Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
As the 730th Earth Vein tide washed over the Earth Origin Dao Domain, the silent Ink Jade Rock Lizard suddenly opened its amber vertical pupils. The Xuánhuáng scales covering its entire body stood on end simultaneously, emitting a crisp sound like metal clashing; the seven mountain phantoms on its spine actually detached from its body and floated, their projected Earth Vein Xuán Texture illuminating the entire valley like a divine kingdom.
“Roar—!”
A roar, neither fully Dragon nor not, shattered the surrounding rocks. Xiaowa’s originally robust Rock Lizard body had now completely transformed: a streamlined physique covered in crystalline scales, black jade as the base and Xuánhuáng as the pattern, each scale carved from a miniature mountain; a series of rugged crystal clusters grew from the protruding vertebral joints, extending like small mountain ranges to the tip of its tail—that tail had more than tripled in length, its tip splitting into seven Xuánhuáng Qi cyclones, each corresponding to a different Earth Vein attribute.
“Earth Vein as bone, mountain as soul!”
Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix was startled awake and appeared beside Xiaowa. She watched as its two front limbs pressed against the ground, the soil touched by its claw tips instantly crystallizing into Xuánhuáng jade marrow; where its hind limbs pushed, miniature hills automatically rose. The Heaven and Earth phenomena it caused with its breathing—when it inhaled, the Earth Veins within a hundred-mile radius sank three inches, and when it exhaled, seven Xuánhuáng Qi pillars shot up from different directions.
“He’s awake! Looks like he gained quite a bit!”
Li Mu’s lips curved into a smile, and the Chaos Qi flowed in his eyes, as if he had already seen through everything.
“Master!”
Xiaowa’s voice was still as honest and simple as before, but it now carried a sense of the Earth’s profoundness and majesty.
Immediately, Xiaowa’s massive body suddenly glowed with a Xuánhuáng light. The mountain Dao Pattern on its scales flowed like living things, and the Ink Jade Rock Lizard’s form began to shrink rapidly, its bones emitting crisp “kaka” sounds of reassembly.
The next moment, the boundless Xuánhuáng Qi around Xiaowa suddenly converged. When the light dissipated, the mighty giant Rock Lizard was no longer there; in its place stood a burly young man eight feet tall.
His Xuánhuáng long hair hung down like Earth Veins, and faint mountain phantoms could be seen floating within his hair. Two short, ink-jade-like horns curved upwards from his forehead, their bodies covered in natural Dao Pattern; in his amber vertical pupils, thousands of mountain ranges seemed to be reflected. He wore a Xuánhuáng battle robe, which, upon closer inspection, was woven from countless miniature scales, exuding an unprecedented sense of stability.
“Xiaowa, that’s great, you’ve also advanced!” Xiaojin excitedly stepped forward, putting his arm around Xiaowa’s shoulder, congratulating him.
As Xiaojin put his arm around him, he immediately felt a mountain-like heavy texture from his palm and was surprised to find that every scale on Xiaowa’s seemingly ordinary Xuánhuáng battle robe weighed a thousand pounds.
“Hehe, Xiaojin!” Xiaowa chuckled and scratched his head.
“Not bad! You’ve perfectly fused your Dao rhyme with your Physical Body!” Xiaojin’s eyes lit up, and he poked Xiaowa’s chest with his finger, producing a crisp sound like gold striking jade.
Golden light flickered in Xiaojin’s eyes as he asked with concern, “Quick, tell me, what good things did you comprehend during this seclusion?”
Upon hearing this, Xiaowa’s honest face suddenly became serious. He slowly raised his right hand, palm upward, and seven streams of Xuánhuáng Qi coiled and moved like spiritual snakes.
“First, there’s this.” As Xiaowa’s mind moved, one of the Xuánhuáng Qi streams suddenly solidified, transforming into a palm-sized mountain seal. The bottom of the seal was engraved with two ancient Dao characters, “Suppressing Mountain,” faintly exuding a pressure that could suppress Heaven and Earth.
Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix exclaimed in surprise, “Earth Sovereign Seal? Isn’t that from the legends…”
“It’s just a Prototype .”
Xiaowa scratched his head awkwardly, his ink-jade short horns on his forehead glowing faintly: “The true Suppressing Mountain Seal can only form when the nine mountains merge into one.”
With that, Xiaowa flipped his palm, and the seal transformed back into a stream of light, returning to his body.
Xiaojin’s eyes widened: “And what else?”
