Two Tribulations Overcome, Nebula Emerges

Forty days passed in the blink of an eye. On a desolate plain somewhere in the Great Wilderness, Yun Ce stood with his hands behind his back, a faint spiritual glow swirling around him. He gazed toward the horizon, calm but with a trace of wariness in his expression. Qin Yu stood nearby, gripping the High-Grade Spirit Artifact sword tightly as he watched Xiao Hei, anticipation and concern in his eyes.

Xiao Hei spread his enormous wings and stood proudly in the middle of the clearing. His hawk-like body had grown even more powerful, and wind-element spiritual energy swirled faintly around him. His eyes were filled with determination, though a hint of tension was hard to hide. For the past forty days, he had devoted himself to cultivation at Thunder Mountain Residence, consolidating his realm and honing his abilities. He was fully prepared to undergo tribulation, but even so, the might of the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation inspired awe.

Suddenly, the weather changed. The clear sky was instantly swallowed by dark clouds as howling winds and flashes of lightning filled the air. A vast, majestic heavenly might descended, enveloping the entire clearing beside the lake. Purple lightning churned faintly within the clouds, rumbling ominously and making their hearts tremble.

"The heavenly tribulation is here!" Yun Ce said solemnly. "Xiao Hei, steady your mind and circulate your power. Take the first three bolts head-on. Remember the force-deflecting method I taught you. It'll do your body a lot of good!"

Xiao Hei seemed to understand Yun Ce's instructions. He let out a ringing cry and drew in his wings slightly. Wind-element spiritual energy surged around him, forming a green barrier that firmly encased his body.

Rumble—

The first bolt of purple lightning tore through the clouds with the force to destroy the heavens and earth, crashing down on Xiao Hei. He did not dodge. He took it head-on with the green barrier. The barrier shook violently, ripples spreading across its surface, but it held firm and withstood the bolt. Though it sustained some damage, Xiao Hei himself remained unharmed.

The second and third bolts followed in quick succession, each thicker and more terrifying than the last. Xiao Hei gritted his teeth and kept circulating his wind-element spiritual energy to repair the barrier. Each bolt left more of his feathers charred and his breathing a little more ragged, but he held his ground without retreating a single step.

Qin Yu watched anxiously and instinctively started forward to help, but Yun Ce raised a hand to stop him. "Don't. A heavenly tribulation is a test for cultivators who defy the heavens. No one else can interfere. Otherwise, it'll only provoke an even more terrifying heavenly might and put Xiao Hei in greater danger."

Hearing this, Qin Yu could only force down his anxiety. He clenched his fists and kept his eyes fixed on Xiao Hei, silently praying for him.

Just then, the fourth bolt of lightning struck! It was thicker than the first three combined, its purple radiance dazzling and its destructive power terrifying. It crashed down on Xiao Hei, instantly tearing through the green barrier around him and slamming into his body.

"Caw—!"

Xiao Hei let out a piercing cry. The enormous bird staggered backward as the bolt struck him. His feathers were charred and fell away, blood streamed from his wounds, and his aura weakened in an instant. He looked on the verge of collapse.

"Xiao Hei!" Qin Yu cried, panic filling his eyes.

Yun Ce furrowed his brows slightly. So this is the most perilous moment after all. He had known that Xiao Hei, a super divine beast—the Dark Lightning Peng King—would face an unusual tribulation. The fourth bolt was the greatest hurdle. Still, he had not expected it to be even stronger than he had anticipated.

At this critical moment, a flash of crimson appeared in Xiao Hei's eyes. A completely different power suddenly erupted from him. The wind-element spiritual energy that had surrounded him quietly faded, replaced by scorching, violent power of lightning and fire. It burst from his enormous body like a flaming dragon and shot straight into the sky.

"His innate divine ability—his lightning-and-fire attack has awakened again!" A look of delight flashed across Yun Ce's eyes. "Excellent! Xiao Hei hasn't let me down!"

The lightning-and-fire power surged with ferocity and collided with the fourth bolt of purple lightning. Rather than exploding with a world-shaking blast, the two forces merged. The lightning-and-fire power devoured the bolt's energy, growing stronger by the moment. Seizing the chance, Xiao Hei circulated the newly awakened power to heal his wounds, then beat his wings and charged straight at the bolt, absorbing all the lightning that remained.

