Chapter 59: Tribulation Crossing

The Huailing Heavenly Tribulation, also known as the One-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, means that one will be struck by lightning at most nine times.

Once the strikes are finished, the Heavens finish their work and go off to drink tea; if the cultivator undergoing the tribulation survives these nine lightning strikes at most, then congratulations, they can henceforth enjoy a thousand years of lifespan, and the mortal world gains one more Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator known as an Earth Immortal.

The Heavenly Tribulation is not merely suffering, but a thorough tempering from the physical body to the Soul, utilizing the power of the Tribulation Lightning to achieve a sublimation of shedding one's mortal shell, thereby completely casting off the foundation of a mortal and beginning to use Spirit Qi to forge a Primordial Spirit, laying a solid foundation for future ascension to become an Immortal.

However, when a cultivator is undergoing the tribulation, they must be careful never to let other cultivators, Demon Beasts, or Spirit Beasts that exceed the realm of the tribulation appear within the sensing range of the lightning tribulation.

Once that happens, the power of the Heavenly Tribulation will suddenly multiply according to the realms of the sensed cultivators, Demon Beasts, and Spirit Beasts, and provide a double surprise.

Taiwu Zhenjun is at the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage, and the next time he must wait until he reaches the Huailing Houqi after passing the Two-Nine Heavenly Tribulation to advance to the True Spirit Realm; but if he were to be dragged into the tribulation now, the lightning tribulation would grant him the treatment of an advancement, descending with a Two-Nine Heavenly Tribulation to baptize him—and of course, he would also have to enjoy Danchenzi's One-Nine Heavenly Tribulation along with him.

In other words, with a cultivation level that is far from being able to withstand even a Two-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, he would unexpectedly have to undergo a Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation for advancing to the Spirit Transformation stage of the Shenling Realm; aside from being blasted into ashes, there is no other outcome to expect.

Of course, Danchenzi, who has not yet successfully completed Spirit Transformation, would also have to enjoy this double treatment, and he would certainly die even more miserably than Taiwu Zhenjun.

It is just that for Danchenzi, this is a one-off deal; it is possible he might not even withstand the One-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, so naturally, there is no difference between being struck nine times or twenty-seven times.

But for Taiwu Zhenjun, that would be a huge loss.

He originally already had a thousand years of lifespan and plenty of time to slowly polish his Primordial Spirit, so he absolutely does not want to be struck to death by lightning early.

The scale of the Tribulation Cloud in the sky is still expanding, and the edge of the purple cloud has even almost reached the top of Taiwu Zhenjun's head; furthermore, appearing to sense Taiwu Zhenjun's powerful aura, wisps of purple cloud have even begun to gather above his head.

Taiwu Zhenjun finally changed color, and in the end, he gritted his teeth, let go of the Second Elder, then grabbed Qingyunzi, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.

A gust of cold wind swirled, and in the blink of an eye, only snowflakes drifting across the sky remained.

At the same time, a voice rang out within a hundred miles of the Taiyuan Sect: "This old man looks forward to Brother Dao successfully completing Spirit Transformation and coming to my mountain gate another day to explain the cause of these matters; otherwise, this old man will not let this go. Farewell!"

"Brother Dao Taiwu, walk slowly. Once this poor Daoist has passed the Heavenly Tribulation, I will certainly visit your gate to explain the reasons!"

Danchenzi's voice pierced through a hundred miles and fell into the ears of Taiwu Zhenren.

Taiwu Zhenren's expression instantly became extremely grave; he looked back at the rolling Leiyun on the peak of the Taiyuan Sect one last time, and finally took a few steps and vanished without a trace.

There is a saying that Danchenzi is the strongest alchemy cultivator below the Spirit Transformation realm in the Song Kingdom's Immortal World.

Although in the eyes of these Spirit Realm Great Cultivators they are not worth mentioning, the power of Danchenzi's tribulation today is truly no small matter; the scale of the Tribulation Cloud is several times larger than when he himself underwent Spirit Transformation.

The lightning tribulation that follows will naturally also be stronger.

And the larger the scale of the lightning tribulation triggered by a cultivator's advancement, and the stronger the Tribulation Lightning, the stronger the Nascent Soul formed by Spirit Transformation will naturally be; the Primordial Spirit will be increasingly powerful in the future, and one will go further on the path to immortality.

