Thunder Spirit

When the green light met the tribulation lightning, it was like life and destruction neutralizing each other. In an instant, the lightning filled with violent energy became docile.

The energy of the sixth heavenly tribulation began to gather, slowly forming into a sphere before transforming into a palm-sized blue-violet spirit body. Perhaps because this tribulation lightning had been summoned by the Snow Empress, the little spirit looked eighty percent like her. Yet in its tiny form, it lacked the Snow Empress's aloofness and instead resembled an adorable porcelain doll.

[Creation and Evolution] was the soul skill granted by Yao Shi's fourth soul ring. It could imbue inanimate objects with life.

The Thunder Spirit slowly opened her eyes. The moment she saw Yao Shi, she immediately flew over and rubbed against his face, her voice ethereal.

"Mommy~"

Yao Shi had been quite happy when the Thunder Spirit flew over to nuzzle him, but when he heard what she called him, his face darkened and he nearly stumbled.

In principle, the Thunder Spirit's life had indeed been given by him, so it was reasonable for her to call him Mommy. But he was a man. Hearing someone call him Mommy was truly strange.

So Yao Shi pinched the Thunder Spirit between two fingers and pulled her away from his face, correcting her as he looked at her. "Don't call me Mommy. Call me Master from now on, understand?"

Hearing Yao Shi's words, the Thunder Spirit tilted her head in confusion, looking a little aggrieved. Still, she was very obedient and immediately changed her form of address. "Master~"

Seeing her like this, Yao Shi could not resist poking her little cheek.

Although the Thunder Spirit now possessed life and a measure of intelligence, she had no physical body and remained a pure energy form. When Yao Shi held her in his palm, there was no numbness or electric shock from lightning. Instead, she felt like a human infant—soft and warm in his hand.

Standing beside Yao Shi, the Snow Empress was also curious about the spirit body in his hand that somewhat resembled her. But before she could ask what was going on, the seventh—and final—heavenly tribulation began to gather.

The Snow Empress could only set the matter aside for now and said to Yao Shi.

"Little Yao Shi, be careful. This is the final heavenly tribulation. Its power may be even more terrifying than the previous six combined."

Upon hearing this, Yao Shi was just about to activate the Glazed Pure Land when the Thunder Spirit spoke. "Master, there's no need for you to exert yourself. Leave this heavenly tribulation to me."

With that, she flew away from Yao Shi's palm and arrived above the Snow Empress's head.

Looking at the Thunder Spirit, the Snow Empress asked Yao Shi uneasily, "Little Yao Shi, is it really okay to leave it to this little one? This final lightning tribulation is no joke. Why don't you hide in that space first? If she fails and it reaches you, your life could be in danger."

Yao Shi shook his head. "It's fine. Leave it to her. Since she says she can do it, she definitely can. I believe my creation won't lie to me."

The Snow Empress wanted to say something else, but the final heavenly tribulation had already taken shape.

Rumble—

Unlike the previous tribulations, which had descended one strike at a time, the seventh lightning tribulation condensed seven bolts at once and struck down together toward where the Snow Empress and Yao Shi stood.

Below, as the Snow Empress watched the seven heavenly tribulations descend together, her senses told her that if she were struck by this attack, she would undoubtedly die.

Fortunately, when the seven bolts of lightning reached midair, they abruptly stopped. The Thunder Spirit's tiny body continuously drew the lightning toward herself, directly absorbing it all.

The process lasted only a little over a minute before the Thunder Spirit had absorbed every bolt of lightning. At some point, a marble-sized sphere had appeared in her hand.

The Thunder Spirit tossed the little sphere toward the Snow Empress. The instant it touched her, it fused into her body.

At that moment, the Snow Empress's aura began to rise steadily. Piercing cold radiated from her body, so frigid that it seemed capable of freezing time itself.

At this moment, the Snow Empress had successfully crossed her seven-hundred-thousand-year limit, her cultivation officially reaching the seven-hundred-thousand-year level.

With all seven lightning tribulations overcome, the pitch-black clouds began to disperse. Before long, the sky cleared once more.

"S-She succeeded?"

From afar, the Ice Empress, who had been tense all this time, watched the tribulation clouds continuously fade away and muttered in disbelief before immediately flying toward them.

Feeling the improvement in her cultivation, the Snow Empress excitedly pulled Yao Shi into her embrace and thanked him again and again. Yao Shi's help was equivalent to giving her two lives. Without his aid, she might have already self-destructed her origin and vanished between heaven and earth. She could never have remained standing here safely after overcoming the great tribulation.

Yao Shi, however, was being held so tightly by the Snow Empress that he could barely breathe, struggling continuously.

"O-okay, Snow Empress... you're... holding me too... tightly. I can't... breathe..."

Yao Shi spoke in broken phrases. Only then did the Snow Empress realize what she was doing. She immediately released him and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Sorry, Little Yao Shi. I was too excited and didn't control my strength properly."

Free from the Snow Empress's embrace, Yao Shi gulped down fresh air.

That was close. I almost saw my great-grandmother.

Just then, the Ice Empress appeared before them. The instant she saw the Snow Empress, she pounced on her and said excitedly.

"That's wonderful, Xue'er! You successfully overcame the great tribulation. That's wonderful!"

It was not that she had not believed Yao Shi when he said they could safely overcome the heavenly tribulation. It was simply their first attempt, and the road ahead had been entirely unknown. Now that she saw the Snow Empress truly survive the lightning tribulation unharmed, she was sincerely happy for her friend of tens of thousands of years.

Looking at the Ice Empress like this, the Snow Empress soothed her gently. "I'm fine now, Bing'er. Thanks to Little Yao Shi's help, I was able to overcome this great tribulation safely. You're next, Bing'er. You must get through it safely too."

"Mhm. With Yao Shi's help, I definitely can," the Ice Empress said confidently, thinking that Yao Shi really had not lied to her.

At this moment, the Ice Empress noticed the Thunder Spirit flying above Yao Shi's head. She narrowed her eyes and stared at her for a while before asking in confusion, "Yao Shi, what is that thing over your head? Why does she look a little like the Snow Empress?"

Before Yao Shi could speak, the Thunder Spirit immediately retorted, "I'm not a thing! I'm a heavenly spirit lifeform enlightened by my Master through the power of tribulation lightning."

"A heavenly spirit lifeform!"

The Ice Empress and Snow Empress exclaimed in shock at the same time, both staring at Yao Shi as though he were a monster. Their gaze made him turn his head away somewhat awkwardly.

"Little Yao Shi, could you be the descendant of some god who came to this lower realm to experience life?"

The Snow Empress asked with a bitter smile. Though she had personally witnessed Yao Shi turn the heavenly tribulation into the current Thunder Spirit, she had initially assumed that he had merely used some method to temporarily grant the tribulation the ability to communicate. Never had she expected him to directly enlighten it into a living being.