Heavenly Lightning Tempering Bamboo

The barrier at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm was covered in cracks like an eggshell. Surging power coursed through his bamboo body, seeking an opportunity to break through.

Yet on this battlefield thick with demonic aura and soaring evil energy, triggering a Heavenly Tribulation was undoubtedly enormously risky!

But Li Su did not hesitate in the slightest.

The chance to break through was fleeting, and if he succeeded under such pressure, the gains would be even greater!

He suddenly withdrew most of the divine sense maintaining the array and guided the surging power within him with all his strength, launching one final assault toward the Celestial Immortal realm!

Boom!

The aura around him erupted without reservation!

The Mo Xing Bamboo Body shone brilliantly. Starlight, ghostly radiance, earthy-yellow spiritual light, and dark-gold Dao patterns intertwined and flickered, drawing upon the unseen laws of heaven and earth!

In an instant, the already-chaotic energy above Ten Thousand Witch City grew even more violent!

The demon clouds were forcibly torn open, and pitch-black tribulation clouds gathered madly. Lightning flashed as heavenly might descended!

"Heavenly Tribulation? He's undergoing tribulation at a time like this?" "It's from the Houtu Tribe! That bamboo!" "Has he gone mad? Undergoing tribulation here?!"

Both sides of the battle were drawn to this sudden Heavenly Tribulation.

The Heavenly Tribulation did not care whether one was a witch or a demon. Every living being within its range could be affected!

The demon soldiers attacking the Starstone Array retreated in terror, afraid of being targeted by the heavenly lightning.

Even the True Immortal-level experts fighting high in the sky instinctively moved away from the tribulation clouds.

"Little friend Mo Xing..." The High Priest looked worried, but he could not stop it. He could only order the tribal warriors to maintain the remaining parts of the array with all their strength and retreat from the center of the lightning tribulation.

Crack!

The first bolt of Heavenly Tribulation crashed down!

It was no ordinary lightning, but dark-red tribulation lightning containing the power of the Primordial World's laws. As thick as a water barrel and carrying an aura of utter destruction, it struck straight at Li Su's bamboo body!

Li Su neither dodged nor evaded. He fiercely raised his bamboo tip and took the tribulation lightning head-on! At the same time, he pushed Profound Star Swirl Body Protection to its limit, and the dark-gold star vortex spun wildly!

Boom! The tribulation lightning slammed into the protective halo. The halo shook violently and dimmed by nearly half. Countless electric serpents slithered across it, corroding the bamboo body. Li Su's bamboo body trembled violently as pain shot through him, but he forcibly endured the blow!

The power of the tribulation lightning was absorbed, guided, and tempered by the protective halo and bamboo body, refining every inch of his structure.

"Not enough! Again!" Sensing the tempering power contained within the tribulation lightning, Li Su actually used his divine sense to provoke the Heavenly Tribulation!

The tribulation clouds churned as though enraged. The second and third bolts of tribulation lightning struck in succession, their power multiplying!

Li Su continued to withstand them head-on. At last, the protective halo shattered, and the tribulation lightning struck directly upon his bamboo body!

Charred marks appeared, and bamboo leaves scattered through the air. Yet the essence of his bamboo body was exceptionally tough, and after repeated tempering by Wu Earth Essence and Chaos energy, he withstood it once more!

At the same time, he frantically circulated the Eight Nine Mysterious Art, guiding the power of the tribulation lightning to cleanse his fleshly body and purify his mana.

The fourth, fifth... each bolt of tribulation lightning was fiercer than the last!

When the seventh bolt of purple-black tribulation lightning descended, Li Su finally stopped taking it head-on. His bamboo branches swung, drawing upon the remaining power of the Starstone Great Array and combining it with his own mana to form a massive stellar shield that met the strike!

Rumble! The giant shield shattered, and the remaining force of the tribulation lightning still blasted him to the ground, smashing out a deep crater. His bamboo body was charred, cracks spread across it, and his aura weakened.

Just when everyone thought he could no longer hold on, within the crater lay the damaged Oathkeeper Jade Pendant that had always been nurtured within his bamboo joints.

It suddenly flew up on its own, hovering above Li Su and releasing an unprecedentedly pure, gentle, yet incomparably steadfast milky-white holy light!

The eighth bolt of tribulation lightning descended, only to be easily dissolved by more than half beneath that holy light. Its remaining power was no longer worth fearing!

The ninth, and strongest, Chaos tribulation lightning began to brew! At the center of the tribulation clouds, it seemed as if a hole leading into Chaos had opened!

At that moment, the jade pendant's radiance changed again. Ancient oaths seemed to chant from the cracks upon it, and a hazy shield-bearing phantom formed from light flashed into existence, meeting the terrifying Chaos tribulation lightning head-on!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only silent annihilation and fusion.

The Chaos tribulation lightning and the holy light of protection both dissipated by more than half. The remaining trace of pure Chaos energy and Guardian Dao Rhythm slowly descended, merging into Li Su's damaged bamboo body.

