Chapter 1340: Is This My Tribulation Lightning?

Luo Xuanqing and the others, though all were Saint Domain seventh-level powerhouses, still appeared too weak before the lightning that represented the might of heaven and earth.

The dark clouds grew thicker, and the lightning bolts grew larger. The four of them were not in mortal danger for now, but they were scorched beyond recognition. Not only had they lost their former appearance of experts, but they were also as wretched as beggars, indescribably miserable.

Since coming to the Saint Son Hall, they had dominated the scene—when had they ever suffered such humiliation!

After the fourth strike, Bi Hongyin could no longer hold back and sprayed a mouthful of blood.

Among the four, she was the most miserable. Originally tall and slender, as noble as a fairy, she now looked no different from a beast, and without a close look, one couldn't even be sure she was human.

Why is it striking my formation plate?

She clenched her silver teeth, unable to understand no matter how hard she thought.

With such massive lightning, why must it target a tiny formation plate?

Would it only be satisfied after shattering it to pieces?

This thing was forged at great cost by an eight-star top-grade formation master. There was only one—if it were destroyed, her strength would drop by at least half!

Luo Xuanqing, is that guy we just trapped in the formation about to break through?

A thought struck her, and she couldn't help but look over.

The lightning had come quickly earlier, and its power far exceeded the Out-of-Body Tribulation. She hadn't thought much of it, but now that she couldn't hold on, a flash of insight made her feel something was off.

Her formation plate had been used countless times without ever being struck by lightning. The moment it trapped that kid, it became relentless—could it be...

That kid was too wicked?

Break through? That shouldn't be possible... When I went looking for him earlier, I heard that only yesterday he broke through from the peak of the Divine Soul Realm to the early stage of the Out-of-Body Realm, crossing two minor levels in a row. How could he break through again in less than a day?

Luo Xuanqing shook his head.

Although this guy had only been at the academy a short time, he had already become a legend in both the elite and regular classes, with everyone talking about him.

According to what he'd heard, during a fight yesterday, he broke through within ten breaths. Having reached his current strength so quickly... it shouldn't be possible for him to keep advancing, right?

Cultivation is a process of accumulation. Not to mention him, even his sister advanced step by step. No one had ever heard of someone breaking through one day and continuing the next.

Yesterday? Bi Hongyin was stunned for a moment, then shook her head as well.

She had wondered if it was the guy inside the formation causing this, but now it seemed not.

You suspect it's his breakthrough that attracted the tribulation lightning? Seeing her expression, Luo Xuanqing couldn't help asking.

Yes! Bi Hongyin nodded directly.

Even if he breaks through, it would be the Out-of-Body Tribulation. The lightning couldn't be this powerful...

Luo Xuanqing didn't believe it either.

"No matter what, the thunder is getting stronger. If this continues, we might all die here. Bi Hongyin, no... you must abandon this formation plate!" The short man, also on the verge of collapse from the strikes, couldn't help saying.

These lightning bolts clearly targeted only the formation plate; if they abandoned it, the current problem should be resolved.

Risking one's life for a treasure was simply not worth it.

"Abandon? No! This is my foundation. I'd rather die than give it up..."

Clenching his fists, Bi Hongyin's gaze was resolute.

He had paid an incalculable price for this thing back then, even nearly dying. To give it up now?

He truly couldn't accept it!

"The plate lives as I live; the plate dies as I die..." With determination, Bi Hongyin looked again at the lightning gathering in the sky, about to do something, when he heard a violent roar before him.

Crack!

More powerful than the previous thunder, his body shook, and the formation plate floating nearby developed cracks, then with a crisp sound, it split instantly, shattering into two halves.

Pfft!

With his magical artifact destroyed, he spat blood again, his eyes reddening, Bi Hongyin nearly going mad.

He had endured the lightning strikes for so long without letting it suffer any damage—how could it still break?

Whoosh!

Just as he was wondering what was happening, the mist in front of him dissipated, and a young man walked out: "Alright, the formation is broken... Ah, you... what happened?"

Zhang Xuan had tried several times but failed to trigger the lightning tribulation, realizing it might be due to the peculiar formation. After thinking it over, he used the most violent method to break the formation and incidentally destroyed the formation disk...

Originally, he thought he would emerge in a kingly manner, telling Luo Xuanqing that he had successfully broken the formation to gain favor. He never expected to directly see a group of people who looked like coal balls.

After looking for a while, he recognized them as the super experts from before...

How had they turned into this state in the blink of an eye?

"Did you break my formation disk?"

Bi Hongyin trembled.

"Yes, this formation had too many flaws. While breaking it, I found it simple, so I incidentally rendered the formation disk useless, making it thorough!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "So, have I passed the assessment?"

Since they used such a powerful formation as soon as they met, disregarding his life, he had no reason to be polite.

Gaining the approval of his brother-in-law was more important.

"You... I'll kill you..."

Face flushed red, Bi Hongyin was furious.

