Chapter 2127: Divine Tribulation

The Little Yellow Chicken had upgraded twice consecutively, and there seemed to be a pattern: each breakthrough occurred only after it was incinerated by flames. Although it had tried before, those times it had only been scorched briefly, not to the point of turning black. Could its advancements somehow be linked to being burned?

“Come on!” The Little Yellow Chicken nodded, a look of determination on its face. The increase in its strength would allow it to quickly recover its memories, which would be of great help to it.

After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan said, “Your power has reached the Divine realm. Ordinary flames from the Firmament are no longer effective... I’ll now summon a tribulation; let’s see how that works for you!”

Even the most potent flames in the Firmament couldn't compare to a tribulation descended by the Firmament. He had previously intended to keep the Heavenly Dao of the Firmament oblivious to his presence, but now it seemed better to confront the tribulation, use the opportunity to consolidate his cultivation, and also see if the Little Yellow Chicken could use this chance to break through the divine shackles once more.

He circulated his divine power, and his disguised aura vanished. The sky immediately darkened, and countless bolts of lightning, mixed with black flames, churned and burned overhead.

A Divine Tribulation! This catastrophe was terrifying to the extreme, as if the entire Firmament was rejecting him, intent on crushing him into dust.

Zhao Ya and the others' expressions changed slightly, and they retreated thousands of miles away as soon as the dark clouds appeared. Although they had reached the peak of the False God realm, facing power of this magnitude, even a slight oversight could lead to their annihilation.

In the Forsaken Continent, anything associated with the word “God” inspired awe, let alone becoming a true deity.

The dark clouds grew thicker and heavier, hovering above the man and the chicken, threatening to descend at any moment.

Just as Zhang Xuan prepared to face the tribulation, hoping to find flames within it that could benefit the chicken, the dark clouds shifted. Suddenly, a pitch-black lightning bolt, imbued with Heavenly Fire, struck down, landing directly on the Little Yellow Chicken's head.

Sizzle! With just one strike, the creature's light yellow down instantly turned black, and the aroma of roasted meat wafted out.

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched. Why did the lightning tribulation he summoned ignore him and strike the Little Yellow Chicken instead?

“You goddamn it...” The Little Yellow Chicken was also on the verge of collapse. It lifted its head, full of rage, its squawk still echoing.

Several more lightning bolts struck consecutively, all landing on its head. The aroma of roasted meat drifted over again, and its beak had turned black.

“At this rate, this guy won't be killed by Confucius's clone, but by lightning instead!”

Seeing the chicken being struck repeatedly and smelling increasingly fragrant, giving him the urge to sprinkle cumin on it, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back. He positioned himself above the Little Yellow Chicken, spreading his limbs wide, forming a “great” character, and flew directly towards the lightning in the sky.

“Since this lightning tribulation was summoned by me for my breakthrough to the Divine realm, then strike me!”

His divine power circulated within him, making his entire body as hard as iron. Zhang Xuan's eyes were grave as he prepared to withstand the lightning.

CRACK! A series of lightning bolts descended. Zhang Xuan's sword qi surged within him, ready to resist at any moment. However, several seconds passed after the sound, and he felt nothing hit him. He looked down to see that the lightning in the sky had taken a wide detour, striking the Little Yellow Chicken's head squarely once more, causing smoke to billow.

“Aaaah!” Its mouth opened, spewing a puff of black smoke, and the Little Yellow Chicken was on the verge of tears.

“Are you here to help me resist the tribulation, or to attract more of it for me? When I was here by myself, there didn't seem to be this much lightning, nor was its power this great...”

“Something's wrong, don't worry. This is my lightning, there must be a way...” Zhang Xuan was also dumbfounded.

Why did the Divine Tribulation he had summoned for his breakthrough not attack him, but instead go around to strike the chicken? This was completely unreasonable!

Raising an eyebrow, sword qi surged at his fingertips, and he thrust it fiercely towards the sky.

Since it wouldn't attack him, he would take the initiative. He refused to believe it wouldn't strike him.

Wherever the sword qi went, the lightning immediately dispersed, as if dodging him. It was like oil stains recoiling from soap; though the dark clouds were powerful, they seemed to fear him, darting to one side.

Several more lightning bolts struck, and the Little Yellow Chicken shivered uncontrollably, its feathers falling to the ground.

Tears streamed from its chicken eyes, filled with profound sorrow.

“Are you targeting me, or what? Do you have a vendetta against me...”

“I don't believe it...” Seeing that even when he actively attacked, the lightning still wouldn't strike him, continuing to go around to hit the Little Yellow Chicken, Zhang Xuan roared and charged towards the sky again, ready for a decisive battle against the lightning that seemed to despise him.

He hadn't flown far when the Little Yellow Chicken grabbed his pant leg.

“Alright, I believe you now... If you keep provoking it, I'm afraid you'll be fine, but I'll be struck dead!” The yellow chicken was utterly distraught, a look of profound resentment on its face.

“Big brother, please, have mercy on me! I'm still young, I don't want to die... You provoke it, and it strikes me... You might be having fun, but can't you see I'm almost cooked?”

“The smell is so good, I almost want to... add cumin myself.”

“...” Looking at the creature, which now resembled a roasted chicken, Zhang Xuan was utterly embarrassed. He could only retreat, saying, “You do it yourself then...”

