The first heavenly tribulation was inevitably accompanied by excitement and worry, but it was a step that had to be taken, sooner or later. With this thought, Ling Feng no longer hesitated, adjusted his breathing, calmed his mind, and broke through that barrier.
Whoosh!
As soon as Ling Feng broke through the shackles that limited his cultivation, the wind and clouds changed in the next moment.
The originally sunny, cloudless sky suddenly turned gray and gloomy. Countless dark clouds gathered, and the wind howled, like an army of thousands blocking out the sun, creating a suffocating sense of impending doom.
Rumble!
Amidst the increasingly dense tribulation clouds, raindrops fell, lightning flashed, accompanied by deafening thunderclaps, like countless dragons tumbling within the clouds.
The three immortals, True Monarch Liu Yun Jie Feng, watched the tribulation clouds that enveloped the entire Jueyun Jian with solemn expressions. True Monarch Liu Yun Jie Feng spoke.
"The scale of this phenomenon has directly covered Jueyun Jian. This is merely the first tribulation on Ling Feng's cultivation path. If it continues to develop at this pace in the future, it might soon cover the entire territory of Liyue."
At the summit of Mount Tianheng, Zhong Li stood with his hands behind his back, his amber eyes flickering slightly. He gazed at the tribulation clouds above Jueyun Jian and said with a calm expression, "This power is similar to the Heavenly Principles, possessing order, laws, and rules. However, its power level far surpasses the Heavenly Principles. It should be from a world higher and stronger than Teyvat. I have made the right choice. Liyue will have a good guardian in the future."
Qingyun Peak, directly below the center of the tribulation clouds.
Ling Feng slowly rose from the ground, gazing up at the tribulation clouds whose boundaries were invisible, and the storm eye above his head like a dark, deep abyss. A surge of fear welled up in his heart.
But soon, Ling Feng's gaze was no longer fearful but resolute. Once the tribulation began, it could not be stopped. Rather than being afraid, it was better to face it. Having experienced three worlds and cultivated for so long, Ling Feng was no longer the high school student who had just arrived.
Feeling the oppressive aura of the heavenly tribulation, Ling Feng straightened his body, took out two Body Tempering Pills from his spatial storage, and swallowed them. Simultaneously, the Thunder Body Tempering Art began to circulate, bringing his aura to its peak.
Just in case, Ling Feng held a Revival Pill in his mouth and had his Star Pattern Armor ready at any moment.
The reason he didn't use the Star Pattern Armor from the beginning was twofold. Firstly, the Star Pattern Armor was a trump card. He didn't believe that no one was paying attention to him at this moment, so it was not good to reveal his trump card prematurely or too much.
Secondly, he needed to grow and have the strength to persevere. Why use a trump card when he didn't have to? Moreover, the heavenly tribulation was a lightning tribulation. Since it was lightning, the Thunder Body Tempering Art could take effect. This was also a time for body tempering.
[Ding! Detected host undergoing tribulation! Reminder: This heavenly tribulation is a Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation, with a total of nine lightning bolts, each stronger than the last. The ninth bolt is the sum of the previous eight. It is predicted to reach the full power strike of the early Nascent Soul stage. Please prepare yourself!]
"Damn it! The ninth bolt is a full power strike of the early Nascent Soul stage? Isn't this heavenly tribulation going too far? I'm still only at the Qi Refining stage! Are you playing dirty!" Ling Feng cursed the heavenly tribulation madly in his mind. Fortunately, he had already made thorough preparations.
"Come on! It's just a Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation, let me see how terrifying it really is!" Ling Feng roared, both to vent his emotions and to bolster his courage.
Rumble!
As if hearing Ling Feng's shout, amidst the tribulation clouds, countless lightning bolts converged, gradually forming a yellow thunderball. As power gathered, the thunderball grew larger.
One meter, two meters, three meters, finally reaching a diameter of three meters.
Then, it was like a thunder serpent breaking out of its shell, gazing at Ling Feng below, and without any warning, it pounced down.
"Come!" Seeing the lightning tribulation descending from the sky, Ling Feng straightened his back, intending to face this lightning tribulation head-on.
