Chapter 122: Gathering Lightning

This time, it wasn't just the space above their arena that was filled with dark clouds and lightning; the entire competition grounds began to pull in black clouds, turning the world pitch black in an instant.

"How did the Heavenly Tribulation clouds suddenly grow so massive?"

"Probably because there’s an extra person inside the tribulation zone."

Right then, a bolt of lightning—several times thicker than the previous one and shimmering with a faint purple light—crashed down toward Ye Su. Each strike carved a deep crater into the ground.

The scene was so familiar it felt like history repeating itself.

"Holy ancestors! Ye Su is breaking through to the Soul Transformation Stage too!" someone among the spectating cultivators screamed.

"Run! Get out of here!"

"Two lunatics!"

The cultivators who had already retreated earlier surged backward once more like a flood, keeping their distance until they were well outside the reach of the tribulation clouds.

The vibe on the arena shifted instantly. Ye Su began chasing Gu Liangtian; not only did she want him to share the lightning strikes, but she also wanted to hitch a ride on his lightning-repelling artifacts.

The Sect Leaders on the high platform: "..."

"Have the others pause their matches and clear the field immediately," Daoist Feng Chen commanded decisively.

Zhou Qi, the Sect Leader of the Wujian Sect, rose and flew down. With a sweep of his blade, he drew a line in front of the arenas where Yi Xuan and Ye Su were. He wasn't dealing damage; rather, he was erecting a boundary to keep the three of them separated so their tribulations wouldn't mingle.

As for the two whose tribulations were already tangled... even he couldn't save them.

After several consecutive lightning strikes, the arena beneath their feet had been blasted to smithereens. Fortunately, because You Fushi’s previous performance had been so absurd, the brown-haired elder had ruled on the spot that such tactics were forbidden in the future—as long as one remained within the arena's original boundary, they hadn't lost.

"Ye Su’s tribulation... looks terrifying." Ma Congqiu watched from afar as two bolts of lightning tore through the sky. One was thick, flashing with a faint purple light; by comparison, the other looked like a scrawny, underdeveloped seedling—pitiful and weak.

Xu Chengyu, who had been sitting, forced himself up by the armrests of his chair. He shook his head. "Forget the match result for a second. Just looking at the breakthrough itself, Gu Liangtian is finished."

Since Gu Liangtian was able to attempt the Soul Transformation stage again so soon, it meant he had an excellent chance of succeeding. However, Ye Su’s tribulation was so exaggerated that, mixed together, his own lightning looked like it was trembling in fear.

With a Heavenly Tribulation, if it hits too hard, your soul is extinguished; but if it hits too little, your foundation is unstable, and your power level suffers.

Still, Ye Su’s tribulation was truly too... no one knew if she could hold out.

***

At that moment, Gu Liangtian was trying his best to dodge Ye Su. In just a few moments, the tables had turned, leaving him in a state of total bewilderment.

He couldn't understand how Ye Su could even "copy" a Soul Transformation tribulation.

"We’re both getting struck by lightning; we’re in the same boat," Ye Su said, clutching a Haste Talisman as she chased after him. "Let’s help each other out. I’ll block some for you, you block some for me."

Gu Liangtian: "...Piss off!"

His most powerful lightning-repelling artifact had been used twice by Ye Su because he hadn't reacted in time; it was now completely trashed.

"This was your idea, Buddhist Son," Ye Su said with a slight smile, though only her white teeth were visible through the soot. "It would be a shame not to see it through."

Gu Liangtian’s blood boiled. He had to manage his own tribulation while fearing the collateral damage from hers. To make matters worse, she stayed glued to him, moving with incredible speed.

The Xuantian Lightning in the clouds above seemed to lose its patience. After several failed attempts to take Ye Su down, it unleashed three bolts simultaneously from different directions.

It was meant to block Ye Su's path, but it ended up trapping Gu Liangtian inside as well. Just then, an ordinary Soul Transformation bolt hesitated and fell. Instinctively, Gu Liangtian threw out a lightning-repelling artifact toward Ye Su’s side.

Ye Su took a direct hit. But lightning of this level couldn't compare to the initial Xuantian Lightning; she was almost becoming used to the shocks.

Then, a massive purple Xuantian bolt intended for Ye Su was "confused" by the ordinary lightning. Sensing Gu Liangtian within the zone, it veered straight for his head, carrying the murderous intent of the Heavenly Dao.

Gu Liangtian gasped. A visceral sense of crisis forced him to throw out every single lightning-repelling artifact he had. Even so, the artifacts were instantly vaporized. The residual lightning slammed into his body, forcing him to his knees. His knees hit the ground so hard they left deep indentations.

Gu Liangtian hadn't expected the Xuantian Lightning to be this powerful. Even with his artifacts absorbing the brunt of it, the remaining force was nearly equal to the final bolt of his previous failed breakthrough.

He clutched his chest, unable to stop himself from coughing up a large mouthful of blood.

"I’ve been in the Integration Stage for so long, and even I’ve never seen Xuantian Lightning this fierce," Xin Shenzi muttered from the sidelines, visibly shaken. While tribulations are a punishment from the Heavens, they are usually meant to temper a cultivator, proving they are ready to ascend.

This lightning was clearly trying to erase Ye Su from existence.

"Just how absurdly talented is she?" Xin Shenzi scratched his hair, glancing at his prize disciple on the other side who was finishing his own breakthrough.

He suddenly understood why his disciple was always so quiet. With a Senior Sister like this looming over him, anyone would turn silent.

