Looking at the heavy tribulation clouds that rotated slowly like a world-ending millstone, pressing down until it was hard to breathe, Yu Yuanchen did not have full confidence in his heart. Although he had sworn an oath to the Thunder God, he still harbored a trace of hidden worry deep down regarding this act of taking turns to resist the heavenly tribulation, which was akin to "exploiting a loophole." The heavenly might is unfathomable; would the Plane Law really be deceived so easily? But the arrow was on the string, and he had no choice but to fire. He took a deep breath, adjusted his state to the peak, and prepared to fulfill his promise to help as much as he could.
"Boom--!!!"
The first wave of the heavenly tribulation descended without warning! It was not one or two bolts, but like a heavenly river pouring down; countless bolts of lightning, as thick as water barrels and deep black in color, intertwined into a destructive Thunderstorm Forest, crashing down upon the mountain peak! Between heaven and earth, nothing remained but blinding lightning and deafening explosions!
The Thunderclap Nethervine emitted a low hum, the thunder clouds at its apex spinning wildly and erupting with powerful suction! Those violent tribulation lightning 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, and the accumulation of three thousand years showed its effect at this moment, as it forcibly swallowed the entire first wave of the terrifying thunder tribulation, which lasted for an hour! Its aura steadily rose during the devouring, officially crossing the fifty-thousand-year threshold and moving toward a higher level.
However, the heavenly tribulation did not give it any chance to catch its breath. As soon as the first wave of lightning ceased, a second wave with even greater power had already condensed and crashed down once more! It continued like this, without any interruption!
The Thunderclap Nethervine struggled to devour, but Yu Yuanchen could clearly feel that its speed of devouring and refining had already begun to lag behind the frequency and power of the falling heavenly thunder! Its vines began to show charred marks, and its main trunk trembled slightly.
"Now!" Yu Yuanchen and the Thunderclap Nethervine were connected in thought, with no need for words. A purple-gold light 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 incredibly clear, and the Ultimate Thunder within his body seemed to have found its home; a strong instinct to "devour" the violent energy before him welled up! This was the "Thunder-Eating" talent that the Thunderclap Nethervine was temporarily sharing with him!
"Thunder Sacred Dragon, descend!" Yu Yuanchen let out a low roar, and the purple-gold Thunder Sacred Dragon phantom behind him roared at the sky as he actively met the pouring tribulation lightning!
"Boom!"
Countless bolts of heavenly thunder seemed to have found a new target, crazily surging into his body! Even with the Thunder-Eating talent and the Ultimate Thunder as a foundation, the vast energy that far exceeded his own limits instantly filled his limbs and bones, bringing tearing 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 Soul Skill, Thunderous Armament!"
Purple-gold lightning exploded, instantly condensing into that set of ancient and ferocious Thunderous Armor on his body, and he gripped the Lightning Dragon Spear in his hand! This was originally just an armament condensed from soul power, but at this moment, after devouring a massive amount of homologous tribulation lightning energy, it actually emitted a joyful hum! Especially in the right arm area, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Right Arm Bone resonated strongly with it!
Yu Yuanchen had a flash of inspiration and, without hesitation, poured the tribulation lightning energy that was surging within him—the energy that was almost bursting him apart—crazily into this Thunderous Armament!
"Hum--!!!"
The light of the armor and the dragon spear soared instantly! The energy body, which had 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 becoming clearer and sharper, with purple-gold plasma flowing like substance along the edges. The dragon spear emitted a trembling sound like a dragon roar, and the destruction lightning condensed at the tip almost tore the space apart!
"It really works!" Yu Yuanchen was pleasantly surprised. He had long discovered that this armament condensed from a soul skill 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; he needed it for daily cultivation, so he couldn't bear to pour large amounts into it, only occasionally inputting some soul power when he had time, which was better than nothing.
Now, this massive amount of pure tribulation lightning energy was the best nourishment to strengthen it! He even faintly looked forward to whether this armament could evolve into a true... prototype of Divine Equipment in the future if he continued to pour energy into it?
The time of an incense stick passed quickly amidst the crazy energy infusion and resistance to the heavenly thunder. Yu Yuanchen felt he had reached his own limit and immediately retreated.
The Thunderclap Nethervine, which had been prepared for a long time, quickly took over, opening its "Thunder-Eating" domain again and greedily devouring the tribulation lightning. It did not rush to use all this energy to improve its cultivation, but instead, taking advantage of the temporary lifting of the plane suppression, it cleverly stored and accumulated most of it! It knew well that if its cultivation rose too quickly, causing the power of subsequent tribulations to soar, Yu Yuanchen might not be able to survive that critical incense stick of time, and everything would be lost.
And every time it withstood a wave, or after Yu Yuanchen rotated out, it would share a portion of the pure Life Origin it had converted with Yu Yuanchen to help him quickly recover from his injuries and consumption. In this cycle of destruction and rebirth, the cooperation between the man and the vine became increasingly tacit.
Time passed in the roar of the thunder. One round, two rounds, three rounds... a full twenty-plus rounds passed!
Every wave of tribulation lightning devoured could accumulate nearly three thousand years of cultivation foundation for the Thunderclap Nethervine (some energy had to be used for healing and converting life force). Its aura became more and more vast, and the accumulated energy had reached a terrifying level, enough to support it in making that final leap!
After Yu Yuanchen rotated out again and accepted the life force shared by the divine vine to recover, the thought of the Thunderclap Nethervine came, carrying unprecedented gravity and resolution: "Human, it is time! I will begin to impact the hundred-thousand-year threshold! This process is extremely dangerous and requires full concentration; I can no longer spare the effort to help you recover. Keep this wisp of Life Origin for when you need it."