This is actually the same as a mortal gestating a fetus; a fetus with a strong innate Qi is naturally robust, will be stronger when born, and will grow up to be more intelligent, tall, and strong, with fewer illnesses.

But if the innate gestation is insufficient, then naturally the later stages will be mediocre.

The process of the lightning tribulation is actually the process of a cultivator borrowing the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth to gestate a Spirit Infant.

Although Taiwu Zhenjun is now far beyond the range of the Heavenly Tribulation, he can still feel the terrifying aura of the incoming Tribulation Lightning and feels his heart pounding with fear.

He now dares not be tainted by this lightning tribulation in the slightest.

Otherwise, if he is targeted by the lightning tribulation, it will be total destruction, and it will absolutely blast him into flying ash.

Therefore, he does not even want to watch the excitement today; it is best to hurry back to his lair at Longmen Mountain, hunker down, and wait for the result.

Lest when Danchenzi finally cannot withstand the lightning tribulation, like a drowning person grabbing at the last straw of life, he drags him down as a cushion.

Such things have not happened for the first time in the Immortal World.

There was once a person undergoing the tribulation who, seeing that they were about to die, in their fear actually dragged their friend who was protecting them into the Heavenly Tribulation, and both were blasted into ashes by the Tribulation Lightning.

"Yeah! The Great Elder has come out of seclusion!"

Seeing Taiwu Zhenjun flee in a hurry, a group of disciples cheered and jumped for joy on the top of Zhaoyang Peak, which had already become ruins.

Danchenzi looked at the rolling Tribulation Cloud in the sky and said: "Elders and disciples of the sect, quickly withdraw outside the mountain gate; do not linger within the range of the lightning tribulation."

"As you command!"

The two Elders and a group of disciples bowed and accepted the order together, and soon each rode their Magic Treasure toward a high mountain several dozen miles to the southeast.

The purple Tribulation Cloud in the sky finally settled at about three hundred and fifty zhang, looking like a pot lid, appearing exceptionally clear and eerie under the clear sky.

Within the Tribulation Cloud, lightning light rolled and surged like golden snakes dancing; the color of the Tribulation Cloud also slowly changed from purple to purple-gold, as if it were a pot of golden water churning out of thin air, releasing an aura that shook the heavens and moved the earth. Even from several dozen miles away, Xu Chen and the others still felt their minds trembling and were unable to control the vibration of their internal energy.

"Boom—"

After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, a bolt of golden lightning fell from the Tribulation Cloud and struck squarely on Danchenzi, who was standing more than a hundred zhang high above the top of Zhaoyang Peak.

In an instant, Danchenzi was bathed in electric light, his human form almost impossible to see; one could only see a mass of lightning light churning and scattering across the sky. After a dozen breaths, the lightning light slowly dissipated, and Danchenzi's figure was revealed; apart from his Daoist robe being slightly damaged, he appeared to have no major issues.

The crowd had not yet fully calmed down when the second Tribulation Lightning crashed down with a roar, smashing onto Danchenzi.

Danchenzi's body plummeted more than a dozen zhang and was once again wrapped in lightning light; the crackling sound was like the surging of a sea tide, and electric sparks like dragons and snakes surrounded him, churning and exploding. The entire Zhaoyang Peak was trembling violently along with it.

The terrifying aura brought by the Heavenly Tribulation stirred the clear sky for ten thousand miles; in the vast and towering hundred-thousand-mile Southern Border Mountains, all birds returned to the forests and all beasts lay dormant. Even those Third-Tier and even Fourth-Rank Demon Beasts a thousand miles away were all trembling in fear, desperately restraining their own auras, not daring to have the slightest restlessness.

Compared to human cultivators who can use powerful pills and Magic Treasures to help resist the Heavenly Tribulation, for beasts, they can only rely on their own formidable bodies to resist it head-on.

Therefore, it is more difficult for beasts to advance compared to humans, and thus high-level existences are even rarer; but every Demon Beast or Spirit Beast that survives the Heavenly Tribulation and reaches the Fourth-Rank is undoubtedly a peerless fierce beast that is among the strongest in the world.

The second Tribulation Lightning slowly dissipated, and Danchenzi looked much more disheveled, but the aura radiating from his whole body was even more intense. His beard and hair stood on end, and his internal energy was surging, unexpectedly condensing into light shadows of flowers, birds, insects, and fish around his body. He looked truly like a True Immortal descending, which was breathtaking.

