203: Chapter 22 The Profound Meaning of Thunder

He no longer focused entirely on defense. Instead, he sank most of his mind into his Dantian, frantically circulating a forbidden secret technique recorded in the Nine Heavens Thunder Control True Canon.

He had never fully performed this secret technique before.

The requirements for the Nascent Soul and physical body were too high, and the backlash was too great.

But at this moment, he had no choice!

"Draw the Nine Heavens Thunder Malevolence... Gather in my true body... Tribulation Light... First appearance!"

He let out a raspy, low growl, every word sounding as if it took all his strength.

As the secret technique activated, he no longer suppressed the thunderous true essence surging from the battle. Instead, he actively guided it, causing it to frantically collide, compress, and fuse within his meridians in a near-suicidal manner!

At the same time, he looked up at the sky. A thin crack faintly opened at the center of his brow, and a wisp of weak but incredibly pure Nascent Soul power, mixed with his entire comprehension of the Dao of Thunder, was cast toward the distant Nine Heavens like a fuse!

Crack—!

In the originally clear sky, a sudden bolt of thunder exploded without warning!

Immediately after, the wind and clouds changed abruptly!

Heavy, leaden clouds converged frantically from all directions, instantly blotting out the sunlight. Within the cloud layers, electric snakes danced wildly and thunder rolled. A destructive aura, more terrifying and pure than the previous "Nine Heavens Thunder Movement," began to brew, as if representing the punishment of Heaven and Earth!

Huang Chen's expression changed for the first time.

He looked up at the heavy tribulation clouds that were rapidly gathering, their internal lightning already turning dark purple. An expression of disbelief appeared in his eyes:

"This is... the aura of a Heavenly Tribulation? No, it's not a real Heavenly Tribulation, but... he's invoking the power of the world's Tribulation Thunder?! How is this possible?! He's only at the Nascent Soul Early Stage; how can he invoke such power?!"

He felt that the tribulation clouds were locked onto Chen Zilong, but the destructive fluctuations within them made even him, a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator, feel palpitations! This was absolutely not a method a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator should possess!

Chen Zilong's current state was terrible to the extreme.

Forcibly activating the secret technique to invoke the power of Tribulation Thunder had caused multiple tears in his meridians. His internal organs felt like they were on fire, and his Nascent Soul transmitted a tearing pain as if it would collapse at any moment.

But his eyes were frighteningly bright. He stared fixedly at Huang Chen, and his lips even pulled back into a ferocious smile.

"Sect Master Huang... witness... the true... Profound Meaning of the Dao of Thunder!"

He raised his hands with difficulty, forming an ancient and simple hand seal that seemed to contain the primordial mysteries of lightning.

Once this hand seal was formed, the tribulation clouds in the sky seemed to receive a final command and suddenly contracted inward!

All the lightning and all the destructive aura condensed into a single point at the center of the cloud layer!

Then, a beam of light, whose color defied description, struck down.

It wasn't simply purple, blue, or white, but a chaotic, primordial light that seemed to contain the very first bolt of lightning from the dawn of creation!

Wherever the light passed, space distorted, light was annihilated, and even time seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second.

It wasn't large, only about the thickness of an arm, but it carried a magnificent heavenly might that purified, judged, and ended everything!

Profound Meaning of the Dao of Thunder—Nine Heavens Tribulation Light!

This wasn't true Heavenly Tribulation lightning, but it had already touched the supreme edge of the Dao of Thunder, containing part of the power of the "Nine Heavens Profound Astral Divine Lightning" and even more ancient thunders.

Huang Chen's pupils shrunk to the size of needle tips!

An unprecedented crisis of death instantly seized his heart!

He could no longer care about maintaining his composure. With a wild roar, he fully retracted his "Nine Nether Yellow Springs Qi," laying down layer upon layer of extremely solid gray gas walls in front of him, while simultaneously bringing out his trump card treasure.

A simple black tortoise-shell shield, covered in profound defensive runes and emitting a heavy spiritual light, stood before him.

This wasn't enough; he unhesitatingly burned a portion of his lifeblood essence, and a thick blood-colored shield rose around him!