The tribulation clouds gradually dispersed.

Within the crater, the charred bamboo body began to peel away, and a newborn, deeper and more radiant black-jade bamboo body broke free from its shell!

Starlight gleamed more brightly across the bamboo body, and its mysterious patterns grew more complex, even carrying a trace of Chaos aura and pure holy light of protection!

Its height had not increased; instead, it had contracted slightly, becoming more condensed and containing explosive power!

The Celestial Immortal realm! Achieved!

And he was no ordinary Celestial Immortal. The purity of his mana, the strength of his fleshly body, and the solidity of his divine sense all far surpassed those of others at the same realm! He had even fused with a trace of Chaos tribulation lightning and holy protective essence, granting him limitless potential!

[Tribulation successfully passed. Advanced to Early Stage Celestial Immortal!]

[After tempering by heavenly lightning and Chaos energy, your innate foundation has advanced to: Mo Xing Chaos Bamboo (top-grade Postnatal Spiritual Root)]

[Physical strength greatly increased. Mana has transformed into Celestial Immortal-grade Chaos Star Evil Power.]

[Divine sense has transformed into Immortal Sense. Its range and strength have surged.]

[The Oathkeeper Jade Pendant has exhausted its accumulated power and fallen dormant. It requires long-term nurturing to recover.]

[Comprehended divine abilities: Chaos Lightning Evil (Beginner), Holy Light Protection (Passive, Weak).]

Li Su felt the new power surging through his body, and heroic ambition filled his heart! At last, he had reached the Celestial Immortal realm!

At this moment, the battlefield had briefly stalled because of his Heavenly Tribulation. The demons were uncertain and alarmed, while the Witch Clan's morale soared!

"Good! Heaven blesses our Witch Clan!" the High Priest said joyfully.

Li Su flew into the air. His new Immortal Sense swept across the battlefield, and he understood the situation in an instant.

He looked at the demon soldiers beginning to stir again, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Perfect. I'll use you to test the power of a Celestial Immortal!

Rather than immediately repairing the Starstone Array, he shook his bamboo body and charged directly out of the array's range, taking the initiative to slaughter his way into the demon horde!

"Stellar Evil Sky-Rending Thrust!" A ghostly radiance condensed with Chaos Star Evil Power shot forth. It was several times faster, and its might was utterly incomparable to before!

In an instant, it pierced through the head of a demon general at the Early Stage Celestial Immortal realm, destroying both body and soul!

"Chaos Lightning Evil!" With a sweep of his bamboo branch, a strand of purple-black Chaos lightning struck into the demon horde, blasting up a field of charred corpses!

He was like a tiger among sheep, unstoppable wherever he went!

With Early Stage Celestial Immortal cultivation, combined with the foundation of a top-grade Postnatal Spiritual Root and numerous divine abilities and Dao Rhythms, his strength was already no weaker than that of a late-stage Celestial Immortal!

His arrival immediately eased the pressure on the Houtu Tribe and even spurred the Witch Clan warriors into launching a counterattack!

However, the demon army was not without powerful experts. Very soon, an icy gaze locked onto him.

A demon general clad in black robes and wielding a serpent staff, whose sinister aura rivaled that of a Peak Celestial Immortal, transformed into a wisp of black smoke and silently appeared behind him. Like a venomous snake striking from its nest, the serpent staff stabbed straight toward the vital point at his back!

Danger! Li Su's Immortal Sense issued a frantic warning. He spun around, and Profound Star Swirl Body Protection activated instantly—after his breakthrough, the defensive divine ability had automatically recovered and become even stronger!

But the Peak Celestial Immortal demon general's attack was exceptionally vicious and tricky. The tip of the serpent staff contained terrifying piercing and curse power!

At that critical instant, another change occurred!

At a breach in the distant city wall, a clear sword light like the moon suddenly blazed forth like an immortal descending from beyond the heavens! Sword qi stretched thirty thousand li, instantly clearing out a vast swath of demon soldiers!

Immediately afterward, a figure shot into the battlefield like a meteor. Holding a Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade and bearing a divine eye upon his forehead, he charged with unstoppable momentum toward the demon commanders!

Yang Jian! He had actually come!

As for the owner of that sword light—a woman dressed in white, cold and otherworldly—she turned her sword light and appeared before Li Su as though teleporting. With a casual thrust of her sword, she met the serpent staff of the demon general attacking Li Su!

Clang! With a light ring, the demon general seemed to have suffered a crushing blow. He screamed as he and his staff were sent flying backward, his arm twisting at an unnatural angle. Clearly, he had suffered badly!

The woman in white sheathed her sword and stood still. Her cool gaze swept over Li Su, and she gave a slight nod. "By my master's orders, I came to provide support. You've done well."

The newcomer was actually—Yu Ding Zhenren's other personal disciple, Yang Jian's junior sister, Long Ji?