Rumble!!!
The thunder serpent descended from the sky and bit Ling Feng, madly channeling the power of lightning into his body. It was like a poisonous fog, destroying Ling Feng's physical body.
Ling Feng felt as if countless venomous snakes were tearing at his flesh from within, causing him immense pain. His skin cracked open, and blood flowed from the wounds, staining his white clothes.
Inside Ling Feng's body, it was like a battlefield. His true qi clashed with the lightning that invaded his body. At this moment, Ling Feng's cells were like civilians, and the thunder serpent was like a virus, madly attacking all his cells. His true qi acted as both warriors and doctors, with warriors engaging the thunder serpent and medics healing the "patients."
However, the effect was minimal. The warriors and medics, facing the thunder serpent for the first time, didn't understand it or have any means to deal with it, putting them at an extreme disadvantage. "People" were electrocuted and died continuously.
It was at this moment that the Thunder Body Tempering Art Ling Feng was circulating acted as a "biologist," secretly absorbing the power of the thunder serpent to forge batch after batch of resurrection potions and delivering them to all the battlefields throughout his body.
Death! Resurrection! Death! Resurrection!
The "people" were evolving and adapting furiously, becoming stronger and stronger. The medicines also became more advanced, and his body even developed resistance to a trace of the "virus." Meanwhile, the thunder serpent was continuously being eliminated without reinforcement, until it was completely eradicated, much like a civilization rapidly evolving.
"Huff huff huff..." As for Ling Feng, the owner of all this, he endured extraordinary pain. In just five seconds, Ling Feng felt as if a century had passed.
Ling Feng slowly stood up from the ground. Instead of fear, there was a hint of excitement in his eyes. Although he had been electrocuted to the brink of death by the lightning tribulation just now, he was satisfied with the outcome.
Corresponding to body cultivators, there were also corresponding realms for body cultivators. The realm corresponding to the Qi Refining stage was the Body Refining stage. At this moment, his body cultivation had reached the fifth level of Body Refining.
However, the price paid was not small. His body suffered seventy percent damage, and his true qi was depleted to only thirty percent.
If another lightning tribulation were to strike now, he would probably be finished.
Taking advantage of the tribulation clouds still gathering lightning, Ling Feng quickly consumed two Revival Pills and several Qi Recovery Pills, restoring his physical condition as quickly as possible to face the next lightning bolt.
"As expected of a lightning tribulation, I was almost finished." Ling Feng felt lingering fear. This was only the first lightning tribulation, and it had already severely injured him. The next lightning tribulation would be even stronger, and he couldn't guarantee he could withstand it.
When the second lightning tribulation struck, he had not recovered to his peak state. His injuries had only recovered by fifty percent, as did his true qi. However, due to his strengthened physique, he managed to withstand this lightning tribulation.
"Gasp..."
After the second lightning tribulation, Ling Feng shakily stood up from the ground. He was now even more seriously injured than before. His physique was still good, having improved to the eighth level of Qi Refining.
However, the tribulation was not over yet. Ling Feng quickly took all the remaining Revival Pills on his person. Due to the temporary resistance, the effect of the Revival Pills was reduced by more than half.
All the Revival Pills combined only allowed him to recover to sixty to seventy percent.
"I can't face it head-on this time. Two bolts are already the limit for my body. If I take another, I probably won't be able to endure it."
Ling Feng's forehead was covered in sweat as he thought to himself. He looked up at the tribulation clouds above, which were almost gathering power. He took out several pre-drawn protective talismans and a Vajra Talisman obtained from the Fox Spirit world, activated them all, and formed a protective shield.
Rumble!
The third lightning tribulation struck, directly hitting the protective shield. In an instant, cracks spread like a spiderweb on the shield.
Crack!
The shield, composed of ten defensive talismans, couldn't even last three seconds before being shattered into pieces. The remaining lightning tribulation struck Ling Feng entirely.
Ling Feng hadn't expected that so many talismans couldn't even withstand one lightning tribulation. In his distraction, he was struck and sent flying backward, crashing into a large tree.