Among the Three Calamities, the Lightning Tribulation is the most overbearing.
Even Patriarch Bodhi once warned Sun Wukong that lightning tribulations must be avoided rather than resisted. Surviving them means overcoming the trial; failing means death and annihilation of one's Dao foundation. One can only imagine how terrifying this calamity is. It is not something ordinary cultivators can withstand. Unless one finds a Tribulation-Avoiding Pill, which can completely mask one's aura during the trial, avoiding the detection of the calamity and thus surviving.
"It's a heavenly tribulation—lightning tribulation. That's His Majesty!"
"His Majesty has already reached the Nascent Soul Realm, one of the peak cultivation stages. At this stage, he must endure the Three Calamities to temper his Nascent Soul, allowing it to transform into Pure Yang, thus advancing to the Yang Spirit Realm. This must be one of those calamities!"
"It's actually the Lightning Calamity. Among the Three Calamities, Wind is the most insidious, Lightning the most domineering. You can't block it—if you fail to avoid it, you die. Why would His Majesty trigger this now? Could he have found a way to survive it? I've heard that the Tribulation-Avoiding Pill enhances one's resistance to the calamities—but it's extremely hard to refine, and the materials are exceedingly rare."
In Golden Scale City, a large number of bounty hunters were aiding the Great Yi Dynasty in its conquest of Skyhawk Island—eliminating fierce beasts and hunting foreign tribes. In unfamiliar lands, opportunity abounds.
One bounty hunter found a Millennium Vermilion Fruit Tree hidden in a secluded valley. Eating the fruit led to a massive cultivation boost. The rest was sold for a mountain of Eternal Coins—a single stroke of luck that changed their fate.
Another discovered a Heavenly Treasure in a cave and refined it into a Life-bound Magical Artifact. Yet another stumbled upon a high-grade cultivation technique in the wilderness. They turned it in to the Great Yi Dynasty, and it was added to the Scripture Pavilion, earning them a massive amount of Merit Points. Though the technique could no longer be passed down outside of their bloodline, the reward far outweighed the cost.
Indeed, once a technique is submitted, the contributor must swear a Heart Demon Oath and a Bloodline Vow ensuring that only their direct descendants may inherit it. This prevents unauthorized dissemination.
This policy had minimal drawbacks. Most cultivators naturally passed techniques only to their descendants or close disciples. Great Yi's policy was humane—and one reason many bounty hunters were willing to donate their finds. In return, they gained powerful new battle techniques and spells from the Pavilion.
It was a win-win.
The contributors gained merit and treasure; Great Yi gained a deeper archive of powerful techniques, benefitting future human elites. With the Heart Demon Oaths in place, leaks were virtually impossible.
Thus, for bounty hunters, exploring new territory was an immense opportunity—a chance to rise above and make a name for themselves. Especially now, marching alongside the military, the risk was lower, and the rewards greater.
"The Three Calamities are not so easily overcome."
On the rooftop of a tavern, Ye Gucheng, dressed in snow-white robes, looked to the sky with a grave expression.
"Why now of all times?"
In the City Lord's Manor, Gongsun Daniu stood solemnly, her face filled with worry.This calamity had come too suddenly. Yi Tianxing had never mentioned it before. But now, all they could do was watch. There was no way to intervene.
CRACK!!
Suddenly, amid the black tribulation clouds and flickering lightning, a mysterious yellow battle axe appeared out of nowhere. It descended from the clouds, cleaving the heavens and the earth in one mighty stroke. The axe light connected sky and ground with the force of a world-breaking blow—it could tear the heavens apart and annihilate everything.
"That's... Heaven-Opening Divine Thunder!!"
As soon as the battle axe appeared, knowledge of it instinctively emerged in the minds of all who saw it. They instantly understood what it was.
This divine thunder was said to be imbued with the essence of Pangu opening the heavens, fused with lightning. The lightning itself became the Heaven-Opening Axe, striking with unmatched grandeur. A single blow could cleave chaos, destroy a world.
This axe was infused with tremendous Earth Energy, accompanied by terrifying gravity. The surrounding void twisted under the overwhelming pressure of the axe.
