# Chapter 1239: Heavenly Dao's Wrath
"What is this?"
The Feng Shen Platform was thoroughly engulfed in panic. The sky grew darker and darker, to the point where even the Divine Path Xuan Adepts present could barely see their hands in front of their faces. At the same time, an incomparably oppressive and suffocating aura pressed down from above, growing heavier and heavier, causing everyone to involuntarily tremble in their souls as they choked for breath.
It was a terrifying feeling as if the entire sky was about to collapse, devouring all the worlds.
Everyone on the Feng Shen Platform stood up, looking up at the heavens, their hearts and souls shaken. Such a terrifying anomaly of black clouds covering the sky in an instant had never been seen by the young Xuan practitioners, nor by any of the Divine Emperors or the Dragon Emperor.
"Mo Yu, Mo Wen, Mo Zhi, what kind of celestial anomaly is this?" Zhou Tian Shen Di asked with deeply furrowed brows, turning to the three Tianji Elders.
But the three Tianji Elders showed no reaction to Zhou Tian Shen Di's words. All three stared blankly at the rolling darkness of the sky, the shock in their pupils far exceeding that of anyone else by many times.
As the Tianji Three Elders, they were the people closest to the Heavenly Dao in the entire divine realm. Their entire lives were spent peering into the workings of heaven, having witnessed countless celestial anomalies. Furthermore, the Tianji Divine Canon of the Tianji Realm recorded all celestial anomalies that had occurred since the establishment of the Divine Realm.
But the anomaly before them was something they had never seen, never heard of, and was not recorded in the Tianji Divine Canon at all. What truly filled them with terror was the power of the Heavenly Dao that felt almost within arm's reach.
Those who forcefully peered into the secrets of heaven would surely suffer heaven's punishment, thus the people of the Tianji Realm all had extremely short lifespans. They could peer into the workings of heaven, but they also revered the Heavenly Dao more than others. Yet never in their lives had they felt the existence of Heavenly Dao's power so clearly as in this moment.
The originally ethereal power of the Heavenly Dao was now rolling and churning above their heads, seemingly within reach.
Thump...
Mo Yu, Mo Wen, and Mo Zhi suddenly fell heavily to their knees at the same time, prostrating themselves on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
The strange movement of the Tianji Three Elders startled Zhou Tian Shen Di. At that moment, a flash of light on his body came with a distant sound transmission, making his expression change drastically. He let out a low roar: "What did you say!?"
For the dignified Zhou Tian Shen Di to make such a terrified sound—all the Divine Emperors, Star Gods, Moon Gods, and Guardians immediately turned their heads. The Dragon Emperor said in a low voice, "What happened?"
Zhou Tian Shen Di's chest heaved heavily. In an extremely low tone, he said, "This strange black cloud isn't just over my Zhou Tian Realm. To the east as far as the Divine Sea, to the west as far as Flying Star... every realm that can be reached by sound transmission is covered by black clouds so thick that nothing can be seen."
"It is highly likely that the entire Dong Shen Domain... has been engulfed by black clouds!"
"What!?" Zhou Tian Shen Di's words threw all the Xuan practitioners on the Feng Shen Platform into great terror.
"This... what exactly is going on? Dragon Emperor, you have lived for three hundred and fifty thousand years. Have you ever seen or heard of such an anomaly?" Fan Tian Shen Di said in a deep voice.
"..." The Dragon Emperor slowly shook his head.
"It's the Heavenly Dao... the Heavenly Dao is enraged!" Master Mo Yu, who was prostrating on the ground, shouted in a hoarse voice, every word trembling from the marrow of his bones.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The black clouds continued to roll and churn, sinking lower and lower as they tumbled, pressing down on everyone's heads and hearts, suffocating them with an irresistible sense of oppression and palpitation.
The entire Dong Shen Domain was plunged into chaos. People looked up at the pitch-black sky... the boundless black clouds seemed like an omen of the end times.
In their extreme terror, everyone had long forgotten where they were, forgotten that the last battle of the Seal God Competition was currently underway.
Thump...
Thump...
Thump...
Thump...
Thump!
Thump thump thump thump thump thump!
Yun Che's pupils were dim and blurry. His consciousness was on the verge of extinguishing, yet for some reason, the sound of his heartbeat was incredibly clear.
The Profound Energy in his Profound Vein had already completely disappeared; he couldn't even feel the existence of his Profound Vein. But at this moment, he suddenly sensed a trace of Profound Energy emerging from somewhere unknown. However, this Profound Energy, which clearly originated from within his body, was yet extremely unfamiliar. It kept churning and expanding wildly, but it was like a ferocious beast locked in a cage, unable to break free, only struggling violently.
At the same time, a strange pressure enveloped his whole body. His consciousness was already extremely weak, but he could still feel the incomparable terror of this pressure. Mixed within this pressure were anger, shock, agitation... and perhaps fear?
What... is that...?
Yun Che's faded eyes stared blankly at the pitch-black sky above.
