For the next three days, Li Qingshan did not leave his cave abode for a single step.
He used the Sun True Scripture to circulate his innate Solar True Force and draw in the vast essence of heaven and earth from Mount Kunlun.
He continuously transferred it into Xiaobai, tending to the vital essence damaged by Xiaobai's use of an innate secret art.
The little one's dulled scales gradually regained their luster, and the pair of jade horns atop Xiaobai's head once again shone with a warm, gentle light.
But Xiaobai's spirits remained somewhat low, and the little one spent most of the time curled up asleep.
Only on the evening of the third day, as the sun sank behind the western mountains and its dying light ran red as blood, did Xiaobai finally awaken fully.
Xiaobai slowly uncoiled and stretched, a nearly imperceptible glimmer of golden radiance flowing across the jade horns.
[Master.]
Xiaobai's thought reached him, still weak but clear once more. [That day, it was as though a primeval demonic sound pierced my mind, intent on crushing my soul.]
Seeing that Xiaobai was unharmed, Li Qingshan felt the stone hanging over his heart fall away. His divine sense gently brushed Xiaobai's spiritual consciousness:
"It was only a remnant thought of an ancient restriction, unwilling to dissipate. I crushed it with divine power, so there's no need to fear it anymore."
Just then, "Rumble!"
A muffled peal of thunder, filled with the majesty of heaven and earth, came rolling in from the distant horizon.
It was no ordinary thunder from wind and rain. It sounded more like the voice of the Great Dao, carrying a will of judgment and destruction as it spread across the mountains in an instant.
Li Qingshan sensed something. With a slight movement, he appeared outside the cave.
He looked up and saw that the sky, quiet in the evening twilight only moments before, was now covered by boundless, heavy leaden clouds.
The dark clouds slowly spun in a vast funnel, and deep at its center, blinding lightning darted about like dragons and serpents.
Every flash made the surrounding void tremble, giving off a violent force that made the heart quake.
"A sign of heavenly tribulation."
His pupils contracted slightly. Sending fine threads of divine sense cautiously into the edge of the tribulation cloud, he immediately perceived the terrifying power of lightning within it, enough to demolish mountains and split peaks.
This was not a phenomenon an ordinary cultivator would trigger upon breaking through.
On his shoulder, Xiaobai's scales bristled slightly, and the little one's green eyes were grave.
This lightning is fierce and savage, imbued with heaven's might. It far surpasses the lightning born from Thundercliff's earth veins.
As the thought passed through Li Qingshan's mind, his attention sank into his Bitter Sea.
The dormant dark-gold bell form was trembling of its own accord, and the Lightning-Attracting Mark on its surface blazed with dazzling crimson divine light.
The bell tilted slightly toward the tribulation cloud and gave an almost yearning hum, entering a profound resonance with the lightning Dao principles between heaven and earth.
"The Lightning-Attracting Mark has formed a connection with the tribulation lightning's presence. It's growing more active."
He extended an index finger and gently touched the bell form.
In an instant, an irresistible surge of lightning coursed from the bell, up his finger, and through his limbs and bones.
It collided and mingled fiercely with the five-element divine power in his Dao Palace Secret Realm. At that moment, he clearly "saw" the invisible barrier standing between the Dao Palace and the Four Extremes.
After three months of tempering his body with lightning and now being stirred by the tribulation lightning's presence, that barrier had grown as thin as a cicada's wing, as though it might burst open at any moment.
Yet Li Qingshan did not seize the chance to force a breakthrough.
He forcibly suppressed the divine power that surged and roared within him, nearly breaking through the barrier. Divine light shone in his eyes as he murmured:
"The time hasn't come."
"The ancient restriction has only just been quelled, its aftereffects have yet to settle, and Xiaobai's vital essence hasn't recovered.
"And the might of this tribulation lightning far exceeds my calculations."
He activated the Divine Seed in his sea of consciousness and silently used his profound art once more to calculate the workings of heaven.
The result showed that the power of lightning in the tribulation cloud was still gathering at a furious pace. It would take at least another day to reach its peak.
"I can use this interval to make my final preparations."
He turned back into the cave and waved his sleeve, bringing an assortment of divine materials into view:
Brilliant golden Sun Sand, Fire Marrow Crystal containing a crimson glow, and several pieces of broken stone obtained from the formation's core, each engraved with ancient runes.
"The paths of the inscriptions on these formation-marked stones actually complement the Lightning-Attracting Mark. They can help perfect the Dao marks on the bell form."
He held two fingers together like a brush and summoned Sun True Fire to refine the broken stones, extracting their pure power of the formation's source.
Then, using his divine sense as a carving knife, he carefully took those profound lines,
And inscribed them around the bell form's main Lightning-Attracting Mark to strengthen it, bringing its structure closer to perfection and making its Dao resonance ever deeper.
Xiaobai lay quietly to one side, the flowing light of the runes reflected in those green eyes.
[Is this bell meant to deal with the lightning in the sky?]
"Not merely to deal with it,"
Li Qingshan explained, his gaze never leaving the bell form. "I also intend to draw the lightning into my body and temper my Four Extremes.
