As Zhong Shenxiu had anticipated, after the fourth Heavenly Thunder, all the protective formations around him were completely destroyed. After the fifth bolt of Heavenly Thunder, the defensive arrays surrounding him also ceased functioning.

Now, only four bolts of Heavenly Thunder remained—the most crucial four. Whether he could successfully weather this storm and survive depended entirely on Zhong Shenxiu's own abilities.

Enough pleasantries. The sixth bolt of Heavenly Thunder, after brewing for about half an hour, finally descended. From a distance, the massive lightning strike looked like an arrow piercing the sky and the earth.

Robin, watching from afar, had her heart in her throat. This was the grandest spectacle she had ever witnessed; tears had forgotten how to fall, her gaze fixed solely on the world-shattering bolt of lightning as it instantly struck Zhong Shenxiu, enveloping him completely.

It was terrifying. Centered on Zhong Shenxiu, the surrounding flora and stones were instantly vaporized. Where Zhong Shenxiu stood, the ground sank into a deep pit, more than five meters deep and about ten meters in diameter.

Yet, the strange thing was that while this bolt of Heavenly Thunder destroyed Zhong Shenxiu's clothing, it caused him no physical harm whatsoever. On the contrary, it seemed to wrap around him gently, like a luminous veil.

This phenomenon was incomprehensible not only to Robin but even to Zhong Shenxiu himself.

He had been prepared to endure the Heavenly Thunder head-on, but unexpectedly, the thunder seemed to have transformed into a docile pet, harboring no hostility toward him. Instead, it nudged him gently, rubbing against him as if recognizing a kinsman.

What was happening?

Even someone as learned as Zhong Shenxiu was stunned; this was the first time he had encountered such an event. He hadn't just never seen it; he had never even heard of it.

Zhong Shenxiu cautiously attempted to disperse some of the spiritual energy around him to observe the Heavenly Thunder's reaction. As expected, the thunder remained devoid of hostility. Eventually, Zhong Shenxiu withdrew all his spiritual energy, yet the Heavenly Thunder remained remarkably obedient.

Of course, this was not the most astonishing thing for Zhong Shenxiu. What truly shocked him was what happened next.

The Heavenly Thunder that had been enveloping him suddenly contracted rapidly, and in the end, it drilled entirely into Zhong Shenxiu's body.

This left Zhong Shenxiu dumbfounded. That was Heavenly Thunder! How could it suddenly burrow into his body?

What baffled Zhong Shenxiu was that as the thunder entered him, he felt no discomfort. Instead, a pleasant, warm current flowed through his entire body, making him feel an inexhaustible well of strength. His spiritual platform, the Lingtai, was clearer than it had ever been.

How could this be?

Ultimately, the sixth bolt of Heavenly Thunder was absorbed by Zhong Shenxiu without any incident.

Zhong Shenxiu did not lose himself to the comfortable sensation. He was now pondering the cause of this phenomenon. Everything has a cause and effect; so, what was the reason for this event?

Zhong Shenxiu touched his body but found no noticeable changes. The Heavenly Thunder that had entered him seemed to have vanished without a trace, as if nothing had happened.

How could this be?

How could such a massive influx of power simply disappear after entering his body? Where were they hidden? Why couldn't he sense them?

At this moment, Zhong Shenxiu felt a twinge of regret for having lost track of the thunder's destination while lost in thought. However, he still had another chance, as another bolt of thunder was yet to come.

Amidst slow, taut anticipation, the seventh bolt of Heavenly Thunder finally descended, its momentum even fiercer. Its form had shifted slightly, its color now tinged with an almost imperceptible hint of purple.

Zhong Shenxiu dared not test this thunder without defense; that wouldn't be bravery, but ignorance.

He still maximized his spiritual energy, preparing for the worst.

Yet, reality proved his worries were excessive. This bolt, like the previous one, caused him no harm. After lingering around him for a moment, it suddenly drilled into his body.

This time, Zhong Shenxiu was mentally prepared. As the thunder pierced his body, he swiftly activated his "Spiritual Wave" to track it closely, determined to uncover its destination.

Initially, the thunder flowed like a meandering river, weaving through Zhong Shenxiu's meridians.

To be honest, Zhong Shenxiu didn't know until he started tracking—and when he did, he was startled.

He clearly saw that wherever the thunder passed, it refined his meridians and cells. Not only did his meridians become tougher, but a layer of pure lightning force formed on their surface, like a protective membrane.

Zhong Shenxiu never imagined the thunder could be this monstrous; the speed and intensity of the physical tempering it imparted surpassed even that of the "Spiritual Milk"—it was an abnormality among abnormalities.

