Chapter 475: A Talent Envied by Heaven (Part 2)

In that moment, Chen Feng truly believed. Such heavenly might could not possibly be a bluff, a mere Technique from Yu Changsheng. No matter how much his heart reeled in disbelief, it didn’t change the facts. This was a true Celestial Tribulation.

“It really is a Celestial Tribulation. How did you do it?”

Weakened as he was, Chen Feng asked in a grim voice. A moment ago, if he hadn’t used a life-saving art, he would have been obliterated without a trace.

And if Chen Feng was in such a state, it went without saying for the other two. Cheng Tao was in better shape; though weak, his body was still whole. Wu Huan, however, was in the most wretched state. The Thunder Tribulation had completely blown off one of his arms, leaving behind a gory, mangled stump. His face was a mask of sheer terror, his expression horrified beyond measure.

“Why don’t you guess?”

Yu Changsheng suppressed his body’s exhaustion and chuckled, his eyes filled with a crazed light as he looked at the three men.

“I’m dead either way. So what if I take the three of you with me?”

His voice carried a hysterical madness, and his eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, Yu Changsheng was like a crazed demon. And as the Celestial Tribulation fell, the aura of his Cultivation began to climb dramatically.

Hearing this, even with his level of Cultivation, Chen Feng felt his heart tremble for some unknown reason as he looked at Yu Changsheng. A flicker of pure terror shot through him.

Sensing Yu Changsheng’s state, a myriad of thoughts flashed through Chen Feng’s mind. Finally, as if he’d realized something, his pupils widened. He stared at Yu Changsheng and took a deep breath, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

He remembered a certain legend. It was said that if a Cultivator, even a Low-Tier one, possessed talent so heaven-defying, so utterly astonishing that it drew the attention of the heavens itself, their breakthrough could also trigger a Celestial Tribulation.

“Unless… you’re forming a Heavenly Dao Golden Core? And that’s why your breakthrough is triggering a Celestial Tribulation? Impossible!”

If that was the case, then everything made perfect sense.

It was a known fact that a Low-Tier Cultivator’s breakthrough wasn’t significant enough to trigger a Celestial Tribulation. For a Cultivator, the Tribulation was both destruction and a necessary Quenching to reach a High Tier. A common Cultivator’s breakthrough simply didn’t qualify to summon one.

But there was an exception to every rule. And the Heavenly Dao Golden Core… was one such exception.

A Heavenly Dao Golden Core, bearing the name of the Celestial Dao itself, naturally required tempering by a Celestial Tribulation. Only by using the Tribulation as a medium to absorb sufficient Power of the Heavenly Dao could one forge a true Heavenly Dao Golden Core.

At that moment, Chen Feng was not only shocked and incredulous, but a powerful killing intent also surged within him.

‘A Heavenly Dao Golden Core… Such a peerless prodigy… I’ve never even heard of one in all of Qingzhou Province… A person like this must be nipped in the bud!’

Chen Feng thought, a dark light flickering in his eyes. But it was clear that in this moment, he had completely misread the situation.

“Heh heh, whether it’s a Heavenly Dao Golden Core or not is unimportant. What matters is that I can take you all down with me. That alone would be worth it!”

Yu Changsheng grinned, his tone manic and strange. He met the gazes of the three men, and then with a sudden movement, he charged straight at Chen Feng.

“!!?”

Chen Feng froze for a second, then his face changed drastically. He exchanged a look with Cheng Tao and Wu Huan and shot backward, roaring in a voice filled with terror and fury.

“Get away!! Stay away from me! Who the fuck wants to die with you?! Get the hell away!”

High in the sky, the dense tribulation clouds continued to brew, radiating a terrifying might. They were still expanding, having slowly grown from dozens of miles across to a hundred. Arcs of lightning flashed within like soaring Thunder Dragons.

When a Celestial Tribulation descended, any other Cultivators within its range besides the Tribulation Crosser would also be targeted. A corresponding Thunder Tribulation would descend upon them based on their own Cultivation. It was obvious that Chen Feng and his two companions had been identified as interfering with Yu Changsheng’s tribulation, which was why the lightning had struck them.

Breaking this lock-on was simple enough: either use an overwhelmingly powerful Cultivation to forcibly disperse the tribulation clouds, or quickly get away from the Tribulation Crosser and escape the Celestial Tribulation’s range.

