Gazing at the heavy tribulation clouds slowly rotating like millstones of apocalypse, so oppressive they made it hard to breathe, Yu Yuanchen did not feel completely confident. Although he had sworn the Oath of the Thunder God, he still harbored a trace of concern deep down about this near-loophole-like method of taking turns resisting the Heavenly Tribulation. Heavenly Might was unfathomable. Could the Plane Law truly be deceived so easily? But the arrow was already on the bowstring; he had no choice but to fire. He took a deep breath, adjusted himself to peak condition, and prepared to fulfill his promise and help with all his strength.
"Rumble—!!!"
The first wave of Heavenly Tribulation descended without warning! It was not one bolt or two, but countless bolts of lightning as thick as water barrels, dark enough to be nearly black, pouring down like an overturned celestial river. Interwoven, they formed a forest of destructive thunderstorms that fiercely blanketed the mountaintop! Between heaven and earth, only blinding lightning and deafening explosions remained!
Thunderclap Nethervine let out a low hum. The thunder clouds above its crown spun madly, unleashing a powerful suction force! The violent tribulation lightning surged into its body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, forcibly absorbed by its unique Thunder-Eating talent. Its vines trembled violently, and the runes across its main trunk shone to their utmost brilliance, clearly bearing enormous pressure. Yet its foundation was deep. Three thousand years of accumulation showed their effect at this moment, and it forcefully swallowed the entire first wave of terrifying thunder tribulation, which lasted for two hours! Its aura steadily rose as it devoured the lightning, officially crossing the fifty-thousand-year threshold and advancing toward a higher level.
However, the Heavenly Tribulation gave it no chance to catch its breath. The first wave of thunder tribulation had barely subsided when a second, even more powerful wave had already gathered and crashed down again! It came continuously, without the slightest pause!
Thunderclap Nethervine devoured with all its strength, but Yu Yuanchen could clearly sense that the speed at which it absorbed and refined the lightning was beginning to fall behind the frequency and power of the descending Heavenly Thunder! Burn marks began appearing on its vines, and its main trunk trembled faintly.
"Now!" Yu Yuanchen and Thunderclap Nethervine were connected by thought, needing no further words. A Purple-Gold radiance shot from the Divine Vine's main body and instantly enveloped Yu Yuanchen.
In an instant, Yu Yuanchen felt a strange change in his senses! His perception of the surrounding lightning became incomparably clear. The Ultimate Thunder within him seemed to have found its home, and an intense instinct to "devour" the violent energy before him arose from within! This was precisely the Thunder-Eating talent that Thunderclap Nethervine had temporarily shared with him!
"Thunder Sacred Dragon, descend!" Yu Yuanchen growled. Behind him, the Purple-Gold phantom of the Thunder Sacred Dragon raised its head and roared toward the heavens as he charged directly into the pouring tribulation lightning!
"Boom!"
Countless bolts of Heavenly Thunder seemed to find a new target and surged madly into his body! Even with the Thunder-Eating talent and Ultimate Thunder as his foundation, the immense energy far beyond his limits instantly flooded his limbs and bones, bringing tearing agony! He felt like a balloon being wildly inflated, ready to burst at any moment!
He had to vent this energy!
"Sixth Soul Skill, Thunderous Armament!"
Purple-Gold lightning erupted, instantly condensing over his body into that ancient, savage-looking set of Thunderous Armor. The Lightning Dragon Spear also appeared in his hand! This armament had originally been formed solely from Soul Power, but after devouring such a vast amount of tribulation lightning of the same origin, it actually let out a joyful hum! The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Right Arm Bone in particular resonated intensely with it!
A realization struck Yu Yuanchen, and without hesitation, he wildly poured the tribulation lightning energy inside him—energy with nowhere to go and nearly enough to burst him apart—into the Thunderous Armament!
"Hummm—!!!"
The armor and Dragon Spear instantly blazed with greater light! Their once somewhat illusory energy forms visibly became solidified and heavy! The dragon pattern on the armor seemed to come alive, its scales growing clearer and sharper, while tangible Purple-Gold electrical plasma flowed along their edges. The Dragon Spear gave off a trembling hum like a Dragon Roar, and the Destruction Lightning condensed at its tip seemed capable of tearing space apart!
