108: Chapter 108 Tribulation

The second day after Deacon Wang An was captured, at noon.

Above the Tianzhu Mountain Range, there was not a cloud in the sky, and the sunlight was so scorching it felt as if it would melt everything.

The haze, heavy rain, and Spiritual Qi storms of the past few days seemed to have been completely evaporated by this scorching sunlight.

Inside the Hundred Talisman Hall, the Disciples were busy crafting talismans with their heads down. Having experienced the grim atmosphere and turmoil of yesterday, the mood in the hall today was actually calmer—perhaps because one traitor had been rooted out, making everyone feel a little more at ease.

Lin Xuan was drawing his fifth Thunder Shield Talisman, his brush tip as steady as a rock.

The Thunder Spiritual Energy flowed smoothly through the talisman patterns, and his Thunder Gathering talent prevented the chaotic Spiritual Qi in the surroundings from interfering in the slightest. The talisman was completed, and it was of superior quality.

He put down his brush and was preparing to regulate his breath for a moment—

Between heaven and earth, that dull throb, like a heartbeat, suddenly intensified without any warning!

It was not a gradual increase.

It was an instantaneous surge!

It was like a primordial beast that had been slumbering for ten thousand years, suddenly opening its eyes at this moment, stretching, and exhaling a breath... that shook the heavens and the earth.

"Boom——!!!"

It was not a sound.

It was a type of "fluctuation" that transcended sound, exploding outward from the summit of Rising Sun Peak, in the direction of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven!

Lin Xuan felt his heart contract violently, and his blood seemed to freeze at that moment. An indescribable, vast pressure, like a tangible mountain, bore down heavily from the Nine Heavens!

That was not the pressure of a Cultivator.

It was the might of heaven.

It was this world's... scrutiny and test for a living being about to break through the shackles of life.

"Thump."

The sound of heavy objects falling to the ground echoed through the hall.

Some Disciples with weaker cultivation were directly overwhelmed by this pressure, losing their composure, collapsing to the ground with faces pale as paper, and trembling uncontrollably.

Many others were frozen in place, their talisman brushes dropping with a "clatter," completely unaware even as their talisman paper spontaneously ignited.

Lin Xuan gritted his teeth, his Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art and Thunder Body Refining Technique spinning crazily at the same time!

The purple thunder seed in his Dantian shone brilliantly, and pale purple thunder patterns raced rapidly beneath his skin, forcefully withstanding this first wave of the might of heaven.

He raised his head, looking through the light curtain of the partition toward the sky outside the hall—

The originally cloudless, azure sky was now being crazily churned by some incomprehensible force!

With the summit of Rising Sun Peak as the center, thick, purple-gold tribulation clouds seemed to surge forth from the void, gathering, stacking, and spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In just a few breaths, it covered a radius of a hundred miles!

The tribulation clouds were as thick as lead, their edges churning like boiling water, while countless purple-gold electric snakes as thick as Dragons twisted, intertwined, and hissed within.

Deep thunder rumbled in the depths of the clouds; it was not a "rumbling" sound, but a more ancient and majestic roar, where every sound felt as if it were striking directly into the depths of the Soul.

And directly beneath the tribulation clouds, at the summit of Rising Sun Peak.

A golden flame, as thick as a pillar and refined to the extreme, shot up from the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven, piercing straight into the center of the tribulation clouds!

Within the light and flame, a figure as straight as a pine could be faintly seen, standing with hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.

Qi Tianyuan.

He had finally triggered the Golden Core Tribulation!

"All Disciples, cease all activities immediately, remain where you are, guard your minds, and do not gaze at the tribulation clouds!"

The Sect Master's voice rang out in time, carrying three parts more gravity than usual, yet remaining calm and steady, acting like a needle to calm the sea, stabilizing the Disciples' minds that were on the verge of collapse.

Inside the Hundred Talisman Hall, the Deacon Disciples endured their discomfort and shouted loudly, ordering the collapsed Disciples to sit up and the dazed ones to regain their focus.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and no longer looked at the terrifying celestial phenomenon outside the window.

But even with his eyes closed, the pressure of heaven and earth remained pervasive, like cold seawater, attempting to seep into every inch of his skin and every pore.

He operated his Cultivation Technique with all his might, his Thunder Spiritual Energy surging through his Meridians like a raging river, confronting, melding with, and adapting to that pervasive might of heaven.

This was not Cultivation.

This was tempering.

It was an extreme refinement of his Dao Heart, his will, and his control over Spiritual Qi in the face of the true power of heaven and earth.

He did not know how much time had passed; perhaps the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, perhaps the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Lin Xuan felt that the omnipresent pressure seemed to... weaken by a fraction.

It was not that the might of heaven had weakened.

It was that his body and mind, under extreme pressure, had been forced to adapt.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Outside the window, the tribulation clouds had fully formed. The purple-gold sea of clouds, covering a hundred miles, rotated slowly, with a bottomless vortex at its center; deep within the vortex, destructive thunder light was brewing crazily.

And beneath the tribulation clouds, on the periphery of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven, three figures stood in the air.

