Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 210: Chapter 207: Great Devouring Technique, Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body

A colossal Thunderbolt fell from the sky, most of it turning a shade of purple that was unsettlingly demonic.

This was the thirty-fifth Thunderbolt. Its terrifying power made Ning Jiang feel a primal sense of danger.

But he spread his wings and soared high, resolutely charging toward the Thunderbolt nonetheless.

There was no dodging a Celestial Tribulation. The only way through was to confront it.

Ning Jiang had to confront the Celestial Tribulation with an indomitable and fearless momentum, meeting the danger head-on even though he knew the risks.

Otherwise, if his momentum faltered and fear took root in his heart, death would be the only outcome.

BOOM!

The collision was more violent than any before. Ning Jiang soared into the sky and slammed into the Thunderbolt. In that instant, a blindingly brilliant light erupted in all directions.

A terrifying, crackling storm, laced with arcing lightning, unfurled like a purple tsunami.

SWOOSH.

Like a falling star, Ning Jiang was sent plummeting uncontrollably.

BOOM.

Amid an earth-shattering crash, his body smashed into a mountain, causing it to collapse and shatter. His momentum unabated, he continued until he had carved a massive, hundred-zhang-deep crater in the ground.

’Impressive.’

Ning Jiang flew out of the massive crater. Even a body as powerful as the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow Dharma Body had sustained damage and was no longer pristine.

’Only one final Thunderbolt remains!’

His gaze shifted to the sky, where the black clouds roiled as all the lightning converged toward the center. Gradually, a terrifying, dread-inducing aura began to permeate the air.

In the heart of the dark clouds, a blinding light condensed.

Purple Thunder slowly materialized. To his astonishment, the surging purple lightning condensed, gradually taking the form of a Battle Spear.

At first, the Battle Spear was only three zhang long. But as a ceaseless torrent of Purple Thunder converged on it, it grew from three zhang to ten.

It grew from ten zhang to thirty, then fifty, and finally a full one hundred zhang!

The hundred-zhang Thunder Battle Spear pointed directly at Ning Jiang. Instantly, the hairs on his body stood on end out of pure instinct, and his skin erupted in goosebumps.

If the thirty-fifth Thunderbolt had made Ning Jiang sense danger...

...then this one made him feel a sense of mortal peril!

This strike, when it fell, would be utterly cataclysmic.

RUMBLE!

The inevitable had arrived. The moment the Thunder Battle Spear fully formed, it began its slow descent toward Ning Jiang.

The strike descended with agonizing slowness, pressing down bit by bit.

But the terrifying part was that Ning Jiang felt his entire body locked in place, unable to break free.

’Life or death—it all comes down to this moment!’

Ning Jiang took a deep breath. The first thirty-five bolts had merely been a prelude; this was the Celestial Tribulation’s true killing blow.

To overcome it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—a complete Rebirth.

To fail meant to have his body and spirit extinguished, turning all his efforts to nothing.

”Great Devouring Technique!”

Ning Jiang let out a long roar and charged toward the Thunder Battle Spear. The Heaven-Devouring Sparrow opened its beak, and a terrifying Devouring Power erupted from its maw.

It was a black vortex that seemed capable of devouring everything.

At this moment, Ning Jiang had finally unleashed the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow’s greatest technique!

The Heaven-Devouring Sparrow’s greatest strength was not its speed, nor its physical body, but its Devouring Power.

This type of Demon Beast, at its absolute peak, could devour an entire province in a single gulp.

GUSH.

Like a torrential flood, the purple lightning was dragged in by this Devouring Power, surging violently into the sparrow’s beak.

Ten breaths later.

’I’m about to reach the limit.’

A flicker of anxiety crossed Ning Jiang’s eyes. The Thunder Power contained within the Thunder Battle Spear was simply too vast. The Heaven-Devouring Sparrow had only devoured a third of it and was already on the verge of its limit.

’I’ll bet everything on this!’

Gritting his teeth, Ning Jiang pushed the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow to continue, frantically devouring the purple lightning.

CRACK... CRACK...

Cracks began to appear on the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow’s Dharma Body. Unable to withstand the excessive Thunder Power, it was on the verge of exploding from the inside out.

If it exploded, Ning Jiang would not be spared.

’Hold on!’

Ning Jiang roared, his eyes completely bloodshot. This was a matter of life and death, the most perilous moment he had faced since his rebirth.

Nevertheless, the Dharma Body continued to crack apart.

’I have to find another way to expend this energy!’

In this life-or-death moment, Ning Jiang grew even calmer, his mind racing.

’Thunder Power is a treasure perfect for refining the body. My Great Sun Glazed Golden Body has become outdated, so I might as well use this Thunder Power to cultivate the Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body.’

At this thought, Ning Jiang guided the excess Thunder Power into his own body.

In an instant, his entire body convulsed. Every inch of his flesh and blood endured excruciating pain. His bones groaned, and it felt as if his organs were being repeatedly hammered.

Refining one’s body with lightning was a bold move, something Ning Jiang would never have attempted under normal circumstances.

The Power of Thunder was too ferocious and unyielding, making it incredibly difficult to absorb. The slightest misstep could destroy his physical body, causing necrosis to set in everywhere.

But now, he had no choice. Otherwise, the excess lightning would have caused his body to burst anyway.

Given the circumstances, he might as well snatch life from the jaws of death and take the gamble.

CRACKLE! POP!

Purple lightning danced through his flesh and blood. Every one of his pores spewed arcs of lightning, and his entire body glowed with a blinding, divine light.

Gradually, his flesh and blood grew increasingly translucent and lustrous.

