335: Lightning Tribulation

At this moment, scouts from various factions staying on the outskirts of Nether Crow Ridge, as well as some Cultivators who had not yet departed, were all startled by this sudden celestial phenomenon and stopped to watch.

"That... what is that?"

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator pointed at the horizon, his voice trembling like a candle in the wind.

The once clear sky had been covered by ink-black clouds at some point. Within the rolling clouds, purple-gold lightning flickered faintly. Every flash caused the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to fluctuate violently, and even the ground beneath their feet trembled silently.

Wild animals and Spirit Beasts in the mountains wailed as they fled toward the outskirts of the Mingya mountain range. Some usually fierce birds now only dared to hover at low altitudes, flapping their wings as they flew out of the mountains.

"It's a Heavenly Tribulation! Someone is undergoing a Heavenly Tribulation!"

A Golden Core Cultivator with white hair and beard shouted hoarsely, his eyes filled with horror.

Having lived for nearly three hundred years, he had only seen descriptions of Heavenly Tribulations in ancient texts, but never imagined he would witness such a terrifying scene with his own eyes.

The scale of that tribulation cloud was more than a hundred times larger than an ordinary Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation, and the destructive aura within it made even his Golden Core tremble slightly.

"Run! Get further away!"

Someone shouted, and everyone snapped out of their daze.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators brought out their flying Magical Artifacts or flying-type Jade Talismans, pouring their Spiritual Qi in with all their might to lead the Qi Refining Cultivators in their escape. The spiritual light emanating from the artifacts slightly distorted due to the overload.

Golden Core Cultivators directly activated their escape techniques, their bodies turning into streaks of light as they sped toward the outskirts of the Mingya mountain range.

No one dared to look back, and no one dared to investigate who was undergoing the tribulation—under a Heavenly Tribulation, if a mere Mortal dared to approach, even a sliver of the aftershock would leave them without a trace of their bones.

It wasn't until they had fled a hundred miles away that the crowd finally dared to stop and look back at the still-rolling ink-colored clouds from a distance.

"Heavens! What kind of Heavenly Tribulation is that? It's so terrifying!"

A Cultivator leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for breath, his voice filled with lingering fear.

He looked toward the horizon; the range of the tribulation cloud was still expanding, like a shadow of death looming over the sky.

"Could you see who is undergoing the tribulation?"

Someone asked with a face full of confusion. Although there were several Cultivation Sects near the Southern Border, they had never heard of anyone about to break through past the Golden Core Stage.

"I couldn't see clearly; it's likely an outsider. Such a terrifying Heavenly Tribulation must be at least a Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation. There are only a few Late Golden Core Stage Cultivators in the Tianqi Dynasty, so this person is probably not a Cultivator from the Tianqi Dynasty."

Another Cultivator nearby replied with lingering fear, his eyes still fixed on the tribulation clouds on the horizon.

"Looking at the direction... they're heading toward the Death Desert!"

Suddenly, someone exclaimed, pointing toward the southwest.

Everyone followed his gaze and indeed saw the tribulation cloud moving toward the desolate Death Desert. Though its speed was slow, it carried an irresistible majesty.

"Who is so bold as to dare fly across the sky while carrying a tribulation cloud?"

Doubts were raised, but no one could answer.

Moving with a Heavenly Tribulation meant simultaneously enduring the pressure of the tribulation and the consumption of spatial travel. Any slight carelessness would lead to self-destruction; it was essentially dancing on the edge of a blade.

Just then, an old voice spoke up, trembling with disbelief:

"Look at that power... there are faint shadows of the Divine Chains of Order within those clouds. Could it be... the legendary Deity Transformation Heavenly Tribulation?"

At these words, the crowd went into an uproar, and everyone retreated dozens of miles further, fearing they would be caught in the Heavenly Tribulation.

A Deity Transformation Heavenly Tribulation! It hadn't appeared in the Tianqi Dynasty for a thousand years; the highest Cultivation level was only the Nascent Soul Stage!

