Born with immortal seed

Chapter 322 Nine Heavens Tribulation

The fourth-tier spiritual land of the Ice Soul Palace is located thousands of feet underground, resembling an ice crystal coffin.

Among them are several powerful restrictions left by the Ice Soul Fairy, but there has never been an opportunity to verify them.

Outsiders could only see that dark clouds had suddenly formed above the fourth-tier spiritual land, creating a oppressive atmosphere.

A demonic sound from an extremely distant place rang in my ears, bewitching my mind.

Clearly, this external demonic tribulation was aimed at True Person Suihan. Yet, the mere wisp of its aura caused the eyes of the two Core Formation True Persons to turn bloodshot, revealing a variety of different desires.

Fortunately, a piece of ice on his chest broke, and the chill in his heart returned to his eyes, restoring his clarity.

"If the impact is already this severe, I wonder how terrifying the inner demons you are facing right now, Senior Brother!"

The two Core Formation cultivators looked at each other and retreated several hundred feet.

The tribulation of inner demons is unavoidable.

Like the Heavenly Tribulation, it was feared by Core Formation cultivators as if they were gods or ghosts, and they would turn pale at the mere mention of it.

The higher one's cultivation level, the more one can experience the terror of these two tribulations.

The fear of the Nascent Soul tribulation can even unknowingly create inner demons deep within one's mind.

When the heavenly tribulation arrives, external demons enter the body, and inner demons arise, causing the soul to be scattered on the spot.

In the world of cultivation, magical treasures capable of resisting inner demons and heavenly lightning are extremely rare, and each one that appears is highly sought after by many Core Formation cultivators.

“My senior brother has innovated upon the foundation of the ancestral masters’ pure and tranquil mind, and the state of being free from desires and passions, and has developed a completely new theory of alchemy, which is different from the rest of us… I think it will be more effective when facing inner demons.”

The cultivator who spoke was dressed entirely in white, with silver hair and even his eyebrows were frosty in color. He was Zhongli, a rising star of the Ice Soul Palace who had reached the Core Formation stage in the last hundred years.

"That's for the best. Senior Brother Suihan has waited too long, and our sect has also waited too long for a Nascent Soul True Monarch..."

Another Core Formation cultivator had long, narrow eyebrows and a perpetually cold and aloof expression; this was none other than Dong Shuyi, the Dharma Master of the Ice Soul Palace.

This person, with a mid-stage Core Formation cultivation, was more famous than True Person Suihan among most cultivators in the cultivation world. For nearly a hundred years, he had represented Ice Soul Palace in dealings with other sects.

With his Ice Soul Splitting Light Sword, he was considered a top-tier swordsman in the Liang Kingdom.

Aside from secret treasures specifically designed to counter inner demons, the only way to more easily overcome the tribulation of inner demons is to rely on alchemical theories.

Dan Lun is essentially a cultivator's summary and deepening of their own path. Once the Core Formation is perfected and solidified, it signifies that they are about to move from this path to the Nascent Soul stage.

With unwavering faith in their own path and their alchemical theories aligned with the true meaning of the Great Dao, even the emergence of inner demons could not shake the cultivator's resolve.

At the center of the fourth-order spiritual land, the jade talismans on Suihan Zhenren's body exploded one by one, and the talismans spontaneously combusted without wind. His expression changed repeatedly, but finally calmed down after a few breaths, revealing a peaceful and contented look.

What may seem like a fleeting moment to outsiders could be years, decades, or even the entirety of a cultivator's life in the mind of someone undergoing a tribulation of inner demons.

Those who pass the test will undergo a spiritual transformation, manifest their primordial spirit, and have already completed half of the path to becoming an infant.

"The tribulation of inner demons has passed, and the tribulation of heavenly lightning is next... I hope that the ancestors of the Ice Soul Palace will bless us and bring down the tribulation of ice and fire to shake the spirit!"

Zhongli's expression changed, and he muttered to himself.

Heavenly tribulations are divided into several types, some stronger and some weaker, and some even have a relationship of mutual restraint.

It is impossible to predict which type of heavenly tribulation each cultivator who has reached the Core Formation stage will encounter during the Nascent Soul transformation process, but statistically speaking, the heavenly tribulations encountered by demonic cultivators are often more powerful.