A surge of life energy, several times denser than before, poured into Yu Yuanchen's body, and he carefully stored it away.
The next moment, the vast, unimaginably large energy that the Thunderclap Nethervine had accumulated over twenty-plus rounds erupted! Its dark purple trunk seemed to be burning, bursting with brilliant purple-gold radiance! Countless vines danced wildly, stirring the wind and clouds, and a powerful will that seemed to want to break free from the shackles of heaven and earth rushed straight into the sky!
Impacting one hundred thousand years! This was the final hurdle on the path of defying the heavens!
The process was far more tortuous and difficult than imagined. The violent collision of energy, the pain of the leap in life level, and the constant interference of the heavenly tribulation all caused cracks to appear on the body of the Thunderclap Nethervine, with charring and rebirth alternating repeatedly. But its firm will, born from the depths of its bloodline and tempered by three thousand years of fighting against heaven, was like an unbending spine, supporting it to hold on firmly in the torrent of destruction! Time and again it was on the verge of collapse, and time and again it forcibly condensed through tenacious belief, launching a final charge toward that legendary realm!
Yu Yuanchen watched from the side, his heart surging and moved. This kind of unyielding will was worthy of respect from any living being.
Finally, after experiencing who knows how many near-death situations, the aura of the Thunderclap Nethervine broke through a certain critical point, and a vast, ancient, and majestic pressure that seemed to have merged with the Thunder Law spread out like a tide! Its trunk became more vigorous, its color as deep as the starry sky, its vines like a real thunder dragon tossing, and the thunder cloud at its apex turned into a Thunder Vortex surrounded by nine-colored rays!
One hundred thousand years! It succeeded! It broke the fate of its bloodline and became the first Thunderclap Nethervine in history to break through one hundred thousand years!
However, just when Yu Yuanchen thought the heavenly tribulation was about to temporarily stop following its breakthrough, a change occurred again!
The tribulation clouds in the sky, which had seemed to show signs of dissipating, actually re-condensed at an even faster speed! The color was no longer deep black or chaotic, but had turned into a heart-palpitating black-purple that seemed to be able to swallow 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 mountain peak!
Yu Yuanchen and the Thunderclap Nethervine simultaneously realized—this was the final judgment of the Plane Law! It was the punishment for their "loophole-exploiting" behavior! This last wave of tribulation lightning consisted of only two bolts, but contained within them was true destructive power capable of annihilating all things! Survive it, and the sea and sky would open up; fail, and they would be reduced to ashes!
"Roar--!!!" The Thunderclap Nethervine's consciousness 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, erupting with all its power to meet the first black-purple tribulation lightning bolt!
"Boom!!!"
Just one bolt! Its incredibly tough trunk was split with cracks everywhere, countless vines snapped inch by inch, charred and withered, and its vitality faded rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye! That firm will seemed unable to spark a miracle in the face of absolute power.
Yu Yuanchen's heart sank. He admired the courage and belief of the divine vine, but he knew even better that the power of this final heavenly thunder had already exceeded his own limit; only an existence with Fierce Beast-level vitality could possibly resist it head-on. If he went up, not only would he be unable to help, but his own foundation would be destroyed, and he might even perish. Moreover, deep in his heart, he also harbored a trace of desire for the potential hundred-thousand-year soul bone.
Seeing the second, and final, black-purple tribulation lightning bolt already taking shape, carrying the will to end everything and about to strike, while the Thunderclap Nethervine was at the end of its rope and had almost lost the ability to resist.
"It can't end 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 suddenly took out the family heirloom token gifted by his grandfather—a jade pendant containing the full-strength defensive strike of the Tyrant Dragon Douluo! He did not choose to use it himself, but instead crazily stimulated its core with soul power, causing the defense to increase by another fold, even at the cost of letting its structure overload and head toward destruction!
"Go!"
The jade pendant turned into a stream of light, instantly appearing above the broken body of the Thunderclap Nethervine, erupting with a solid blue light shield! At the same time, Yu Yuanchen's own Martial Soul left his body, the Thunder Sacred Dragon phantom roared, and he laid down another layer of purple-gold lightning shield in front of the divine vine from a distance!
He did not rush over to block the lightning with his body; this was his bottom line of reason. But he was willing to pay this precious life-saving token and provide remote support, attempting to win a slim chance of survival for the divine vine!
"Crack--!"
The final black-purple tribulation lightning bolt fell, and the defensive light shield formed by the self-destruction of the jade pendant, which was enough to withstand a blow from a Super Douluo, shattered instantly like paper! The jade pendant itself also turned into dust.
But this tribulation lightning did not completely dissipate; although it was weakened quite a bit, it still crashed down ferociously! It easily tore through the purple-gold shield laid down by Yu Yuanchen and slammed into the broken body of the Thunderclap Nethervine, which had almost lost all vitality!
"Woo--!" A faint but extremely painful wail sounded in Yu Yuanchen's mind, then stopped abruptly.
The lightning dissipated, and the tribulation clouds began to slowly disperse, the sky regaining its light.
But on the mountain peak, there was dead silence. That Thunderclap Nethervine, which had just broken its fate and promoted to one 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 was over.
Yu Yuanchen stood where he was, looking at the ruins, his mood complex. He had tried his best, but he had also lost his family's life-saving token. In the end, it seemed he still failed to defy the heavens and change fate.
On the spot, it seemed nothing was left behind.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan