79: Chapter 79: He was struck by lightning!

The Taixuan Dao Sect and the Great Yu Academy were not far apart, so their flying boats traveled side by side.

As soon as Fairy Qingxuan returned, the White-Bearded Old Daoist stepped forward and asked: "Fellow Daoist Qingxuan, is that evil Sect Master dead?"

Fairy Qingxuan shook her head: "No. Fellow Daoist Xuanxiao and I severely injured him, but that evil Cultivator suddenly pulled out a Teleportation Talisman and escaped."

The White-Bearded Old Daoist frowned: "A Teleportation Talisman? That is a Grade 5 Talisman. How could an evil Cultivator possess such a treasure?"

Fairy Qingxuan's gaze was profound: "That evil Cultivator fled toward the west; he must be from the Central Region."

"The Central Region, huh? That makes sense."

Meanwhile.

Su Mo excavated an Immortal Cave on a cliff face.

Sharpening the axe does not delay the work of chopping wood; he prepared to achieve his Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage before traveling to the Central Region.

With Hua Rumeng's former cultivation at the Void Refining Stage, it would take a month to travel from the Central Region to this Eastern Region.

If he did not achieve a Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage, the time spent traveling on his own would be even longer.

A Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage requires compressing the spiritual energy of Foundation Establishment Perfection within the body to the extreme, causing the spiritual liquid to crystallize and form a Golden Core embryo. Then, it must be tempered by nine Lightning Tribulations before it can become a true Golden Core.

Su Mo sat cross-legged in the center of the Immortal Cave and circulated the Great Desire Heavenly Demon Scripture. The lake of spiritual liquid within his Dantian began to spin and compress frantically...

Seven days later.

"Hum!"

With a soft sound, a soft, bouncy, pink spherical object floated above the Foundation Establishment Dao Platform; this was Su Mo's Golden Core embryo.

Meanwhile.

"Boom!"

Above the Immortal Cave, dark clouds gathered, and lightning faintly appeared within the clouds.

"Sister Hua, do you know what a lightning rod is?"

"What is that?"

"It's just an iron rod that can channel lightning into the ground. Do you think... if I stick a circle of them around here, the power of the Lightning Tribulation will be dispersed?"

Su Mo explained while quickly inserting a dozen Magical Artifacts around the open ground.

"..."

Hua Rumeng was silent for a moment, then said softly: "Young Master, This servant has never tried that."

"However, I must advise you that it is best not to do such unnecessary things."

"Having Cultivated a Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique, the spiritual energy in your Dantian is thick and abundant; passing the Golden Core Lightning Tribulation should be easy."

Su Mo chuckled upon hearing this: "Just in case. I'll try it out while I'm at it. If it's useful, future Nascent Soul Stage Lightning Tribulations and other Lightning Tribulations will also become a bit easier."

Everything was ready.

Su Mo sat cross-legged in the center of the 'Lightning Protection Array' and swallowed an ownerless Golden Molding Medicinal Pill taken from the Xuan Yin Sacred Sect's treasury.

As the Medicinal Pill entered his stomach, a surging medicinal power instantly exploded within his body!

Su Mo felt his Golden Core embryo being compressed by a powerful external force, gradually becoming solid and round!

"Ding!"

A crisp sound echoed through Su Mo's mind. The Golden Core in his Dantian finally took shape. The originally palm-sized Golden Core was compressed to the size of a thumb, but its power had surged more than tenfold.

At the same time the Golden Core took shape, Su Mo felt an attack lock onto him from the void.

Looking up, the thunder in the dark clouds began to churn, as if it could no longer hold back.

"It's coming!"

Finally—

"Boom!"

An arm-thick bolt of lightning struck down directly.

Su Mo did not dodge or avoid it; his exoskeleton encased his entire body.

As the lightning fell, it was suddenly attracted by the Magical Artifacts surrounding Su Mo, splitting into over a dozen strands, so that when it landed on Su Mo, the lightning was only half a palm wide.

"Zzzzt!"

After the lightning flashed, only a thumb-sized white spot appeared on the black exoskeleton.

"Hiss! It's tingly and numb; it actually feels quite good!"

"This 'Lightning Protection Array' is really useful!"

A faint pink streak the size of half a fingernail appeared on the Golden Core in his Dantian.

