With every fraction of the sword soul that merged in, the thunderclouds above grew stronger and more violent.
Shi Jian's body trembled slightly, while beads of sweat streamed down his forehead as though for dear life.
It was clear that he was under immense pressure.
Even the veins on his arms and forehead were bulging bit by bit.
Nine-bend Divine Fire coiled around them, crackling as sparks burst forth.
The hum of the True God Sword resounded through the void.
An immensely powerful sword intent shot straight into the heavens, vowing to cleave the entire firmament apart.
Spiritual energy of every color gathered upon the divine sword.
The sword seemed to have condensed the qi of heaven and earth, the five elements, yin and yang, sun and moon. The entire blade shone brilliantly.
Suddenly, the thunder in the sky seemed to have been enraged.
A bolt of gray lightning came crashing down.
The crackling spread through the surroundings.
The void along its path was directly destroyed, forming a dazzling spectacle.
Before the lightning could descend, Xu Zimo shot into the air and smashed it apart with a punch.
He looked upward again and saw even fiercer lightning gathering anew.
Xu Zimo looked at his fist. It felt numb, as though it had lost all sensation in an instant.
"Judging by its scale, this should be a third-level heavenly tribulation," Venerable Nu said from the side.
"However, the heavenly tribulation must be endured by the Artifact Refiner himself. By forcibly intervening, you raised this third-level heavenly tribulation to a fourth-level one."
"This lightning is truly formidable," Xu Zimo remarked.
"There are three more bolts to come. If you cannot hold on, use Artifact Mountain's Pure Qi to resist for a while," Venerable Nu said.
"I cannot intervene, or the heavenly tribulation