Chapter 348 - 346: 5-Element Purple Lightning Tribulation

Chapter 348: Chapter 346: 5-Element Purple Lightning Tribulation

"Not bad. In terms of intricacy, it even surpasses the Primordial Yang Divine Thunder..."

After reading the ancient silk text, Master Ge Cang gave it high praise.

The Primordial Yang Divine Thunder was actually quite ordinary among Tier Three Thunder Techniques. The only reason it could display such might was that Master Ge Cang had cultivated it to its highest realm, evolving it into the Qiantian Primordial Yang Divine Thunder Net, which reached the Tier Four Realm.

But the Profound Nether Qi Formless Divine Thunder could match the Qiantian Primordial Yang Divine Thunder Net in power without even needing to be pushed to its supreme realm.

It was obvious which one was superior.

"A Thunder Skill like this could be ranked among the seventeen Supreme Thunder Techniques of the Five Thunders Sect... Your disciple truly has great opportunities."

Master Ge Cang tossed out three Jade Scrolls, a look of pleasure on his face.

"Aside from the cultivation Magic Formulas for the Primordial Yang Divine Thunder, these also contain all of my own understanding of this Thunder Skill... With such a talent, even if I fail this Tribulation Crossing, I won’t have to worry about the Thunder Skill legacy dying out."

"Why say such things, Brother Ge? I’m still waiting for you to reach the Nascent Soul realm and share your tribulation insights with me."

After receiving the message on his Identity Token, Bai Zichen had intentionally mentioned to a few Elders on Celestial Thunder Cliff that he was going to ask for the Qiantian Primordial Yang Divine Thunder Net for Lii Guizhen.

This was to make the spies in the Sect believe the two Core Formation Ancestors were still within the Mountain Gate.

"Haha! If Junior Brother Bai has such confidence, how could I not give it my all? I’m simply gratified that you have such a good disciple!"

Master Ge Cang laughed heartily and walked toward the peak of Flame Mountain, the former roost of the Cyan Simurgh.

"Junior Brother Bai, please act as my Dharma Protector. After I overcome this Celestial Tribulation, we will share a celebratory drink."

Zhou Suqing’s Array Formation efficiency was remarkable. Modifying the All Heaven Fiery Array, re-refining the Array Plate, and setting up the array.

All told, it only took her a little over thirty days.

At the base of Flame Mountain, a Tier Three Array had already risen. A thick, crimson light mixed with fiery flames kept all manner of Demon Beasts away from the mountain.

With the death of the Cyan Simurgh and the fading of its Tier Four Great Demon aura, Demon Beasts had already begun appearing near Flame Mountain.

The allure of a Tier Four Spirit Vein was not just for Human Race Cultivators; it was just as crucial for Demon Beasts.

Empowered by the Spirit Vein, the array activated with the power of a Tier Three Top-Grade array. Unless that Tier Four White Ape returned to Black Mountain...

...otherwise, no matter how many other Demon Beasts came, they couldn’t hope to shake the All Heaven Fiery Array.

In addition to the Grand Array, Zhou Suqing, a Tier Three Array Master, was controlling it, while Bai Zichen stood guard with his sword.

Their efficiency was so great that they hadn’t even had time to notify Wei Dao.

It wasn’t that they feared Wei Dao was a problem, but rather that they were afraid his worry over Master Ge Cang’s tribulation would cause him to act strangely, allowing the spies in the Sect to deduce something.

Master Ge Cang flicked his sleeve and sat down, planting his staff beside him with a calm expression.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky, once filled with red clouds, darkened. Black clouds blanketed the earth, and a piercing Demon Sound filled the air.

"Junior Sister Zhou, if you can’t bear it, retreat into the core of the array..."

Bai Zichen glanced at Zhou Suqing, whose face was pale and eyes were bloodshot, and offered his advice.

Watching another person’s entire process of Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul from up close had immense benefits.

It was far more direct than word-of-mouth or written records, and the insights one could gain were incomparable.

In a Nascent Soul Major Sect, a Nascent Soul Tribulation was a grand event that occurred perhaps once a century. Only the Saint Child and Saintess would be qualified to observe such an occasion.

The influence was merely the aftershock, and the Outer Demon wasn’t targeting Bai Zichen. With the Moon Xuan Sword in hand and his Sword Heart Clarity, it was impossible for him to be affected.