"This lightning doesn't seem pure..."

The aftereffect kicked in, and Su Mo felt a stinging pain in his body as if pricked by needles, but it quickly dissipated.

"That is the intent of destruction within the Lightning Tribulation. There is new life within destruction, which can temper the physique."

"Damn! How could I let the lightning rods take this good stuff away from me!"

Su Mo immediately wanted to put away the Magical Artifacts on the ground.

Suddenly—

Hua Rumeng screamed: "Holy crap! What did you do, you brat!"

A phantom figure was seen flying out from Su Mo's chest, running two miles away in the blink of an eye.

"What are you..."

Before he could finish, Su Mo also noticed the increasingly heavy pressure from above.

"What's going on?!"

"The Lightning Tribulation brewing in the clouds already has 30% of the power of a Nascent Soul Stage tribulation! What on earth did you do?!"

Hua Rumeng stood a kilometer away, transmitting her voice to Su Mo via Divine Sense.

"What did I do? I just set up a few lightning rods..."

Su Mo was dumbfounded, looking up at the growing thundercloud, when he suddenly thought of something—

"This Lightning Tribulation isn't conscious, is it?!"

Looking at the dark clouds in the sky, he truly felt a sense of anger coming from them.

"Damn! You can't handle me setting up a few needles? If I set up a big, black, thick rod, you..."

"Boom!"

A pale purple bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket instantly engulfed Su Mo!

Bathed in the lightning, Su Mo felt as if his throat were stuffed with something, stretched straight, unable to make a sound.

The lightning dissipated, and all the Magical Artifacts acting as lightning rods were shattered. On the pitch-black ground, only one stark white figure remained standing in place.

"Kid, are you okay!"

Hua Rumeng shouted anxiously from a distance: "If you die, how am I, a woman, supposed to live? Wuwuwu~"

After a while, Su Mo transmitted his voice via Divine Sense: "Stop yelling, I'm not dead yet."

Su Mo had just been stiffened by the electric shock; he only felt a flash of white light, and his mind instantly went blank. It took a while for him to regain consciousness.

"That was intense!"

Being able to withstand this bolt of lightning was entirely due to his strong physique and thick spiritual energy. However, a large amount of the intent of destruction still penetrated his body along with the lightning, destroying his cells.

Su Mo hurriedly took out a handful of healing Medicinal Pills and stuffed them into his mouth. The medicinal power immediately began to repair his injuries, making him feel much better.

"Is there any way to reduce the power of this Lightning Tribulation?"

"No. Which Cultivator isn't cautious when Undergoing Tribulation, fearing that a single mistake will lead to their death and dissipation? None use crooked methods like you!"

"If there isn't, then fine. I'll just tank it."

Su Mo gritted his teeth, a ruthless look flashing in his eyes!

"It's just a Lightning Tribulation, right? I can take it!"

"Bring it on!"

He kept a handful of healing Medicinal Pills in his mouth in advance.

"Boom!"

The third Lightning Tribulation arrived on schedule; fortunately, the power did not increase again.

The violent lightning flashed by.

Su Mo popped the pills.

"Bring it on!"

The fourth Lightning Tribulation...

"Bring it on!"

The fifth Lightning Tribulation...

"Bring it on!"

The sixth Lightning Tribulation...

"Can't take it anymore... Can't take it anymore..."

The seventh Lightning Tribulation...

"Don't come anymore..."

The eighth Lightning Tribulation...

"Ah~"

The ninth Lightning Tribulation...

"..."

The dark clouds dispersed, and sunlight shone back onto the ground.

Su Mo lay limp, his consciousness blurry, sprawled in the large crater blasted out by the Lightning Tribulation. Wisps of white smoke rose from his body, emitting the charred scent of protein.

The intent of destruction within the Lightning Tribulation could not be completely blocked; it could only be digested by Su Mo himself.

But every time, before Su Mo could finish digesting it, the next Lightning Tribulation would follow in succession, causing the intent of destruction within his body to continuously accumulate. By the sixth Lightning Tribulation, he was already struggling to hold on. The remaining few were sustained entirely by sheer willpower.

"Young Master, are you okay!"

Hua Rumeng hurriedly flew over, took out a Medicinal Pill from the storage ring at Su Mo's waist, and fed it into his mouth.