109: Chapter 109 Thunderous Refinement (Part 1)

The moment the first bolt of Heavenly Tribulation lightning descended, it seemed as if only one color remained in the world—purple-gold.

That was no ordinary lightning; it was the manifestation of the will of the Heavenly Dao, a baptism and trial that one must endure for life to ascend to a higher level.

The ten-zhang-thick pillar of lightning tore through the sky, ionizing the air and leaving a burnt scent in its wake. Space twisted slightly, and light refracted strangely around the lightning pillar.

Inside the Hundred Talisman Hall, every Disciple held their breath.

Lin Xuan sat in his cubicle, gazing through the light screen at the destructive lightning striking toward Rising Sun Peak, feeling his entire body's Thunder Spiritual Energy boiling and trembling uncontrollably.

It was not fear.

It was resonance.

It was the instinctive throbbing of the purple thunder seed, condensed from cultivating the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art, when faced with a power of Heaven and Earth that was of a higher level, purer, and closer to the Origin of thunder.

The lightning pillar crashed down, striking straight at the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven!

Outside the Grotto-Heaven, the layers of Restrictions that had been set up long ago flared with brilliant light! The five colors of cyan, crimson, yellow, white, and black intertwined into a web, layer upon layer, totaling eighteen layers in all!

These were the auxiliary Formation for Undergoing Tribulation left behind by generations of Golden Core and Nascent Soul predecessors of the Sanyang Sect, capable of weakening the power of the Heavenly Tribulation and buying precious breathing room for the one Undergoing Tribulation.

"Crackle—!"

The lightning pillar collided with the first layer of Restrictions, and after holding for only a single breath, the Restriction shattered like thin paper!

The second layer, the third layer, the fourth layer...

A series of Restrictions collapsed one after another under the lightning's might, their light flickering erratically. But with each layer shattered, the power of the lightning pillar weakened slightly; after piercing through twelve layers of Restrictions, the ten-zhang-thick lightning pillar had shrunk to six zhang.

Just at this moment—

Inside the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven, a cyan sword light shot up into the sky!

The sword light was not dazzling; instead, it possessed a simplicity that returned to the basics. The sword body was ancient and unadorned, with two ancient seal characters carved into the sword spine— "mountain-cleaving sword".

Qi Tianyuan's life-bound Flying Sword!

The instant the sword light swept out of the Grotto-Heaven, a clear, resonant sword hum suddenly rang out across the world!

It was not thunder, nor was it the wind; it was the sharp sound that pierced directly into the Divine Soul, produced by the friction between the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and Sword Intent that had been condensed to the extreme!

Lin Xuan's pupils constricted.

He cultivated thunder techniques, and his perception of lightning far exceeded that of ordinary people. At this moment, what he "saw" was not a simple sword strike cutting through lightning, but...

The moment the cyan sword light made contact with the lightning, dense, intricate thunder patterns suddenly appeared on the surface of the sword body!

Those thunder patterns seemed to come alive, frantically devouring, absorbing, and converting the destructive power within the Heavenly Tribulation lightning, transforming it into pure thunder-attribute Sword Qi!

The mountain-cleaving sword far from being damaged by the Heavenly Tribulation lightning, shone even brighter, its Sword Intent becoming even sharper!

And following behind the sword light, Qi Tianyuan's figure stepped out from within the Grotto-Heaven.

He was still wearing that simple cyan robe, his long hair tied behind his head, his expression as calm as an ancient well. His right hand was held in a void grip, as if grasping an invisible sword hilt, while his left hand was held behind his back.

Just as the mountain-cleaving sword was devouring and converting the power of the Heavenly Tribulation lightning, a faint golden-red halo suddenly rose from Qi Tianyuan's body.

That was not protective spiritual light.

That was... Qi and blood!

It was the substantive light flame formed on the surface of his body by Qi and blood that was pure to the extreme and vigorous to the extreme!

The residual power of the Heavenly Tribulation lightning passed through the sword light and slammed into Qi Tianyuan, only for him to take it head-on with his Physical Body!

"Sizzle, sizzle—"

Lightning danced and leaped around his body; every time it flickered over an inch of skin, the golden-red light flame there would dim slightly, only to ignite again with even greater vigor.

He was using the Heavenly Tribulation lightning for Body Tempering!

No, it was more than just Body Tempering.

Lin Xuan keenly perceived that at this moment, Qi Tianyuan's aura was not suppressed by the Heavenly Tribulation lightning; instead, it was faintly climbing.

Although extremely slight, it was indeed climbing.

That was the pure power of Heaven and Earth within the Heavenly Tribulation lightning being refined and absorbed by him through some mysterious technique, replenishing himself and solidifying his Foundation!

"Boom!"

The first bolt of Heavenly Tribulation lightning completely dissipated.

From the lightning pillar descending, to the Restrictions shattering, to the mountain-cleaving sword appearing, to him taking it head-on with his Physical Body... the entire process took no more than three breaths.

Qi Tianyuan hovered in mid-air, his cyan robe fluttering slightly, the lightning still not entirely dissipated from around him. He raised his hand, and the mountain-cleaving sword turned into a streak of light and flew back into his palm.

