Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts-Chapter 292 - The TENTH Lightning Tribulation! (Two in One - )

Above the boundless sky, thunder tribulation raged.

Bolts of lightning flickered incessantly within the clouds.

Gazing at the impending tribulation, Xu Ming furrowed his brows. He could already tell that this tribulation would not be an easy one.

Of course, he had long since prepared himself.

Thunder tribulations corresponded to one’s talent.

Xu Ming, for one, believed his talent was exceptionally strong—especially with the system backing him. However, the Heavenly Dao had no knowledge of the system’s existence. From its perspective, he was an unparalleled genius rarely seen throughout the ages. Naturally, such a monstrous talent had to be mercilessly struck down.

Beyond the vast plains, an elderly man named Grandpa Huang was acting as Xu Ming’s guardian. Munching on a roasted duck leg, he remarked, “This brat’s tribulation is going to be a tough one.”

“Boom!”

With a deafening roar, the Heavenly Dao ceased all hesitation.

The first bolt of tribulation lightning came crashing down upon Xu Ming.

Yet, Xu Ming did not use any magical artifacts to defend himself.

In his eyes, the first bolt should be something he could endure with his own body.

“Thud!”

The lightning struck Xu Ming directly, enveloping him in crackling arcs of electricity.

A tingling, numbing pain spread throughout his entire body, making him feel as though he had lost control of himself.

His spiritual energy and blood circulation seemed to freeze in an instant.

However, Xu Ming still believed he could withstand it.

At this level of intensity, it was no different from the electric shocks used in internet addiction treatment centers.

“Zzzzt.”

As the first bolt dissipated, residual blue lightning still crackled around Xu Ming’s body.

He exhaled deeply, and even his breath carried faint streaks of lightning.

Clenching and then relaxing his fists, he found that he was still in decent condition.

But before he could fully recover, the second bolt arrived.

Compared to the first, this one was more than twice as intense.

“Boom!”

The lightning descended, blasting a massive crater where Xu Ming stood.

Even his hair was slightly singed.

Still, it remained within his tolerable limits.

However, when the third bolt struck, Xu Ming realized that this tribulation would not be so simple.

“Boom!”

The third lightning bolt was no longer just a simple burst of electricity.

Instead, it took form—manifesting as a lightning-forged azure bird.

With its wings tucked close to its body, it dove straight down toward him.

Xu Ming’s brows knit together. Gripping an ordinary longsword, he formed the Sword Seal and slashed at the azure bird.

His blade cut the bird clean in half.

Yet, instead of dissipating, the bisected bird split into two, each one diving toward him from opposite sides.

The moment they made contact, they exploded.

A hemispherical lightning blast engulfed Xu Ming.

On a distant mountain peak, Wu Yanhan and Shen Shengsheng, who had been watching from afar, suddenly straightened up, their eyes filled with concern.

As the lightning receded, Xu Ming knelt on one knee, sword in hand. His entire body was charred black, and within a hundred-meter radius, not a single blade of grass remained.

Under normal circumstances, three bolts of tribulation lightning marked the limit for most disciples in the Sea Observation Realm. The vast majority of them only faced up to three bolts.

By convention, once one endured three bolts, they could leap like a carp over the dragon gate, ascending into the Dragon Gate Realm.

But clearly, the Great Dao had no intention of letting Xu Ming off so easily.

“Yanhan-jiejie (Sister), why does Brother Xu keep getting struck by lightning?” Shen Shengsheng tugged at Wu Yanhan’s sleeve, her voice filled with worry.

“Because your Brother Xu is undergoing a tribulation. Only by overcoming it can he reach a higher realm.”

Wu Yanhan stared intently at the small plain before her, eyes filled with deep concern. “This is something every cultivator must go through.”

“Then... why does Brother Xu have to be struck so many times?” Shen Shengsheng’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, as if she were about to cry.

Wu Yanhan clenched her fists tightly, her voice trembling slightly. “I... don’t know either.”

“Cough, cough…”

Xu Ming coughed a few times, black smoke escaping from his mouth.

He forced himself to stand as the fourth tribulation thunder gathered ominously above.

“Roar!”

The fourth heavenly thunder took the form of a Thunder Dragon.

Xu Ming was no stranger to Thunder Dragons.

Back in the Baiwa Secret Realm, when he first experienced a tribulation, he had faced one before.

But compared to the one from back then, this Thunder Dragon was different—it was white.

“White Emperor Tribulation?!”

Wu Yanhan’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of the white dragon.

