Chapter 2441: Wang Ruyan Emerges (No More Today)

A rumbling sound of thunder echoed from high above. A massive silver lightning bolt streaked across the sky, carrying an aura of destruction, and headed straight for the red palace on the mountaintop.

The red palace suddenly erupted with dazzling red light, and a thick red light barrier simultaneously appeared. The silver lightning bolt struck the red barrier, instantly dissipating as if it had hit an impenetrable fortress.

Soon after, the second bolt of tribulation lightning descended. An even larger silver lightning bolt streaked across the sky, heading straight for the red palace.

As time passed, more bolts of heavenly tribulation fell.

Wang Changsheng kept his gaze fixed on the thunderclouds high above, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Tens of thousands of clan members were his descendants, and Wang Changsheng couldn't possibly look after all of them. He could only choose to care for his closest relatives and those with exceptional talent. Otherwise, if he went into seclusion for hundreds or thousands of years at a time, countless descendants would perish, and he wouldn't even be able to mourn them all.

Wang Qingcheng and Sun Yuejiao also arrived. Wang Qingcheng's injuries were not severe, but he still needed to recuperate for some time.

"Qingcheng, are you feeling better?" Wang Changsheng asked with a face full of concern.

"Thank you for your concern, Father. Your son is fine," Wang Qingcheng replied, shaking his head as he looked up at the thunderclouds.

The three of them, Wang Changsheng included, stared intently at the thunderclouds high above, a hint of worry in their eyes.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the thunderclouds were still over a hundred zhang in size, and four more bolts of tribulation lightning remained.

After the thunderclouds violently churned, countless green electrical arcs emerged, and a large number of green lightning serpents could be seen.

"Azure Wood Divine Thunder!"

Wang Changsheng's expression became very grim. It was important to know that when Wang Mengbin and Wang Yingjie attempted to advance to the Void Refinement stage, they only attracted two special bolts of lightning, yet they were severely injured and only survived after taking sixth-tier healing elixirs.

Wang Qiuyu attracting four special bolts of lightning meant his chances of surviving the tribulation were slim to none.

Sun Yuejiao's delicate body trembled, and her face turned pale. She naturally understood what this meant. Such matters were purely probabilistic and completely uncontrollable. If the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation were controllable, Zhenhai Palace—no, the number of Void Refinement cultivators in the human race—would more than tenfold.

Wang Qingcheng held Sun Yuejiao tightly, his gaze solemn.

A rumbling sound of thunder rang out as a massive green lightning bolt streaked across the sky, striking downwards.

Wang Qiuyu sat on a massive boulder, his face pale. A small, shimmering red umbrella floated above his head, with some fine cracks on its surface. He quickly cast a spell, and the red umbrella immediately glowed brightly. He also slapped three fifth-tier defensive talismans onto his body.

The green lightning bolt struck the red umbrella, instantly transforming into a blinding burst of green lightning that engulfed the entire mountaintop.

Before the lightning faded, the second bolt of tribulation lightning struck, followed immediately by the third.

After a series of thunderous explosions, more than half of the mountain peak was submerged in green lightning.

Only the last bolt of tribulation lightning remained, and the expressions of Wang Changsheng and the other two were tense.

The thunderclouds churned violently, then suddenly dispersed and vanished.

Seeing this scene, Wang Changsheng's eyes dimmed and his expression became sorrowful.

This situation meant that the Heavenly Dao could no longer sense the aura of the tribulation-taker. Either a rare treasure was concealing the tribulation-taker's aura, or the tribulation-taker had been reduced to ashes. The Wang family naturally possessed no such rare treasure, so Wang Qiuyu had been reduced to ashes.

Sun Yuejiao leaned into Wang Qingcheng's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably. She had poured too much effort into Wang Qiuyu, hiring high-level alchemists to teach him alchemy, arranging for people to set up formations, and finding various spiritual elixirs and medicines for him. Even Wang Qiuyu's cultivation partner had been carefully chosen by her.

Tears glistened in Wang Qingcheng's eyes. His own son had died under the heavenly tribulation, and he was powerless to help. He felt a choking sensation in his chest.