The Demon Sound washed over him, but his Heart was Like a Bright Mirror, without the slightest ripple.

To his ears, it was just some jarring noise, not worth mentioning.

But Zhou Suqing was clearly not so relaxed. Influenced by the Demon Sound, her own Heart Demon arose, forcing her to retreat again and again.

It wasn’t until she retreated into the core hub of the array that she could use the array’s power to block the Demon Sound and calm her mind.

’How terrifying. I wonder what kind of Heart Demon Brother Ge is facing at the center of it all...’

Zhou Suqing, still shaken, summoned a silver Banner Flag. Two streams of silver light, one Yin and one Yang, shone upon her, finally steadying her.

As it turned out, even without a Secret Treasure to suppress Heart Demons, the Heart Demon Tribulation was no challenge for Master Ge Cang.

In just a quarter of an hour, the black clouds in the sky dissipated. The Heart Demon Tribulation was over.

The tribulation clouds gathered, and an aura of destruction descended upon Flame Mountain.

A tribulation wind blew, and the once-roiling crater of lava was instantly extinguished, falling silent.

Purple bolts of light shone through the tribulation clouds. They started as scattered, negligible specks but quickly grew to fill the entire cloud mass.

The entire mass of clouds expanded and contracted violently, forming in a short time and positioning itself directly above Master Ge Cang’s head.

The first pale purple Thunderbolt crashed down. As the Celestial Thunder fell, it split into five bolts of lightning, instantly doubling its power.

Master Ge Cang’s expression was grim. With a wave of his hand, a row of Jade Artifacts appeared before him.

A Jade Pendant, a Jade Fragment, a Jade Ring, a Jade Pendant, a Jade Plate... a full twelve Magical Treasures in all, and a connected set at that.

Although they were all Low-Grade Magical Treasures, their combined power was not to be underestimated.

The Jade Artifact Magical Treasures resonated with each other, rushing toward the five-pronged pale purple Thunderbolt. In an instant, most were destroyed.

By the time the final Jade Plate was shattered to dust by the Celestial Thunder, the first Thunderbolt had lost most of its power and was dispersed by a wave of his giant hand.

But after taking just the first Thunderbolt, Master Ge Cang’s expression turned extremely ugly.

Using Magical Treasures to clash with the Celestial Thunder to conserve one’s True Essence was the most common tactic for a Core Formation True Man during tribulation.

But for the entire set of Jade Artifact Magical Treasures to be annihilated by the first Thunderbolt, forcing him to personally intervene to crush the remnant lightning, was far beyond his estimations.

’The Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation... how could I be so unlucky...’

Bai Zichen’s face paled in shock. The tribulation clouds in the sky and the pale purple Thunderbolt that had just crashed down both pointed to the origin of this Celestial Thunder Tribulation.

Among the dozens of Celestial Tribulations recorded in the Cultivation Realm, the Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation was definitely ranked in the top five for power.

If a Core Formation True Man encountered this type of Celestial Tribulation, their chances of survival were slim to none.

The difficulty of the Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation lay in the fact that each bolt of Celestial Thunder would evolve Yin and Yang and split into the Five Elements.

It was already more powerful than other Celestial Thunder Tribulations to begin with, and with this transformation, the difficulty of passing the tribulation increased exponentially.

The second Thunderbolt, the third Thunderbolt...

The number of Magical Treasures on Master Ge Cang decreased rapidly. As a Cultivator with astonishing Divine Techniques, he didn’t rely on Magical Treasures.

He had only prepared a large number of Magical Treasures and performed Refinement on them to resist the Celestial Thunder for this tribulation.

He hadn’t expected to encounter the Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation, and the rate at which his Magical Treasures were being consumed was far beyond his plans.

By only the fifth Thunderbolt, he already needed to face it personally.

The purple of this Thunderbolt was much deeper than the first, a strange, rich violet.

Master Ge Cang took a deep breath. His body formed a Thunder Pool, and he spread his arms, preparing to directly absorb the Celestial Thunder.

This action was extremely dangerous, equivalent to letting the Celestial Thunder approach him without any defense.

