Heavenly Tribulation

"Boom—"

Accompanied by a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, even the little green snake that usually lay on the leaves was startled awake.

Immediately after, a torrential downpour descended. The Strange Flower erupted with brilliant radiance, illuminating the entire cave; the blinding aurora pierced through the dense woods, appearing exceptionally conspicuous amidst the forest.

A wild gale raged within the cave, and the dazzling white light dimmed bit by bit. Amidst the faint glow, the form of a five or six-year-old girl gradually condensed into a physical entity.

Compared to her previous appearance, the little girl before her eyes was even smaller. She wore a dress that looked like flower petals, her face carried a hint of baby fat, and her long black hair draped onto the ground. Qingxi slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of pupils as dark as the night.

Thunderclouds rolled across the sky, and a purplish-red heavenly lightning bolt was brewing, locking directly onto this cave.

"Oh no!" Qingxi's brows furrowed. The moment the words left her lips, she felt a bit sluggish.

Why did her own voice sound so strange? It was somewhat childish.

However, the heavenly tribulation brewing in the sky at this moment did not allow her much time to think. She cast a protective barrier over her original body and hurriedly flew outside.

It was actually a lightning tribulation.

She had never triggered any natural phenomena when she reached the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core stages, so she had assumed she wouldn't need to undergo a lightning tribulation. She hadn't expected that reaching the Nascent Soul stage would invite one, and looking at this lightning, it was the Purple Tribulation—the most difficult of all to endure.

She streaked rapidly into the distance. With such a massive commotion, there was no guarantee it wouldn't attract the powerhouses of this continent; she had to get as far away from the Ice and Fire Spirit Pool as possible.

Star Dou Great Forest.

Above the ancient, towering forest, a small black figure was moving at extreme speed, with purple lightning in hot pursuit.

The lightning crackled as it fell. Qingxi dodged rapidly, though she was struck from time to time. Her body had only just been freshly forged and was incredibly delicate; if she were to take the lightning tribulation head-on, she feared not even ashes would remain.

Watching the little thing dodging incessantly below, the black tribulation cloud was filled with towering rage. It accumulated its power, and the lightning suddenly paused, though the sky remained thick with rolling thunderclouds.

Qingxi did not relax for even a moment. As long as the tribulation cloud had not dissipated, she dared not gamble with the body she had worked so hard to cultivate.

If she had Qiankun in hand, she might have dared to contend with this heavenly lightning, but unfortunately, Qiankun had remained in her homeland along with her past life.

Suddenly, with a loud "Bang!", Qingxi seemed to sense something and looked back.

She saw a lightning bolt shaped like a giant dragon, resembling green light, striking toward her. It tore through time and space, landing precisely upon her.

In an instant, her mind went blank, and like a kite with a snapped string, she plummeted straight down.

The green lightning dissipated. The tribulation cloud in the sky let out a haughty "Hmph," turned around, wiggled its backside, and departed.

Sunlight shone once again upon the Star Dou Great Forest.

Over a dozen rays of light arrived in succession; it was the seven Great Elders of Spirit Hall, including Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.

Following closely behind were the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, the elders of the Star Luo Empire imperial family...

Almost everyone with power on the entire continent had gathered here.

At this moment, beneath their feet lay a massive ravine extending deep into the Star Dou Great Forest, and the charred trees surrounding it still held traces of lingering lightning.

That dazzling pillar of light had been seen by almost the entire continent, and several factions were gathered together, each harboring wariness toward the others.

"Big Brother, what should we do?" A young man wearing blue robes with blue feathers on his shoulders frowned, his sword-like brows knit together as he looked toward the silent Qian Daoliu.

"With so many factions here, if a fight breaks out, I fear we won't gain any advantage," Chiangmo Douluo spoke up from the side.

"How laughable. Does our Spirit Hall fear anyone?" Lion Douluo held his chin high, looking up at Qian Daoliu. "Big Brother, you give the order, and we shall follow."

Qian Daoliu looked at the massive ravine beneath his feet. This was likely caused by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast undergoing tribulation; such a lightning tribulation was unheard of.

