Black Charcoal

The wind drives lightning to the river's tremor, a fierce White Snake refines its Dao body.

Facing the Heavenly Tribulation, only perseverance matters most.

Lightning struck again, tearing open her skin and revealing bloody snake bones. Electric sparks danced across her body before dissipating into the earth. The immense pain continuously stimulated the White Snake's soul, making her verge on unconsciousness. The White Snake knew she absolutely could not pass out now, or she would surely die.

The vortex of dark clouds in the sky was still brewing. The White Snake could feel the final bolt of lightning was coming. If she endured it, the world would open up to her; if not, this would be her end.

All she could do now was lift her stubborn snake head, letting heaven know that on the ground, there was a tiny White Snake who refused to yield!

She opened her mouth and issued a warning to the sky, revealing two sharp fangs!

From afar, Xu Ling, Yang Mu, and the others who were watching were dumbfounded. They were awestruck by the heavens' might, yet more impressed by the unyielding figure of the White Snake between heaven and earth. In a daze, everyone's state of mind unconsciously improved…

"Hiss!"

Her fierce hiss drew the innate lightning. A mysterious purple lightning bolt descended from the dark cloud vortex, instantly smashing the White Snake, who had her head held high, to the ground and into a crater. The purple lightning burned the White Snake to a crisp!

The vortex dissipated, and sunlight streamed through the gaps in the dark clouds.

Xu Ling, Yang Mu, and the others rushed up the hill and then stared blankly at the blackened object in the pit.

"Wuwuwu… Big White was burned into charcoal…"

The soft-hearted Xu Ling cried loudly. Yang Mu also felt that the situation had developed beyond his expectations. The long, black object in the pit was indeed charcoal. He hadn't expected the heavenly might to directly roast Big White.

"Big White has become Big Black… wuwuwu…"

Yang Mu's forehead was covered in black lines.

Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed.

Crack…

Yang Mu raised his hand to stop Xu Ling's crying, pricked up his ears, and stared intently at the long charcoal in the pit. Although the sound was faint, it was abrupt. Could it be that Big White wasn't dead?

Then, everyone heard the sound.

Crack, crack.

The sound indeed came from the charcoal. The charcoal, presumably from the snake's head, began to crack, revealing fine, jade-like white snake scales within!

The charcoal shattered, revealing a snake head – it was the White Snake. She had successfully passed her tribulation after a fierce struggle.

Xu Ling, overjoyed, wanted to step forward, but Yang Mu grabbed her.

"Don't move rashly."

The White Snake was shedding her skin. In fact, the Heavenly Tribulation gave her more. Her physique was strengthened, and her cultivation advanced further. The most direct manifestation of a snake's progress was shedding its skin, a simple and clear sign of transformation.

As the charcoal broke apart, a larger White Snake emerged. Elated to have escaped death, the White Snake felt excited. She could now live for a very, very long time without worrying about ascension. It was best not to have too many expectations about ascension, and even if she ascended, she didn't know how many years it would be until the next Heavenly Tribulation.

She raised her head high. She had successfully passed the tribulation!

Actually, this tribulation was a Form Transformation Tribulation, meaning that after passing it, she could use transformation techniques. The most common was transforming into a human to walk the mortal world. The countless fox spirits and scholars, or wild boar demons marrying into human families, mentioned in unofficial histories were all examples of this. Of course, most demons wouldn't idly wander into the human world to show off, otherwise, they would eventually be hunted down and their heads displayed on the city walls.

The tribulation storm quickly subsided. The White Snake still guarded the gate every day, ate Failed Pills, and occasionally snuck onto Zuowang Peak to learn. However, Xu Ling and Yang Mu, perhaps frightened by the heavens, practiced even more diligently and arduously. Their progress was significant, which pleased Yu Rong greatly.

As for form transformation, it required self-exploration. The idea that one could directly turn into a human after being struck by lightning was somewhat difficult to explain. After enduring such pain, who would have the time to control the transformation of their flesh and bones?