Rumble—

The fourth bolt vanished completely. The lightning-and-fire power around Xiao Hei gradually subsided. Though he was still covered in wounds, his eyes were bright, and his aura recovered rapidly, growing even stronger than before the tribulation. He shook his wings and let out a ringing cry, his eyes full of excitement and pride. He had successfully overcome the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation!

The dark clouds slowly dispersed, and the heavenly might faded. A ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and fell on Xiao Hei. Pure spiritual energy descended from the heavens, nourishing his body, healing his injuries, and stabilizing his realm.

Qin Yu hurried over and gently stroked Xiao Hei's wing, joy filling his eyes. "Xiao Hei, you did it! That's wonderful!"

Xiao Hei affectionately rubbed his head against Qin Yu's palm, then cried out to Yun Ce, gratitude clear in his expression. Yun Ce walked over and waved a streak of spiritual light down on him, helping heal his wounds. Smiling, he said, "Well done, Xiao Hei. Now that you've awakened an even more powerful lightning-and-fire ability, your strength is sure to rise to a new level."

With Xiao Hei's tribulation behind them, Qin Yu's turn came next. Ten days later, the aura of a heavenly tribulation once again descended upon a desolate clearing somewhere in the Great Wilderness.

Compared with Xiao Hei's tribulation, the might of Qin Yu's Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was no weaker, but he did not show the slightest sign of panic. Over the past fifty days, he had not only mastered the Nebula Chapter of Stellar Transformations, but, with Yun Ce's guidance, had also made a substantial breakthrough in physical strength. His body was now powerful, and with a High-Grade Spirit Artifact in hand, he felt fully confident.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and purple lightning churned within them. The first bolt crashed down. Qin Yu did not dodge. Spiritual light flashed around him as he pushed his physical strength to its limit and took the bolt head-on. The lightning struck his body, leaving only a faint scorch mark. It did not harm him; instead, his true energy quietly absorbed it, nourishing his body.

"What a powerful body!" Yun Ce watched from the side, his eyes filled with approval. Qin Yu had cultivated the Three Heaven-Reaching Charts to perfection, and his physical strength had long surpassed that of cultivators at the same level. Taking the first two bolts head-on would be no trouble at all.

The second bolt followed. Qin Yu remained composed and took it with his body. He absorbed all the lightning's power. This was a method mentioned in Lei Wei's notes: tempering the body with the lightning of a heavenly tribulation. After enduring the bolt, his aura became even more concentrated.

The third bolt descended. At last, Qin Yu slowly drew the High-Grade Spirit Artifact sword from his hand. A faint, cold light shimmered along its blade, which held pure spiritual energy. He lifted his hand and swung the sword. A sharp sword aura shot into the sky and collided with the lightning, splitting it apart in an instant. The sword aura's momentum remained undiminished as it surged toward the heavens.

The fourth bolt was the tribulation's final trial. A thick bolt of purple lightning crashed down on Qin Yu with terrifying force. His gaze sharpened, and he turned his wrist, sweeping his sword in a series of arcs. Sword auras wove together into a net, steadily catching the bolt. Lightning and sword energy collided, and in the end, the lightning dissipated as the sword auras gradually faded. Qin Yu remained firmly in place, his breathing steady and his aura completely undisturbed.

The tribulation faded, and spiritual energy from heaven and earth converged to nourish Qin Yu's body. Under the tribulation's tempering, the Xiantian true energy within him completely transformed into liquid purple true energy. His dantian brimmed with energy, and his aura broke through as he officially stepped onto the path of cultivation.

"Master, I've lived up to your expectations and successfully overcome the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation!" Qin Yu turned and bowed to Yun Ce, joy and respect in his eyes.

Yun Ce nodded with a smile. "Good, good! Yu'er, you did very well. Having overcome the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, you've truly embarked on the path of cultivation. Now you can finally begin cultivating Stellar Transformations in earnest."

Xiao Hei flew over to Qin Yu and let out a cheerful cry, seemingly celebrating with him.

