Chapter 2102: Divine Tribulation

The little yellow chicken had advanced twice in a row, following a pattern: each time it was burned to ashes by flames before breaking through.

Although they had tried before, it was only burned for a short while and not charred. Could it be... that its progress was related to roasting?

"Come on!" The little yellow chicken nodded, showing a look of determination.

Improving its strength would allow it to quickly recover its memories, which was also a great help to it.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan said, "Your strength has reached the divine realm, so ordinary flames of the Upper Firmament have no effect on you... I'll now summon a heavenly tribulation; see how it works for you!"

Even the most powerful flames of the Upper Firmament could not compare to the calamity descending from the Upper Firmament. Previously, he had thought to keep it hidden from the Heavenly Dao of the Upper Firmament, but now it seemed better to resist the calamity, take the opportunity to consolidate his cultivation, and see if the little yellow chicken could once again break through the divine shackles.

Divine power circulated within his body, and the disguised power vanished.

Boom!

The sky immediately darkened, and countless thunderbolts carrying pitch-black flames rolled and burned above their heads.

Divine Tribulation!

This calamity was terrifying to the extreme, as if the entire Upper Firmament was rejecting him, trying to crush him into powder.

Zhao Ya and the others' expressions changed slightly, and as soon as the dark clouds appeared, they retreated thousands of miles away.

Although they had reached the peak of the demigod realm, facing power of this level, even a slight carelessness would shatter them to pieces.

On the Abandoned Continent, anything with the word "divine" inspired awe, let alone becoming a true god.

The dark clouds grew thicker and thicker, hovering above the one man and one chicken, ready to fall at any moment.

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to welcome the calamity and see if there was any flame useful to the other, the dark clouds shook, and suddenly a pitch-black thunderbolt containing heavenly fire descended, striking directly on the little yellow chicken's head.

Sizzle!

In an instant, the light yellow fluff on its body turned black, and a smell of roasted meat spread out.

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched.

The thunder tribulation he had summoned—why didn't it strike him, but instead went to strike the little yellow chicken?

"Your grandfather's..." The little yellow chicken was also devastated, its chicken head raised, full of anger, but its roar was not yet finished.

Crack! Crack!

Several consecutive thunderbolts spread out, all landing on its head. The smell of roasted meat came again, and its chicken beak turned black.

"At this rate, this guy might not be killed by Confucius's clone, but by lightning!"

Seeing the other get struck several times in a row, becoming more fragrant, giving one the urge to sprinkle cumin, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back. He came above the little yellow chicken, spread his arms and legs into a "big" shape, and flew straight up to meet the lightning.

"Since this is the thunder I summoned when breaking through to godhood, let it strike me!"

Divine power circulated within his body, his whole body hard as iron. Zhang Xuan's eyes were solemn, ready to resist the thunder.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A series of thunderbolts descended. Zhang Xuan's sword energy surged within him, ready to resist at any moment. But after several seconds of noise, he found nothing landing on him. Looking down, he saw the thunderbolts in the sky take a big detour and strike the little yellow chicken's head again, sending up black smoke.

"Ahhh!"

Opening its mouth to spew a puff of black smoke, the little yellow chicken was about to cry.

Did you come to help me resist the thunder tribulation, or to attract it?

When I was here alone, there weren't so many lightning bolts, and the power wasn't this great...

"Something's not right. Don't worry, this is my thunder; I'll find a way..." Zhang Xuan was also stunned.

The divine tribulation he summoned when breaking through to godhood—why didn't it attack him, but instead went around to strike the yellow chicken? That was too unreasonable!

Raising his eyebrows, sword energy surged at his fingertips, and he stabbed fiercely toward the sky.

Since it wouldn't attack him, he would take the initiative and strike back, not believing it wouldn't come to him.

Whoosh!

Wherever the sword energy reached, the thunderbolts immediately dispersed, as if dodging, like oil stains beside soap. Although the dark clouds were powerful, they were afraid of him and dodged to the side.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Several more thunderbolts struck down, and the little yellow chicken trembled incessantly, its feathers falling all over the ground.

Tears flowed from its chicken eyes, full of heartache.

Are you targeting me or what? Do I have a grudge with you...

"I don't believe it..." Seeing that even when he actively attacked, the thunderbolts wouldn't strike him but continued to go around and strike the little yellow chicken, Zhang Xuan roared and charged into the sky again, determined to fight to the death with the lightning that looked down on him.

Before he could fly far, the little yellow chicken grabbed his pant leg.

"Alright, I believe it... If you keep provoking, I'm afraid you'll be fine, but I'll be struck dead!" The yellow chicken said with a face full of resentment, extremely distressed.

Brother, please be merciful and spare me!

I'm still young, I don't want to die...

You provoke it, and it strikes me... You're having fun, but can't you see I'm almost cooked?

This smell makes even me want to... add cumin.

"..." Looking at the creature before him that resembled a roast chicken, Zhang Xuan was full of embarrassment and had to back down: "You handle it yourself..."

