Only a dozen miles after Xiao Fei escaped, he saw a bucket-thick tribulation lightning strike down from the sky, directly hitting the spot where the old man had been standing.
The old man emitted a brilliant light that protected him layers upon layers.
As this tribulation lightning descended, it fiercely collided with his protective light, causing the light to shake violently, almost collapsing.
However, this was merely the first and weakest of the nine-nine-eighty-one bolts of tribulation lightning for ascending to immortality in the Great Vehicle stage.
There were eighty more powerful tribulation lightning bolts to endure, each stronger than the last.
Xiao Fei found a comfortable spot in the distance to watch the old man's tribulation.
This was something he would have to experience himself in the future, so gaining some experience by observing now was beneficial.
However, fate seemed to have other plans. Not long after Xiao Fei sat down and had barely cracked a few melon seeds, the tribulation was already over.
The old man had turned to dust when he had only endured the nineteenth bolt of tribulation lightning.
This left Xiao Fei greatly disappointed. He had expected the eighty-one bolts of tribulation lightning to last at least fifty to sixty bolts, which would have been much more spectacular.
It was like a love story that had just begun; the girl hadn't even unbuttoned her blouse, and you were already done because your legs trembled. How boring was that?
Xiao Fei could only stand up, pat the non-existent dust off his backside, and walk towards the direction where the old man had turned to ash.
The ground where the tribulation had occurred, originally soil, had been blasted into a hard, glazed state by the tribulation lightning, still retaining a trace of its power.
If any low-level cultivators were present, they would surely have dug up all this glazed soil to refine into magical artifacts or treasures.
However, for Xiao Fei, it held no value.
He searched the area thoroughly. The old man's corpse had been completely incinerated by the tribulation lightning, and even his personal belongings had not been spared.
It seemed he would have to return empty-handed.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, his gaze was suddenly drawn to an inconspicuous stone on the ground.
Everything here had been turned into a glazed state by the tribulation lightning, yet this single stone seemed completely unaffected.
He immediately picked up the stone, unsure if it was a relic from the old man or if it had been hidden underground and unearthed by the tribulation lightning.
However, none of that mattered anymore.
Xiao Fei picked up the stone and examined it closely. He flicked it with his finger; the sound was dull, no different from ordinary earth and stone.
He stored the stone in his spatial dimension and carefully searched the area again, confirming there was nothing else left before turning to depart.
Although he had only watched for a short while this time, it had given him a preliminary understanding of the tribulation for ascending to immortality.
At least with his current strength, he would be turned to ash by the first bolt of tribulation lightning, let alone enduring the subsequent ones.
Judging from the nineteen bolts of tribulation lightning the old man had endured, the tribulation for ascending to immortality would indeed become stronger with each passing bolt.
Furthermore, after every nine bolts, there would be a qualitative change, with the power escalating dramatically.
The old man's ability to withstand the preceding eighteen bolts certainly showed he had some skill.
After Xiao Fei left, he immediately flew towards the Southern Wasteland Continent. While en route, he encountered Patriarch Howling Moon.
"Senior! Are you alright?"
Patriarch Howling Moon's face lit up with surprise when he saw Xiao Fei reappear.
Xiao Fei thought he was still worried about the fate of the Great Vehicle stage expert from earlier.
"Of course, I'm fine. That old scoundrel tried to harm me, but I summoned a bolt of tribulation lightning and annihilated him."
Patriarch Howling Moon's face was filled with admiration. As expected, a senior's actions were extraordinary; even a mere clone possessed such power.
"Senior, these are the spirit stones obtained from selling the treasures this time. Please count them."
Patriarch Howling Moon said this while producing a large pile of storage bags, all filled with spirit stones, along with a small portion of unsold heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
Xiao Fei took them and scanned them with his divine sense, giving them a cursory glance. Finding no issues, he collected them all.
"Excellent! Next, I'll need to trouble you to go to Tian Yuan City again and deliver a letter to a few of my friends."
"No problem, Senior. Just give the order." Patriarch Howling Moon wagged his tail and readily agreed.
Xiao Fei took out several jade slips, input information into them respectively, and then handed them to Patriarch Howling Moon.
"Be careful and cautious on your journey. Do not draw attention to yourself, and try to avoid attracting notice from others."
Xiao Fei gave a reminder and then took out a large jar of ten-thousand-year-old spirit wine and a bottle of Enlightenment Spring, handing them to Patriarch Howling Moon together.
"This ten-thousand-year-old spirit wine and Enlightenment Spring water are your reward."
Patriarch Howling Moon took the two treasures, his heart filled with excitement, his hands trembling slightly.
A senior's generosity was truly immense; either of these treasures was an extremely rare item.
With the treasures in hand, Patriarch Howling Moon left excitedly, while Xiao Fei returned to the Southern Wasteland Continent to wait.
Xiao Fei returned to Patriarch Howling Moon's cave dwelling to stay temporarily. Before his second sister and the others arrived, he entered his spatial dimension.
He picked up the strange stone he had found earlier.
He unleashed his Law of Gathering and Scattering, channeling it onto the stone.
However, after a long time, the stone remained unchanged.
With his current law power, he could decompose even spiritual treasures, but it had no effect on this stone.
Seeing this, Xiao Fei was not discouraged; instead, it piqued his intense interest. What could not be decomposed was truly a treasure.
Next, he simultaneously activated the laws of Wind and Gathering and Scattering, forming a fused law domain.
After the fusion of the two laws, their power greatly increased.
The stone finally began to buckle under the strain, and a sesame-seed-sized piece chipped off.
Although it was a small amount, it was definitely a good start.
Xiao Fei was not in a hurry. He first used his laws to decompose this sesame-seed-sized piece of stone, extracting an earthy yellow substance.
Upon seeing this tiny, earthy yellow object, Xiao Fei recalled from the depths of his memory that a long time ago, he had read an ancient text that described a heavenly material and earthly treasure called "Wu Huang Stone."
This item contained the essence of Wu Tu (Earth Element) and possessed many miraculous properties. If used in artifact refining, it could imbue items with immense defensive capabilities.
Even adding a soybean-sized lump of it to a defensive magical treasure could significantly enhance its defensive power.
The stone in his hand was at least the size of a head, and he estimated it could yield at least a fist-sized piece of pure "Wu Huang Stone."
Xiao Fei could control up to four clones simultaneously at the moment.
He arranged for one clone to remain in the spatial dimension, continuously decomposing the stone day and night to extract pure "Wu Huang Stone."
...
On a sea island, a burly man sat cross-legged in meditation.
At that moment, he felt a premonition, raised his head, and looked in the direction of the old man's tribulation. A hint of bitterness, two parts smugness, and three parts relief appeared on his face.
"Another one died! Fortunately, I didn't act personally!"
"Alas! I'll have to find someone else."