Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System

“It is time to face the tribulation and advance the Nine Tribulations Divine Eye.”

Li Yun spoke in a low voice as he stepped out of the cave where he had secluded himself.

The moment he emerged, he activated the Raging Wind Tiger Art. Wind gathered beneath his feet, and his figure blurred into motion, cutting through the landscape like a streak of air.

In a short time, he arrived at a barren stretch of land.

The area was desolate and lifeless. The earth was dry, the air silent, and no traces of beasts or human presence could be sensed for miles. It was exactly the kind of place Li Yun had hoped to find.

“A suitable place to undergo a tribulation.”

He nodded slightly before stepping into the center of the wasteland.

Without hesitation, Li Yun began circulating all three of his cultivation arts.

Thunder qi surged first.

The Overlord Thunder Scripture roared through his meridians like a storm of lightning.

Wind qi followed.

The Wind God Raging Art accelerated the flow of energy throughout his body, causing his circulation speed to rise sharply.

Then blazing heat spread outward.

The Great Sun Flame Scripture ignited within his dantian, sending waves of pure fire qi through every channel.

During the past two months, all three cultivation arts had advanced another 2 layers, reaching the 13th layer. Although this had greatly increased his strength, it still had not been enough to push his cultivation beyond the 4th level of the Qi Sea Realm.

Even so, their power was now far greater than before.

Li Yun immediately began setting up defenses. He first activated the Crimson Lotus Flame Art.

A massive crimson lotus formed around him, each petal burning with intense flames. The lotus enclosed him completely, turning into a protective barrier of fire.

Without pausing, Li Yun used the Heavenly Lightning Codex to improve the defensive property of the lotus even more.

Blue lightning crackled wildly across the surface of the crimson lotus, wrapping every petal in destructive electric power. Fire and lightning merged, creating a defense far stronger than either could provide alone.

Then came the second layer.

Li Yun raised both palms and circulated the Golden Buddha Palm.

Golden light burst outward, and a towering golden Buddha manifestation appeared around him. The sacred figure enveloped Li Yun together with the flaming lotus, acting as another protective shell.

Its enormous palms were lifted toward the heavens, as if prepared to resist whatever descended from above.

This was one of the top-grade Profound Rank martial arts Li Yun had taken from the Martial Library of Grand Ascension Peak, along with the Thunderflame Gale Sword Art.

Now he used it entirely for defense.

Finally, Li Yun summoned his strongest defensive secret art.

“Hundred Layer Shield.”

Hexagonal barriers of condensed qi formed one after another in front of him.

One shield.

Two shields.

Three shields.

They continued stacking until a total of 10 shields floated before him, layered tightly on top of one another like a wall of crystal fortresses.

At present, Li Yun could only create 10 shields.

However, he understood that the number depended on the amount and quality of qi one possessed. As his cultivation rose in the future, the number of shields he could form would naturally increase.

Because of that, he felt no concern.

He slowly looked over the layers of protection surrounding him. The outermost barrier was the 10 layered shields.

Behind them stood the golden Buddha manifestation.

At the core bloomed the lightning-covered crimson lotus.

“I now have three layers of defense.”

Li Yun exhaled slowly.

“First the 10 shields, then the Golden Buddha, and finally the lightning covered lotus.”

His eyes rose toward the sky.

“If even this is not enough to survive the tribulation, then I truly do not know what else I could have prepared.”

The wasteland had fallen completely silent.

Li Yun steadied his breathing, firmed his resolve, and spoke one final sentence.

“System, begin the tribulation.”

The instant Li Yun’s command was accepted, the sky above the barren wasteland underwent a violent transformation.

The bright heavens dimmed as though an invisible hand had extinguished the sun. Massive black storm clouds gathered from every direction, swallowing the horizon in moments. They rolled over one another like endless mountains of darkness, heavy and oppressive, pressing down upon the land with suffocating force.

The wind screamed across the plains.

Dust, sand, and shattered stones were lifted into the air and hurled outward in spirals. The ground trembled beneath Li Yun’s feet as if even the earth feared what was about to descend.

Li Yun stood at the center of his prepared defenses with a grave expression.

Before him floated the 10 layered shields of the Hundred Layer Shield secret art, stacked one behind another in perfect formation. Around him towered the radiant golden Buddha, its sacred figure shining with majesty. Within that giant manifestation bloomed the crimson lotus wrapped in blue lightning, each petal blazing with fire while arcs of thunder crawled across its surface.

Three layers of protection.

Three layers built from everything he had prepared.

Yet even so, Li Yun felt no confidence.

Within the storm clouds above, lightning began to move.

At first it was only flickers hidden inside the darkness, brief flashes that illuminated the cloud sea for an instant. Then those flickers multiplied, merging into rivers of silver electricity that twisted and coiled like celestial dragons.

Every flash carried terrifying pressure.

Every rumble of thunder shook Li Yun’s organs.

Then, at the center of the clouds, an enormous vortex slowly formed.

It resembled a giant eye opening in the heavens.

The moment it appeared, Li Yun’s left eye throbbed violently. The Nine Tribulations Divine Eye seemed to resonate with the power above, as if acknowledging its own trial.

Li Yun clenched his teeth and forced all three cultivation arts to circulate faster.

His qi roared through his meridians like floodwaters.

The storm paused for one breath.

Then judgment descended.

A pillar of silver lightning tore through the sky.

It was so fast that the eye could barely follow it. It did not fall like ordinary lightning. It pierced downward like a spear thrown by the heavens themselves, carrying enough destructive force to erase mountains.

Li Yun roared and poured every strand of qi into the 10 shields.

The heavenly lightning struck the first shield.

The barrier exploded instantly.

Fragments of light scattered across the wasteland before vanishing into nothingness.

The second shield shattered next.

Then the third.

Then the fourth.

Each shield lasted no more than a heartbeat. The explosions came so quickly they sounded like a continuous chain of thunder.

The remaining shields broke one after another, unable to slow the lightning for more than an instant.

In less than a breath, all 10 defensive barriers had been annihilated.

Li Yun’s heart sank seeing this.