Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 323: Chapter 321: 9-Fold Celestial Thunder Tribulation

The Ice Soul Palace’s Tier Four Spirit Land was located a thousand zhang deep underground, resembling an Ice Crystal Coffin.

It contained several forbidden seals left behind by the Ice Soul Fairy, all of which were incredibly powerful, though there had never been an opportunity to test them.

Outsiders could only see the sky above the Tier Four Spirit Land suddenly fill with dark clouds, exuding a suffocating aura.

A Demon Sound from some impossibly distant place echoed in their ears, beguiling their minds.

The Outer Demon tribulation was clearly aimed at Master Suihan, yet just a wisp of its leaking aura was enough to make the two Core Formation True Men’s eyes turn bloodshot as all manner of desires were exposed.

Fortunately, an Ice Pendant on their chests shattered, sending a cooling sensation through them that restored clarity to their eyes.

”To be affected this much by just the fallout... I can’t imagine how terrifying the Heart Demon Tribulation our senior brother is facing right now must be!”

The two Core Formation True Men exchanged glances and retreated several hundred zhang.

The Heart Demon Tribulation was inescapable.

Like the Celestial Thunder Tribulation, it was feared by Core Formation True Men as if it were a god or ghost; the mere mention of it would make them pale.

The higher one’s Cultivation, the more one could appreciate the terror of these two tribulations.

Some even developed a Heart Demon in the depths of their soul, born from the unconscious fear of the Nascent Soul Tribulation itself.

When the Celestial Tribulation arrived, an Outer Demon would invade the body, the Heart Demon would rise on its own, and the cultivator’s soul would scatter on the spot.

In the Cultivation Realm, Magical Treasures capable of resisting Heart Demons and Celestial Thunder were exceedingly rare. The appearance of even one would be fervently sought after by countless Core Formation True Men.

”Senior Brother built upon the foundation of our ancestors’ ’Ice Heart Mirror, where no passions arise for worldly things’ to innovate and forge a brand-new Core Theory, one different from any of ours... I imagine it will be even more effective when facing his Heart Demon.”

The speaker was a cultivator dressed entirely in white, with a head of silver hair and even frost-colored eyebrows. He was Zhong Li, a rising star of the Ice Soul Palace who had reached Core Formation within the last century.

”That would be for the best. Senior Brother Suihan has waited too long, and our sect has waited far too long for a Nascent Soul True Monarch...”

The other Core Formation True Man had slender eyes and a perpetually cold, frosty expression. He was Dong Shuyi, the Dharma Master of the Ice Soul Palace.

This man possessed a Mid-Stage Core Formation Cultivation and was even more famous than Master Suihan among most cultivators in the Cultivation Realm. For the past hundred years, he had been the one to represent the Ice Soul Palace in its dealings with other Sects.

His Ice Soul Splitting Light Sword technique made him a top-tier Sword Cultivator in Liang Country.

Besides relying on Secret Treasures specifically designed against Heart Demons, the only way to have an easier time with the Heart Demon Tribulation was to depend on one’s Core Theory.

A Core Theory was, in essence, a cultivator’s summary and deepening of their own path. Once solidified at Core Formation Perfection, it represented the very path they would take toward the Nascent Soul realm.

If one had unwavering faith in their path, and their Core Theory aligned with the Great Dao’s True Intent, then even if a Heart Demon arose, it would be difficult for it to shake the cultivator’s spirit.

At the center of the Tier Four Spirit Land, Jade Talismans on Master Suihan’s body shattered on their own, and sheets of Talismans burst into flame without any wind. The expression on his face shifted rapidly before finally stabilizing after a few breaths, revealing a look of peace and contentment.

To an outsider, it was but a brief moment. But in the consciousness of a cultivator undergoing the Heart Demon Tribulation, it could have been years, decades, or even an entire lifetime relived.

Having passed the test, his mind had transformed and his Primordial Spirit had manifested. The path to the Nascent Soul realm was now half-walked.

”The Heart Demon Tribulation is over. Next is the Celestial Thunder Tribulation... I hope the ancestors of the Ice Soul Palace are watching over him. May it be the Ice-Fire Shocking Spirit Tribulation!”

Zhong Li’s expression flickered as he muttered to himself.

The Celestial Thunder Tribulation was divided into several types, varying in strength and having elemental counters.

It was impossible to predict which type of Celestial Thunder Tribulation a Perfect Core Formation Cultivator would face during their breakthrough, but statistically, the tribulations encountered by Demon Path Cultivators were often more powerful.