She had just said the disk would last as long as she lived, and in the blink of an eye, he had smashed it to pieces. The immense anger drove her nearly mad.

She raised her hand, about to slap him to death, when a violent roar sounded. Lightning in the sky gathered its power again and struck down.

Crack!

His hair stood on end again, and white smoke billowed from his entire body.

Although the lightning tribulation belonged to Zhang Xuan, her blocking the thunder meant opposing the heavenly might, thoroughly enraging it. It seemed determined to strike her dead without mercy.

"This... is she also undergoing tribulation?"

Only then did Zhang Xuan notice that the sky was thick with dark clouds, countless lightning bolts swirling like dragons, ready to strike at any moment.

"No, this lightning seems to be related to me..."

After sensing it, Zhang Xuan was stunned.

Although the lightning targeted only Bi Hongyin, whenever he released the power within him, the thunder became even more violent.

"So it's not that my tribulation became easier, but that it was blocked by them and never entered the formation... Damn it!"

His face flushed, and Zhang Xuan became extremely angry.

No wonder he had waited left and right in the formation, but the tribulation never came—it was because this woman had blocked it.

Lightning tribulation cannot be avoided, nor can someone else take it on; otherwise, children from large families could simply have their elders help them withstand it, and they wouldn't need to worry or fear.

Not being able to help withstand it is one thing, but the most important is that once someone else intervenes, the tribulation becomes increasingly ferocious until it strikes the tribulation-taker dead.

Back when the Punishment Hall Master underwent his lightning tribulation, no one dared to interfere—that was the reason.

Now that Bi Hongyin had interfered with his tribulation, making it so massive that even a Saint Realm Level 7 cultivator could barely withstand it... how was he supposed to contend with it?

If he actually went over, he would be struck dead on the spot.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and Zhang Xuan's teeth itched with hatred.

It's not your tribulation—why interfere?

Now look, the lightning is piling up more and more. Sooner or later, you won't be able to withstand it, and after it strikes you dead, it will definitely come for me.

What am I supposed to do?

Don't screw people over like this...

Zhang Xuan felt like crying.

Rumble!

Frustrated to the point of exploding, he looked up at the sky. The moment he saw it, he couldn't help but tremble.

The magnificence of this lightning tribulation was countless times greater than the previous Sage Ascension Tribulation. The one at the mountain gate yesterday didn't even have a tenth of this power.

In other words, if he were to undergo the tribulation now, the difficulty would have increased by a full tenfold.

Even if he had advanced from the early stage of the Out-of-Body Realm to its peak, facing a tenfold tribulation was impossible to overcome.

“But... my tribulation lightning can only be resolved by me... I can't avoid it. If I let her keep causing trouble, it'll be even less possible to get through...”

Zhang Xuan was burning with anxiety.

This Bi Hongyin was too unreliable. It wasn't her tribulation lightning, so why did she have to attract it?

Now look at the trouble she's caused!

“By the way... can you see where the flaw in this tribulation lightning is?”

Extremely anxious, knowing that with his current strength, if he rushed over to confront it, he definitely wouldn't be able to withstand even one strike and would be struck dead on the spot, he couldn't help but call out in his mind.

Since it was the Library of Heaven's Path, and tribulation lightning was also part of the Heavenly Dao, it should be able to see the flaw, right!

“Whoosh!”

With a tremor, a book appeared before him.

He hurriedly opened it.

“Huh? Why is it blank?”

The book had no content at all—completely blank.

“It seems, like before, the library can't generate books about matters concerning me...”

Soon, Zhang Xuan understood.

He had tested it before: matters closely related to him could not form books. The tribulation lightning in the sky was his out-of-body tribulation. If a flaw appeared, it would mean there was no difficulty in cultivation, which would be cheating.

“Eye of Insight!”

Knowing the library was unreliable now, he had to rely on himself. The patterns in his eyes writhed as he once again looked toward the lightning in the sky.

At this moment, the dark clouds covered dozens of miles, and thick bolts of lightning, each over ten meters wide, churned within like giant dragons.

Each one possessed power comparable to the seventh level of the Saint Domain, and if they struck down, even Luo Xuanqing and the others would be injured.

“With my current strength, I really can't withstand it...”

He clenched his fists.

Through analysis with the Eye of Insight, although his strength had improved significantly, it was still absolutely impossible to contend with such powerful lightning.

“I can only do what I did yesterday—charge into it...”

A flash of light shone in his eyes.

Crossing the tribulation by charging into the thunderclouds seemed the most dangerous, but he had experienced it personally and knew it was much easier than staying below and passively taking the hits.

Because below, the attacks converged, gathering momentum and becoming most powerful, while charging into them prevented the power from concentrating, making it somewhat weaker.

Of course, only he thought this way. For anyone else, entering would mean being surrounded by lightning on all sides. Even without convergence, like a frog being slowly boiled, they would be electrocuted to death.

But with his Heavenly Dao true qi, even if his body and soul were injured, they would quickly recover. What others saw as the most terrifying move was, for him, actually the simplest.