26: Spirit Tribulation Realm!

Ten thousand feet up in the sky, thunderclouds as dark as ink churned and boiled, covering the entire sky over Qingfeng County as if the heavens themselves were about to collapse!

The majestic heavenly might felt almost tangible, pressing down so hard that all living beings below could hardly breathe; those with weaker cultivation collapsed directly to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Electric snakes danced wildly and thunder roared, shaking the mountains and rivers until they lost their color!

That was no ordinary lightning, but lightning of destruction containing the will of the Laws of heaven and earth!

It was the baptism and tribulation that a Cultivator must experience when acting against the heavens!

The Spirit Tribulation Realm Heavenly Tribulation!

In the entire Qing Province, Spirit Tribulation Realm Cultivators were already titan-level figures standing at the top of the pyramid; a single stomp of their feet would shake the entire province!

The birth of every Spirit Tribulation Realm expert meant the rewriting of the regional power balance!

And today, in this tiny Qingfeng County, the Lin Family Ancestor, Lin Dao, was actually going to trigger such a Heavenly Tribulation!

All members of the Lin Family, whether from the main house or the newly returned Yun Province branch, held their breath and stared up at the white-robed figure floating beneath the thunderclouds—a figure that appeared incredibly small yet stood remarkably straight—their hearts filled with excitement!

Lin Xuan and Lin Tian, the two newly returned experts, were even more emotionally stirred, unable to contain themselves.

They never expected that immediately upon returning to the main house, they would witness the birth of a Spirit Tribulation Realm powerhouse with their own eyes!

Furthermore, this Old Ancestor was so young and so powerful!

"The Old Ancestor... will surely succeed!"

Lin Hao clenched his fists.

"A mere Heavenly Tribulation can do nothing to the Old Ancestor!"

Ye Chen grinned, full of confidence.

Stars spun rapidly within Lin Yun's eyes as he tried to see the trajectories of the Laws within the thunderclouds, but he only felt a stinging pain in his eyes and was filled with awe.

High in the sky, Lin Dao stood with his hands behind his back, his white robes snapping loudly in the violent gale.

He looked up at the tribulation clouds brewing with destructive power, his gaze calm, even carrying a hint of... anticipation.

"I shall use your Heavenly Tribulation to temper my Great Dao!"

Rumble—!!!

The first bolt of tribulation lightning finally tore through the firmament like a ferocious, roaring purple thunder dragon, carrying a terrifying will that could incinerate all things and destroy the Divine Soul as it struck down violently!

Everywhere it passed, black cracks were torn into the space!

The power of this lightning bolt was enough to easily heavily injure or even kill a Cultivator at the Peak of the ninth level of the Heavenly Soul Realm!

The people below cried out in alarm!

However, Lin Dao did not dodge or avoid it, nor did he even use any Magic Treasure or Spell!

He slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread wide, and actually grabbed directly at that bolt of destructive lightning!

"Heaven-Swallowing Creation Art, activate!"

He silently recited the Origin Cultivation Technique optimized by the System; his palm seemed to transform into an invisible black hole!

Sizzle—!

That terrifying thunder dragon, capable of shattering mountains, was actually caught forcefully by his bare hand!

The violent power of lightning surged crazily into his body, attempting to destroy everything!

Lin Dao's body shook slightly, and faint arcs of electricity danced across his skin.

But his eyes remained calm; he even closed them, operating his Cultivation Technique with all his might to guide this violent lightning power to flush his Meridians, temper his Divine Soul, and baptize his Heavenly Soul!

That destructive power actually became docile within his body, transforming into the purest energy to be greedily absorbed by him!

In just a few breaths, the first bolt of tribulation lightning was actually crushed by his bare hand and completely devoured!

"Crushing the Heavenly Tribulation... with his bare hands?!"

"De... Devoured?! He's absorbing the power of the Heavenly Tribulation?!"

Below, countless people lost their voices in horror, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads! This method of Undergoing Tribulation was unheard of! Never before seen!

Even the scouts from the Myriad Manifestations Academy and other major powers hidden in the distant Void Realm, observing in secret, were so frightened they nearly tumbled off their clouds!

Rumble! Rumble!

The Heavenly Tribulation seemed to be enraged, as even more violent lightning poured down like a torrential rain!

The second bolt, the third... each one thicker than the last, each one more terrifying!

The colors also changed from purple to crimson, pitch-black, and even a strange color of Chaos!

The power increased level by level, enough to make any Cultivator at the Early Stage of the Spirit Tribulation Realm suffer total annihilation of body and Soul!

