Chapter 46: Fighting Fate, The Final Thunder
Looking at the thick Heavenly Tribulation clouds that rotated slowly like a world-destroying millstone, pressing down until one could barely breathe, Yu Yuanchen did not have complete confidence in his heart.
Although he had sworn the oath of the Thunder God, deep down, he still harbored a trace of worry regarding this behavior of taking turns to resist the Heavenly Tribulation, which was akin to "exploiting a loophole."
The might of Heaven is unfathomable; would the Laws of the plane really be deceived so easily?
But the arrow was on the string; it had to be fired.
He took a deep breath, adjusted his state to its Peak, and prepared to fulfill his promise and assist with all his might.
"Boom—!!!"
The first wave of the Heavenly Tribulation descended without warning!
It was not just one or two bolts, but rather, like the overturning of the heavenly river, countless bolts of lightning, as thick as water buckets and a deep, near-black color, intertwined into a destructive forest of thunderstorms, ferociously covering the Peak!
Between heaven and earth, only blinding lightning and deafening explosions remained!
The Thunder Hell Vine emitted a low hum, the thunderclouds at its apex spinning madly, erupting with a powerful suction force!
Those violent Lightning Tribulation bolts were like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, forcibly absorbed into its body by its unique "Thunder-Eating" talent.
Its vines trembled violently, and the runes on its main trunk shone to the extreme, clearly bearing immense pressure.
But its Foundation was solid; its three thousand years of accumulation showed its effect at this moment, forcibly swallowing the entire first wave of the terrifying Heavenly Tribulation, which had lasted for an hour!
Its aura steadily increased while devouring, officially crossing the fifty-thousand-year threshold and advancing toward a higher level.
However, the Heavenly Tribulation did not give it any chance to catch its breath.
Just as the first wave of the Lightning Tribulation ceased, the second wave, with even greater power, had already condensed and crashed down once more!
It was continuous, without any interruption!
The Thunder Hell Vine struggled to devour, but Yu Yuanchen could clearly feel that its speed of devouring and refining had already begun to faintly fail to keep up with the frequency and power of the falling heavenly lightning!
Its vines began to show burn marks, and its main trunk trembled slightly.
"Now!" Yu Yuanchen and the Thunder Hell Vine were connected in thought, needing no further words.
A purple-gold radiance shot out from the main body of the divine vine, instantly enveloping Yu Yuanchen.
In an instant, Yu Yuanchen felt a strange change in his perception!
His sensing of the surrounding lightning became incomparably clear, and the ultimate lightning within his body seemed to have found its home; a strong instinct to "devour" the violent energy before him welled up!
This was precisely the "Thunder-Eating" talent that the Thunder Hell Vine had temporarily shared with him!
"Thunder Saint Dragon, descend!" Yu Yuanchen let out a low roar, and the purple-gold phantom of the Thunder Saint Dragon behind him roared toward the sky as he actively met the pouring Lightning Tribulation!
"Boom!"
Countless bolts of heavenly lightning, as if having found a new target, surged madly into his body!
Even with the Thunder-Eating talent and the ultimate lightning as a base, the vast energy that far exceeded his own limit of endurance instantly filled his limbs and bones, bringing a tearing, excruciating pain!
He felt his body was like a balloon being crazily inflated, ready to burst at any moment!
He had to vent this energy!
"Sixth Spirit Ability, Thunder Armor!"
Purple-gold lightning surged, instantly condensing into that ancient and ferocious-looking Thunder Armor on his body surface, and he also grasped that thunder-light dragon spear in his hand!
This armor, which was originally just condensed Soul Power, now emitted a joyful hum after devouring a massive amount of homologous Lightning Tribulation energy!
Especially in the right arm area, that Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon right arm bone resonated strongly with it!
Yu Yuanchen had a flash of inspiration and, without hesitation, madly poured the Lightning Tribulation energy within his body—which had nowhere to vent and was almost bursting him—into this Thunder Armor!
"Hum—!!!"
The radiance of the armor and the dragon spear instantly skyrocketed!
The energy bodies, which had originally been somewhat illusory, became solid and heavy at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The dragon patterns on the armor seemed to come alive, the scales became clearer and sharper, and the edges flowed with substantive purple-gold plasma.
The dragon spear even emitted a dragon-like hum, and the destructive lightning condensed at the spear tip almost tore the space apart!
"It really works!" Yu Yuanchen was pleasantly surprised.
