"What is a dual lightning tribulation?" Ye Lingyuan asked, gazing at the rolling tribulation clouds in the sky.
The Pluto Seal, though speechless, patiently explained.
The heavenly rules of the Tian Yuan Continent could only tolerate Saint King realm powerhouses at most. Once one's cultivation surpassed the Saint King realm, the Heavenly Dao would descend a lightning tribulation to eliminate existences that defied the rules. Therefore, when Ye Lingyuan broke through to the Emperor realm, he should have already faced a tribulation. However, the Ghost Altar had managed to isolate him from the Heavenly Dao's sensing. This allowed Ye Lingyuan to leap directly to the Minor God realm without enduring any tribulation.
But the tribulation was unavoidable. Thus, the moment Ye Lingyuan unleashed his aura to face the tribulation, he would have to endure both the Emperor realm and the Minor God realm tribulations together. What was even more dire was that for nearly a thousand years, no one on the Tian Yuan Continent had managed to break through the Saint King realm's shackles. Consequently, the accumulated strength of the lightning tribulations had reached a terrifying level. This was why the Pluto Seal had been so shocked when it sensed Ye Lingyuan facing tribulation unprepared.
Upon hearing the Pluto Seal's explanation, certain memories within Ye Lingyuan's sea of consciousness began to unlock. However, he no longer had the luxury of indulging in such thoughts. The moment he released his domain power, he had been locked onto by the tribulation. In the brief time he had spent communicating with the Pluto Seal, the tribulation clouds had already covered an area of two mu above his head and were continuously expanding.
Ye Lingyuan frowned and coldly commanded, "Everyone retreat another thirty feet!"
Mu Qingyan could only comply with a helpless sigh. The more people covered by the tribulation clouds, the greater the danger to the person undergoing tribulation. Therefore, throughout history, there had never been a precedent for multiple people facing tribulation together.
The Pluto Seal wanted to say more, but it knew that at this point, any further words were futile. Thus, it could only watch helplessly as the lightning tribulation descended from the heavens.
The first bolt of tribulation lightning struck. Ye Lingyuan looked at the electricity descending from the sky, a hint of disdain in his eyes. He wanted to see firsthand how terrifying the lightning tribulations described in ancient texts truly were. Therefore, he made no move, allowing the tribulation lightning to strike him directly.
Ye Lingyuan felt a tingling sensation spread through his body, and electric arcs filled his meridians. He closed his eyes and channeled the spiritual energy within him, circulating it rapidly through his meridians to refine and absorb these electric arcs. Soon, a sensation of immense comfort spread throughout his body. Ye Lingyuan felt his physical body grow stronger. "Not bad!" A faint smile touched his lips. Refining his body with lightning had indeed saved him considerable effort.
Mu Qingyan and the others were dumbfounded. Ancient texts described tribulations as battles where cultivators exerted their utmost to prevent the tribulation lightning from touching their bodies, lest they be utterly annihilated. Yet, Ye Lingyuan stood there casually, letting the tribulation lightning strike him. His expression suggested not tribulation, but enjoyment. This made everyone wonder, "Is facing tribulation actually this comfortable?" Thus, later cultivators who faced tribulation, imitating Ye Lingyuan's actions, met their demise, leaving not even a trace behind.
The tribulation clouds in the sky seemed provoked, churning even more violently. It had been a millennium since tribulation lightning had appeared, and its current manifestation naturally drew the attention of numerous forces. Experts from the Tian Qi Kingdom, Qiong Hua Kingdom, and Jin Xia Kingdom all exerted their abilities, converging on this area. They wished to witness the demeanor of the tribulation-taker and to personally feel the tribulation lightning to deepen their own insights. Of course, the arrival of these individuals put Mu Qingyan and his companions on high alert.
Meanwhile, not far away, Zi Linling bumped into two familiar faces. These familiar faces were none other than the fatty and the short, skinny guy she had disciplined at the Xian River Inn previously. Xu Feihu, the short, skinny one, was missing an arm. When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred. The fatty blocked Zi Linling's path and said, "Brat, we finally found you!" The short, skinny guy glared at Zi Linling with hatred, gritting his teeth, "Brat, give me back my arm!" As he spoke, he moved to charge forward, but the fatty pulled him back. The fatty glared at him and reprimanded, "What's the hurry? Let's figure out Jiang Tang's situation first." The short, skinny guy, already somewhat fearful of the fatty, quieted down under his scolding. However, he still fixed Zi Linling with a murderous gaze.
Zi Linling remained unfazed. When she was only at the Qi Gathering realm, she had already severed the short, skinny guy's arm. Now that she was beyond the peak of the Spirit Gathering realm, killing these two would be as easy as crushing two ants. She looked at the two mockingly and said, "Oh! Have you come to offer your arms this time? Legs? Or heads?"
The fatty was taken aback. He almost forgot that this brat was sharp-tongued. He stared at Zi Linling menacingly and asked, "Where is Jiang Tang?"
Jiang Tang? Zi Linling blinked, then quickly realized the fatty was referring to the skinny monkey. Her lips twitched. Were these skinny monkey's parents too careless with names? Jiang Tang? And bird's nest too! It was thanks to the fatty's reminder that Zi Linling remembered she had kept the skinny monkey locked up in the Goddess Hall. But how could she easily reveal the Goddess Hall? Thus, another infuriating remark escaped her lips. "Jiang Tang? Isn't he supposed to be boiling in your family's pot?"
The fatty was stunned for a moment, then realized Zi Linling was resorting to insults again. He genuinely admired Zi Linling's ability to curse without using vulgar language. If they weren't enemies, he would have wanted to take Zi Linling as his master. But "if" was just "if," it could never become reality. "Brat, stop playing dumb, I'm talking about my brother Jiang Tang!"
Zi Linling let out a cold laugh. "Jiang Tang is your brother? Then are you called Bird's Nest?" The fatty was stunned again. "What bird's nest or not, I am who I am, I don't change my name or my surname, I am Nian Wuding!"
Nian Wuding? So it was indeed from the Xian River Mercenary Group! Zi Linling had already guessed the fatty's identity with about eighty to ninety percent certainty. Therefore, when the fatty revealed his name, she wasn't very surprised. "Nian Wuding, Vice-Leader of the Xian River Mercenary Group?" Although she was asking, her tone was one of absolute certainty.
The fatty said proudly, "Since you know it's me, why aren't you handing over my brother quickly?" Zi Linling looked at the fatty with a strange expression. Was this guy sick? She had merely wanted to confirm his identity and then perhaps go destroy the Xian River Mercenary Group. Yet, this guy was openly challenging her.
"Sister, this fatty is too disgusting. He's not as fun as Fatty Qian at all. Let's just kill him!" Long'er's voice echoed in Zi Linling's mind. "Master, Little Tiger also thinks we should just kill him!" The voice of the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger also chimed in. It had now become Zi Linling's contracted beast.