Xiaowa gave an honest smile, then suddenly stomped his foot. The ground immediately rippled, and a miniature mountain range rose from beneath his feet, slowly lifting everyone higher. The internal veins of the temporarily formed peak were clearly visible; it was actually condensed from pure Earth Element Dao principles.
Xiaowa then suddenly reached out and grabbed at the air. A distant barren mountain suddenly collapsed and reassembled, transforming into a giant rock sword that broke through the Void Realm and landed steadily in his hand.
“Wow!” Xue’er couldn't help but clap and exclaim, “Isn’t this the legendary moving mountains and filling seas?”
Li Mu nodded with a smile: “The fifth Realm of the Earth Sovereign Suppressing Mountain Scripture, ‘Mountain and River Transformation,’ it seems you have already entered its threshold.”
Xiaowa was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. The giant rock sword in his hand suddenly disintegrated, re-forming into ordinary earth and stone that scattered across the ground. He scratched his head somewhat awkwardly: “Uh, I’m still not very proficient…”
Xiaojin, however, was already excitedly gesticulating: “That’s amazing! This is much more practical than my Metal Element Divine Ability!”
He suddenly leaned closer and whispered, “Um… can you teach me?”
“This…” Xiaowa looked at Li Mu with a troubled expression.
Li Mu chuckled softly: “Xiaojin, don’t make things difficult for him. The Dao of the Earth Sovereign requires a supreme Earth Spiritual Root, and you…”
Before he finished speaking, Li Mu suddenly reacted and turned his head to look at the sky.
Everyone followed his gaze and saw that in the distance, the clouds were shifting, and black clouds were rapidly gathering. The Heaven and Earth suddenly fell silent, as if even the wind had frozen.
“Eighth-order Lightning Tribulation!” Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix frowned, exclaiming in surprise, “How could it come so quickly?!”
Chaos Qi flowed in Li Mu’s eyes as he saw through the heavenly secrets and said, “It’s not an ordinary Demon Emperor Tribulation! Xiaowa has activated the Earth Vein Origin, and the Heavenly Dao is going to send down the Ninefold Earth Extreme True Lightning!”
“Master, I…” Xiaowa looked up at the sky, his amber vertical pupils reflecting the increasingly intense lightning, and his Xuánhuáng battle robe fluttered without wind.
“No need to worry, just undergo the Tribulation with peace of mind. I’m here for everything!”
Li Mu smiled slightly, and with a wave of his hand, he took out a shimmering, five-colored talisman treasure from his tianxuan ring.
As soon as the talisman treasure appeared, it caused the surrounding Five Elements Spiritual Qi to violently vibrate, and in the Void Realm, the phantoms of the five great Sacred Beasts—Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Qilin—faintly appeared.
“This is…” Xiaojin’s pupils contracted, feeling the terrifying power contained within the talisman treasure.
“A talisman treasure specially prepared for your Tribulation. Stick it on your chest. If there’s any danger, I will act to help you undergo the Tribulation!” Li Mu smiled slightly, signaling.
“Mhm!” Xiaowa solemnly took the talisman treasure and pressed it against his chest. Immediately, five-colored light spread over his entire body like flowing water, coating his Xuánhuáng battle robe with another layer of colorful glow.
The next moment, Xiaowa shot into the sky, diving towards the lightning clouds in the distance, preparing to face the Tribulation.
Li Mu, Xiaojin, and the others quickly retreated a hundred miles away, observing the earth-shattering Lightning Tribulation from afar.
Above the sky, black clouds like ink churned endlessly. The clouds were so heavy that they seemed to crush the entire Heaven and Earth, and heart-pounding flashes of lightning occasionally flickered within them. Countless lightning flashes illuminated the faintly visible giant lightning pool within the clouds, where purple lightning surged, brewing world-destroying power.
A suffocating sense of oppression enveloped the surroundings. All the birds and beasts within a ten-thousand-mile radius were completely dormant, and even the wind had stopped flowing. The lightning pool in the clouds began to boil violently, and countless electric snakes intertwined and coiled within the pool, gradually condensing into nine lightning Dragons of different colors.
“Good heavens, it’s on par with my Lightning Tribulation!”
Xiaojin bared his teeth as he looked at the lightning clouds in the distance, saying with lingering fear.
Just as the nine-colored lightning Dragons were about to strike, seven soaring Xuán lights suddenly erupted from around Xiaowa. Seven mountain phantoms of various forms emerged from behind him, forming a “Seven Extremes Dao Domain” in the Void Realm.
“Come!”
