63: Chapter 63 Back Mountain

Thunderclouds surged over the Back Mountain.

Wang Yaozu and Wang Chongyang exchanged a glance, both seeing the same answer in each other's eyes.

They knew the situation of the Back Mountain best; there were no treasures, let alone any ruins. Aside from the tombs of past ancestors, there was only the secret chamber where Wang Shouren was currently in secluded cultivation.

"Sixth Uncle, then there is only one possibility." Wang Yaozu's voice trembled slightly, yet it could not suppress the trace of anticipation hidden deep within his eyes for nearly two years.

On the arena, Ning Chuan raised his head, gazing at the purple thunderclouds pressing lower and lower.

His iron claws unconsciously loosened a bit, and on that face shrouded in blood-red light, fear appeared for the first time.

"Why am I so terrified? Isn't it just lightning? In the past, even if lightning struck right in front of me, I had never been this scared."

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, that aged and hoarse voice suddenly became sharp: "You idiot! What are you still standing there for! Run! This lightning is not ordinary lightning! This is Lightning Tribulation—why, why is there a Lightning Tribulation?"

Cultivators feared Lightning Tribulation, but they knew that Lightning Tribulation only struck those Undergoing Tribulation. However, demonic Cultivators were an exception; demonic Cultivators were not only loathed by Cultivators, but also forsaken by heaven and earth.

Whenever a demonic Cultivator underwent tribulation, the difficulty was dozens of times that of other Cultivators, which was why demonic Cultivators would rack their brains to avoid Lightning Tribulation.

Ning Chuan could no longer hear the rest of the words clearly.

He only knew that those thunderclouds were slowly descending directly above the arena with the momentum of Mount Tai pressing down on the summit.

Only a single word remained in his mind.

"Run!!!"

Everyone's gazes were focused on the thunderclouds, and no one noticed that Ning Chuan, who had been full of vigor on the arena just moments ago, had already fled two li away on a streak of blood-red light beneath his feet.

Wang Qingyan, whose mind was sharp, shifted her attention back slightly and frowned when she seeing Ning Chuan, who was about to run out of sight.

Glancing at the arena, she hesitated no longer, took out her Flying Sword, flipped onto it, and spoke in a voice as cold and crisp as frost: "Shoudong's revenge has not yet been avenged; we cannot let him escape."

The sword light pierced through the air, chasing directly after him.

Inside the secret chamber, Wang Shouren abruptly opened his eyes.

Two tiny flashes of crimson-gold electric arcs flickered past the corners of his eyes, concealing themselves among his hanging strands of hair.

His originally crown-bound black hair had scattered down to his shoulders, and extremely tiny electric snakes faintly slithered deep within his hair, flickering uncertainly in the dim secret chamber, causing the four walls to alternate between light and dark.

He slowly exhaled a breath of foul air, which transformed into a pale golden thunder mist in the air, roiling for a moment before slowly dissipating.

At this moment, his aura was immeasurably more formidable than it had been when he entered secluded cultivation two years ago.

"It is finally done."

He lowered his head to look at his own palms, his voice hoarse and low, carrying the dryness of someone who had not spoken for a long time.

That pair of once slender and fair hands now had palms covered in layers of thick calluses, their textures as coarse as old tree bark, and a gentle scratch of his fingertips against the stone slab left a white mark.

He frowned and raised his hand to condense a water sphere.

Within the rippling water light, an unfamiliar face was reflected. His skin was as rough as if it had endured countless winds and frosts, and his cheekbones were sharply defined. Aside from the black lotus mark between his brows and his unchanged facial contours, the rest of him was completely unrecognizable compared to before his seclusion.

"So ugly."

He remained silent for a moment, muttering to himself, "I remember Wanbao Pavilion has youth-preserving pills used by female Cultivators. I should buy a few bottles to try another day."

Then he shook his head and waved the water sphere away.

When Cultivators Cultivate to a certain extent, it was common for their appearance to change along with their Cultivation Technique. Everyone else became more handsome or beautiful the more they Cultivated, but for him, it was the other way around.

However, now was not the time to care about this.

He stood up, pulled out the communication jade talisman that had been stored separately during his secluded cultivation from his embrace, and extended his Divine Sense into it.

Hundreds of accumulated messages instantly flooded into his Sea of Consciousness, and the majority of them came from the same person, Wang Qingcheng.

"Brother, why didn't you tell me when you went into secluded cultivation! I am angry with you."

"Brother, Cultivate well in seclusion, I am not angry with you."

