Chen Fan was in very bad shape.
The continuous battle had shattered four of his five Essence Cores. Even the last one remaining—the Xuan Wu Essence Core—was also nearly depleted. Worse, his phenomenal-success Divine Body had also been destroyed, Although he had absorbed the energy of ten thousand fiend soldiers to heal his wounds, his injury would certainly leave some long lasting adverse effects.
The Kun Peng Heavenly Art was a miraculous and extremely powerful art.
And yet, it was difficult to purify the Qi from so many ancient demons and fiend celestials in the blink of an eye. Once those impurities were accumulated over time in Chen Fan’s system, they would be extremely difficult to get rid of. However, faced with the impending thunder tribulation, Chen Fan didn’t have many choices.
Things changed when the wash of light emerged.
“It… It looks like the Nine Heavens Light”
Chen Fan frowned.
At the end of the last iteration of his life, when he was struck down by the Heavenly Tribulation, he remembered seeing this light. It illuminated the entire universe, shining the light of eternity and transcendence into each and every little corner of countless worlds. The sight was sublime.
However, that was five hundred years in the past. Why did the light reappear at this time?
“Could it be that I’ve only finished half of the Tribulation? Although my Divine Soul has already transformed into a Deity Soul, most of it was annihilated during the rebirth process. But, could it be that a small part still remained in the depths of my soul?”
Chen Fan calculated in his mind.
But it was too late.
“Boom!”
With a blaring din, a lightning shaft came down from the sky, roaring and snarling. The first lightning strike during a Thunder Tribulation was usually the weakest. That being said, the lightning shaft Chen Fan faced was over a few meters wide; it sizzled with a golden electric energy. Its brilliance illuminated the Two World Peak as much as an attack from a Golden Core Cultivator would.
“By the gods!”
Zhao Juexian was stunned.
If the first test was already this powerful, how deadly would the rest of the lightning strikes be? Zhao Juexian could not handle the first attack even then, much less when he was in the Core Formation stage.
“Great!”
Chen Fan no longer hesitated and flew into the sky. Without putting on any protection, he rammed his body into the lightning.
The Golden Core Thunder Tribulation was both a curse and a blessing. Despite its deadliness, it could strengthen one’s physique and refine the Golden Core. It was the reason that a Golden Core was considered indestructible. Without the stress test and the hardening process of the Thunder Tribulation, an Essence Core would never become a Golden Core.
“Boom, boom!”
A terrifying golden lightning landed on Chen Fan’s body, but Chen Fan didn’t even flinch. Countless electric tendrils zapped every inch of his skin, penetrating into his muscles and bones.
Seizing the opportunity, Chen Fan started the Azure Thearch Longevity Art using the newfound energy in the Heavenly Thunder. He started to force the impurities from the Ancient Demons out of his body.
“Crack, crack.”
Everyone watched as dark smoke oozed out from Chen Fan’s body. As more smoke came out, Chen Fan’s body changed color and gained a crystalline texture.
Meanwhile, the halo behind Chen Fan had absorbed ninety percent of the energy in the lightning.
“What is up with that halo? It doesn’t behave like a Golden Core.”
Even with Chen Fan’s experience, he was at a loss about the halo. He had undergone a Thunder Tribulation in his past life and never had he experienced anything like it. The halo had easily taken in all the energy in the lightning strike without any sign of increasing its volume.
There was little time for Chen Fan to ponder. Another thunder strike soon ensued.
“Bang! Bang!”
Eight lighting bolts struck down from the sky, each bigger and more powerful than the last. The final blow was an enormous shaft of golden light that beamed from heaven to earth. It was at least a few hundred meters wide and commanded more power than a full strike from a Golden Core Cultivator.
Chen Fan stood proudly, and took the lighting strikes without wavering in the slightest.
The dark clouds didn’t stop rolling until they had strafed Chen Fan with nine hellish attacks.
“Chen Beixuan’s power is… terrifying!”
Zhao Juexian lay on the ground.
The intensity of the Golden Core Thunder Tribulation varied depending on the cultivator’s power. A level one Golden Core would receive only one lightning strike, and only at the highest level—level nine—would a golden core receive nine strikes. So deadly were those attacks that even legendary warriors had to be cautious during the process, using many secret treasures in order to come out of the tribulation in one piece.
Even so, it was not uncommon for many talented cultivators to die during a Thunder Tribulation.
No one had ever seen anything similar to what Chen Fan had just pulled off.
“He has to be a reincarnation of a Curmudgeon. Otherwise he wouldn’t be so powerful,” Zhao Juexian thought to himself.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, the Thunder Tribulation started anew. Endless lightning stretched across the sky like roaring dragons. Each Lightning dragon was over a few thousand meters long and had color of its own. After a few seconds, ten lightning dragons merged into one azure lightning shaft with the size of a mountain that crashed into the ground.
This attack was even deadlier than those that came earlier. It’s power was on par with the Tianxuan Sword.
Then and only then, the indifference on Chen Fan’s face had disappeared.
“Boom!”
Chen Fan lost his footing for a fraction of a second after the impact. The azure energy instantly burned away more demon qi inside of his system. More importantly, the halo inside of Chen Fan’s Dantian seemed to have finally grown in size.
Although the growth was very subtle, Chen Fan was elated.