The Ice-Fire Shocking Spirit Tribulation was the very Celestial Tribulation that the Ice Soul Palace’s founder, the Ice Soul Fairy, had experienced. The sect possessed detailed records of this tribulation, and generations of ancestors had developed several Secret Techniques to counter it.

If he truly drew this type of Celestial Thunder, his chances of successfully crossing the tribulation would certainly be much higher.

”The Five-Fire Divine Thunder Tribulation. Not too bad...”

Dong Shuyi stared at the sky above the Spirit Land. Through the Ice Soul Palace’s Grand Array, he could see tribulation clouds gathering, lightning flashing within them, carrying an aura of absolute destruction.

The Celestial Thunder Tribulation was a trial of the Great Dao. Once one set foot on the path of Shattering the Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul, there was no escaping it, no turning back.

No matter where one was or what means one used to obscure the Celestial Secrets, it was impossible to prevent the Celestial Tribulation’s arrival.

Let alone the Ice Soul Palace’s Tier Three Top-Grade Grand Array, even a Tier Four Array was like a child before the Celestial Tribulation; it could play no role whatsoever.

All trials of Celestial Thunder bypassed any external barrier or obstruction to strike the Tribulation Crosser’s body directly.

The tribulation clouds were pitch-black, filled with countless draconic thunderbolts that writhed and roared, making the entire world feel like the apocalypse had arrived.

An advance notice had been given, so all Ice Soul Palace disciples—except for the Core Formation True Men and a few high-level members controlling the Array—were hidden within the palace halls, protected by the Grand Array.

The destructive aura and shocking might of the descending Celestial Thunder alone would be enough to cause any disciple with a weak spirit to faint.

Azure-black draconic thunderbolts gathered and coiled, while streaks of crimson light shone from the depths of the tribulation cloud, seemingly scorching the very air.

Among all recorded Celestial Tribulations, the Five-Fire Divine Thunder Tribulation was considered to be of lower-middle tier power.

While it wasn’t the most familiar Ice-Fire Shocking Spirit Tribulation, the Five-Fire Divine Thunder Tribulation—which merely added the trial of five types of True Flame to the basic Celestial Thunder—was still considered a good draw.

The moment Dong Shuyi’s voice fell, a flash of lightning tore through the sky. A bucket-thick, azure-black thunderbolt carrying supreme celestial might struck down at its target.

Endless Thunder Fire, world-ending might—the aftershock from just the first bolt of Celestial Thunder caused the Ice Soul Palace’s Grand Array to tremble violently, sending ripples across its surface.

At the center of the storm, Master Suihan waved his hand, and three icebergs flew out. They all swelled to a height of a hundred zhang and charged directly at the Celestial Thunder.

BOOM!

The icebergs shattered into countless fragments, but the first bolt of Celestial Thunder was likewise annihilated.

The second bolt of Celestial Thunder that followed close behind was blocked by the other two icebergs, and they all perished together.

A Treasure Bead radiating a biting Cold Radiance, a Banner Flag with a ferocious Ice Spider emblazoned upon it... both were Top-Grade Magical Treasures, and both were either completely destroyed or severely damaged upon contact with the Celestial Thunder.

But they had achieved considerable results; the Celestial Thunder Tribulation had now reached its seventh bolt.

The color of this thunderbolt had already started turning an inky black, its power far greater than before. Before it even fell, Master Suihan’s expression changed. Countless points of Spirit Light flashed on his Gauze Robe as it gathered the Cold Ice Essence Qi from the deepest parts of the Ice Soul Palace.

The Ten Thousand Miles Icefield. It was known that even after digging a thousand zhang into the ground, one would still find only ice, not earth. No one knew just how thick this layer of ice truly was.

According to the Ice Soul Fairy’s calculations, at the very core of the Ten Thousand Miles Icefield, directly beneath the Ice Soul Palace, the ice layer was at least ten thousand zhang thick.

Such an ice layer could hardly be a natural formation.

Therefore, the Ice Soul Fairy had deduced one of two possibilities: either the remains of a Tier Five Ice Element Demon Beast lay beneath, its lingering power after death combining with the terrain to form the Ten Thousand Miles Icefield.

Or, there was an Ice Element Supreme Treasure, or an Ancient Great Power had set up a Tier Five Array below, to achieve such an effect.

But regardless of the possibility, it was an existence that even the Ice Soul Fairy, a Nascent Soul True Monarch, was powerless to explore, let alone the disciples of the Ice Soul Palace who came after her.

However, generations of Core Formation True Men had at least managed to research a method to slightly utilize the Cold Ice Essence Qi from deep underground.

