209: Su Ling, what merit do you possess?!

Time flowed by, second by second.

The strange thing was, this Nascent Soul was not as peaceful as that of other Cultivators.

Instead, it was entirely dark purple, entwined with black clouds, faintly emitting a chill that reached the depths of the Soul.

With the outline of the Nascent Soul barely formed, Su Ling had no time to rejoice before his mind was filled with illusions, and countless roars and whispers echoed in his ears.

In his past life as a Dark Walker, the gang bosses, unscrupulous wealthy merchants, and foreign dignitaries he had killed suddenly transformed into bloody remnant souls and pounced upon him.

Or perhaps it was the Cultivators he had ruthlessly slaughtered during the National War, letting out shrill wails in an attempt to claim his life.

Sometimes, it would transform into the figure of Yun Qingluan, looking at him with deep affection.

Even the figure of Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple emerged, her immortal dress shimmering with a snowy white light.

Heart Demon invasion!

The temptation of surging power would infinitely amplify a practitioner's greed, causing them to crave more consumption, eventually losing themselves, with the Nascent Soul becoming a Devil Head that only knew how to devour.

Cold sweat broke out on Su Ling, and he dared not be the slightest bit careless.

Using the "Spirit Refining and Nether Transforming" method from the Nine Nether Soul Devouring True Scripture, he centered his focus, placing his Divine Soul above the "netherworld purple mansion," like a Dominator of the netherworld, watching coldly.

He peeled away and refined the remnant thoughts one by one.

With each one refined, the Nascent Soul became a fraction more solid, and the dark purple light became a fraction purer.

When the last remnant thought was refined, the Heart Demon dissipated, and the Nascent Soul suddenly opened its eyes, nine dark blue spiraling patterns appearing as they opened and closed.

If one looked closely, it seemed to possess the image of devouring all spirits, making one involuntarily sink into it.

The Nascent Soul solidified completely; it was dressed in black robes, and its face was identical to Su Ling's.

Under the robes, the Nascent Soul was entirely dark purple-gold, sitting cross-legged in the netherworld purple mansion, breathing and inhaling on its own, resonating more deeply with the heaven and earth outside.

At this point, the pill was broken and the Nascent Soul was formed; the cultivation was at Perfection.

Once the Nascent Soul was formed, the Yin Qi in the cave suddenly calmed down, and the phantom of the whale Soul let out a long whale call before slowly dissipating.

Su Ling slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of dark purple light flashing in his pupils. He raised his hand in a gesture, and the fist-sized nine nether nascent soul flew out from the netherworld purple mansion, hovering in front of him.

The Extreme Yin power it emitted caused the surrounding ice pool to freeze into an even thicker layer of ice.

"It's done."

A smile curled the corners of Su Ling's mouth, and the Spiritual Qi shield around his body dissipated automatically.

The nine nether nascent soul turned into a wisp of dark purple Qi and was re-absorbed into the Purple Mansion, sitting there.

At this moment, his aura became unfathomable; it possessed both the agility of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and the deathly stillness and coldness of the nine nether underworld. As he walked, even the surrounding Yin Qi automatically avoided him, not daring to approach.

He stood up and looked around; he did not know how much of the Yin Qi from the Dragon Whale's Return to Ruins had been absorbed.

But the foundation of this Extreme Yin Land remained, and the surrounding Yin Qi was still surging endlessly.

Su Ling tidied his clothes and prepared to fly up, heading out of the cave.

But suddenly, a thunderclap exploded from within his netherworld purple mansion.

Su Ling looked up abruptly, his heart filled with extreme fear.

For some reason, his gaze actually pierced through layers of rock and ten thousand tons of seawater, seeing a thick mass of black clouds appearing above the sea surface.

Lightning flashed within the black clouds, as if a thunderbolt would descend at any moment.

"This is... Lightning Tribulation?!"

Su Ling murmured, his expression changing drastically.

Above the sea surface of the Dragon Whale's Return to Ruins, the originally calm sky suddenly changed color.

Dark clouds gathered rapidly, and streaks of purple-gold lightning tore through them like the spears of a Heavenly God, carrying majestic heavenly might.

Different from the silver-white or crimson of ordinary lightning, this bolt of lightning was wrapped in a layer of pitch-black tribulation fire, with dense blood-colored patterns interwoven within the purple-gold thunder light.

The moment it appeared, it caused the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth to churn violently, and even the seawater began to boil, steaming up into a sky full of white mist.

"This is... Zixiao Yin-Sha Lightning Tribulation?!"

