Chapter 2797: Four Hundred Years (Gone Today)

Piaoyun Island, main headquarters of Zhenhai Palace.

An earthen yellow palace, its stone walls inscribed with numerous earth-attribute formation patterns, exuded abundant earth spiritual energy. Chen Yueying sat cross-legged on a yellow prayer mat, her expression solemn.

She had advanced to the late Integration Stage over three thousand years ago. Traversing the sea took her more than a thousand years, healing from injuries several hundred years, and seeking opportunities another thousand years, leaving her with limited actual cultivation time. Given her innate spiritual body aptitude, reaching the perfected Integration Stage was merely a matter of time. However, attempting to break through to the Mahayana Stage would not be easy. She needed to seclude herself for a considerable period, first achieving the perfected Integration Stage.

Xiao Wentian had used top-grade earth spirit stones to set up the seventh-tier Mountain and River Array, which could accelerate her cultivation speed. Chen Yueying would not be able to emerge from seclusion anytime soon.

Chen Yueying took a deep breath. The yellow jade lock on her chest emitted a dazzling yellow light, and numerous yellow light spots materialized out of thin air, converging towards her. As Chen Yueying performed a hand seal, these yellow light spots seemed guided by an unseen force, successively surging into her body and vanishing. With a seventh-tier formation and the assistance of a mid-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasure, Chen Yueying's cultivation speed could hardly be slow.

Seasons came and went, and four hundred years swiftly passed.

On Tianzhu Island, Wang Moshan, Duan Tongtian, and Wang Changsheng stood atop a towering peak, gazing at the thunderclouds high in the sky. Their expressions were solemn, and they remained silent.

A massive thundercloud hovered overhead. Continuous peals of thunder rumbled, and streaks of silver lightning tore through the sky, fiercely striking a small valley below. Roaring sounds were incessant, lightning flickered relentlessly, and shockwaves surged like tides.

Wang Yidao was attempting to break through to the Void Refinement Stage. Wang Changsheng took this matter very seriously, even lending his Nine-Light Bottle to Wang Yidao, fearing any mishaps. When Chen Yueying attempted to reach the Void Refinement Stage, she attracted five bolts of six-colored divine lightning. Wang Yidao was unlikely to fare worse.

As time passed, bolt after bolt of heavenly tribulation struck, and the thundercloud's area progressively shrank. After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the thundercloud was still over a hundred *zhang* in size, with six more bolts of tribulation lightning remaining.

Wang Yidao stood on a golden, shimmering boulder, his expression grave. He carried a long golden saber on his back, its scabbard adorned with exquisite patterns. He was enveloped in a silver light barrier, and a dimly glowing golden shield floated before him. The shield's surface bore several tiny cracks, imperceptible without close inspection.

The thundercloud roiled violently, emitting seven types of arcs—cyan, red, blue, gold, yellow, orange, and white. The thundercloud itself turned seven-colored, churning and surging ceaselessly.

"Seven-colored divine lightning!"

Wang Changsheng's expression tightened. Chen Yueying had attracted nine bolts of seven-colored divine lightning when she attempted the Integration Stage. To his surprise, Wang Yidao, still trying for the Void Refinement Stage, had already attracted six bolts of seven-colored divine lightning. As expected of a spiritual body practitioner; if he successfully passed this trial, the power of the 7x9 Heavenly Tribulation would be even greater when he attempted the Integration Stage later.

A world-shaking peal of thunder erupted. After the thundercloud violently churned, a thick seven-colored lightning spear descended from the sky, hurtling directly towards Wang Yidao. Wang Yidao showed no fear. His right hand blazed with dazzling golden light, and he cleaved towards the void. A vast, golden-hued, sky-reaching saber qi swept forth, fiercely striking the seven-colored lightning spear.

The seven-colored lightning spear was sliced in half by the sky-reaching saber qi. Dazzling seven-colored lightning illuminated and engulfed an area of several hundred *li*, submerging both the golden saber qi and Wang Yidao. After a moment, the seven-colored lightning dissipated. Wang Yidao stood calmly on the golden boulder, enveloped in a silver light barrier, without a single visible injury. The golden shield floated before him, its surface showing dozens of tiny cracks and its spiritual light dim, appearing severely damaged.

