Chapter 13: My Master

The Immortal Diancai stood on the ground, looking up at the swirling thundercloud vortex high in the sky, surrounded by five black Li Tian immortal swords circling him. When the first heavenly thunderbolt struck down...

"Go!" The Immortal Diancai pointed into the distance, and one of the five floating Li Tian swords shot up into the sky. This sword transformed into a massive mountain, carrying an immense, heavy momentum, directly meeting the thunderbolt.

Boom!

With a loud crash, the Li Tian sword, steady as a mountain, merely shuddered in midair, and the thunderbolt completely dissipated.

"The first thunderbolt is the weakest; even an ordinary returned-earth immortal can withstand it. With your master's strength and five top-grade immortal swords, he probably won't feel truly pressured until the twenty-seventh thunderbolt," said the Immortal Wufeng.

"Mm," Ji Ning nodded in agreement. Back then, Wufeng had been defeated by the twenty-fifth thunderbolt. If Wufeng had possessed top-grade immortal swords, he might have endured the twenty-seventh.

Heavenly thunderbolts came in sets of nine, each set a major tier.

Nine thunderbolts were the weakest, eighteen were next, then twenty-seven, thirty-six... Every nine thunderbolts marked a significant leap. The legendary eighty-one thunderbolts were chilling to even think about.

"Boom!" "Boom!" ...

The thunderbolts raged.

One after another struck down, and Diancai, using only a single top-grade immortal sword, effortlessly blocked eighteen thunderbolts in a row. A hint of joy appeared on his face. Although he had known top-grade immortal swords were powerful, facing the terrifying tribulation made him realize just how much they helped!

"Boom!" The nineteenth thunderbolt was even fiercer, faster, carrying a destructive momentum, clearly a level above the previous ones.

That Li Tian sword rose again, meeting it like a great mountain.

Bang~~~

The mountain illusion dissipated, and the Li Tian sword was knocked down. The remaining lightning continued toward Diancai, but he remained calm. With a low shout, three of the other four floating swords flew out, glowing gold, water-blue, and earth-yellow.

The three Li Tian swords formed a Three Talents Formation, easily cleaving the residual lightning.

"Your master is using the Three Talents Sword Formation," said Wufeng. "Back then, your master was highly talented. Early on, he comprehended the 'Dao Domain' of three Daos simultaneously and took the path of the sword immortal. He originally used three swords, most often the Three Talents Formation. But over years of cultivation, he gained more insights and created the 'Five Elements Sword Art.'"

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

Indeed.

After using three swords, his master's power surged, blocking thunderbolt after thunderbolt, even the twenty-fifth that had defeated Wufeng, all the way to the twenty-seventh.

"It's about to increase again," Wufeng said worriedly.

Twenty-seven thunderbolts were three nines.

Thirty-six would be four nines!

As the twenty-eighth thunderbolt struck, the three swords sank heavily but held. Yet the twenty-ninth, thirtieth... each grew stronger, and the three swords struggled more. When the thirty-sixth struck, Diancai let out a low roar, and all five Li Tian swords shot up.

"Rumble~~~"

The five swords soared, and five mountain illusions appeared in the sky, each a different color. The combined power of the five swords was immense, easily blocking the thirty-sixth thunderbolt.

"Excellent treasures, excellent sword art!" Wufeng exclaimed excitedly.

"He blocked the thirty-sixth," Ji Ning said with joy, but then his expression changed as an even more terrifying thunderbolt struck from the vortex.

"What... could your master's tribulation have forty-five thunderbolts?" Wufeng was shocked.

Ji Ning's face turned serious.

In the qi-refining path, one could not be careless during the tribulation, as even a trace of residual lightning could reduce a cultivator's body to ashes. But a divine-body cultivator could withstand some residual lightning with their physical form.

Thus, thirty-six thunderbolts were a threshold. Thirty-six was the 'Four-Nine Tribulation'; within that, qi-refiners had hope.

Beyond that, hope was slim!

...

The thirty-seventh thunderbolt was clearly more terrifying. Even watching from afar, Ji Ning felt an invisible pressure. This thunderbolt had reached the level of a celestial immortal's power!

"Bang~~~" The five mountain illusions hovered in midair as the five swords barely blocked the thunderbolt, sinking sharply.

"So strong," Diancai thought, his expression changing, but his face remained cold, his eyes resolute.

He would not retreat.

