The Uses of Soul Beast Tribulations, Arrival in the Far North Land

After revising the plane's rules and making promises to the fierce beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Lei Chen did not linger.

With a mere thought, his figure vanished from above the Lake of Life. In the next moment, he appeared deep within the Plane Origin.

Multicolored streams of light swirled through this place. The vast power of the Plane Origin flowed quietly like a gentle sea, while Lei Chen's newly condensed, perfect body sat cross-legged at the center of the Sea of Origin, sensing its intimate connection with the breathing and pulse of the entire plane.

The main part of my alliance with the Silver Dragon King has been completed. Next, it is time to handle my own affairs. Lei Chen's consciousness sank into his body as he sensed the source of the Thunder God's Divine Throne that had been initially refined and fused into his brow.

This wisp of violet-gold Origin of Thunder rested in the depths of his sea of consciousness like a slumbering young dragon, emanating a faint yet immensely profound aura of judgment and destruction.

Reforging the Thunder God's Divine Throne was not actually complicated.

The power of lightning was one of the most violent forces in the universe. As long as he devoured and refined enough heavenly lightning, using its essence to nourish this fragment of Divine Seat origin, it could gradually grow and be restored, eventually regaining the glory of a complete First-level Divine Position.

With Lei Chen's current status as the Plane Lord, mobilizing the Douluo Plane's own lightning was as easy as turning his hand. Whether it was lightning within storms or naturally formed thunderclouds, he could easily gather it and use it for himself.

However, Lei Chen did not choose this seemingly convenient path.

"The plane's heavenly lightning draws its energy from the plane itself. If I devour it, it would be like taking from my left pocket and putting it into my right pocket. It would barely improve the plane's overall scale and might even cause a slight loss by consuming its origin. Why would I do something as foolish as robbing Peter to pay Paul?"

His gaze turned toward another, more "efficient" source of lightning—the tribulation lightning of Soul Beast Tribulations!

Soul Beasts cultivated by defying the heavens. Whenever their cultivation broke through the hundred-thousand-year threshold, they would draw down a Heavenly Tribulation. More importantly, these Soul Beast Tribulations were not generated by the Douluo Plane itself, but originated from the boundless great universe beyond the plane!

To Soul Beasts, Heavenly Tribulations were trials with only a slim chance of survival. Of all hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts, fewer than one in ten could successfully endure their first Heavenly Tribulation.

Furthermore, with every additional hundred thousand years of cultivation, the power of the Heavenly Tribulation grew geometrically. Those who survived several Heavenly Tribulations and became fierce beasts were exceedingly rare throughout the entire history of the Douluo Plane.

But while these Heavenly Tribulations were catastrophic disasters for Soul Beasts, to Lei Chen—a Plane Lord intent on reforging the Thunder God Divine Throne and increasing the plane's scale—they were excellent "supplements"!

"The energy of Soul Beast Tribulations comes from the great universe. If I use the Thunder God's Authority to devour and refine it, it would be equivalent to the Douluo Plane absorbing a portion of pure energy from beyond its borders out of thin air. Naturally, the plane's overall scale would increase."

Lei Chen's eyes gleamed. "Although the energy from a single Heavenly Tribulation may be only a trickle compared to the entire plane, drops make a river and grains of sand make a tower. Over time, the benefits will be considerable."

In other words, every Soul Beast capable of drawing down a Heavenly Tribulation was a precious resource that could continuously generate "income" for the plane. Their very existence, their cultivation, and the process of undergoing tribulation all contributed to the advancement of the Douluo Plane.

"Unfortunately, Soul Beasts capable of drawing down Heavenly Tribulations are simply too rare." Lei Chen could not help feeling somewhat regretful.

A hundred thousand years of cultivation was an immense hurdle, and the Heavenly Tribulation that came every hundred thousand years eliminated the vast majority of Soul Beasts. As a result, the fierce beasts of the current Douluo Plane could be counted on one's fingers.

"Besides, the frequency with which they draw down Heavenly Tribulations is far too low. It takes tens of thousands of years of accumulation each time..." Lei Chen pondered, but then the corner of his mouth curled upward. "Still, there happens to be a ready opportunity before me."

His consciousness stretched out like invisible tendrils, crossing countless mountains and rivers as it instantly enveloped the eternally frozen world at the northernmost edge of the continent—the Far North Land.

The Plane Lord's perception was exquisitely detailed. It easily pierced through the biting winds and thick ice, locking onto the two most powerful presences in the core region of the Far North Land.

One aura was pure and vast, like ancient ice that would never melt, containing the majesty of Ultimate Ice. Her energy level had already reached a critical point. With more than six hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred years of accumulated cultivation, she needed only one final push to draw down the terrifying seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation!

She was the ruler of the Far North Land, a lifeform condensed from the purest ice-attributed energy of heaven and earth—the Snow Empress!

Not far from the Snow Empress was another, somewhat weaker yet equally sharp aura of Ultimate Ice. It too had reached the bottleneck of nearly four hundred thousand years of cultivation. That was the Ice Empress, one of the Far North's Three Heavenly Kings.

"Snow Empress, Ice Empress..." Lei Chen softly spoke their names, the intent in his eyes becoming increasingly clear. "At the peak of six hundred ninety-nine thousand years, she is only a hair's breadth away from the seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation."

"If I lend them a hand, it would not be difficult to increase their cultivation by several hundred thousand years in a short time. Then they could draw down their Heavenly Tribulations ahead of schedule."

"At that time, not only can I devour the tribulation lightning and accelerate the reforging of the Thunder God Divine Throne, but the Douluo Plane can also absorb a massive amount of energy from the great universe. It truly kills two birds with one stone."

Having thought this far, Lei Chen no longer hesitated.

The opportunity to reforge the Thunder God Divine Throne lay in the Far North Land.

With a movement of his body, the perfect figure seated deep within the Plane Origin became illusory. In the next moment, Lei Chen's figure silently appeared within an Ice Cavern somewhere in the Far North's core region, without stirring the slightest fluctuation of energy.

Not far in front of Lei Chen stood an incomparably beautiful figure in silence. She wore a white palace gown, her skin fairer than snow, her features so ethereal that she seemed not to belong to the mortal world. She was none other than the Snow Empress, ruler of the Far North Land.

Yet this usually majestic and icy queen had not noticed Lei Chen's arrival. Her ice-blue eyes were fixed unblinkingly upon a snow lotus at the center of the Ice Cavern. Swaying gracefully amid the extreme cold, its entire body was as translucent as an ice crystal.

The snow lotus radiated vigorous life force and pure ice-attributed energy. Its cultivation had astonishingly reached one hundred thousand years.

As she gazed at the Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, the Snow Empress's eyes held extremely complicated emotions—reminiscence, as well as a trace of struggle born from a difficult choice. It was as though she was contemplating a major decision that concerned her very fate.

Lei Chen stood with his hands behind his back. He did not speak to interrupt her, merely watching the Snow Empress calmly as he waited for her to emerge from her thoughts.

A moment later, the Snow Empress raised her head with a despondent sigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she finally caught sight of the figure who had appeared at some unknown time, his aura perfectly blending with the surroundings.

"Who goes there?!"

The Snow Empress's expression changed drastically. Her ethereal voice carried unprecedented shock, fury, and sharpness.