Chapter 427

Chapter 427: Observation

This time, the young man chose not to attack the lightning calamities proactively; instead, he opted to defend with his treasure.

Ultimately, two cracks formed in his treasure, and he successfully overcame this lightning calamity.

The observing cultivators nodded again. Based on the intensity of the lightning calamities above, overcoming two more should be about right, marking a successful halfway point. The young man had great hope of succeeding in crossing the tribulation.

According to everyone’s observations, the earlier information proved to be true: within this secret realm, the power of lightning calamity seemed indeed weaker by a slight degree.

Though just a slight difference, it undoubtedly increased the cultivators’ chances of survival, and the difference was beyond words.

After passing through two lightning calamities, the young man’s expression revealed not joy, but rather a hint of worry.

At this moment, his treasure was already damaged, and the power of the lightning calamities would only grow stronger; he might not be able to withstand it.

Without giving the young man much time to think, the third lightning calamity arrived as expected.

This lightning calamity was as thick as an arm and much more powerful than the previous two.

The young man’s expression turned serious as he continued to channel the power of his treasure. When the third lightning calamity dissipated, his treasure had completely broken, and he appeared pale, with half of his body charred black, clearly wounded from the assault of the lightning calamity.

Though his condition weakened, his momentum nonetheless surged, far exceeding that of the Spirit Transformation Stage.

Overhead, a booming sound indicated that the lightning calamities were gathering to unleash even more powerful strikes.

Having faced three lightning calamities, the onlookers felt their emotions peak. Although the cultivators in the secret realm were originally in competition with each other, they sincerely hoped for the young man’s success in crossing the tribulation.

This also involved everyone’s Heart Demon!

Since they chose to watch the young man cross tribulation, his success or failure would leave a significant impression on them. If the young man succeeded, their chances of success in crossing the tribulation would greatly increase; if he failed, it would be the same.

Only Ji Yang among the crowd maintained a calm demeanor, considering this lightning calamity barely sufficient to charge his abilities.

As everyone watched intently, the fourth lightning calamity quickly approached.

This time, the lightning calamity was only as thick as a finger, yet it contained a hint of pale purple, marking the transformation from quantity to quality.

The onlookers gasped in astonishment. Such a transformed lightning calamity was extraordinarily terrifying; it was not something ordinary cultivators could withstand. Even when they crossed tribulations previously, they had never encountered this type of calamity.

Seeing the pale purple lightning calamity above, the young man’s expression became grave.

At this moment, his treasure was already completely destroyed, but he was not without options.

In the next moment, the young man activated the Techniques he had cultivated, and a bright moon instantly coalesced around him.

This was the divine ability carried within his Techniques. As long as he still had power within his body, the bright moon would remain. Even if his power were depleted, this ability could absorb other energies as a source!

This was his last line of defense against the lightning calamities.

Ji Yang in the crowd still wore a calm expression; he had experienced such lightning calamities during his Nascent Soul Stage.

Based on Ji Yang’s tribulation-crossing experience, the transformation in colors of lightning calamities occurred in several stages.

The first stage was the ordinary lightning calamities, which appeared white and were encountered by most cultivators during their tribulation.

The second stage saw the power of lightning calamity change to purple; during this stage, the power expressed itself from light to dark, with deeper hues indicating stronger forces.

The third stage turned the power of lightning calamity black; this type of calamity was extremely terrifying. Even Ji Yang would not dare claim he could withstand a complete black lightning calamity with mere flesh.

Of course, that was before. Recently, Ji Yang had harvested several batches of spiritual grains and mined quite a bit of secret silver, so he likely had become considerably stronger.

Although he had not crossed tribulation many times, his understanding in this area was quite extensive.

However, Ji Yang preferred to lack this kind of experience.

In addition to the three different colors of lightning calamities, Ji Yang suspected there were even more powerful strikes.

But if all went as he anticipated, Ji Yang believed he would encounter them later; after all, he was blessed with Talent Jealousy, and Heaven had never shortchanged him in this area.

As the lightning calamity descended, the young man below endured for a while, but the Bright Moon behind him grew increasingly powerless under the might of the lightning calamity, eventually dissipating into nothingness in an instant.

Moments later, the young man let out a terrible scream, and his aura quickly plunged.

As the young man’s aura weakened, the calamity clouds above also dispersed, leaving only the young man buried in the ground, his fate unknown.

“Did he fail?”

The other cultivators around sighed at what they saw. Many of them felt some regret, as they had come drawn by the young man’s impressive age.

Such a cultivator was surely a genius of their sect, and they had hoped to ease their own Heart Demons by watching the young man cross tribulation, boosting their chances of success. However, the young man’s failure would undoubtedly make their own tribulations even more difficult.

Unfortunately, it was too late for regret now; the image of the young man’s failed tribulation lingered in their minds, further diminishing their already scarce confidence.