On the sword body, thunder patterns faintly appeared, its brilliance restrained.

He looked down at the sword body and nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with the harvest of this sword strike.

Then, he looked up toward the tribulation clouds.

Calm and composed.

As if what had just struck down was not a destructive Heavenly Tribulation lightning, but an ordinary bolt of lightning.

Inside the Hundred Talisman Hall, there was a moment of dead silence.

Then—

"Whoa—!!!"

Earth-shaking cheers, exclamations, and discussions erupted!

"Did... did you see that?! Senior Brother Qi scattered the Heavenly Tribulation lightning with a single sword strike!"

"More than just scattered it! He was using the Heavenly Tribulation lightning to refine his sword and temper his body!"

"Is this the strength of the Peak Foundation Establishment, half-step Golden Core Realm?! Too... too strong!"

"With Senior Brother Qi here, why should we worry about the Sanyang Sect not flourishing!"

The Disciples were so excited their faces were flushed red; the fear and oppression of the heavenly might that had weighed on their hearts previously were mostly washed away by this one sword strike.

Even those usually composed older Disciples could not help but clench their fists, their eyes filled with excitement and reverence.

Lin Xuan sat in his cubicle, listening to the commotion outside, his heart equally shaken.

But the point of his shock was not quite the same as others.

What others saw was Qi Tianyuan's power, composure, and dominance.

What Lin Xuan saw was the exquisite application of thunder power contained within that sword light, the profound technique of converting destructive Heavenly Tribulation lightning into his own nourishment, and the... level of understanding of the Dao of "Thunder".

That already exceeded the scope that the Qi Refining chapter of the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art could describe.

That was something of a higher Realm, something more essential.

The communication talisman suddenly became slightly warm.

Lin Xuan injected Spiritual Qi, and Chen Hao's voice, which was nearly screaming, came through:

"Lin Xuan!!! Did you see that?! My god! Senior Brother Qi is too fierce! One sword! Just one sword! My Master was so stunned just now that he didn't even feel it when his hammer dropped to the ground and smashed his foot!"

Lin Xuan could imagine Chen Hao gesticulating wildly at this moment, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily: "I saw it."

"More than just saw it! I feel like I have the energy to Cultivate again!" Chen Hao panted, "This is what a real Cultivator is! Fighting against Heaven for one's destiny, using thunder to temper weapons! I want to be like that in the future!"

Lin Xuan laughed helplessly: "Practice your 'Flame Blade' until you've mastered it first."

Ending the communication, Lin Xuan composed his mind.

And at this moment, in the center of the tribulation clouds, the second bolt of Heavenly Tribulation lightning was brewing.

This time, the lightning was no longer purely purple-gold, but carried a hint of crimson, like molten iron rolling within the clouds. The pressure was thirty percent stronger than the first one!

"Rumble—!!"

The second bolt of Heavenly Tribulation lightning descended!

Eight zhang in diameter, crimson and gold intertwined, the air where it passed was scorched, creating distorted ripples.

Qi Tianyuan still stood in the same place, not using the mountain-cleaving sword.

He raised his right hand and made a fist.

On his fist, the golden-red Qi and blood light flame condensed into substance, faintly forming the phantom image of a gauntlet.

Then, he punched out!

"Thud—!!!"

It was not the sound of metal colliding, but a heavy, muffled thud, as if a giant hammer were striking a war drum!

The fist front and the lightning pillar collided fiercely!

The crimson-gold lightning exploded, turning into countless electric snakes that splashed in all directions. Qi Tianyuan's figure was engulfed by the lightning, but just one breath later, a clear voice came from within the lightning—

"Break!"

"Boom!"

The lightning pillar was forcibly shattered from the middle!

Qi Tianyuan's figure was revealed once more, his cyan robe unchanged, though the lightning lingering on his fist had not yet fully dissipated. He shook his hand, which had a few tiny scorch marks on the back, but they healed instantly under the nourishment of his Qi and blood.

The third bolt of Heavenly Tribulation lightning followed immediately!

This time, the lightning pillar carried a hint of earthy yellow, thick and heavy, as if it were not lightning, but a mountain condensed from thunder!

Qi Tianyuan finally moved.

His figure flickered, and instead of retreating, he advanced, actively moving to meet the lightning pillar!

In mid-air, he held his hands in a void embrace in front of his chest, and a phantom image resembling a Taiji diagram appeared out of thin air, slowly rotating.

The lightning pillar collided with the Taiji diagram and was actually deflected, divided, and weakened by that rotating force!

Deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces!

When the power of the lightning pillar was weakened to less than thirty percent, Qi Tianyuan suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a white sword of Qi!

"Swish!"

The sword of Qi was like a rainbow, completely piercing through and shattering the remaining lightning pillar!

Three bolts of lightning had passed.

Qi Tianyuan hovered in mid-air, his aura still steady, though his face had paled slightly, but his eyes were even brighter and sharper.

And at this moment, the battle on the outskirts of the mountain-protecting Formation was also nearing its end.