Chapter 685: 81 Lightning Bolts

Even they had suffered serious injuries.

The speaking zombie had lost both arms.

It dragged itself along the ground, trying to reach the edge of the sealing array.

The barrier in front of it was covered in cracks.

It struck the array with its shoulder.

The barrier shook.

A small opening appeared.

The zombie forced its head through.

Before the rest of its body could follow, a spatial lightning bolt emerged beside it.

The zombie looked toward Chu Miao.

Its mouth opened.

"Human..."

Those were its last words.

The lightning struck its head.

Its body turned to ash, and a dark-red crystal core fell outside the barrier.

Chu Miao noticed where it landed.

At least she would not need to search for that one later.

After the seventy-second bolt, the clouds became quiet again.

Chu Miao did not relax.

Ye Xuan had faced seventy-two bolts during his breakthrough.

If her tribulation ended at the same number, the clouds should already be dispersing.

Instead, they continued gathering energy.

The pressure became heavier.

The remaining nine bolts would be the most dangerous.

Chu Miao examined her condition.

Her protective arrays were gone.

Most of her prepared flags had shattered, while the few remaining ones could not withstand another strike.

Her healing pills had repaired the worst injuries, but her meridians were still damaged.

Her physical body had reached its limit.

Fortunately, her Divine Transformation was complete.

The small figure inside her dantian had fully changed.

It sat within a silver light, absorbing spiritual energy much faster than her Nascent Soul could before.

Her divine sense had also expanded several times.

She could see every corner of the sealed city clearly.

Chu Miao took out a jade bottle and drank several mouthfuls of spiritual spring water.

Her exhausted spiritual energy began recovering.

The seventy-third bolt descended.

She created a spatial shield.

The shield shattered, but it weakened the lightning enough for her body to endure the remaining force.

The seventy-fourth followed.

Then the seventy-fifth.

The pauses between them became shorter.

Chu Miao did not have enough time to heal completely.

She used her space domain to reduce the strength of each bolt before allowing part of it into her body.

The seventy-sixth tore open the wounds on her back.

The seventy-seventh cracked several bones.

The seventy-eighth destroyed the spatial platform beneath her.

Chu Miao fell toward the ruined hotel.

She opened a passage and emerged safely on the ground.

The seventy-ninth bolt followed her through the passage.

It struck before she could prepare.

Chu Miao coughed out a mouthful of blood.

Her knees hit the ground.

Inside the Soul Ring, Ye Xuan stood so quickly that the stone beneath him cracked.

The entrance to the Soul Ring trembled.

"Don’t," the Black Tortoise warned. "She is still conscious."

"I know."

"She can endure it."

"I know."

Ye Xuan’s eyes remained fixed on the connection between them.

His wife’s aura had weakened, but it was stable.

He forced himself to stay where he was.

If he went outside now, he would only make the final strikes stronger.

Chu Miao placed one hand against the ground and slowly stood.

The eightieth bolt had already formed.

She straightened her back and looked up.

"So impatient."

She gathered her remaining spiritual energy and compressed the space above her into several layers.

The bolt descended.

It broke through the first layer.

Then the second.

By the time it reached Chu Miao, it had weakened by half.

She crossed her arms and allowed it to strike.

Lightning covered her entire body.

Her combat uniform burned in several places, and the wounds on her arms opened again.

She remained standing.

The energy entered her bones and tempered the parts the earlier bolts had missed.

When the lightning faded, Chu Miao’s breathing was heavy.

She looked at the clouds.

Only one bolt remained.

The eighty-first lightning bolt began forming.

It was different from the others.

Purple, silver, and gold lightning twisted together at the center of the clouds.

The pressure it released caused the remaining buildings in City K to shake.

Several collapsed before the bolt even descended.

The last high-level zombies turned to flee.

Lightning separated from the main bolt and struck them one by one.

Within seconds, Chu Miao became the only marked target left in the city.

Inside the Soul Ring, even the guardian beasts became nervous.

"That final bolt contains heavenly power," the Black Tortoise said.

Ye Xuan’s voice was cold.

"Can she endure it?"

"She must."

That was not the answer Ye Xuan wanted.

Outside, Chu Miao looked at the enormous bolt gathering above her.

Her remaining spiritual energy would not be enough to block it.

Even if she used the last array flags, they would shatter instantly.

She could enter the Soul Ring, but doing so would mean avoiding the tribulation.

Her breakthrough would fail, and the heavenly dao might damage her foundation.

There was only one choice.

She had to face it.

Chu Miao took out the sword she had used in her previous life.

The blade had accompanied her through countless battles.

It had also crossed into this world with her inside the Soul Ring.

She held it with both hands.

Her space element covered the blade.

Instead of using her remaining spiritual energy to create a shield, she gathered it into the sword.

Defense was no longer useful.

She would split the final bolt.

The eighty-first lightning bolt descended.

The entire sky became white.

Chu Miao stepped forward and swung her sword.

A silver blade carrying her space element shot upward.

It collided with the lightning.

BOOM!

The explosion shook the whole city.

The sealing array shattered.

The ground sank, forming a large crater beneath Chu Miao.

Her sword attack divided the lightning into two halves, but it did not destroy them.

Both halves changed direction and struck her from either side.

Chu Miao released her space domain.

She guided most of the lightning into her physical body and sent the rest through the damaged streets of City K.

The remaining zombies hiding beyond the earlier sealing array were struck at the same time.

Pain filled every part of her body.

Her skin split.

Several bones broke.

Her meridians trembled under the force of the lightning.

Chu Miao gritted her teeth and continued circulating the energy.

She would not allow it to run wild.

The lightning entered her dantian.

The transformed figure inside opened its eyes.

Purple and golden light mixed with the silver energy surrounding it.

Her cultivation rose sharply.

The space domain expanded across the city before becoming stable.

The last impurities inside her physical body were burned away.

A dark substance seeped from her wounds before turning to ash under the remaining lightning.

Several seconds later, the light finally faded.

Chu Miao stood in the middle of the crater, supporting herself with her sword.

Her clothes were damaged, and wounds covered her body.

However, her aura was completely different.

She had succeeded.

The tribulation clouds remained above City K for a moment.

Then they slowly dispersed.

Warm golden light appeared between them.

Chu Miao looked up.

Light golden rain began falling from the sky.