The Ice and Fire Spirit Tribulation was the tribulation experienced by the founder of the Ice Soul Palace, Fairy Ice Soul. The sect has a book that details this tribulation, and the founders of each generation have developed several secret techniques to deal with it.

If it really happens to be this kind of heavenly lightning, the chances of surviving the tribulation will definitely be much greater.

"The Five Fire Divine Lightning Tribulation isn't too bad..."

Dong Shuyi stared at the sky above the spiritual land. Through the Ice Soul Palace array, he could see that tribulation clouds were gathering above, with flashes of lightning, carrying an aura of destruction.

The Heavenly Tribulation is a test of the Great Dao. Once one embarks on the path of Shattering the Core and Transforming into an Infant, there is no way to avoid or retreat.

No matter where you are or what methods you use to conceal the secrets of heaven, you cannot prevent the arrival of heavenly calamity.

Let alone the Ice Soul Palace's third-tier top-grade array, even a fourth-tier array is like a child in the face of the Heavenly Tribulation, and cannot play any role at all.

All trials of heavenly lightning involve overcoming any external barriers and obstacles to directly confront the person undergoing the tribulation.

The clouds were pitch black, and countless thunder dragons rolled and roared, making the whole world seem as if it were in the apocalypse.

If not for prior notification, apart from the Core Formation Realm cultivators and a few high-ranking members who controlled the formation, all the other Ice Soul Palace disciples would have been hidden inside the hall, protected by the great formation.

The sheer destructive aura and earth-shattering power of the heavenly lightning alone could cause a disciple with a weak mind to faint.

Dark blue lightning dragons gathered and swirled, and deep red light shone from the depths of the tribulation clouds, as if the air itself was scorching.

Among all the recorded heavenly tribulations, the Five Fire Divine Thunder Tribulation is of medium to low power.

Even without encountering the familiar Ice and Fire Spirit Tribulation, the Five Fire Divine Thunder Tribulation, which only adds five kinds of true fire to the Heavenly Thunder, is still a good choice.

As soon as Dong Shuyi finished speaking, a flash of lightning appeared in the air, and a dark blue-green bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket, carrying supreme heavenly might, struck the person undergoing tribulation.

The endless thunder and fire, with the power to destroy the world, were just the aftershocks of the first heavenly thunderbolt, yet they caused the Ice Soul Palace's grand formation to shake violently, with ripples spreading outwards.

At the eye of the storm, Master Suihan waved his hand, and three icebergs flew out, each growing to a hundred feet tall, directly plunging into the heavenly lightning.

boom!
The iceberg shattered, exploding into countless fragments, but the first bolt of lightning was also annihilated.

The second bolt of lightning that followed was blocked by two more icebergs, and both were destroyed.

A gleaming, cold pearl, a banner with a ferocious ice spider on its surface... both were top-grade magical treasures, but after being struck by heavenly lightning, they were either completely destroyed or severely damaged.

However, it has also achieved considerable results, and the Heavenly Tribulation has reached the seventh stage.

The lightning bolt had turned somewhat dark in color, and its power was even greater than before. Before it even landed, it caused the expression of True Person Suihan in the arena to change. Countless spiritual lights flashed on his gauze robe, gathering the icy energy from the deepest part of the Ice Soul Palace.

The vast ice plains are so thick that all you can see is ice, no land in sight, and no one knows how thick the ice layer is.

According to the Ice Soul Fairy's calculations, the core of the vast ice plain is located beneath the Ice Soul Palace, where the ice layer is at least ten thousand feet thick.

Such ice formations are almost certainly not naturally formed.

Therefore, the Ice Soul Fairy deduced that either there was the remains of a fifth-tier ice-type demon beast below, and the residual power emitted after its death, combined with the terrain, created the vast ice plain.

It could only be achieved by possessing an ice-type treasure or by an ancient powerful being setting up a fifth-order magic array below.

Regardless of the possibility, it is something that even the Nascent Soul True Monarch, Ice Soul Fairy, is powerless to explore, let alone the descendants and disciples of Ice Soul Palace.

However, each of the Core Formation cultivators has at least figured out a way to make use of the icy essence deep underground.

This gauze garment, woven from the icy silk spun by thousand-year-old ice silkworms, is not particularly high-grade.

But its advantage lies in the fact that a thousand-year-old ice silkworm can only weave a palm-sized piece of ice silk in its lifetime, and to make this gauze garment, at least a thousand ice silkworms must have been gathered together.

Only by controlling the entire ice plain and through the painstaking efforts of dozens of generations of Core Formation cultivators could it finally be woven.

The Thousand-Year Ice Silkworm is an insect-beast that grows underground in the ice plains, and its ice silk can relatively easily mobilize the essence of cold ice.

With a flick of his finger, a suit of ice armor made entirely of icy essence appeared on Suihan Zhenren's body.

"Senior brother has already used the Ice Silk Gauze Robe. How will he deal with the last two bolts of heavenly lightning?!"

Zhongli looked worried, his heart filled with the pressure of the heavenly thunder and his concern for the Immortal Suihan.

Just as Dong Shuyi was about to speak, the black lightning struck Suihan Zhenren, and with a deafening roar, his ice armor shattered rapidly.

However, the icy essence was inexhaustible, causing the ice armor to grow back after it shattered. After a stalemate, it was annihilated along with this black lightning bolt, which was completely different from the previous one.

Another bolt of dark blue lightning struck, accompanied by countless flames, turning the sky crimson as it crashed down.

Many ice crystals that have been frozen for thousands of years are beginning to melt and deform.

Master Suihan opened his mouth and spat out a bracelet, which erected an endless ice curtain. Various ice beasts charged towards the eighth heavenly lightning in a suicidal manner.

As the lightning struck, each ice beast, equivalent to a third-tier demonic beast, appeared weak and vulnerable before the heavenly thunder, turning into wisps of smoke and dissipating completely.

This bracelet is the natal magic weapon of the Immortal Suihan, capable of trapping and binding enemies, and is invincible.

However, when faced with the Heavenly Tribulation, it can only use its second ability: releasing the demonic beast essences it usually collects to serve as cannon fodder to block the heavenly lightning.

Fortunately, Master Suihan lived long enough, and with the essence of the ice beasts accumulated by the Ice Soul Palace over the generations, he refined them all this time.

Dozens of ice beasts charged out in one go, which reduced the power of the eighth lightning bolt by more than half. The last bit of lightning and fire was blocked by the bracelet itself and sent flying far away.

"puff!"

When his natal magic weapon was damaged, Master Suihan felt a sharp pain in his head and vomited a mouthful of blood as he rolled over in his chest.

Looking at the last bolt of lightning, which had turned from a bluish-black color to specks of golden light and carried a hint of sacredness, it was fundamentally different from all the lightning bolts before it.

It was no longer pure destruction; instead, there was a vibrant life force within it.

But precisely because of this, the ninth bolt of lightning was even more terrifying, sending shivers down one's spine.

Master Suihan stood up from the futon, his face expressionless, and slowly pulled out the hairpin from his head, spitting a mouthful of blood onto it.

The transparent, ice-like hairpin was tossed upwards, transforming into an ice phoenix that circled once before charging towards the golden light and lightning.

"The Ice Phoenix Hairpin! So Senior Brother Suihan has successfully refined this spiritual treasure left behind by the Ancestral Master..."

Dong Shuyi showed surprise for the first time. The Ice Phoenix Hairpin was a top-grade spiritual treasure left behind by the Ice Soul Fairy.

However, this magical treasure is extremely difficult to communicate with; no one who has reached the Core Formation stage in history has been able to become its master.

The ice phoenix collided with the golden lightning, but there was no sound, and it strangely stopped in mid-air.

The Immortal Suihan pointed a finger at his gauze robe. The ice silk gauze robe, woven from nearly ten thousand years of accumulated ice silk, emitted icy flames, instantly burning away to leave only a wisp of cold light.

With a flick of his finger, a chilling light fell upon the ice phoenix, adding another layer of frost to its wings.

With a deafening boom, the golden light and lightning were shattered, and after the ice phoenix cried out in sorrow, it returned to its transparent form.

The tribulation clouds dissipated, the thunder disappeared, and it was as if this earth-shattering heavenly tribulation had never happened.

(End of this chapter)