Afterward, the two of them and Xiao Hei returned to Thunder Mountain Residence. Yun Ce specifically instructed Xiao Xing to guard the residence and not let anyone disturb them. Then he took Qin Yu and Xiao Hei to the Cultivation Room. It was spacious and bright, with far richer spiritual energy than the study, making it an ideal place to cultivate.

Qin Yu sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, regulating his breathing until his mind was completely calm. Xiao Hei lay beside him with his eyes closed, meditating as he absorbed what he had gained from the tribulation. Yun Ce sat on a stone chair nearby, standing with his hands behind his back as he silently guarded Qin Yu. His eyes were full of expectation.

Qin Yu sank his mind into his body, and the cultivation method of the Nebula Chapter of Stellar Transformations slowly surfaced in his thoughts. At the same time, words his master, Yun Ce, had once told him—an account of what Lei Wei had said after failing the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation—echoed clearly in his mind: "I have roamed the boundless cosmos, experienced the evolution of the universe, drifted for thousands of years, and traversed countless planets. Yet today my soul is about to scatter. Heaven has not aided me. Is the blazing sun really the end of Stellar Transformations? Alas, alas! Everyone on this continent, listen. Today I pass down the Three Charts of Heaven-Reaching. Whoever obtains all three and comprehends their mysteries shall inherit my cultivation arts. Ha ha... Fortune or misfortune..."

There was reluctance and regret in Lei Wei's words, but also confidence in Stellar Transformations. Qin Yu was overwhelmed with emotion. Whether his path brought fortune or misfortune, he silently resolved to cultivate Stellar Transformations to its utmost, so he would not disappoint Senior Lei Wei's legacy or his master's expectations.

Steadying his mind, Qin Yu began cultivating the first realm of Stellar Transformations—the Nebula Stage.

Following the secret methods and techniques in the cultivation manual, Qin Yu slowly drew on the liquid purple true energy within his body. Tempered by the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, this purple true energy had become exceptionally pure and completely liquid, flowing slowly through his meridians.

Under Qin Yu's mental control, the purple droplets scattered throughout his body began to converge, flowing toward his dantian. Immersed in the process, Qin Yu clearly sensed that his dantian was vast, as though it were a boundless universe. He had never seen anyone else's dantian and had no idea how his differed from theirs. He focused solely on gathering the liquid true energy.

The liquid true energy flowed through his dantian like streams of purple water, swirling and converging until they gradually formed a smooth, round sphere. An ordinary cultivator would have begun refining this sphere at this point, condensing a Golden Core and entering the Golden Core Stage.

But Qin Yu was not cultivating an ordinary technique. He was cultivating Stellar Transformations.

"First gather, then disperse!" Qin Yu clearly remembered the instructions in the Nebula Chapter. Just as he was about to follow the cultivation method and disperse the sphere in his dantian, an extraordinarily strange force suddenly appeared there, spinning outward in every direction like centrifugal force.

The purple sphere in his dantian was instantly affected by this strange centrifugal force. It shattered and scattered toward every corner of his dantian. Some of the true energy even rushed along his meridians out of the dantian, spreading throughout his body.

Qin Yu was taken aback, then suddenly understood. He remembered that, as recorded in the manual, the way of the nebula followed the natural laws of the universe. Lei Wei himself had spent a long time contemplating before coming up with this method of "dispersion." Wasn't the natural centrifugal force in Qin Yu's dantian a perfect match for the natural principles governing a nebula's rotation?

"When I was little, I cultivated internal energy, and my dantian scattered it all. Now I'm cultivating Stellar Transformations, and it's happening again." Qin Yu could not help feeling anxious, but he wasn't worried that he would lose the liquid purple true energy. Even if it left his dantian, it remained under his mental control and could easily merge with the rest of his body.

But the problem was that the centrifugal force in his dantian sent the liquid purple true energy scattering everywhere. How could he make it follow the nebula's path?

"Cultivating internal energy didn't work, and now it's the same with Stellar Transformations. This strange dantian is just..." Qin Yu was exasperated. The liquid purple true energy had completely dispersed, leaving his dantian like mist, and some of it had even escaped through his skin to swirl around his body.