Lin Dao remained as unmoved as a mountain, his hands conjuring countless profound seals, sometimes pointing his fingers like a sword to slash through the lightning;

Sometimes opening his mouth to inhale, like a whale swallowing water, sucking large patches of the sea of lightning into his belly;

Sometimes tanking it with his body, letting the lightning light baptize him; his skin glowed with treasure light, becoming even more brilliant instead!

He was using the power of this Heavenly Tribulation to crazily hammer and temper everything about himself!

His Physical Body, Divine Soul, spiritual power, and even the insights into the Laws he had just condensed!

The tribulation lightning became more and more terrifying; at the end, it even transformed into humanoid lightning, lightning shadows of ancient Vicious Beasts, and even various forms of Law weapons, striking down!

But Lin Dao fought more bravely as the battle progressed; his aura did not weaken but instead became more vast, profound, and immeasurable under the tempering of the lightning!

His Heavenly Soul continuously shattered and reformed within the lightning light, becoming more solid and powerful, taking on a hint of immortality!

Finally, after eighty-one bolts of tribulation lightning, the thick tribulation clouds covering the sky seemed to have exhausted all their strength and began to slowly dissipate.

Ten thousand rays of golden light pierced through the clouds and spilled down, painting Lin Dao's figure like a Heavenly God descending to the world!

Faint Chaos Qi swirled around him, his skin was as lustrous as jade, and as his eyes opened and closed, it seemed as if countless worlds were being born and destroyed in Reincarnation!

A majesty that stood above heaven and earth and held dominion over the Laws naturally spread out!

Spirit Tribulation Realm, First Heavenly Layer! Success!

Moreover, by virtue of devouring a massive amount of Heavenly Tribulation power, his cultivation had stabilized directly at the Peak of the First Heavenly Layer!

His Foundation was so robust it far exceeded that of ordinary Spirit Tribulation Realm Cultivators!

[Ding! The Host has successfully passed the Spirit Tribulation and entered the Peak of the First Heavenly Layer of the Spirit Tribulation Realm!]

[Ding! The Physical Body and Divine Soul have undergone the baptism of the Heavenly Tribulation, achieving an essential transformation!]

[Ding! Insights into the Laws of heaven and earth have deepened significantly! Beginning to condense a personal Law Mark!]

[Ding! System permissions have significantly increased! Unlocking partial Spirit Tribulation Realm functions!]

The cold System notification sounded.

Lin Dao floated in the air, feeling the earth-shaking power within his body and the incredibly clear connection to the Laws of heaven and earth.

With a slight thought, the surrounding light, air currents, and even the smallest dust particles seemed to move according to his will.

He slowly raised his hand; at his fingertips, a wisp of imperceptible yet infinitely profound Chaos Qi slowly condensed and spiraled.

That was the prototype of the... Chaos Law Mark that he began to preliminarily condense after passing the Heavenly Tribulation, combining his own insights with the System's optimization!

Although it was only a prototype, its essential quality was far superior to ordinary Laws such as the Five Elements or Wind and Thunder!

However, just as he was immersed in the insights of his Breakthrough and the clan members below were preparing to cheer and celebrate—

A sudden change occurred!

At the center of the tribulation clouds that were originally about to completely dissipate, without any warning, an extreme point of dark light that seemed capable of annihilating all Souls lit up again!

A power far more terrifying than all the previous lightning combined, specifically targeting the Origin of the Divine Soul, silently enveloped Lin Dao like an invisible wave of death!

"Heart Demon Tribulation?! No! It's... the Silent Annihilation Soul Thunder! An Origin tribulation targeting the true spirit! How could it appear at the first layer of the Spirit Tribulation?!"

In the distant Void Realm, a well-informed scout let out a terrified scream!

This Silent Annihilation Soul Thunder was a disaster usually encountered only by Cultivators of much higher Realms; it was impossible to guard against, specifically wiping out the true spirit mark, leaving ten deaths and no life!

The hearts of all the Lin Family members instantly jumped into their throats!

Lin Dao's pupils also shrank! This power made him feel an unprecedented threat of death!

Just at this critical moment—

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, that System core which had always remained silent suddenly gave a slight tremor!

A cool, vast power beyond comprehension instantly flowed through his entire body, protecting his true spirit Origin. At the same time, the System interface flashed frantically with notifications in his consciousness:

[Detected invasion of abnormal high-level tribulation power! Activating emergency protection!]

[Analyzing tribulation power composition... Parsing... 1%... 5%...]

