Chapter 25: A New Life

The seventieth heavenly thunderbolt.

A bolt of purple thunder struck down coldly, and the black-robed Ji Ning below pointed into the distance once more. The golden flying swords of the Grand Thousand Sword Formation shot out again.

"Boom~~~" Once again, they blocked it.

"I hope it's the Eight-Nine Tribulation. If it's stronger, I'm afraid my heartforce will be strained." Ji Ning was also worried. The third level of heartforce was very powerful, easily handling the Eight-Nine Tribulation. But if it escalated to the 'Nine-Nine Tribulation,' the power of the heavenly thunder would undergo a leap. Each time, it would likely consume a great deal of heartforce. Once his heartforce was exhausted, he would surely die.

Ji Ning had never imagined he would fail during the 'Thunder Tribulation' of the Heavenly Tribulation, but now he was beginning to fear. The power of the Eight-Nine Tribulation had exceeded his expectations.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The might of the heavenly thunder grew more and more terrifying. As the next two thunderbolts struck, both Ji Ning and the distant Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and the others watched nervously.

"This is only the Second Incarnation of my junior apprentice-brother. The Eight-Nine Tribulation should be enough; it won't be the Nine-Nine Tribulation, right?"

"The legendary Nine-Nine Tribulation is generally encountered only by returning-to-vacuity Fiendgods undergoing tribulation."

Everyone watched nervously.

On a mountain peak thousands of li away, an old man in a Daoist robe was gazing at the tribulation site from afar. When he saw that the tribulation clouds in the sky had not dissipated but were gathering even more terrifying power, his expression changed. He murmured to himself, "My disciple's Second Incarnation has actually encountered the Nine-Nine Tribulation?"

"After all, it's only the Second Incarnation. In terms of fortune, it's probably slightly inferior to Lü Dongbin's. Could it be because of the karmic fire?" Bodhi grew worried.

Ji Ning's monstrous talent lay in his true body.

The Second Incarnation, relatively speaking, only mastered heartforce. In other aspects, it was far inferior to Lü Dongbin at the returning-to-vacuity stage. Although heartforce was formidable, it had a fatal weakness: it could only be used for short bursts in battle. Once heartforce was depleted, his strength would plummet rapidly.

Thus, for the Second Incarnation alone to encounter the Nine-Nine Tribulation, even if it was due to karmic fire, Bodhi thought it was too much.

"If this is the case, then what about my disciple's true body?" Bodhi worried about the future.

Even the Second Incarnation faced the Nine-Nine Tribulation.

The true body's Celestial Tribulation...

"Once he becomes a Celestial Immortal, he will quickly reach the peak of the Celestial Immortal stage. After multiple temperings, like Hou Yi in the past, he might be able to rival a Dao Ancestor with his Celestial Immortal body." Bodhi sighed softly, "It seems that even Heaven does not allow such a monstrous talent to emerge easily, deliberately sending down this terrifying tribulation."

From Pangu's creation of the world to the present, how many monstrous talents had perished under the Heavenly Tribulation!

"Let alone the future Celestial Tribulation, even this tribulation at hand..." Bodhi watched from afar, his brows tightly furrowed.

...

"Nine-Nine Tribulation!"

"There's more!"

"How can this be?"

Immortal Diancai, Mu Zishuo, Qiuye, Uncle Bai, Xiaoqing, and Yu Wei all showed anxious expressions. They had no way to help Ji Ning; crossing the Heavenly Tribulation could only be done by oneself.

"Junior apprentice-brother, you must make it through." Yu Wei gently touched her belly, her eyes full of hope.

"Ji Ning."

"Young master."

Everyone held expectations. Although the Nine-Nine Tribulation was infamous, Ji Ning had handled the previous Eight-Nine Tribulation with ease, without any strain. So they still held hope.

Boom!

The seventy-third thunderbolt of the Nine-Nine Tribulation was a lightning bolt of purple mixed with white. That trace of white made the lightning beautiful, a beauty that was awe-inspiring and impossible to look at directly. It was like the emperor of heaven and earth looking down upon the mortal world—the gaze of an emperor. Just looking at it made one lose the will to resist. If some weak returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortals saw it, they might not even resist, but weak returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortals couldn't have lasted this long to face the Nine-Nine Tribulation.

Looking across the Three Realms.

From ancient times to the present, anyone who encountered the Nine-Nine Tribulation was no ordinary mortal. They would never easily bow down and admit defeat. Even if they died, they would die standing.

"Go." Ji Ning pointed into the distance. A golden flying sword flew out from his chest. As it flew out, another golden flying sword condensed in front of his chest.

Clang!

The first golden flying sword was shattered by the purple-white lightning bolt as soon as it emerged.

"It seems I need to consume one-fiftieth of my heartforce to completely block it. The power of this heavenly thunder has indeed taken a great leap." Ji Ning quickly controlled the second golden flying sword to meet the remaining force of the purple-white lightning bolt. "The power of this thunderbolt already exceeds the full-force strike of a Heartbound Celestial Immortal. How could an ordinary returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortal withstand it?"

By estimating the power of the thunderbolts, Ji Ning could conserve his heartforce as much as possible.

"Blocked the seventy-third."

"The first tier of the Nine-Nine Tribulation is blocked!" Immortal Diancai and the others showed excited and tense expressions. From the Eight-Nine Tribulation to the Nine-Nine Tribulation, especially the first tier of the Nine-Nine Tribulation, there was a shocking leap. Being able to block it meant there was hope for the rest.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderbolts struck one after another.

