Chapter 1342: The Lightning Tribulation Flees

Crack!

As soon as he entered the clouds, a bolt of lightning struck. Zhang Xuan mustered all the true qi in his body to meet it.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed out, and like the others, his hair stood on end.

The thunderbolts had been corrupted by Bi Hongyin and the others, becoming far beyond what he could withstand. Even if he rushed inside without gathering maximum power, he couldn't contend with them.

"Defensive Sword Intent!"

Knowing that if he continued, even the Heavenly Dao true qi's recovery couldn't keep up with the lightning's speed, Zhang Xuan raised his brows and pointed in the air.

Zzzz!

Countless sword qi burst from his acupoints, forming a massive protective barrier.

Admittedly, the Flowing Water Sword Art was formidable; when executed, it was like a turtle shell, impenetrable to water.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Lightning bolts continuously struck it, causing Zhang Xuan's lips to turn blue and his face pale.

"The sword art can block the lightning, but its power is too strong; I can't hold out long..."

His expression turned grave.

It was like an umbrella that could block a downpour but was useless against hailstones.

The Flowing Water Sword Art was unmatched in defense, but with his current strength, even if he could hold out for a while, he couldn't last long.

At most ten breaths, and the surrounding sword qi would collapse, leaving him facing so many lightning bolts again.

"I can only do as I thought earlier—quickly improve my strength..."

Taking a deep breath, without hesitation, Zhang Xuan's soul suddenly leaped and flew out from between his brows.

Unlike the breakthrough at the mountain gate, this time he directly plunged into the dark clouds, unseen by outsiders, so he could use all his abilities without restraint.

"Cultivate!"

His physical body had already reached the state of no-thought, able to cultivate autonomously. Now, with the soul cultivation technique, both could progress simultaneously, allowing faster improvement.

Zzzz!

Absorbing the Jade True Liquid and Spirit Yuan Pill, his true qi circulated rapidly according to the Heavenly Dao Golden Body technique. His physical body visibly improved, layers of dead skin peeling off like a cicada shedding its shell.

Having reached such a level, even a slight improvement was difficult. Lava burning, ice tempering—many methods had lost their effect.

Among the manuals given by Fatty, one was created by a senior body-tempering practitioner who, observing a cicada shedding its shell, had a sudden inspiration. It allowed one, like a cicada, to shed old muscles and dead skin layer by layer, each shedding strengthening the body.

Over time, it became exceptionally powerful.

Zhang Xuan's Heavenly Dao technique, based primarily on this manual, produced a more profound and subtle method. As his skin shed more and more, his complexion grew increasingly fresh and tender like a baby's, yet his body became tougher, gradually rising from the level of a mid-grade saint artifact.

As his physical body advanced rapidly, his soul also grasped the Jade Vein Spiritual Marrow and absorbed it frantically.

The Heavenly Dao soul, cultivated since the Mortal Transformation realm, was familiar with the path. The techniques at the Soul Departure realm flowed, and spiritual energy drilled into the soul's acupoints like a whirlpool, making it stronger.

Rumble!

In an instant, the soul broke through Half-Step Soul Departure, then early Soul Departure...

But before long, the power of the Jade True Liquid, Spirit Yuan Pill, and Jade Vein Spiritual Marrow was exhausted.

Although Luo Xuanqing and the others had given many items, the simultaneous advancement of body and soul demanded immense spiritual energy. These three resources were far from enough to let him reach the peak.

"The sword light can't hold on..."

When it rains, it pours. Not only were the resources depleted, but the protective sword light around him also began to waver, on the verge of collapse.

"Doppelganger, go out and block the tribulation lightning to buy me time..."

Knowing that if the lightning struck, he could no longer advance quickly, Zhang Xuan commanded.

The doppelganger was the same person as him, unlike a magic artifact; even if released, it wouldn't increase the tribulation's power.

"Just a bit of tribulation lightning, and you're this scared... Give me the soul technique!"

Appearing before him with a haughty look, the doppelganger snorted, broke through the sword light, and leaped into the sea of lightning.

Crack! Crack!

As soon as he appeared, lightning bolts surged densely. The doppelganger, unafraid, stretched lazily, grabbed a towel, and began scrubbing his back.

The lightning was evenly spread by the towel, flowing over his body. The doppelganger's aura and soul visibly improved rapidly.

"This..."

His face twitching, Zhang Xuan was so frustrated he could vomit blood.

At the mountain gate, he had bathed in lightning with his soul, and now this guy had learned it...

"If he can withstand it, so can I. Perhaps with lightning tempering, both soul and body can make great progress!"

Seeing the doppelganger scrubbing himself while casting contemptuous glances, as if mocking the original, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth.

With no suitable spiritual energy source at hand and surrounded by so much lightning, if he didn't find a way, he might really die in it.

Since the doppelganger could dive into the lightning unscathed, and they shared the same origin, he refused to believe he couldn't match him!

His soul returned to his body, and he withdrew the sword light. This time, instead of dodging, he hovered in place, letting the lightning strike.