Although she was not a cultivator herself, as the eldest princess of one of the Ten Great Human Dynasties, she was highly knowledgeable. She had even heard of many forbidden tales from the cultivation world.

The moment this white dragon appeared, she knew exactly what kind of tribulation Xu Ming was facing.

“Yanhan-jiejie, what is the White Emperor Tribulation?” Hearing the tension in Wu Yanhan’s voice, Shen Shengsheng grew even more anxious.

“The White Emperor Tribulation is a rare type of thunder tribulation. Ten thousand years ago, there was a cultivator known as White Emperor. When he ascended from the Sea Observation Realm to the Dragon Gate Realm, he triggered nine tribulation bolts—one of which was a white Thunder Dragon. That was the first recorded instance of such a phenomenon, and so it was named after him.”

Wu Yanhan exhaled deeply, the air around her tingling with static.

“Then... can Brother Xu survive it?” Shen Shengsheng asked, her small hands clenching tightly. At this moment, she wished she could take his place and endure the tribulation herself.

“He must survive it,” Wu Yanhan sighed softly.

Otherwise, his body and soul would perish completely, leaving him with no chance—not even for reincarnation.

“Roar!”

With a thunderous dragon cry, countless lightning spears rained down upon Xu Ming.

Thunder tribulations cannot be avoided.

They will follow you relentlessly—until you face them head-on.

Thus, Xu Ming made no effort to dodge.

One by one, the lightning spears pierced through his body, as if he were being riddled with bullets. Blood spurted from gaping wounds, and the ground beneath him was punctured with small, smoking craters.

By the time the fourth tribulation ended, Xu Ming was a bloodied mess. His Purple Firmament Robe was in tatters, barely clinging to his body.

And then—the fifth tribulation descended.

The white dragon in the heavens let out a furious roar, unleashing an endless barrage of lightning bolts upon Xu Ming.

But at that moment—

The formation array set up earlier by the imperial enshrined elder activated.

The power of the lightning bolts was continuously weakened.

Compared to the previous tribulations, the strikes now felt more like light taps against Xu Ming’s body.

In fact, some of them even felt... a little soothing.

However, the formation had limited durability.

With each tribulation strike it absorbed, its effectiveness diminished.

“Boom!”

The formation nodes around the area finally shattered, unable to withstand the immense force any longer.

Ripples of residual energy swept through the mountains, toppling tree after tree.

Even so, the formation had done enough—it had helped Xu Ming withstand an entire tribulation bolt.

The sixth tribulation bolt came as the white Thunder Dragon lashed its tail toward Xu Ming.

He took the hit head-on, but a large portion of his protective robes was torn apart, leaving them completely useless.

The seventh tribulation bolt followed quickly—the Thunder Dragon, weaving through the clouds, unleashed a breath of lightning toward Xu Ming.

This time, Xu Ming didn’t try to endure it directly.

He wasn’t an idiot.

He had no idea how many more bolts were coming.

Moreover, he needed a brief moment to regain his strength. If he kept taking these tribulations back-to-back, he would collapse before it even ended.

Xu Ming quickly took out the pill Wu Yanhan had given him and swallowed it in one go.

At the same time, he pulled out the Lightning Mirror she had also given him.

The white lightning breath slammed into the Lightning Mirror.

With a flash, the mirror reflected the attack back toward the Thunder Dragon, causing the two lightning breaths to collide in midair.

“Roar!”

The white dragon, seemingly infuriated, intensified its attack.

Xu Ming gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead as he struggled to hold up the Lightning Mirror.

He could feel it—the mirror’s surface was cracking apart under the immense force.

“Just a little longer!” Xu Ming thought to himself.

If the Lightning Mirror could hold out for just a bit more, the pill he had taken would fully take effect.

“Ping!”

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

Before the pill’s effects could reach their peak, the Lightning Mirror shattered under the pressure of the dragon’s breath.

The remaining lightning engulfed Xu Ming.

Blistering flames and piercing thunder merged together.

It felt as though every bone in his body was being placed on a roasting rack, grilled by fire while being electrocuted at the same time.

By the time the dragon’s breath faded, Xu Ming’s entire body was charred black, and even the blood flowing from his wounds crackled with residual lightning.

And then—the eighth tribulation bolt arrived.

The white Thunder Dragon itself lunged down at Xu Ming.

“Huff—”

Xu Ming exhaled deeply.

Though the pill hadn’t fully restored him, it had at least given him a breath of relief.

Gripping his longsword, Xu Ming charged forward to meet the dragon head-on.

Leaping into the air, he landed on the dragon’s back and drove his sword deep into its spine.