Chen Feng and the other two had figured this out as well, which was why they were avoiding Yu Changsheng’s approach like the plague, desperately trying to get away.

‘Are you kidding me?’ Chen Feng thought to himself. In his current state, another bolt of tribulation lightning would be enough to finish him off completely.

“Die!”

Yu Changsheng roared, charging recklessly toward Chen Feng. As he moved, the deadly tribulation in the sky actually moved with him. It continued to brew, and the phantom of another Thunder Tribulation slowly took shape, its magnificent heavenly might feeling like a weight on their very souls.

Terrified, the three scattered, each flying in a different direction. They burst forth with the greatest speed they had ever mustered, ignoring how it aggravated their injuries as they frantically tried to put distance between themselves and Yu Changsheng. They had to escape its range before the next wave of the Thunder Tribulation fell.

Yu Changsheng, for his part, still wore a manic expression as he too unleashed the greatest speed of his life. But when Chen Feng’s group scattered, he didn’t change course. He maintained his incredible velocity, flying straight ahead, transforming into a brilliant streak of light that shot across the sky and vanished over the horizon.

The tribulation clouds in the sky moved as well, sticking close to Yu Changsheng, impossible to shake.

From a distance, the scene was quite a spectacle.

After a long while, seeing that Yu Changsheng wasn’t chasing him and the intangible sense of being targeted had faded, Chen Feng stopped. He finally let out a deep breath, his expression turning grim and uncertain as he stared in the direction Yu Changsheng had fled.

“Brother Feng, are we just letting him go like that? Aren’t we going to keep chasing him?”

Cheng Tao asked in a low, sullen voice, his expression dark as he looked at Chen Feng.

Wu Huan remained silent, his face pale and his eyes filled with hatred. He gently moved his one remaining arm, from which tiny arcs of electricity still sparked.

An arm destroyed by a Celestial Tribulation could not be restored so easily, let alone regrown from nothing.

“Forget it.”

Chen Feng fell silent, only speaking after a long moment.

“There’s something strange about that kid. Since he’s targeted by the Celestial Tribulation, he won’t survive anyway, barring any miracles. Besides, in our current state, if we try to force the issue and kill him, we might run into more trouble.”

“No one could have predicted something like the Celestial Tribulation. He timed this perfectly. We’ve done all we can.

Besides, we aren’t the only ones after him. We’ll just report what happened. Even if the Celestial Tribulation doesn’t kill him, a Heaven and Earth Net has already been laid on his path back to his sect. He won’t escape death, so what’s the rush?”

Chen Feng said, a dark light flashing in his eyes. Hearing this, Cheng Tao and Wu Huan looked like they wanted to object, but in the end, they just opened their mouths and said nothing. Their silence was a tacit agreement.

It was obvious they were afraid. Everyone cherishes their life, and the celestial might they had just witnessed had planted an indelible seed of fear in their hearts…

…

Meanwhile, Yu Changsheng’s condition was not nearly as wretched as Chen Feng imagined. Once he had fled a safe distance and completely shaken the trio, Yu Changsheng began swallowing one Elixir after another, and his condition recovered considerably.

And though the tribulation cloud in the sky continued to move with him, constantly radiating a terrifying might, no more Celestial Thunder fell from it. Its presence was more of a deterrent.

Finally, as Yu Changsheng concealed his aura, the cloud abruptly halted. It no longer followed him, instead remaining frozen in place. After struggling for a moment, as if having lost its target, it slowly and reluctantly began to dissipate. The heavenly might vanished, and the world-ending aura faded away with it.

“Phew…”

Watching the tribulation cloud slowly dissipate behind him, Yu Changsheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long, shuddering breath. The frantic, heart-pounding fear in his chest gradually subsided.

‘Thank you, Elder Gui…’

Yu Changsheng muttered inwardly, his tone filled with sincere gratitude, and a wry smile touched his lips.

“It’s nothing,” the Profound Turtle’s slightly weary voice echoed in Yu Changsheng’s mind.

“This is as far as I can help you. Right now, I’m using every ounce of my strength to perform the Turtle Breathing Technique, suppressing your Realm and concealing you from the heavens. I have no power left to spare for anything else.”

“This also means that until you are ready for your Tribulation Crossing, I cannot provide you with any more help. Be careful on the path ahead.”