"Qingcheng, you and Yuejiao should go back and rest!" Wang Changsheng said. "Life and death are fated. If Qiuyu's spirit is in heaven, he wouldn't want you two to be sad."

Wang Changsheng offered a few words of comfort, then returned to Azure Lotus Peak.

This was the first clan member to fail in advancing to the Void Refinement stage. There would inevitably be more failures in the future; this was certain, as the heavenly tribulation for advancing to a major realm was no laughing matter. One could only say that Wang Qiuyu was unlucky to have attracted four bolts of Azure Wood Divine Thunder. Honestly, it was still due to the family's insufficient foundation. If they had secret talismans like the Five-Element Thundercloud Talisman, or grand formations that could weaken the power of lightning, Wang Qiuyu wouldn't have died at all.

Wang Changsheng's mood remained unsettled for a long time. The Great Dao was ruthless, but humans had emotions. With his grandson dying under the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, he simply couldn't calm his mind to cultivate; his heart was in turmoil.

He took out half a page of the Heavenly Void Jade Book, a thoughtful expression on his face.

This was the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Book given to him by Duan Tongtian. He had been trying to unlock its restrictions, but unfortunately, he had not succeeded.

"Husband, what's wrong?" A familiar female voice entered his ears.

Wang Changsheng turned his head and saw Wang Ruyan walking towards him, her face filled with smiles.

"Qiuyu died under the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation," Wang Changsheng sighed. "He attracted four bolts of Azure Wood Divine Thunder."

Hearing this, the smile on Wang Ruyan's face instantly froze, and her expression dimmed. With a flip of her right hand, a silver light flashed.

A silver talisman, two feet long and two inches wide, appeared in her hand. It was covered with countless mysterious runes and emanated an astonishing spiritual energy fluctuation.

It was the Heavenly Lightning Spirit Transformation Talisman, a sixth-tier talisman capable of weakening the power of lightning.

Wang Ruyan had spent over four hundred years and failed many times before finally refining this Heavenly Lightning Spirit Transformation Talisman. The materials had been exhausted, primarily because the hide of a sixth-tier Thunder Ray was incredibly rare.

She had just finished refining the Heavenly Lightning Spirit Transformation Talisman and immediately emerged from seclusion. She hadn't expected to still be a step too late; even half an hour earlier, Wang Qiuyu would not have died.

"The Heavenly Lightning Spirit Transformation Talisman! It's finally refined." A hint of joy appeared in Wang Changsheng's eyes. With the Heavenly Lightning Spirit Transformation Talisman, future clan members attempting to reach the Void Refinement stage would have an easier time.

"Unfortunately, it was still a step too late," Wang Ruyan sighed, her voice filled with bitterness. "Even half an hour earlier, Qiuyu would not have died."

"Wife, don't be too sad," Wang Changsheng said. "This isn't your fault. Sixth-tier talismans are inherently difficult to refine. By the way, Qingshan found a spirit beast egg. After I hatched it, I discovered it was a Mirage Dragon. This beast is proficient in illusions; even I would fall for its illusions if I weren't careful. Let's have you raise it!" Wang Changsheng changed the subject.

"A Mirage Dragon?" Wang Ruyan paused slightly, then shook her head and said, "No need. I'm either with you, Husband, or staying on Azure Lotus Island. It would be better for you to raise the Mirage Dragon. If you travel alone, having the Mirage Dragon to assist you would be good. If I'm with you, it doesn't matter who raises it."

Wang Changsheng had previously traveled to the Barren Lands alone, and if he had a powerful spirit beast to assist him, he wouldn't have been severely injured.

"Alright then!" Wang Changsheng said. "Oh, by the way, Yuejiao's cousin and his wife have advanced to the Void Refinement stage. Let's go together to congratulate them! We can treat it as a change of scenery."

Wang Ruyan did not object and agreed.

Seven days later, Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Wang Qingcheng, and Sun Yuejiao left Azure Lotus Island with a group of clan members. Before leaving, Wang Ruyan placed the Heavenly Lightning Spirit Transformation Talisman in the family's treasure vault, so any clan member attempting to reach the Void Refinement stage could apply to borrow it.