When undergoing a lightning tribulation, it is most taboo for other living beings to intervene; the higher the realm, the stronger the lightning tribulation.
The Wet Nurse Ghost could have left, but due to a moment of greed, she missed the best opportunity.
Only when the heavenly punishment descended did she realize how wrong she had been.
The Golden Crow dispersed, leaving a scorched earth for ten miles around, with silver lightning occasionally flowing through the soil.
At the bottom of the deep pit, there was a charred, incomplete corpse, and also a black figure crawling with difficulty.
He took the storage ring from the corpse's hand, threw it out of the deep pit, and shouted hoarsely, "Lin Ye, catch!"
Lin Ye, who had been hovering at the edge of the lightning tribulation, heard the voice and quickly took the storage ring, looking around curiously.
"Can you still hold on?"
Zhao Shijie lay on the scorched rock, gasping for breath, looked at the lightning pool above, and said with a bitter smile, "I can't take it anymore. One more hit, and I might be struck dead."
"I feel several forces approaching here. You leave quickly; don't worry about me."
Lin Ye looked up at the sky and saw more than a dozen streaks of light rushing towards them. He stopped being sentimental and quickly left a message:
"Remember, you must wait for me. Once I deliver the item back to the sect, I will return to the real world to find you. There must be a way to save you!"
With that, Lin Ye quickly left, holding the Dan Jing.
Above the lightning pool, thunder rolled, and a blurry figure gradually took shape.
Zhao Shijie staggered to his feet and waited quietly.
He had already given up struggling.
Just then, an anxious voice suddenly sounded in mid-air: "Senior Brother Zhao!"
Zhao Shijie looked up, puzzled, only to see Zhou Qianqian and a middle-aged man standing at the edge of the deep pit, waving at him.
"Where are Senior Sister Huo and the others?" Zhou Qianqian asked with a trembling voice.
"They're all dead," Zhao Shijie said faintly.
Thump, thump—
Zhou Qianqian retreated several steps in a daze, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.
She was, after all, one step too late.
The middle-aged man glanced at the lightning pool in the sky, then at the dispirited Zhao Shijie, and quickly pulled out a bottle of pills from his storage ring, throwing it into Zhao Shijie's arms.
"These are Rejuvenation Pills. Time is running out; hurry and recover!"
"And this magic robe is a magical artifact; it can help you withstand most of the lightning tribulation."
The middle-aged man took off his robe and took out a flying sword from his storage ring: "I came in a hurry and only brought this magical artifact-level spirit sword. You can use it to undergo the tribulation."
Zhao Shijie stared blankly at the robe and flying sword at his feet, not understanding what the middle-aged man meant.
However, Zhao Shijie didn't overthink it, mistakenly believing he had triggered some hidden plot. He swallowed the pills in one gulp, then put on the magic robe, and stood up holding the flying sword.
In just a moment, his bodily functions recovered as before, and the surging spiritual energy made him feel unprecedentedly powerful.
Rumble—
Above the lightning pool, the blurry figure gradually solidified.
It had a sheep's head, wolf's hooves, a rounded top, two pairs of horns, a dragon's tail swaying back and forth, and lifelike scales on its body.
With just one glance, Zhao Shijie stood rooted to the spot, "What a beautiful Qilin."
"It's actually a Qilin, one of the ten legendary fierce beasts!" The middle-aged man's face was solemn as he grabbed Zhou Qianqian and retreated a thousand meters away.
At this point, the others also arrived, and upon seeing the Lightning Qilin manifesting above, everyone gasped.
"If this child truly overcomes this heavenly tribulation, the Tianxuan Continent might truly see the birth of a supreme existence," someone exclaimed.
"I wonder which sect he comes from. For such a monstrous talent, it's a bit too reckless for his sect to let him undergo the tribulation alone," an old man said with a frown.
"Ask Zhong Li; he was the first to arrive and might know information about this child."
At these words, everyone turned their gaze to the middle-aged man.
Zhong Li glanced at the crowd and said calmly, "This child is a disciple of my Star Sect; there's no need for you all to worry."
"You're talking nonsense?! If the Star Sect truly had such a genius, how could we not know?"
Someone scoffed, clearly disbelieving Zhong Li's words.
"Besides some small sects, there isn't even a mid-grade sect nearby, plus the recent conflict here, which proves this child should belong to a nearby small sect."
"Nonsense! Such a genius should enter my Falling Cloud Sect and be fully cultivated by my sect, so he can unleash his true potential."
"What is your Falling Cloud Sect? It's only ranked eighth in the entire southern region. In terms of sect foundation, my Limitless Sect is the most suitable place for him!"
"Speaking of foundation, my Star Sect is certainly stronger than everyone present. Furthermore, this child has a close relationship with my sect's disciple, Zhou Qianqian, so he's half a Star Sect disciple. Everyone, please return."
"You shameless fellow, forcibly binding relationships, are you? I'll call my sect's Saintess over right now; she's not worse than this little girl beside you, is she?"
"Stop arguing, it's too early to say all this now. Let's see if he can pass the lightning pool's test first."
At these words, everyone immediately quieted down and refocused their attention on Zhao Shijie.
In front of the lightning pool, the Qilin stepped on empty space, carrying rolling heavenly thunder directly towards Zhao Shijie.
The mighty heavenly might caused everyone's hearts to inexplicably tighten, and they involuntarily retreated a hundred meters.
Zhao Shijie held the flying sword, his eyes seeming to have stars flowing within them. Spiritual energy surged madly into his body, and behind him, a Xiantian Bagua Diagram automatically appeared, slowly rotating.
Facing the mighty Qilin, Zhao Shijie showed no fear. He surged against the current, pointing his sword at the Qilin.
This kind of courage made everyone present change their expressions, and their evaluation of Zhao Shijie rose to a new level in their hearts.
Zhou Qianqian's eyes reflected Zhao Shijie's figure, and her heart inexplicably pounded wildly.
She had seen countless prodigies, but only Zhao Shijie was so unrestrained and dared to challenge heavenly might.
"Break!!!"
In the void, Zhao Shijie, bathed in lightning, collided with the Qilin.
After a brief contact, ripples spread in all directions, and the spiritual treasure-grade flying sword in his hand shattered inch by inch.
Zhao Shijie's face was ferocious. He poured all his spiritual power into the Tai Chi diagram, desperately resisting the Qilin's pressure.
Crack, crack—
The Xiantian Bagua Diagram made crisp sounds and finally exploded completely.
The Qilin directly crashed into Zhao Shijie, falling to the ground like a meteor.
Bang—
The ground cracked into fissures, dense lightning raged, and huge rocks suspended in mid-air all shattered.
Bang—
Another loud noise came.
In the very center, countless flashes of lightning moved back and forth, and no one could clearly see the scene inside.
"Did he fail?" someone asked in surprise.
"The lightning tribulation hasn't disappeared yet; he should still be alive."
"Look, he's still holding on!"
As the smoke cleared, in the deep pit, Zhao Shijie was seen pressing his hands firmly against the Qilin's head, with a large amount of lightning power flowing through his body.
The immortal robe on his body was tattered, and the clothes he wore before had turned to ash. If it weren't for his entire body being charred black, with his naked appearance, he would probably have died of embarrassment on the spot.
"Break for me!!!"
Zhao Shijie used all his strength and slammed his fists down fiercely.
Rumble—
The Qilin exploded, and all the lightning power pierced through Zhao Shijie's body.
"Pfft…"
Zhao Shijie spat out several mouthfuls of blood, his entire body covered in cracks. Upon closer inspection, one could still see faint traces of lightning moving within him.
Thud—
He fell to the ground, no longer moving.