661: Chapter 661 The Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation

Immediately after, a tribulation cloud gathered above the pillar of light.

Ten-colored lightning intertwined, coiled, and collided within the clouds, emitting a low, humming sound.

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!

Each hum made your mind tremble.

It was not just you.

Cultivators on tens of thousands of Star Continent and countless Shattered Star Continent in the nearby starry sky all looked up.

They looked at the pitch-black night sky, at that blinding pillar of light, and at the ten-colored lightning, all of them panicking.

"What is this? Is it the end of the world?" a child asked, tilting their head up.

"This is the legendary Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation; someone is about to achieve a Mahayana Breakthrough." An old man frowned.

"It is said that less than one in ten thousand survive this Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. I didn't believe it before, but seeing it with my own eyes today, I believe it." An old woman beside him held the old man's arm and nodded.

"Will this lightning strike us here?" a young man asked.

"It won't. Don't be fooled by how close the lightning seems; it is actually countless light-years away. You couldn't fly there in your entire lifetime." The old man stroked his beard and smiled.

"That's good, that's good. I still haven't finished spending my Spirit Stone!" The young man tightened his grip on the qiankun bag at his waist.

Such scenes were happening everywhere.

Countless Mortals, Cultivators, and Yao Beast stopped in their tracks, all looking up in unison.

Even those Cultivators who were originally in the midst of exterminating clans, dueling, or arguing stopped, each craning their necks to stare at the starry sky.

In front of the window of a certain guest room, a man and a woman were embracing, draped in thin gauze, also looking up at the starry sky.

This female Cultivator was Zhong Linger, who was now at the Early Golden Core Stage.

This male Cultivator was Immortal Master Jade Dragon, who was now at the Peak Golden Core Stage.

They were not currently at the Liu Clan Territory—the Liu Clan Territory was countless billions of light-years away from here, so naturally, they could not see the scene here.

The two of them had come out this time because Immortal Master Jade Dragon wanted to find an Opportunity in a Secret Realm to prepare for his Nascent Soul Breakthrough.

"Is that the legendary Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation?" Zhong Linger asked.

Immortal Master Jade Dragon nodded. "Yes. Judging by the direction, it should be near the Kunlun Dao Academy; the border star there is called Tianxuan Star."

Zhong Linger's eyes lit up. "Do you think there is a chance this Senior will succeed in their Breakthrough?"

"Why, are you thinking of something?" Immortal Master Jade Dragon looked at her seriously.

"We are developing in Tianshu City, but at best, we will only reach the Nascent Soul Stage. If this Senior truly succeeds in their Breakthrough, why don't we go develop near Tianxuan Star after you successfully achieve your Nascent Soul Breakthrough? We might even run into this Senior by chance. What do you think?" The more Zhong Linger spoke, the more excited she became.

Immortal Master Jade Dragon nodded slowly. "That makes sense. After I reach the Nascent Soul Stage, we will go wander around Tianxuan Star. I believe we will meet them one day. When that time comes, it won't just be the Soul Transformation Stage; Void Refining or even Body Integration would not be impossible."

Zhong Linger felt an itch in her heart as she listened, and her mind began to fantasize—if she could be pinned down by a Mahayana Cultivator, that feeling would surely be wonderful.

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, and she couldn't help but glance at Immortal Master Jade Dragon.

For some reason, once this thought popped up, the more she looked at Immortal Master Jade Dragon, the more disgusted she felt.

The mere thought of herself being pinned down by such trash usually made her feel uncomfortable all over.

However, she didn't show it on her face at all; she giggled and threw herself into Immortal Master Jade Dragon's arms, looking as devoted as could be.

Such scenes were playing out everywhere nearby.

Countless people were rushing in the direction of that pillar of light in the starry sky, all hoping to run into that Senior one day.

Compared to the miserable, hard work of Cultivating on their own, this was a heaven-sent Opportunity—an Opportunity to defy heaven and change one's fate.

After all, everyone thought they were a Child of Destiny, a Child of Luck.

The chance to latch onto a Mahayana Cultivator was far greater than any Secret Realm, Medicinal Pill, or Cultivation Technique.

This Opportunity could truly be described as ascending to the heavens in a single step.

It was just hard to say whether this fate would be changed for the better or for the worse.

Meanwhile, Qin Han was enduring the bolts of the Heavenly Tribulation.

This heavenly lightning was not an ordinary Spell.

Each bolt contained the Power of the Great Dao; it was not striking the Physical Body, but the Foundation.

If one could not withstand it, it meant their cultivation Foundation was unstable, and it would be better to just die under the Heavenly Tribulation.

Otherwise, to enter the Mahayana Stage only to fall later—even the Dao would feel it was too shameful.

The first bolt of heavenly lightning descended.

The lightning was as thick as an arm, crimson red, and struck Qin Han, flowing once through its silver-white fur like water over a stone before dissipating.

Qin Han squatted there, motionless, not even its fur singed.

The second bolt, the power doubled.

The lightning was thicker than Qin Han's entire body.

Qin Han opened its mouth, and a black vortex appeared out of thin air—it wasn't sucking, it was "swallowing."

The lightning was swept into the vortex, compressed, condensed, and then swallowed.

It let out a satisfied burp, exhaling a puff of black smoke.

Immediately following were the third, fourth, and fifth bolts... each one stronger than the last.

The Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation—it was a nine-fold trial, with nine bolts of heavenly lightning in each layer.

The first three layers totaled twenty-seven bolts of heavenly lightning.

Each bolt of heavenly lightning did not just increase; it doubled.

Qin Han swallowed them all, one by one.

Its stomach was like a bottomless pit; it ate as much as came.

Its silver-white fur began to glow with a golden light, spreading from the tips to the roots, like mercury flowing over the ground.

It licked its lips, its eyes sparkling, and let out a burp.

However—

The fourth layer seemed to have changed.

When the twenty-eighth bolt of heavenly lightning descended, Qin Han sensed that something was wrong.

The lightning was still the same lightning—thick, bright, and hot.

But inside the lightning, there was something else—formless, invisible, intangible; it did not strike the Physical Body, but the Divine Soul.

The lightning tested the tangible, while that formless power tested the intangible.

Its whole body trembled, its mouth tightly shut, and a low whimper came from its throat.

It was not pain.

It was that it had "seen" something.

You looked at Qin Han's appearance and clenched your fists.

You did not know what kind of trial it was undergoing, and you were even more nervous than Qin Han.

You just watched.

The lightning did not stop, crashing down one after another.

The fourth layer, nine bolts of lightning struck down, each as thick as a small star.

The fifth layer, still nine bolts, even thicker.

The sixth layer, thicker still—it was almost reaching the size of the entire Tianxuan Star.

The lightning completely submerged Qin Han.

No, it should be called a sea of lightning.

To be precise, an ordinary sea of lightning would not be this large.

Qin Han's petite body, amidst the lightning comparable to stars, was like a speck of dust.

The lightning almost pierced right through it; every inch of its fur, flesh, bones, and Divine Soul within its body was being repeatedly tested by the lightning.

It did not cry out, biting its teeth tightly.

It also did not enlarge its body—because that would consume energy, and it needed to use all its strength to resist the Heavenly Tribulation.

You clenched your fists, seeing it trembling, yet it did not make a sound.

So, tempering the Dao Body was so intolerant of the slightest flaw.

But wasn't this Heavenly Tribulation a bit excessive?

Was this something a Peak Body Integration could withstand?

Or perhaps—was Qin Han's Heavenly Tribulation different from others?