Ye Qin sensed the shift in the external environment, his divine sense swiftly piercing out of the Alchemy Chamber to investigate the towering, rolling dark clouds gathering overhead. Shock flooded him, and his expression grew grim.
This mass of clouds did not resemble an ordinary maritime storm; instead, it coalesced directly above the spiritual island’s cavern dwelling, "gathering without falling, poised and ready," as if awaiting some imminent event. The situation was virtually identical to when a cultivator breaks through a bottleneck and faces the Heavenly Tribulation upon ascending a realm.
This was unmistakably the extremely rare Pill Tribulation! He recalled reading numerous alchemic classics while at the Azure Pill Sect, and later, after arriving at the East Sea, purchasing many more in the market emporiums.
Only a scant few texts ever mentioned the cause behind the formation of a Pill Tribulation. Most spiritual elixirs, which simply consolidate the spiritual energy of medicinal ingredients, do not attract such a calamity.
Only the rarest, heaven-defying spiritual pills, whose condensed spiritual energy is overwhelmingly potent—sufficient to seize the very fortune of heaven and earth—will cause such a violent tremor in the world's spiritual energy upon their emergence, thus inviting the Heavenly Tribulation. Moreover, the more tyrannical the spiritual energy, the more severe the fluctuation, and the greater the might of the resulting tribulation.
If a nascent spiritual pill cannot withstand the Pill Tribulation, even if the refinement is technically complete, it will be instantly obliterated by the heavenly scourge. Amidst his shock, a surge of elation welled up in Ye Qin’s heart.
The gathering thundercloud tribulation hovering over the dwelling meant that the Spiritual Root Potential Pill, for which he had expended countless efforts and painstaking attention, was on the verge of successful formation. The last time he attempted to refine this pill, the elixir had not yet condensed from liquid into a true spiritual pill, thus failing to trigger any signs of the Pill Tribulation.
“The Spiritual Root Potential Pill cannot fail!” Ye Qin’s expression became utterly calm. He reached into the storage pouch at his waist, waved his hand, and a set of top-tier defensive formation flags shot out, swiftly taking positions in the corners of the Alchemy Chamber, weaving a magical array—a faint, misty yellow halo that enveloped the entire room.
This cavern dwelling was already equipped with guardian formations, but he reinforced the defenses within the alchemy room itself. This was the most critical juncture, the final incense stick’s worth of time before completion.
The surging spiritual energy within the cauldron caused the vessel itself to tremble lightly. Ye Qin could not afford to divert his attention to the calamity clouds outside; he had to focus entirely on manipulating the pill incantations and fire control techniques, concentrating solely on managing the spiritual energy shifts inside the cauldron—lest all his efforts crumble at the final moment.
He ignored the heat steaming off his body and the sweat pouring down his face. The strange phenomenon of the rolling dark clouds outside the dwelling had already alerted Huangfu Bing’er, who was cultivating nearby.
“Husband, a Heavenly Phenomenon has suddenly appeared outside the dwelling, manifesting tribulation clouds. Is this the Pill Tribulation triggered by the elixir you are refining?” Outside the alchemy room, Huangfu Bing’er sounded somewhat anxious.
As a Grandmaster Alchemist, she too suspected the possibility of a Pill Tribulation. After all, both she and Ye Qin were still only at the late stages of the Core Formation realm (Eighth and Seventh Layers, respectively), far from reaching the Nascent Soul stage where one would face the Great Heavenly Tribulation.
Having ruled out other causes for the thunderous energy, the Pill Tribulation remained the most likely explanation. “That is correct.
The elixir in the cauldron is about to emerge. The clouds outside are indeed the Pill Tribulation.
Bing’er, take Xiuer and guard the exterior of the dwelling; be ready to intervene to weaken the might of the lightning. However, act within your limits; do not suffer injury while defending against the tribulation.