Pfft!

Again blood sprayed out; the massive current stiffened his body.

"Heavenly Dao true qi can imitate anything. What if I imitate lightning-attribute true qi?"

A thought suddenly struck him.

Heavenly Dao true qi could even imitate the killing true qi of the Heterodox tribe; lightning-attribute true qi should also be possible. If successful, he might resist the impact of the thunderbolts.

Focusing his mind, he carefully sensed the power of the thunder, and with a slight turn of his internal true qi, it indeed acquired some lightning attributes.

Crack!

As soon as his true qi transformed, another lightning bolt struck. Though still somewhat uncomfortable, it was no longer as unbearable as before.

"Excellent!"

His eyes lit up, and Zhang Xuan trembled with excitement.

It had been just a whim, but unexpectedly it worked!

"If true qi is transformed into lightning attribute, it should be able to absorb lightning and improve cultivation!"

Another idea emerged.

Chen Leyao, who cultivated a yin-cold technique, could absorb cold spiritual liquids for cultivation; those with fire-attribute techniques absorbed flames effectively... Now, if he transformed his true qi into lightning attribute, could he absorb it like spirit stones?

Thus greatly increasing his strength?

Back at Qiuwu Palace, his soul had absorbed lightning power, though it was from a formation, incomparable to heavenly tribulation lightning, but there must be commonalities.

"Let me try..."

Knowing that absorbing lightning into his body was extremely dangerous, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and flicked his hand.

He executed the Flowing Water Sword Art again to protect himself, and with a mental command, left a gap for a lightning bolt to drill in.

Rumble!

The lightning bolt entered his body and immediately became uncontrollable, rampaging and tearing his meridians in an instant.

Lightning was violent; even with lightning-attribute true qi, it was hard to control. Otherwise, cultivators of lightning-attribute techniques would have long been famous across the continent, yet none had ever been heard of.

"True qi, merge..."

Having anticipated this, Zhang Xuan wasn't flustered. He raised his brows and sent his Heavenly Dao true qi to meet it.

Zzzt!

His true qi now had lightning attributes. When they met, they fused, becoming even purer.

"It really works..."

Excitement spread across his face again.

Since this was feasible, these lightning bolts could replace spiritual energy, allowing him to advance quickly.

Without further hesitation, he withdrew the protective sword light and opened all his acupoints.

In an instant, the lightning engulfed him.

Thick bolts of lightning coursed through his body as Zhang Xuan absorbed them frantically.

His soul quickly broke through early Soul Departure and continued climbing, while his body grew stronger.

...

"Ready?"

Luo Xuanqing spoke.

"Mm."

Bi Hongyin and the others nodded simultaneously.

The lightning before them was formidable, but they had no other choice. They couldn't just watch Zhang Xuan get struck to death, leaving no remains.

So after a brief discussion, they decided to charge in and rescue him, using their strongest moves to completely destroy the dark clouds.

If successful, the crisis would be resolved; if not, fighting together was better than facing it alone.

"Then let's begin!"

Responding, Luo Xuanqing looked up at the dark clouds, circulating his true qi. Just as he was about to give the order to charge, a surprised voice rang out.

"Wait, something seems off?"

It was the short man, staring at the sky as if trying to see through the tribulation lightning.

"Off?"

Luo Xuanqing frowned. "What do you mean?"

The other two also looked over.

"Look closely. Don't you think the thunderclouds are moving?"

The short man said.

"Moving?"

Puzzled, they looked up and indeed saw the dark clouds shifting, already drifting from directly above them to one side.

"Once a tribulation descends, unless the tribulation-taker flees, it normally doesn't move..." Bi Hongyin frowned.

The tribulation was a heavenly calamity. As long as the tribulation-taker didn't run, it generally wouldn't move. Zhang Xuan was in the lightning, so he certainly wouldn't run. So why were the clouds moving?

Full of curiosity, they saw the clouds completely leave their heads, revealing a figure.

It was Zhang Xuan.

"He's fine?"

Seeing the young man appear, not reduced to ashes as they had imagined, their eyes lit up. Just as they were about to call him down, they saw him suddenly open his eyes and roar angrily.

"Don't run!"

Then, with a flicker, he plunged back into the dark clouds.

Crackle!

A sound of lightning collision.

Then the dark clouds shifted to one side again, and his figure reappeared.

"Where do you think you're going..."

Roaring again, Zhang Xuan charged after them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

This time, he flew fast, but the dark clouds flew faster, as if seeing something terrifying, darting away in an instant.

"You..."

Zhang Xuan was furious and gave chase.

The thunderbolts, which could appear as soon as someone was undergoing tribulation, were incredibly fast. He chased until they disappeared beyond the horizon, no longer visible.

"This... the tribulation lightning got scared away?"

"It's always the tribulation chasing people. He chased the tribulation away in panic?"

Luo Xuanqing, Bi Hongyin, and the others looked at each other, pulling their hair with expressions of disbelief.