I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

Lin Che remained expressionless as he took out three more identical tortoise-shell shields from his storage bag, suspending them in front of him, behind him, and beside him.

The four shields, connected end to end, formed a circular wall of iron, protecting Lin Che within it.

For an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, having even one of these is already a luxury.

But Lin Che unleashed all four of his attacks without even blinking.

"The second course, let's begin."

Before the words were even finished, the second thunderbolt struck.

This one was a full circle thicker than the first one, and the purple-gold lightning had taken on a hint of dark red, which was the "world-destroying intent" contained within the heavenly tribulation, specifically designed to suppress the protective spiritual light of cultivators.

The lightning bolts fell like the wrathful sword of a god, cleaving straight down.

Lin Che formed hand seals, and the four tortoise-shell shields glowed simultaneously.

The phantom images of the crocodile turtles on the shield all raised their heads and let out a silent roar.

Four dark golden light shields overlapped, protecting Lin Cheli in layers.

The lightning bolt struck the light shield, but instead of exploding, it acted like a high-speed rotating drill, frantically eroding the surface of the light shield.

One layer, two layers, three layers. The outermost light shield shattered in less than two breaths, and cracks began to appear on the second layer as well.

Lin Che frowned slightly.

He flicked his wrist, and a jade talisman of emerald green flew out from his sleeve, hovering above his head, and exploded into a curtain of emerald green light.

That is the "Azure Wood Life-Giving Talisman", a high-grade third-tier item, made from the essence of century-old azure jade spirit wood. Although its defensive power is not as good as the tortoise shell shield, it is superior in that it is endlessly regenerating.

Once the light barrier is shattered, it can repair itself as long as the spiritual energy is not depleted.

He slapped the talisman into the outermost tortoise shell shield.

The emerald green light curtain merged with the dark gold light shield, significantly slowing down the rate at which cracks appeared and actually accelerating the repair process.

The second bolt of lightning finally dissipated.

Of the four shields, two have cracks, one is intact, and the other remains completely still.

Lin Che felt no pity.

He took out three new tortoise shell shields, replaced the damaged two sides, and casually put them into his storage bag. He would go back and have Tie Wushuang repair them; they would still be usable.

"The third one."

The thunderclouds in the sky churned even more violently, and purple-gold lightning bolts weaved and intertwined within the clouds, gradually coalescing into a thicker and more dazzling pillar of lightning.

The lightning bolt had changed from purple-gold to dark red, carrying a chilling aura of death, as if it came from the netherworld.

Lin Che stood up and activated the Eye of the Storm.

He quickly found the answer: the tortoise shell shield couldn't stop it.

He put away the four tortoise-shell shields, clasped his hands together, and a long, emerald-green spear flew out of his storage bag and landed in his palm.

Wind-Splitting Spear.

The tip of the gun gleamed coldly, and the gun body trembled slightly, emitting a low hum.

With divine insight and keen observation, he unleashed his full power.

A blue light appeared in his eyes, growing stronger and stronger until it almost overflowed from his pupils.

The trajectory, speed, and power distribution of the third bolt of lightning were clearly visible to him.

The dark red lightning pillar was not uniform; inside it was a barely perceptible node where the flow of spiritual energy was weakest, which was the "eye" of the entire lightning pillar.

"Break it for me."

Lin Che took a step forward, transforming into a streak of azure light as he charged towards the pillar of lightning.

The Wind-Splitting Spear thrust out, its tip precisely striking the "eye" of the lightning pillar.

There was no loud noise, no explosion, only a soft "pop"—like a bubble being popped.

The third, menacing bolt of lightning exploded in the air, transforming into a sky full of purple-gold sparks, like festive fireworks blooming in the night sky, brilliant yet fleeting.

This scene was clearly seen by the Burning Sky Sacred Sparrow at the edge of the secret realm.

It opened its mouth wide, its golden eyes filled with helplessness.

"It just so happens that he knows how to play..."

The Azure Profound Realm Spirit hovered above the dome, its silvery-white light flickering slightly.

Lin Che landed back on the blue stone platform, his clothes fluttering, not a single hair out of place.

"The fourth one."

Thunderclouds surged, and muffled thunder rumbled.

This time, instead of lightning bolts swarming in the clouds, something even more terrifying was brewing.

A moment later, a dark red pillar of lightning crashed down from the clouds.

It wasn't straight, but rather it kept splitting in the air, like an upside-down tree with countless branches branching out from a main trunk, enveloping Lin Che from all directions.

This is an "electric net that blocks all escape routes."

Lin Che chuckled softly.

The "Free and Easy Wandering" is initiated.

His figure transformed into a streak of azure light, weaving and leaping through the gaps in the lightning net.

It floats three zhang to the left, moves five zhang to the right, rises two zhang, and falls four zhang.

The dark red lightning bolts brushed past his robes, but always missed him by just an inch, never quite reaching him.

He wandered through the lightning net for nearly ten breaths until the power of the fourth lightning bolt was exhausted, and then slowly fell back onto the bluestone platform.

Several charred holes appeared in his robes, but the person was unharmed.