Both inside and out, defensive formation flags have been deployed; they can resist an attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator for a brief moment—that should be enough to dissipate the majority of the tribulation’s power!” Ye Qin transmitted this instruction via a split-second thought transmission. He held a hidden worry: because he hadn't anticipated a Pill Tribulation, the Corrosive Bone Crocodile skeleton demon was still sealed in his spirit beast pouch, not released.
The alchemy room and its surroundings were sealed by multiple formations, and he was fully occupied controlling the energy in the cauldron; there was simply no time to release the Crocodile to counter the tribulation. Otherwise, defense would be far more assured.
“Understood, I will guard the dwelling!” Huangfu Bing’er nodded lightly, called Bai Xiuer, who was practicing her warrior secret techniques, and brandishing two Ice-Fire Primordial Spirit Flying Swords, she gracefully stepped out of the dwelling in white robes. Bai Xiuer, interrupted from her cultivation of secret techniques, became unexpectedly excited upon hearing of a thunderous tribulation.
This rare event of a Heavenly Tribulation was a first for her, and she certainly didn't want to miss it. As Huangfu Bing’er and Bai Xiuer emerged, they looked up at the island sky and gasped, their expressions turning horrified.
The sheer imposing presence of this Pill Tribulation cloud far surpassed what Huangfu Bing’er had witnessed when she underwent her minor Heavenly Tribulation upon reaching Core Formation. A vast expanse of oppressive black clouds hung heavily over the island.
Occasionally, a "crackling" bolt of lightning flashed, while ferocious gales howled over the sea, whipping up massive waves. At this moment, the island’s living creatures sensed the threat of this destructive aura and were awed by the thunderclouds.
Masses of low-level demon insects burrowed into rock crevices, and lesser demonic beasts fled frantically through the mountains, trying to squeeze into underground dens for shelter. Even the sea fish surrounding the spiritual island were diving desperately toward the deep waters.
Before such a thundercloud tribulation, they were too fragile to resist; a mere touch from the thunder-fire would reduce them to ashes. The Wu Clan tribe was also alerted.
Low-ranking Earth Clan members who had been outside gathering fruit were startled by the celestial phenomenon and retreated into the mountain cavern tunnels, peering out at the strange sight above. Many common Earth Clan members prostrated themselves on the ground, murmuring in their native tongue with faces etched with fear.
The Earth Clan warriors stationed at the Great Timber Outpost spotted the terrifying scene above the island and rushed back into the mountain caves to report to the Clan Chief and the Elders. Huangfu Bing’er had already fully activated the defensive formations both inside and outside the mountain cave dwelling.
All around the structure, brilliant shields of various lights and phantom runes surged, dazzling to behold. “Rumble~!” Suddenly, a deep thunderous roar erupted.
The lightning clouds in the sky formed a vortex, their speed accelerating sharply. Within the eye of the cloud, lightning snakes writhed wildly, interwoven with streams of enveloping flames, subtly taking on a crimson hue.
Finally, a crimson lightning bolt, as thick as an arm, cleaved down directly toward the mountain peak housing Ye Qin's dwelling. The ear-shattering thunderclap followed moments later.
“Fire Thunder!” Huangfu Bing’er had already cast her flying swords out, positioning herself outside the mountain cave, and exclaimed the name of this crimson bolt as she recognized it. The crimson Fire Thunder struck the outermost golden light shield protecting the mountain cave dwelling, causing the shield to shake violently, its runes flashing brilliantly.
The Fire Thunder dissipated, and the golden shield dimmed sharply, now riddled with cracks, showing clear signs of imminent shattering. Huangfu Bing’er’s face turned ashen with alarm.
The might of this first Fire Thunder nearly pierced the protective shield guarding the dwelling. “Crack!” Seeing the dwelling’s shield was about to collapse, Huangfu Bing’er immediately urged her two high-grade Primordial Spirit Artifacts, the Ice and Fire swords, to execute the “Heavenly Ice Extreme Fire Sword Art.” This top-tier sword art, sourced from the Ancient Treasure Vault, had replaced her previous Ice Soul and Fire Soul techniques, and its power was astonishing.