Xiaowa roared like thunder, his Xuánhuáng long hair dancing wildly in the lightning. His arms, with muscles bulging like coiling Dragons, and the Suppressing Mountain Seal in his palms actually swelled three times under the stimulation of the Lightning Tribulation.
As soon as the purple lightning Dragon in the Nine Heavens clouds extended its Dragon head, the seven mountain phantoms below had already formed a killing formation Dao Domain.
“Crack!”
The first wave of Lightning Tribulation, the first Tribulation lightning, struck down with a roar, transforming into a purple lightning Dragon, directly striking Xiaowa.
“Stop, you bastard!”
Xiaowa’s eyes burst forth with Xuánhuáng essence light, and an Earth Sovereign Dharma Idol appeared behind him. Both palms simultaneously formed the mountain seal, transforming into a giant scarlet-yellow mountain shield.
The scarlet-yellow mountain shield instantly expanded a thousand feet, colliding with the purple lightning Dragon with a thunderous crash!
“Boom—!”
Heaven and Earth trembled. Dazzling lightning exploded, dyeing the entire sky an eerie purplish-red. A violent shockwave spread in a ring, shattering all the clouds within a hundred-mile radius.
“Such powerful Lightning Tribulation!” Xiaojin’s fur stood on end, his golden pupils reflecting the sky full of lightning and fire. “This is only the first strike, and it’s already…”
“Crack!…”
The second, the third…
“Boom—!!!”
Purple lightning Dragons struck continuously, heavily hitting the scarlet-yellow mountain shield, shaking Heaven and Earth! Violent lightning exploded, transforming into countless electric snakes raging in all directions, dyeing the entire sky an eerie purplish-red.
Xiaowa’s arm muscles bulged, and the Void Realm beneath his feet shattered inch by inch, but his figure was like a mountain, unmoving!
“Bang—!” a loud noise
The scarlet-yellow mountain shield finally could not withstand the power of the Lightning Tribulation and exploded with a roar! The remaining lightning power struck Xiaowa’s body fiercely, purple lightning coiling around his body like mad snakes, every inch of his flesh trembling in the lightning!
“Hahaha! How exhilarating!”
Xiaowa laughed wildly, allowing the lightning to temper his Body Tempering. Xuánhuáng Qi gushed from all his pores, actually condensing into a rock-like battle armor on his body!
Before he could catch his breath, two purple lightning Dragons suddenly emerged from the clouds, thicker than the previous three Tribulation lightning bolts, with destructive lightning patterns flickering between their Dragon scales! The two lightning Dragons intertwined and coiled, like the Heavenly Tribulation’s guillotine, fiercely twisting towards Xiaowa!
“Seven Extremes Suppressing Mountain, rise!”
Xiaowa roared, and the seven mountain phantoms behind him suddenly rotated, transforming into seven Xuán lights that shot into the sky!
“Boom! Boom!”
The two lightning Dragons crashed into the formation, immediately suppressed by the seven mountain phantoms. Lightning and Xuánhuáng Qi fiercely tore at each other, and the entire sky was twisting! Xiaowa’s fists were like hammers, smashing heavily onto the lightning Dragons!
“All of you, shatter for me!”
“Bang—!!!”
The lightning Dragons wailed, exploding with a roar! But the recoil also sent Xiaowa flying a thousand feet, a trace of golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth!
The sixth to the ninth—a frenzy of Lightning Tribulation, descended one after another.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!…”
Simultaneously rushing out from the lightning pool, transforming into a destructive sea of lightning, pouring down overwhelmingly!
“Come on!!!”
Xiaowa’s eyes were bloodshot, his Battle Intent boiling to the extreme. The Earth Sovereign Dharma Idol roared at the sky, and the Seven Extremes Dao Domain completely unfolded, transforming into a “Xuánhuáng Divine Mountain” that reached the sky and pierced the earth! It pushed the extreme Earth power of Xuánhuáng Suppressing Mountain to its limit.
“Suppress!!!”
The Xuánhuáng Divine Mountain charged upwards, colliding with the three Purple Heaven lightning Dragons with a thunderous crash!
“Rumble—!!!”
At this moment, Heaven and Earth fell silent! Dazzling lightning swallowed everything. Xiaojin and the others, watching from a hundred miles away, had no choice but to close their eyes and retreat, their ears filled only with deafening roars!
As the lightning gradually dissipated, a huge hole was actually blasted into the lightning pool in the sky! Xiaowa was covered in blood, standing in the Void Realm, and the nine Purple Heaven lightning Dragons—all annihilated!
“The first wave of Lightning Tribulation is over!” Xiaojin gasped.
