Chapter 209

"Transformation Lightning Tribulation?!"

Although there is still a distance, but he can feel the thunder broth brewing in the rolling black clouds; this is exactly the heavenly thunder power he is familiar with!

And the Transformation Lightning Tribulation refers to the heavenly thunder tribulation that a Third Level late-stage demon beast must undergo when advancing to a Fourth Level demon beast.

Only after undergoing this tribulation can a demon beast shed its womb and transform, partially converting its body into a human form; and as its cultivation base deepens, the extent of the demon beast's transformation varies.

It is said that when a demon beast's cultivation base reaches the Fifth Level, if it wishes, it can become indistinguishable from a human form.

Although Yunhe had long known of the existence of the Transformation Lightning Tribulation, even nearly bumping into a Fourth Level demon beast, and had even read much information about the Transformation Lightning Tribulation circulating in the Cloud Upper Realm, seeing this scene with his own eyes today truly filled his heart with shock.

He gazed at the distant low-pressure black clouds, within which flickering golden arcs of light made his demon power stir restlessly.

It is one of his innate divine abilities, "Thunder Storage", which becomes somewhat restless after sensing the heavenly thunder power.

Having absorbed the heavenly thunder power within the "Heavenly Thunder Gold Essence", he actually faintly felt a craving for the tribulation, a craving for heavenly thunder power.

"Want to go absorb heavenly thunder power?"

This thought arose, startling Yunhe himself; he hurriedly suppressed this unrealistic notion.

He almost thought he had gone mad.

This Transformation Lightning Tribulation is not an ordinary demon beast thunderbolt; it is the power of heaven and earth, a trial that heaven and earth impose on demon beasts.

Although a demon beast's cultivation base advances much slower than a human's, it has also been endowed with a naturally strong body, terrifying demon power, and a lifespan far exceeding that of human cultivators of the same rank.

What demon beasts lack is the wisdom that humans possess; this wisdom lets humans acquire the hundred immortal arts such as formations, pills, artifacts, and talismans, which can aid human cultivators in walking a smoother path, and also grants humans many more cultivation methods, exotic skills, and heretical techniques.

But once a demon beast successfully transforms, not only does its intelligence awaken, but it also gains the ability to study and develop skills such as the hundred immortal arts.

Although, due to different inheritance methods, it is harder for demon beasts to obtain similar skill transmissions, this greatly compensates for the gap between demon beasts and human cultivators in this regard.

Relying on their long lifespans, as long as demon beasts put in effort, they can always reap some rewards, even achieving notable accomplishments in certain fields.

Precisely for this reason, after demon beasts reach the Fourth Level, their advantage gradually surpasses that of humans; to balance this, heaven and earth send down the Transformation Lightning Tribulation.

Only Fourth Level demon beasts that have passed the Transformation Lightning Tribulation can assume human form.

Of course, in fact, most Fourth Level demon beasts, after passing the Transformation Lightning Tribulation, disdain taking human form, preferring to exalt their original, powerful bodies.

Moreover, although the Transformation Lightning Tribulation is a calamity for demon beasts, it is also a trial and tempering; after passing it, demon beasts also gain considerable benefits.

Gazing at the impending tribulation, Yunhe narrowed his eyes; his demon power slowly circulated, and under the shroud of mysterious demon power mist, his appearance gradually changed.

From a dark giant turtle, he gradually transformed into a bipedal, stalwart and towering figure; at first glance, one could sense the explosive power of a purple-furred giant bear.

Mysterious Beast Phantom Form—Thunder Beast Bear!

As he activated the Thunder Beast Essence Blood recorded in the "Sever Immortal Manual", his perception of the distant heavenly thunder power became increasingly clear.

Faint blue-purple lightning arcs flickered on his body.

"Should we take advantage of the moment after this demon beast finishes its tribulation, when its vital energy is greatly wounded, to launch a sneak attack? If we could seize this opportunity to slay it, the benefits and advantages of its Fourth Level demon beast body for me would be enormous."

Another thought sprang up in Yunhe's mind, making his heart tighten suddenly.

"What's wrong with me today? Why do I keep having unrealistic thoughts?"

Even if the Fourth Level demon beast becomes extremely weak, he alone could not handle it.

"Except."

Yunhe held his breath, inching closer to the spot where the tribulation was about to fall.

