The final tribulation bolt descended.
Boom!
Myriad streaks of lightning blazed like divine dragons patrolling the heavens, crashing down from the Ninth Heaven. It was also like a boundless tsunami that instantly engulfed Immortal Longbrow.
Immortal Longbrow became like a fallen leaf, mercilessly battered. His body tumbled wildly within the thunder, blood sprinkling across the sky in a horrifying sight.
Everyone stared with wide eyes, fixing their gaze upon him, tension written between their brows.
This was the seventh bolt. As long as Immortal Longbrow endured this one, the tribulation would end.
The problem was that the power of the seventh bolt was simply too terrifying. Whether he could survive it was impossible to predict.
Ye Qiu’s heart leapt into his throat. His right hand clenched, ready to intervene at any moment.
Endless lightning radiated blinding divine brilliance, dazzling and resplendent, as though raging flames enveloped and scorched Immortal Longbrow.
“Ah…”
Suddenly, Immortal Longbrow let out a great cry. His body shattered into pieces.
“Not good. The old fellow can’t hold on.”
Ye Qiu’s expression changed. He was about to step forward when he saw countless strands of lightning wrap around the fragmented body. Electric currents coiled and, in just a few seconds, the pieces reassembled themselves.
“Eh?” Ye Qiu uttered a surprised sound, his face turning strange.
He had never imagined that the tribulation would actually help repair Immortal Longbrow’s body.
At that very moment…
“Ah…”
Immortal Longbrow screamed again. The body that had just reformed shattered once more, blood spraying like rain.
Three seconds later, the scattered pieces joined together again.
“This isn’t tribulation crossing. This is outright torture.” Anger appeared on Ye Qiu’s face.
The tribulation seemed almost conscious, deliberately tormenting Immortal Longbrow. Ye Qiu was truly worried that at his age the old fellow might be tormented to death.
“No, I have to help him.”
With those words, Ye Qiu stepped forward, about to act, but Yun Xi grabbed his arm.
“Don’t!” Yun Xi said. “Interfering with a heavenly tribulation is extremely dangerous. If you anger the Heavenly Dao and it sends tribulation upon you instead, you’ll be in serious trouble.”
Ye Qiu replied, “But I can’t bear to watch the old fellow suffer like this. Isn’t the tribulation just torturing him?”
Yun Xi shook her head. “Changsheng, you’ve misunderstood. The tribulation is not torturing the Taoist priest.”
“What do you mean?” Ye Qiu asked, puzzled.
Yun Xi explained, “I told you earlier that the Sevenfold Annihilation Tribulation is a very special tribulation. Besides unleashing seven bolts of lightning, the final bolt also causes the cultivator’s body to shatter seven times.”
“Although the cultivator endures unimaginable pain, if he succeeds, not only will his cultivation rise dramatically, his physical body will also become incomparably tough, comparable to a divine weapon.”
“The priest is currently only at the early Grotto-Heaven stage. Once he succeeds, his cultivation will break through to mid Grotto-Heaven.”
“His body will become extremely resilient, no weaker than Pei Gang’s Indestructible Diamond Physique.”
There was such an effect?
Ye Qiu found it unbelievable. “Xi-er, are you telling the truth?”
Yun Xi smiled charmingly. “I already belong to you. Why would I lie to you?”
Ye Qiu stepped back to his original spot and said, “Since the tribulation is tempering the old fellow’s body, let him endure it. Besides, who told this old thing to run his mouth? It’ll teach him a lesson.”
Yun Xi moved closer, almost snuggling against him, and whispered, “Changsheng, your body is impervious to blades and spears, yet it still isn’t completely indestructible.”
“How about I find a chance to help you with that~”
Here we go again!
Ye Qiu felt a headache coming on. This woman was far too seductive, practically the Sister Lin of the cultivation world.
Rumble!
Lightning roared like raging waves, sending Immortal Longbrow flying again and again.
Each time he was blasted away, his body shattered, then rapidly reformed.
Four times, five times, six times…
Seven times!
Finally, the ten-thousand-zhang lightning vanished into thin air. The void stopped trembling, and peace returned to heaven and earth, as if nothing had happened.
Thud!
Immortal Longbrow plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
When everyone looked again, they saw him pitch-black all over, like a piece of charred firewood, completely motionless.
And there was not the slightest trace of life.
“The Taoist priest failed his tribulation?”
“He clearly endured all seven bolts and his body shattered seven times. How could he still fail?”
“Priest, don’t die. I still want to drink and play finger-guessing with you.”
“…”
The Qingyun Sword Sect disciples buzzed with discussion. The scene grew noisy. No one could sense any signs of life from Immortal Longbrow.
“Second Brother!”
Lin Da-niao suddenly wailed, rushed to Immortal Longbrow’s side, crouched down and cried, “Second Brother, don’t die! You said you’d look after me. If you die, who’ll look after me?”
“Second Brother, you said you’d take hundreds of wives and concubines. If you die, what about all those widows?”
“Second Brother, how could you leave like this… I can’t bear to lose you!”
Lin Da-niao sobbed with heart-rending grief.
Smack!
A palm slapped the back of Lin Da-niao’s head. In the next instant, Immortal Longbrow stood straight up from the ground.
“Ah… he’s turned into a zombie!”
Lin Da-niao screamed and turned to flee.
But he had taken only half a step when Immortal Longbrow grabbed his ear.
“Second Brother, please don’t scare me! Go in peace!”
“Don’t worry about me. When you’re gone, Big Brother will look after me.”
“As for your hundreds of wives and concubines, I’ll marry them for you. Then I’ll have hundreds of sons with them and let you be their godfather. Every festival, I’ll have them kowtow and burn incense for you…”
Bam!
Immortal Longbrow kicked Lin Da-niao squarely in the backside. Lin Da-niao flew like a ball and landed face-first in the dirt.
“This old Taoist isn’t dead yet!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the charred skin on his body cracked and flaked away, revealing new skin as lustrous and pure as a baby’s, gleaming like jade.
“The priest isn’t dead!”
“I knew it. The priest blessed by heaven. Nothing would happen to him.”
“Great! Now I can drink and play finger-guessing with the priest again.”
“…”
Mo Tianji smiled and said, “Congratulations, Senior Brother. After the tribulation’s tempering, your body has become indestructible.”
Immortal Longbrow said nothing. He sat on the ground and circulated his energy rapidly. Soon, six grotto-heavens appeared one after another behind him.
At this point, Immortal Longbrow had officially stepped into the mid Grotto-Heaven stage.
Lin Da-niao sidled over and said, “Second Brother, congratulations on becoming even stronger.”
Immortal Longbrow grinned at him. “This poor Taoist has not only become stronger in cultivation, my temper has grown bigger too.”
Hearing this, Lin Da-niao’s heart sank. He turned to run, but it was too late. Immortal Longbrow floored him with a single punch.