Being struck by lightning merely made one more proficient in controlling energy, which could then be used to adjust one's body for transformation. However, permanently shedding a beastly form to become human was even more meaningless. All things in the world have their reasons for existence; there's no need to abandon one's own race to become something neither human nor beast. Humans are humans, and demons are demons; it has always been this way.

The White Snake also knew that she could transform after passing the tribulation, but she wasn't in a hurry. Whether she transformed or not was irrelevant. She had been in this immortal cultivation world for sixty-five years and had long grown accustomed to her reptilian lifestyle. She viewed it with a detached perspective.

Chunyang Palace did not have cultivation techniques for demonic beasts, so the White Snake switched to practicing Chunyang Daoist cultivation techniques, and she was quite successful.

One could only imagine the expression of the Chunyang Ancestor if he knew his techniques were being cultivated by a snake.

In the main hall of Qingxu Palace.

Yu Rong sat in the main seat, with Xu Ling and Yang Mu standing respectfully.

"After the snake's tribulation, what insights have you gained? Ling'er, you go first." Yu Rong's expression was very serious.

Xu Ling cautiously glanced at her master, realizing she couldn't get away with acting cute today.

"Disciple… feels that Big White went through a lot…"

"Yes, and then?"

"And… and…"

Xu Ling looked up at Yang Mu pitifully, hoping her senior brother could divert her master's attention. Unfortunately, Yang Mu remained still and unmoving, showing no intention of covering for her.

"Mu'er, you speak."

"Yes, Master."

Yang Mu first bowed, then calmly organized his thoughts before speaking.

"Firstly, tribulations can easily be interfered with, so one must have a foolproof plan or make the other party too intimidated to act rashly. Secondly, my junior sister and I lack experience in the world; we didn't even notice those people lurking in the shadows."

"Thirdly, cultivation is about defying the heavens. What we cultivate is that sliver of hope for survival. No matter how difficult it is, we must not give up."

"Fourthly, Heavenly Tribulations are tests for us cultivators. We must face them with courage. If we lack courage, what kind of immortal are we cultivating to be?"

Yu Rong nodded, quite satisfied. Although there were minor shortcomings, it was quite good for someone of their age to say so much.

"Very good. Cultivation is not easy, and it's even harder for a snake. The human race lives in a comfortable environment with abundant resources. Even when cultivating, they don't have to worry about the Form Transformation Tribulation or constantly fight for survival. Humans are favored by heaven, so don't become arrogant because of it. The snake has faced countless crises to reach this point, growing stronger with every setback. You should all learn from this."

The two young disciples nodded in agreement.

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. In a few days, you will go down the mountain for training."

Yu Rong originally thought her two disciples would be very sad and unwilling to leave when she told them to go down the mountain. To her surprise, upon hearing the words "go down the mountain," Xu Ling's eyes lit up with excitement, and even the usually stoic Yang Mu showed a smile. For a moment, Yu Rong couldn't believe these two were actually her personal disciples.

"So... when do we go down the mountain?" Xu Ling asked cautiously.

Yu Rong felt a pang of sentiment that her children were growing up and leaving home. She got up and left, her words drifting back to her two disciples.

"Wait until the snake can undergo Form Transformation, then the three of you will go down the mountain together."

"Yay~! Quick, go find Big White and tell it to hurry up and transform so we can go down the mountain to play! I've wanted to see Chang'an for a long time."

The spirited Xu Ling dashed off towards Lingxu Palace. At this time, Big White should be waiting there for the disciples of the Spirit Void lineage to fail at alchemy and eat the Failed Pills. It was probably only the White Snake's wish that left the Lingxu disciples speechless throughout the entire Chunyang Palace.

Lingxu Palace.

The steward in charge of the Failed Pills and Medicinal Dregs shook his head, looking at the Failed Pills in his hand. For some reason, the failure rate had increased significantly recently