Moreover, a deep rumbling emanated from his body. It was the sound of his blood rushing, as loud as thunder, as if lightning itself was surging through his veins.

Through this process of absorption and refinement, the colossal Thunder Battle Spear shrank bit by bit, until it vanished, devoured without a single trace remaining.

ZZZT.

Two beams of electric light shot out from Ning Jiang’s eyes. Deep within his pupils, purple lightning roiled.

”The Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body... It’s done!”

Ning Jiang’s gaze was as sharp and blinding as a Divine Sword.

This Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body was far more powerful than the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body. The Great Sun Glazed Golden Body was merely a Profound Level Technique, whereas the Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body was a Spirit Level Technique—and a top-tier one at that.

One hundred thousand years ago, this technique had belonged to a sect called the Celestial Thunder Body Refining Sect; it was their Sect’s Foundation Technique.

’After absorbing all that Thunder Power, my Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body is now close to the Minor Achievement stage.’

With that, Ning Jiang threw a punch.

BOOM.

A surging Fist Force spread out, as vast and majestic as the ocean. The air rumbled, and several nearby mountain peaks were instantly pulverized.

Even a Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body that was only approaching the Minor Achievement stage was more powerful than the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body.

’The Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body will be sufficient until I reach the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm. When my Realm is higher, I can cultivate other physiques, like the Giant Spirit Divine Body, the Dragon Phoenix Imperial Body, the Eternal Undying Body, or the Venerable Undying Body...’

Putting those thoughts aside, Ning Jiang turned his attention to his Dantian.

Within his Dantian, his three Primordial Mansions had transformed into Spirit Mansions. Inside these three Spirit Mansions, purple lightning surged without end.

All the lightning devoured by the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow had entered his Dantian.

’The greatest change when breaking through from the Innate Realm to the Spirit Realm is gaining Attribute Attacks. This lightning is the perfect choice for that!’

A smile touched Ning Jiang’s lips. The Power of Thunder was Supreme Yang and Firm, possessing astonishing destructive capabilities. Moreover, this wasn’t ordinary lightning; it was Celestial Tribulation Thunder, far more terrifying than the common kind.

With but a thought, purple lightning erupted from his body.

Shrouded in lightning, he looked like a Divine Spirit in command of thunder and electricity—invulnerable to all techniques, impossibly majestic.

”AHH!”

Just then, a wretched scream rang out.

At the same time Ning Jiang’s tribulation concluded, Cai Lin’s did as well.

Only, he had not been as fortunate as Ning Jiang. Ning Jiang had used the power of the Thunder Tribulation to not only cultivate a Thunder Attribute attack, but also to forge the Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body.

Cai Lin’s physical body, however, had disintegrated and shattered beneath the lightning.

After his physical body was destroyed, only a fist-sized, transparent humanoid figure remained.

This was the Primordial Spirit of a Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm expert.

At the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm, one could survive the destruction of their physical body, as long as their Primordial Spirit remained.

’Excellent. This Primordial Spirit will be quite useful to me.’

Ning Jiang reached out, grabbing for Cai Lin’s Primordial Spirit.

SWOOSH.

Cai Lin transformed into a beam of light and tried to flee, but Ning Jiang once again activated the Great Devouring Technique. The Heaven-Devouring Sparrow’s beak opened, and it swallowed Cai Lin’s Primordial Spirit whole.

’Unless one has reached the Immortal Realm, a Primordial Spirit has no power to resist once its physical body is destroyed.’

Ning Jiang shook his head. A Primordial Spirit from the Immortal Realm, even without a physical body, would possess terrifying offensive power. It could kill any Spirit Realm cultivator, and even an ordinary Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm expert would be no match for it.

Cai Lin’s Primordial Spirit, however, was extremely weak. With its body gone, it was as helpless as a fish on a chopping block, easily captured by him.

’Time to get out of here.’

With the Celestial Tribulation over and the protective veil of its clouds gone, the Fire Cloud Sect would surely be coming to kill him.

Although he had entered the Spirit Realm, he was still a long way from being able to contend with the other Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm experts of the Fire Cloud Sect.

’Go.’

Ning Jiang’s figure blurred, and he shot off into the distance.

The moment he left, a massive hand reached out from behind, clutching at the empty air where he had just been.

”Hmph. Did you think you could escape from me?”

A figure appeared, crossing a thousand zhang in a single stride. It was the Sect Leader of the Fire Cloud Sect, an expert who had reached the Third Realm of the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm.

”If I wish to leave, no one can stop me! Cai Lin, I’ll be borrowing your Primordial Spirit!”

Ning Jiang abruptly activated a Secret Technique. Within his Dharma Body, Cai Lin’s Primordial Spirit instantly burst into flames, feeding a surge of power back into the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow Dharma Body.

Instantly, the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow’s speed increased more than tenfold.

This was an ancient Escape Technique that sacrificed Primordial Spirit Power in exchange for speed.

Once this technique was used, no one could detain Ning Jiang—unless it was an Earth Martial Realm expert who could use Domain Power to seal the surrounding space.

Sure enough, in less than ten breaths, the Sect Leader of the Fire Cloud Sect had lost all trace of Ning Jiang.

”Damn you, Meng Daoyi! I’ll find you if I have to comb the heavens and scour the earth!” the Fire Cloud Sect’s Sect Leader roared in fury.

...

「Three days later.」

Meng Daoyi had gone to the Fire Cloud Sect, used a Thunder Tribulation to trap and kill their Grand Elder, Cai Lin, and had subsequently escaped from the grasp of their Sect Leader.

As soon as the news broke...

All of Qing Province was in an uproar.