"Boom!"

The thirty-eighth thunderbolt struck. Diancai again controlled the five top-grade immortal swords to meet it, barely holding. But this time, the five mountain illusions trembled, nearly collapsing.

"Not good," Wufeng said, his face pale. "With forty-five thunderbolts, whether your master can survive is in danger."

Ji Ning said nothing, just watched.

He could see it clearly!

The thirty-eighth thunderbolt had nearly shattered his master's sword art. Whether he could endure to the forty-fifth was uncertain. Back then, Wufeng hadn't even reached the threshold of the twenty-seventh, falling at the twenty-fifth.

"Boom!"

The vortex sent down an even fiercer thirty-ninth thunderbolt.

"Hold!" Diancai roared. The five Li Tian swords, like fish swimming upstream, carried the five mountain illusions to meet the thunderbolt. Under the impact, the five swords fell to the ground, but the thunderbolt completely dissipated.

"He can't hold," Wufeng said anxiously.

"Master, master," Ji Ning also worried desperately.

"I must hold," Diancai thought. Suddenly his face flushed red, and his aura surged—he had activated a forbidden technique.

Wufeng's eyes were tense: "He's using a forbidden technique to drain his Golden Lotus Primordial Spirit, hoping to endure. He must endure, must not fail, cannot fail." He had seen too many fellow disciples fail, one after another—he himself, his master, his senior brother, his junior brother...

One by one, they fell to the tribulation.

Diancai was the most promising, especially with the help of five top-grade immortal swords.

"He must endure," Wufeng murmured.

"Master, master," Ji Ning's heart was in his throat, more worried than when facing his own life-or-death crisis. Though he had known the tribulation was terrifying, watching the thunderbolts grow stronger, he feared his master's body would be struck. One hit, and it would be over!

...

The fortieth, forty-first, forty-second thunderbolts...

With the forbidden technique, the five swords' power surged, blocking several thunderbolts in a row.

"Boom!"

The forty-fourth thunderbolt!

Diancai's face twisted, his eyes wild with madness. The five swords rose again, the five mountain illusions seeming to suppress the entire small world. But before the destructive thunderbolt, the illusions shattered, and the swords were knocked down.

"He blocked it. One more left," Wufeng said anxiously.

"Master," Ji Ning was so anxious he wanted to rush in himself.

Blood beads appeared on Diancai's skin, forced out by the violent energy from the forbidden technique.

"Boom!"

The forty-fifth thunderbolt!

"Block it again!" Diancai, nearly insane, sent the five Li Tian swords madly upward. In desperation, they seemed to unleash greater power; the five mountain illusions merged more perfectly, their might increasing.

"Boom!"

The thunderbolt of destruction struck down.

Rip~~~

The five swords were knocked away, and a trace of residual lightning flew toward Diancai.

"No!" Ji Ning's eyes nearly split, red with desperation.

"No!" Wufeng was also terrified.

But Diancai let out a mad roar. Above him, five swords suddenly appeared—his original five swords, the ones he usually used! They barely transformed into five beams of colored light before the residual lightning struck them.

"Pfft!" One of the knocked-back swords pierced Diancai's chest, leaving a hole; the other swords flew away. But the residual lightning finally dissipated completely.

"Hahaha, hahaha..." Diancai laughed, clutching the wound on his chest, looking up.

Ji Ning and Wufeng were stunned, then ecstatic.

"He blocked it."

"Master blocked it." The despair-turned-success made their emotions swing wildly.

"Why..." Wufeng looked up at the thundercloud vortex, despair and terror in his eyes. "Why hasn't it..."

"Why hasn't it dissipated?" Ji Ning felt a chill from head to toe.

The thundercloud vortex still spun, gathering even greater power.

Diancai, who had been laughing while clutching his chest, suddenly froze, staring blankly at the vortex. Despair filled his eyes, and he let out a mad, unwilling roar: "Why, why is there more, why is there still more!!!"

"Six nines, six nines..." Wufeng's eyes were full of despair. "The Six-Nine Tribulation. My junior brother isn't a disciple of a Dao Ancestor, not even a celestial immortal disciple. Why does he face the Six-Nine Tribulation, why..."

"Damned heavens!" Ji Ning looked up and let out a bitter howl, tears streaming down his face. "Master, master, my master."

"Boom~~~"

A massive thunderbolt formed in the vortex and struck downward!

...