"The fifth one!"

Lin Che took out a stack of talismans from his storage bag.

What is the greatest boost to a cultivator?

These are naturally the one-time use talismans.

unfortunately.

Lin Che had accumulated a huge pile!

At this moment, he had at least dozens of third-tier Golden Armor Talismans, Body Protection Talismans, Lightning Repelling Talismans, Vajra Talismans, and so on.

He patted the talismans onto his body one by one, and golden, white, blue, and yellow lights flashed alternately, enveloping him in layers of light shields. From a distance, he looked like a colorful silkworm cocoon.

The fifth bolt of lightning struck.

It was no longer a column, but a giant hand formed from lightning, with its five fingers spread out and a vortex-like ball of electricity in the center of its palm, which slammed down towards Lin Che's head.

Lin Che did not take the hit head-on.

He threw the stack of unused talismans into the air, and at the same time, he threw four "Thunder-Attracting Beads" into the four directions of Thunder Palm.

The Lightning-Attracting Pearl was a valuable item that Lin Xuanfeng acquired from Tie Wushuang. It was specially designed to guide lightning, and each one cost five thousand spirit stones.

Dozens of talismans exploded simultaneously, and various colored light shields formed one barrier after another beneath Lei Zhang's palm.

Although each barrier was destroyed in the blink of an eye, their combined effect delayed the lightning strike for a full two breaths.

During these two breaths, the four lightning-attracting beads glowed simultaneously, drawing and diverting the lightning power in Lei's palm in four directions.

When the thunderous palm struck, it had already been weakened by nearly half.

Lin Che raised the Rending Wind Spear, and activated the Wind Eye Strike again, thrusting the spear into the center of the vortex in the palm of the Thunder Palm.

The thunderous palm exploded, transforming into a sky full of lightning.

His robes were charred black from the electric shock, his hair stood on end, and his face was covered in a layer of ash.

But his eyes remained bright.

"The sixth path!"

He took out a large cauldron—the Green Wood Spirit-Suppressing Cauldron.

This cauldron has been with him for many years. He obtained it from the Chen family and upgraded it to a third-tier superior grade through the system. It is known for its wood elemental energy and has extremely strong defensive capabilities.

He placed the large cauldron above his head, and a green light emanated from its mouth, enveloping his entire body.

At the same time, he took out twelve array flags from his storage bag and set up a third-order "Thick Earth Suppressing Yuan Array" with the blue stone platform as the center.

This is a portable array plate personally crafted by Master Qin. It does not require pre-burying an array base; simply insert the array flag and inject spiritual power to activate a complete defensive array.

The twelve array flags lit up simultaneously, and the earthen-yellow spiritual light rose from the ground, adding another layer of thick light shield to the Green Wood Town Spirit Cauldron.

The surface of the light mask has flowing shadows of mountains and rivers, giving people a sense of solidity and immovability.

The sixth bolt of lightning transformed into a dark red thunder dragon, baring its fangs and claws, and swooped down from the clouds.

The thunder dragon crashed into the light shield of the Thick Earth Suppressing Yuan Array. The light shield trembled violently, and the illusory images of mountains and rivers shattered layer by layer, yet were reborn layer by layer.

The Thunder Dragon's claws tore three gashes in the light shield, and the earth power of Thick Earth Town immediately surged up, filling the cracks.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate for a full five breaths before the Thunder Dragon finally exhausted itself and dissipated.

Of the twelve array flags of the Thick Earth Suppressing Yuan Formation, six were broken.

Lin Che put away the remaining six array flags and took out twelve brand-new ones, then inserted them into the array.

This time it's the "Yi Wood Everlasting Spring Formation," also a third-tier formation. It primarily uses wood-attribute spiritual power, combined with the Yi Wood spiritual energy from the Green Wood Suppressing Spirit Cauldron, making its defensive and self-healing abilities stronger than the Thick Earth Formation.

"The seventh one!"

The color of the thunderclouds changed, from pitch black to dark red, like congealed blood.

No more lightning bolts streaked through the clouds; only a heavy, suffocating sense of oppression slowly gathered.

The seventh bolt of lightning did not strike.

It slowly rotated in the clouds, spinning faster and faster, becoming brighter and brighter, until it finally transformed into a dark red pillar of light, silently descending from the clouds.

That wasn't lightning, it was "calamity light".

The purest and most terrifying destructive power in the Heavenly Tribulation.

It had no thunderous roar, no dazzling lightning, only a silent stillness, like the breath of death.

Lin Che's expression finally turned serious.

He pushed the Yi Wood Light Shield of the Green Wood Town Spirit Cauldron to its limit, activated all twelve array flags of the Yi Wood Everlasting Spring Array, and then took out the last third-tier top-grade defensive magic weapon, the "Black Tortoise Town Heaven Shield," from his storage bag.

He placed the Xuanwu Heaven-Suppressing Shield above his head, and the deep blue light shield completely enveloped the light shields of the Yi Wood Shield and the Everlasting Spring Array.

Three layers of defense, interlocking and stacked one after another.

The calamity descended.

