The First Clash with the Heavenly Dao

Jiang Liu was in the desert, and before he could react at all,

the clouds in the sky had already begun changing color at a rapid pace. In no time, the sky was thick with dark clouds, and lightning flashed as thunder roared.

Judging by the look of it, this lightning was even more powerful than the one Jiang Liu had faced when he advanced to Peak Grandmaster last time.

Jiang Liu had been mentally prepared for this. He waved to Gongsun Haoyue, telling her to take the Fire-Winged Monkey and Sea Turtle farther away so they wouldn't get hurt.

Gongsun Haoyue quickly flickered away from Jiang Liu.

She knew that staying by Jiang Liu's side would not only be useless but would also distract him.

Letting him focus on weathering the Tribulation was the greatest help she could give him.

Jiang Liu didn't have to wait long. The first bolt of lightning had already come down over his head, crashing down with tremendous force.

Pain—intense, excruciating pain. That was all Jiang Liu could feel now.

Then a tingling numbness began in his Divine Sea, spread throughout his body, and finally reached both of his dantians.

Jiang Liu wanted to curse aloud. When he had advanced to Peak Grandmaster last time, being struck by lightning had felt rather pleasant, so he'd assumed this time would be the same.

But this time, it wasn't.

As a result, he hadn't prepared himself for any pain at all before taking the full brunt of the lightning.

What's more, after the strike, there was no sign of any energy being returned to him to help him recover quickly.

Jiang Liu looked within himself and found that not only was there no energy being returned, but the spiritual power in his Divine Sea and the