[Parsing successful! Obtained incomplete Silent Annihilation Law information! Beginning Fusion and optimization...]

The Silent Annihilation Soul Thunder, which was enough to annihilate the true spirit of a Peak Spirit Tribulation Realm expert, was actually forcibly analyzed, disassembled, and partially absorbed by the System the moment it touched Lin Dao's body!

The remaining power, although still terrifying, could no longer pose a fatal threat!

Lin Dao had a moment of inspiration and took the opportunity to operate his Cultivation Technique with all his might, guiding the residual Silent Annihilation power to merge into the wisp of Chaos Qi at his fingertips!

Sizzle!

The Chaos Qi vibrated violently, its color becoming even deeper, adding a heart-palpitating Silent Annihilation intent of the end of all things!

Chaos encompasses all things and can also give rise to Silent Annihilation!

A blessing in disguise!

The dark light finally dissipated completely.

The sky returned to complete clarity, and sunlight shone down.

Not a cloud for ten thousand miles.

Only Lin Dao floated quietly, that wisp of even more profound Chaos Qi slowly rotating at his fingertips, radiating a newborn yet heaven-and-earth-eclipsing Law majesty.

He had successfully passed this far-from-conventional Spirit Tribulation!

Furthermore, with the help of the System, he had turned misfortune into a blessing, touching and absorbing a trace of the Profound Truth of the Silent Annihilation Law in advance, merging it into his own Chaos Law prototype!

At this moment, he had truly stepped through the gates of the Spirit Tribulation Realm and laid down an unprecedented Law Foundation with infinite potential!

Below, after a moment of dead silence, earth-shaking fanatical cheers erupted!

"The Old Ancestor is invincible!"

"Spirit Tribulation Realm! The Old Ancestor is a Spirit Tribulation Realm powerhouse now!"

"Heaven bless my Lin Family!"

Lin Xuan, Lin Tian, and the other Yun Province clan members were so excited they wept, kneeling on the ground one after another!

They were incredibly glad for their return; with such an Old Ancestor in the Lin Family, why worry about not flourishing!

Lin Dao slowly descended, his entire aura fully restrained, once again appearing ordinary. But wherever his gaze landed, no one dared to meet his eyes.

He looked at the immensely excited clan members and smiled faintly: "The tribulation is over, all of you disperse. Cultivate well."

His tone was flat, yet it contained supreme majesty.

The crowd respectfully complied and dispersed excitedly; the entire Lin Family estate was immersed in boundless wild joy and exhilaration.

Lin Dao returned to the Quiet Room and sat cross-legged to inspect his internal state.

The power of the Spirit Tribulation Realm was as vast as a sea of stars, and his perception of the Laws was incredibly clear.

With a slight thought, the wisp of Chaos Qi merged with a trace of Silent Annihilation intent emerged at his fingertips, causing the surrounding space to slightly warp and collapse.

"Chaos Law... Silent Annihilation Law..."

He was deep in thought. "System, retrieve all information regarding the insight and application of Laws."

[Ding! Permission increased, opening the Spirit Tribulation Realm database.]

[Recommended: 'Initial Explanation of Chaos' (Incomplete), 'True Meaning of Silent Annihilation' (Introductory), 'Law Imprinting Technique' (Elementary)...]

A large amount of profound information flooded into his mind.

Lin Dao immersed himself in it, continuously perceiving and deducing.

After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes again, his gaze seemingly piercing through the Quiet Room to see Lin Hao and Ye Chen sparring in the courtyard.

With a slight thought, he flicked his finger.

Two imperceptible Law Marks, containing a trace of his sword dao insights and the essence of power application, silently entered the bodies of Lin Hao and Ye Chen.

The two people who were currently exchanging blows shook simultaneously, their eyes showing confusion, which was immediately replaced by immense surprise!

They only felt that many mysterious insights had appeared in their minds, and many previous difficulties in cultivation suddenly became clear!

Especially Lin Hao, whose understanding of Sword Intent instantly rose to a new level!

"Thank you, Old Ancestor, for bestowing the technique!"

The two of them hurriedly bowed respectfully toward the Quiet Room, their faces full of fanaticism.

Lin Dao nodded slightly.

This was one of the methods of the Spirit Tribulation Realm; by preliminarily condensing Law Marks, one could imprint them upon the world or enlighten descendants.

He closed his eyes again, his mind connecting with the increasingly majestic pale purple Luck of the entire Lin Family.

The Spirit Tribulation Realm was only a beginning.