Chapter 1716: Five Nine Thunder Tribulation

It was somewhat strange that, based on the contents of the storage pouch, the body belonged to a Nascent Soul cultivator, yet there was no Nascent Soul, only the physical body.

Both spiritual treasures were ice-attributed and could be used by Huang Fugui.

His injuries were quite severe, so he planned to heal here and leave only after fully recovering.

Huang Fugui sat cross-legged and began cultivating to heal his wounds.

One hundred thousand feet below the abyss, inside a ten-thousand-acre ice cave, an enormous beast lay on the ground. Its appearance resembled a Pixiu, with three eyes, eight wings, and a short tail. The beast seemed to be in a deep slumber, motionless, like an ice sculpture.

From its nostrils, two streams of white, misty cold air periodically jetted out, striking the ground and significantly thickening the ice layer.

At the Heavenly Ripple Sect, in the Heavenly Ripple Hall.

Shangguan Tianhong and dozens of other Heavenly Ripple Sect cultivators were holding a meeting, their expressions all grave.

"Martial Uncle Shangguan, over the years, we have apprehended many cultivators from the East Fence Realm, but none of them know the whereabouts of the Green Lotus Immortal Couple. Shangguan Wei of the Nine Nether Sect is also missing. Currently, fewer than a hundred East Fence Realm cultivators are still at large, including two Soul Transformation cultivators and fewer than twenty Nascent Soul cultivators," a gaunt young man in a green shirt reported respectfully.

The Heavenly Ripple Sect cultivators had been pursuing East Fence Realm cultivators, and as time passed, they had captured many, but a group of cultivators still remained at large.

"Those Nascent Soul cultivators are nothing to fear. Among the Soul Transformation cultivators, only Fu Wen remains; the physical body of that old python from the Eastern Barrens was destroyed by me. Finding him is paramount. Report any news of him immediately," Shangguan Tianhong instructed in a deep voice.

"Yes, Martial Uncle Shangguan." The young man readily agreed, then seemed to recall something and asked, "Martial Uncle Shangguan, should we send people to search the three major perilous areas? They are likely hiding there."

"There's no need. There are too many restrictions there, and Fifth-rank demonic beasts. Even if I were to act personally, it wouldn't be easy to eliminate them. Sending others would just be sending them to their deaths. Guard the spatial passage well. Once the Spirit-Devouring Qi disperses, the main army will cross immediately and conquer the East Fence Realm in one fell swoop." Shangguan Tianhong's face was filled with killing intent, and a hint of apprehension showed in his eyes. The three major perilous areas had survived for a reason.

"Yes, Martial Uncle Shangguan."

Half a year passed quickly.

Huang Fugui, with a wary expression, flew out of the abyss. He looked around but saw no demonic beasts, letting out a sigh of relief.

Huang Fugui conjured the Wind-Repelling Banner, releasing a yellowish gale, and flew into the distance.

Throughout his journey, Huang Fugui encountered no major demonic beasts. He occasionally met a few Fourth-rank ones, but quickly shook them off.

Two days later, Huang Fugui appeared in a vast, boundless white dense forest. Numerous white trees grew here; they were leafless and covered with sharp thorns.

Huang Fugui's expression was exceptionally tense. This area was home to pack-hunting demonic beasts, and he had almost died here last time, so he dared not be careless in the slightest.

He flew forward cautiously, not daring to ascend too high, fearing he might be targeted by demonic birds.

A white tree suddenly swayed, and a white python with four wings on its back slithered out of a tree hollow. The python's eyes were snow-white, and its body was thicker than Huang Fugui's waist, easily capable of swallowing him whole.

Initially, there was just one white python, followed by a second, then a third, and a fourth... In less than five breaths, over a thousand white pythons of varying sizes emerged from the snow and tree hollows. Most were Second-rank, with five or six Fourth-rank demonic pythons among them.

Huang Fugui's heart leaped to his throat. He was now surrounded by demonic beasts; this was trouble.

Strangely, these demonic beasts ignored Huang Fugui. They flapped their fleshy wings fiercely and flew in a certain direction, seemingly having not noticed him.

Huang Fugui's suspended heart settled. He lightly patted his chest and let out a long breath, realizing he had almost been scared to death.

Before he could rejoice for long, a loud roar suddenly erupted. Huang Fugui's expression changed, and he looked behind him.

