Qinghai Province, Kunlun Mountains.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, casting a shroud of darkness over the earth. Lightning flickered and surged among the clouds, and the coercive pressure of the Heavenly Dao blanketed tens of thousands of miles. Birds and beasts fled in panic the thunder tribulation was about to descend.
Several ethereal figures drifted into midair one after another, their gazes fixed directly toward the Kunlun Mountains.
Even separated by 108,000 miles, the terrifying pressure harbored within the thunder tribulation filled cultivators with awe, keeping them from daring to approach by even half a step.
“For five hundred years, this old man has never witnessed such a massive thunder tribulation! What kind of mighty being is undergoing tribulation here?!”
“Judging by the direction of the tribulation clouds, it should be the Kunlun Mountains. But we haven’t heard of any fellow Daoist undergoing tribulation recently, have we?” an old man with white eyebrows stroked his sheep-like beard and questioned.
Hearing this, someone suddenly thought of something, slapped his forehead, and cried out in shock, “Isn’t Kunlun that fox’s territory? Could it be him?!”
Realization dawned upon the faces of the assembled crowd.
Cultivators contend with the heavens; every breakthrough across a major realm is met with a thunder tribulation, which serves as the Heavenly Dao’s test for cultivators.
Ever since a millennium ago, for reasons unknown, the spiritual energy of the world began to dissipate, resulting in a scarcity of spiritual energy and marking the dawn of the Age of Dharma Decline.
Cultivators of this era, regardless of how extraordinary their innate talent, could no longer reach the Nascent Soul realm, and far fewer cultivators underwent tribulations.
Xuan Qing was the sole remaining millennial nine-tailed celestial fox between heaven and earth, possessing an aloof and haughty temperament.
In this environment of thin spiritual energy, relying on the massive spiritual vein beneath the Kunlun Mountains, spiritual stones plundered from secret realms, and rare earthly treasures, he charged straight into the Tribulation stage. Today was his ascension tribulation.
Xuan Qing sat cross-legged on the ground as the sound of thunder drew steadily closer. The young man’s handsome face displayed no trace of fear; instead, his ten fingers moved with blurring speed, forming incantations to array a protective magical formation around himself in preparation for the tribulation.
The spiritual stones, arrays, magical treasures, and pills hidden within his mustard seed space were any single one of them enough to cause a sensation in the cultivation world during this Age of Dharma Decline. Yet he wasn’t foolish; he maintained a low profile in his daily affairs and never skipped a single day of cultivation.
Like ten thousand unbridled black wild horses, the dark clouds lunged toward the earth with a terrifying momentum.
In an instant, the space emitted a tearing sound, thunder roared, and nine layers of tribulation clouds materialized high in the sky.
Cultivators hiding in the distance trembled all over, dumbfounded and seemingly unable to believe their eyes.
Some well-informed cultivators shook their fingers unceasingly, murmuring under their breaths: “This, this, this is…”
“It’s actually the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation!”
“Hahaha! I never expected this old man to witness an ascension tribulation with my own eyes in my lifetime!”
Xuan Qing took a deep breath and stood up. Clad in green robes with dark hair fluttering lightly, he glanced up at the sky, his ice-blue pupils reflecting the black lightning.
The first wave of the thunder tribulation struck first. Amidst flashing lightning and roaring thunder, a thick bolt of black lightning, resembling a giant python over ten zhang long, lunged straight toward him.
Xuan Qing flicked his long sleeve, summoning a magical artifact that hovered in midair, radiating a cyan glow.
Executing several incantations, the artifact’s brilliance flared dramatically as it soared swiftly toward the oncoming lightning.
The two forces collided in midair, emitting a crackling, shattering sound.
The cyan brilliance in the sky surged, overwhelming the black lightning. Before long, the black radiance gradually weakened until it vanished.
The first thunder tribulation was easily fended off.
Following that came the second, the third, all the way until the ninth thunder tribulation crashed down. The immense lightning power cleaved hundreds of cracks into the magical artifact, dimming its cyan glow.
The first wave of the thunder tribulation had consumed an Earth-grade high-tier magical artifact.
Magical artifacts and spiritual treasures are ranked according to Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow tiers, with Heaven-grade being the finest, followed by Earth-grade, and each tier further divided into upper, middle, and lower ranks.
This was merely the first wave; the subsequent eight waves of the thunder tribulation possessed even greater might.
In past tribulations, Xuan Qing had relied on dharma treasures to resist the heavenly lightning.
Undergoing tribulation in the Age of Dharma Decline could truly be described as a battle of nine deaths and one life; over the past millennium, countless cultivators had ultimately perished beneath the thunder tribulation.