***

Ye Su had just finished being struck when she turned to see Gu Liangtian—charred black, kneeling, and spitting blood. She couldn't help but shake her head. "The Buddhist Son was too modest before. Isn't this exactly what 'saving others' looks like?"

Whether it was because of her words or his injuries, Gu Liangtian spat out another mouthful of blood.

【Give up this round! Get out of the arena bounds immediately!】

The Sect Leader of the Myriad Buddha Sect sent a telepathic message to Gu Liangtian. If this continued, he wouldn't just lose the match; his very breakthrough would be in jeopardy.

A flash of resentment crossed Gu Liangtian’s eyes, but ultimately, fearing for his cultivation, he gripped his staff and forced himself up to leave.

"You’re leaving?" Ye Su blocked his path, acting like a gracious host. "Why not stay a bit longer? This lightning is actually quite nice."

She was so used to being the "Senior Sister" that her voice and mannerisms always carried a sense of earnest sincerity. In any other context, a stranger would truly think she was being kind.

"If it's so nice..." Gu Liangtian started to speak, but coughed up more blood. He wiped his mouth. "You keep it for yourself."

Standing in the middle of the cratered arena, Ye Su dropped the facade. "You're too weak."

"What did you say?" Gu Liangtian whipped his head around.

"I said you’re too weak," Ye Su said expressionlessly. "You don't deserve the title of Buddhist Son."

Gu Liangtian stopped in his tracks, looking as if he might turn back.

【Come back. Do not make me say it a second time.】

Le Ji’s voice boomed in Gu Liangtian’s mind. He clenched his fists and left behind one final sentence: "Wait until you actually survive your breakthrough before you say that."

As Gu Liangtian moved, his tribulation clouds followed him, but they had clearly lost much of their potency. For a cultivator in the middle of a breakthrough, this was not a good sign.

In contrast, the clouds above Ye Su remained unchanged—a churning mass of white and purple light, gathering power for the next strike.

Now alone in the arena, the Senior Sister sighed internally: I'm screwed.

She had zero lightning-repelling artifacts. She had been suppressing her realm precisely because she feared this Soul Transformation tribulation, but Gu Liangtian had forced her hand.

Ye Su looked up at the clouds and reached into her storage bag to see if there was anything she could use as a shield. As it turned out, a poor cultivator is a poor cultivator. Aside from a pile of unorganized smithing materials, she had no defensive gear at all.

Smithing...

Ye Su suddenly looked down and began frantically pulling materials out of her bag. She was a weapon refiner; if she didn't have an artifact, she would just make one.

And so, under the watchful eyes of the entire crowd, Ye Su began selecting materials to forge an artifact on the spot.

It was a grueling process. When a bolt came down, she had to dodge while clutching her materials. If she couldn't dodge, she took the hit—her bones cracked, her skin blackened, and her spiritual energy worked overtime to repair the damage as she burned through her supply of spirit stones.

After several "ordinary" bolts that failed to kill her, the clouds began to flash ominously, but no lightning fell for a long time.

This was both good news and bad news.

It meant the tribulation was gathering all its remaining strength for one final, decisive strike. If Ye Su couldn't survive it, she would either fail the breakthrough—like Gu Liangtian before—or be turned to ash.

Ye Su was focused entirely on refining her materials, oblivious to the atmosphere above. Her left hand controlled the spirit fire to melt the metals, while her right hand traced talismans in the air, carving arrays into the cooling materials.

These arrays were inspired by Spirit Gathering Formations. If you could gather spirit energy, could you also gather lightning?

—To gather is to contain.

Ye Su was attempting something incredibly bold: she wanted to forge an artifact that could collect and store the lightning itself.

She didn't know if it would work, but inside her spiritual palace, her ten Nascent Soul avatars were busy testing material ratios. They didn't have physical materials, so they used spiritual sense to simulate the properties of the materials stored in her memory.

"What is she doing?"

"It looks like... she’s smithing?"

"Smithing now? She’s insane!"

"Maybe she knows she won't survive and her last wish is to forge one last item."

On the other side, the clouds above Yi Xuan vanished. He had successfully crossed his Soul Transformation tribulation.

Yi Xuan opened his eyes. With a slight movement of his hand, he could feel the vast, dense spiritual energy within him—a world of difference from the late Nascent Soul stage. He felt as though he could take on dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators and walk away unscathed. This was the feeling of absolute power.

However, when he looked around, he realized the entire venue was still draped in tribulation clouds.

They weren't his.

He turned and saw Ye Su standing alone in the center of the storm. "Senior Sister?"

"Disciple, get over here." Xin Shenzi beckoned Yi Xuan to retreat.

"Second Master, my sister..." Yi Xuan leaped over to his side.

"She’s breaking through too," Xin Shenzi said, scratching his messy hair. "Gu Liangtian really screwed everyone over, himself included."

Yi Xuan’s gaze fell on Gu Liangtian in a far corner of the field, still struggling with his own lightning. But the oppressive clouds above Ye Su felt far more dangerous, like they were brewing something catastrophic.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Ye Su. Her materials were refined, and she had begun shaping the artifact's base—a round-mouthed flask with a long neck and a squat, bulbous body.

She continued drawing talismans and adding magical arrays—layering every defensive and containment seal she could think of.

Among the spectators were many refiners from the Zhanjin Sect, the Poyuan Sect, and her own Qianji Sect teammates.

Without exception, they were all dumbfounded.

Only the Sect Leaders and Elders of the major smithing sects had a faint inkling of what she was trying to do.

But they all shared one single thought: Impossible.