He had long discovered that this armor, condensed from his Soul skills, possessed the potential for "growth" after obtaining a homologous Soul Bone!
It was just that he was currently in the golden period of Cultivation, and his Soul Power was precious and also needed for daily Cultivation, so he was reluctant to pour in large amounts, only occasionally inputting some Soul Power when he had time, which was better than nothing.
Now, this massive, pure Lightning Tribulation energy was the best nourishment to strengthen it!
He even faintly looked forward to whether, if he continued to pour it in, this armor could transform into a true... prototype of a divine suit in the future?
The time of an incense stick flew by amidst the frantic energy infusion and resistance against the heavenly lightning.
Yu Yuanchen felt he had reached his own limit and immediately withdrew.
The Thunder Hell Vine, which had been prepared for a long time, quickly took over, opening its "Thunder-Eating" Domain once again and greedily devouring the Lightning Tribulation.
It was not in a hurry to use all this energy to increase its Cultivation, but rather, taking advantage of the temporary lifting of the plane's suppression, cleverly stored and accumulated most of it!
It knew deeply that if its Cultivation increased too quickly, causing the subsequent Heavenly Tribulation's power to skyrocket, Yu Yuanchen might very likely not be able to hold on through that critical incense stick of time, and at that point, everything would be lost.
And whenever it carried through a wave, or after Yu Yuanchen rotated down, it would share a portion of the pure Life Origin it had converted with Yu Yuanchen, helping him quickly recover from his injuries and exhaustion.
In this cycle of destruction and rebirth intertwined, the cooperation between the person and the vine became increasingly tacit.
Time passed in the roaring of the thunderstorms.
One round, two rounds, three rounds... a full twenty-plus rounds had passed!
Each wave of the Heavenly Tribulation that was devoured could accumulate nearly three thousand years of Cultivation Foundation for the Thunder Hell Vine (a portion of the energy needed to be used for healing and converting Life force).
Its aura became increasingly vast, and the accumulated energy had already reached a terrifying level, sufficient to support it in making that ultimate leap!
After Yu Yuanchen rotated down once again and accepted the Life force recovery shared by the divine vine, the Thunder Hell Vine's thought came through, carrying unprecedented gravity and determination: "Human, it is time! I will begin to attempt the hundred-thousand-year barrier! This process is extremely dangerous and requires full-force handling, so I cannot distract myself to help you recover anymore. Keep this wisp of Life Origin well, in case of emergency."
A surge of Life energy, several times richer than before, poured into Yu Yuanchen's body and was carefully stored away by him.
The next moment, the unimaginably vast energy that the Thunder Hell Vine had accumulated over twenty-plus rounds erupted!
Its dark purple trunk seemed to ignite, bursting forth with brilliant purple-gold radiance!
Countless vines danced crazily, stirring the wind and clouds, and a tyrannical will that seemed to want to break free from the shackles of heaven and earth shot straight into the clouds!
Attempting the hundred-thousand-year mark! This was the final barrier on the Heaven-Defying path!
The process was far more tortuous and difficult than imagined.
The violent collision of energy, the pain of the Life level's leap, and the continuous interference of the Heavenly Tribulation all caused the Thunder Hell Vine's body to constantly develop cracks, with charred black and new growth alternating repeatedly.
But its determined will, born from the depths of its Bloodline and honed over three thousand years of fighting against Heaven, was like an unbending spine, supporting it to hold on desperately in that torrent of destruction!
Time and again it was on the verge of collapse, and time and again it forcibly condensed, relying on its tenacious belief, launching the final charge toward that legendary Realm!
Yu Yuanchen watched from the side, his heart surging, and he was moved by it as well.
Such an unyielding will was worthy of admiration by any living being.
Finally, after experiencing who knew how many near-death escapes, the aura of the Thunder Hell Vine broke through a certain critical point, and a vast, ancient, and majestic pressure, as if fused with the Law of Thunder, spread out like a tidal wave!
Its trunk became even more vigorous, its color as deep as the Universe's starry sky, its vines like real thunder dragons churning, and the thundercloud at its apex transformed into a thunder vortex surrounded by nine-colored rosy clouds!
A hundred thousand years! It had succeeded!
It had broken the fate of its Bloodline and become the first Thunder Hell Vine in history to break through to a hundred thousand years!