However, the lightning clouds above the sky did not dissipate; instead, they churned even more violently, as if the Heavenly Dao had been enraged and was brewing the next, even more terrifying wave of Lightning Tribulation.
“How exhilarating!”
Xiaowa crushed the mountain rocks beneath his feet and shot into the sky, his Xuánhuáng battle robe fluttering loudly. The second extreme, Returning Ruins Breathing Soil Dao Domain, immediately manifested, and the Xuán Tortoise form composed of black and yellow sand particles roared at the sky.
The second wave of Lightning Tribulation descended, and the sky suddenly transformed into a green sea of lightning. Nine hundred-foot-long Yi Wood lightning Dragons broke through the clouds, their Dragon bodies entwined with the endless green lightning Dao principles. The lightning was not ordinary purple lightning, but Xuán green lightning containing the essence of Yi Wood.
“Returning Ruins—Devour Heaven!”
Xiaowa’s palms suddenly clasped together, and the Returning Ruins Breathing Soil Dao Domain behind him completely unfolded. Black and yellow sand particles surged like a tide, condensing into a sky-obscuring Xuán Tortoise Dharma Idol in the Void Realm. The Returning Ruins formation diagram on the tortoise shell spun rapidly, and a chilling devouring force emanated from the dark Rift in the center, even distorting light.
“Roar—!”
The first Yi Wood lightning Dragon swooped down, its Dragon body winding like a mountain pressing down. Before the lightning even arrived, the Void Realm was shattering inch by inch. Xiaowa did not dodge or evade; the Xuán Tortoise suddenly opened its abyssal mouth, and the Returning Ruins formation diagram glowed intensely, actually forming a thousand-foot-diameter dark vortex in front of the lightning Dragon.
“Zzzzt—!”
The moment the lightning Dragon crashed into the vortex, its Dragon body seemed to sink into a swamp. The violent Yi Wood lightning energy was wrapped and ground layer by layer by the black and yellow sand particles. A teeth-grinding tearing sound rang out, and the entire lightning Dragon was actually ground into its most primitive lightning essence, which flowed backward along the tortoise shell patterns, finally condensing into a pulsating green lightning Dao seed above the formation diagram.
“The second strike!”
Before he could catch his breath, two lightning Dragons had already attacked in a pincer movement. This time, their Dragon mouths were wide open, spewing out an endless stream of Yi Wood lightning arrows.
Xiaowa sneered. The Xuán Tortoise’s back shell suddenly bulged, and countless black and yellow sand particles transformed into miniature vortices. The lightning arrows, upon entering the vortices, were like mud oxen entering the sea, failing to stir even a ripple.
“Giving them back to you!”
Xiaowa suddenly clenched his fist, and the Returning Ruins formation diagram reversed its operation. The lightning arrows swallowed earlier, tempered by Dao principles, actually transformed into nine lightning-patterned chains that shot through the Void Realm.
With two “bang” sounds, the two lightning Dragons were struck by their own lightning power, their scales bursting, and they let out painful wails.
The last Tribulation lightning of the second wave then appeared. Three lightning Dragons suddenly connected head to tail, forming a lightning ring in the air. As the green light surged, a lightning spear, spanning Heaven and Earth, appeared in the center of the ring. The spear body was entwined with an aura of annihilation that could destroy all things.
Xiaowa’s pupils contracted, and he immediately changed his move. The Xuán Tortoise Dharma Idol disintegrated with a roar, transforming into a sky full of quicksand that formed three hundred and sixty layers of star vortex barriers, creating a strange twisted force field. When the lightning spear pierced in, the first hundred layers of barriers were pierced like thin paper, but the spear’s momentum also continuously weakened.
“Crack, crack crack—!”
When it broke through the two hundredth layer, cracks finally appeared on the spear tip. Xiaowa seized the opportunity and stomped his foot violently. The remaining barriers suddenly contracted, firmly trapping the lightning spear.
The last three lightning Dragons actually merged into one—a thousand-foot-long Azure Dragon spanning the sky, spiritual lightning flickering in its Dragon eyes, roaming among the clouds, bringing down a continuous rain of lightning. These raindrops were not ordinary water, but highly condensed Yi Wood lightning essence. Each drop weighed as much as a mountain, and upon landing, it blasted out a hundred-foot-deep pit.
Xiaowa suddenly sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, his hands forming the Returning Ruins Seal. Black and yellow sand particles condensed into nine bronze lightning cauldrons. The cauldrons glowed intensely, actually drawing in all the violent lightning rain. (End of Chapter)