It wasn't that he truly had some extreme idea; he merely wanted to make an attempt.

At this moment, the demon beast preparing to undergo the tribulation was still only a Third Level late-stage, naturally unable to detect his presence and changes.

But if the opponent successfully passes the tribulation and advances to the Fourth Level demon beast tier, then it's hard to say.

He very much wanted to know, with his current cultivation base and demon sense, after employing the secret technique "Mysterious Beast Phantom Form" from the "Mysterious Beast Sever Immortal Manual", whether a Fourth Level demon beast could see through his transformation.

If the opponent can see through it, it means the disguise of "Mysterious Beast Phantom Form" still cannot conceal the aura; but if the opponent cannot see through it, then what he can do afterward would be much greater.

At least.

He could use a false demon beast identity to attempt contact with a Fourth Level demon beast's territory, or even the beast itself, to gain more information about the demon beast world.

And if he discovers the situation is amiss, he can escape via the Golden Cicada Shell Shedding.

Moreover, the unknown Fourth Level demon beast currently preparing to undergo the tribulation right before him is clearly the best test subject.

Because even if discovered, given the opponent's weakened state after the tribulation, Yunhe believes he cannot win, but fleeing is no problem.

Moreover, having just undergone the tribulation, the opponent is surely seeking a quiet place to rest and recover, rather than seeking trouble from a Third Level early-stage demon beast like him.

Most importantly.

Witnessing a Third Level late-stage demon beast undergo the Transformation Lightning Tribulation would also give him a rough idea of his own future tribulation, allowing him to prepare more thoroughly.

He crept forward cautiously.

When he drew near to a certain distance, Yunhe finally saw the massive creature preparing to undergo the tribulation.

Lo and behold, it was also a turtle!

However, its whole body emanated a glossy earthen-yellow aura; its heavy shell was not as rugged and spiky as Yunhe's, but rather very smooth and flat, presenting an earthen color.

Its head, raised like an eagle's, cried out incessantly; its stout limbs, like pillars, resembled heaven‑supporting columns, and it had a seemingly short tail that kept swaying, stirring up swirls of yellow earth‑qi that coiled around its body.

In the surrounding ground tremors, a yellow demonic wind arose; as its cries swirled and danced around it, the ground in this area seemed entirely under its control.

At this moment, Yunhe himself could also feel that if he tried to mobilize earth‑attribute spiritual energy, it would surely be detected by the opponent, and if he attempted to use the Earth Escape Technique, the difficulty would surely increase linearly.

"Land Mountain Turtle!"

While Yunhe was secretly startled, he also recognized this demon beast.

"It has begun!"

Yunhe hastily collected his thoughts and fixed his gaze on the demon.

Its large turtle eyes also froze, filled with a solemn expression.

Boom!!

A rumbling sound suddenly rang out.

Within the densely packed black clouds stretching a thousand li, a tremendously thick bolt of golden lightning, like a golden dragon emerging from the sea, rolled up countless tiny lightning bolts and crashed down.

As for this Lu Mountain Turtle, it merely relied on the rising earth-yellow qi to bare-handedly receive this strike of heavenly lightning, and remained completely unharmed.

However, once the Transformation Thunder Tribulation begins, it cannot be stopped.

At this moment, the Lu Mountain Turtle also has no need to be wary of its surroundings; neither the innate fear that beasts have of lightning nor the terrifying might of that heavenly lightning power is something any beast would dare to approach casually.

Even if a fourth-level demon beast appeared now, it could not approach and could only watch from afar.

Otherwise.

Once drawn into the heavenly lightning, being regarded by the power of heaven and earth as an assistant, the might of the Transformation Thunder Tribulation will increase geometrically.

Then, not only will the Lu Mountain Turtle undergoing the tribulation be unable to survive, but any beast drawn in will also very likely not survive.

Heavenly tribulation relies solely on one's own strength and must not rely on others; otherwise, it will be seen as a provocation against the power of heaven and earth.

"Huh?"

However, Yunhe, who was hiding far away, suddenly froze.

Because he discovered, the scattered heavenly lightning power seemed.

He, with a hint of hesitation and apprehension, after hesitating repeatedly, carefully opened his mouth and silently drew in a tiny strand of the scattering, leaping electric arc.

The scattered heavenly lightning power naturally could not resist his absorption.