The Ice Soul Chill Light Sword and the Purple Jade Extreme Fire Sword she deployed split into thirty-two smaller Primordial Spirit swords. They streamed out like a waterfall of flying swords, swirling and circling to form a massive sword array above the dwelling.
The second Fire Thunder was already smashing down. The cascade of Ice and Fire swords caused each spirit sword to erupt with three to four feet of magical light.
These sword beams formed an immense current of flying steel, directly confronting the descending Fire Thunder. “Splash!~” Dozens of Ice and Fire sword beams collided instantly with the Fire Thunder.
The bodies of the flying swords were immediately enveloped in countless electrical arcs and fiery plumes, flickering with sparks. These swords rapidly lost all their magical power and were blasted backward.
“Recall!” Huangfu Bing’er’s expression shifted. She swiftly signaled the thirty-two flying swords to return, gripping them in her hands.
She felt her hands tingling from the residual electrical shock. She quickly inspected the thirty-two high-grade spirit swords.
Fortunately, they had jointly absorbed and neutralized the power of that thunder-fire, losing their magic but suffering no physical damage to the blades. Through this test, she gauged the true power of the Fire Thunder.
It was far stronger than the Heavenly Thunder of the Core Formation stage, but not yet as formidable as the attack of a Nascent Soul cultivator. She had no time to restore the magic power to the swords.
After recalling them, she immediately retreated. Fearing that her Ice-Fire Primordial Spirit swords would be damaged by forcing a direct block, she allowed the formation flags defending the dwelling to absorb the next wave of thunder-fire.
“Sister Bing’er, I will intercept the next wave of thunder!” Bai Xiuer, seeing the situation was not optimistic, stared intently at the sky, gripping her azure ancient halberd. A layer of pale, gleaming light emanated from the halberd in her hand, pulsing intensely.
As another Fire Thunder split from the dark clouds with a "crack" and descended, the azure halberd in her hand shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, flying toward the descending thunderbolt. “Xiuer, be careful!
If you can’t hold it, retreat immediately! There are still several formation flags defending the dwelling—enough to block one wave of thunder,” Huangfu Bing’er immediately warned.
“Mhm!” The crimson Fire Thunder, like a fiery electric serpent, struck the azure halberd. Thunder and fire wrapped around the weapon, sparking wildly, and sent the halberd flying back.
Bai Xiuer flashed forward, darting out to catch the halberd that had been hurled away by the thunder-fire. It was unclear what the azure halberd was forged from, as its quality was remarkably high; it sustained no damage under the impact of the Fire Thunder.
On the island, more and more Earth Clan warriors emerged from the mountain caves, kneeling down in succession. They stared at the thunder roaring from the distant peak, and at the clashing lights of flying swords, azure light, and the thunder-fire descending from the sky, their faces filled with shock and deep reverence.
Immortals are indeed Immortals; they dare to confront the Heavenly Thunder-Fire. Such courage was not something ordinary tribal warriors would attempt.
Meanwhile, as Huangfu Bing’er and Bai Xiuer outside the dwelling used their primordial spirit artifacts and ancient weapons, supported by the dwelling's defensive array, to resist the Pill Tribulation Fire Thunder, Ye Qin inside the alchemy room had reached the final, critical moment. “Hoo—” A dazzling crimson radiance burst forth from the cauldron.
Pill Condensation! Ye Qin was overjoyed.
But before he could savor the surprise, a sudden alarm spiked in his heart as he sensed danger. He jerked his head up, looking toward the ceiling of the alchemy room.
“Boom!” The dwelling shook violently from a strike of thunder-fire, and large chunks of rock collapsed. The Fire Thunder had actually punched through the outer structure of the dwelling and blasted directly into the alchemy room!