Chapter 54: I Am Not Weak!

Upon hearing Empress Qinglian’s words, Lu Jin moved immediately. The situation was critical; thunder was howling, and he had to shift that thing away at once! Of course, the Thunder-Devouring Mist Demon did not attack Lu Jin. It seemed to understand that if Lu Jin met with an accident, the thunderclouds above would vanish along with him.

“Heaven Burial Coffin! Devour this thing!”

Lu Jin gritted his teeth and surged his intent. A sudden burst of devouring power erupted from the Heaven Burial Coffin. Enveloped in a mysterious light, the giant beast vanished from its spot instantly!

Huh?

Looking at the space where the Thunder-Devouring Mist Demon had been just moments ago, Lu Jin frowned. It seemed a bit too simple. However, he understood that with his current strength, using the Heaven Burial Coffin to swallow a beast of this caliber would never truly be easy.

“Empress, thanks!”

He muttered the words and then immediately focused his mind. This Lightning Tribulation had to be faced with absolute sincerity and total effort. This was because the Jindan Lightning Tribulation he was triggering was powerful enough to rival the 9th-grade Jindan trials of other cultivators!

Boom!

The lightning descended. In that instant, the horrific thunder-force finally shattered the mountain where Lu Jin was located. Everything within a radius of hundreds of yards was obliterated. Only a single figure covered in Dragon Runes stood proud amidst the ruins. Streaks of lightning coiled around his body like swimming dragons; the terrifying power seeped into his flesh, blood, and bone marrow. The immense agony almost felt as if it would flip his skull open.

“This is far too overbearing! It is inconceivable!”

“Who exactly is that figure in the smoke? Since when did someone so powerful appear in our Qingzhou region?”

“The Heavenly Profound Empire is divided into nine provinces, and Qingzhou is the smallest. It is hard to say what kind of great experts might be hidden on Xianwu Island!”

“That person has already taken several strikes. Once all nine bolts have been endured, he will surely be reborn with a massive surge in cultivation!”

“If we could befriend him, it would be the greatest honor for our sect!”

“A powerhouse of that level is not someone people like us can flatter!”

“Look! The lightning is getting even thicker! I wonder if he can hold on when the final bolt descends…”

The number of cultivators watching Xianwu Island grew steadily. Even the Lord of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Feng Mengdao, looked over from a great distance with a drunken gaze that was filled with absolute shock! As time passed, a graceful figure also appeared in the sky above the island.

This person wore a red robe and possessed an aura like the wind. She possessed a lingering charm and stood upon a flying beast. Her eyes were filled with shock as she looked at the rolling thunderclouds in the void.

“I did not expect to encounter an expert’s tribulation just as I arrived. I wonder what kind of sacred being drew such a powerful lightning storm?”

After a moment of shock, Ji Yaoyue did not linger. She descended onto Xianwu Island and began searching for the whereabouts of the Huangque Pharmacist. In her view, Chu Tianxiong’s only hope for self-preservation was to find the pharmacist and have him refine the antidote. The Primal Chaos Poison was a unique creation of the Huangque Pharmacist, and the Five-Poison Blood Venerable was his only disciple; only he could refine the cure.

The power of the lightning grew increasingly violent as Lu Jin continued to resist. The initial bolts were like serpents, but now they were like dragons! As they fell from the sky, they carried a world-ending aura of terror!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The echoing roars rang across the mountains and the sea! On Xianwu Island, birds and beasts hid while spirits fell silent. Even the mist that drifted among the peaks for years was shattered and blown away. Through this baptism of lightning, Lu Jin endured each strike with great difficulty. Every time he survived a bolt, his aura climbed steadily; his strength was skyrocketing at a terrifying speed.

Buzz!

By the time the final bolt of the Lightning Tribulation descended, the nine Spirit Pearls within Lu Jin’s body finally merged into one. Suddenly, a horrific surge of spiritual power erupted from him, followed by the joyful thrill of the Jindan successfully condensing! A golden core flashed within his Dantian; the rolling spiritual power was more than ten times stronger than what the nine Spirit Pearls had produced!

“The final one… come!”

His Jindan was newly formed. The frantic ninth bolt of lightning crashed down! At this instant, every cultivator witnessing the scene felt their hearts leap into their throats. They all stared with wide eyes, determined to witness this inconceivable event of the lightning path!

Kacha! Boom!!!

In everyone’s shocked sight, the most terrifying bolt of lightning, which had been brewing the longest in the clouds, finally shrieked down with a soul-shaking aura of destruction! The earth shook violently. The mountain peak where Lu Jin was located was blown into ruins; the entire mountain sank dozens of yards, becoming a desolate wasteland of total mess.

“Finally… it is done. But I am so spent…”

After using all his strength to take that final bolt, Lu Jin felt as if his entire body had been emptied. A wave of exhaustion washed over him. The reason was naturally that after imprisoning the Thunder-Devouring Mist Demon, he had not used the Heaven Burial Coffin! He had endured this entire tribulation using nothing but his own physical body! He had not touched the powerful backfeeding force of the coffin!

“You actually endured it through raw strength!”

At that moment, Empress Qinglian’s voice drifted out once more. “Tsk tsk tsk… good, very good! You have grit! Fortunately, you weren’t killed. Otherwise, I would have had to find someone else again…”

Lu Jin was silent. He seemed to lack the strength to even retort. However, sensing the many powerful auras in the surrounding forest, he immediately used the clouds of dust to hide himself! He was currently at his weakest; it would be disastrous if someone with ill intentions attacked him. After he sped into a cave created by the blast, he immediately used his spiritual power to seal the entrance and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“I wonder where Long Xiwei went? Never mind: I’ll deal with the Thunder-Devouring Mist Demon first!”

Sinking his consciousness, a strand of mental power dived directly into the Heaven Burial Coffin. The space within the coffin was filled with mysterious light and seemed infinite. If a normal person entered this space, they would eventually want to die!

“Lord Empress, where is that demon? How do I handle it?” Lu Jin did not know where the Empress was, so he could only communicate through intent.

“I can only trap it in the coffin for the time being. If you cannot subdue it within an hour, I will have to let it out and leave you to its mercy. Even if it wants to kill you, you will only be able to run.”

“I am already a 1st-grade Jindan,” Lu Jin argued. “In the same Jindan realm, surely I have the power to fight it?”

“You do, but not much,” Empress Qinglian replied. “You are very spent right now.”

Lu Jin gritted his teeth. “I am not weak! As long as I have three thousand Spirit Stones, I can return to my peak. In the Jindan realm, I am invincible!”

The Empress’s voice was indifferent. “How are you going to use three thousand Spirit Stones without dealing with the beast inside the coffin first? Stop wasting time. You have only one hour. Whether you can take it down depends on you.”

As she finished, the Empress’s voice vanished. Then, a heavy sound of breathing reached him. Lu Jin could even hear the whistling shockwaves caused by a giant beast running at full speed!

Roar!

The Thunder-Devouring Mist Demon let out a roar. Finally, within the endless mysterious light, it crashed into Lu Jin’s field of vision!