The lightning bolts were all purple-white, but as they progressed, the white component increased, and their power grew. Ji Ning's heartforce consumption also increased.

Seventy-ninth!

Eightieth!

"One more left."

"The last one."

Yu Wei, Uncle Bai, and the others were all on edge. The legendary Nine-Nine Tribulation was about to reveal the power of its final strike. Not everyone had the luck to see it, but they also felt an inexplicable fear just looking at the swirling thunderclouds gathering for the final blow.

"Even I, though I became a Celestial Immortal long ago, would surely die if I tried to block it." Immortal Diancai thought to himself.

...

Ji Ning stood on the solitary peak like a sharp sword, stepping on a Nine-Leaf Snow Lotus, surrounded by lotus flowers. Hundreds of immortal swords pointed to the sky, and Ji Ning looked up at the tribulation clouds.

The last one.

The final thunderbolt of the Nine-Nine Tribulation.

"Boom!"

A bolt of white lightning, full of holiness and nobility, descended. It had no狂暴 momentum, only a kind of grace and majesty, rolling down mightily. This was the true form of the final thunderbolt of the Nine-Nine Tribulation.

"Go." Ji Ning pointed.

Whoosh.

A dazzling golden sword light transformed into a giant sword, shooting straight up against the sky to meet the white lightning.

"Go." Ji Ning executed a second golden flying sword as quickly as possible. By then, the first golden flying sword that had met the white lightning had been completely shattered. The second golden flying sword swiftly shot upward. "Boom~~~" The remaining white lightning trembled and then completely dissipated.

The giant sword light continued upward, directly charging into the swirling thunderclouds high in the sky, churning them until they completely scattered.

A flash of lightning appeared out of nowhere, landing on Ji Ning.

Ji Ning's body began to emit immortal energy.

"A Celestial Immortal body." Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, Qiuye, and the others watching from afar all shouted excitedly.

"Success."

"The Nine-Nine Tribulation, the legendary Nine-Nine Tribulation, and our master survived it."

"So the final thunderbolt of the Nine-Nine Tribulation is completely white. Why was that white lightning so noble? I almost wanted to bow down."

...

Ji Ning looked at the distant cheering and excited Uncle Bai, Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei, Master Immortal Diancai, and the others, and also showed a smile. But he also felt a lingering fear: "This Nine-Nine Tribulation was too terrifying. I've been very frugal with my heartforce, and in the end, I only had less than thirty percent left. Especially the last thunderbolt—even my full-power sword strike couldn't block it!"

"If the Thunder Tribulation is like this, what about the Heartfiend Tribulation?"

Ji Ning had a bad feeling.

Although this was the Second Incarnation undergoing tribulation, the power of the Heavenly Tribulation was still higher than he had expected. The upcoming 'Heartfiend Tribulation' would probably be no less than some legendary accounts.

...

"It's a young master, a young master." That awkward voice immediately touched Ji Ning's memories.

Ji Ning opened his eyes.

A giant in white fur was holding him. The white-furred giant was instructing, "You all go out first!"

"Father!" The giant's face made Ji Ning tremble. He quickly looked to the side and saw a young woman covered in sweat lying on a bed covered with huge furs.

"It's Mother! Am I... back to the moment I was just born?"

Days passed one by one.

Ji Ning lived again in West Prefecture City, under the care of his parents, and then began cultivation. Although Ji Ning had memories, cultivation had to proceed step by step. Though his body was weak, the Heartfiend World could not change Ji Ning's memories or Dao-heart. Ji Ning was very clear: this was the Heartfiend World!

But even knowing that, there was no way to leave the Heartfiend World. He had to wait until the 'Heartfiend Tribulation' ended, and then the Heartfiend World would end.

...

Ji Ning gradually grew up.

Because he had memories, Ji Ning cultivated very quickly in the Heartfiend World. Coupled with his mastery of heartforce—the third level of heartforce was extremely powerful—although he was a child less than ten years old, his strength was already comparable to a top-tier Celestial Immortal. So everything changed. In the Heartfiend World, although Fiendgod Body Refining had to proceed step by step, Qi Refining cultivation was very fast for Ji Ning. With his powerful heartforce, he could naturally obtain immortal elixirs. At the age of nine, he had already reached the returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortal level. He also obtained an immortal pill for his mother, Wei Chi Xue, allowing her to live.

A nine-year-old returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortal.

Monstrously talented.

But in the Heartfiend World, Ji Ning still concealed his heartforce techniques. Only his status as a returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortal could not be hidden. Thus, a nine-year-old returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortal appeared in the Grand Xia world. His special status was such that even the Anchan Northmont clan sent people, but the Xia Emperor did not pay much attention. The Xia Emperor thought that this Ji Ning should be a disciple of some great power, able to reincarnate without having his memories sealed. With past-life memories, a nine-year-old returning-to-vacuity Earth Immortal was nothing special.

But the situation in Anchan Commandery also changed.

Ji Ning's status became increasingly transcendent. However, out of habit, Ji Ning still transformed into a youthful appearance.

"Ning'er, a Black-White College disciple named Jiujie has come to visit you." Wei Chi Xue, now a Zifu Disciple, said with a smile. Ji Ning's status in Anchan Commandery was supreme, and many came to visit him. As for enemies like the Snow Dragon Mountain, Ji Ning had long eliminated them.

"Jiujie?" Ji Ning's heart trembled. In the Heartfiend World, he had never been to the Black-White College. Why had Jiujie come?

...