With a flick of his body, he retreated.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderbolts exploded down, and the little yellow chicken shook many times in succession, losing even more feathers. It turned its head again: "How about... you come and help me resist again?"

"..." Zhang Xuan.

After being struck by six times six, thirty-six thunderbolts, the little yellow chicken finally got through.

After enduring all this, it was also somewhat weak.

"I'll go rest first..." Without waiting for Zhang Xuan to speak, it flickered and burrowed back into his dantian, covering its head with crow-like wings and falling into a deep sleep.

Seeing it was fine, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the dissipating dark clouds in the sky with a puzzled expression.

Suddenly raising his eyebrows, his chest filled with pride, he extended his finger forward and shouted with all his might: "Come over here!"

Whoosh!

The dark clouds, which had been slowly dissipating, now fled instantly as if seeing a ghost. The next moment, the sky was clear and cloudless for thousands of miles.

"..." Zhang Xuan grabbed his hair.

Wasn't it said that when breaking through to godhood, there would be a divine tribulation?

How come he summoned a thunder tribulation, struck the little yellow chicken half to death, and that was it?

"It's probably related to the Heaven-If-Has-Feelings technique..."

After thinking for a long time without understanding, he had no choice but to return to Zhao Ya and the others with a helpless expression.

"These are seven 'divine' characters. Distribute them and place them in the sect. From now on, reaching the demigod realm shouldn't be so difficult..."

With a flick of his wrist, he took out seven books, recording the correct cultivation steps and methods for seven types of divine intent. As long as statues were carved according to the patterns and placed in the correct positions, they would automatically absorb the demigod aura from the divine temple, making it much easier for Immortal Lord experts to break through!

"Thank you, Sect Master..."

Han Jianqiu and the others looked at the books in their hands, trembling with excitement.

Seizing the "divine" characters was something these sects had failed to achieve in thousands of years, yet this person had taken seven in one go...

Zhang Xuan shook his head and said, "Don't call me Sect Master anymore. You can arrange for someone else to take this position. I probably won't stay long in the Upper Firmament either!"

Having broken through to the divine realm, he could already feel that this world could no longer suppress him. As long as he was willing, he could break through space and enter a higher realm at any time.

The position of sect master of the Upper Firmament no longer held any attraction for him, and there was no need to stay any longer.

"Yes!" Everyone showed reluctance.

When this person was first established as sect master, there had been considerable controversy, with many elders in the sect opposing it. But now it seemed it had been the right decision.

If he hadn't been established, they might have followed the path of Xuanjing Gate and Piaomiao Immortal Sect, ultimately... being completely destroyed and crushed by the wheels of history.

Moreover, he had not only taught and greatly increased the cultivation of countless disciples but also bestowed complete "divine" characters. From now on, the number of experts in the sect would only increase, and the four great sects would grow stronger and stronger.

"Palace Master Du, accompany me to the Trap of Emptiness City again!"

After arranging matters for the four great sects, Zhang Xuan said no more and, together with Du Qingyuan, flew back toward the Trap of Emptiness City.

Having achieved godhood, ordinary decay aura no longer posed much threat to him. In just over ten breaths, they returned to the location of the previous altar.

"This... where is the altar?"

The two were stunned. They searched everywhere but found that the altar had disappeared, as if it had never existed.

Extending his divine sense, Zhang Xuan looked far and wide before finally stopping.

"The altar has vanished. It seems... that skeleton no longer wants to be found!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

With his cultivation level, he would never misremember a location. The fact that he couldn't find it now could only mean one thing.

The other party no longer wanted him to find it.

But... this thing had been here for thousands of years, and Confucius's clone seemed to have visited it. Why did it suddenly disappear?

Could it be because it gave him a strand of divine aura?

Since he couldn't find it, there was no point in staying. Besides, the little yellow chicken was still asleep and hadn't woken up.

Returning to the Star Chasing Palace, Zhang Xuan looked at Du Qingyuan before him: "Tell me about Luo Ruoxi."

Since rescuing her, he had been busy and hadn't yet asked in detail about the information she knew.

"Thousands of years ago... after the Trap of Emptiness City fell from the sky, we lost contact with the Spirit God. However, we never stopped our sacrifices to the Upper Firmament. So, in the eyes of other sects, we always seemed able to communicate with the gods, which made them wary and not dare to trouble us."

Du Qingyuan smiled bitterly.

Previously, when the six sect masters discussed how to welcome the Tongtian Bridge, the Qin Yuan sect master said she could communicate with the gods and asked her to speak more, which made her angry... It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but she really didn't know what to say.

For thousands of years, other sects knew that the Star Chasing Palace could communicate with the gods, but in truth... the connection between the Spirit God and them had long been severed.

The reason they continued to hold sacrifices every year and even "conveyed" the gods' will was merely to keep the sect from being destroyed—it was all for show!

"However, this continued until about four months ago... When we sacrificed again, the Spirit God sent back a response and told me... she wanted to enter here through the sacrifice, and asked me to prepare."

Du Qingyuan fell into recollection and continued, "She also told me the method and content of the sacrifice. Since she had instructed me, I had no choice but to comply."