Having transformed into a thunder beast, he inherently possesses an extremely strong aptitude for controlling lightning power, and coupled with his innate divine ability 'Thunder Storage', he also has a certain means of storing heavenly lightning power.

After absorbing this strand of heavenly lightning power, Yunhe's body tensed up, ready at any moment to dispel the 'Mysterious Beast Phantom Form' that concealed his aura and flee should the thunderclouds or tribulation change.

Quite obvious.

His caution was unnecessary.

Because these scattered heavenly lightning powers are not him blocking the tribulation for that Lu Mountain Turtle; they are the excess heavenly lightning power that scattered out after the Lu Mountain Turtle collided with the heavenly lightning, and even if he does not absorb them, they will quickly dissipate and return to heaven and earth.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Yunhe immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Afterward, he began to uninhibitedly absorb those scattered golden arcs.

Strand after strand of golden arcs, under his control as a thunder beast, were easily drawn in, and the absorbed heavenly lightning power was quickly taken up by the divine ability 'Thunder Storage'.

In Yunhe's qi sea dantian, his three inner elixirs were each wrapped with strands of electric arcs.

Boom! Boom! Boom——

As the heavenly tribulation bolts fell one after another, each increasing in power, even the Lu Mountain Turtle, skilled in defense, gradually felt strained, and its breath began to fluctuate.

As for Yunhe, under this tribulation he absorbed to his heart's content.

This is far more, and much faster, than the heavenly lightning power absorbed with the aid of 'Heavenly Thunder Gold Essence'.

Slowly.

When the absorption of heavenly lightning power reached a certain extent, Yunhe discovered that his body seemed to have undergone an unknown change.

"No, it cannot be said to be an unknown change."

While Yunhe continued to absorb the scattered heavenly lightning power, he also inwardly examined his demon sense.

He discovered that a thumb-sized 'tumor' had grown in his abdominal cavity.

All the heavenly lightning power he had absorbed, from initially containing it like a monster core, up to now, has been placed within this 'tumor'.

"Thunder Bag?!"

"Is this the product of my divine ability 'Thunder Storage' after growth?"

Although he was doubtful, in fact Yunhe's heart had already become certain.

Originally, Yunhe's innate divine ability 'Thunder Storage' could absorb and store lightning power, but he found it difficult to finely control the released lightning; each time the stored lightning was used, it would be completely expended, drained completely.

But with the appearance of this 'Thunder Bag', he felt his mastery over the innate divine ability 'Thunder Storage' had increased further.

At least.

He seemed able to control the amount of lightning released, rather than having to unleash all the stored lightning each time and then start accumulating from scratch!

This undoubtedly gave him greater and stronger control over that divine ability.

"Could my innate divine ability 'Thunder Storage' possibly need to absorb heavenly lightning power in order to evolve and transform?"

The last time he noticed a change in 'Thunder Storage' was also after absorbing the heavenly lightning power within the 'Heavenly Thunder Gold Essence' and absorbing the lightning from the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile, which carried a hint of heavenly lightning power.

Yunhe's expression became somewhat strange.

However, despite thinking so, Yunhe did not stop absorbing the scattered heavenly lightning power.

Boom!!

Another huge bolt of lightning fell.

"Ang——!!"

Not far away, the Lu Mountain Turtle let out an angry roar; at this moment, its turtle back was completely pitch black, the earth-yellow qi that had originally coiled around its body had already been mostly consumed, and its overall aura had become somewhat listless.

"This is the fourth heavenly lightning bolt, right?"

Yunhe, squinting his eyes, silently counted the number of falling lightning bolts, estimating the Lu Mountain Turtle's capacity to endure.

Generally, the number and intensity of Transformation Thunder Tribulation are determined by the strength and aptitude of the beast undergoing the tribulation, at most nine bolts, but according to what Yunhe knows, he has never seen any records of a beast that has endured a ninefold heavenly tribulation.

From the Lu Mountain Turtle's current situation, just four bolts of tribulation have already left it somewhat overwhelmed.

Gazing at the thunderclouds above that showed no sign of dissipating, a flash of human-like helplessness and resolve passed through the Lu Mountain Turtle's eyes.

Busy until afternoon before returning home, I don't know if I can manage another chapter tonight, but no matter what, I will resume normal updates tomorrow.

(End of chapter)