There was no loud noise, no explosion, only a hissing sound that made your teeth ache, like cold water being poured onto a scalding hot iron plate.

The outermost Xuanwu light shield trembled violently, and the deep blue light dimmed at a visible speed.

The second layer of the Yi Wood Light Shield operates frantically, with emerald green spiritual energy constantly surging out, attempting to repair the cracks eroded by the Calamity Light.

The third layer of the Everlasting Spring Light Shield continuously supplies spiritual energy to the Wood Light Shield, and the three form a complete defensive chain.

Lin Che's spiritual power was being consumed rapidly.

He took out a bottle of third-tier spirit-restoring pills from his storage bag, poured the whole bottle into his mouth, and didn't care whether the medicine was too strong or not.

Within the dantian, the nascent soul, still in its gestation stage, seemed to sense its master's crisis. It began to glow faintly, accelerating the conversion of the absorbed spiritual energy of heaven and earth into spiritual power, which was continuously transported to the limbs and bones.

The light of the calamity lasted for a full ten breaths.

Ten breaths later, the pillar of light dissipated.

The light shield of the Xuanwu Heavenly Shield dimmed by 70%, the Yimu light shield was reduced to a thin layer, all twelve array flags of the Changchun Formation were shattered, and even the emerald green light on the Qingmu Spirit-Suppressing Cauldron dimmed a bit.

Lin Che gasped for breath, put the Xuanwu Heaven-Suppressing Shield back into his storage bag, and took out a bottle of Rejuvenation Pills, which he then poured into his mouth.

"The eighth one."

His voice was a little hoarse, but his eyes remained bright.

The thunderclouds in the sky began to shrink.

All the tribulation clouds were converging towards the center, condensing into a dark red sphere of light with a diameter of only a few feet.

But Lei did not fall.

The surface of the sphere of light was covered with purple-gold lightning patterns, and each flash made the entire secret realm tremble.

On the lake, the water rippled violently, creating waves several feet high that crashed against the rocks on the shore, splashing up a cloud of water mist.

Then, the sphere of light cracked open.

A figure emerged from the crack.

That was a "Thunder Spirit" formed from the lightning tribulation, composed of pure lightning power.

Although it was humanoid, its body was made of interwoven purple-gold lightning. It had no facial features, only two empty eye sockets like abysses, staring intently at Lin Che below.

Its size was the same as Lin Che's, but its aura was more terrifying than the previous eight bolts of heavenly lightning combined.

Lei Ling took a step and disappeared from the clouds.

In the next instant, it appeared three feet in front of Lin Che.

It was so fast that even Lin Che's Eye of the Wind could only catch a blurry afterimage.

It didn't speak or roar, but simply raised its right hand and punched Lin Che in the chest.

This punch had no lightning, no loud noise, only extreme compression.

Lin Che suddenly realized.

The eighth and ninth heavenly tribulations have merged into one.

The full power of both paths was compressed into this one punch.

Before the fist even arrived, the wind from it was already there. The air around Lin Che was compressed and made to explode, and the bluestone platform beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.

Lin Che knew that the defensive magic artifacts wouldn't be able to stop it.

This lightning strike was not a wide-ranging lightning attack, but a highly concentrated strike with extremely strong penetrating power.

Large-scale defensive measures like light shields are like paper in front of it. His four-sided tortoise shell shield, the Azure Wood Spirit-Suppressing Cauldron, and the Black Tortoise Heaven-Suppressing Shield could not withstand such a highly concentrated attack for even a moment.

However, his strongest defense has never been a magical artifact.

Rather, it was his physical cultivation level.

Over the years, Lin Che's body tempering has not slackened at all.

His body refinement cultivation also reached the Golden Core Perfection stage, and he reached the second level of the Five Saints Blood Pact Spirit Forging Secret Chapter.

He took a deep breath, and the nascent soul still in the dantian glowed faintly, while the five elemental seeds trembled simultaneously.

Five kinds of light intertwined within his body, merging into one, circulating through the five elements, endlessly regenerating.

Lei Ling's fist arrived.

Lin Che did not dodge.

His right fist was also clenched tightly, and the immense power of the Spleen Earth Dao Seed, the Golden Spirit Qi of the Lung Metal Dao Seed, and the True Fire Blood of the Heart Fire Dao Seed all condensed on his fist.

He threw a punch, which collided head-on with Lei Ling's fist!

"boom--!"

A deafening explosion rang out, and the entire secret realm trembled.

The water on the lake was shaken so high that it flew several meters into the air, turning into a mist that filled the sky.

The branches and leaves of the spirit tree were torn apart by the shockwave and flew everywhere.

The spirit beasts hiding at the edge of the secret realm in the distance were forced to lie prostrate on the ground, trembling under the pressure.

The moment their fists collided, Lin Che felt a world-destroying force surging from Lei Ling's fist.

It was not the scorching of lightning, nor the impact of thunder, but a purer, primal destructive force, like that at the beginning of time.

Despite Lei Ling's fierce attacks, Lin Che was not afraid at all, his eyes filled with fighting spirit!