While thrilled and shocked, Zhong Shenxiu dared not lose focus, diligently continuing to follow the thunder.

Although the thunder expended some energy during the tempering process, it wasn't enough to cause it to vanish completely. Compared to the remaining power, the expenditure was negligible.

Unknowingly, Zhong Shenxiu's Spiritual Wave followed the thunder to his Dantian.

At that moment, Zhong Shenxiu gasped, thinking secretly: Could it be that they ultimately converged in the Dantian?

This thought seemed plausible, as the Dantian is the wellspring of a cultivator's power.

But right then, Zhong Shenxiu discovered something else that astonished him: there was already a Golden Core in his Dantian!

This shouldn't have been surprising, as Zhong Shenxiu had already reached the Golden Core stage; otherwise, he wouldn't be undergoing Tribulation. The problem was that the Golden Core in his Dantian was no ordinary one—it had undergone some kind of mutation.

Behold, this Golden Core was the size of a fist, and its entire surface bore purple totems, rather than being uniformly golden.

How could this be?

While he was stunned, the Heavenly Thunder suddenly split a strand of energy and shot directly into the Golden Core. Immediately, the purple totems flared brightly. Even more bizarrely, they began to move, momentarily forming a new pattern. During this process, the Golden Core inexplicably grew larger still.

If Zhong Shenxiu’s Spiritual Wave had facial expressions, it would surely be dumbfounded now.

When the Golden Core settled again, the "Heavenly Thunder" moved once more. This time, it didn't just shed energy into the Core; instead, it surged up along the meridians, heading toward the Middle Dantian.

As before, it tempered the meridians and cells along its path. However, to Zhong Shenxiu’s surprise, it did not pause at the Middle Dantian but shot straight toward the Upper Dantian, its speed visibly accelerating, as if drawn by some unseen force.

Zhong Shenxiu dared not relax, using his full spiritual power to pursue closely behind. However, when the "Heavenly Thunder" stopped again, the scene presented before him shocked Zhong Shenxiu once more.

In his Upper Dantian, there sat a tiny figure, resting with eyes closed!

This... this, could it be...?

Zhong Shenxiu's excitement this time was profound because he already realized what this small figure represented. Indeed, it was the Nascent Soul—his Upper Dantian had shockingly formed a Nascent Soul!

What an unexpected and joyful event! Before this, there was absolutely nothing in his Upper Dantian, yet now, it had skipped the Golden Core stage and produced a Nascent Soul directly.

Amidst the excitement, Zhong Shenxiu had to confront another reality: his Nascent Soul was also not ordinary; it had mutated even more significantly.

Behold, this Nascent Soul was enveloped by a purple halo. Its body was covered in black, seal-like incantations, similar to runes. With every breath the Nascent Soul took, these incantations would shift their form, closely resembling the purple totems on the Golden Core.

What Zhong Shenxiu found even harder to accept was that his Nascent Soul's hands were not still; they were slowly forming mudras—hand seals that he himself had never seen and whose purpose he could not fathom.

These successive shocks nearly drove Zhong Shenxiu mad. He never imagined that so many secrets were hidden within his body. What in the world was going on?

It couldn't have happened for no reason!

The more Zhong Shenxiu thought about it, the stranger and more incredible the matter seemed. Suddenly, his body trembled, and something clicked in his mind.

The scene from before he transmigrated into this world flashed in his memory.

He still recalled that before arriving here, he had been deciphering a secret manual—actually a very peculiar stone—that he had extorted from a Demonic Sect. After he violently cracked the stone, it suddenly underwent a mutation, emitting dazzling, seven-colored light. The power of this light was terrifying and severely injured him.

Then, a sphere glowing with seven-colored light struck Zhong Shenxiu's body with lightning speed and burrowed inside him. In that instant, the injuries he sustained miraculously healed, and his power multiplied by more than tenfold.

Subsequently, the resulting Heavenly Tribulation was triggered by this sudden surge in power.

Zhong Shenxiu now remembered that the situation back then was similar to now: the overwhelmingly powerful Heavenly Thunder, flashing with destructive brilliance, poured into his body like a river returning to the ocean's embrace.

Back then, the Heavenly Thunder also constantly tempered his meridians and developed his spiritual consciousness.

Could it be that all of this stemmed from that secret manual?

While Zhong Shenxiu was lost in thought, the "Heavenly Thunder" inside him resumed its action, splitting off another stream of power into the Nascent Soul.

Following a burst of strange purple light, an even stranger event occurred: Zhong Shenxiu's Nascent Soul opened its eyes.

And those were no ordinary pair of eyes.