Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1345: 725: Refining Treasure, Enlightenment, and Heavenly Retribution (2)

"…A Principle Crystal?!" Zhao Sheng cried out, his complexion turning ghostly pale with shock.

He had never anticipated that this session of treasure refining would produce such a monumental harvest; to describe it as a windfall from the heavens would be no overstatement.

In that instant, a myriad of spiritual insights flashed across Zhao Sheng’s consciousness. With a swift motion of his arms, he triggered layers of protective barriers upon the walls of the Dao Field, completely sealing the area.

Zhao Sheng retrieved a flask of Dragon Tiger Rejuvenation Pills, extracted a single azure elixir marked with dragon patterns, and consumed it. He immediately circulated his Qi to process the medicinal essence, and within moments, a deluge of mana began to replenish the Core Energy Sea within his Dantian.

Sitting cross-legged upon the floor, Zhao Sheng balanced the task of meditating on his new insights with the refinement of the pill’s power to restore his exhausted mana reserves.

A short while later, the entire Dao Field was unexpectedly filled with a surging sea of lightning and thunder. Deep within this electrical storm, a majestic and towering silhouette manifested, looking like an Immortal God descended upon the mortal plane.

…

Years drifted by during his solitary Cultivation, as time passed in what felt like a mere heartbeat.

Before long, the winter season had arrived at the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

On a day marked by howling winds and swirling snow, the expansive New Zhao City—which spanned hundreds of miles—shuddered violently at the fall of dusk. A colossal pillar of azure light erupted from the city's heart, piercing through the clouds and into the firmament beyond.

The heaven and earth spiritual energy within a radius of three thousand miles suddenly rushed toward the city like a torrential tide. This surge agitated the falling snow and caused an abrupt transformation in the local climate.

Massive banks of dark clouds materialized out of nowhere, rapidly blanketing the sky and forming a thick canopy that plunged the city below into total gloom.

Soon, bolts of lightning and peals of thunder burst from the heavens as countless Thunder Snakes writhed through the air, accompanied by bone-shaking roars.

The city's inhabitants were stunned by the sight, but their shock quickly turned into a display of fervent joy.

A Heavenly Tribulation!

The Heavenly Tribulation had finally descended!

“Haha! I wonder which of our venerable ancestors has reached the peak of their path and chosen this day to face the trial. Judging by this magnificent display, it surely eclipses even a standard Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation!”

“Wait, this is disastrous! Everyone, flee for your lives!”

“Get to cover immediately, or the lightning will strike you down!”

“May the heavens have mercy! New Zhao City could be leveled in a single day! What fool chooses to face their tribulation inside the city? If I discover their identity, I’ll tear them limb from limb!”

“…”

Half of the city’s millions of residents were shouting curses at the unknown cultivator, their language filled with unbridled rage.

Since the dawn of time, those in the Cultivation world have sought out desolate regions to face their trials, specifically to prevent collateral damage to the innocent.

The individual attempting to cross the tribulation within New Zhao City had flagrantly ignored the most sacred taboo of the Cultivation world, drawing the collective fury and loathing of the Zhao family.

However, none of them realized that the target of their vitriol was actually the most honored and respected figure of the Zhao clan, Ancestor Zhao Menghan.

In truth, even Zhao Sheng had not expected to stir such a massive disturbance.

The moment he finished refining Zhao Menghan’s Nascent Soul into the Spirit Core, the Heavenly Dao above reacted with fury, instantly summoning divine retribution.

Zhao Sheng looked up at the gathering spirit clouds and frowned. Without a word, he snatched the Spirit Core Crystal Pearl from the air and vanished from the subterranean Dao Field in a blur.

Once he departed, the tribulation clouds seemed to lose their focus. The dancing Thunder Snakes began to fade, and the thunderous booms grew quiet and infrequent.

Before long, the oppressive clouds dissolved, and the heavens returned to a state of calm.

The celestial disturbance, from its mysterious onset to its sudden conclusion, had lasted only a hundred breaths of time.

This turn of events left the populace baffled, though a few high-ranking members were now consumed with anxiety, desperate to enter the underground Dao Field.

“What has occurred? Could it be… that the ancestor failed?”

“Third Brother, do not be impulsive! We must wait until Qi Tian comes out before we take any action.”

“Sigh, the odds were slim from the start. It appears the ancestor lacked the fortune to defy his destiny this time!”

“Silence! How dare you speak such treachery! If this ends in failure, you will be held responsible!”

As seven or eight Golden Core Masters of the Zhao family argued, Zhao Lian’er, dressed in a long, lotus-tinted gown, looked toward her mother and whispered, “Mother, can you feel the ancestor’s—”

“The presence of the Cold Ancestor has disappeared, yet his soul lamp remains lit,” Zhao Xingyu, a woman in azure robes, replied with a stoic expression.

The words of the family’s new ancestor immediately brought silence to the group. They traded uncertain looks, unsure of how to proceed.

Because Zhao Menghan’s lifebound soul lamp was currently in Zhao Xingyu’s possession, her assessment was indisputable.

“Phew… As long as the ancestor lives, there is hope! My heart is finally at ease,” remarked a golden-robed elder with a ruddy complexion. This was Zhao Boci, the current Zhao family patriarch and a Great Master at the Ninth Stage of the Golden Core realm.

Upon hearing this, the tension among the group evaporated. They began to praise the ancestor’s heavenly luck, quickly pushing aside their previous fears.

An hour passed before the heavy stone doors of the Dao Field finally ground open. A suffocating and immense pressure rolled out, causing the gathered Golden Core Masters to turn pale and fall to their knees in unison.

Zhao Xingyu’s expression shifted violently. She grabbed her daughter’s hand and leaped backward several paces before she could regain her footing.

A low, resonant laugh drifted from the darkness behind the gate. Then, a massive puppet emerged, standing over three zhang tall. It possessed a tiger’s head and a human body, with a shimmering, massive greatsword strapped to its hip. Each step it took caused the earth to shake and the very air to tremble under its weight.

As the Spirit Puppet stepped into the light, the tribulation clouds began to gather in the sky once more.

This time, however, the clouds were different. Their reach was limited to a few thousand li, resembling the scale of a Divinity Transformation Thunder Tribulation.

“A Divinity Transformation Thunder Tribulation? It seems the Heavenly Dao of this Lower Realm is indeed imperfect; even its laws have gaps that can be exploited…” Zhao Sheng mused as he observed the clouds, his gaze then shifting to the Tiger Head Spirit Puppet.

There was no doubt that Zhao Menghan was now the one inhabiting and directing this Spirit Puppet.

Zhao Menghan looked up at the gathering storm with zero trepidation. With an arrogant tilt of his head, he launched himself upward, smashing through the stone ceiling and leaving a massive crater in his wake.

Boom!

The ground above shattered as the Tiger Head Spirit Puppet soared into the sky, charging directly into the heart of the tribulation clouds and vanishing from sight.

Suddenly, the clouds boiled with rage. Countless thunderclaps erupted, casting a brilliant light over the darkened world.

A blinding flash of sword light sliced through the center of the storm, followed by thousands of white blade-auras that bloomed like flowers, tearing the dense clouds apart.

A barrage of tribulation lightning struck the Spirit Puppet repeatedly, but the strikes were entirely ineffective.

The Tiger Head Spirit Puppet remained completely unharmed, its movements becoming smoother by the second. The sword strikes it delivered grew increasingly powerful, tearing through the fabric of space and leaving terrifying black Abyss Marks scarred across the vault of heaven.