It really works! Yu Yuanchen was delighted. He had long discovered that this armament condensed by his Soul Skill possessed the potential to "grow" after obtaining a Spirit Bone of the same origin! But he was currently in the golden period of cultivation, and Soul Power was precious. He needed it for his usual training as well, so he had been reluctant to pour in too much. He could only inject a little Soul Power whenever he had spare time, barely making a difference.
Now, this immense amount of pure tribulation lightning energy was the best nourishment to strengthen it! He even vaguely anticipated whether, if he continued pouring energy into it, this armament might one day transform into the prototype of true Divine Equipment...
The time it took for an incense stick to burn passed swiftly amid the mad infusion of energy and resistance against the Heavenly Thunder. Feeling that he had reached his limit, Yu Yuanchen immediately withdrew and retreated.
Thunderclap Nethervine, which had long been prepared, swiftly took over. It opened its Thunder-Eating domain again and greedily devoured the tribulation lightning. It did not rush to use all this energy to raise its cultivation level. Instead, taking advantage of the temporary lifting of Plane suppression, it cleverly stored and accumulated most of it! It knew well that if its cultivation level rose too quickly and caused the later Heavenly Tribulation to surge in power, Yu Yuanchen might not survive that crucial span of an incense stick. Then everything would be lost.
Whenever it endured a wave, or whenever Yu Yuanchen rotated out, it shared part of the pure Life Origin it had converted with him, helping him swiftly recover from his injuries and exhaustion. Within this cycle of Destruction and New Life, the coordination between man and vine grew ever more seamless.
Time passed amid the thunderous roars of the storm. One round, two rounds, three rounds... More than twenty rounds passed in total!
Every wave of Heavenly Tribulation it devoured allowed Thunderclap Nethervine to accumulate nearly three thousand years of cultivation foundation—though some energy had to be used to heal its wounds and convert Life Force. Its aura grew increasingly vast, and the energy it had accumulated had already reached a terrifying level, enough to support its final leap!
After Yu Yuanchen rotated out once more and accepted the Life Force shared by the Divine Vine to recover, Thunderclap Nethervine's thoughts reached him, carrying unprecedented gravity and resolve. "Human, the time has come! I will begin breaking through the Hundred-Thousand-Year Threshold! The process will be extremely perilous. I must devote my full strength to it and will no longer be able to spare attention to help you recover. Keep this strand of Life Origin well, in case of need."
A life energy several times denser than before flowed into Yu Yuanchen's body, and he carefully stored it away.
The next moment, the unimaginably vast energy Thunderclap Nethervine had accumulated over more than twenty rounds erupted! Its dark-purple trunk seemed to ignite, bursting forth with dazzling Purple-Gold radiance! Countless vines danced wildly, stirring Wind and Clouds, while a powerful will that seemed intent on breaking free from the shackles of heaven and earth shot straight into the sky!
Breaking through to one hundred thousand years! This was the final checkpoint on the path of defying heaven!
The process was far more tortuous and difficult than imagined. Violent collisions of energy, the pain of a leap in the level of life, and the unceasing interference of the Heavenly Tribulation caused cracks to repeatedly appear across Thunderclap Nethervine's body. charred destruction and New Life alternated over and over. Yet its unwavering will, forged over three thousand years of fighting heaven for life and rooted deep in its bloodline, was like a spine that would never bend, supporting it as it stubbornly held fast within the torrent of Destruction! Again and again, it neared collapse, only to forcibly gather itself again through unyielding conviction and launch its final charge toward that legendary realm!
Yu Yuanchen watched from the side, his heart surging with emotion. He was deeply moved as well. Such an unyielding will deserved the respect of every living being.
At last, after surviving who knew how many brushes with death, Thunderclap Nethervine's aura broke through a critical point. A vast, ancient, overwhelming pressure that seemed fused with the Thunder Law spread outward like a tide! Its trunk became even more vigorous, its hue as profound as the starry cosmos. Its vines churned like true Thunder Dragons, while the thunder clouds at its crown transformed into a Thunder Vortex surrounded by Nine-Colored Rays!
One hundred thousand years! It had succeeded! It had broken the destiny of its bloodline and become the first Thunderclap Nethervine in history to break through to one hundred thousand years!
Yet just as Yu Yuanchen thought the Heavenly Tribulation would temporarily cease with its breakthrough, another change occurred!