With a flicker of his body, he withdrew.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The lightning crashed down. The Little Yellow Chicken trembled violently several times, losing even more feathers. It then turned its head again: “How about... you help me block it again?”

“...” Zhang Xuan.

Only after being continuously bombarded by thirty-six lightning bolts did the Little Yellow Chicken finally endure the tribulation.

After experiencing all that, it was somewhat listless and weak.

“I'm going to rest first...” Before Zhang Xuan could reply, it flickered and burrowed back into his Dantian. Covering its head with its crow-like wings, it fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing that it was fine, Zhang Xuan let out a sigh of relief. He then looked up at the dissipating dark clouds in the sky, a bewildered expression on his face.

Suddenly, his eyebrows shot up, a wave of bold ambition filling his chest. He stretched his hand forward, pointing, and with all his might, shouted, “Come here!”

The dark clouds, which had been slowly dissipating, now vanished in an instant, as if they had seen a ghost. The next moment, the sky was clear and boundless.

“...” Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

Didn't they say that breaking through to the Divine realm would trigger a Divine Tribulation? How did his summoned tribulation just half-kill the Little Yellow Chicken and then end?

“It's probably related to the Heaven's Sympathy cultivation technique...”

He pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out. With a helpless expression, he returned to Zhao Ya and the others.

“Here are seven 'God' characters. Distribute them among your sects. From now on, cultivating as a False God should no longer be as difficult...”

With a flick of his wrist, he produced seven books. These books contained the correct cultivation steps and methods for seven different divine intents. By carving statues according to the provided designs and placing them in the correct positions, they would automatically draw in the False God energy from the Divine Temple. It would no longer be difficult for Immortal Monarch experts to break through!

“Many thanks, Sect Leader...”

Han Jianqiu and the others trembled with excitement as they looked at the books in their hands.

Acquiring even one “God” character was something their sects couldn't achieve even after thousands of years. Yet, this person had acquired seven in one go...

Zhang Xuan shook his head and said, “Don't call me Sect Leader anymore. Arrange for someone else to take this position. I probably won't be staying in the Firmament for much longer!”

Having broken through to the Divine realm, he could already feel that this world could no longer suppress him. If he wished, he could break through space at any time and enter a higher realm.

The position of Sect Leader in the Firmament held no appeal for him anymore; there was no need for him to remain.

“Yes!” Everyone showed reluctance.

When he was first appointed as Sect Leader, there had been considerable controversy, with many elders within the sect opposing it. But now, it was clear that the decision had been absolutely correct.

Had he not been appointed, they would likely have followed the path of the Profound Mirror Sect and the Misty Immortal Sect, ultimately... being completely annihilated and crushed by the wheels of history.

Moreover, not only did he impart lessons that greatly increased the cultivation of countless disciples, but he also bestowed the complete “God” characters. In the future, the number of experts within their sects would only increase, and the Four Great Sects would grow increasingly prosperous.

“Palace Master Du, accompany me for another trip to the City of Falling Emptiness!”

After making arrangements for the Four Great Sects, Zhang Xuan said no more. He took Du Qingyuan and flew once more towards the City of Falling Emptiness.

Having achieved godhood, ordinary decaying qi no longer posed much threat to him. In just over ten breaths, they returned to the location of the previous altar.

“The... where's the altar?”

The two paused, then searched around, only to find that the altar had vanished, as if it had never existed.

His divine consciousness spread out, scanning an unknown distance before finally stopping.

“The altar is gone. It seems... that skeleton must not want to be found again!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

With his cultivation level, he absolutely wouldn't misremember a location. The fact that he couldn't find it now, no matter what, could only mean one thing.

The other party no longer wished to be found by him.

But... this thing had existed here for thousands of years, and Confucius's clone seemed to have visited it too. Why did it suddenly disappear?

Was it just because it had given him a wisp of divine energy?

There was no point in staying here if he couldn't find it, especially since the Little Yellow Chicken was still sound asleep and hadn't woken up.

Returning to the Stardust Palace, Zhang Xuan looked at Du Qingyuan before him: “Tell me about Luo Ruoxi.”

Ever since he rescued her, he had been busy and hadn't had the chance to ask her for detailed information she might know.

“Thousands of years ago... after the City of Falling Emptiness descended from the heavens, we lost contact with the Spirit God. However, we continuously offered sacrifices to the Firmament without interruption. As a result, other sects believed we could still communicate with the deities, which is why they were wary and dared not cause trouble.”

Du Qingyuan gave a bitter smile.

When the six major sect leaders discussed how to welcome the Heaven-Connecting Bridge, Sect Leader Qin Yuan said she could communicate with deities and asked her to elaborate, which immediately caused her to react strongly... It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but rather that she truly didn't know what to say.

For thousands of years, other sects had known that Stardust Palace could communicate with deities. In truth... the Spirit God's connection with them had been severed long ago.

The reason they continued their annual sacrifices, and even “conveyed” the divine will, was merely a pretense to prevent their sect from being annihilated!

“However, this continued until about four months ago... when we performed another sacrifice, the Spirit God actually responded, telling me... that she wanted to enter this place through the sacrifice, and asked me to prepare.”

Du Qingyuan fell into reminiscence and continued, “She also told me the method and content of the sacrifice. Since she had given instructions, I had no choice but to follow them!”