The moment the Zhou Tian Star Spirit Protection Formation shattered, Tang Xiao Qi's figure was completely exposed between heaven and earth, directly facing that majestic heavenly might. The thousand-li tribulation clouds didn't pause in the slightest because the formation had broken; instead, like an enraged prehistoric beast, they churned even more violently, lightning fluid galloping, brewing an even more terrifying attack.
The true test was only now beginning!
**First Layer of Thunder Tribulation: The Confusion of Joy!**
The tribulation lightning didn't strike straight down but transformed into a sky full of brilliant, dazzling, dreamlike seven-colored radiance, accompanied by celestial music drifting and heavenly flowers scattering. Within the radiance appeared scenes Xiao Qi most deeply desired in his heart: Xu Lan Villa rebuilt, both parents present, enjoying family happiness; holding hands with Mu Xue, living in seclusion in a paradise beyond the world, years peaceful and quiet; Qingxu Temple under his leadership awe-inspiring throughout the world, ten thousand sects coming to pay homage; his own Dao magic reaching the profound, living as long as heaven and earth... Endless feelings of joy, satisfaction, and peace like warm tides wanted to completely drown and melt him, making him sink into this perfect "joy" realm, forgetting his original intention of attacking the Nascent Soul.
"Stay... here is everything you want..." A seductive whisper echoed in his soul.
Xiao Qi's Dao heart was crystal clear, having long rehearsed this scene. A trace of longing flashed in his eyes, then transformed into incomparable clarity and determination: "Mirage and illusion, mere delusion! The Dao I seek is in the real world, in forging ahead!" His mind like a blade, he cut through the illusion, guiding a strand of true red tribulation lightning power to temper the Nascent Soul prototype in his dantian. The Nascent Soul trembled slightly, becoming more solid.
**Second Layer of Thunder Tribulation: The Burning of Anger!**
The scene abruptly changed! The red tribulation lightning transformed into a boundless purgatory of fire. In the sea of fire, countless demonic shadows bared their fangs and claws—remnants of the Shadow Snake Pavilion madly slaughtering the beings he protected, the Mysterious Turtle Old Ancestor betraying and raising rebellion again, even Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, and other close ones showing ferocious faces, drawing swords against him... Extreme rage, the pain of betrayal, the impulse to destroy everything erupted like a volcano in his chest, wanting to burn away his reason!
"Kill! Kill all these treacherous ones! Destroy this filthy world!" Tyrannical thoughts assaulted his soul.
Xiao Qi tightly guarded the last trace of clarity at his spiritual center, recalling the laying down of weapons at the Eastern Sea shore, the reverence at the Southern Frontier Witch Village, the hope in the Northern Plains tribe... His anger gradually subsided, transforming into deeper calm: "Anger stems from caring. Yet, one cannot be controlled by anger. Guardianship is not destruction, but cleansing." He forcibly suppressed the impulse to destroy, guiding the blazing anger-thunder power into the Nascent Soul—its eyes seemed to flash with a trace of sharp light.
**Third Layer of Thunder Tribulation: The Binding of Worry!**
The tribulation lightning transformed into a gray mist, silently penetrating his soul. Countless tragic scenes of the future emerged: the demon head completely breaking free, the three realms becoming scorched earth; Qingxu Temple declining in his hands, its inheritance severed; Mu Xue shielding him from tribulation, her fragrance fading and jade perishing; his own Dao path cutting off, becoming a cripple... Heavy worry, fear of the future, doubt of his own abilities like countless chains wrapped around him, wanting to drag him into the abyss of despair.
"Give up... you cannot change anything, your efforts will ultimately be futile..." Despairing whispers clung like bone-decaying maggots.
Xiao Qi took a deep breath, his perfected Dao heart's light blooming, dispersing the gray mist: "The future is undetermined; only grasp the present. Even with ten thousand worries, I alone bear them all, forging ahead!" He severed the anxious thoughts, transforming that heavy tribulation lightning power into nutrients for stabilizing his foundation—the Nascent Soul's outline becoming increasingly clear.
**Fourth Layer of Thunder Tribulation: The Chaos of Thought!**
Countless thoughts, knowledge, realizations, and distractions like an uncontrolled flood were forced into his Sea of Consciousness along with pale blue tribulation lightning. Heavenly Dao mysteries, principles of laws, human warmth and coldness, love and hate... The massive amount of information nearly burst his soul, making his thinking chaotic, trapping him in endless deduction and contemplation, unable to focus on condensing the Nascent Soul.
"Where is the Dao? What is law? Who am I?..." Infinite questions sprouted, his mind about to lose its way.
"The great Dao is simple; only the heart does not change!" Xiao Qi guarded his original heart, forcibly organizing that chaotic power of thought, fusing the useful into his own Dao realm, directly discarding the useless. The Nascent Soul's brows gained a measure of wisdom and depth.
**Fifth Layer of Thunder Tribulation: The Grief of Sorrow!**
Pitch-black tribulation lightning, carrying soul-freezing cold and endless sorrow descended. The last look in Xu Zhan's eyes before he dissipated, his master using stars as guide and soul as offering to protect the sect, the wailing of countless beings who perished in the demonic tribulation... All the extreme sorrow experienced and imagined like cold tides repeatedly washed his soul, wanting to drag him into eternal mourning.
"Sorrow? Pain? All beings suffer, why struggle?" The sorrow eroded bones and dissolved souls.
Tears glinted in Xiao Qi's eyes, yet he did not sink. "Grief, engraved in the heart, transformed into strength, not shackles. The departed are gone; the living move forward!" He transformed that bone-eroding sorrow-thunder power into an even deeper attachment to life and will to guard—the Nascent Soul's heart position seemed to have light faintly brightening.
**Sixth Layer of Thunder Tribulation: The Awe of Fear!**
Pale green tribulation lightning transformed into countless hideous ghost shadows, outer heaven demons, star-devouring giant beasts, carrying the most primitive, pure intent of fear, straight for his soul! Fear of the unknown, fear of the powerful, fear of annihilation... All negative emotions were amplified to the extreme, wanting to completely destroy his courage and will, making him kneel in submission, his Dao heart collapsing.
"Ants dare defy heaven? Kneel!" Terrifying pressure like the sky falling.
"My heart is like iron, indestructible! Even with the Heavenly Dao before me, I have the heart to contend!" Xiao Qi roared, his Guardian Sword Intent shooting to the heavens, cutting through ghost shadows and demons, forcibly refining that trembling fear power—the Nascent Soul's spine seemed to grow even straighter.
**Seventh Layer of Thunder Tribulation: The Shock of Change!**
Without warning, a transparent, nearly invisible tribulation lightning struck! It didn't attack body or soul but directly acted on his condensing Nascent Soul itself! The Nascent Soul's condensation process was instantly disrupted, energy running wild, form distorting, as if the next second would bring complete collapse, all previous efforts wasted! Extreme shock, unprepared panic swept through his entire being.
"Dao foundation about to be destroyed! Eternal damnation!" The meaning of shock-thunder lay in "change," in breaking all established trajectories.
Though shocked, Xiao Qi did not panic, his perfected Dao heart at this moment displaying powerful resilience. "Finding life in change, establishing after destruction!" He forcibly steadied his mind, using his absolute control over energy and the Green Lotus Origin's harmonizing power to guide the wild energy, instead using this "shock-change" power to eliminate the last disharmony, reshaping the Nascent Soul! That chaotic energy mass struggled at the edge of destruction and new life, instead transforming toward a more perfect form more aligned with the great Dao!
**Eighth Layer of Thunder Tribulation: Seven Emotions Unified, Chaos Heart Thunder!**
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple—seven colors of lightning intertwined, finally transforming into a gray, seemingly containing all the world's emotional origins, chaotic thunder that descended silently. Joy, anger, worry, thought, sorrow, fear, shock—the seven extreme emotions no longer appeared separately but merged into one, like the most potent poison, directly targeting the finest cracks in the Dao heart, launching the final all-out attack!
Xiao Qi's Dao heart, having undergone the extreme refinement of the previous seven layers, was now impregnable against this seven-emotions-unified Chaos Heart Thunder. All emotional waves that rushed forth were like a gentle breeze over the hills, bright moon shining on the great river, unable to shake his foundation. Instead, he actively absorbed this Chaos Heart Thunder's power, thoroughly refining the emotional imprints within, transforming them into part of his own Dao realm, making that soon-to-be-formed Nascent Soul filled with a certain vivid and real "human" radiance.
**Ninth Layer of Thunder Tribulation: Pure Destruction, Purple Firmament Divine Thunder!**
The seven emotions scattered. In the center of the tribulation clouds, only the purest, most extreme destruction remained! A purple lightning bolt only arm-thick, yet condensed to the extreme, emanating a supreme aura of judging all beings, slowly extended from the cloud layer like the Heavenly Dao's sword, locking onto the figure below that had already weathered eight layers of tribulation, its Nascent Soul about to fully form!
Purple Firmament Divine Thunder!
Under this thunder, all things return to void, laws cease to exist!
Tang Xiao Qi looked up at the slowly descending purple lightning, his eyes not only without fear but burning with sky-reaching battle intent!
He stood up, no longer passively receiving, but actively meeting that final Heavenly Dao judgment!
"Come!"