Breaking the Tribulation

Can we take him down?

Looking at the figure enveloped in lightning, a junior lightning envoy couldn't help but speak.

"Don't joke around. How could the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier be killed so easily? That woman was really crazy back then."

He Chang, or rather, Thunder Official's consciousness that controlled He Chang's body, was staring intently at the person opposite him.

Sure enough, within a few breaths, a golden light shone from between the opponent's brows. The next moment, the golden light, like a spear, directly split the lightning pillar in two.

"Has it developed to this point? Does that crazy woman really agree with him?"

He Chang frowned, staring at the other's brow. The Demon-Subduing Divine Runes on Hu Mang's forehead was gradually shrinking towards the brow, forming an eye-shaped pattern.

"Demon-Subduing Heavenly Eye" is the highest achievement symbol of the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier.

Above that, the only option is to establish government offices and create a government residence.

After the fall of the Jade Firmament Dynasty, it became impossible for there to be another Thunder General who could establish his own government.

However, He Chang still sensed that something was wrong, and he quickly realized what it was, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"That woman is crazy on her own, but why does she want to drag her successor down with her? She can't even do it herself, yet she thinks you can?"

"Your Immortal Weapon is probably sealed now. Before that madwoman died, she left a Curse on that spear. The more outstanding you are, the more effective the Curse will be."

"Since you broke the Dark Lightning Puppet-Control Hub before, you must have seen that Human Immortal Lightning Puppet. Do you know how that woman died? She willingly went to her death. After unleashing her last shot, she activated the Human Immortal's restriction and was blasted to annihilation, her soul and spirit destroyed."

"You'll do the same!!"

As he spoke, He Chang took one step at a time, his figure suddenly growing larger. His originally thin body grew blue muscles, and the mask with blue faces and fangs covered most of his face. He became a monster even more terrifying than Jingtu, with hands and feet as thick as water vats. His terrifying fists, accompanied by fierce thunderous roars, smashed towards Hu Mang.

In an instant, the surging lightning power, like a venomous snake, spread through the void and outwards in all directions.

Faced with this level of attack, Hu Mang's eyes shone brightly with Buddhist light. He formed the "Zhe Character Seal, signifying his understanding of change and insight into the principles of things. The next moment, the ground beneath Hu Mang's feet exploded with a loud bang. The Prayer Lightning instantly flickered between light and dark. As he stepped out with the Dragon-Suppressing Stake, his right hand lashed out like a steel whip. But in the instant of the clash, he transformed steel into softness, raised his cloud hand, and pressed down with the momentum. The terrifying lightning power seemed to be attracted and directly channeled into the underground runes.

A terrifying surge of lightning energy emanated from the two, causing them to collide violently.

The Hu Mang was prepared, but its opponent clearly hadn't anticipated this, and stumbled.

Just as the opponent was about to fall, Hu Mang twisted his waist and lifted his hips without saying a word. His whole body was like a bow that had been suddenly drawn to its fullest extent. His spine cracked and popped, and the power was transmitted from his heels to his waist and hips, and then climbed up his spine to his shoulders and back.

He suddenly tapped the ground with the toes of his right foot, and then, using his heel as a pivot, unleashed another fierce "Dragon-Suppressing Stake" kick!

His heel transformed into an invisible "pillar," and with a dull whistling sound, it struck the center of his opponent's chest with perfect precision—the very spot where He Chang Changlei's power was at its peak, approximately three inches in front of the heart.

The highest level of mastery of the Dragon-Subduing Pile Method is said to allow one to drive the stakes into the nodes of the Dragon Vein.

Although Hu Mang had lived in Heavenly Gate for over twenty years and had never seen a Dragon Vein, under the principle of "Unity of Heaven and Man," his kick still displayed remarkable skill.

He Chang's enormous monster body was kicked more than three feet high, his feet leaving the ground, and the flow of lightning power in his entire upper body was abruptly severed in that instant.

The lightning on his blue-faced, fanged face suddenly dimmed, and his swollen muscles shrank rapidly as if deflated. His figure transformed from a ferocious monster back into He Chang's original physical outline.

