Chapter 1833: Surviving the Cultivation Ordeal

They had seen people taming beasts, humans, and artifacts before, but this was the first time in their long lives that they had seen someone tame a lightning tribulation.

Sovereign Chen Yong, Ancient Sage Mo Ling, Ancient Sage Allfire, and all of the others were rendered utterly speechless.

The scene that was unfolding before their eyes was so mind-boggling that the rational sides of their minds had completely shut down.

Lightning had always been a representation of the wrathful retribution of the heavens. It served to punish the arrogant cultivators who dared defy fate and attempt to reach something beyond what they were. Yet, at that moment, it was actually heeding the commands of a mere cultivator!

How in the world was that possible?

That’s… That’s my teacher! Liu Yang’s heart quivered in agitation.

The means of his teacher were indeed incredible! No matter how desperate a situation was, he would always be able to somehow achieve the impossible and turn the tables around!

Hong long!

After hearing Zhang Xuan’s pointers, the dark clouds swayed a little as lightning crackled within them. They could feel that the rate they were able to gather power had hastened significantly. Putting aside the Saint 9-dan cultivator below who had just achieved a breakthrough, the clouds felt that they would not even break a sweat even if they had to face dozens more!

At the same time, the Saint 9-dan cultivator, whose breakthrough had summoned the lightning tribulation, found his face turning completely pale in fright.

Just who in the world did he offend for such a thing to happen to him? There was still a long life ahead of him, and he did not want to be zapped to death just yet!

Paying no heed to the Otherworldly Demon below who was on the verge of tears, Zhang Xuan commanded Little Tribulation, “Help me block the Ordeal of Lightning Armament!”

The cultivation technique that Zhang Xuan had imparted to Little Tribulation was designed in a manner such that it would only make it a more frightening force against the Otherworldly Demons. There would not be make any difference to the cultivation ordeals of human cultivators. This would ensure that the number of experts in the ranks of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would slowly decrease, and with sufficient time, they would not pose a threat to mankind anymore.

Hong long!

Little Tribulation was extremely hesitant to stand against the Ordeal of Lightning Armament, but between the Ordeal of Lightning Armament and Zhang Xuan, the latter was much more frightening to it…

Thus, it clenched its precipitation tightly together as it marched up to the Ordeal of Lightning Armament to confront it.

Seeing that a measly lightning tribulation of a Saint 9-dan cultivator actually dared hinder it, the massive saber swung itself downward and sliced the dark clouds apart, dissipating them into the surroundings.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, Little Tribulation gathered whatever was left of itself together and reformed itself to stand against the Ordeal of Lightning Armament. However, with most of its mass dissipated, Little Tribulation looked like a non-threatening ball of black fluff.

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan slapped his hand on his forehead before turning around to address the crowd. “Is there anyone else who wants to make a breakthrough… Forget it, I’ll just do it myself!”

Seeing everyone below averting their gazes from him, Zhang Xuan opened his mouth and began lecturing. “The crux of cultivation lies in the cultivation of character. A righteous heart, a dignified demeanor, a prudent mouth…”

His voice echoed resoundingly across the entire area. The cultivators standing behind Liu Yang tried not to pay attention to the lecture, but by the end of the first sentence, they were already completely absorbed in his teachings. Smiles blossomed on their faces as the complications that had bogged them down previously were suddenly lifted, bringing them a feeling of epiphany.

It was as if all of the knowledge that they had learned was converging together, forming a big picture about cultivation that they had never known about.

Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!

And then, the breakthroughs started. Leaving Aperture realm, Dimension Sundering realm, Macrocosm Ascendancy realm… Dark clouds swiftly congregated in the area and bulked up the weakened Little Tribulation, causing it to swell up quickly as if it had been injected with steroids.

Thunderous claps filled with the surroundings as lightning crackled around frenziedly. It was as if Little Tribulation was parading its newfound powers.

Nevertheless, Zhang Xuan carried on with his lecture. Within a short ten minutes, there were over two thousand cultivators who had achieved a breakthrough, and over five hundred of them had managed to summon a lightning tribulation.

By that point, Little Tribulation covered the entire capital, and even a single bolt of lightning from it was several hundred zhang ¹ thick. All it had to do was drive its power slightly, and the space around it would collapse into a void.

This was the first time that Little Tribulation had felt so much power under its command, and the feeling exhilarated it greatly.

On the other hand, seeing that the little wimp that it could not even be bothered to spare a glance to a moment ago turning into a giant monster before its eyes, the Ordeal of Lightning Armament cowered a little. It brandished its saber to slice down on the massive congregation of dark clouds, hoping to dissipate it.

However, before its attack could land, innumerable hulking streaks of lightning bolts had already rained down on it, causing it to convulse helplessly.

“This actually works as well?”

Sovereign Chen Yong and the others looked as if they had seen a ghost.

To use a lightning tribulation to deal with another… this was really an idea that only Zhang Xuan could think of and pull off.

“You can handle the rest on your own. I’ll go and rest a little…” Seeing that the situation was finally under control, Zhang Xuan’s clone threw those words at him before returning to the Myriad Anthive Nest.

