The lightning tribulation came swiftly and departed just as abruptly.
The dark clouds filling the sky seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand. After several more erratic bolts of silver serpentine lightning struck down, they seemed to have either confirmed the target's qualifications or realized they could do nothing to the one undergoing tribulation. With a few lingering rumbles, they slowly dispersed in reluctant defeat.
The heavy cloud cover swiftly faded, and the returning daylight spilled across the ravaged island. The air was permeated with the distinctive scorched scent left after lightning, along with the strange stillness that followed a storm.
After the lightning tribulation dissipated, the enormous snake-shaped mass of charred flesh at the center of the island did not immediately show signs of life.
Instead, the magnificent rainbow glow that had once flowed across its surface began to recede like a tide. The new snake scales that had struggled free from the charred shell and continued to shine through the lightning tribulation also seemed to have lost their source of strength, gradually dimming into lusterless, dust-covered gems.
Caidie took in the sight, and her heart instantly sank to the depths.
To her, this was clearly a sign that all life had been extinguished!
"Big sister... Big sister!"
Her tears could no longer be restrained, flooding from her eyes like water bursting through a dam. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her despairing cry echoed through the silent valley, filled with helplessness and sorrow.
However, Su Baichen, whose Soul Power was immensely powerful, sensed something entirely different from Caidie.
His sharp Soul Power, like invisible tendrils, clearly detected the life force within the charred mass. Not only had it not dissipated, but after being tempered by the lightning tribulation, it had become more