

"Boom—"

A loud bang, Ye Qin suddenly opened his eyes.

It finally came!

I've been waiting for a long time!

Contemplating the clouds is merely the first step; what he truly wishes to contemplate is actually this supremely rigid and yang, boundless power of lightning!

You should know, the Second Realm is for tempering the body through creation, requiring a contemplation object to make up for one's deficiencies.

And this 'contemplation of creation' is not only needed in the Second Realm; each subsequent realm will perform a contemplation to perfect oneself.

Before, the Heavenly Tribulation did not descend; Ye Qin guessed it was because he had broken through to the Third Realm but had not yet used a contemplation object to perfect himself.

So although he had broken through, it was not comprehensive enough, thus no Heavenly Tribulation was triggered.

This way, it can be explained.

Before, he had been consolidating himself, absorbing the qi of heaven and earth, so he was not in a hurry to contemplate new things; he never expected that it was precisely because of this that the Heavenly Tribulation was delayed.

And for the Third Realm's contemplation object, Ye Qin considered lightning!

He could have contemplated the sun, with the left eye as yin and the right eye as yang. But Ye Qin discovered that the sun is too fierce and its momentum overwhelming; contemplating the sun with his current realm brings more harm than benefit.

But Ye Qin currently urgently needs a supremely strong and fierce divine ability, so he thought of lightning.

But because there had been no thunderstorm weather, plus the sudden mountain fire, Ye Qin could only seek another method, leading to the present situation.

Although Ye Qin's current realm cannot summon wind and rain, if the Heavenly Tribulation descends, he can alter the weather, thereby summoning rain clouds, and then contemplate the power of lightning.

It is literally a win-win situation.

Moreover, clouds give rise to electricity, and from clouds one draws thunder; this also conforms to the Great Dao, and there is no such thing as deceiving the heavens.

Thus, the two complement each other, and everything was accomplished as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Although it seems accidental, in fact everything is under Ye Qin's control.

Contemplating thunder, while extinguishing the mountain fire.

Whoosh!

At this moment, torrential rain pours between heaven and earth, drenching from above; the mountain fire not far away has halted its momentum and no longer approaches the hill where Ye Qin stands.

Thus, Ye Qin's cultivation site is preserved, untouched by the mountain fire; the mountain remains lush and full of spiritual energy.

And beneath this rain curtain, Ye Qin seems like a lone leaf boat, standing proudly amidst the mountains and rivers.

The rain is quite heavy, gradually forming a layer of misty white fog that completely envelops the mountain fire.

The previously raging mountain fire has long lost its former fierce, teeth-baring and claw-waving appearance, submitting to the lightning and heavy rain.

And Ye Qin, seated atop his own hill, watches the lightning dragons roam within the cloud layers, full of domineering aura, with a flash of excitement in his serpentine pupils.

Contemplating the Heavenly Tribulation is truly unprecedented in ancient and modern times!

Not far away, muffled thunder rumbles without cease, as if brewing a more terrifying presence.

Boom—!

A loud bang, as if the entire mountain valley were shaking; the verdant peaks are shrouded in lightning, like a swaying small boat, always at risk of capsizing.

Not only the mountains and rivers, but the entire vast land is likewise; the expanse of the lightning sea is truly enormous, boundless, within which colossal beasts stand fierce, as if they would devour the whole heaven and earth.

The muffled thunder grows ever louder, seeking to break free from the clouds' bonds, to tear open this shackle and escape completely.

A blinding white light flashes past, stinging everyone's eyes so they can hardly open them, accompanied by a deafening roar that makes hearts panic and the earth tremble.

Immediately followed, purple lightning tears open countless huge gaps; numerous unfathomable cracks occupy the entire firmament, as ferocious lightning dragons howl forth.

The ferocious mountain fire, like a red long worm strangled at the throat, writhes incessantly, forced by the lightning dragons to continually retreat.

Under heavenly might, how dare a trifling mountain fire offend?

The lightning dragon, silver serpent, sweeps across heaven and earth with the force to destroy the decayed.

The mountain fire fears, but Ye Qin does not; he stares unblinkingly at the heavenly lightning above.

Compared to his first experience of the Heavenly Tribulation, he now still feels some panic and unease, but fortunately he can restrain it.

Irrelevant to anything else, probably this serpent's body once suffered heavy wounds from being struck by lightning, even nearly dying.

But now, this is his contemplation object; if he were afraid, how could he contemplate?

Ordinary lightning, even if it can be contemplated, contains energy that cannot be compared to the Heavenly Tribulation; those are merely mundane lightning.

This kind of lightning, however, contains the will of the Heavenly Dao.

Since one is to contemplate, it must be the best.

Moreover, Ye Qin wants to challenge himself, to use this opportunity to completely overcome his inner fear of lightning, which may also help him when he later faces the Heavenly Tribulation.

Just as he initially guessed, this second Heavenly Tribulation likewise did not strike his own body, but who knows what the future holds?

So Ye Qin must make use of it, to temper his body by observing lightning, because future lightning will certainly not be like now; it will surely strike his body for real.

Ye Qin must prepare early.

Now his cultivation is still shallow, so the Heavenly Tribulation is merely a deterrent, without substantive harm; this also gives Ye Qin an opportunity to exploit a loophole.

