Chapter 2798: Seven-Stage Golden Thunder Whale

"Moshan, you may go now." Wang Changsheng dismissed Wang Moshan.

"This young man has finally reached the Refinement Void stage. Spirit body cultivators truly advance rapidly. I recall it took me over two thousand years to reach the Refinement Void stage," Duan Tongtian remarked with a relieved expression.

Wang Changsheng handed the Nine-Light Bottle to Duan Tongtian, saying, "Your fourth major heavenly tribulation is approaching. Take the Nine-Light Bottle to help you overcome it, and I will stand guard for you."

After Wang Changsheng entered the Integration stage, his major heavenly tribulation would occur after five thousand years, with an error margin of no more than five hundred years. He had been in the Integration stage for over two thousand years.

The fourth major heavenly tribulation for a Refinement Void cultivator is incredibly powerful; ordinary mid-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures simply cannot withstand it. The Nine-Light Bottle offers better protection during tribulations.

Treasures crafted from items like the Nine-Light Bottle or Lightning-Absorbing Pearls are more effective for surviving tribulations. However, these types of treasures have a drawback: they are difficult to repair. Each time they endure a lightning tribulation, they sustain damage, the extent of which varies. Over time, the treasure eventually becomes unusable.

Ordinary treasures are easier to repair when damaged, but they are not very effective against lightning tribulations and can easily be destroyed in a single attempt.

When Wang Ruyan previously endured the Seven-Nine Lightning Tribulation, the Nine-Light Bottle sustained minor, imperceptible damage. This time, when Wang Yidao faced the Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation, the damage increased, causing several tiny cracks to appear on the Nine-Light Bottle's surface.

This was already quite impressive. An ordinary mid-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure would have struggled to help Wang Ruyan survive the Seven-Nine Lightning Tribulation, let alone Wang Yidao through the Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation.

While the Nine-Light Bottle is more effective and degrades slower during lightning tribulations, it will eventually become unusable; it's only a matter of time.

Wang Changsheng had been sending people to search for materials to repair the Nine-Light Bottle, primarily Nine-Light Divine Clay. Unfortunately, they had not succeeded. If they could find materials like a seventh-tier Lightning-Absorbing Pearl or East Yi Divine Wood to create a formation, it would degrade even slower.

Formations are more effective and less prone to damage than individual treasures during tribulations. However, they still sustain some damage with each lightning tribulation, varying in degree. Both formations and treasures will eventually wear out.

Even if Wang Ruyan hadn't used the Nine-Light Bottle to withstand her tribulation, and it had only been used for Wang Yidao's Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation, it would still have sustained damage, though it might not have been visible.

Duan Tongtian thanked him, accepting the Nine-Light Bottle. Without it, even if he survived his fourth major heavenly tribulation, he would be severely wounded, or potentially even perish. Many Refinement Void cultivators had died during their fourth major heavenly tribulation, primarily because this tribulation involved two-colored divine lightning.

The power of the major heavenly tribulations is fixed. For Refinement Void cultivators, the first three major tribulations consist of ordinary lightning, but they are prolonged. From the fourth major tribulation onwards, special lightning appears: nine bolts of two-colored divine lightning for the fourth, nine bolts of three-colored lightning for the fifth, nine bolts of four-colored lightning for the sixth, and nine bolts of five-colored lightning for the seventh. Each subsequent tribulation is more powerful than the last, meaning that with more tribulations, the duration is longer and the power greater.

For Integration cultivators, the first three major heavenly tribulations also involve ordinary lightning and are prolonged. However, the fourth major tribulation introduces nine bolts of five-colored divine lightning, the fifth brings nine bolts of six-colored divine lightning, and the sixth presents nine bolts of seven-colored divine lightning. Even the ordinary lightning should not be underestimated, as its destructive power becomes formidable if it lasts too long.

According to ancient texts, for Grand Ascension cultivators, the fourth major heavenly tribulation manifests nine bolts of seven-colored divine lightning, the fifth brings nine bolts of eight-colored divine lightning, and the sixth introduces nine bolts of nine-colored divine lightning.

