254: Chapter 254 The Great Heavenly Tribulation

Qing State, east of the Qing River, Liuyun Temple.

Temple Revered Master Liu Sisi stood leaning against the railing, her slender figure accentuated by a long dress with a cyan-to-red gradient. She gazed at the thick, lead-gray clouds rolling and gathering at the far edge of the sky, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with worry.

"Has something happened to... the Moonshadow Sect?"

She murmured softly, then shook her head.

"Impossible, he is so powerful!"

The dark clouds, so heavy they seemed ready to crush the heavens, were clearly originating from... the direction of the Moonshadow Sect!

At the same time, in Liuling City.

This bustling city of Cultivators was currently filled with a sense of oppression; the air had solidified, and even the slightest flow of Spiritual Qi carried a heavy sense of sluggishness. In the streets and alleys, Cultivators stopped in their tracks, looking toward the same direction—the Moonshadow Sect—with uncertainty and alarm.

"What... what a terrifying aura! Is the source the Moonshadow Sect?"

"What's going on? Has the Moonshadow Sect been too cruel in purging its subordinate Sects, drawing Heaven's Punishment?"

"Heaven's Punishment? It doesn't look like it... it seems more like... someone is Undergoing Tribulation?"

"Undergoing Tribulation?! You've got to be kidding! When the Lord of Wan Shou Mountain advanced from Void Tempering to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage back then, the Ninety-Nine Small Heavenly Tribulation wasn't even this terrifying! This feels like it's going to crush the entire world!"

"Then... what if it's someone at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage impacting... the Mahayana Stage?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the noisy city instantly fell into a dead silence.

Mahayana! A Realm higher than Tribulation Transcendence. Cangwu Province hadn't seen a Mahayana Supreme for nearly ten thousand years!

Countless gazes were fixed on the direction of the Moonshadow Sect, filled with horror, awe, and disbelief...

"Look! There's someone above the Moonshadow Sect!"

Above the Moonshadow Sect's gate, the thick tribulation clouds were like a boiling ink sea, the center slowly rotating to form a bottomless vortex from which a terrifying pressure poured down.

Beneath the vortex, a tall figure stood in the air, his green robes fluttering.

Ling Hao's expression was calm, standing firm like a mountain.

Having just finished the first mass meeting in the Hundred Meridians Harmony Hall within Yujing City of the Cave-Heaven Small World, he had finally encountered the opportunity for a Breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

"Come on!"

Boom—!

The Lightning Tribulation fell. This lightning was no longer the single type found in the previous Five-Nine or Six-Nine Lesser Heavenly Tribulations. There was the Purple-Gold Divine Lightning of Destruction, the Nine Heavens Astral Wind that tore at the Divine Soul, the Red Lotus Karmic Fire that burned the sky, the Bixi Winds and Weak Water that eroded all things, and even terrifying storms that distorted space!

This was the Nine-Nine Great Heavenly Tribulation belonging to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage! The Primordial Spirit Tribulation and the Physical Body Tribulation arrived simultaneously!

"What kind of tribulation is this? Why does none of it look familiar?!"

"Exactly! The Bone-Eroding Weak Water Tribulation, Nine Nether Wind-Fire, Five Elements Lightning-Fire Tribulation, and Astral Wind Body-Refining Tribulation—the tribulations in the Ninety-Nine Small Heavenly Tribulation don't match at all. But I feel like just one bolt of that purple-gold lightning is worth all four of those tribulations combined!"

"Me... me too!"

Ling Hao calmly raised his hand. A spiritual sword appeared in his grasp.

The Dao Artifact "fusheng." This was the spiritual sword rewarded by the System when Ling Hao made his Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage. Ling Hao usually had no use for it, so he had been nurturing it within his body. This spiritual sword had evolved from a Spiritual Artifact back then to a High Grade Dao Artifact now—a half-step Immortal Artifact!

With a light tap of the sword tip, he invoked the Dao Principle of the Sword, and a sword light tore through the Chaos Divine Lightning;

Extending the long sword, he used the Dao Principle of Talismans; runes condensed in the Void Realm, freezing the raging Nine Heavens Astral Wind;

Releasing "fusheng," the "Endless Life" array patterns circulated on the sword body, and the power of endless life struck hard against the Red Lotus Karmic Fire;

Covered by the "Infinite Sharpness" Dao principle, a casual swipe sliced through the entangling Bixi Winds and Weak Water;

The Myriad Evolution Dao Principle merged into the sword momentum, forcibly smoothing out the distorted space, wind, and lightning...