And less than ten steps in front of Yun Che—
Luo Changsheng's body, eyes, soul... every nerve and every strand of hair on his entire body were trembling wildly.
He was closest to Yun Che; reaching him would take only an instant. But his body, which had been about to move forward, was frozen solidly in place. His half-lifted foot was also fixed, trembling... because an indescribably terrifying feeling told him that if he took even half a step further, he would plunge into the abyss of death, never to rise again.
He retreated in fear. With every step back, this terrifying feeling lessened. His retreating steps quickened until he was almost fleeing in panic, but his whole body continued to tremble uncontrollably.
What the hell is going on? What is happening?
"What do you mean by 'Heavenly Dao's wrath'? What exactly is this?" Zhou Tian Shen Di said in a deep voice. Though he tried to keep his tone steady, his eyes were already full of turmoil.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—
A flash of purple light suddenly appeared.
In the dark, oppressive world, this flash of purple light instantly captured everyone's attention. Every gaze turned toward its source. Right above them, at the junction of two dark clouds, a bright purple lightning scar emerged. Then came three, five, ten... hundreds... thousands upon thousands. Countless lightning scars converged into a huge lightning domain.
"This... is!?"
The lightning scars that had just appeared and the lightning domain they formed were not unfamiliar to the countless powerful Xuan practitioners present.
Because... this was unmistakably the prelude to the lightning tribulation that one must face when breaking through the bottleneck of the Divine Tribulation Realm!
Mortals who cultivate divinity must suffer heaven's punishment. Apart from the special "inheritance" that allows one to ascend in a single step within a king realm, no matter whether human, demon, beast, or spirit, anyone who wishes to break through the Divine Tribulation Realm must face the Heavenly Dao's punishment. If they successfully endure it, they can achieve the Divine Spirit Realm. If not, at best they are crippled, at worst they die.
In the Divine Realm, countless Xuan practitioners experience lightning tribulations every day. Thus, at the upper levels of the Divine Realm, lightning tribulations are a common sight, never causing any surprise.
But...
According to the understanding of Xuan practitioners in the Divine Realm, the prelude to a lightning tribulation is the gathering of a small range of tribulation clouds above the practitioner who is about to break through, forming a lightning domain and then sending down the tribulation lightning. Ordinary Xuan practitioners would gather about ten miles of tribulation clouds, and at most, a few dozen miles. At least no one had ever heard of a practitioner whose tribulation clouds exceeded a hundred miles.
Yet the black clouds overhead covered the sky, engulfing the entire Dong Shen Domain like an omen of great apocalypse. How could they possibly be tribulation clouds?
Thus, after that fleeting thought flashed through everyone's minds, they all completely dismissed it... Though very similar, there was absolutely no way this was the prelude to a lightning tribulation.
So then, what was this purple lightning domain appearing amidst the black clouds that covered the sky?
The black clouds were sinking, and the lightning domain was also sinking. As the lightning domain came lower and lower, the increasingly heavy might of the Heavenly Dao also pressed down on all hearts and souls. In their shock, people gradually noticed that directly below the center of the lightning domain was none other than Yun Che!
Yun Che was as faint as a breath, motionless, yet his entire body—both his physical form and his blood—was completely bathed in the purple light of the lightning domain. In this world where all light had been swallowed, it appeared especially dazzling.
Everything, everything was exactly the same as the prelude to a Heavenly Dao lightning tribulation.
"Yun Che's Profound Force... is exactly at... the peak of the Divine Tribulation Realm..." Zhou Tian Shen Di murmured. "Could it really be...?"
"No, absolutely impossible." Yue Shen Di looked up at the sky. "How could this possibly be just a lightning tribulation? Even if an ancient demon god descended into the world, it wouldn't be like this..."
CRACK!
A sky-shattering splitting sound suddenly came from above. A lightning scar tore through the air as if to rend the entire sky in two. A deep purple lightning flash suddenly condensed within the lightning domain, emitting a terrifying shriek that continued unabated.
"Heavenly... Heavenly Tribulation Lightning!?"
Countless Xuan practitioners cried out in shock at this moment. Even all the Divine Lords showed expressions of terror, their gazes frozen stiff.
This special kind of lightning radiance, this special kind of lightning aura... was unmistakably the Heavenly Tribulation Lightning they were all too familiar with!
"It... it... it's really a lightning tribulation?" a mid-stage Realm King stammered.
"No! Impossible! This kind of world-shaking anomaly couldn't possibly be just a lightning tribulation... This lightning tribulation must be a coincidence that just happened to occur!"
"Right, right! That must be it! Ah? No! That's not right! Yun Che is clearly heavily wounded and his Profound Force is exhausted. This is the time when breaking through is least possible. How could he be attracting a lightning tribulation at a time like this?"
"If a lightning tribulation descends in this state, doesn't that mean he will surely die?"
Black clouds covering the entire Dong Shen Domain... a lightning domain suddenly appearing above Yun Che...
These two things, no matter how they looked at it, they would never, and dared never, link them together.
"Dragon Emperor, in your opinion... could these black clouds... be tribulation clouds?"
Zhou Tian Shen Di asked, his voice extremely slow.
"..." The Dragon Emperor looked up at the sky, not answering for a long time... or perhaps not daring to answer.
The lightning domain continued to descend, and the Heavenly Tribulation Lightning condensing within it grew thicker and thicker. All the light and aura were firmly concentrated on Yun Che.
The people of Yin Xue Realm were all frozen in place, staring blankly at Yun Che, whose entire body was covered in purple light. At this moment, Mu Bingyun's expression suddenly changed drastically: "No!"
"Yun Che!" she called out softly, about to move forward, but was immediately blocked by Mu Huanzhi: "Don't go! If that really is Yun Che's lightning tribulation, you know that no one can stop or interfere with it!"
The Heavenly Dao's calamity lightning is a punishment for those who cultivate divinity, as well as a test. One can prepare with high-level spirit medicines, Mysterious Artifacts, Mysterious Formations, etc., before enduring the tribulation—this is why higher-realm star realms have a higher success rate in passing through tribulations. But one must never rely on external force to interfere. Otherwise, not only will it not help, but the interfering person will also surely suffer heaven's punishment.
Mu Bingyun said urgently, "The Sect Master repeatedly warned that Yun Che's talent is extraordinary. When he breaks through the Divine Tribulation Realm, he is bound to attract multiple lightning tribulations. Therefore, he absolutely must not take that step on his own. She must personally make thorough preparations beforehand. How could it... how could it suddenly happen at a time like this..."
CRACK!!
Lightning flashed, thunder exploded in the sky. A bolt of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning tore through the sky, striking straight down at Yun Che.
"Ahhh!"
The Feng Shen Platform was filled with shouts of terror and countless cries of alarm. In the understanding of Xuan practitioners in the Divine Realm, the time between the appearance of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning and its descent is usually about a hundred breaths—a seeming mercy from the Heavenly Dao, granting a hundred breaths of preparation time. But this lightning tribulation bolt that had suddenly struck down had flashed for only about five breaths!
"Yun Che!" Mu Bingyun's icy pupils contracted. All she could do was cry out in alarm.
"Luo Changsheng, get back!" Luo Guxie also roared.
Quhui Zunzhe reacted swiftly, instantly removing the barrier of the Feng Shen Platform. A burst of Profound Force swept toward Luo Changsheng, carrying him far away.
BOOM!!
The Heavenly Tribulation Lightning struck Yun Che's body. A thousand-foot wave of purple light exploded outward from Yun Che's core, releasing the might of the Heavenly Dao that could not be touched or defied.
"Yun... Yun Che..." Mu Bingyun's face lost all color. Her delicate body trembled as if about to collapse.
He was already hanging by a thread. How could he possibly withstand such power from the Heavenly Dao? The only outcome would be utter annihilation...
CRACK!!!!
Before anyone could react, the sky thundered again. Two bolts of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning struck down from the lightning domain at the same time, landing directly on Yun Che.
BOOM—
The Heavenly Tribulation Lightning that had enveloped Yun Che had not yet dissipated in the slightest, and now an even denser, even more terrifying purple radiance exploded.
"What... what!?"
"This is... a second-tier lightning tribulation?"
"Wh-wh-what is going on?"
The higher one's talent, the stronger the lightning tribulation they suffer. Ordinary Xuan practitioners generally only endure a single-tier tribulation. Those who can encounter a two-tier tribulation are already exceptionally talented. Those with three tiers are extremely rare; every one of them is a genius that shakes the world. Those with four tiers are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns—if they don't die young, they are destined to become Divine Lords or Divine Sovereigns. As for five tiers, it can be called a once-in-a-thousand-years event. And six tiers... in the hundred million years of the Divine Realm's history, only one person has ever achieved that.
Given the manner Yun Che displayed on the Feng Shen Platform, if he attracted multiple lightning tribulations when breaking through the Divine Tribulation Realm—three or even four tiers—no one would find it strange. Even five tiers would not be too surprising.
But when a multiple-tier lightning tribulation descends, there is usually an interval of about ten breaths between each tier. Though not long, it is extremely precious and important time to catch one's breath.
Yet Yun Che's second-tier tribulation fell only half a breath after the first!
CRACK!!!!
Before the crowd's shock had subsided, following the second-tier tribulation lightning that had just exploded, the sky was torn apart by lightning again. The Heavenly Tribulation Lightning struck down once more amidst everyone's horrified, ghost-fearing gazes... and this time, there were four entire bolts!
Third-tier lightning tribulation!
Within one breath, three tiers of tribulation, seven bolts of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning!
Toward mortals, the Heavenly Dao still shows mercy.
But now, it seemed to be urgently and relentlessly trying to erase this being from heaven and earth.