Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 790 - 773: True Spirit [Thunder Roc]
Tribulation thunder from the sky struck down one after another, each bolt of thunder exploding and shattering large sections of feathers and flesh off the Thunder Feather Demon King.
The feathers and fragments of flesh that detached from his body quickly turned to dust due to the tribulation's power, having lost the protection of his magical power.
The power of this third round of tribulation thunder was slightly stronger than the full-force attack of a cultivator at the "Half-Step True Immortal" stage of the Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul.
From afar, Zhouyang observed and realized that if it were him in the demon king's place, even if he used all his means, he could withstand at most three strikes of tribulation thunder before being annihilated.
This was not because his strength and that of the Thunder Feather Demon King were vastly different, but because his attacking capabilities currently far surpassed his defensive abilities.
If his current attacking capability was at the level of a cultivator at the "Half-Step True Immortal" stage of the Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul, then in terms of defense, he merely had a slightly stronger body than an ordinary Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
But this so-called strong body was nothing compared to the Thunder Feather Demon King, who had already crossed the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation.
This made him realize that if he wanted to cross the Immortal Ascension Celestial Tribulation in the future, he must practice several defensive divine techniques or refine and collect some defensive spiritual artifacts.
The most formidable aspect of a celestial tribulation is that it cannot be avoided by any means, only consumed and countered.
Therefore, the correct way to deal with a celestial tribulation is to first deplete it with attacking divine techniques and artifacts, then counter the remaining tribulation thunder force with defensive divine techniques and artifacts.
The Thunder Feather Demon King was actually doing just that.
He used artifacts and divine techniques first to consume and weaken the tribulation thunder, then bore the remaining force of the tribulation thunder with his strong body, while refining the life-creation force contained within the tribulation thunder to elevate his bloodline.
Most demon kings would do this when crossing the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation, but doing so under the third round of tribulation thunder was exceptionally rare.
The confidence that allowed him to do this was not only because he inherently possessed the True Spirit bloodline of the Thunder Roc, giving him greater resistance to the tribulation thunder's damage than other demon kings.
Another critical reason was the large quantity of Rejuvenating Immortal Dew given to him by Xiao Ying.
The Rejuvenating Immortal Dew, which could restore life and flesh, was an incomparable holy relic for the demon race, who derive half of their strength from their bodies.
With this dual assurance, the Thunder Feather Demon King stumbled yet successfully crossed the third round of nine tribulation thunders, gaining a moment to catch his breath once more.
"The third round of tribulation thunder has passed!"
The same words echoed almost simultaneously from within and outside the island.
An extraordinary phenomenon in heaven and earth like the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation naturally attracted the attention of the nearby sea domain's demon race long ago.
Moreover, the fact that Donglai Immortal Island was occupied by a human cultivator had already spread throughout the overseas demon and human communities.
As for the human cultivators, it was irrelevant, for this place was far from the area of activity of the human cultivators in the Overseas Cultivation Realm, so no one could monitor it for long.
But the overseas demon race, knowing such a thing, surely would not ignore it.
Not to mention, Zhouyang had twice engaged in great battles with overseas demon kings outside the island, forming deadly enmities with certain high-level members of the overseas demon race.
Thus, when the celestial tribulation thunderclouds gathered in a phenomenon, news quickly reached the ears of some demon kings, drawing many to witness this once-in-a-millennium grand event.
Now seeing the third round of the celestial tribulation has passed, though the Island Protection Immortal Array blocked their view, preventing them from seeing the state of the demon king crossing the tribulation on the island, it did not stop the gathered demon kings outside from being amazed.
Generally, most demon kings who failed to cross the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation would fall in the first three rounds, with those able to withstand the fourth round being extremely rare.
So, in the long-lived demon kings' view, though the occurrence of the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation is rare, it is not something extraordinarily astonishing.
However, the appearance of the fourth round of tribulation is indeed a very rare occurrence.
Possibly, only two or three out of ten demon kings crossing the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation could withstand the fourth round.
This is quite the opposite for human cultivators crossing the Immortal Ascension Celestial Tribulation.
The hardest step for human cultivators is breaking the Immortal and Mortal Shackles and elevating the Nascent Soul to an Immortal Embryo.
And among those who succeed in taking this step, three or four out of ten succeed in crossing the Immortal Ascension Celestial Tribulation.
"Brother Jin, I've heard you've fought that human cultivator who occupies the Immortal Island twice. Do you know any details about the demon king currently crossing the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation on the island?"
Outside the Immortal Island, a four-armed monster, taking advantage of the pause before the fourth round of tribulation thunder descended, turned his gaze to the nearby Golden Scale Demon King and curiously inquired about the situation of the tribulation-crossing demon.