He stares unblinkingly at the heavenly lightning, watching that stout lightning dragon constantly roam from heaven to earth.

Silver and purple light intertwine around Ye Qin.

Heaven seems to have sensed Ye Qin's thoughts; the pressure within the lightning grows ever greater, as if to frighten him away.

And Ye Qin is certainly not so easily frightened; his serpentine pupils slightly close, indicating he has entered a deep meditative state.

No matter how heaven and earth collapse outside, it will not affect him.

Thunder again makes thunder; yin and yang interact subtly, thunder rain gives rise to beings, and at the same time it is inseparably linked to yin and yang.

The Huainanzi says, 'When negative and positive forces interact lightly, it becomes thunder; when they stir vigorously, it becomes electricity.'

The meaning is, the two qi of yin and yang striking each other produce thunder; mutually permeating produces electricity.

And in the Zhouyi there is a more detailed saying: 'Heaven and earth have set positions, mountains and marshes exchange vital energy, thunder and wind interact lightly, water and fire do not oppose each other; the eight trigrams interlace.'

Heaven and earth have fixed positions; mountains and marshes together endure the natural changes of yin and yang; thunder and wind draw near each other; water and fire do not seek to counteract each other; the eight trigrams combine in interlocking fashion.

At the same time, yin and yang also have countless connections with all things.

All things bear yin and embrace yang, and the vital breath brings harmony.

All things under heaven are born in this state; all things turn their backs to yin and face yang, and through the interaction of yin and yang energies they form a new harmonious entity.

Thus it can be seen that lightning, yin and yang, and all things also have countless connections.

In many ancient myths and legends, there is the saying that one must pass the heavenly tribulation to achieve true cultivation, and even that the heavenly tribulation is the representative of the will of Heaven.

Moreover, lightning is the bane of many yin and evil things.

All things have karmic cycles; many people like to say, "Beware of retribution, heavenly thunder strikes," and similar sayings.

Thus it can be seen that, from a certain perspective, lightning contains the Heavenly Dao.

The lightning between heaven and earth seems to have gained life; watching Ye Qin meditating in the mountains, he is astonishingly bold, contemplating the heavenly tribulation!

From ancient times to the present, no living being has ever dared to do this.

Seeing the heavenly tribulation, who is not exhausted from fleeing? How could it be like Ye Qin, even operating in reverse?

This is undoubtedly a provocation of its majesty, completely disregarding the Heavenly Dao.

During the first heavenly tribulation, it did not strike for too long, but this time, perhaps because Ye Qin took the opportunity to contemplate, the striking lasted longer than before.

Lightning continually struck around Ye Qin, like a warning and a demonstration, wishing to strike him directly, but perhaps out of consideration or some restriction.

Unable to strike Ye Qin directly, it could only strike the nearby trees and land, as if venting its anger.

Except for the spot beneath Ye Qin, everywhere else is scorched black, with traces of lightning strikes everywhere, looking shocking and terrifying.

They intended to stop or intimidate Ye Qin from continuing his contemplation.

But Ye Qin possesses extraordinary talent; he slowly opened his eyes, and in his snake pupils were mixed hints of purple light, as if also tinged with the power of lightning.

At that moment, a humanoid shadow was cast beside Ye Qin.

But looking around, aside from Ye Qin there was no other living being, let alone a person.

And this shadow naturally came from his Origin Contemplation Object—the White Bone.

At this moment, on the mental imaginative plane invisible to the naked eye, a white bone resembling a human form, born from the left eye, gradually appeared.

In the hollow eye sockets of the white bone, moonlight flowed, as if able to gaze into distant void; a bright moon slowly rose alongside it, while lightning continually circled around.

As Ye Qin contemplated lightning, the origin of the white bone was bathed in lightning, as if each bone emitted tiny arcs.

Between the collisions of arcs, many sparks were produced, shining together with the white bones.

Lightning continually tempered the white bone; each joint overflowed with a strange blue‑purple hue, yet also carried an indescribable pressure.

Under the forging of lightning, the bones appeared even harder, and faintly one could hear the sound of metal weapons, with a lingering resonance.

Within its holiness, it was also filled with majesty.

As the contemplation deepened, a purple lightning symbol flickered on the white bone's skull, as if endless mysteries were turning within!

Contemplating thunder, initial results appeared; the white bone had already begun to receive creation's gift.

Afterward, several forces were all combined, feeding back into Ye Qin himself, as countless powers surged into his serpent body.

After the feedback, the white bone and the imagined moon, like having completed their tasks, gradually dissipated.

At this moment, Ye Qin's scales all over his body seemed plated with a layer of purple light, covering the original blue‑black hue, as if a purple membrane lay over them.

The power of lightning washed over Ye Qin; although there was some pain, it was soon followed by a tingling numbness, especially at the forehead corresponding to the white bone.

Ye Qin could feel that spot constantly heating, as if struck by lightning, and as if something were about to grow there.

Soon that purple membrane gradually faded, and the blue‑black serpent scales looked as if they had been tempered and forged, each piece indestructible.

Moreover, at the center of Ye Qin's forehead, a small scale grew, different from the black and green serpent scales.

This scale turned out to be purple!

Faintly visible, arcs flashed and lightning gleamed.

Mixed among the other scales, it appears unremarkable, yet it must not be overlooked!

(End of chapter)