Chapter 8: Tribulation, Heavenly Lightning, Body Refining
You didn’t stand on ceremony, and accepted the greeting gift with gusto.
Though the item was precious, it meant little to Xiao Fan, who was about to step into the Golden Core stage.
In your presence, Li Chen sent a voice transmission across a thousand li, informing Xiao Fan of the matter.
Soon, Li Chen received a reply and told you that in one month, Xiao Fan would undergo his tribulation at the back mountain of the sect, and that you should make preparations in advance.
You agreed readily.
One month later, you arrived at the back mountain of the sect, where Xiao Fan, Liu Ruyan, and Li Chen had been waiting for some time.
“Senior Brother, it has been a long time,” Xiao Fan said. Even though he was about to step into the Golden Core stage and become a Golden Core True Person, he still treated you as a friend.
“More than ten years have passed, and you’re about to become a Golden Core True Person.” You could not help but sigh, knowing you had not misjudged this person back then.
“What do you need me to do later, Senior Brother?” Xiao Fan asked. He knew well the terror of the lightning tribulation.
“Nothing. Just focus on your breakthrough.” You waved your hand, signaling that Xiao Fan did not need to worry about looking after you.
When he reached the summit, Xiao Fan raised his condition to its absolute peak, drew down the Golden Core stage lightning tribulation, and began his breakthrough.
Ten li away, Liu Ruyan and Li Chen stood guard for him.
You waited quietly for the right moment, preparing to draw the lightning into your body and cultivate the Heavenly Lightning Body-Refining Art.
The heavenly tribulation for breaking through to the Golden Core stage was called the Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.
The Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was divided into three waves, and each wave contained nine bolts of Heavenly Lightning, for a total of twenty-seven lightning tribulations.
Moreover, each wave was stronger than the last.
Watching the Heavenly Lightning stir restlessly, you knew that this first wave of tribulation was the key to whether or not your cultivation would succeed.
Boom—
The Heavenly Lightning that had been brewing for a long time finally fell, striking Xiao Fan directly.
“Just the first bolt of Heavenly Lightning, and it already carries the full-force strike of a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator!” Li Chen murmured to himself. “Truly terrifying.”
Hearing this, Liu Ruyan could not help but grow tense as well.
Facing the Heavenly Lightning about to fall, Xiao Fan chose to strike first.
“Overlord Fist!” With a single punch, Xiao Fan directly scattered the first bolt of Heavenly Lightning.
You seized this chance to circulate your technique at the side, absorbing the scattered Heavenly Lightning to refine your body.
As long as you did not take the initiative to act, the heavenly tribulation would not attack anyone other than the cultivator undergoing tribulation.
The first bolt of Heavenly Lightning ended, and the second immediately followed.
Xiao Fan, still in the midst of his tribulation, continued to strike, throwing punch after punch, blocking bolt after bolt of Heavenly Lightning.
You hid nearby, madly circulating the Heavenly Lightning Body-Refining Art, absorbing the scattered Heavenly Lightning.
Even the residual power of the Heavenly Lightning was not something a fifth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator like you could withstand.
The powerful Heavenly Lightning energy rampaged through your body. You frantically circulated your technique, guiding the Heavenly Lightning energy to stimulate your flesh and awaken the latent power within.
At the same time, you absorbed the Heavenly Lightning energy to strengthen your body.
As more and more Heavenly Lightning energy was drawn into your body, you realized that in a short time, you could not absorb it all.
The violent Heavenly Lightning energy began to rampage wildly through your body.
It caused tremendous damage to your body.
You took out the healing pills you had prepared in advance and shoved handfuls into your mouth.
The healing effect of the pills and the violent Heavenly Lightning energy entered a contest.
At the same time, Xiao Fan successfully broke through the first wave of heavenly tribulation, and the second, even more powerful wave was brewing.
Taking advantage of the lull while the tribulation prepared, Xiao Fan glanced back at you. Seeing that you were temporarily unharmed, he began seizing the time to recover his spiritual power.
The commotion from Xiao Fan’s tribulation had long since alerted everyone in the Body-Refining Sect. At this moment, a crowd of inner sect disciples and elders were watching from not far away.
Among the crowd, an elder frowned when he saw you, then, as if something had occurred to him, laughed heartily. His gaze toward you was full of admiration.
At this moment, you were suppressing the rampaging Heavenly Lightning energy on all sides, with no attention to spare for anything outside.
The clothes on your body had long since been blasted to ash by the Heavenly Lightning energy. Your originally fair skin was now pitch-black, blending into the night.
If one relied on eyes alone, it would be impossible to find where you were.
Who knew how much time passed. Just when you were about to hold on no longer, a new power suddenly appeared within your body.
With the appearance of this power, you felt the damage caused by the Heavenly Lightning energy begin to weaken.
Moreover, the Heavenly Lightning energy within your body was being digested faster and faster.
More and more Heavenly Lightning energy was absorbed by your body.
You felt the new power within your body growing stronger and stronger.
This power flowed through your entire body, healing your injuries while also clearing out the impurities within.
You knew the Heavenly Lightning Body-Refining Art had been mastered.
You had elevated your physical body to the Foundation Establishment stage.
You had become stronger.
The moment the Heavenly Lightning Body-Refining Art reached entry level, your physical body’s strength reached the Foundation Establishment stage. You could not help but laugh aloud, calling it awesome.
“Senior Brother Ye, the tribulation behind is too strong, you need to withdraw!” Suddenly, Xiao Fan, still undergoing tribulation, sent you a voice transmission.
“Junior Brother, focus on your tribulation. Don’t worry about my safety.” You ended your cultivation, quickly put on clothes, and withdrew from the range of the tribulation.
The final wave of the Golden Core stage Heavenly Lightning arrived, and the last nine bolts descended one by one.
Sensing the power contained within the Heavenly Lightning, Xiao Fan had no choice but to unleash his strongest combat power to respond.
Boom—
You watched helplessly as bolt after bolt of Heavenly Lightning fell, each one received by Xiao Fan.
Suddenly, the twenty-sixth bolt of Heavenly Lightning fell, striking Xiao Fan directly, blasting him out of the air and smashing a great crater into the ground.
Xiao Fan had just crawled out of the crater when the final bolt of Heavenly Lightning suddenly fell, striking him once again.
Xiao Fan collapsed straight onto the ground, his entire body numb.
“Brother Xiao Fan!” Liu Ruyan finally could not hold back, crying out loudly, and flew toward Xiao Fan.
“Don’t go over there, the heavenly tribulation isn’t over yet!” You suddenly spoke, stopping Liu Ruyan.
All twenty-seven lightning tribulations had fallen, yet the tribulation clouds, which should have dispersed, had instead grown deeper, showing no sign of scattering whatsoever.
“What’s going on?”
“All twenty-seven bolts of Heavenly Lightning have struck, so why haven’t the tribulation clouds dispersed?”
The onlookers all voiced their questions.
“It’s actually the legendary Purple Heaven Divine Lightning! I never imagined our Body-Refining Sect had such a genius.”
Everyone looked toward the voice and found it came from a middle-aged man who appeared to be around thirty.
“Sect Master!”
“Sect Master!”
From the crowd’s words, you learned that this man was the Sect Master of the Body-Refining Sect, Ouyang Xiu, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
He was also, as far as you currently knew, the only cultivator besides yourself who had mastered the Heavenly Lightning Body-Refining Art.