At the entrance of the cave passage, Ye Hong's heart shook, and he looked up in disbelief.

He had seen records in ancient books; this tribulation descended specifically for Heaven-Defying Cultivation Techniques or alien Cultivators.

The lightning contained fire, and the fire hid evil; it could not only incinerate Yin evil but also disintegrate Spiritual Qi, and its power was several times greater than a Lightning Tribulation of the same rank.

And at this moment, the momentum of this Lightning Tribulation was actually several times more terrifying than described in the ancient books.

"Is someone seeking the immortal path here?"

Ye Hong frowned, and in the next second, he turned his head abruptly, looking at the vortex passage with a stunned expression, exclaiming, "No, that's impossible! Junior Brother Su is only condensing a Nascent Soul..."

Lightning Tribulation usually only appears when a Cultivator asks the True Immortal path, or when a Body Integration demon Cultivator takes human form.

What virtue does Su Ling possess that, merely condensing a Nascent Soul, he could actually trigger the descent of a Lightning Tribulation?!

Lingxi Peak, inside the main hall of the Star Refining Dao Sect.

Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple was sitting and discussing the Dao with four Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, while Dao Venerable Yun Miao listened with a smile, occasionally offering a concise evaluation.

At one moment, Dao Venerable Yun Miao's expression shifted slightly, and he looked into the distance.

"Lightning Tribulation has descended..."

The strongest, Immortal Venerable Rong Huo, also had a change in expression and said with a light laugh, "I wonder which sect's Disciple is asking at the Immortal Gate?"

"Not so."

Dao Venerable Yun Miao stood up abruptly, looking at Clear Ripple with a serious expression, and asked with a hint of reproach, "Clear Ripple, what kind of Cultivation Technique is your Disciple practicing? He is merely condensing a Nascent Soul, yet he could actually trigger a Lightning Tribulation?"

"Su Ling?"

Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple was stunned at first, then suddenly jolted awake, "Revered Master, you are saying it was Su Ling who triggered the Lightning Tribulation?!"

"If not him, then who else? Hurry and come with me!"

Dao Venerable Yun Miao snorted, waved his large sleeve, and disappeared instantly with the five people.

In the next instant, they had already arrived above the Return to Ruins.

"Zixiao Yin-Sha Tribulation..."

Seeing the purple-gold Lightning Tribulation in the thunderclouds clearly, Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple's pretty face turned pale, and she exclaimed, "How is this possible?! Su Ling is condensing a Nascent Soul, not asking for the immortal path!"

Even if it were asking for the immortal path, a normal Five Elements Lightning Tribulation would already be terrifying enough.

Let alone this Heaven-punishment level Zixiao Yin-Sha Tribulation!

In the cultivation world, anything that can be crowned with the name Zixiao is an extremely powerful Thunder Technique.

But even the Luo family of Zixiao Island, famous for their Zixiao Thunder Technique, had only caught a glimpse of its fur.

They simply could not cast Zixiao Divine Lightning of this magnitude.

If not for this, how could they not even produce a Golden Immortal?

What virtue does Su Ling possess to be able to trigger Heaven's punishment?

This question did not only appear in Clear Ripple's heart; it also lingered in the hearts of Dao Venerable Yun Miao and the others.

Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple, unwilling to give up, swept her immortal consciousness across a range of ten thousand miles.

However, she never discovered anyone asking for the immortal path...

"Disciple pays respects to Grandmaster, Revered Master, and four Junior Martial Uncles."

Ye Hong, who had already gone out to sea, flashed instantly to their side and bowed in salute.

"Ye Hong, where is your Junior Brother Su?"

Immortal Venerable Rong Huo frowned and asked.

It was he who had personally instructed Ye Hong to handle Su Ling's urgent need for an Extreme Yin Land to break through his realm.

Unknowingly, a year had passed.

Now Ye Hong appeared, but Su Ling had not shown himself...

"Revered Master, Junior Brother Su is... still inside the Dragon Whale's Return to Ruins."

Ye Hong said with a bitter expression, "A moment ago, the Dragon Whale Soul Guard even informed the Disciple that Junior Brother Su had successfully formed his Nascent Soul, but who would have thought... that it would actually trigger the descent of a Lightning Tribulation."

"No need to ask; the Lightning Tribulation is about to begin."

Dao Venerable Yun Miao sighed softly and pointed to the sea in front of them.

They saw a figure being slowly pulled to the sea surface by the power of the Lightning Tribulation.

It was indeed Su Ling, who was inside the Return to Ruins!