This was none other than Heaven-Opening Divine Thunder.
One blow could split chaos. What chance did mortals stand?
Of course, it didn't hold the full power of the legendary creation blow—it was tailored for someone in the Nascent Soul Realm. Still, even at this reduced level, it was far beyond what a Nascent Soul cultivator could bear. A single strike could split them in half—effortlessly.
The yellow axe allowed no chance to evade. In a flash, it appeared above Yi Tianxing's head, descending rapidly.
"This tribulation... is it truly unavoidable? I don't believe that."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath and exhaled a resolute whisper.With a single thought, golden light shimmered under his palm, and his body surged with power. A roaring dragon-elephant appeared.
Fleshly Body Divine Power – Suppressing Hell Seal!! ✨
A golden ancient seal manifested in his palm, surging upward toward the descending axe. Its momentum was like a divine beast crashing into the sky, shattering stars and splitting the firmament.
The seal now bore four star imprints, all fully lit, amplifying its power fourfold.
Yi Tianxing had reached the Fourth Turn of the Flesh-Refining Path, equivalent to the level of Yellow Cauldron Resonance. His raw strength exceeded ten million catties. With the star enhancement, he unleashed forty million catties of earth-shaking might.
But he didn't just use physical force—he also poured in his true essence, combining body and energy cultivation into one.
This Suppression Seal became the perfect bridge between the two, embodying not just the will to suppress hell, but also Yi Tianxing's Heavenly Emperor's Dragon Sovereign Will. That meant it carried his Nascent Soul Dao Rhythms.
This fusion made the divine ability transcend its original limits.
It was overwhelming.
To all observers, the golden seal transformed into a colossal dragon-elephant thousands of feet tall, radiating soul-crushing pressure. Breathing became difficult. Bones trembled under the strain, almost breaking.
For a moment, nothing else existed in the world but the Suppression Seal and the Heaven-Opening Axe.
All else faded into insignificance.
BOOM!!
The two collided in an explosion of divine light that lit up the sky. The heavens trembled. The void twisted wildly, but did not shatter. It was like watching a primal god wielding a battle axe locked in furious combat with a towering dragon-elephant.
The only thing visible was blinding divine radiance.
Eventually, the light faded.
"He... he blocked it?"
"No, not entirely—look! The Heaven-Opening Divine Thunder is still there!"
"Its power was mostly neutralized, but the remaining energy is still terrifying. Few could survive it."
In the sky, the Suppression Seal shattered, and the dragon-elephant was torn apart by the axe. The Heaven-Opening Axe, though dimmed, still descended toward Yi Tianxing.
"Chaotic Battle Dragon Robe!!""Heaven-Piercing Spear!!"
Yi Tianxing roared to the sky and punched upward. A terrifying spear intent burst forth from his fist, forming a bronze battle spear that crashed toward the axe. The spear radiated a will of utter dominance—unstoppable, piercing the heavens.
It wasn't the actual Heaven-Piercing Spear, but a projection formed through his fist intent, borrowing power from the Primal Chaos Heavenly Emperor Tower and drawing from a small world within it.
Originally, he had planned to wield the Heaven-Piercing Spear directly. But in the instant he moved, a new idea struck him.
"The Primal Chaos Heavenly Emperor Tower is my life-bound treasure. If I reveal its full power and rotate through divine weapons mid-battle, it could expose me. Better to use projections of the artifacts—draw on their essence without revealing them directly."
"Each Heaven-Opening Divine Artifact in the tower embodies unique laws and restrictions. If I can comprehend them and use their projections as carriers for my power, I can create a supreme martial art technique. That would amplify the might of my divine abilities significantly."
Indeed, the tower now housed over thirty Heaven-Opening Divine Artifacts. Constantly switching them mid-battle would create vulnerabilities. But if he used their essence as models to build a divine martial art, he could keep secrets and increase power.
This punch was the first experiment—projecting the Heaven-Piercing Spear, infused with his spear intent and bolstered by the power of a world.
BOOM!!
The solidified projection of the Heaven-Piercing Spear collided head-on with the Heaven-Opening Axe.