Those rogue cultivators or those of modest means lacked so many dharma treasures to withstand tribulations, and the subsequent heavenly tribulations grew increasingly formidable. Fortunately, over the past thousand years, he had gathered several non-low-grade dharma treasures.
Had those old fellows known he was using dharma treasures to buffer his tribulation, they would likely have cursed him furiously for such utter wastefulness!
The second wave of the thunder tribulation arrived.
A bolt of lightning several times thicker than the previous one flew out from the dark clouds. Xuan Qing hurriedly tossed out a defensive spiritual treasure the Black Tortoise Shell.
Driven by incantations, the Black Tortoise Shell spun at high speed as it flew high into the sky, radiating seven-colored celestial light.
As a Heaven-grade mid-tier spiritual treasure, the Black Tortoise Shell easily fended off the second wave of the thunder tribulation, leaving only a few minor cracks on the surface of the hard-as-diamond shell.
The third wave of the thunder tribulation descended successively.
The might of the thunder tribulation exceeded all imagination. After the ninth bolt of heavenly lightning struck, the Black Tortoise Shell instantly shattered into fine dust, scattering into the heavens and earth with the gentle breeze.
With four or five waves of the thunder tribulation remaining, Xuan Qing had very few treasures left in his possession.
Without time for hesitation, the fourth wave arrived. The heavenly lightning detonated with a deafening crash, racing straight to slaughter the earth.
Xuan Qing hastily unleashed a Heaven-grade high-tier spiritual treasure the Glazed Cauldron.
True to its Heaven-grade high-tier status! Bolt after bolt of heavenly lightning power struck, only to be swallowed up by the radiant, light-emitting Glazed Cauldron like stones sinking into the vast sea.
The scale and might of the fifth wave of the thunder tribulation were even more magnificent.
Xuan Qing poured boundless demonic power into the cauldron, instantly unleashing a brilliant radiance that illuminated half the sky.
The celestial light upon the cauldron gradually dimmed as it was gnawed away by the lightning serpents.
At that moment, the roar of a lightning dragon pierced the horizon, carrying terrifying destructive power as it slammed into the Glazed Cauldron.
The Glazed Cauldron shattered instantly, splitting apart into numerous pieces. A Heaven-grade high-tier spiritual treasure was thus ruined.
Xuan Qing flicked his sleeve, and his final two Heaven-grade high-tier spiritual treasures flew outward.
After several rounds of thunder tribulation, Xuan Qing had expended several Heaven-grade spiritual treasures; though his heart ached, it was worth it.
His robes were already tattered and somewhat disheveled. Despite normally loving cleanliness, he had no time to spare a thought for it. Only the final wave of the thunder tribulation remained!
With a single wave of the thunder tribulation left high in the sky, the hearts of the cultivators hiding in the distance leapt into their throats.
Xuan Qing’s sole remaining magical artifact was Changshuang, his natal spiritual sword.
Should a natal magical artifact be destroyed, light damage would result in a drop in realm and severe damage to one’s vitality, while heavy damage would lead to annihilation beneath the heavenly lightning, resulting in soul destruction and death.
A lightning dragon flew out from the final cluster of tribulation clouds, racing directly toward him.
Xuan Qing focused his mind and summoned Changshuang, sending a snow-white spiritual sword whistling outward.
The surrounding temperature plummeted instantly, as though plunging into a frozen world.
With a single swing of Changshuang, majestic frost sword Qi surged straight into the clouds. The two forces collided, producing a blinding white light.
The lightning dragon’s power was halved as it continued its charge.
Xuan Qing soared into the air, executing his sword incantation as chilling spiritual energy transformed into a soaring white-frost dragon that roared through the skies.
Upon impact, Xuan Qing suffered injuries and vomited a mouthful of heart’s blood. Before he could even react, a sudden anomaly occurred in the skies.
“Rumble…” Eight powerful bolts of heavenly lightning poured down simultaneously from the tribulation clouds, carrying the momentum to split the entire Kunlun range in two.
Failing to anticipate that the Heavenly Dao would play outside the rules, Xuan Qing hastily transformed into his demonic form, soaring into the boundless sky as an agile, spiritual nine-tailed cyan fox.
The eight tribulation lightning bolts enveloped Xuan Qing. At the very last moment, he channeled his entire body’s demonic power, using his nine tails to construct a cyan circular barrier around himself.
The world-destroying thunder tribulation crashed directly into the barrier, instantly unleashing a blinding flare of light.
Half a day later, the tribulation clouds receded, and daylight reappeared.
This massive thunder tribulation finally drew to a close, leaving behind a crater hundreds of miles wide.
Cultivators tens of thousands of miles away seemed to have anticipated this outcome long ago, murmuring under their breaths: “The Heavenly Dao is devoid of benevolence…”