"Brother, it's already been a month, why haven't you come out yet."

"Brother, when will you finish your secluded cultivation? I want you to play with me."

Wang Shouren shook his head and chuckled lightly. This girl still hadn't grown up.

He continued to scroll down, picking a few important ones to read among the densely packed messages.

Father said that everything at home was fine and told him to focus on his secluded cultivation, Shouxin asked about the spirit fields, along with messages sent by other Family members.

Flipping further down, the messages from the past year gradually decreased. Aside from Qingcheng's occasional nagging every few days, others no longer disturbed him.

The last one was still left by Qingcheng: "Brother, when you come out, you must come find me first. I'll give you a surprise."

"What kind of surprise could a little girl have? It's good enough as long as she doesn't cause trouble."

He put the communication jade talisman back into his embrace, waved his hand, and the futon, Medicinal Pill bottles, and scattered Spirit Stones all flew into his storage ring.

After finishing all this, he strode toward the door of the secret chamber.

Just as he took a step forward, his vision went pitch black.

He raised his head and saw a dark grey bead suspended above the ceiling of the secret chamber, spinning around lazily. It was precisely Sixth Grandpa's heaven-covering bead.

"The heaven-covering bead? What is Sixth Grandpa doing placing this thing here with me?"

Wang Shouren frowned, his footsteps involuntarily speeding up a bit.

The heaven-covering bead was Sixth Grandpa's trump card treasure; unless something major happened to the Family, he would never let it leave his person.

Furthermore, Sixth Grandpa's limit had only had a little over two years remaining before his secluded cultivation. How long had he stayed in the secret chamber now? Two years? Or even longer? Was Sixth Grandpa still around?

He practically jogged out of the secret chamber.

The instant he rushed out of the dark barrier, an extremely muffled roar of thunder came from overhead.

He abruptly raised his head, his pupils contracting sharply. Outside the secret chamber was no longer the clear skies and vastness of when he entered seclusion; the entire sky above the Back Mountain was covered by a thick layer of purple thunderclouds. Deep within the clouds, thousands of electric snakes slithered and surged. Before the thunder light even descended, a scorching and suffocating pressure already permeated the air.

Those thunderclouds hung precisely above his head, the eye of the clouds slowly revolving as if locking onto something.

"Lightning Tribulation." Wang Shouren's pupils constricted slightly.

After he achieved Minor Achievement in the Ten Directions Fierce Thunder Transformation, according to the Cultivation Technique, there should be a minor heavenly thunder to baptize his Physical Body and wash away his mortal shell, which would then truly be considered the initial formation of the Fierce Thunder True Body.

He had originally thought there would be a buffer of a day or two, but he did not expect it to come so quickly, running right into it the moment he came out of the secret chamber.

But this was the Back Mountain.

He instinctively looked toward the direction of Lotus Pier.

The heaven-covering bead was suspended on top of the secret chamber, and Sixth Grandpa placing it here indicated that something must have happened to the Family; otherwise, Sixth Grandpa would never have moved his own life-saving treasure away.

He should rush over immediately right now, but the tribulation clouds above his head were no joke. Wherever he walked, the Lightning Tribulation would strike. If he underwent tribulation by his Family members' side, under the misjudgment of the Lightning Tribulation, anyone below the Qi Refinement Stage wouldn't even be able to withstand a single aftershock.

Wang Shouren clenched his teeth and was about to turn and dash further away into the Back Mountain to finish undergoing the tribulation first—the faster the better—and go straight to Lotus Pier right after the strikes ended.

Just at this moment, an aged yet resonant roar came from the direction of the mountain gate: "The Back Mountain Forbidden Ground, if Your Excellency dares to barge in again, do not blame my Wang Family for being merciless!"

Following closely behind, a pale cyan light barrier soared into the sky from the waist of the mountain, and twelve pillars of light intertwined to form a grand array, shrouding the entire Wogui Mountain within it.

"Grand Array!! Rise!!!"

"The grand array is fully activated; is the Ning Family or the Yan Family coming to court death?"

Wang Shouren felt worried in his heart, but his eye sockets suddenly grew warm.

He took a deep breath, fiercely suppressing the warmth in his eye sockets.

Being able to raise the grand array meant that the Family members were still around.

As long as the Family members were still around, he could not undergo tribulation in the Back Mountain.

If the Lightning Tribulation struck down, the ancestral tombs and secret chambers of the Back Mountain would none of them be able to withstand it.