“Wait!”

Just as everyone shook their heads in disappointment, someone in the crowd suddenly looked toward the spot where the young man had been buried.

This prompted the other cultivators to quickly glance over, and there, amidst the originally charred ground, a presence was visibly growing in strength.

“What?”

“Successful!”

As one person spoke, the young man’s vanished figure suddenly surged out from the ground, and his realm, originally at the Spirit Transformation Stage, rapidly ascended to the Void Refinement stage!

The young man, who they thought had failed, had seemingly found some way to survive beneath the final lightning calamity and successfully broke through, gaining a new lease on life!

The young man’s breakthrough excited the group! It turned out that the lightning calamity was not as unbeatable as they had imagined; if the young man could succeed, why couldn’t they?

Ji Yang remained calm and was not surprised by the young man’s survival. He sensed something unusual about the young man’s last technique when the lightning calamities dissipated; it could not only absorb mana but also draw on other powers, which was one of the main reasons he had managed to live.

However, although the young man’s realm had increased, his condition did not seem as good as it appeared.

But with a moment of rest, he would become a new Void Refinement stage cultivator.

Just as the crowd cheered, two Late Spirit Transformation cultivators suddenly burst forth from the group, surrounding the young man on either side and shouting:

“Qin Feng, you’re doomed!”

It was clear that Qin Feng was the young man’s name, and the two had presumably come as his enemies.

The other cultivators present turned their heads away, not intending to get involved.

They could support the young man’s success in crossing tribulation in their hearts and wish him the best, but they were not going to lend a helping hand.

The former only needed to speak, while the latter required action!

Faced with the two encircling him, the young man merely snorted coldly. With the explosive aura of the Void Refinement stage, he seemed prepared to engage in battle with the two.

However, soon, amidst the caution of the two and the gaze of the crowd, the young man suddenly dashed toward the entrance of the upper levels of the secret realm.

Clearly, feigning a fight was a ruse; escaping was the true intent.

At present, the young man’s state was weak, his treasure was damaged, and though he had the realm, he was no match for the two who were at their peak, lying in wait.

The two who had initially been wary of the young man breaking through their realm were momentarily stunned when they saw him flee, and then they were filled with anger.

However, as they looked at the young man escaping into the upper levels of the secret realm, they could only stare in frustration; with their realm, they were unable to pass through the entrance of the secret realm.

Various cultivators around them sighed at the sight, then resumed sitting on the ground, preparing to focus on their cultivation.

With about a month left until the secret realm closed, they needed to work hard. Even if they couldn’t go to the upper levels of the secret realm, they had to at least advance their cultivation level! Only then would their journey be worthwhile!

Beside them, Ji Yang looked on with some surprise.

To encounter enemies right after a breakthrough, and to have a nearby escape route, combined with the young man’s relatively young age and impressive realm.

This was definitely a protagonist’s setup!

As he watched the young man safely pass through the entrance to the upper levels of the secret realm at the Void Refinement stage, Ji Yang fell into thought.

At that moment, a figure quickly approached from the distance.

Before everyone could see this person’s face, they witnessed someone swiftly darting past the crowd, heading straight for the entrance to the upper levels of the secret realm.

In the blink of an eye, this person had passed through the entrance and disappeared before everyone’s eyes.

The others looked on with envy, saying nothing, and continued their training.

Such speed and momentum surely indicated that the person was a late Void Refinement stage cultivator; such cultivators were not subjects for their jesting, not even giving rise to an opportunity.

The passage of this individual confirmed for Ji Yang that entering the upper levels of the secret realm indeed only required the realm of Void Refinement; no other requirements were necessary.

It seemed that there was truly a distinction between immortals and mortals.

Void Refinement stage?

Ji Yang mumbled to himself. He had originally planned to break through in the upper levels of the secret realm, but it appeared that was not feasible now.

However, it wouldn’t matter where he broke through; sooner or later, he had to do it anyway.

This was the secret realm, and there were no high-level cultivators here that he couldn’t handle. Moreover, with Ji Yang having changed his appearance, no one recognized him!

Under these conditions, Ji Yang felt no more worries.

He silently thought:

“Add points!”

“Let me see your limits!”

He was very eager to discover the level of improvement that would come from accumulating one thousand cultivation points!

As his cultivation points decreased, an immense flow of gentle spiritual energy erupted within Ji Yang.

This wave of spiritual energy was more intense than any he had experienced before, catching him off guard despite his preparations.

But Ji Yang quickly recovered and began to silently circulate his Techniques within his body.

As he utilized the Feather Transformation Ascension Skill, a great deal of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth was attracted to him.

This effectively concealed the fact that Ji Yang was breaking through from within his body.

“Hmm? Someone is breaking through again?”

“Who is it?”

The unusual movement of spiritual energy alerted the other cultivators present, and they all began searching for the source.