Chapter 234: The Heavenly Tribulation

As the fire in the forest was finally extinguished by everyone's efforts, they barely had time to rejoice before hearing the inexplicable words from the purple-clad cultivator in the sky. Then, they heard Elder Liao's urgent shout.

Only then did they realize that Mo Yuanjiao had returned at this critical moment!

Soon after, they understood the meaning behind the purple-clad cultivator's words.

They looked up and saw that the cultivator had already raised his hand, aiming an attack in the direction of the village entrance.

Sun Yigao, reacting faster than he could think, gripped his peachwood sword tightly and rushed out of the sect's protective barrier, using his air-walking technique to speed toward the village entrance.

Liao Pantou didn't even have time to stop him. Seeing Sun Yigao charging out headlong, he quickly gave instructions to Liu Yunan, "None of you should step outside, not even one step!"

With that, he also flew out, chasing after Sun Yigao.

Meanwhile, Wei Hai, who had just been struck solidly by a bolt of lightning in mid-air, was stunned for a moment before he regained his senses. He opened his mouth, releasing a puff of black smoke.

After being struck by the lightning, he felt that his spiritual energy had become sluggish.

He looked up at the dark clouds above but didn't pay much attention. He just assumed that a heavy storm was coming.

Standing in the air and getting struck by lightning was something he had experienced before. It wasn't the first time.

He had even intentionally subjected himself to lightning strikes in the past, just to experience what it felt like to be beyond the limitations of a mortal body.

However, today's lightning seemed to be on a whole different level. It was almost as intense as a tenth of the tribulation lightning he had faced during his Nascent Soul breakthrough.

It looked like a particularly severe storm was coming.

It was just a pity about his robe.

He had spent a thousand spirit stones in the cultivation world to purchase that robe!

Alas, these mass-produced goods were so unreliable—couldn't even withstand ordinary lightning strikes.

But once he reclaimed his spirit stone mine, such a small amount of spirit stones would be nothing.

Wei Hai's gaze returned to Shuxi Village below.

He looked at the three people fleeing through the village and the figure rushing out from the sect. A wicked grin spread across his face.

He had guessed right—this disciple was indeed important. Someone had already come out to save him.

With that thought, he simultaneously attacked in two directions.

Two massive fireballs shot out, one toward each end of the village!

Seeing this, Liao Pantou immediately activated the large-scale defensive array he had set up in Shuxi Village earlier.

As a result, the two fireballs that Wei Hai had expected to explode, obliterating both the villagers and the sect members, didn't quite work out as planned.

The fireballs were intercepted mid-air by a protective barrier. At the point of impact, a large golden array pattern appeared.

When the fireballs struck the barrier, they exploded violently, causing the array to wobble slightly. However, after a brief moment, the barrier stabilized, and as the energy from the attack dissipated, the array pattern vanished into thin air.

"A large-scale defensive array?" Wei Hai was surprised.

He hadn't expected this small sect to possess such a high-level defensive formation in addition to their mountain-protecting barrier.

But his surprise only lasted a moment. He soon realized that the defense wasn't all that sturdy.

After just two strikes, it had already shown signs of instability.

To break through this defensive formation, all he needed to do was attack a few more times.

While Wei Hai outside was busy trying to break through the defenses, and Mo Que was desperately fleeing with the others, inside the secluded chamber, Lin Xiao was also at a critical juncture.

He was currently breaking through to the Golden Core stage, facing the first tribulation of his life.

After relentless cultivation day and night, he had finally reached this moment, progressing toward a breakthrough.

However, the system had informed him that he would need to face the tribulation on his own.

No assistance this time.

Despite his attempts to communicate with the system, it remained silent.

So, he had no choice but to accept the reality.

Being struck by lightning—it seemed like it was finally his turn to experience it.

Lin Xiao scanned the surroundings and the space above with his spiritual sense, but there was no sign of the tribulation lightning.

Above him was solid rock. His surroundings were all rock.

How would the tribulation lightning even reach him here?

After waiting for a few seconds and still not sensing any lightning, he wondered if the natural platform was shielding him from it.

Perhaps the lightning couldn't find him?

With this thought, he tried to stand up and check.

But to his surprise, he found that he couldn't move.

Had he sat too long and his legs gone numb?

But he could still feel his legs perfectly fine.

He struggled again, only to find that he remained rooted to the spot, as if something was pinning him down, making it impossible to rise from the white jade platform.

At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the gentle stream of water beside him had suddenly become charged with electricity, crackling and dancing along the surface.

In the next instant, the violent lightning coursed through the stream, flowing directly into the pool below.

Then, Lin Xiao felt a jolt of electricity surge through his entire body.

He knew he had been struck.

As he exhaled a puff of white smoke, Lin Xiao glanced at the stream, still flowing gently into the pool.

So, this pool and stream on the natural platform had this function...

Back on the mountainside, the disciples of Lingxian Sect were anxiously watching the situation below. They saw that the Nascent Soul cultivator was relentlessly attacking Shuxi Village, and they were as worried as ants on a hot pan.

They knew that there wasn't much they could do, so they had no choice but to wait on the mountain.

Suddenly, they heard a loud rumbling overhead.

Looking up, they saw a thick bolt of lightning effortlessly pierce through the mountain-protecting array, striking down directly onto the back of Guiyuan Mountain.

They knew that this was where Lin Xiao was in seclusion, and the sight of the lightning strike shocked them all.

Worried that something might have happened to Lin Xiao, Jiang Youfu immediately said, "I'll go check!"

With that, he quickly ran toward the back of Guiyuan Mountain.

Lin Dayou and the other members of the Lin family couldn't stay put either. They followed closely behind him.

On their way, they saw two more bolts of lightning strike down in the same direction, one after the other.

However, when they reached the back of the mountain, they saw that the lightning seemed to be absorbed by a small white stone at the entrance to the natural platform, disappearing without a trace.