What he saw made his eyes nearly pop out: hundreds of demonic beasts and birds were flying towards him. Most were Third-rank, with some Fourth-rank, and many white demonic insects were also visible.

"Heaven envies talent! Is it easy for me to get anything?" Huang Fugui cursed. He spun in place, transforming into a yellow hurricane over a hundred zhang tall, and swept away into the distance at an exceptionally fast speed.

After flying a hundred li, Huang Fugui was surprised to find that all the demonic beasts within a hundred-li radius had been alarmed. Tens of thousands of them were surging in a specific direction, mostly Second-rank, with over a dozen Fourth-rank and hundreds of Third-rank demonic beasts.

What was even more baffling was that these demonic beasts completely ignored him, as if they hadn't seen him at all.

"Could Fellow Daoist Wang be causing this? Is this some novel method of luring demonic beasts?" Huang Fugui muttered to himself, noting that all the demonic beasts were moving towards Wang Changsheng's location.

"Wait, could Fellow Daoist Wang be attempting to break through to the Soul Transformation stage?" Huang Fugui suddenly thought of something, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

When a Nascent Soul cultivator attempts to break through to the Soul Transformation stage, their physical body undergoes a process called 'sandalwood transformation,' emitting a special scent that is irresistible to demonic beasts.

The last time he saw Wang Changsheng was over forty years ago, at which point Wang Changsheng was already at the late Nascent Soul stage. It was indeed possible that Wang Changsheng was attempting to break through to the Soul Transformation stage.

"No, I must rush back and help Fellow Daoist Wang. If he successfully advances to the Soul Transformation stage, he'll become a senior. If he fails, I can still ask Immortal Wang for some compensation. It's a win-win," Huang Fugui thought, accelerating his escape speed.

Wang Ruyan stood at the foot of the snowy mountain, gazing at a thundercloud in the sky, where lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Thick silver lightning bolts struck down, striking the Lion-Kirin Beast.

When the Lion-Kirin Beast pledged allegiance to Wang Ruyan, it was already Third-rank. After following her for several centuries, it finally had the chance to advance to Fourth-rank.

Dense silver lightning bolts continuously struck the Lion-Kirin Beast. The beast let out roars as rolling flames erupted from its body, making it look like a massive ball of fire from a distance, with nearby snow instantly turning into white mist.

After a quarter of an hour, amidst a tremendous peal of thunder, the thundercloud transformed into a silver lightning python over a hundred zhang long, which swooped down and crashed into the Lion-Kirin Beast.

A deafening roar echoed! A dazzling silver lightning glow erupted, engulfing an area tens of thousands of feet in radius, as white snowflakes danced everywhere.

After a while, the silver lightning dispersed. The Lion-Kirin Beast was still alive, though its body was bleeding profusely, with bones faintly visible. It had successfully advanced to Fourth-rank, but its vitality was severely depleted and required careful recuperation.

Wang Ruyan flew over, her face beaming with a smile.

The Lion-Kirin Beast approached Wang Ruyan and obediently lay down.

"Well done! You're much more impressive than the Green-Eyed Ice Silkworm. It has been with me the longest and is still only a high-grade Third-rank," Wang Ruyan praised with a smile.

No sooner had she spoken than an earth-shattering peal of thunder suddenly erupted, followed by an increasing crescendo of thunder, one after another.

Wang Ruyan's beautiful face changed. She looked towards the snowy mountain and saw a massive thundercloud above it, with countless silver electric arcs surging like an endless river.

The thundercloud violently churned, splitting into five distinct masses that, though connected, remained separate.

"The Five-Nine Thunder Tribulation! My husband is attempting to break through to the Soul Transformation stage!" Wang Ruyan exclaimed, her heart leaping to her throat.

Just then, a huge roar suddenly rang out, and numerous black dots appeared on the distant horizon.

A yellow light appeared in the sky, and in less than three breaths, it landed before Wang Ruyan. It was Huang Fugui.

"This is bad, Madam Wang! A large number of demonic beasts are heading this way; they seem to have been drawn by Fellow Daoist Wang," Huang Fugui said with a grave expression.

At this moment, Wang Qiuming and others rushed out of their residences and hurried over.

"Qiuming, Yingjie, not a single demonic beast must be allowed to step onto this snowy mountain before my husband reaches the Soul Transformation stage," Wang Ruyan declared with a firm expression and a deep voice.

"Yes, Ancestress," Wang Qiuming and the others replied in unison, their expressions solemn.