He fought as if it were a living beast, unleashing relentless sword strikes that sent violent shockwaves through its massive body.

The white dragon thrashed wildly, crashing into mountains, trying to shake him off.

It slammed into the ground, smashing through boulders, determined to kill him.

But Xu Ming clung on tightly, refusing to let go.

When his sword shattered, he used his fists.

His Blood Frenzy Mode fully activated, his entire body radiating blood-colored energy that continuously reinforced his punches.

Fist after fist rained down like a storm, each blow growing heavier!

“BOOM!”

Xu Ming clenched his fists together and brought them down like a war hammer, smashing the white dragon’s skull.

His red martial qi clashed against the dragon’s white lightning, the two forces intertwining.

Then, in a single explosive burst, the Thunder Dragon shattered into pieces.

Xu Ming crashed back to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

“…That had to be the last one, right?”

He lifted his head.

But—

The storm clouds still lingered.

There was more.

“F*ck!”

Xu Ming cursed out loud.

He had known from the start that his tribulation wouldn’t be easy.

But this?

This was way beyond what he expected.

Was it really necessary to go this far for a mere Dragon Gate Realm ascension?

The clouds parted—

And from the sky, four figures descended:

A Thunder Elephant, a Thunder Lion, a Thunder Tiger, and a Thunder Serpent.

This was—the ninth tribulation bolt.

By all known records, this was supposed to be the final one.

Because as far as anyone knew—

No one in history had ever faced more than nine tribulation bolts for a Dragon Gate Realm ascension.

This was it—the last trial!

Xu Ming struggled to his feet once more.

Though his mind and body were utterly exhausted, he still had just enough strength left for one final battle.

As long as he pushed himself to the very limit, taking down these last foes wasn’t impossible.

Gripping his longsword, Xu Ming threw himself into battle against the four thunder beasts.

If not for his exceptionally high martial cultivation, honed over years of relentless stat upgrades, he would have been dead a hundred times over by now.

“Boom!”

After a brutal exchange—

Xu Ming shattered the Thunder Elephant with a single devastating punch.

He then used the Grass Script Sword Technique to cut down the Thunder Tiger in one swift slash.

Finally, Xu Ming activated his Dao Pattern Eye.

After two evolutions, his Dao Pattern Eye wasn’t just capable of seeing through illusions—

It could now unleash black flames.

According to the system, these flames were called “Chaos Flame”, a fire born from the primordial chaos at the dawn of existence.

Once ignited, the Chaos Flame would burn its target endlessly until it was reduced to ashes.

However, Xu Ming had tested it before—

After using it once, his eyes would be so strained that he could barely keep them open.

After two uses, his Dao Pattern Eye would become completely unusable.

The first time he overused it, he had genuinely thought he had gone blind—

It took three whole days before his vision returned.

So naturally, he had always avoided using it.

But now—there was no other choice.

It was do or die.

Xu Ming’s pupils spun rapidly, the Dao patterns within them twisting and reforming into a new, intricate design.

The next instant—

The Thunder Serpent was engulfed in black flames.

The Thunder Lion lunged at Xu Ming, but he rolled aside, narrowly dodging the attack—

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And then unleashed Chaos Flame upon it as well.

“ROOOAR!”

The agonized howls of the thunder beasts echoed across the plains, reverberating through the surrounding mountains and returning as a ghostly chorus.

The two creatures thrashed wildly, rolling across the ground—

But no matter what they did, the black flames wouldn’t go out.

Even stranger—

The fire only burned them.

To everything else—the grass, the rocks, even the air—

The Chaos Flame was like a mere illusion, completely intangible.

At the same time, blood tears streamed down Xu Ming’s cheeks.

His overstrained Dao Pattern Eye had reached its limit.

From the mountaintop, Wu Yanhan watched in silence.

She had no idea what technique Xu Ming had just used—

But it was clear that the cost was immense.

He looked utterly drained.

Thankfully, after a few moments of agonized struggle, the two remaining thunder beasts were finally reduced to nothingness, their bodies dissolving into pure spiritual energy.

Wu Yanhan let out a long breath of relief.

It had been dangerously close—

But in the end, Xu Ming had made it through.

Standing on the scorched battlefield, Xu Ming took a deep breath.

Even though he couldn’t see, the silence told him everything he needed to know.

The tribulation was over.

“Come on,” Wu Yanhan said gently. “Let’s go check on your Brothe Xu—”

But—

Before she could finish her sentence—

“CRACK!”

The sky split open once more.

A deafening thunderclap roared across the heavens.

This was—

The TENTH Lightning Tribulation!