However, just when Yu Yuanchen thought the Heavenly Tribulation was about to temporarily stop with its Breakthrough, a strange change occurred again!
The Heavenly Tribulation clouds in the sky, which originally seemed to show signs of dissipating, actually re-condensed at an even faster speed!
The color was no longer deep black or Chaos, but had transformed into a heart-palpitating — black-purple that seemed capable of swallowing all light!
A terrifying pressure, far exceeding the sum of all previous Heavenly Tribulations, pure and carrying the meaning of ultimate destruction, locked onto the Peak!
A realization simultaneously rose in the hearts of Yu Yuanchen and the Thunder Hell Vine — this was the final judgment of the Laws of the plane!
It was the punishment for their "exploiting a loophole" behavior!
This last wave of Lightning Tribulation had only two bolts, but what they contained was true power of destruction capable of annihilating all things!
If they survived, the sky would be vast and the sea broad; if they didn't, they would be reduced to dust!
"Roar—!!!" The thought of the Thunder Hell Vine let out an unwilling shriek; although it had just broken through, its body was already riddled with holes, but it still dragged its broken body and erupted with all its power, meeting that first black-purple Lightning Tribulation bolt!
"Boom!!!"
Just one bolt!
Its incomparably tough trunk was split with cracks everywhere, countless vines broke inch by inch, charred and withered, and its Life force flowed away at a speed visible to the naked eye!
That determined will, in the face of absolute power, seemed unable to spark a miracle again.
Yu Yuanchen's heart sank abruptly.
He admired the courage and belief of the divine vine, but he was even clearer that this final heavenly lightning's power had already exceeded his limit of endurance; only an existence that truly possessed Ferocious beast-level Life force could possibly resist it head-on.
If he stepped forward, not only would he be unable to help, but his own Foundation would be destroyed, and he might even fall.
Moreover, deep in his heart, he also harbored a trace of desire for the hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone that might be produced.
Seeing the second, and also final, black-purple Lightning Tribulation bolt already formed, about to strike down with the will to end everything, while the Thunder Hell Vine was at the end of its rope and had almost lost the ability to resist.
"It cannot end just like this!" A strong sense of unwillingness and a trace of desire for the Soul Bone intertwined in Yu Yuanchen's heart.
His eyes sharpened, and he made a decision!
He abruptly took out the Family Legacy token given to him by his grandfather — the jade pendant containing the full-force defensive strike of the Tyrant Dragon Douluo!
He did not choose to use it himself, but instead crazily stimulated its core with his Soul Power, causing the defense to increase by another fold, even going so far as to let its structure overload and head toward destruction! (Chapter 14)
"Go!"
The jade pendant transformed into a stream of light, instantly appearing above the broken body of the Thunder Hell Vine, erupting with a solid blue light shield!
At the same time, Yu Yuanchen's own Martial Soul left his body, the Thunder Saint Dragon phantom roared, and remotely, in front of the divine vine, another layer of purple-gold lightning shield was set up!
He did not rush over to block the lightning with his body; this was his bottom line of rationality.
But he was willing to pay with this precious Life-saving token and provide remote support, attempting to fight for that slim chance of survival for the divine vine!
"Crack—!"
The final black-purple Lightning Tribulation bolt fell, and the defensive light shield formed by the self-destruction of the jade pendant, which was sufficient to withstand a strike from a Super Douluo, shattered instantly as if made of paper!
The jade pendant itself also turned into powder.
But this Lightning Tribulation bolt did not completely dissipate; although it was weakened quite a bit, it still ferociously struck down!
It easily tore apart the purple-gold shield set up by Yu Yuanchen and fiercely bombarded the broken body of the Thunder Hell Vine, which had almost lost all its Life force!
"Woo—!" A weak but extremely painful moan sounded in Yu Yuanchen's mind, and then it stopped abruptly.
The lightning dispersed, the Heavenly Tribulation clouds began to slowly dissipate, and the sky regained its brightness.
But on the Peak, there was dead silence.
That Thunder Hell Vine, which had just broken its fate and advanced to a hundred thousand years, lay quietly on the charred and broken ground, its trunk broken, its vines withered, with no more sound or energy fluctuations.
The Heavenly Tribulation had ended.
Yu Yuanchen stood in place, looking at the ruins, his mood complex.
He had done his best, but he had also lost his Family's Life-saving token.
In the end, it seemed he still failed to change his fate against Heaven.
In that spot, it seemed nothing was left behind.
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