Just as Qin Yu was growing frustrated, a thought suddenly stirred in his mind, and he instinctively guided the mist-like purple true energy back into his body. This energy had been built up through years of cultivation and further tempered by the heavenly tribulation, so it was easy to control. At his command, it flowed back toward his dantian.

But the instant the purple true energy entered his dantian again, the strange centrifugal force sprang into action once more, setting it spinning before dispersing it along his meridians.

A cycle!

An almost perfect cycle formed just like that!

A nebula-like vortex formed within his dantian. Purple true energy continually flowed in from all over his body, spun inside his dantian under the influence of the centrifugal force, then followed the nebula's path back out. It passed through his muscles and bones, spread beyond his body, then flowed through his muscles and bones again and returned to his dantian.

The cycle operated automatically, perfectly and flawlessly, without any deliberate effort from Qin Yu. The natural centrifugal force within his dantian made the nebula vortex more orderly and its rotation smoother, perfectly aligning it with the natural paths of the stars in the universe.

"Ha ha! Even the heavens are helping me!" Qin Yu suddenly opened his eyes, filled with overwhelming joy. His voice trembled slightly with excitement. "My dantian's strange nature isn't a flaw. It's... it's a tremendous blessing! Master was right!"

He finally understood. He had been born with a damaged dantian and could not cultivate ordinary internal arts, but that "flaw" was precisely suited to the principles of the Nebula Chapter of Stellar Transformations. The natural centrifugal force let him form a perfect nebula cycle without conscious effort, one even more aligned with nature—and more perfect—than the path Lei Wei had once comprehended.

"Nebula... this nebula's path is almost perfect. It's even more perfect than the path Senior Lei Wei comprehended! Ha ha... this is incredible..." Qin Yu was so excited he could barely speak. Anyone familiar with Stellar Transformations knew that the closer the Nebula Stage's path was to the natural laws of the universe, the stronger one's foundation would be and the greater one's future achievements.

Although the nebula cycle could cultivate automatically without his deliberate guidance, Qin Yu still steadied his mind and focused on circulating the technique. He knew that concentrating on his cultivation would make him progress faster and deepen his insights.

The purple mist that had spread beyond his body gradually covered an area two or three meters around Qin Yu. The purple clouds swirled slowly with the nebula cycle, enveloping him as though he were sitting in a nebula of his own.

As the purple clouds circulated, they actively absorbed the stellar energy between heaven and earth, which then flowed through Qin Yu's muscles and bones into his body, nourishing his physique and meridians. As the stellar energy passed through his muscles and bones, they naturally absorbed some of it and were tempered, growing stronger. The purple clouds, now carrying stellar energy, flowed back into his dantian. When they passed through the nebula vortex, it devoured and refined most of their energy, while the remaining clouds spread beyond his body again to absorb more stellar energy.

Every cycle absorbed stellar energy and tempered his body, making the energy within the nebula vortex purer and stronger. Qin Yu was completely immersed in the wonderful feeling of cultivation, his mind merging with the nebula cycle as he forgot time and everything around him.

Yun Ce sat nearby, watching the purple nebula swirling around Qin Yu, his eyes filled with anticipation and confidence. He had known all along that Qin Yu's damaged dantian was a perfect opportunity for cultivating Stellar Transformations. Now, seeing Qin Yu successfully enter the Nebula Stage and form a perfect nebula cycle, he finally felt much of the weight lift from his mind.

Xiao Hei lay nearby with his eyes closed, meditating. Lightning-and-fire power and wind-element spiritual energy occasionally intertwined around him, showing that he too was absorbing the gains from the tribulation and steadily advancing his cultivation.

Spiritual energy swirled through the Cultivation Room. The purple nebula rotated slowly as Qin Yu focused on cultivating, Xiao Hei meditated quietly, and Yun Ce stood guard in silence. Time passed slowly, and before they knew it, more than a month had gone by.

The purple clouds around Qin Yu gradually faded, but the energy they contained grew purer and more concentrated. The nebula vortex in his dantian became clearer and more stable, and his aura steadily grew stronger as he advanced toward the middle stage of the Nebula Stage.