A rumbling thunderclap sounded as the second bolt of seven-colored tribulation lightning struck. As it approached within a hundred *zhang* of Wang Yidao, it was shattered by a golden, sky-reaching saber qi, once again transforming into dazzling seven-colored lightning that engulfed Wang Yidao's figure. Shockwaves rolled, and dust filled the sky.

Bolt after bolt of tribulation lightning descended, and the area of the seven-colored thundercloud continuously shrank. After the seven-colored thundercloud shrank to several tens of *zhang*, it violently roiled and surged, and a thick seven-colored lightning dragon, as wide as a human waist, flew out from within, hurtling downwards with astonishing momentum.

The hearts of Wang Changsheng and the other two were in their throats. This was their first time witnessing such an event, and they felt apprehensive, hoping Wang Yidao would successfully enter the Void Refinement Stage.

A golden-hued saber qi flew out from the seven-colored lightning, followed by a second, then a third... Dense golden saber qi swept forth, fiercely striking the seven-colored lightning dragon. The massive body of the seven-colored lightning dragon twisted ceaselessly, colliding with the dense golden saber qi. Although the lightning dragon shattered dozens of golden saber qi, the sheer number of golden saber qi was overwhelming and unending.

Numerous golden saber qi successively struck the seven-colored lightning dragon's body, tearing it into pieces. A dazzling ball of seven-colored lightning surged skyward, causing the entire Tianzhu Island to shake violently. Shockwaves rolled, and dust filled the sky.

After a moment, before the dust had even settled, a golden streak of light flew out from the seven-colored lightning. With a flash, it landed before Wang Changsheng and the other two. This golden streak was Wang Yidao; his face was a bit pale, but he was otherwise unharmed.

He took out the Nine-Light Bottle and respectfully said, "Thank you, Old Ancestor." To overcome the 6x9 Heavenly Tribulation, he had rendered useless a sixth-tier formation, two sixth-tier defensive talismans, two low-grade defensive Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasures, a Heavenly Lightning Spirit Transformation Talisman, and a Zhenhai Pearl. The power of the seven-colored divine lightning was too immense; all these items were ruined. Fortunately, Wang Changsheng had lent the Nine-Light Bottle to Wang Yidao, allowing him to successfully enter the Void Refinement Stage.

Wang Yidao took out the Nine-Light Bottle and respectfully handed it to Wang Changsheng with both hands. Wang Changsheng took the Nine-Light Bottle, his brow furrowed. The bottle's surface bore several tiny cracks, imperceptible without careful observation. To enable Wang Yidao to break through to the Void Refinement Stage, Wang Changsheng had truly invested a significant amount. The more precious an item, the rarer its materials, the higher the difficulty of its refinement, and thus the harder it is to repair. The Nine-Light Bottle was not severely damaged, but without rare materials like Nine-Light Divine Clay, repairing it would be impossible. Both the Nine-Light Bottle and the Heavenly Lightning Elemental Transformation Array would suffer damage, though the extent of damage might vary. Without rare materials for repair, they would eventually become useless.

"Thank you, Old Ancestor!" Wang Yidao expressed his gratitude, his expression somewhat wooden.

Wang Changsheng was used to this. Wang Yidao had always been this way since childhood, disliking conversation and never showing a smile to anyone, even his siblings. He had earned the title of "Cold-faced Young Master."

Wang Changsheng put away the Nine-Light Bottle and instructed, "Seclude yourself well to consolidate your cultivation. Here are some Dharma Idol materials; take them to condense your Dharma Idol!" He took out a cyan storage ring and handed it to Wang Yidao. If all went well, Wang Yidao would certainly be able to enter the Integration Stage; it was just a question of whether he or Wang Qingshan would do so first.

"Understood!" Wang Yidao put away the storage ring and, transforming into a golden streak of light, departed Tianzhu Island.