The four-armed monster seemed to have a high status among the overseas demon race, influencing the Golden Scale Demon King to respond politely: "The first time I fought with that human cultivator outside this Immortal Island, together with him came a Tier Six Top Grade Silver-winged Thunder Roc and a Tier Five Middle Grade Five-Colored Deer from within the island."
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I suspect that the demon king currently crossing the tribulation should be that Silver-winged Thunder Roc from back then."
Upon hearing the Golden Scale Demon King's words, the four-armed monster's expression slightly tensed, a trace of heaviness flashing in his eyes as he murmured to himself, "So it is such a rare spirit bird as the Silver-winged Thunder Roc. No wonder it can withstand the fourth round!"
"In Brother Gu's view, do you think this Silver-winged Thunder Roc has a real chance of crossing the tribulation?"
Golden Scale Demon King's brow furrowed tightly as he couldn't help but voice his concern.
Upon hearing this, the four-armed monster's eyes flashed with sharpness, and he looked at Golden Scale Demon King with a grin, asking, "In your opinion, Brother Jin, is it better for him to pass the tribulation or not?"
Golden Scale Demon King's face instantly stiffened, unable to give a straightforward answer.
If viewed from the broad perspective of the demon race, it would be a great thing for the Thunder Feather Demon King, being of the demon race, to cross the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation.
But for the Golden Scale Demon King, knowing well how deep the Thunder Feather Demon King's relationship with Zhouyang was, if the Thunder Feather Demon King crossed the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation, he probably wouldn't hold back just because they were both of the demon race.
The four-armed monster, seeming to understand Golden Scale Demon King's dilemma, smiled and reassured him, "Rest assured, Brother Jin, even if the Silver-winged Thunder Roc crosses the tribulation, as long as you don't provoke him again, he certainly won't have the mind to attack you."
Golden Scale Demon King caught the deeper meaning within his words, sighed, and said, "Since Brother Gu says so, it seems you have high hopes for him crossing the tribulation!"
This time, the four-armed monster did not speak.
But silence was the best answer.
And just as they were discussing this, the Thunder Feather Demon King's fourth round of tribulation thunder descended rapidly.
Just like when Great Demon Mu Qingyun was crossing the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation, by the fourth round of the tribulation, the tribulation thunder had already condensed into various Thunder Tribulation Divine Weapons.
When the first Thunder Tribulation Sword slashed down, the Thunder Feather Demon King let out a shrill cry, and suddenly, radiant electric light burst from his body, condensing into a massive silver thunder ball the size of a house, blasting toward the purple thunder sword.
Rumble!
Under the bombardment of the silver thunder ball, the purple Thunder Tribulation Sword was directly blown apart on the spot, shattering into countless fragments of tribulation thunder that fell down, more than half of which were devoured by the Thunder Feather Demon King.
But such an opportunity only came once.
When the second tribulation thunder, transformed into a Thunder Tribulation Battleaxe, cleaved down afterward, the hasty dark gold shield spiritual artifact summoned by the Thunder Feather Demon King was directly shattered in an instant, and the unrelenting force slammed onto his back, leaving a terrifying wound deep enough to see bone on his back.
The third, fourth, fifth!
The nine tribulation thunders of the fourth round almost appeared one after another, biting each other's tails, giving the tribulation crosser no time to breathe.
Even though the Thunder Feather Demon King was well-prepared beforehand, even preparing several Tier Six Spiritual Artifacts to use as one-time disposable items, he still sustained continuous injuries amid the relentless bombardment of the Thunder Tribulation Divine Weapons, crying out in agony.
When the sixth Thunder Tribulation Divine Weapon cleaved down, one of his wings was mostly severed, and a large amount of tribulation thunder power surged into his body through the wound, directly burning off most of his feathers.
The seventh Thunder Tribulation Divine Weapon was a Thunder Tribulation Arrow, which shot through his body, pinning him from the sky to the ground, leaving a huge hole with a diameter of several feet through his chest and back.
The eighth Thunder Tribulation Divine Weapon was a gigantic thunder ball, which exploded on the Thunder Feather Demon King's body, blasting his massive demon body into pieces, leaving only a silver skeleton still flickering with intense electric light, barely held together without shattering.
At this moment, the Thunder Feather Demon King had almost completely lost the power to resist.
If not for the evidence of life still present in his body and the tribulation thunder not dissipating, Zhouyang would have thought he had already fallen.
Zhouyang didn't even have time to express any emotion over this, as the ninth tribulation thunder had already descended, absorbing the remaining power of the entire thundercloud.
