339: Successfully survived the tribulation

Outside on the sand dunes, a thumb-sized grey bead fell from the Void Realm. Dark patterns flowed across its surface like a frozen galaxy, and the moment it touched the dunes, the fine sand actually condensed into tiny droplets of Spiritual Liquid around it.

But in the next second, a terrifying bolt of lightning struck the space pearl directly!

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar exploded in the desert. The moment the lightning hit the pearl, the halo atop the bead surged violently, only to be forced back down by the berserk power of the lightning.

A visible shockwave spread out with the pearl as its center. Sand dunes within a hundred-foot radius were blown away, revealing the dark brown bedrock beneath, which was then turned to powder in the lightning's glow.

Inside the world of the pearl, a catastrophe was unfolding: towering mountains collapsed with a crash under the impact of the lightning's power, as rubble and dust surged into the clouds.

The rushing river water seemed to be reversed by an invisible hand, flowing wildly back toward its source and kicking up monstrous waves.

The light blue spatial Restriction that originally covered the entire space shattered inch by inch like broken glass. Countless pitch-black spatial rifts roamed within it, and wherever they passed, even light was swallowed whole.

"Not good!"

Situ Jun only had time to cry out inwardly before he was forcibly teleported out by the chaotic Restrictions within the space.

"Thud—"

Situ Jun slammed heavily onto a distant sand dune, his body tumbling across the yellow sand like a broken kite. He plowed a deep trench dozens of feet long through the sand until he finally stopped upon hitting a massive rock.

The space pearl became dim and lusterless, quickly shrinking to a speck of light and flying back into Situ Jun's Dantian.

Situ Jun struggled to lift his head and coughed out a mouthful of blood. His vision was somewhat blurred, but he still forced himself to look toward the spot where the lightning pillar had landed.

In the center of the desert, at the original location where the space pearl had fallen, a black hole about a yard in diameter had appeared.

The space at the edge of the black hole collapsed continuously like ripples in water, emitting heart-palpitating spatial fluctuations. Occasionally, grains of sand were sucked in and vanished without a trace instantly; it took a long time for this black hole to disappear.

"That strike... actually faintly touched the boundary of the Law of Space..."

Situ Jun murmured in a low voice, his tone raspy from the intense pain.

He could clearly feel that the power contained in that lightning was several times more terrifying than the Nine-Fold Lightning Tribulation he encountered when breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage. If the space pearl hadn't blocked most of its power for him, he would have been turned to ash by now.

At that moment, the tribulation cloud in the sky finally began to slowly disperse.

The leaden-grey cloud layer receded like a tide, revealing the originally yellowish sky. A few fragments of sunlight spilled through the gaps in the clouds, falling onto the ravaged desert and adding a hint of life to this dead land.

Situ Jun was covered in injuries, his brocade robes were full of tears, and his exposed skin was riddled with wounds of varying depths—some so deep that white bone was visible.

He could no longer support himself; his body went limp, and he crashed heavily onto the yellow sand.

The scorching sand pressed against his wounds, sending bursts of stinging pain through him, but he seemed not to feel it. He simply gasped for air, his chest heaving violently, as every breath pulled at his internal injuries and brought heart-wrenching pain.

Lying on the ground and watching the dispersing tribulation cloud, a joyful smile of survival after a disaster slowly appeared on his face.

"Finally... I've passed it."

His voice was hoarse, carrying a sense of relieved fortune and exhaustion as he cursed:

"That damned System only cares about increasing Cultivation but doesn't care how terrifying the consequences of advancement are... If I hadn't refined Daoist Ming Ya's space pearl in advance, I'm afraid I would have perished under the Lightning Tribulation this time."

As soon as he finished speaking, another change occurred.

Above the firmament, the originally receding tribulation cloud suddenly stalled, and then countless strands of seven-colored auspicious light descended from the gaps in the clouds.

That auspicious light was like molten colored glass, crystal clear and containing endless vitality and the power of creation. It landed gently on the desert, and upon touching the scorched sand, it actually caused tiny green sprouts to emerge from the dry grit. When it fell on Situ Jun, it transformed into a warm stream of light, seeping into his riddled body like sweet rain.

This was the gift bestowed by the Heavenly Dao after successfully Undergoing Tribulation.

For a Cultivator, a Heavenly Tribulation is both a test and an Opportunity—after passing the Heavenly Tribulation, the Heavenly Dao descends Spiritual Qi auspicious light, which can not only quickly repair the Cultivator's damaged Physical Body and Meridians from the tribulation but also temper the Cultivator's Foundation and even elevate their comprehension of the Laws of the Great Dao.

Ignoring the intense pain in his body, Situ Jun hurriedly gritted his teeth and sat up cross-legged.

He pinched a hand seal and began to circulate the Mind-Cultivation Technique of the Dragon-Phoenix Grand Derivation True Scripture. The originally chaotic Spiritual Qi in his body was instantly guided, flowing like streams into a river as he began to actively absorb this pure Spiritual Qi.

The gentle Spiritual Qi flowed into his body through his limbs and bones like a trickling stream.

The Meridians that had snapped from enduring the Lightning Tribulation began to repair rapidly under the nourishment of the Spiritual Qi, bringing a tingling, itchy sensation.

His damaged Physical Body also healed at a visible speed under the effect of the power of vitality. Those deep wounds that showed bone gradually scabbed over and then slowly fell off, revealing fresh, pink skin.

The Spiritual Qi inside his body, which had been restless due to the spatial tearing, also became steady and condensed under the harmony of the pure Spiritual Qi. Like a rushing river flowing into the sea, it formed an even more vast ocean of spiritual power within his Dantian.

Its thickness and strength were several times more powerful than before the tribulation!

To his surprise, within his Sea of Consciousness, the originally illusory and dim Primordial Spirit was now wrapped in seven-colored auspicious light, becoming increasingly solid. He could even clearly "see" the spatial barriers outside his Sea of Consciousness.

This is the true Foundation of a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator: being able to touch the Laws of space with the Primordial Spirit, allowing the Primordial Spirit to leave the body and wander the Great Void, and being able to trigger the power of heaven and earth with every movement.

Time passed quietly during his Cultivation.

For three days and three nights, Situ Jun remained sitting cross-legged on the sand dune.

The seven-colored auspicious light gradually dissipated, and the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth became thin once more, with only a faint halo still lingering around him.

It wasn't until the morning of the fourth day, when the first light of dawn crossed the distant mountains and fell on his face, that Situ Jun slowly opened his eyes.

A flash of purple-gold electricity flickered in his eyes before vanishing, leaving only a deep, abyss-like clarity.

He raised his hand and waved, his fingertips slicing through the Void Realm. A hair-thin spatial rift appeared before him, with silver-blue light flowing within it, yet not a single bit of spatial turbulence leaked out.

This was the Spatial Power that only Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators could master. He could precisely control the opening and closing of rifts, no longer like the Nascent Soul Stage where using Spatial Power would cause an energy rampage.

He looked down at his hands; his palms, once covered in scars, had been restored to their original state, and he could even see faint golden spiritual power flowing beneath the skin.

The injuries left from enduring the Lightning Tribulation had mostly healed, and his Cultivation had completely stabilized at the Soul Transformation Early Stage. Because this Heavenly Tribulation far exceeded the norm, his Spiritual Veins had been repeatedly tempered by the lightning, making his Foundation incredibly solid. Having just entered Soul Transformation, he had already faintly touched the Peak of the Soul Transformation Early Stage!