This Gauze Robe, woven from the Ice Silk spat by Thousand-Year-Old Ice Silkworms, was nothing special in terms of grade.

Its strength lay in the fact that a Thousand-Year-Old Ice Silkworm could only produce enough Ice Silk in its entire life to weave a palm-sized patch. To create this Gauze Robe, the silk of at least a thousand Ice Silkworms had been gathered.

Only by controlling the entire icefield and through the painstaking efforts of dozens of generations of Core Formation True Men was it finally woven.

The Thousand-Year-Old Ice Silkworm was an Insect Beast that grew deep within the icefield, and its Ice Silk could channel the Cold Ice Essence Qi with relative ease.

In just the flick of a finger, a suit of Ice Armor composed purely of Cold Ice Essence Qi materialized on Master Suihan’s body.

”Senior Brother is already using the Ice Silk Gauze Robe! How will he handle the last two bolts of Celestial Thunder?!”

Zhong Li’s face was filled with worry, his heart heavy with the pressure of the Celestial Thunder and his concern for Master Suihan.

Just as Dong Shuyi was about to speak, the black thunderbolt had already slammed into Master Suihan. With a deafening RUMBLE, the Ice Armor rapidly disintegrated.

But the Cold Ice Essence Qi was endless, causing the Ice Armor to regenerate as it shattered. After a brief stalemate, both the armor and the black thunderbolt—completely different from the previous ones—annihilated each other.

Another azure-black thunderbolt descended. Accompanied by countless True Flames, it burned the sky crimson on its way down.

Many Ice Crystals that had been frozen for ten thousand years began to melt and deform.

Master Suihan spat out a bracelet from his mouth. It projected a boundless ice screen, from which ice beasts of all kinds charged suicidally towards the eighth bolt of Celestial Thunder.

The thunderbolt fell. The ice beasts, each equivalent to a Tier Three Demon Beast, seemed fragile as paper before the Celestial Thunder. They turned to wisps of blue smoke and dissipated completely, one after another.

This bracelet was Master Suihan’s Lifebound Magical Treasure, unrivaled in trapping and binding enemies.

But when facing the Celestial Tribulation, he could only resort to its secondary function: releasing the Demon Beast Essences he had collected over the years to act as cannon fodder against the Celestial Thunder.

Thanks to Master Suihan’s long life, and with the addition of all the ice beast Essences the Ice Soul Palace had accumulated over generations, he had refined them all for this very moment.

Dozens of ice beasts charged out in one go, managing to diminish most of the eighth thunderbolt’s power. The last remnants of Thunder Fire were blocked by the bracelet itself, which was sent flying far into the distance.

”PFFT!”

With his Lifebound Magical Treasure damaged, a sharp pain shot through Master Suihan’s head. At the same time, his chest heaved and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He looked up at the final thunderbolt. It had already transformed from azure-black to flecks of golden light, carrying with it a trace of a sacred aura. It was fundamentally different from all the previous bolts.

It was no longer purely destructive; on the contrary, it contained a vibrant life force.

But for that very reason, the ninth thunderbolt was even more terrifying, making one’s heart tremble in fear.

Master Suihan rose from his meditation cushion, his face devoid of joy or sorrow. He slowly pulled the Daoist hairpin from his hair and spat a mouthful of Essence Blood onto it.

The ice-clear Daoist hairpin was tossed into the air, transforming into an Ice Phoenix. It circled once before charging toward the golden thunderbolt.

”The Ice Phoenix Hairpin! So Senior Brother Suihan already succeeded in the Refinement of this Spiritual Treasure left by our founder...”

For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Dong Shuyi’s face. The Ice Phoenix Hairpin was a Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure left behind by the Ice Soul Fairy.

It was just that this Spiritual Treasure was extremely difficult to communicate with. Not a single Core Formation True Man in all the past generations had been able to become its master.

The Ice Phoenix collided with the golden thunderbolt, yet there was no sound. They were eerily frozen in mid-air.

Master Suihan pointed a finger at the Gauze Robe on his body. Ice flames rose from the Ice Silk Gauze Robe—a garment woven from the accumulation of nearly ten thousand years of Ice Silk—and in an instant, it burned away, leaving only a streak of Cold Radiance.

With a flick of his finger, the Cold Radiance landed on the Ice Phoenix, adding another layer of frost-like feathers to its wings.

With a thunderous BOOM, the golden thunderbolt was shattered. The Ice Phoenix let out a mournful cry before reverting back into the transparent Daoist hairpin.

The tribulation clouds dispersed, the thunderbolts faded, and the world-destroying Celestial Thunder Tribulation vanished as if it had never appeared.