Similar to when Great Demon Mu Qingyun was crossing the tribulation, the power of this ninth tribulation thunder was nearly twice as strong as the eighth.
When this Thunder Tribulation Sword slashed down, Zhouyang almost couldn't resist closing his eyes, unwilling to witness the Thunder Feather Demon King's miserable state.
Fortunately, he didn't close his eyes; otherwise, he would certainly have regretted it for a long time.
At that moment, seemingly heavily wounded and on the brink of death, with no strength left to resist, the Thunder Feather Demon King suddenly let out a piercing cry, forcibly flapping his wings to support his tattered body as he soared up, actively meeting the Thunder Tribulation Sword.
Then, just before the collision, a roc formed by silver-purple lightning suddenly shot out from the Thunder Feather Demon King's mouth, crashing into the Thunder Tribulation Sword.
The mighty Thunder Tribulation Sword was struck by the lightning roc and exploded, turning into a chaotic thunderstorm that engulfed the Thunder Feather Demon King.
"This..."
Zhouyang's mouth hung open as he watched this scene, unable to describe his emotions at the moment.
He wanted to ask if the Thunder Feather Demon King had succeeded in crossing the tribulation?
But seeing the undissipated thunderstorm, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
In the end, he could only stare closely at the thunderstorm in the sky, nervously and expectantly awaiting the outcome.
Yet the expected result, thought to arrive quickly, did not appear even after nearly half an hour passed without any change.
Seeing this, Zhouyang couldn't help but prepare to turn and ask Lan Daoist.
Unexpectedly, Lan Daoist seemed to sense his thoughts and immediately spoke with amazement: "Truly spectacular! I never thought I would have the honor to witness the birth of a [Thunder Roc] True Spirit in this lower realm!"
"Fellow Daoist Lan, are you saying Fellow Daoist Lei Yu has succeeded in crossing the thunder tribulation? But why is the tribulation thunder power still undissipated in the sky?"
Zhouyang, both surprised and delighted, couldn't help but ask Lan Daoist the question in his heart with joy on his face.
"This is something I do not know either, but I can confirm that Fellow Daoist Lei Yu has indeed passed the tribulation. Now, he should be refining his own True Spirit Dharma Body, using the power of tribulation thunder to refine it. This Fellow Daoist Lei Yu is truly daring and imaginative!"
Lan Daoist, saying this, also clicked his tongue, marveled at the Thunder Feather Demon King's boldness and originality.
Zhouyang certainly wouldn't doubt Lan Daoist's words, and upon hearing this, he completely relaxed and patiently awaited the Thunder Feather Demon King's emergence.
Outside the island, the four-armed strange man and the [Golden Scale Demon King], seeing the final tribulation thunder fall, couldn't help but look at each other, their eyes each gleaming.
"Brother Gu, in your opinion, has the [Silver-winged Thunder Roc] succeeded or failed?"
The [Golden Scale Demon King]'s eyes flickered, and his tone was extremely uneasy as he spoke.
The four-armed strange man, upon hearing this, replied in a deep voice: "Whether it's a success or failure, we'll know soon. If successful, at the moment his True Spirit Dharma Body is refined, the True Blood within us will most certainly react!"
The [Golden Scale Demon King] said no more, effectively agreeing with his words.
And on the Immortal Island, seemingly confirming Lan Daoist's words, a massive suction force suddenly emanated from the purple lightning, ravenously absorbing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
As the celestial tribulation thunderclouds gathered earlier, much of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi on the island and the surrounding sea areas had already been absorbed.
Now, as the Thunder Feather Demon King continued this, the Spiritual Qi on [Donglai Immortal Island] began to show signs of being unable to meet demand.
Seeing this, Zhouyang quickly summoned the token controlling the island's array, using the grand array's power to draw Spiritual Qi from other areas of the island to supply the Thunder Feather Demon King's absorption, trying to prevent him from completely depleting the surrounding area's Spiritual Qi, which would cause severe damage to the underground Spirit Vein.
Controlling the immortal array with Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivation was still quite strenuous, but much better than it was before.
At least now, if another demon like Mu Qingyun were to cause trouble on the island, Zhouyang wouldn't need anyone's help to harness the Immortal Island's array power to suppress and kill him.
After supplying Spiritual Qi to the Thunder Feather Demon King for half a month, allowing him to absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi voraciously, the Thunder Feather Demon King finally stopped absorbing it.
Then Zhouyang and others only heard a clear bird song suddenly ring out, and in the spot where purple lightning had gathered, a large amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and purple lightning suddenly contracted inward, as if swallowed whole by something.
Immediately following, a silver roc shimmering with silver-purple electric light appeared within everyone's sight.
