Chapter 109: Surviving the Heavenly Tribulation
Boom!
A thick bolt of purple tribulation lightning descended!
Li Changsheng merely raised his head and calmly gazed at the tribulation clouds above.
The bolt of lightning, as thick as a barrel, struck Li Changsheng directly.
Bang!
A deafening explosion echoed.
The ground was split open, leaving a kilometer-wide crater!
Yet Li Changsheng stood there with his hands behind his back, unmoved.
"Is this so-called Immortal Ascension Tribulation not as powerful as I imagined?"
Li Changsheng murmured to himself.
Thankfully, Mo Chengkong wasn't around to hear this. The Heavenly Tribulation for the Transcendence stage was designed for Transcendence cultivators, and even with the help of magical tools, only one or two out of ten could survive it. This was why so many people were stuck at the Transcendence stage, too afraid to face the tribulation.
After all, the chances of surviving the tribulation were far too slim.
But the current Li Changsheng could already fight against peak Human Immortals with just his physical body, let alone survive a mere Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
As if angered by Li Changsheng's indifferent attitude, the sky let out a tremendous roar.
Boom!
A massive explosion echoed in the air, and within the tribulation clouds covering dozens of miles, a purple-black thunder dragon roared. Dozens of earth-shaking bolts of purple-black tribulation lightning descended—thirty-six in total.
For a Transcendence cultivator, the Heavenly Tribulation usually consisted of only nine bolts of lightning, and those nine bolts would all strike at the very end. Li Changsheng's tribulation was only on its second wave, yet it already brought down thirty-six bolts of lightning.
Moreover, this purple-black Lightning was dozens of times stronger than the blue Lightning ordinary cultivators faced. A single bolt of this Lightning could vaporize a Transcendence cultivator.
And now, thirty-six bolts were falling simultaneously.
Such power was enough to kill a Half-Step Human Immortal!
"What kind of Heavenly Tribulation is this?"
Li Chunyang muttered in disbelief.
This was only the second wave of tribulation!
He had seen his Pure Yang Sect's ancestor undergo the Heavenly Tribulation. At the time, the final wave of tribulation consisted of only twelve bolts of Lightning, and even those twelve bolts were clearly weaker than the Lightning in Manager Li's tribulation.
"According to ancient records, only those with unparalleled talent, capable of fighting immortals even at the Transcendence stage, would attract such a powerful Heavenly Tribulation."
"But the first master of the Cangqing World 140,000 years ago, the Skypear Sword Lord, who successfully ascended to the immortal realm, only attracted thirty-six bolts of Lightning during his tribulation."
"This is only the second wave of tribulation, and there are normally nine waves. If the second wave is already so powerful, could Manager Li be even stronger than the Skypear Sword Lord of that time?"
Lin Ruoxi was filled with disbelief.
140,000 years ago, the Skypear Sword Lord dominated the Cangqing World with his sword alone. Even the Southern Li Dynasty at its peak had to show him utmost respect. Could such a monstrous figure be emerging again now?
The others were equally speechless.
They had all heard of the Skypear Sword Lord's fame. Could Manager Li truly be stronger than him?
"This is getting interesting!"
Li Changsheng looked at the roaring Lightning with a smile.
He took a light step and charged directly toward the Lightning.
Bang!
Li Changsheng didn't dodge or evade, allowing the purple Lightning to strike him.
"Still not enough!"
Li Changsheng frowned slightly.
For others who had the strength to face the Heavenly Tribulation, it was both a danger and an opportunity. The energy contained within the tribulation Lightning could cleanse and refine their meridians. However, Li Changsheng's physical body was too strong. The energy contained within these thirty-six bolts of Lightning was deadly to others, but for him, it was far from sufficient!
"Come on!"
Li Changsheng let out a fierce shout.
Roar!
The tribulation clouds let out a draconic roar.
Forty-eight more bolts of Lightning descended.
Bang!