For cultivators at the Refinement Void, Integration, and Grand Ascension stages, the fourth major heavenly tribulation always represents a significant hurdle.

The Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation comprises 54 bolts of lightning and lasts for about a quarter of an hour. In contrast, a Refinement Void cultivator's first major heavenly tribulation involves 180 bolts of lightning, lasting for almost half an hour, which is four times the duration of the Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation.

According to ancient texts, the Seven-Nine Lightning Tribulation consists of 63 bolts of lightning and lasts for over an hour, eight times the duration of the Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation. An Integration cultivator's first major heavenly tribulation lasts for over five hours, which is more than five times the duration of the Seven-Nine Lightning Tribulation, making it even more powerful.

Within the next three thousand years, Wang Changsheng would face his first major heavenly tribulation. An Integration cultivator's first major heavenly tribulation lasts over ten times longer than a Refinement Void cultivator's, making it significantly more challenging for Integration cultivators to survive.

Wang Changsheng was unsure how long the Nine-Light Bottle would last, so he sent people to look for materials like Lightning-Absorbing Pearls or Nine-Light Divine Clay. There were many Refinement Void cultivators in the family, and the power of their major heavenly tribulations would increase with each attempt. A single Nine-Light Bottle would not be enough.

Truth be told, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan could not help every family member through their major heavenly tribulations. Acquiring a good tribulation-defying treasure was not easy even for them, and family members also needed to seek out their own opportunities.

The family would provide some assistance, but individuals also needed to strive. The family could not handle everything; this was also true for immortal cultivation sects. Many Integration cultivators from Zhenhai Palace had perished during major heavenly tribulations.

With the Nine-Light Bottle in hand, Duan Tongtian should have no problem surviving his fourth major heavenly tribulation.

After a brief chat, Duan Tongtian transformed into a streak of light and flew into a magnificent azure palace. The cultivators on the island had already been relocated, leaving only Wang Changsheng and Duan Tongtian.

Two golden lights flew in from the distant horizon, flickering to land before Wang Changsheng. They were a handsome young man in a golden robe and a beautiful young woman in a golden dress, both transformed from sixth-tier mid-grade Soul Devouring Golden Cicadas.

Wang Ruyan had also fed the Soul Devouring Golden Cicadas the Spirit-Awakening Pill, allowing them to successfully transform.

After transforming, they gained independent consciousness, allowing them to cultivate autonomously and significantly increasing their cultivation efficiency.

Demons are divided into many tribes, each with different cultivation techniques. However, the *Heavenly Demon Tome* is suitable for many transformed greater demons to cultivate. If they had specialized cultivation techniques, their divine abilities would be even stronger.

Wang Changsheng had consulted ancient texts and found few examples of spirit insects transforming, with all recorded cases coming from the Myriad Spirit Sect. This was normal, as there were few cultivators who nurtured high-tier spirit insects to begin with, and most cultivators with Spirit-Awakening Pills would feed them to spirit beasts or spirit birds instead.

The higher the grade of the Soul Devouring Golden Cicadas, the more spiritual sense they could provide to Wang Changsheng. Strong spiritual sense offered numerous benefits, which was why Wang Changsheng helped the Soul Devouring Golden Cicadas transform.

Wang Changsheng named his Soul Devouring Golden Cicada Wang Chan (王蝉), while Wang Ruyan named hers Wang Chan (王婵). Although pronounced the same, their names were written differently.

After transforming, the Soul Devouring Golden Cicadas would venture out to hunt demon beasts, devouring their vital essences to strengthen themselves.

Before this, Wang Changsheng had to personally capture ghosts or demon beast vital essences for them to consume. After their transformation, they could hunt demon beasts and devour their vital essences independently.

As Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan remained on Qinglian Island, their spiritual senses could slowly grow.

"What good things did you find this time?" Wang Changsheng asked with a smile. When they ventured out, they would bring their Twin-Eyed Rats, which could speak human language and communicate with them, helping them locate spiritual herbs.

"Master, we discovered a seventh-tier Golden Thunder Whale's nest. However, we dared not get too close; we could only confirm the approximate area," Wang Chan said.