On that blue-faced, fanged face, a clear white line appeared, extending from the center of the brow to the bridge of the nose, like some kind of mark, or perhaps a crack.

However, He Chang only let out a deafening roar—his muscles bulged once again!

Veins bulged, and lightning once again coursed across his skin. On his blue-faced, fanged face, the white markings were submerged by the rapidly surging blue lightning. His body swelled once more, transforming into a monster.

Just as Hu Mang was about to finish him off, a chain suddenly shot out from the shattered lightning beside him, coiling around Hu Mang's leg like a venomous snake. At the same time, lightning-patterned command flags shot out and pierced the floor. With each lightning command flag shot out, a lightning arrow was also launched.

At the same time, thunderous drumbeats rang out from the sky. With each powerful sonic wave, the Essence Blood in the Hu Mang's body slowed down by three points. In particular, the reverse Essence Blood cultivated by the "Blood-Piercing Essence-Reversal Art" seemed to have encountered its nemesis, causing a trace of blood to flow from the corner of the Hu Mang's mouth.

The Lightning-Drawn Sentry Scout Horse Chain to probe the enemy's position, the Rushing Thunder Scout Rushing Thunder Command to signal their arrival, and the Drum-Beating Strongman Heavenly Thunder Drum to beat the enemy's drums.

Hu Mang glanced around and indeed saw a Heavenly Thunder Horse biting a chain, a Thunderlight Macaque wearing a small armor and with five command flags on its back, and a hunky lightning figure that was faintly visible above the dark clouds.

If we add the "Punishment Beast" on the other side, then all the Thunder Ministry God Beasts in the priest's memories will correspond one by one.

Lightning crackled and various attacks swept back and forth, making Hu Mang's Azure Jade Buddha Body appear as if it were made of jade, while his "Mysterious Yin Devil Moon" State of Mind was integrated into the Unity of Heaven and Man.

There is no moon in the well, no moon in the sea, and no moon in the sky, but on the field, everyone is bathed in moonlight.

Suddenly, he fully comprehended the "Formation Character Instruction of the Nine-Character Great Hand Seal.

The "Formation Character Instruction," also known as the Sixth Supernatural Power of the Mind Formation, uses mental thoughts to transform an invisible Zen array, creating a pure Dharma realm that isolates external evils, disturbances, negative karma, and disputes, making the place where the body and mind reside a pure land.

Under the effect of the "Formation Character Instruction", the strength of each person on the other side was almost the same as the character stats in "Heavenly Gate Journey to the West".

It wasn't just individual stats; the attack bonuses created through cooperation between them were also clearly visible in Hu Mang's mind.

So this is how the Formation Character Instruction technique evolves: you don't need to form a formation yourself; the enemy's formation is also a formation.

However, this did not change the fact that the Hu Mang was in a dangerous situation.

"A dozen or so Thunder God's subordinates, each at least equivalent to Flower of Spirit cultivator," and with the Thunder God's blessing, it's equivalent to controlling half a Flower of Qi.

Not to mention the coordination among these Thunder God's subordinates; each attack can almost be seamlessly stacked, and although they lack the Five Qi, it is equivalent to a full-force strike from a Three Flowers cultivator.

In addition, there was He Chang, the Thunder Official who transformed into Punishment Beast, standing at the forefront, making it impossible for Hu Mang to break through them separately.

The physical body of this "Punishment Beast" is the strongest that Hu Mang has ever seen besides the Lightning Puppet; even the Great Jingtu cannot compare to it.

Even the great monk has moments of exhaustion, but when he transforms into Punishment Beast, he seems to have no energy depletion whatsoever. No matter how severe the injury, he can recover with just one breath.

The opponent's physical body is at least at the Golden Core level. To break through it would be equivalent to completely destroying a Golden Core in a single strike.

If he had the "Shattering Thunder" weapon, Hu Mang might have been able to give it a shot, but right now, his attack methods are almost certainly ineffective.

However, even so, the pressure he felt from the other side was far less than that from the Great Jingtu. Although his attacks, along with the sieges from other Thunder Ministry officials, always managed to push Hu Mang into a crisis, Hu Mang always managed to find a way out that was almost impossible in those moments of crisis.

