Houtu Undergoes Tribulation, Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation

The entire Witch Clan watched the sky, hearing a loud boom as a crimson lightning bolt struck down from the thunderclouds above!

The next moment, a graceful figure soared into the air, heading straight for the crimson lightning!

"Eldest Brother! Is that... Sister Houtu?!" Zhurong exclaimed in shock, along with everyone from the Witch Clan, witnessing the scene.

Houtu stood suspended in mid-air, the crimson lightning striking her forehead!

However, Houtu seemed unharmed. Instead, the crimson lightning entered her body, cleansing her weak primordial spirit and tempering her physical body!

To call it tempering would be an understatement; it was more like an etching onto Houtu's body.

Because half of the crimson lightning appeared on Houtu's surface, inscribing patterns—Dao patterns, just beginning to manifest!

"Crack, crack...!"

Before anyone could react to the nascent Dao patterns, more lightning struck. This time, there were golden, blue, green, and grayish-white bolts!

One after another, lightning struck Houtu. Yet, she appeared unharmed, closing her eyes and sitting cross-legged in the air, seemingly accepting the cleansing of the lightning.

"Brother, this state... and the patterns on Sister Houtu's body, they're incredibly similar to the Dao patterns on Tian Chen!" On another part of Buzhou Mountain, Nuwa mused as she watched Houtu undergo the lightning baptism.

"Indeed, these are Dao patterns!" Fuxi nodded. As the first person besides Chen Tian to cultivate the Immortal Dao Body, he knew this well, for his current state was precisely what Houtu was experiencing.

Since he already possessed a primordial spirit, he didn't need to condense one again or undergo lightning baptism; he skipped that part entirely.

"Tian Chen actually passed this technique to Sister Houtu... It seems the Witch Clan isn't incapable of cultivating primordial spirits after all." Nuwa smiled as she looked at Houtu.

She had always had a good relationship with Houtu and naturally didn't want her to be without a primordial spirit. Having one would allow her to glimpse the future, thus avoiding heavenly calamities and human disasters.

"That's true. However, this method seems even more suited for the Witch Clan!" Fuxi continued, looking at Houtu. "I've been cultivating this method for five thousand years, while Houtu has only been at it for a thousand. Now, by condensing her primordial spirit and accepting the heavenly lightning's baptism, she can etch the Dao patterns faster..."

Nuwa fell into thought. Over the past few thousand years, she had personally witnessed Fuxi's step-by-step cultivation, finally reaching the stage of having patterns. To progress further would take tens of thousands of years, requiring the condensation of spiritual seals, which would then merge with the Dao patterns to achieve sainthood...

Yet, Houtu, after only a thousand years, already had Dao patterns. She was progressing much faster than Fuxi.

"Perhaps it's due to the change in physique. After all, the Witch Clan's physique is somewhat similar to Tian Chen's, and it took you two thousand years to change your physique, Brother."

Nuwa pondered, "But it doesn't matter. Brother, your path to sainthood is inevitable."

"Mm." Fuxi nodded, then continued to watch Houtu undergo her tribulation.

Besides the Fuxi siblings, other powerful beings were also observing Houtu's tribulation. After all, a Witch Clan member undergoing tribulation was an unprecedented event since the creation of the world. However, upon seeing the patterns on Houtu's body, they were shocked. These patterns seemed akin to the Great Dao, impossible to decipher.

Houtu paid no mind to the others, nor did she have the time. She was currently enduring thirty-six bolts of lightning, and the tribulation was far from over.

It was known that heavenly tribulations were divided into categories: the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, and the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.

The thirty-six bolts of lightning constituted the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, and Houtu was about to face the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, which consisted of fifty-four bolts.

"The weakest Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation is complete, and now the Six-Nine lightning begins. But with the Six-Nine lightning comes an increase in power by more than tenfold. While a Taiyi Golden Immortal can withstand it, the Six-Nine lightning might not even be survivable for a Grand Unity."

"That may be so, but the Witch Clan are body cultivators. Their physiques are entirely forged from absorbing malevolent energy, making their physical bodies incredibly robust, surpassing cultivators of the same level who focus on primordial spirits. They should be able to endure it."

"Didn't the Witch Clan not cultivate primordial spirits? How are they now undergoing tribulation to cultivate primordial spirits? Has the era changed while I was in seclusion?"

The powerful beings conversed telepathically in the sky.

"Crack, crack..."

The lightning continued to strike, and the entire Witch Clan watched, their necks surely aching.

Soon, the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was over.

The power of the descending lightning etched Dao patterns onto Houtu's body, her markings becoming increasingly clear!

These Dao patterns or markings were not mere tattoos. They only appeared during inscription or combat; otherwise, they were invisible. Thus, there was no need to worry about aesthetic concerns.

"Eldest Brother, the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation has passed, why is the thundercloud still gathered and not dispersing?" Xuanming asked, looking at the thundercloud in the sky with confusion.

"Could it be... the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation!?" Zhu Jiuyin's blood-red eyes stared intently at the thundercloud.

"The Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation of the Five Elements Divine Thunder! That is defying the heavens, a lightning strike from the Heavenly Dao to eliminate those who defy it!" Zhurong exclaimed in shock.

"The Five Elements Divine Thunder alone is astonishing, and the Heavenly Dao is making our little sister undergo three tribulations at once! Damn it..."

"Shut up! Do you want to die?"

Before Gonggong could finish, Tianwu clamped his hand over his mouth. Damn! Big Brother, you're too bold! Do you want to die? You're cursing the Heavenly Dao? Aren't you afraid it'll strike you right now??

"Rumble...!"

The next moment, a colossal roar echoed from the thundercloud, shaking the heavens. All the powerful beings in the Primordial World watched in shock as the Witch Clan's ancestral land...

The Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation of the Five Elements Divine Thunder. No one had ever seen anyone successfully undergo it from beginning to end. Even the Demon Ancestor Luohu, who once killed gods and demons, had never experienced such a tribulation. Yet now, Houtu was about to face the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation...

"Fellow Daoist Houtu is likely to perish."

"Indeed. Such a tribulation could kill even a Grand Unity Peak and turn them to dust. However, it seems destined that the Witch Clan lacks primordial spirits, and Houtu's defiance of heaven has displeased the Heavenly Dao."

"Precisely. Otherwise, why would there be a Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation? Looking at this thundercloud, the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation is likely more than a hundred times stronger than the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. Even the Witch Clan, forged through body cultivation, cannot withstand it."

"Alas, this is likely a warning from the Heavenly Dao to us all. Fellow Daoists, do not defy heaven..."

The various powerful beings conversed telepathically, offering utmost flattery to the Heavenly Dao. They had no choice; what if the Heavenly Dao unleashed a Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation of the Five Elements Divine Thunder upon them? Thus, they fawned over it like lackeys.

"Younger siblings, we cannot let the Heavenly Dao strike our little sister down. Follow me..."

"Eldest Brother, no!"

Before Dijiang could finish, Houtu's telepathic voice urgently replied, "Eldest Brother, I am not in great danger. I can still withstand the tribulation. Fellow Daoist Tian Chen's cultivation technique is extremely peculiar. I am merely cultivating it. Now, even a Quasi-Saint cannot harm me, so Eldest Brother, please do not interfere."