"The ancient method of the Sun Sacred Clan uses the most yang and unyielding power of heaven and earth to open the Bridge of Heaven and Earth and forge a supreme Dao foundation."
As the final auxiliary formation mark fused perfectly into place, "Clang!"
A clear peal burst from the bell form, its sound waves gathering without dispersing.
It even caused the tribulation cloud outside the cave to spin faster. Lightning flashed explosively, and its oppressive might rose sharply!
Li Qingshan rose to his full height, the bones throughout his body giving soft pops.
The Five Deities of the Dao Palace rang out in unison, and five-element divine power surged through him like mighty rivers. A faint layer of pale golden radiance shimmered over his skin.
It was the sign of a body tempered countless times by lightning.
"Three months of arduous cultivation and tempering my body with lightning, all for this day."
He threw a casual punch. Without using divine power, relying on his body's blood and Qi alone, he struck the air ahead with an explosive crack, forming a tiny vortex visible to the naked eye.
He could feel that his body was now powerful enough to withstand the attacks of an ordinary Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm cultivator head-on.
"The Four Extremes Secret Realm connects one to the four dimensions of heaven and earth, drawing upon the essence of the myriad Daos to temper the body. It is a vital step on the path of cultivation."
Looking inward with his divine sense, he could see that his limbs and bones were like a dried-up riverbed, yearning to be watered by the sweet rain of lightning so they could develop into a true Bridge of Heaven and Earth.
Outside the cave, the thunder grew more frequent and deafening. The lightning serpents in the dark clouds had become surging thunder dragons, weaving through the sky and roaring.
The presence between heaven and earth was thick as paste, suffused with the contradictory Dao resonance of destruction and creation.
Li Qingshan stepped out of the cave and gazed up at the sky.
The Divine Seed clearly sensed a cold and immense will deep within the churning tribulation cloud.
Like a heavenly eye opening, it had fixed firmly upon him.
Not only was there no fear in his eyes, but a blazing will to fight ignited within them.
"In my previous life, I heard that Sacred Bodies and Dao Embryos defied the heavens. Whenever they broke through a major realm, they would surely incur heaven's jealousy and be struck by tribulation.
"It seems my constitution is no ordinary one either, hence this 'treatment.'"
"So much the better! I'll use this heavenly tribulation as a forge fire to temper my Dao body and refine my divine bell!"
He turned his palm over, and the dark-gold bell form appeared. Its Lightning-Attracting Mark was red as blood, drawing and being drawn by the lightning in the tribulation cloud, its ringing growing ever more fervent.
"At this time tomorrow, when the tribulation lightning is at its fiercest, I'll break through!"
He took a deep breath, suppressed the boiling fighting spirit in his heart, and set his gaze firm as a rock.
He knew this would be one of the gravest trials he had faced since coming to this world.
Yet with a fearless Dao heart, only by advancing with courage and vigor could he find new life amid destruction.
The outline of the gate to the Four Extremes Secret Realm had already emerged in the lightning's glow.
Xiaobai slithered to his feet. Though small in body, the little one's thought was resolute.
[Together.]
Li Qingshan nodded slightly and said no more. He turned back, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
Divine power flowed slowly around him, nourishing his limbs like the tides as he brought himself to his peak condition.
The Divine Seed hung high in his sea of consciousness, continuously calculating every minute step of drawing in, enduring, and transforming the lightning.
The bell form floated before him, its presence mingling with its master's as its crimson Dao marks flickered.
It answered the increasingly violent thunder outside the cave from afar, as though they were entering into an ancient pact.
Night deepened, and Mount Kunlun fell utterly silent. Only above, in the sky, thunder dragons roared and lightning tore across the heavens, brewing a destructive power.
Li Qingshan's presence was calm as an abyss, yet the divine power within him was like a dormant volcano, gathering force for an eruption.
Under the constant pressure of the tribulation lightning, the Four Extremes barrier had become exceedingly fragile.
But he continued to wait, gathering strength and forging his will as he awaited the earth-shattering moment.
In the distance, the region around Thundercliff had become a sea of lightning. Its blinding flashes were clearly visible even from far away.
"The time is near."
Li Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes, and lightning seemed to flare and fade within them.
He rose to his full height and settled Xiaobai, who had mostly recovered, atop a towering ancient tree, then placed a protective restriction around the little one.
"Wait for me here."
With that, he stayed no longer. His body became a crimson-gold Divine Rainbow that tore through the night sky and shot straight toward Thundercliff!
Atop the cliff, Li Qingshan stood proud, his black hair whipping wildly. His upper body was bare, and a lustrous glow flowed across his skin.
He gazed up at the vortex of tribulation clouds in the sky, which had become an eye of destruction. In his Bitter Sea, the bell form rang out, yearning to drink lightning.
"Four Extremes Secret Realm, Bridge of Heaven and Earth, open today!"
He gave a ringing shout that shook the surrounding lands and deliberately unleashed the full force of his presence, stirring the Dao sounds thundering within him!