Chapter 1358: Simple Thunder Tribulation

After consuming three bottles of Freezing Spirit Liquid, and before he could begin refining them, Master Fei came over for a chat. Following that, his brother-in-law brought him to this location. On the way, although he managed to dissipate some of the liquid's power, a large portion of it still remained within his body.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground wasn't much of a problem, but as soon as he attempted to use his power to break the formation, he immediately suffered a backlash.

His face turned pale, and his body trembled incessantly. Zhang Xuan felt as though his internal organs had all become lumps of ice, frozen together, and even his zhenqi seemed to be slipping beyond his control.

"Don't think about breaking the formation yet... otherwise, you might freeze to death here!"

A chill ran through his heart.

He had originally planned to break the formation to impress Luo Xuanqing and leave a good impression, but now it seemed utterly impossible. If he didn't quickly refine the spirit liquid within his body, wasting such valuable resources would be the least of his worries. If not handled properly, it could lead to hidden dangers and uncontrollable changes in his physical condition.

"Refine!"

Knowing there was no time to lose, he took a deep breath. The Heaven's Path zhenqi he had just condensed immediately re-converged, and using the surging icy spiritual power, he began to assault the bottlenecks in his cultivation.

Heaven's Path zhenqi, being without attributes, could not only neutralize all poisons but also perfectly mimic the Spirit Clan's killing zhenqi, rendering it undetectable even to King Qingye and King Jinye in the past. Precisely because of this ability, the Freezing Spirit Liquid, which even the Iceflame Palace feared, was nothing to him.

*Gurgle gurgle!*

His zhenqi circulated rapidly, and his previously rigid body began to thaw once more. The potent zhenqi fiercely surged towards the bottlenecks.

*Crack! Crack!*

The bottleneck of the Half-Immortal realm middle stage was instantly torn open. Zhenqi continued to surge, and his power ascended once more.

With ample spiritual energy, and because Zhang Xuan had already spent countless years researching the breakthrough methods for the Half-Immortal realm, he was incredibly familiar with the process. His Heaven's Path zhenqi grew like a snowball, gathering more and more power as time passed. In less than five breaths, he broke through to the Half-Immortal realm middle stage, and the bottleneck of the late stage was also smoothly overcome.

Ten breaths later, he had already reached the Half-Immortal realm pinnacle!

After continuously breaking through three minor levels, the spiritual power of the Freezing Spirit Liquid slowly dissipated, completely exhausted and losing all its potency.

"It worked..."

Zhang Xuan sighed in relief, his eyes gleaming.

It truly lived up to its reputation as a treasure from the Iceflame Palace, something even Chen Leyao was reluctant to part with. Using it for breakthroughs indeed yielded twice the results with half the effort, breaking through like splitting bamboo.

"Since I've already broken through, I'll just undergo the lightning tribulation now!"

Having reached the Half-Immortal realm pinnacle, Zhang Xuan no longer hesitated.

*Boom!*

Thunderclouds were drawn over, emitting a ferocious power.

Upon reaching the Half-Immortal realm, one could attract a lightning tribulation simply by not deliberately concealing their cultivation. The intensity of the tribulation would vary according to the strength of the person attracting it. The stronger one's power, the more terrifying the lightning tribulation.

"Luo Xuanqing, since you hold this Zhang Xuan in such high regard, how long do you think it will take him to break through Bi Hongyin's formation disk?" The chubby man lifted his belly slightly, preventing it from sagging to the ground, and looked over with a smile.

"Bi Hongyin's formation disk is a mid-grade Level 8. Breaking it... might require some effort!" After a pause, Luo Xuanqing said, "I estimate it will take at least half an hour!"

Breaking a formation is generally simpler than setting one up. Someone who can set up even the lowest-grade Level 8 formation within a few breaths demonstrates an extremely high level of understanding of formations. So, even if Bi Hongyin's formation disk is very powerful, in his opinion, Zhang Xuan should be able to break it. However, encountering such a powerful formation disk for the first time, it would certainly take at least half an hour, or even longer.

"Half an hour? You have a lot of confidence in him... but I think that's hard to achieve!" With a scoff, the short man shook his head. "You're aware of Bi Hongyin's formation, aren't you? It's laced with demonic sounds and soul attacks. Once trapped inside, one can't even concentrate their mind. How can breaking it be so simple?! Even some top-grade Level 8 formation masters can't succeed without two or three hours. This person, even if he's as powerful as you say, cannot complete it in under an hour!"

"You still have a lot of confidence in him," the chubby man shook his head. "I think he might not even succeed!" As a Saint 7-dan expert, he was well-traveled and experienced, having seen countless formidable formation masters. He knew the limits of their abilities. Bi Hongyin's demonic sound abilities weren't just at their peak; her formations were also extremely powerful. When combined, even though it was only a mid-grade Level 8 formation disk, its power was significantly greater than even high-grade ones. Encountering it for the first time, it was hard to say if one could even escape, let alone completely break it in one or two hours.

"This..." Hearing their words, Luo Xuanqing's previous confidence waned.

Setting up a formation quickly involves many factors. It could be due to powerful talent, instantly inferring the setup nodes upon seeing the formation, and achieving success in one go. It could also be due to extensive practice. While he hadn't personally seen that particular entry-level Level 8 formation, it didn't mean the other person hadn't encountered similar ones before. If they had experienced it before and practiced it numerous times, then setting it up quickly would be perfectly natural.