With every movement, Divine Abilities and mystical methods were at his fingertips, fully integrated and transformed into the most exquisite defense and attack. In Ling Hao's hands, the fusheng sword was sometimes a sword, sometimes a talisman, and sometimes an array base, handling everything with ease and resolving each tribulation one by one!

"Heavens... Oh my god! Is... is this still Undergoing Tribulation?"

"I've never seen anyone undergo a tribulation so easily! Those lightning strikes... it's like he's... playing?"

"These unknown divine lightning and wind-fire tribulations are thousands of times more powerful than the tribulation of the Lord of Wan Shou Mountain back then! The Sect Master of Moon Shadow Sect... what kind of tribulation is he undergoing?!"

The onlookers were already pale with fright, the shock in their hearts even greater than the Heavenly Tribulation itself. Ling Hao's "ease" precisely highlighted that the horror of the tribulation far exceeded the limits of their cognition.

This Lightning Tribulation is so powerful! Could it be the final Heavenly Tribulation for transitioning from Tribulation Transcendence to Mahayana, the Nine-Nine Great Heavenly Tribulation?!

Finally, the last bolt of lightning, its power climbing to the Peak, crashed down!

The light was so blinding that people couldn't open their eyes, and the power it contained made the entire Moonshadow Mountain Range tremble! The light barrier of the "taiyin zhoutian instrument" array protecting the Sect shook violently.

Inside the array, many Disciples with weaker cultivation groaned, their faces turning pale. Even with the array's isolation, the slight trace of Mahayana pressure that escaped caused their Divine Souls to shudder.

The Cultivators far away in Liuling City felt as if their hearts were being squeezed by an invisible giant hand; breathing became difficult, and those with low cultivation even collapsed directly to the ground.

Boom—!

Ling Hao struck out with his sword, the sword light colliding fiercely with that ultimate lightning bolt! A terrifying shockwave swept out, and the light barrier of the taiyin zhoutian instrument flickered unsteadily.

The lightning dissipated, but the thick tribulation clouds in the sky did not vanish; they rolled even more violently, their color deepening. That pressure had now completely locked onto the level of the Mahayana Stage.

Ling Hao's brows furrowed as he looked down at the Moonshadow Sect.

There was no movement from the Tribulation Platform; after all, this strike with Mahayana power posed no life-threatening danger to Ling Hao at all.

But... the taiyin zhoutian instrument reaching its limit by briefly blocking that strike just now; if this even stronger Mahayana tribulation continued to fall, the great array would surely break! At that time, everyone in the Moonshadow Sect, except for a few top experts, would be unable to escape being caught in the crossfire!

Ling Hao announced loudly, his clear voice penetrating the roar of the tribulation clouds and echoing through heaven and earth.

"This tribulation is dangerous and more than the Moonshadow Blessed Land can bear! This Seat will immediately lead the tribulation away to avoid disaster for the Sect!"

As his voice spread, the Moonshadow Sect was instantly submerged in worry.

"Really, he promised to give me a foot massage after the tribulation, but now who knows when that will be."

Yu Lingshuang glanced at her Senior Sister beside her, whose beautiful eyes were filled with worry, and remained silent.

"Eldest Senior Sister, Revered Master, he..."

Xia Yingying and Lu Changning pulled on Chi Wanhe's sleeves from both sides.

Chi Wanhe glanced at Du Yuqing and the others, reassuring them,

"It's fine, trust Revered Master!"

"That's right, Revered Master is someone with great Luck (cheats), nothing will happen to him."

Chi Wanhe turned her head and saw Qin Zhaoxue approaching with a faint smile.

On Hundred Flowers Peak, Yu Lingling, Nangong Mei, Baili Qiao, and others were deeply worried; even Yu Zhaohua, who was in seclusion, was disturbed and emerged, her usually indifferent face now full of solemnity.

Elders and Disciples like Hua Youyou, Zhang Baifeng, and Liu Hanyan all had their eyes fixed on that black-robed figure.

Ling Hao's tribulation tugged at the heartstrings of everyone in the Moonshadow Sect.

Ling Hao took a deep look below, his gaze sweeping over the familiar faces, finally resting on Yu Lingshuang, and quickly gave a few instructions. Then, he reached out and violently tore at the Void Realm in front of him.

A deep spatial rift appeared. Ling Hao stepped into it, and his figure vanished.

Almost simultaneously, the terrifying tribulation clouds that blotted out the sky also surged into that spatial rift.

In the blink of an eye, the clouds dispersed above the Moonshadow Sect, and the sun shone once more.