It was said that when a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator breaks through, they trigger the Heavenly Dao Laws, which send down tribulation lightning containing the power of the Origin. Any slight mistake would lead to their death and the dissipation of their Dao.

But the Heavenly Tribulation before them was several times more terrifying than what was recorded in ancient texts. Just what kind of sacred being was the person undergoing the tribulation?

The crowd watched the receding tribulation clouds, discussing fervently, their eyes filled with awe and lingering fear... Meanwhile, a million miles west of the Southern Border.

The tribulation clouds in the sky rolled and pursued frantically as Situ Jun moved, like a black Dragon that had locked onto its prey. Wherever it passed, the world lost its color and all things fell silent.

The magnificent heavenly might firmly locked onto the figure that was constantly flickering and traversing through space.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion rang out, and it was as if the world had been muted.

Immediately after, a terrifying bolt of lightning of an indescribable color tore through the dark sky. Like the first divine punishment at the creation of the world, it carried a vast will to destroy all things as it struck down toward Situ Jun's head!

Wherever the lightning passed, space distorted like ripples on water, and the Spiritual Qi in the air evaporated instantly. The ground below, merely feeling this residual power, began to crack and sink at a visible rate, forming crisscrossing deep trenches.

This was no longer ordinary lightning, but a Soul Transformation Tribulation Lightning containing the Heavenly Dao Laws. Every strand of lightning carried enough power to kill a Late Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator.

Situ Jun's long hair danced wildly, and his robes billowed in the fierce wind.

He took a deep look at the lightning in the sky that had not disappeared. Instead of fear, his eyes blazed with a fierce Battle Intent!

"It seems this first Lightning Tribulation won't disappear until it hits me. Just as well!"

He let out a long cry, no longer suppressing the power within his body as his vast Soul Transformation Stage aura erupted completely! The spatial energy around him fluctuated violently, and his figure gradually became blurred.

"Shrinking the Earth into an Inch!"

Before his voice faded, he took a step forward, and his figure merged directly into the Void Realm, disappearing from the spot.

The next moment, atop a sand dune a hundred miles away, space fluctuated slightly, and Situ Jun's figure reappeared.

He didn't stop. His fingers formed a seal, spatial energy surged again, and his figure vanished once more.

It wasn't out of fear, but because he couldn't undergo the tribulation here!

Although the place he had just stayed was remote, it was near several nomadic tribes of the Southern Border. If the aftershocks of the Heavenly Tribulation spread there, those Mortals without Cultivation would be completely unable to withstand it.

More importantly, such a terrifying Heavenly Tribulation would surely attract the prying eyes of other Cultivators. He did not want any complications at the critical moment of his Breakthrough.

He had to go deeper and find an absolutely desolate, undisturbed place to deal with this Deity Transformation Heavenly Tribulation with peace of mind!

A distance of ten thousand miles was but a few traversals for a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator who had mastered the Space Law.

Almost at the same moment Situ Jun's figure disappeared, the terrifying tribulation lightning lost its target and struck heavily at the space where he had been.

Boom—!!!

Instantly, thunder exploded in the sky, sparks flew in all directions, and even the earth shook violently.

A cloudless blue sky with a diameter of over a thousand feet was instantly formed. At the edge of the clouds, lightning snakes still raged, emitting a desperate aura of destruction.

Just the aftershock of a single tribulation lightning had caused such a horrifying scene!

Situ Jun's figure flickered continuously within the spatial rifts. Every traversal crossed dozens of miles of yellow sand, yet the tribulation cloud above followed him like a shadow. The purple-gold lightning within the clouds grew even more intense, as if it would tear the sky apart the next moment.

He could clearly feel that his recently stabilized Early Stage Soul Transformation Stage Cultivation was resonating with the Heavenly Tribulation. The Spiritual Qi in his Meridians was as restless as boiling lava, and his Sea of Consciousness throbbed with pain under that magnificent heavenly might.

This delayed Heavenly Tribulation had already accumulated more power because the Secret Realm had cut off the heavenly secrets. Now, because of his forced movement, the will of the Heavenly Dao became even more violent, and the power of the lightning within the tribulation cloud continued to climb...