Even though he had managed to achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage using the Stone of Divine Crusade, his two attempts at stopping the Ordeal of Lightning Armament had really caused him to incur grievous injuries. He had to return and take a good rest.

Shortly after the clone left, Zhang Xuan also felt energy leaving his body. He had really exhausted himself both physically and mentally this time around, and he plopped onto the ground with a fatigued look on his face.

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He would never have been so reckless if he had known that this would happen.

If not for the fact that they were in the capital of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, where there were plenty of cultivators whom he could grab off the street, as well as his good relations with Little Tribulation, he would have bitten the dust there.

Hong long long!

Meanwhile, Little Tribulation and the Ordeal of Lightning Armament continued to pit their powers against one another. Eventually, the latter ended up depleting its energy first, and it began to dissipate away.

As the pressure crushing down on him vanished, Zhang Xuan immediately felt a brand new power sprouting from the depths of his body. This was an energy that could reconstruct him and bring him up to a higher level of existence.

Suppress! Zhang Xuan willed as he quelled that burst of power forcefully.

He could achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage if he wanted to, but that would mean that he would lose this golden opportunity to temper himself and build up a solid foundation. This might hinder from reaching greater heights in the future.

With all that he had been through, he knew that he would require as much strength as possible in order to protect those around him and attain what he wanted.

Hulala!

Forcefully suppressing the sprouting energy, Zhang Xuan’s cultivation slowly receded back to Sempiternal realm consummation. Seeing that the mess was finally over, he heaved a sigh of relief.

He turned to Little Tribulation and said, “I’m grateful for your help this time around. You can return now.”

Hu!

Little Tribulation glanced at the several hundred cultivators who had summoned it over, and chills immediately ran down the spines of those several hundred cultivators. Fortunately, after a moment of hesitation, it swayed a little before dissipating into the surroundings as well.

When it finally dissipated entirely, Zhang Xuan felt completely depleted. It seemed as if there was not the slightest ounce of strength left in his body.

While this breakthrough had brought him infinitesimally close to Ancient Sage, he had sustained great damage in the process as well. All that was left of him at the moment was his skeletal rack with some flesh and blood that he had just recovered. It was truly a huge sacrifice.

Even if he used the blood essence of Blood Reincarnation realm experts to replenish his vitality, it would still take several years before his body could fully recover.

“Kill him!”

Barely after Zhang Xuan thought that he could take a rest, a vicious glint flashed through the eyes of one of the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages siding with Sovereign Chen Ling.

With the thought that he could exploit this momentary opening to eradicate this looming threat, he charged forward and drove his palm right into Zhang Xuan’s head.

The commotion that was caused by the earlier breakthrough had been so great that it shook those who had witnessed the sight to their cores. Those standing on Sovereign Chen Ling’s side swiftly came to the realization that if they could not get rid of the young man while they had the chance, it was only a matter of time before the young man grew to become an existence that none of them could defeat.

As enemies siding with opposite factions, that would spell disaster for them.

“Young Master!”

Not expecting the enemy to make a move so quickly, Sovereign Chen Yong immediately charged forward to save him. The Dragonbone Divine Spear, which had been watching intently not too far away, also swiftly darted in to protect its master.

However, before anyone could do a thing, Zhang Xuan raised his hand instinctively to defend against the abrupt assault from the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage.

Padah!

It started off with the arm of the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage being crushed to dust, and as the might traveled upward, the body of the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage abruptly exploded. Even his soul did not manage to make it out alive.

“This…”

Everyone was stunned.

The Ancient Sage who had attempted to assault Zhang Xuan had been at Ancient Sage 1-dan Bloodline Continuance realm, but he had died from a single palm strike from a Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator.

“What?” Zhang Xuan was also taken aback.

Despite the state of his body, he could feel that his strength had grown considerably after undergoing the tempering of the Ancient Sage Ordeal. Nevertheless, as he had not exactly achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, he had thought that his strength would, at the very most, be on par with any other Bloodline Continuance realm cultivator. Yet, a casual strike from him in his weakened state had actually brought about the death of a Bloodline Continuance realm cultivator.

“My current strength… It’s already comparable to Blood Reincarnation realm primary stage!”

Swiftly taking a look at his internal condition, his body began trembling in agitation.

He had never thought that he would actually obtain strength that could rival Blood Reincarnation realm primary stage experts when he had not achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage. It was no wonder Kong shi had chosen to suppress his cultivation so many times before pushing for a breakthrough.

It was indeed highly beneficial to the growth of one’s cultivation!

“Kill them!”

The sight of Zhang Xuan killing a Bloodline Continuance realm Ancient Sage with a casual wave of his hand had really scared the remaining Ancient Sages on Sovereign Chen Ling’s side out of their wits. Knowing that this was the opportune moment to strike, Sovereign Chen Yong immediately gave the order to attack.

Floating at the top of the pedestal, Sovereign Chen Ling looked at the happenings around him with a livid expression on his face. However, knowing that there was nothing he could do, he hurriedly absorbed the energy that was coming from the dimension rift above to recover from his injuries.

A thought suddenly came to Zhang Xuan’s mind. Wait a moment… if the energy above the pedestal can help Sovereign Chen Ling recover from his injuries, could it possibly have the same effect on me as well?