The tribulation clouds in the sky, which had seemed on the verge of dispersing, gathered again at an even faster speed! Their color was no longer deep black or chaotic gray, but a heart-palpitating blackish purple that seemed capable of swallowing all light! A terrifying pressure, purer than anything before and carrying the meaning of ultimate Destruction, far beyond the sum of every previous Heavenly Tribulation, locked onto the mountaintop!
Yu Yuanchen and Thunderclap Nethervine simultaneously came to an understanding—this was the final judgment of the Plane Law! It was punishment for their "loophole" scheme! This final wave of tribulation lightning contained only two bolts, but within them lay true destructive power capable of annihilating all things! Endure them, and the world would open wide before them. Fail, and they would be reduced to ashes!
"Roar—!!!" Thunderclap Nethervine's thoughts released an unwilling shriek. Though it had just broken through, its body was already riddled with wounds. Yet it still dragged its broken form forward, erupting with every last bit of strength to meet the first blackish-purple bolt of tribulation lightning!
"Boom!!!"
Just one bolt! Its incomparably resilient trunk was split open with cracks everywhere. Countless vines snapped inch by inch, turning charred and withered as its Life Force rapidly drained away before the naked eye! Even that steadfast will seemed unable to create another miracle before absolute power.
Yu Yuanchen's heart sank. He admired the Divine Vine's courage and conviction, but he understood even more clearly that the final Heavenly Thunder had already exceeded his limits. Only an existence possessing Fierce Beast-level Life Force might be able to withstand it head-on. If he stepped forward, not only would he fail to help, but his own foundation would be destroyed, and he might even die. Furthermore, deep down, he still harbored a trace of longing for the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone that might be produced.
The second and final blackish-purple tribulation lightning had already formed, carrying the will to end all things as it prepared to strike. Thunderclap Nethervine, meanwhile, was at the end of its strength and had almost completely lost the ability to resist.
"It can't end like this!" Intense unwillingness intertwined with a trace of desire for the Spirit Bone in Yu Yuanchen's heart. His gaze sharpened as he made his decision!
He abruptly took out the Jade Pendant his grandfather had given him, a family heirloom containing the defensive power of Tyrant Dragon Douluo's full-strength strike! He did not choose to use it on himself. Instead, he madly activated its core with Soul Power, doubling its defensive strength once more. He even willingly overloaded its structure, driving it toward collapse! (Chapter 14)
"Go!"
The Jade Pendant transformed into a streak of light and instantly appeared above Thunderclap Nethervine's ruined body, erupting into a solidified blue barrier! At the same time, Yu Yuanchen's Martial Soul left his body. The phantom of the Thunder Sacred Dragon roared as it formed another Purple-Gold lightning barrier in front of the Divine Vine from afar!
He did not rush over to block the lightning with his body. That was the limit of his rationality. But he was willing to sacrifice this precious life-saving heirloom and offer support from afar, trying to secure that slim thread of survival for the Divine Vine!
"Crack—!"
The final blackish-purple tribulation lightning descended. The defensive light barrier formed from the Jade Pendant's self-destruction, capable of blocking an attack from a Super Douluo, shattered instantly like paper! The Jade Pendant itself was reduced to dust.
But the tribulation lightning did not fully dissipate. Though significantly weakened, it still crashed down fiercely! It easily tore apart the Purple-Gold barrier Yu Yuanchen had created and violently struck Thunderclap Nethervine's broken body, which had nearly lost all Life Force!
"Wuu—!" A faint cry filled with extreme agony rang out in Yu Yuanchen's mind, then abruptly ceased.
The lightning faded, and the tribulation clouds slowly began to disperse. Light returned to the sky.
Yet atop the mountain peak, there was only deathly silence. The Thunderclap Nethervine that had just broken its destiny and advanced to one hundred thousand years lay quietly upon the charred, shattered ground. Its trunk had snapped, its vines had withered, and not the slightest trace of life or energy fluctuation remained.
The Heavenly Tribulation had ended.
Yu Yuanchen stood where he was, staring at the ruins with mixed emotions. He had done his best, but he had also lost his family's life-saving heirloom. In the end, it seemed he had still failed to change fate against heaven.
It seemed that nothing had been left behind.
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