*Boom!*

Just as he was filled with worry, he suddenly felt the formation before him tremble violently, as if a massive ball of energy was rapidly rising. It lasted for about twenty breaths. Then, he saw the sky darken, and a heart-palpitating lightning power descended from above.

The situation within the formation could not be perceived through the mist, but the thunderclouds hovered directly overhead, making everyone's hair stand on end.

"What's going on?" Bi Hongyin, who was presiding over the formation, was also somewhat stunned. She was merely maintaining the formation to test the other party's ability to break it. She hadn't made any major mistakes or committed any evil, so why... was she about to be struck by lightning? It couldn't be that harsh, right?! She was merely maintaining the formation by channeling zhenqi into the disk and hadn't paid close attention to the situation inside. She didn't realize that the young man within had reached the Half-Immortal realm pinnacle from the early stage in just about twenty breaths, and she certainly didn't expect the lightning tribulation was caused by him.

"Damn it!" After a moment of hesitation, seeing the lightning power heading directly for her formation disk, threatening to shatter it at any moment, the woman clenched her fists and fiercely attacked.

*Boom!*

Before her power even reached the dark clouds, a bolt of lightning as thick as a human's waist struck straight down.

*Crack!*

Carrying immense power and an aura that seemed to pierce the sky, it poured down, and the lightning instantly swallowed her attacking power whole.

*Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle!*

In an instant, Bi Hongyin was electrocuted, her entire body rigid, her hair standing on end, and her face charred black, completely devoid of her previous charm. Although her strength had reached Saint 7-dan, it was still insufficient in the face of such a force of nature.

Having unleashed its immense power, the dark clouds in the sky also seemed to have dissipated considerably, appearing ready to disperse at any moment. Bi Hongyin sighed in relief, feeling fortunate, when she suddenly felt a unique power surge from within the formation once more. Sensing this aura, the dark clouds in the sky furiously gathered again, doubling in size in just a few breaths compared to before.

"What's happening?" Her scalp tingled, and Bi Hongyin felt like she was about to explode; she thought she was going mad. Luo Xuanqing and his companions were also dumbfounded, unsure what exactly was happening.

*Crack! Crack!*

Time offered them no chance to ponder; no sooner had the clouds finished gathering than lightning struck down from the sky. This time, it was even larger, with a diameter of over two meters.

Her legs trembled, and Bi Hongyin's face turned pale. However, knowing she couldn't evade it and could only resist head-on, she gritted her teeth, raised both arms, used all her strength, and fiercely attacked upwards.

*Crack!*

The lightning struck her again. The woman's entire body turned pitch black, emitting a burnt smell, and constantly steaming with white smoke. The zhenqi in her body was largely shattered by the shock, and she could no longer hold back a mouthful of blood, which she violently spat out.

"I suppose I endured it..." Feeling so exasperated she could burst, and with her knees feeling weak, Bi Hongyin still sighed in relief. The previous lightning strike had been powerful, but judging by the appearance of the dark clouds, after two attacks, its power should be depleted, and it should be about to disperse.

No sooner had her thought finished than that special power emanated from within the formation again.

*Rumble rumble rumble!*

The dark clouds that were about to disperse gathered again, becoming even more powerful and grand. If the previous dark clouds had covered an area of only a few hundred meters, now they stretched two to three kilometers. Even before resisting, they felt an immense lightning power, like a giant dragon inside, constantly rolling and roaring, as if it could break through its confines at any moment and tear the entire earth into dust.

"Why?" Her legs went weak, and Bi Hongyin almost collapsed to the ground. The previous lightning tribulation had almost struck her dead on the spot, but this one was several times more powerful. If it truly descended, she wouldn't be able to withstand it at all. Why exactly was it striking her? And judging by the looks of it, it wouldn't stop until she died?

"Stop gawking! Come help quickly!" Knowing she couldn't resist alone, she couldn't help but shout.

"Alright!" Luo Xuanqing and the others also realized the gravity of the situation and rushed forward hastily.

*Whoosh!*

Everyone simultaneously launched their attacks. The four experts combined forces, and their roaring power tore a rift in the heavens and earth. Seven-colored lights clashed with the lightning, their sound reverberated for hundreds of li, and a brief crack appeared on the ground.

Luo Xuanqing and the others felt their faces flush, their blood boiling within their bodies as if they were about to explode. Each of them had charred black faces, their hair standing on end, and all simultaneously spat out fresh blood. Although their strength was formidable, the lightning in the sky was truly terrifying; even combined, they only managed a draw. Fortunately, they were all disciples of major powers, each possessing life-saving techniques. Otherwise, with just that one strike, even if they didn't die, they would be severely injured, unable to get out of bed for several months.

Outside the formation, everyone was almost spitting blood from the lightning tribulation. Inside the formation, Zhang Xuan, whose sound and spiritual senses were blocked, sat on the ground, looking up at the sky with a confused expression.

"After I break through and release my power, it should sense my aura and bring down the lightning tribulation... How come it hasn't come for so long?" He had been waiting for the lightning tribulation for a long time now, but hadn't seen a single sign of it. Could it be that his method of releasing power was wrong?

He released it again. No movement.

He released it again. Still no movement!

"Could it be... that the last tribulation was so simple that the lightning was intimidated and didn't dare come over?" Rubbing his forehead, Zhang Xuan continuously released his power, a displeased expression on his face. "I thought the Half-Immortal tribulation would be as difficult as the Conferred Saint tribulation. This is too simple, isn't it..."

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

Outside, Luo Xuanqing and the others were once again electrocuted, standing rigidly upright with smoke rising from their heads...