Shi Ning was surprised to see the dark clouds gathering over the valley. This was not a common occurrence. Shi Lang was breaking into the realm of the Immortal Soul. There should not be a lightning tribulation. She did not know if this guy could endure the tribulation and wanted to return to the palace to seek help.
Thankfully, she did not need to bother, and Elder Yu appeared behind her with a smile. He said, “Do not worry, Young Miss Shi, this is not a tribulation. This has something to do with his cultivation technique.”
Shi Ning nodded and thanked the old man. The clouds gathered together, and Lightning lingered among them. However, Shi Lang did not move or even twitch from his position. He focused on channeling all the lightning energy moving through his body. The energy coursing through his body gradually blended with the primordial soul in his soul sea.
The young man was calm, although his head was filled with pain. It was as if his soul was gradually tearing up. However, he did not give up and tolerated everything. He was instilling the attribute of his cultivation in his soul.
This was how the immortal soul worked. The people in the upper realms did not have to go through this stage. Their immortal souls were awakened like those in the lower realm awakened their primordial souls.
This was the reason why the people from the immortal realms were stronger. It was mentioned in the sutra that if someone could instill the attribute of Lightning in their primordial souls, they would not lag behind anyone in the immortal realm as well.
Shi Lang was aware that he could not find any better herb or source of Lightning in the small kingdom of this barren land, so using the technique he learned in his past life, he used his body like an antenna to resonate with the natural Lightning.
After he finished digesting the Lightning in his body and channeling it inside his soul sea, the Lightning from the cloud fell on his body. The impact shook the land slightly, and Shi Lang sunk into the ground for millimeters. The Lightning fell on his body, and with the help of the cultivation sutra, Shi Lang absorbed it all.
Elder Yu gulped, saying, “This boy is so cruel to himself.”
Shi Ning asked, “What do you mean elder?”
Yu replied, “Lightning is the most destructive attribute in nature. It can destroy everything in its path. You do not know that while cultivating something involving Lightning, you need willpower like none else. The pain is strong enough to make you go mad or cripple you at worse.”
Shi Ning became anxious and asked, “Edler will he be alright?”
Elder Yu patted her head gently and said, “You need to believe in him. He is not weak. Ever heard an idiom? Cruel to the enemy, crueler to yourself?”
Shi Ning nodded and understood the meaning behind this idiom. Shi Lang was indeed crueler to himself. He sat in one position and slowly worked on his soul. It would take more than just one bolt of lightning to ensure that his soul is perfectly tempered and blended with the lightning.
The cycle began with no end in sight. As soon as he finished absorbing one bolt of lightning, another struck. Shi Ning’s worry gradually turned numb. Shi Lang lost all his clothes from the constant lightning strikes.
Elder Yu sighed and said, “What a marvel. He is following the way of double tempering. The lighting is also baptizing his body.”
Shi Ning asked, “Elder, how long will this last?”
Elder Yu shrugged and replied, “I have no idea. If he is unsatisfied with the effect, he might keep going.”
Shi Ning nodded, and they kept watching the scene unfold before them. The terran lasted for two hours before his flesh began to show signs of damage. His right shoulder exploded, and his flesh splashed around with blood. Shi Ning shivered and wanted to rush inside the formation, but Elder Yu held her hand.
He said, “Watch carefully.”
Shi Ning found the lightning from the rest of the body mingling with each other, and gradually the blue streaks turned golden before they reformed the injured part. The young man did not even utter a sound when all this happened.
It was not an isolated event, but all over his body, the flesh boiled and exploded before it was reformed with the flow of spiritual energy. The scenery and primordial soul have greatly changed inside his soul sea.
Watching the scene, Elder Yu suddenly recalled something and asked, “Huh, wasn’t Shi Lang in the golden core realm?”
Shi Ning nodded and then opened her eyes wide. She asked, “Is he skipping a realm? This is bad; it will damage his foundation and not be repaired later.”
Elder Yu solemnly said, “Although I trust his intelligence, this situation still excites me.”
…
Shi Lang looked at his soul, a sea filled with lightning, and said, ‘The immortal core is formed when the Dao is inscribed on it. The spirit energy is used to inscribe what one has understood in the past. This is the biggest obstacle that the ascenders face. Our cores and primordial souls both calcify. They become so stubborn that the gentle nature of spiritual energy is not enough to inscribe the essence deeply enough. Anyway, it is time to work with the lightning.’
With that thought, Shi Lang manipulated the lightning energy in his body. Earlier, when his flesh was boiling and breaking, he channeled the lightning energy throughout himself on a cellular level. Thanks to the tribulations he suffered in the past, his body was now used to handling the lightning attribute of spirit energy.
The lightning coursed through his body, and gradually it entered his Dantian. The streaks of lightning surrounded the golden core, but they did not rush to inscribe the Dao Essence. Shi Lang controlled one streak at a time to strike the core gently.
This process shook his entire being because he would die on the spot if the core exploded. This volatile nature of the attributes was why the people used spirit energy for inscription.
…
Elder Yu shivered while his hand was placed on Shi Ning’s shoulder and said, “I have never seen someone use a lightning attribute to inscribe Dao on the golden core. This is unprecedented.”
Shi Ning clenched her fists as she watched a streak of blood leaking from the corner of Shi Lang’s mouth. She could tell how much he suffered during the process, yet he did not wish to stop. What sort of willpower did one need to tolerate all this?
Shi Ning did not know that his family meant much in Shi Lang’s heart. He was rushing with all his guts and tolerating all this because he wanted to ensure that Amelia did not suffer more and Shi Tao did not get implicated by anyone. The horror he faced when the demon energy inflicted him, he does not want his people to suffer that.
…
Shi Lang did not have the luxury to mind anything else. He kept inscribing his core with the essence of his Dao Path. The understanding he gained about the Shura sutra was not low in standards. He also inscribed the things he understood in his past life, the way of the sword, and his sword intent was all slowly inscribed on his core.
The night had passed, but the dark clouds did not fade, constantly showering lightning streaks over Shi Lang. The young man seemed to have turned into a lightning rod.
Since it was morning, the fourth Prince and the third Princess also came to watch what was going on at the instruction of the third Queen. Elder Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, “He should be finished inscribing, but what is taking him so long?” 𝑂𝑽𝐥xt.𝓬𝗈𝐌
Tian Longjian suddenly held his sword tightly and furrowed his brows. He said, “My sword is trembling.”
Elder Yu’s people dilated for a second, and he said, “Don’t tell me, is this guy out of his mind?”
Shi Ning asked hurriedly, “Elder, what is it? What is going on?”
Elder Yu calmed down and said, “It is said that the deeper the inscription, the stronger the person. If the inscription is too deep, the core might break down on its own, so the spirit energy is used to keep it together.
Shi Lang is using his sword intent to gradually deepen the inscription and use the lighting energy to keep the core together. His core can be cut in half if he makes one deeper cut. This is akin to chasing after death.”
However, soon Tian Longjian said, “It stopped.”
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, but the danger was not yet averted. The lightning in the clouds changed from blue to golden. The pressure it gave made Elder Yu exclaim, “Lightning Tribulation. Retreat.”
The heavens were going to test the soul of lightning, and the resolve of the practitioner.