The Setsuna the Golden Core condensed, dark clouds surged above the Shikkotsu Forest, and Spiritual Qi from within a hundred miles gathered frantically. The sky began to turn as black as ink, and thunder was brewing in the dark clouds. Tsubasa also sensed something, rushed out of the cave and stood on the mountain peak, watching the tribulation of lightning in the sky, feeling a strong sense of unease in his heart.
Sensing nine Heavenly Dao Lightning Tribulation, thick, purplish-gold divine lightning bolts loomed in the clouds, carrying an overwhelming pressure capable of destroying the heavens and the earth. Tsubasa, covered in blood, stood atop the cave, his hair standing on end. Facing the impending tribulation, he laughed loudly, "Well done! Either become an immortal, or perish!"
As the sky cracked open with Spiderweb -like purple patterns, Tsubasa was sitting cross-legged on a hundred-zhang cliff. Suddenly, the ends of his hair stood on end, and the Golden Core in his dantian emitted a dazzling golden light—he could sense that this was no ordinary tribulation of lightning. It was as if this world wanted to annihilate him, a visitor from another world. Tsubasa felt a deep sense of malice from the Heavenly Dao.
The first bolt of divine lightning struck down with immense force, causing the entire mountain range to tremble violently as if gripped by a giant hand. Ancient pines on the cliff edge were uprooted, and millstone-sized boulders crashed to the ground with a sharp whistling sound. Tsubasa's palms flew, and his Spiritual Power surged like boiling magma, condensing into a semi-transparent glass shield above his head.
The moment the lightning pierced the clouds, his pupils contracted sharply. The lightning wasn't ordinary silver-white; it was an eerie bluish-black, carrying a bone-chilling cold. The Setsuna his shield touched the lightning, it emitted a crisp sound like shattering glass, and the powerful impact sent him flying. Tsubasa crashed into the stone wall behind him, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His chest was a bloody mess, and his ribs were clearly visible.
Just as life and death hung in the balance, the power of the Perfect Sage Body erupted. The churning flesh and blood writhed and healed at a visible speed, and the broken bones cracked and snapped back into place. The power of the lightning tribulation did not dissipate; instead, it surged wildly through the meridians, finally flowing into the golden core like rivers flowing into the Golden Core. Fine cracks appeared on the surface of the Golden Core core, which was originally the size of a pigeon egg, yet even more dazzling light shone through the cracks.
The second lightning tribulation came without warning, this time with crimson lightning, carrying the scorching heat to incinerate everything. Tsubasa had just stood up when he was struck in the right arm by the lightning. His skin instantly carbonized, and the charred flesh and bone sizzled under the high temperature, his entire arm resembling a burnt, withered tree. The excruciating pain made him groan and stagger to his knees. However, his Perfect Sage Body activated again, new flesh grew from the severed arm, and his meridians were rebuilt. In the blink of an eye, a completely healed arm had grown back.
The third lightning tribulation was a deep blue, containing a bone-chilling cold. As the lightning struck, Tsubasa's legs were instantly frozen into ice sculptures, followed by a "crack" as they shattered into countless ice shards. He gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, and circulated his Spiritual Power. The Golden Core in his dantian spun wildly, absorbing the power of the lightning tribulation. The original cracks gradually healed, and a faint halo appeared on the surface of the Golden Core. His Perfect Sage Body allowed his legs to grow back.
The fourth lightning tribulation was dark gold, carrying a heavy pressure. This time, it struck Tsubasa directly in the face, instantly turning half of his face into a bloody mess, his left eye bursting open, and his nose collapsing. But he still stared intently at the sky, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, yet revealing a maniacal smile. Under the effect of the Perfect Sage Body, his flesh and blood regenerated, his facial features were reshaped, and the size of his Golden Core even increased slightly.
The fifth lightning tribulation was an eerie purple, carrying the power to devour everything. As the lightning struck, Tsubasa's body was torn into many cracks, and much flesh and blood were blasted into the sky, turning Tsubasa into a blood-soaked figure in mid-air. However, under the pull of Spiritual Power, the scattered flesh and blood reformed, and every inch of his skin underwent the pain of tearing and regeneration. Mysterious patterns appeared on the surface of his Golden Core, faintly showing signs of a breakthrough in quality.
The Six Paths lightning tribulation was chaotic in color, and the places it passed through trembled incessantly, causing ripples in the space itself. Tsubasa's body and internal organs were shattered, and blood gushed from his seven orifices. However, his soul still managed to circulate his cultivation technique, channeling the power of the lightning tribulation into his Golden Core. The Golden Core trembled violently, shining brightly, as if it were about to burst out of his body, releasing powerful energy to stabilize and heal his shattered body.
When the seventh lightning tribulation struck, the sky turned completely black. That lightning tribulation was no longer a single color, but rather a fusion of the characteristics of all the previous lightning tribulations, carrying an aura of annihilation. Tsubasa's clothes had long since turned to ashes, and his entire body was covered with charred patterns, each pattern oozing blood. The moment the lightning struck him, he was blasted into the ground a hundred feet deep.
