Chapter 115: Heavenly Tribulation

In just a short moment, Fang Chang felt an increasingly strange and heavy fluctuation enveloping his body. It was as if he had been targeted by something that did not belong to this world.

In this sensation, he felt there was no escape. He could only passively accept the challenge from this unknown force.

When he emerged from the water, he saw that the sky had completely darkened. Thick clouds piled up above him, with lightning snakes dancing wildly and the rumble of thunder echoing.

Not long after, a dark red lightning bolt, about five to six meters thick, streaked across the sky and struck directly at him.

Fang Chang quickly adjusted his posture, doing his best to defend himself. He unleashed all the skills he could still use at once. His shield-like front legs rose toward the sky, and a golden light shield appeared in front of him.

Boom!

The entire sea seemed to flash at that moment. The tremendous force of the impact sent Fang Chang's body plummeting from the surface into the depths of the ocean.

His "Shield Wall" crumbled the moment it came into contact with the crimson lightning. He had to rely on his body to withstand the strike.

Fortunately, although the lightning looked terrifying, its attack power was still within his tolerance range. In fact, it was far weaker than the dark energy sphere the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had previously condensed using the power of its entire clan.

At this moment, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly coalesced, forming what looked like a human face. It glanced down at Fang Chang, who had fallen to the seabed, as if noticing something unusual.

Then, the second bolt of lightning descended. This one was twice as thick as the first, nearly ten meters wide, and its color was deeper and redder.

"Damn it!" Fang Chang, who was about to rise from the seabed, vaguely saw the change in the lightning through the water and cursed under his breath.

Under normal circumstances, a soul beast's first heavenly tribulation would occur when its soul power reached around 101,000 years.

However, because Fang Chang had devoured the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King at a critical moment, his soul power was now close to 120,000 years, far exceeding the normal limit.

That unknown presence might have suddenly increased the difficulty of his heavenly tribulation because of this.

Having experienced the terror of the first lightning bolt, Fang Chang decided to play it smart this time. He simply stayed at the bottom of the sea, applying all his defenses once again.

The lightning struck the sea, creating waves dozens of meters high, and then followed the water to strike Fang Chang.

Boom! 

Countless bubbles erupted from the seabed, and the surrounding sea creatures were caught in the lightning, resulting in countless casualties. Although Fang Chang's body was scorched black in several places, the injuries he sustained were less severe than before.

While seawater conducts electricity, the vast majority of the lightning's force was diluted by the hundreds of meters of water. By the time it reached him, its power had significantly diminished.

The human face in the thundercloud remained expressionless and directly unleashed the third lightning bolt. This one was twenty to thirty meters wide, transforming from dark red to a pure, vivid crimson.

Fang Chang, who had been feeling smug, felt a chill run down his spine the moment he saw this lightning strike into the sea. He immediately maxed out all his defenses.

Another muffled explosion rang out, as if the entire seabed was violently shaking. A deep crater formed around Fang Chang, with charred seaweed scattered everywhere.

Logically, such a scene shouldn't occur underwater, but the power of this lightning bolt was simply too overwhelming. The moment it made contact with Fang Chang, it seemed to evaporate all the surrounding seawater, and the seaweed was caught in the aftermath.

As for Fang Chang, after enduring this terrifying lightning strike, there was almost no part of his body left unharmed. His two shield-like spider legs had completely disintegrated, turned to ash by the lightning.

The heavenly tribulation he was facing was clearly abnormal. Even the tribulations of other soul beasts at 200,000 or even 300,000 years might not reach this level of power.

Moreover, after his previous battle with the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, he had already sustained significant injuries. Not being in peak condition and with many crucial skills still on cooldown, he found it even harder to withstand this calamity.

The heavenly tribulation was not done with him yet. After a brief charge, the fourth lightning bolt descended, its power no weaker than the third, and perhaps even stronger.

At this moment, Fang Chang's eyes lit up with the "System" panel. He had originally planned to try enduring the tribulation on his own. If he could withstand it, he would tough it out. If not, he would resort to evolution.

But now, after just three lightning strikes, he was already at his limit. He had no choice but to pull out his trump card.

Netherworld Soul-Chasing Spider, let's go! 

Fang Chang shouted in his heart, and his body erupted with bursts of black light. The lightning struck but was blocked by the black light, unable to penetrate Fang Chang's body.

This state lasted for a few seconds. When the lightning dissipated, Fang Chang's original shell burst open, revealing a much larger, dark golden spider.

Now, Fang Chang's body was over ten meters long, and the length of his spider legs was almost comparable to Little Gold's. And this was just his normal state, not even after using his Flexible Size skill to enlarge himself.

At the same time, a series of densely packed text appeared in his vision, but he had no time to read it. The fifth lightning strike was already descending.

This lightning bolt was even stronger than the fourth, but the current Fang Chang was fearless. He stood tall at the bottom of the sea, his new shield-like front legs raised, fearlessly meeting the lightning.

The seabed shook violently once more. All the sea creatures within several miles that hadn't already been electrocuted had long since fled.

Further away, in the Devil Whale Sea, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, which had been sleeping, was startled awake by the successive thunderclaps. It turned its head toward the south and lazily swam in that direction.

When the fifth lightning strike dissipated, Fang Chang's body slowly reappeared in the water. He remained in the same posture, and the lightning hadn't even shattered his light shield.

After evolving, not only had his previous condition fully recovered, but all his attributes had also more than doubled, allowing him to face the heavenly tribulation without the earlier sense of despair.

The human face in the dark clouds frowned slightly. Three lightning bolts gathered at once, each stronger than all the previous ones, and even a hint of purple appeared within them.

With a terrifying whistling sound, the three lightning bolts struck the sea almost simultaneously.

Fang Chang didn't dare to be careless. He stacked all his skills on himself, and his already ridiculously high defense reached a new peak.

In the distance, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King slowly approached. Of course, "slowly" was relative to its 200-meter-long body.

Even without hurrying, it covered the seven or eight miles in less than half a minute.

As soon as it reached the area, it turned sideways, its single eye, several meters in diameter, locking onto Fang Chang. It seemed the earlier sounds and tremors were related to this creature.

A spider? Why does it look somewhat familiar? The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King pondered as it observed Fang Chang's figure.

But soon, its attention shifted upward. Three lightning bolts were descending at once. For the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, which had experienced this scenario nine times before, it was all too familiar.

Damn it! It's a heavenly tribulation!

The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King quickly backed away dozens of meters. The heavenly tribulation didn't care who you were. If you entered its attack range, you would be subjected to indiscriminate strikes.

By now, Fang Chang had prepared himself fully. Facing the three lightning bolts descending simultaneously, he felt no fear. Instead, a fighting spirit surged within him.

Come on! Let me see how strong you can be!