But it also signaled the rarity of the object that had undergone the tribulation.

Even if the tribulation failed, the soul bone left behind by a hundred-thousand-year soul beast would be exceptionally precious.

"Search separately. Send a signal to notify everyone immediately once you find it." With that, he flew toward the end of the ravine.

"Understood!" The other six nodded and instantly transformed into several rays of light, scattering in all directions.

Before leaving, Qingluan Douluo did not forget to stop and instruct the nonchalant silver-haired youth nearby, "Guang Ling, act according to your ability; do not get distracted by play."

"I know, I know." The silver-haired youth had a delicate, baby-faced appearance. Perhaps due to his martial soul, one-third of the skin on his left cheek was covered in ice and snow.

"Nagging." He made a face at the Qingluan who had already flown far away, then hoisted the Guang Ling Divine Bow and flew toward the other side.

The remaining Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo looked at each other.

"Old Ghost, what do we do?"

"Search, obviously!" With that, the two of them also scattered.

At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi looked at the Titled Douluo who had already dispersed, his brows locked tight. "Should we also split into three groups?"

"Fengzhi, you are an auxiliary-system soul master. Now that several major factions are gathered, to prevent anyone from playing dirty against our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, you and Gu Rong will be one group. I will act alone. Try not to attract the attention of other factions, and flee immediately once you find the item," Sword Douluo said.

"Very well." Ning Fengzhi nodded, and subsequently, they also split into two groups and scattered.

Everyone desperately hoped to find that Strange Flower that had triggered the natural phenomenon faster than the others, with only one exception.

"Search away, search away. This old man won't play along with you lot. Regardless of which faction finds it, it will be a brutal battle anyway."

The silver-haired youth leaned against a tree branch, watching the Titled Douluo scatter. He toyed with the ice arrow in his hand, his brown eyes revealing a hint of laziness.

That was the fifth elder of Spirit Hall—Guang Ling Douluo.

It was unknown how much time had passed when a firework suddenly exploded in the western sky.

It was the emblem of the Star Luo Empire.

"Over there!" Everyone felt a jolt of alarm and flew toward that direction.

Guang Ling put away the arrow in his hand, revealing a rare expression of seriousness. He unfurled his translucent ice wings, his brown eyes stained a deep ink-blue by the frost.

He flew at an incredible speed, arriving at the location even before the other Douluo.

Before them lay several thousand meters of scorched earth, the ground slightly sunken, with the remnants of a chaotic forest reduced to charred ruins.

In the center of the black soil lay the massive, blackened carcass of a beast, with two soul bones hovering above it, emitting a brilliant radiance that seemed to resonate with one another.

"It's a hundred-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear soul bone—a right palm bone and a leg bone!"

Everyone was shocked.

One had to realize that a hundred-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear could already be ranked among the Great Beasts.

Hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were already rare on the Douluo Continent, let alone a precious species like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but feel a sense of regret—a pity for the hundred-thousand-year soul ring that had already dissipated.

The next second, the various factions swarmed down, and a great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

"You of Spirit Hall are truly shameless; we of the Star Luo Empire discovered these soul bones first."

"What do you mean 'discovered'? These are ownerless items; whoever seizes them gets to keep them!" Chiangmo Douluo retorted, unconvinced.

The Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire formed a temporary alliance to fight against Spirit Hall.

Meanwhile, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family stood on the side of the Heaven Dou Empire.

In an instant, soul skills were flying everywhere.

"Seventh Brother, be serious. This old man saw you holding back," Guang Ling said, relying on his superior speed to maneuver through the air, occasionally firing a stray arrow while teasing Chiangmo, who was locked in a back-and-forth struggle with a young lady.

"Then you come and fight the woman! Stop firing arrows blindly; you've nearly hit me several times already," Chiangmo replied while dodging the cat claws coming from his opponent.

Heaven knows how he ended up matched against a female Douluo. He had promised not to hit women, so what was he supposed to do?

And as for the Fifth, he was already over seventy years old, yet he acted like a child.

"Don't look down on people! Fourth Soul Skill—Spirit Cat Possession!" the female Douluo opposite him shouted, flushed with anger.