If the Thunder Pool exceeded its limit, or if his own Great Dao True Intent couldn’t control the roaring Celestial Thunder, a close-range explosion would be powerful enough to blast not just a Perfect Core Formation True Man, but even a Nascent Soul True Monarch to smithereens.

’It’s a shame Brother Ge’s Glazed Fire Divine Body was crippled. Otherwise, he could have endured one or two Thunderbolts with his physical body alone...’

Bai Zichen watched anxiously, simultaneously pondering how he would deal with the Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation if he were just as unlucky.

’My advantage over Brother Ge is that I have a Tier Four Flying Sword... The Moon Xuan Sword isn’t as fragile as a Magical Treasure. It should be able to withstand at least two rounds of Celestial Thunder before returning to the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box.’

Moreover, if things truly became desperate, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

’At worst, I’ll stop the Hidden Sword process, bring out the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword, and use it to resist the Celestial Thunder.’

"On the surface, this sword was a Tier Three Flying Sword, but its true rank was at least Tier Five. It couldn’t possibly be as fragile as an ordinary flying sword.

’Perhaps using it to resist the Celestial Thunder would perfectly match the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword’s attributes, possibly even unlocking more of the flying sword’s power.’

Just as Bai Zichen was lost in thought, imagining his own tribulation strategies, Master Ge Cang’s Thunder Pool actually managed to receive two more Thunderbolts in succession.

Each time it seemed on the verge of collapse, ready to be burst apart by the Celestial Thunder, yet it held on.

But it was clear he had reached his limit.

Before the seventh Thunderbolt fell, Master Ge Cang dispersed the Thunder Pool, channeling all the rampaging lightning into the ground beneath him.

Only someone like him, whose realm in Thunder Skills was extremely high and whose control over the sentient Divine Thunder was so absolute, could accomplish such a feat.

Any other Core Formation True Man, even with equivalent strength, would be incapable of this without such a profound understanding of the Dao of Thunder.

"Jia Wood, Reach for the Heavens! Land and Form a Pillar!"

Watching the deep purple Thunderbolt shimmering with black light crash down, Master Ge Cang didn’t hesitate. He transformed directly into the Jianmu Divine Tree.

Countless branches grew rapidly, forming a massive canopy that took the full force of the Celestial Thunder.

CRACK!

The Divine Tree was instantly split in two. One half turned to black char and dissipated into ash on the wind.

The other half was engulfed in searing Thunder Fire, the flames shooting straight into the clouds.

Master Ge Cang reverted from his Divine Tree form, spat out a large mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

If not for his Jia Wood body, which had defensive power and life force recovery comparable to that of a Spiritual Treasure,

If not for his comprehension of the Thunder Dao True Intent, which was no less than a Nascent Soul True Monarch’s.

This Thunderbolt would have been enough to blast the Divine Tree to dust, not even giving him a chance to recover.

"Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating! Now *this* is what you call Divine Thunder!"

Sitting collapsed on the ground, Master Ge Cang summoned a Thunder Bead and hurled it forcefully into the distance.

The eighth Thunderbolt, though striking second, arrived first, landing at the same time as the Acquired Thunder God Pearl.

After a massive BOOM, the Thunder Bead and the Celestial Thunder vanished simultaneously, leaving only a new crater hundreds of feet deep in the ground.

The tribulation clouds overhead roiled, and the final purple Thunderbolt, like a True Dragon, descended along with countless smaller electrical arcs, its brilliance blotting out the sun in the clear blue sky.

Master Ge Cang pulled up the staff beside him and spat a mouthful of Essence Blood onto it. The Thunderstruck Wood, which had already been refined into his Lifebound Magical Treasure, actually sprouted tender buds and new branches.

Life was born from destruction. Yin and Yang thunder circulated as the Thunderstruck Wood Staff met the ninth Thunderbolt.

BOOM!

It was as if mountains crumbled and the earth split, the heavens cracking open. Vision was filled with nothing but the glare of lightning and Thunder Radiance.

Bai Zichen held the Moon Xuan Sword in front of him but was still thrown back hundreds of feet by the sheer force of the aftershock.

When the dust and smoke cleared, Master Ge Cang’s hands were empty. His Lifebound Magical Treasure was completely destroyed, and his Daoist Robe was in tatters.

But his eyes had never been as bright as they were in this moment.