Li Changsheng's figure paused slightly in mid-air but instantly recovered.
He frowned slightly and then shot upward, charging directly into the purple-black tribulation clouds.
"What is he doing?"
Li Chunyang's eyes widened in disbelief.
His Pure Yang Sect's ancestor had cultivated for over 8,000 years and faced the Heavenly Tribulation with utmost caution, afraid of being struck by the Lightning. To survive the tribulation, he had even brought out the Pure Yang Sword, the sect's ancestral Quasi-Immortal Artifact, from the ancestral hall.
But now, Manager Li was charging directly into the tribulation clouds?
"Melodious, since you're fond of reading ancient texts, have you ever seen anyone rush into the tribulation clouds like this?"
A Heaven's Chosen from a major faction, at the late Unity stage, turned to Lin Ruoxi and asked in a low voice.
"Well… I've never seen anything like this before."
Lin Ruoxi paused before answering.
"Not enough!"
"Not enough!"
"Still far from enough!"
The tribulation clouds seemed utterly enraged by Li Changsheng.
Countless bolts of purple-black Lightning surged toward Li Changsheng, instantly engulfing him.
Crackle, crackle.
The terrifying purple-black Lightning snaked across Li Changsheng's physical body, with every inch of his skin undergoing the Lightning's baptism.
At this moment, the top-grade spirit-grade robe Li Changsheng was wearing had completely shattered, revealing his powerful physique.
Purple-black Lightning coursed across his body, refining and tempering his flesh.
"This energy is good, but it seems I won't be able to use the Heavenly Tribulation to temper my body to the Ninth Revolving stage."
Li Changsheng frowned slightly.
The energy of the Heavenly Tribulation was indeed overwhelming and highly effective. If he were still at the sixth or seventh Revolving stage, the strange energy brought by these bolts of Lightning would have been enough to elevate his physical body by a major level.
Unfortunately, his physical body had already reached the peak of the Eighth Revolving stage!
"Should I go provoke that guy?"
Li Changsheng turned his head and looked at the purple-black thunder dragon hidden within the tribulation clouds.
Roar!
As if feeling provoked, the thunder dragon let out a deafening roar.
One hundred and eight bolts of tribulation Lightning roared forth, these bolts carrying a faint golden hue, and their power was even greater than before!
Boom!
The Lightning struck Li Changsheng's body.
"Ah…"
Li Changsheng let out a comfortable moan. He could clearly feel his body improving after absorbing the Lightning's energy.
Although the improvement was minor, he genuinely felt his physical body inching closer to the Ninth Revolving stage.
Boom!
The Lightning continued to flash and roar. Only after half an hour did the tribulation clouds in the sky slowly dissipate.
Li Changsheng, now clad in a new green robe, looked at the dissipating tribulation clouds with a sense of lingering regret and said:
"It's a pity. The tribulation Lightning was still a bit too weak."
"If the Lightning's intensity had been twenty times stronger and lasted a few more days, I might have already stepped into the Ninth Revolving stage!"
Li Changsheng shook his head slightly.
Originally, the tribulation clouds would have dissipated much earlier, but sensing the improvement in his physical body, he had continued to provoke the mindless thunder dragon. Only after completely exhausting it, with no more Lightning to release, did he shatter the tribulation clouds with a single palm strike.
"Begin the simulation,"
Li Changsheng murmured.
[Insufficient balance. Current balance: 343 million. Simulation cost: 10 billion.]
[Do you wish to recharge immediately?]
Looking at the words that popped up on the panel, Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Normally, a Half-Step Human Immortal was still considered part of the Transcendence stage and hadn't yet become a true immortal.
He had been worried that the system would classify the Half-Step Human Immortal as a separate realm. If that were the case, each simulation would cost 100 billion spirit stones.
Now, it seemed the system wasn't that ruthless!
If this were his past life, those big gaming companies would never have missed such a profitable opportunity!