Li Yundong never imagined that his cultivation retreat with Ziyuan within the Minor Realm of the Purple Gold Luo Jade Disk would span an entire week! During this week, Li Yundong remained indoors, ceaselessly traversing between the Major Realm and the Minor Realm, constantly challenging the celestial lightning within the Minor Realm.

He progressed from initially dodging just over ten bolts of lightning to smoothly evading more than thirty, and ultimately, he could repel over eighty strikes in one go! Seven days of intense, concentrated training had completely transformed Li Yundong.

If his previous journey of cultivation to ** had already refined his true essence into tempered steel, forging a powerful Golden Core that merged the power of the Buddha and the Dao and contained the essence of celestial lightning, then this latest cultivation within the Minor Realm of the Purple Gold Luo Jade Disk had propelled the vital energy within his Golden Core to its absolute zenith, unleashing his entire potential. At this point, the inner core in Li Yundong's lower dantian had expanded to more than three times its original size.

Consequently, Li Yundong's strength and speed soared in tandem, allowing him to evade an ever-increasing number of lightning strikes. Within the Minor Realm, Li Yundong’s figure moved like a wisp of smoke, darting through the world like lightning.

Every time a bolt of celestial lightning was about to descend, the hairs on his body would stand on end, granting him the acute sensation of the precise moment of impact, allowing him to instantly shift away. The instant he evaded a strike, the lightning would smash into the ground, and the potent energy would scatter in all directions.

The few nearest strands of cyan energy would then be subtly drawn into Li Yundong’s body like fine threads. The Heavens have nine layers, and the Earth has nine layers.

When the Heavenly Tribulation descends, cultivators can hide in the Nine Heavens or burrow into the Nine Hells; thus, the Tribulation consists of eighty-one bolts—nine by nine—striking until the cultivator has nowhere left to conceal themselves, fighting to the death. After successfully dodging the seventy-ninth celestial bolt, Li Yundong suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

He realized that just two more evasions, and he would pass the Tribulation of eighty-one bolts! But the moment this thought crossed his mind, the hair on his body shot straight up.

Without hesitation, Li Yundong pushed off the ground, his figure flashing dozens of meters away in the blink of an eye. Where he had stood moments before, a thunderous boom erupted, and a bolt of lightning split the earth, instantly carving out a massive crater ten meters in diameter!

The instant he landed, Li Yundong tapped his toe again, his form shooting out over a hundred meters like lightning. A bolt of lightning, seemingly following his shadow, struck the spot where he had just landed, gouging out another bottomless pit!

After dodging two ferocious lightning strikes in succession, Li Yundong noticed that the sky did not unleash another volley; instead, the storm clouds churned restlessly, as if gathering their strength. Li Yundong’s heart tightened.

He knew the final blow would be earth-shattering. He took a deep breath, his movement instantly blurring into an afterimage, moving so fast his silhouette was nearly invisible.

Li Yundong knew the lightning had locked onto his position; only then would it descend. By moving at such astonishing speed, it would be difficult for the lightning to pinpoint him, let alone strike him.

But Li Yundong could never have anticipated that just as he was moving rapidly, a deafening CRACK split the sky. This sound almost shattered Li Yundong’s soul; in that moment, he had the distinct feeling that the heavens themselves were collapsing!

The entire Minor Realm instantly erupted with dense, overlapping lightning bolts, filling every corner of the space. No matter how great his divine powers, Li Yundong could not escape this final assault; his body was instantly swallowed by the celestial fury!

Struck down by the final bolt in the Minor Realm, Li Yundong cried out with a shout, startling awake in a cold sweat. Before, Li Yundong had engaged with the celestial lightning in the Minor Realm in a game of wit and daring, finding endless enjoyment in it.

He felt the thrill and excitement of wrestling with the Heavens, finding boundless pleasure in the struggle. But when the last bolt arrived, in that single instant, Li Yundong felt the true, overwhelming power of the Heavenly Might!

It was a crushing force that allowed him not even the slightest margin for resistance! For the first time, Li Yundong experienced genuine fear and terror.

Though awake, the hair on his body remained rigidly erect, every pore screaming open as if emitting a silent shriek of dread. In the moment the lightning struck him, Li Yundong felt as if the sky had extended an invisible, massive hand.

This hand was like the Five Elements Mountain held by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven from the Buddha; it pressed down upon him, the Monkey King, so darkly and overwhelmingly that he had no chance to resist, forced to surrender and await his doom! “Can I truly pass the Heavenly Tribulation?” A fissure instantly split Li Yundong’s rock-hard Dao Heart.

He was no fool, nor was he naive; no matter how fearless or brave he was, facing such Heavenly Might left him utterly unmoved! Ziyuan, observing his distant, terrified demeanor, felt her own heart tremble.

She inwardly noted: Not good, his will is wavering! The Daoist path places supreme importance on the cultivation of the spirit and will.

Those whose resolve is unsteady cannot fully utilize even their greatest divine powers, nor can they necessarily defeat cultivators who have reached lower realms. Conversely, those with steadfast wills maximize their strength, often achieving feats beyond their supposed level by overcoming those who are stronger but less resolute.