The slight incompatibility between their self-awareness and their divine will is always reflected by the Mysterious Yin Devil Moon at the most crucial moment.

This is where the breakthrough lies.

Meanwhile, the opposing side seemed to have noticed something amiss as well. One of the Thunder Altar Attendant Child shouted, "Why is it that the Thunder Method isn't having much effect on him? He must be hiding some kind of thunder-repelling treasure!"

You guessed perfectly.

Therefore, Hu Mang's situation became even more difficult. His opponents no longer tried to kill him with Thunder Method; instead, they used weapons exclusive to the Thunder Official, the worst of which were top-tier Spirit Artifact, and two of them were even Immortal Weapon like the Thunder- Shattering Thunder.

For example, the Immortal Weapon of He Chang, the Thunder Official on the opposite side, are a pair of Thunder God short hammers. With a single strike of the watermelon-sized hammerheads, everything within a ten-foot radius will be covered by lightning, turning everything in the space into dust.

While this thing is far inferior to the skillful and effortless Great Gun Shattering Thunder, its advantage lies in the fact that it requires no skill whatsoever, relying solely on pure attribute damage and critical hits.

Faced with this siege, Hu Mang could only defend.

On the scene, the Hu Mang's figure was like a ghost, often dodging the attacks of these Thunder Ministry Law Artifact from unbelievable angles.

But his injuries were increasing.

The reason is simple: the opponent has a constant supply of Thunder God's power, while he does not.

Fighting against multiple opponents, he consumed ten times the amount of Qi and Blood as everyone else present.

With the tides turning and the tides shifting, it seemed that Hu Mang was about to be surrounded and killed in this battle.

Strangely, Hu Mang's State of Mind was not affected. On the contrary, under the effect of the "Formation Character Instruction", the "Mysterious Yin Devil Moon" achieved a unity of Buddha and demon at the State of Mind level, spreading even further and even beyond the entire Caishikou, spreading into the true darkness.

Then, he saw a familiar figure.

Gong Lei, the female Thunder God with a face as white as paper and a figure as slender as a willow in the breeze, stood in the darkness, watching him being surrounded and killed with an indifferent expression.

As expected, the "Life-and-Death Tribulation" was not so simple.

Hu Mang understood immediately.

Nothing was a coincidence; everything was the unfolding of destiny. The countless threads of calamity on the other person's body were like nooses, tightening around him one by one.

The gray-black veils on the Hu Mang's body also rapidly split and grew, almost covering most of its body.

Hu Mang took a deep breath, knowing the time for a counterattack had come.

His eyes had long since bulged out through the muscles of his eyes, revealing two vertical pupils.

The Drum-Beating Strongman was the first to notice something was wrong, for the demonic clouds in the sky began to sink, forming a giant funnel shape, and—

The center of the funnel faces the entrance to the market.

As a result, the surrounding demonic tides and waves began to surge in this direction like a tide.

With the change in the external environment, those most affected are the officials under the jurisdiction of the Thunder God.

After all, the Thunder God is a god who subdues demons, and his officials are also deities of the Thunder God Thunder Ministry, who are inherently opposed to the demonic path.

Now that the demonic wave is coming, although it will not attack them proactively, it has still caused their weapons and divine authority to lose some of their divine power.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hu Mang's blood-red ghostly figure vanished into the demonic mist.

Immediately afterwards, a voice rang out from the depths of the fog.

The voice seemed neither south nor north, its tone erratic and unpredictable, making it impossible to pinpoint the speaker's exact location. It appeared to come from all directions simultaneously, or perhaps seeped from the depths of the earth. "Your biggest problem this time isn't that you surrounded and killed me, nor that you left the city gates wide open, but that you shouldn't have unleashed the Devil Tribulation."

"By manifesting the Devil Tribulation, you have essentially given me a Demonic Primordial Spirit for free."

"With this Primordial Spirit, don't blame me for Tribulation Breaking!"

As the words were spoken, a pair of enormous vertical eyes seemed to appear and disappear within the demonic tide.

They flashed in and out of the mist, each appearance intensifying the surrounding Demonic Qi and sending a chill down the spines of every Thunder God's subordinate present.