However, in the face of that Nine Heavens Tribulation Light, which seemed to represent the punishment of Heaven and Earth, all these defenses appeared pale and laughable.

Sssh—!

The Nine Heavens Tribulation Light first collided with the gas walls condensed from the Nine Nether Yellow Springs Qi.

That deathly energy, capable of defiling treasures and freezing life force, was like ice and snow under the sun before the Tribulation Light. Without even lasting half a breath, it completely melted and evaporated!

Next, the Tribulation Light slammed into the black tortoise-shell shield.

Crack! Pfft—!

This top-tier defensive treasure, capable of withstanding a full-strength blow from a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator, lasted for less than a breath before letting out a mournful cry. Countless cracks appeared on the shield's body, its spiritual light instantly dimmed, and it was pierced through by the Tribulation Light!

Finally, the Tribulation Light fell upon the blood-colored shield Huang Chen had raised by burning his blood essence, as well as his final protective astral qi.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

Only a faint "pop," like the sound of glass breaking.

The blood-colored shield and protective astral qi shattered instantly.

The residual power of the Tribulation Light fell upon Huang Chen's physical body without any further hindrance.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The shock, fear, and resentment on Huang Chen's face were instantly frozen.

He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but he couldn't make a sound.

In the next moment, starting from his chest where the Tribulation Light struck, his body began to crack, disintegrate, and be annihilated inch by inch, like a dried sand sculpture!

He wasn't blown apart or charred; it was the most thorough disintegration and dissipation from the most fundamental level of matter!

Along with the robes on his body and the ornaments he wore, everything turned into the finest dust within that chaotic Tribulation Light and scattered with the wind.

In his place, only an extremely withered, dim Nascent Soul projection remained, filled with endless terror and malice. It barely survived in the aftermath of the Tribulation Light and, without looking back, turned into an imperceptible gray light, fleeing for its life toward the distant horizon at several times the speed it had arrived! He didn't even dare to leave a single threatening word.

The Nine Heavens Tribulation Light slowly dissipated. The tribulation clouds in the sky also quickly receded, and sunlight once again spilled down, illuminating the scarred Falling Eagle Ravine, which looked as if it had been harshly plowed by a heavenly plow.

Chen Zilong maintained his hand-seal posture, standing in place without moving.

After several breaths, he suddenly shuddered and spat out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. His entire body seemed to have all its bones removed, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

The five thunders heavenly heart armor automatically faded away, and the overlord cauldron also flew back to his side with its light dimmed.

His face was as pale as golden paper, and his aura was weak to the extreme. His meridians were broken inch by inch, his Dantian Nascent Soul was withered and dim, and his soul was covered in cracks, as if it would completely shatter with a light touch.

Forcibly activating the Nine Heavens Tribulation Light, which exceeded his own realm, had brought a destructive backlash.

He didn't even have the strength to move a finger now. Any Foundation Establishment cultivator who happened by could probably take his life.

The mountain wind blew past, carrying a heavy scent of char and deathly silence.

Chen Zilong lay on the cold rock, looking at the sky that had turned azure again. A faint curve was forced onto the corner of his mouth.

I won...

Though it was so tragic that it was almost mutual destruction, in the end...

I won.

A Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator had counter-slain a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator. Huang Chen, the Great Sect Master of the Xuan Yin Sect's Heisha Mountain Branch Sect, had his physical body shattered by the Nine Heavens Tribulation Light, leaving only his Nascent Soul to flee.

If this news spread, it would likely set off a monstrous wave throughout the entire Southern Border and even the broader Central Region.

But Chen Zilong had no strength to think about these things now.

Extreme exhaustion and intense pain flooded over him like a tide.

He managed to take out a few of his most precious life-saving pills from his storage ring and stuffed them into his mouth without looking. Then, he could no longer hold on; his vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.

Falling Eagle Ravine returned to a deathly silence once more.

Only the cliff walls and deep valley, ravaged by thunder and deathly energy, silently told of the soul-stirring battle of Nascent Souls that had just reversed the course of events.

The fleeing Nascent Soul and the unconscious, dying victor both indicated that this disturbance was far from over.