The Heavenly Tribulation is arguably the greatest enemy every cultivator must face. With such a formidable foe before them, Li Yundong’s will faltering was devastating news!

Ziyuan asked, “What is wrong?” Li Yundong stared straight ahead, his gaze unfocused. After a long moment, he finally turned to Ziyuan, his voice low as he slowly said, “I think… there is no way I can survive the Heavenly Tribulation!” Although Ziyuan had suspected his wavering, hearing it spoken aloud still caused her heart to sink sharply.

She questioned, “What happened? Even if you didn’t dodge the lightning, there’s no need to be so disheartened!” Li Yundong slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled heavily with a long sigh.

“The final bolt made me realize just how terrifying the Heavenly Tribulation truly is! No matter how capable I am, there is simply no way to evade it!

And this was merely a simulated tribulation within the Purple Gold Luo Jade Disk. What about the real one?” Saying this, Li Yundong could not help but manage a bitter smile: “I was too arrogant!” Ziyuan couldn't help but show a flash of anger and sharply reprimanded, “The final ten percent requires ninety percent of the effort!

The Heavenly Tribulation is imminent; how can you retreat now?” Li Yundong shook his head in anguish. “You don’t understand!

When the final bolt came, the entire Minor Realm was filled with lightning—dense and overlapping—striking every inch of the land. How am I supposed to dodge that?

It’s completely impossible to avoid!” Ziyuan wanted to say more, but the words caught in her throat. In truth, deep down, she had never truly believed Li Yundong could pass the Tribulation.

For centuries, only great cultivators who had reached the Indestructible Golden Body realm were qualified to even dare challenge the Heavenly Might and face the lightning. The Indestructible Golden Body is the pinnacle of the Seventh Heaven.

Few throughout history have achieved it, and those who have survived the Eighth Heaven’s Lightning Tribulation have, without exception, ascended to immortality; there is not a single cultivator who has passed the lightning tribulation and remained in the mortal realm to this day! Li Yundong had only just begun cultivating the divine powers of the Fifth Heaven.

While the intense, concentrated training over these days had greatly boosted his strength, he had only advanced from the initial stage of the Divine Power realm to the intermediate stage—still far from the advanced level—not to mention the Sixth Heaven’s Infant Transformation realm, or the Seventh Heaven’s Golden Body realm! With two full major realms separating him, how could he possibly pass the lightning tribulation?

The Heavenly Tribulation is the most terrifying hurdle for a cultivator; there is nothing in the world harder to deal with. It would be like asking a high school dropout to research atomic bombs—how could such a thing be accomplished?

Thinking this, Ziyuan’s Dao Heart also faltered, her mind a chaotic mess. This can’t be happening.

If he fails the Tribulation, the lightning will kill him. If he dies, won’t Master’s prophetic poem become a joke?

Then… then what about my cultivation? Master said my path is tied to that poem, tied to this young man right here!

Could it be that Master was wrong? No, that was absolutely impossible!

The moment this thought crossed Ziyuan’s mind, she immediately negated it. Master never mispeaks; he cannot be wrong!

But then, what could be done to help him survive the Tribulation? Ziyuan felt an unprecedented wave of panic.

She looked anxiously at Li Yundong, seemingly hoping for some miracle to manifest in him. Li Yundong was slowly recovering from the terror of the lightning.

His gaze drifted toward the distant sky beyond the balcony, and he suddenly said, “The Heavenly Tribulation is coming…” As soon as his words faded, a tremendous BOOM shook the sky—a bolt from the blue, the sound making the surrounding air tremble violently. Immediately following, countless dark clouds rolled in from the horizon like an overwhelming tide.

In moments, these clouds blotted out the sun and covered the earth, pressing down upon the entirety of Tiannan City. It truly gave the terrifying impression that the dark clouds were about to crush the city walls!

Facing the simulated lightning in the Minor Realm was nothing compared to this. Li Yundong felt as though a pair of supremely authoritative eyes were fixed solely upon him.

The surrounding air seemed to grow heavy, like countless invisible threads dragging on his body, making him feel sluggish and burdened. Li Yundong took a deep breath, let out a short laugh, and looked at the churning clouds with a complex expression.

“What is fated to be, will be; what cannot be escaped, cannot be dodged. In the end, this blow is unavoidable.

Let’s go; we shouldn’t undergo the Tribulation here, or we’ll harm the innocent bystanders!” He turned to Ziyuan and said, “You shouldn’t come. Please pass a message to Su Chan for me, tell her…” As he spoke, a tender look crossed Li Yundong’s face.

“The happiest days of my life were the ones I spent with her. Though the time was short, I feel my life has been worth living!” With that, Li Yundong turned and walked out the door.

Ziyuan watched his retreating back in a daze, her emotions surging and her thoughts fragmenting. She muttered to herself unconsciously, “What is to be done?

And what about me?” Rumble! The sky sounded another deep, muffled roar.

Countless lightning bolts writhed within the thick cloud layer, like thousands of floods accumulating behind a dam, awaiting the precise moment the sluice gates open for the torrent to burst forth, instantly destroying its target.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.