153 Hell Tribulation, First Wave (1/2)
BOOM
While they were talking, a bolt of red lightning struck onto Cao Mao's carriage again. The vehicle exploded and burned, but Cao Mao was still sitting cross-legged, meditating in the sea of flame.
Jia Shan took over the explanation, ”There are two types of rare cases. One, when someone cultivates an otherworldly technique that doesn't require the Origin Yin Yang Qi of this world, Heaven will reject the existence of the cultivator and barring them from attaining immortalhood. No trial will be given to the outsiders unless they are a native of this world. In the case of the latter, the Will of Heaven will test them with something else. Wei Yuan, you're an oni, so you should have seen a few Demonic Tribulations.”
Wei Yuan nodded. Demonic Tribulations always appeared when someone from a demon race tried to reach the 6th-stage. She had seen how her father went through an ordeal.
However, Wei Yuan remembered that the trial was a lot different. No lightning or external anomaly occurred during the tribulation. Instead, Wei Cao's body went through random mutations and transformations for months before everything subsided.
Meanwhile, the yin slaves gulped. They stared at Cao Mao in shock, ”W-Will he be alright? I know that Miaomiao practices heretic arts, but no trial should happen before the 5th or 6th stage. What kind of tribulation is this?”
Jia Shan continued, ”The last type - when a cultivator sows intolerable negative karma or violates the world's law, the world's law will deploy elemental spirits or a strand of Will to interrupt the breakthrough process as a punishment every time they try to advance a stage. The sinned cultivator will have to fight a life-and-death battle with the Will of Heaven!”
They called this trial – Hell Tribulation.
Unlike normal tribulations, in which cultivators refined their bodies and dantian through the power of heaven after a breakthrough, Hell Tribulation interrupted a breakthrough. The world's law would deploy a strand of Heaven Will with the power 10 times stronger than the tribulation taker to fight in a death duel.
Facing Hell Tribulation, one couldn't simply defend and preserve like the others to survive. After all, the Will of Heaven always continuously attacked until the sinner died. The only way to overcome this tribulation was to defeat the representatives of the world's law.
Most of the time, Hell Tribulations killed the heretic cultivators. However, if the latter were to win the fight, the rewards would be immense.
”T-THEN, WE NEED TO SAVE MIAOMIAO!”
Jiang Lan and Kang Yan were about to jump into the fire and rescue Cao Mao, but Jia elders stopped them.
”Wait.”
The yin slaves were confused, ”Elders, if Heaven wants to kill Miaomiao, we have to help!”
Everyone turned to Cao Mao once more.
WHOOM
The lightning fire had already been extinguished. Yet, surrounding Cao Mao, vines and roots of mysterious trees emerged from the ground, covering him from the lightning and fire. On top of his skin, tree trunks became his armor suit. Now, Cao Mao looked like a wood golem.
While the baffling event was ongoing, Jia Wenhe clarified everybody.
”Even though Heaven and Earth's power is supreme, it's not omnipotent. Hell Tribulation is similar to the Crimson River water curse – Strong, but not extremely dangerous. There is a limit to what they can do. After all, the world's law is just a restriction and regulation spell, not an invincible god that makes judgment calls based on a whim.”
In the night sky, a dark cloud condensed into a wind elemental spirit while the roaring lightning formed a lightning elemental body. The earth also shook as a golem, an earth elemental spirit, emerged from the ground.
Each of them had the strength of a late 4th-stage cultivator. All of them glared at Cao Mao and the gang.
”Don't move. Stay out of their business if you want your babies to live,” Jia Wenhe chased the girls away, so Cao Mao would have a chance against these beings.
Wei Yuan still hesitated, ”But senior, they're element spirits. Miaomiao can't…”
”Don't worry. They can only attack a few times since they were born from the world's law to sabotage the breakthrough. I heard that brat can use wood Qi and summon a familiar to fight, so he should be fine.”
”…”
Everybody doubted if they should stay away from Cao Mao and watch him getting attacked by three elemental spirits.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Cao Mao couldn't move.
The task of turning two groups of essence water into two puddles was harder than it sounded. Cao Mao had to form a center of gravity, so the essence water wouldn't float around in his dantian space. Furthermore, as he was cultivating both types of energy, Cao Mao needed to create two gravity cores instead of one.
BANG
While Cao Mao was meditating and focusing on his dantian, a burning sensation and electric current ran through his body. He got thunderstruck by a bolt.
The electrical current threatened to fry his brain and his innards at first. But once Cao Mao spent one strand of wooden Qi to create a wooden tail and pluck it to the ground, the electric current passed through his body into the soil. The tail got burned from the inside, though.
As for the burning pain, it was nothing comparing to the Yang Flame, which Cao Mao already had mastered. His resistance against Yang Fire was at 100%, so lightning burn felt a bit more painful than a bee sting. He only needed to be careful that his brain and important organs wouldn't get cooked.
CRACKLE
The carriage that Cao Mao was in got caught on fire. The flame surrounded him, but he felt like a warm bath.
'I wonder if I'm close enough to handle fire element Qi. Well, don't sidetrack, brain! Focus!'
BANG
BANG
BANG