“More!” Chen Fan shouted.
Heaven answered his call by sending eight more lightning bolts at him. Those lightning strikes were so intense that even Chen Fan’s impeccable physique couldn’t handle it directly. If the halo didn’t absorb much of the sizzling energy, Chen Fan’s body would have been wounded severely.
The muscles on Chen Fan’s body turned inside out as eletric currents passed through them, revealing his glowing azure bones.
Despite the severe injury, the Azure Thearch Longevity Body quickly regenerated after absorbing the energy in the divine thunder.
After eighteen lightning strikes, the sky darkened even more. Twisting lightning dragons danced around each other and formed a colorful lightning ball that spun above the clouds. It was gathering strength for a final blow.
“Hold on a second, is he still going through a tribulation?”
Zhao Juexian noticed that something was amiss.
“Nine strikes to form the normal Golden Core, nine more to form the Divine Grade Golden Core. That would be eighteen. Why are there more?” Zhao Juexian was perplexed.
Even Divine Grade Golden Core had levels.
Normal Divine Grade Golden Cores would undergo one to three strikes, mid-level ones would take four to six and only the most powerful and high level Divine Grade Golden Cores would take nine strikes. There was only one person in Planet Tianhuang’s recorded history that had undergone eighteen lightning strikes.
A Golden Core Thunder Tribulation had nine lightning strikes in total, and only Divine Grade Golden Cores would receive the highest number of lightning strikes. There were only very few individuals who had formed the Divine Grade Golden Core on the Planet Tianhuang.
Zhao Juexian thought that Chen Fan’s Golden Core was of Divine Grade based on his ability to kill the Ancient Demon Prince. However, he was dumbfounded when he noticed that the Thunder Tribulation continued even after eighteen strikes.
“Could his Golden Core be more powerful than those at the Divine grade? I have never heard such a thing.”
Zhao Juexian was shocked by his own deduction.
The lightning attack had finally arrived.
“Boom!”
This attack was more powerful than the eighteen previous ones combined.
Over ten lightning dragons formed an iridescent lightning ball and it swooped down with world-shattering energy. Lightning criss-crossed through the sky, destroying the world around it in an instant.
“Destroyer Divine Thunder.”
Chen Fan frowned.
Chen Fan would not be concerned if all five Essence Cores were still intact. However, he only had one Essence Core left right then. Worse, it had transformed into a strange halo that had properties unfamiliar to Chen Fan.
Even as he descended to the ground, a loud din reverberated. “Boom!”
The Divine Thunder landed on Chen Fan.
Unable to bear the weight, Chen Fan fell from the sky. Massive electric currents went through his body, rending his flesh and tearing it opening. Only a Heavenly Lord could have taken the blow unharmed. It was still a bit too much for Chen Fan to handle.
However, Chen Fan was shocked when he found out that the energy of the iridescent lightning ball had all but been sucked into the halo.
The development seemed to have angered the heavens. It sent more lighting strikes down at Chen Fan. They were all powerful attacks, but the last one was particularly deadly.
Countless lightning bolts were braided into a chaotic energy with bright and dark bands.
“Grand Five Elements Thunder of Annihilation!”
Chen Fan had used this art before, but his execution paled under comparison with what he had to face at the moment. The appearance of the energy forced the ground to cave in and shake the Two World Peak. A pulse of overbearing energy weighted heavily on everything within its domain.
“Attack of a Heavenly Lord!”
Chen Fan’s face darkened.
This attack wielded the same amount of force as the True Demon’s killing blow. Not even the Ancient Demon Prince could have pulled it off. It was the power befitting a Heavenly Lord.
Zhao Juexian was terrified; he shook uncontrollably.
Spurred by the energy around it, the halo flew out of Chen Fan’s body and settled above Chen Fan’s head. It gave out brilliant rays of light like the sun. After the Thunder Tribulation, it had grown twice in size and started to gain a golden sheen.
The last Thunder Tribulation strike had nearly claimed Chen Fan’s life.
Chen Fan’s Phenomenal-success Divine Body exploded, sending out countless shards of crystalline bones. However, the halo had protected Chen Fan’s Divine Soul amidst a violent energy storm.
After a long while, the flashes of lightning had finally subsided.
Chen Fan started the secret art to reform the Divine Body.
“Phew, finally it’s over.”
Chen Fan heaved a sigh.
He had endured twenty seven lightning attacks in total, two more than in his past life.
“I didn’t expect it to be so powerful. Luckily I was protected by the halo. I wager it is going to be a sacred grade Golden Core.”
Chen Fan regarded the scintillating golden halo with a hint of regret in his eyes. He had hoped to obtain Deity grade Golden Core.
Even as he descended to the ground, a blaring sound was heard. “Boom!”
Thunder clouds above his head roiled again as countless lighting dragons roared above the clouds. Taken aback, Chen Fan looked up at the sky.
He watched as the sea of lightning had formed a giant Dharma Form.
The Dharma Form was half tutle and half snake, and was over a hundred miles long. It stepped on the Xuan Wu land and was surrounded by a dark tumultuous current. The Two World Peak trembled before its mighty presence. Zhao Juexian had never seen any being that commanded so much power.
However, Chen Fan was familiar with the energy of that beast. It was that of a Divine Beast.
The Thunder Tribulation was not over yet.