This is a sign of the manifestation of internal energy after it has been transformed into Spirit Qi under the lightning tribulation.

Soon, the third Tribulation Lightning fell, and Danchenzi was again struck down more than a dozen zhang, with the lightning light drowning him like a tide.

Xu Chen and the others stood on a mountain top several dozen miles away, not daring to release any internal energy or Divine Sense, and could only observe with their eyes.

Watching the Tribulation Lightning fall one after another onto the Great Elder, the crowd exclaimed repeatedly, but they could only watch helplessly, pressing down hard on their pounding hearts, praying for the gods of heaven to bless the Great Elder to successfully pass the tribulation, and of course, also praying that the Tribulation Lightning could strike a few times less.

The Taiyuan Sect is still more than three hundred miles away from Nanyang City, the closest mortal city in the Great Song.

But such a terrifying shock and thunder occurring deep in the Southern Border were like the heavens and earth cracking apart; naturally, mortals could also feel it, and thus they were all extremely terrified, hiding here and there, not knowing what was happening.

Ten thousand miles to the northwest, there is a towering mountain named Diei, which is anciently said to be the place where Taiyi Xianzun attained the Dao; therefore, in the Immortal World, Diei is also called Taiyi Shenshan.

Taiyi stretches for ten thousand miles from east to west, with countless strange peaks among the mountains, each one as picturesque as a painting. The highest one is named Cuihua, and the largest Immortal Sect of the Great Song, Yuqing Hall, is located upon it.

Cuihua Mountain has exceptionally beautiful scenery, with distinct seasons; thousand-zhang peaks tower into the clouds and mist, ancient pines like canopies grow on the cliffs and precipices, ancient vines are like forests, and all around are flying waterfalls and mountain streams, drifting clouds and mist, exotic flowers blooming, Spirit Grass emitting light, immortal birds dancing, and tigers roaring and apes howling. It is truly a blessed land of the immortals and a grotto-heaven in the human world.

Cuihua Peak stands alone in its beauty; from the mountainside to the summit, there are magnificent and beautiful buildings and halls everywhere, hidden among strange pines, green cypresses, and flowing clouds and mist, appearing and disappearing as if they were palaces and towers of the immortals.

Between the flowing clouds and flying waterfalls, Escape Light flashes by from time to time; those are the Immortals of Yuqing Hall flying through the air, carefree in the world.

At the highest point of the mountain peak, there is a platform, and under a welcoming pine about a zhang thick, two gray-haired old men of about fifty years of age are playing chess.

Two young Daoist acolytes stood on either side holding horsetail whisks, while a few apes and Spirit Cranes frolicked about; all around was a vast sea of clouds, the horizon stretching out to the extreme, and in the far distance, several green mountains and snow-capped peaks stood amidst the flowing clouds, the mountain breeze brushing past, causing the sea of clouds to roll and shift, occasionally revealing glimpses of the mortal realm where faint cities could be seen.

Both elders wore serene expressions, placing their pieces neither too fast nor too slow, and with every piece placed, they would stroke their beards and smile, seemingly very satisfied with their move.

"Clack~"

Suddenly, a pinecone fell onto the chessboard.

The slightly short and stout elder on the east side was slightly taken aback, and before he could speak, the slightly tall and thin elder sitting opposite him on the west stood up, facing the far southeast, while his fingers twitched a few times and his expression suddenly turned grave.

"What did you calculate, Senior Brother?" the short and stout elder asked, gently brushing the pinecone away with his sleeve.

The tall and thin elder said earnestly: "The heavens and earth in the southeast are trembling, it seems Tribulation Lightning has descended upon the mortal world."

"Tribulation Lightning!" The short and stout elder stood up as well, full of surprise, and looked toward the southeast; in an instant, his Divine Sense reached a thousand miles away, and then his ruddy face slowly revealed a hint of gravity, mixed with confusion, as he said: "It seems very far, at least ten thousand miles away, it should be in the Southern Border; could it be that another peerless monster has emerged in the Southern Border?"

The tall and thin elder frowned and said: "Hard to say, but where there is a lightning tribulation, there must be a fellow cultivator from an Immortal Sect or a monster advancing; however, if it were too far, we would certainly not be able to sense it, so this lightning tribulation must be on the edge of the Southern Border of the Song Kingdom, it cannot be too far."