On the ground, a massive crater was clearly visible, and at the bottom of the crater, Tsubasa's aura was faint, resembling charcoal. However, his eyes shone with an astonishing light. His Perfect Sage Body was operating at overload, converting all the damage into power. The Golden Core core within his body spun wildly, its surface patterns becoming increasingly clear. Finally, with a "bang," the Golden Core broke through its shackles, transforming into a true Golden Core radiating seven-colored light. If it ended there, Tsubasa would already be a true super Golden Core Stage powerhouse. However, two more lightning tribulations awaited Tsubasa, and with each tribulation, Tsubasa grew stronger than the last.
"The last two!" Tsubasa's hoarse roar exploded above the Shikkotsu Forest, causing the rocky mountaintops to tremble violently beneath his feet. The churning lightning in the clouds seemed alive, its dark yellow flashes like dragons spitting their tongues, tearing the entire sky into hideous wounds. He spread his arms, letting the gale tear at his tattered body. The bloodstains in his dantian gleamed with an eerie golden light under the lightning—this was the " Protective Rune Array " he had just inscribed with his own blood essence, its energy source his own Golden Core. All this was so that he could withstand the last two lightning strikes.
With a deafening roar, the eighth and ninth bolts of divine lightning collided violently. Purple-black lightning and dark yellow thunder poured down like a waterfall, instantly vaporizing everything in their path and distorting the air into spatial vortexes. Tsubasa's body instantly turned to charcoal; fragments of his blackened flesh, enveloped in lightning, fell, creating a hundred-foot-deep chasm before being crushed by the liquefied mountainside. At that moment, his soul was pulled into darkness by invisible chains; the legendary Heart Demon Tribulation arrived swiftly and fiercely.
His consciousness plunged into an endless sea of inner demons, the foul waves crashing against fragments of memory. The scene of his birth, cleansed by Natural Energy and annihilated, replayed; his youth, assassinated by the major clans of Konoha; his middle-aged life as a starving beggar, dying a slow, painful death; the betrayal of his lover, a cold blade piercing his back; the chilling smile of his beloved as he vanished into ashes—thousands of tragic endings subjected him to the most agonizing of his life... Each image transformed into a ravenous demon, gnawing at his heart. "Admit defeat, you were never meant to be." The inner demon's voice was identical to that of his enemy in the illusion, its claws piercing his chest, tearing out his already riddled heart. "Look, this is what you fought so hard to protect?"
Tsubasa's soul roared in agony, suddenly grabbing the inner demon's wrist. He remembered the words the Katsuyu Sage had spoken to him when he was reincarnated, and the time he was struck by lightning and reduced to charred remains. "Useless trash?" Golden immortal blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter. "This wretched life of mine has been fighting against the heavens since childhood. I have nothing to lose but this indomitable will. Just as it was written in the Legend of Wukong the West in my previous life, I will not let the sky obscure my vision again, I will not let the earth bury my heart again, I will make all living beings in heaven and earth know my will, I will make you, this inner demon, vanish into thin air!"
A sea of blood surged, and the inner demon transformed into a gigantic python, its gaping maw swallowing him whole. In the darkness, Tsubasa's soul suddenly erupted with brilliant light; the resentment he had swallowed, the lightning strikes he had endured, the humiliations he had endured—all transformed into sharp blades. "Break!" With a roar, the inner demon was blasted open with countless cracks. Tianyi, covered in wounds, transformed into Tsubasa natal flying sword and pierced the inner demon's brow...
When his soul struggled to return, his body underground was undergoing a tremendous transformation. In his dantian, the Golden Core shone like a newborn sun, its seven-colored rays flowing along the dense runes. The charred remains peeled away, and the bones regenerated; this process lasted a full five years. In the first year, blood vessels could be faintly seen pulsating beneath the charred bones; in the second year, his body began to form a jade-like cocoon, emitting a faint glow; in the fifth year, he emerged from the cocoon as a human, the last piece of charred remains falling away, revealing skin as white as mutton fat, radiating a warm, jade-like hue.
When he opened his eyes, the mist in the Shikkotsu Forest automatically avoided a three-zhang radius. His body shimmered with Xingchen- like aura. With a gentle wave of his arm, the air within a ten-mile radius trembled as if wailing, and the ball of Spiritual Qi gathered in his palm carried a hint of chaotic energy. The ancient runes on the surface of his Golden Core flickered erratically, each line like a door opening to the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.
Tsubasa looked down at his smooth, jade-like hands, a relieved smile playing on his lips. The Ninefold Lightning Tribulation that had nearly killed him had ultimately refined him from a mortal into a true Golden Core Sage.
The rising sun pierced through the clouds. Tsubasa hovered in mid-air, feeling the surging power within him, finally understanding what it meant to "swallow a Golden Core, and from now on, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens." He gazed into the distance, a sharp glint in his eyes.
Tsubasa threw his head back and laughed loudly, his voice piercing the clouds—in this world, he had finally earned the right to live forever.
However, what he didn't know was that it was already the 28th year of Konoha. He had been missing for more than six years since he went into seclusion. The Shinobi World had undergone tremendous changes in those six years.