An old man in a red robe, with red hair and beard, surrounded by three scorching fire lotuses—this was the Peak Master of Flame Peak, Immortal Master Chiyan.

A middle-aged man in a green shirt, carrying an ancient sword on his back, his aura as sharp as a drawn sword—this was the Peak Master of Sharp Metal Peak, Immortal Master Qingfeng.

An old woman in a white robe, holding a jade vase, with phantoms of sweet dew dripping around her—this was the Peak Master of Qingmu Peak, Immortal Master Qinglin.

The three Golden Core Cultivators stood in a triangular Formation, guarding the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven in the center. They released their auras without reservation, faintly contending with the pressure of heaven and earth, supporting a relatively stable "Protector Zone" for Qi Tianyuan as he was Undergoing Tribulation.

This was the Foundation of a great Sect.

When a Disciple is Undergoing Tribulation, they have teachers to protect them, Formations to bolster them, and resources to assist them.

Whereas a Loose Cultivator... often has to face the might of heaven alone in the wilderness, with a nine-in-ten chance of death.

Lin Xuan was filled with emotion, but suddenly his expression turned stern!

On the periphery of the Sect-Protecting Formation, from several directions, violent fluctuations of Spiritual Qi collisions erupted simultaneously!

Those fluctuations carried a distinct cold, filthy, and violent aura—it was a Demonic Path Cultivation Technique!

The people from the Xuanyin Sect had actually not left yet!

Or rather, they had been lurking nearby, waiting for this very moment!

"Seeking death!"

A cold shout rang out, as if coming from the Nine Heavens, yet it was not from any of the three protecting Golden Core Cultivators.

It was... the Great Master of Formations who was presiding over the Sect-Protecting Formation!

The golden light curtain shrouding the entire Sect suddenly shone with blinding brilliance!

On the surface of the light curtain, countless ancient runes flowed and combined crazily, finally condensing into dozens of thick golden chains, as well as hundreds of dazzling thunderbolts as thick as water buckets!

The chains were like spirit snakes emerging from their holes, and the thunderbolts were like heavenly punishment descending upon the world, simultaneously blasting toward the directions outside the Formation where the Demonic Path fluctuations had erupted!

"Boom boom boom——!!!"

Even though they were separated by dozens of miles, and even with the barrier of the Formation, the violent explosion sounds and the aftermath of the collision of Spiritual Qi were still clearly audible!

Lin Xuan saw, in the distant sky, several black shadows scrambling out from their hiding places in a panic, fleeing for their lives.

One of the black shadows had the strongest aura, which had shockingly reached the Golden Core Middle Stage!

It was the very same Golden Core Cultivator from the Xuanyin Sect who had previously presided over the "Spiritual Qi storm"!

He was currently shrouded in a layer of ghastly green demonic light, clutching a tattered bone banner in his hand, fleeing into the distance without looking back.

But the golden chains and thunderbolts condensed by the Formation were like maggots on a bone, pursuing relentlessly!

"Puff!"

A golden chain caught up, instantly piercing through the back of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage demonic Cultivator. The demonic Cultivator didn't even have time to scream before he exploded into a mist of blood in mid-air.

"Crackle!"

Another thunderbolt descended, striking another Foundation Establishment demonic Cultivator until he was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, falling from the sky while emitting black smoke, his life or death unknown.

The Golden Core Middle Stage demonic Cultivator saw this, his face turning pale, and he violently bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of blood essence onto the bone banner!

The bone banner's black light flared brilliantly, transforming into a pitch-black streak of light, its speed surging, and it narrowly evaded the strangulation of several chains, leaving without looking back.

As for his subordinates, under the absolute suppression of the home-field Formation, this sneak attack turned into a one-sided slaughter.

When the last trace of the Demonic Path aura completely vanished on the horizon, at least two corpses of Foundation Establishment demonic Cultivators were left on the periphery, as well as one heavily injured accomplice who had been captured.

Clean and efficient.

Lin Xuan could even imagine how stifled and furious the Xuanyin Sect's leading Golden Core Cultivator must feel at this moment.

A meticulously planned harassment, which had cost a huge price, had ended up being crushed like child's play.

But this was reality.

Before a great Sect with a complete Legacy, profound Foundation, and tight organization, harassment by loose bands of soldiers, unless it could truly shake the Foundation, was merely a minor annoyance.

The real test was never on the outside.

It was...

Lin Xuan raised his head, looking toward the center of the tribulation clouds.

There, the first Heavenly Tribulation thunderbolt had brewed to the extreme.

The purple-gold thunder light was crazily compressed and condensed deep within the vortex, finally transforming into a... thunder pillar, over ten zhang in diameter, composed purely of destructive thunder!

"Rumble——!!!"

An explosion sounded between heaven and earth!

The thunder pillar struck down!

Straight toward the summit of Rising Sun Peak, toward that figure within the golden flame!

Everyone's heart, at this moment, was in their throat.

The Golden Core Tribulation, the first Lightning Tribulation, had arrived.

And inside the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven, Qi Tianyuan's figure, illuminated by the thunder light, slowly... raised his hand.

In his hand, he held a simple and unadorned long sword.

The sword's name—Zhanyue.