A bolt of divine lightning struck Lin Bai, and the Devouring Sword Soul swiftly swallowed the lightning's power into his martial soul.
Although the lightning had not injured Lin Bai,
the intense pain when it struck still made Lin Bai grit his teeth.
"Let go of me, let go of me, let go of me!" Tie Haitang struggled violently in Lin Bai's arms in fury.
"What exactly do you want?" Lin Bai asked helplessly.
"I don't need you to care about me. Go away, get out of here!" Tie Haitang cried.
"Hey!"
Lin Bai let out a soft sigh.
Just then, within the dark clouds overhead, thin strands of red current gradually began to surface.
"Why has this divine lightning changed color?" Lin Bai looked up in astonishment.
Rumble—
A thunderous roar rang out, and in an instant, the red lightning that had appeared within the dark clouds swallowed all the purple lightning.
Above the sky, the red lightning was like a thunderbolt of apocalypse, radiating power capable of destroying heaven and earth!
"This is... a heavenly tribulation!" Terror gradually appeared in Lin Bai's eyes.
"Heavenly tribulation!" Tie Haitang heard the horror in Lin Bai's voice and cried out as well.
The heavenly tribulation had originated in an extremely ancient era, one so old that it could scarcely be recorded in the years of history.
According to legend, the heavenly tribulation existed to punish martial artists who defied heaven, though another legend claimed that it came to test a martial artist's Dao heart.
There were countless different opinions, but throughout the ages, the heavenly tribulation had always been branded with a terrifying name.
That was because those who could survive beneath a heavenly tribulation could be said to be one in a million.
In other words, out of a million martial artists undergoing tribulation, only one could survive!
It was easy to imagine just how mighty the heavenly tribulation's power was.
Lin Bai looked at the heavenly tribulation gathering above Thunder Swamp. It had already taken shape.
The heavenly tribulation swallowed all the lightning within Thunder Swamp, leaving Lin Bai with no more lightning power to temper his body.
"Crack, crack!"
A thunderclap so deafening it nearly shook Lin Bai's soul from his body rang out. A bolt of red tribulation lightning descended from the heavens and struck a thousand meters ahead of Lin Bai.
"The heavenly tribulation isn't coming for us?" Tie Haitang asked in surprise.
"Someone is undergoing tribulation! Come on, let's go take a look." Lin Bai's expression was somewhat excited.
After the ancient era had passed, heavenly tribulations appeared before the world less and less often.
It was rare for Lin Bai to witness a heavenly tribulation, so naturally, he was extremely excited.
Tie Haitang followed Lin Bai as well.
The two crossed more than half of Thunder Swamp and saw strands of red electric snakes still crawling across the ground.
Beneath the heavenly tribulation, a frog as huge as a mountain lay sprawled on the ground. A patch of charred black covered its back—that was the injury the heavenly tribulation had inflicted upon it.
"It's a Thunder Frog!" Tie Haitang cried out. "I never thought the legend would be true. There really is a Thunder Frog cultivating within Thunder Swamp."
The Thunder Frog was an ancient aberrant species. Its body contained an extremely potent force of lightning. It was gluttonous, lazy, and disliked moving, but its strength was not to be underestimated.
"Can it survive the heavenly tribulation?" Tie Haitang looked at Lin Bai and asked.
"Hard to say," Lin Bai replied solemnly.
Roar—
The Thunder Frog let out an angry roar. The heavenly tribulation had failed to kill it just now; instead, it had only intensified its fury.
It raised its head and looked toward the highest heavens.
Its gaze was as sharp as a blade or sword as it stared at the heavenly tribulation.
The heavenly tribulation seemed to have been provoked. It gathered another bolt of red lightning, which descended from the sky and slammed heavily into the Thunder Frog's back.
Smack!
The Thunder Frog was battered until its entire body was covered in wounds, and a trace of desolation appeared in its eyes!
Crack, crack!
Crack, crack!
Crack, crack!
The heavenly tribulation seemed to have gone mad, striking the Thunder Frog with six consecutive bolts of red divine lightning.
After a total of eight bolts of heavenly tribulation descended, the Thunder Frog lay sprawled on the ground, barely clinging to life.
"It's going to die." Tie Haitang spoke with unbearable pity. "Why? Why does the heavenly tribulation have to punish the Thunder Frog?"
"In the Azure Spirit Mountain Range, the Thunder Frog has never been like the other demons, going out to hunt humans for food. It has only stayed quietly in Thunder Swamp, borrowing the heavenly lightning to cultivate."
"Why would Heaven send down a tribulation of lightning to punish the Thunder Frog?"
Tie Haitang was right. The Thunder Frog had never eaten a human. It had always followed the laws of Heaven's Dao, bitterly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and borrowing the power of lightning to cultivate. It neither caused trouble nor went out to eat people.
"There's one more!" Lin Bai's eyes flashed brilliantly as he watched the red tribulation lightning gather once again within the dark clouds of the ninth heaven.
"Once this bolt descends, the Thunder Frog will certainly die!" Lin Bai shook his head.
The Thunder Frog weakly lifted its head and looked at the final bolt of lightning, then helplessly lowered it again.
It had given up.
It no longer intended to resist.
It had already reached its limit.
It lay on the ground, desolately awaiting the descent of the final heavenly tribulation to end its life.
"What should we do?" Tie Haitang shouted anxiously.
A strange brilliance lit up in Lin Bai's eyes. "I'll help you withstand this bolt of heavenly tribulation!"
Crack!
When the final heavenly tribulation descended, Lin Bai dashed out from Tie Haitang's side, leaping into the air and appearing directly beneath the heavenly tribulation.
"Lin Bai! Be careful!" Tie Haitang shouted worriedly.
The Thunder Frog saw the human who had suddenly appeared. Surprise flashed through its eyes, but it immediately closed them again. In its view, this human was even weaker than itself. If it could not withstand the heavenly tribulation, how could this human possibly stand against it?
"Devouring Sword Soul! It's your turn to perform!"
Lin Bai activated the Devouring Sword Soul with all his might. With a rumble, the heavenly tribulation slammed into his body.
A huge vortex condensed on the pitch-black sword body of the Sword Soul, poised and ready to swallow the heavenly tribulation!
Pfft—
Lin Bai felt a destructive force pour into the top of his head, madly attempting to destroy his body and soul.
In an instant, Lin Bai felt as though one foot had already stepped into King Yama's Hall.
But in the next second, the terrifying power of the heavenly tribulation vanished in an instant.
Lin Bai collapsed onto the ground and vomited blood. Wounds split open all over his body, blood gushing wildly from them and turning him into a blood-soaked figure in an instant.