Gouzi entered the劫云 (jiéyún - tribulation clouds) and began to try to absorb the heavenly dao energy here, while Wan Lei focused on confronting the heavenly tribulation below.
Soon, the second wave of nine lightning bolts struck. Wan Lei roared, circulating his cultivation to its extreme, absorbing the lightning with all his might.
"Ah!!!"
A scream echoed, and Wan Lei was once again blasted to the ground.
The feeling was as difficult as his first confrontation with heavenly punishment. This heavenly tribulation was too fierce.
Wan Lei, unwilling to admit defeat, got up and faced the third wave of heavenly tribulation.
With another thunderous explosion, Wan Lei was thrown to the ground again.
Lying on the ground, Wan Lei began to doubt everything.
He was absolutely certain this was not a heavenly tribulation for the Tai Xu realm. Ordinary cultivators in the Tai Xu realm would likely be reduced to dust by the first three waves. This was a tribulation that only the Tai Heng realm could withstand.
At this moment, Wan Lei checked his cultivation again. It was indeed still the peak of the Tai Xu realm; he hadn't broken through.
But according to the usual conventions of undergoing heavenly tribulations, even a tribulation from a higher realm should not have been able to harm him. What was going on?
Were the Immortal Realm cultivators this unreasonable?
At this moment, Wan Lei's awe of the Immortal Realm deepened further.
His innate thunder body, Haotian battle body, soul of the thunder god, authority of the thunder god, and eternal emperor, none of it seemed to matter. The Tai Xu realm cultivators in the Immortal Realm had to endure such a powerful heavenly tribulation. What pride could he possibly have?
The heavenly tribulation grew fiercer, and Wan Lei's resistance became more strenuous. While these tribulations did not allow him to break through another major realm, they had a benefit: they left the heavenly dao energy of the Immortal Realm within his body, causing his heavenly dao lightning to undergo further transformation, becoming higher in stature and more potent.
Moreover, these repeated fierce lightning strikes made his quickly acquired cultivation more solidified, laying a firmer foundation.
The heavenly tribulation continued to strike from above, and Wan Lei endured it below. Gouzi, on top of the thunderclouds, was getting extremely anxious.
It wiped away nonexistent sweat, grumbling aloud,
"Damn it, this heavenly dao energy is too deeply hidden. I can't find it no matter how hard I try. It can even run away? Is the heavenly dao of your Immortal Realm really that powerful?"
"The heavenly dao of the Immortal Realm is certainly powerful. Do you think it's comparable to your Moral Plane and the Lei Feng Realm?"
A voice suddenly echoed from not far away from Gouzi.
The voice startled Gouzi, and it immediately turned its head. Then, Gouzi's expression of vigilance rapidly shifted to surprise, ecstasy, and overwhelming joy.
On the thunderclouds not far away stood a plump, round, big-eyed, yellow-furred… squirrel!
(The squirrel's appearance is referenced from Pikachu, the American live-action movie version, not a real-world squirrel.)
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, Squirrel, is that really you? Holy crap, you're not dead yet? I knew you guys wouldn't die. I didn't expect to see you as soon as I arrived in the Immortal Realm."
Gouzi excitedly rushed over and hugged the squirrel.
"Yes, it's been fifty thousand years. I've missed you too."
The squirrel also hugged Gouzi.
A little yellow-furred dog and a yellow-furred squirrel hugging each other. The scene was both comical and adorable, incredibly cute.
"Hey? That's not right. Are you controlling this heavenly tribulation? You can control heavenly tribulations now? That's amazing! What's your cultivation level now?"
Gouzi looked at the squirrel in surprise, its eyes wide.
"Oh, cultivation level or not, it's not important. I now have the authority of the heavenly dao of the Immortal Realm. I can bring down heavenly tribulations however I want."
"Then why are you bringing down heavenly tribulations for Wan Lei? Hurry and stop it.
You don't know Wan Lei yet, do you? He's a descendant of the Wan family from the Lei Feng Realm. He broke through all the secret realms you left behind and defeated the demon race, inheriting the position of the Thunder Emperor, right?
Oh right, he also obtained your formation inheritance. He's one of us."
"Get out of here with that 'I don't know Wan Lei.' Everyone in the high ranks of the Five Elements Hall knows Wan Lei now.
This kid improved too quickly. I'm using the heavenly tribulation to help him consolidate his cultivation. Sometimes, breaking through realms too quickly isn't a good thing. He didn't even take a year to go from the Mahayana stage to the peak of the Tai Xu realm. This isn't good."
After the squirrel finished speaking, it brought down another wave of heavenly tribulation.
Gouzi smiled and said,
"You guys are really putting in a lot of effort. Giving him divine abilities, then divine artifacts, and now helping him improve his cultivation. I watched him on this journey, experiencing countless life-and-death situations to reach his current cultivation.
You treat him so well. Without you, he probably would have been killed by the demon race by now, and the Lei Feng Realm would have fallen."
"It can't be helped. The God-Making Plan has to be like this. Pouring in all our effort and resources to create a god as quickly as possible. These Children of Destiny, alas, if they relied solely on themselves, many would have perished midway."
"God-Making Plan? What God-Making Plan?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you. I'll tell you more later."
"Oh right, you mentioned the Five Elements Hall just now. This Five Elements Hall seems very powerful. Have you also joined this Five Elements Hall?"
"What do you mean, 'Have I joined the Five Elements Hall?'"
The squirrel rolled its eyes,
"We created the Five Elements Hall. It was just a major force in the Immortal Realm at first. As our contributions in the Immortal-Demon Wars grew, our Five Elements Hall also became the commanders of the Immortal Realm.
Until a few of them became Saints, counterattacked the divine race, and later became Immortal Venerables, destroying the Three Unique Gods, the Five Elements Hall became the leader of the Immortal Realm, and even the Origin Plane and all righteous plane universes."
"Oh, you guys are so powerful now. It's a pity that you left me in the Lei Feng Realm for fifty thousand years, like a frog in a well. I almost dissipated due to excessive depletion. If I hadn't guided Wan Lei's soul to the Lei Feng Realm, you probably wouldn't be seeing me now."
"It's fine, everything is proceeding according to plan."
"What did you just say about Immortal Venerables? I've heard of Immortal Venerables. They seem very powerful. Do you know them?"
Gouzi looked at the squirrel curiously. After fifty thousand years, it suddenly felt that the squirrel was becoming more and more amazing.
When this was mentioned, the squirrel's eyes lit up, but it immediately pretended to be calm and nonchalant, waving its little furry paws and saying,
"Not only do I know them, but you do too."
"I know them too?"
Gouzi pondered for a moment, then felt as if struck by lightning.
"Holy crap, it's those six people?! They became Immortal Venerables?"
"Xia Dayu and the other five became Immortal Venerables. Wang Xiaohang is the Lord of the Ghost Realm, the Ghost Emperor, which is probably the most powerful person in the entire righteous plane."
The squirrel felt a sense of smugness seeing Gouzi's shocked expression, but it maintained its nonchalant demeanor.