Without hesitation, he swiftly changed the hand seals in his hands.
The Sacred Vajra Dharma Form suddenly hurled the massive sword it held, and a golden radiance shimmered across its surface. In an instant, the illusory form solidified into a golden body, with countless golden runes swirling around it.
The three heads of the golden body opened their mouths wide, emitting no sound, but a vast white wave surged forth, flashing into the sea of mist with an earth-shattering boom!
The white wave exploded within the dust-laden mist, sending out transparent shockwaves that rippled across the entire sea of mist.
Wherever the shockwaves passed, the neatly arranged gray guardians in the mist sea trembled and instantly turned to dust.
Yet, in the next moment, as the mist sea churned once more, hundreds of thousands of guardians reappeared unscathed. With a synchronized swing of their weapons, the air was filled with the sound of slicing wind!
Countless yellow streaks shot downward, densely covering the entire sky. Each streak emitted a piercing shriek, as if capable of destroying anything in its path.
Han Li’s expression changed at the sight. With a low shout, he pointed a finger toward the Sacred Vajra Dharma Form.
The three-headed, six-armed golden body ceased its white wave and took a massive step forward. Its six arms swung, and golden light flashed in its palms.
With several thunderous booms, six thick beams of light shot out, merging into a single golden hurricane beneath the mist sea.
The hurricane, hundreds of feet tall, spun rapidly, unleashing countless golden runes while an unimaginable suction force surged from within.
The yellow streaks, pulled by the immense force, trembled before being redirected into the hurricane, disappearing with muffled thuds.
The boundless dust mist and the millions of guardians within it were also irresistibly drawn into the hurricane by the overwhelming suction.
For a moment, the mist churned violently, and figures surged chaotically.
Within a few breaths, the sky was cleared, leaving only the dark storm clouds and the golden hurricane.
The golden hurricane continued to spin wildly in the void, its rumbling sounds unceasing, showing no sign of containing so much dust mist.
Han Li exhaled deeply, his face finally revealing a trace of joy.
He flicked his sleeve toward the hurricane, releasing a series of multicolored hand seals that vanished into the wind.
In the next moment, a muffled boom echoed in the sky!
The sounds within the hurricane abruptly ceased, and the hurricane itself shrank rapidly amid flashes of golden light.
Moments later, as the hurricane dissipated completely, a head-sized, earthen-yellow crystal sphere plummeted from the sky.
Han Li’s eyes flickered as he reached out with one hand, summoning the crystal sphere toward him.
Yet, the moment it landed in his palm, his wrist involuntarily dipped slightly. Though he quickly steadied it, a hint of surprise crossed his face.
The unremarkable-looking earthen-yellow crystal sphere weighed over a million pounds.
Despite Han Li’s immense strength, he nearly lost his grip upon contact.
Though he didn’t know what material this compressed mist sea could be called, he could imagine the formidable power of artifacts forged from it.
As Han Li pondered, the spiritual energy in the sky churned violently, and thunder roared once more from above!
A massive black cloud above the basin churned fiercely, splitting apart to reveal a colossal hole.
The hole, spanning dozens of acres, was filled with deafening thunderclaps, arcs of silver lightning, and dazzling thunderballs. Its edges expanded rapidly, as if a world of lightning was breaking through dimensions to arrive.
“True Lightning Tribulation!”
Han Li murmured solemnly at the sight. With a slight shake of his hand, he stored the crystal sphere away. Then, his fingers flicked toward the surroundings, sending out azure hand seals that vanished into the remaining formations.
A resonant hum filled the air as the remaining formations activated at full power, their barriers thickening significantly. More strikingly, the three Extreme Mountains, which had remained motionless around Han Li, silently rose into the air.
After pausing above the barrier, they arranged themselves in a triangular formation, firmly shielding Han Li below.
Still unsatisfied, Han Li summoned seventy-two azure flying swords beneath the mountains. They swirled and transformed into a massive azure lotus, hovering motionlessly above his head.
His caution was well-founded.
The so-called Mahayana Heavenly Tribulation often referred not to the preceding Five Elements Tribulation but to the ensuing True Lightning Tribulation.
Most late-stage Body Integration cultivators who perished attempting to break through to Mahayana did so during this tribulation. Only those who survived it were qualified to face the subsequent “Heart Trial.”
Though the Heart Trial was even more perilous, it at least offered a chance of survival. The True Lightning Tribulation, however, was a binary outcome—either one survived by sheer luck or perished under its fury, with no middle ground.
As Han Li activated his defenses and treasures, he recalled the experiences shared by the Venerable Ao Xiao and Mo Jianli regarding this tribulation, his expression grave.
On the distant mountain peak, Silvermoon, Zhu Guo’er, and Crab Daoist each wore different expressions.
Silvermoon’s eyes remained calm, but her face betrayed growing anxiety. Zhu Guo’er, having witnessed Han Li’s battle against the Five Elements Tribulation, was wide-eyed in astonishment.
Crab Daoist, standing on another peak with his hands behind his back, observed the basin’s events with detached serenity.
Suddenly, his expression shifted. He turned his gaze toward the far end of the mountain, though he took no immediate action.
Shortly after, Silvermoon also seemed to sense something, her beautiful eyes flickering as she looked in the same direction.
“To think there are other cultivators in such a desolate place. I’ll have to drive them away,” she murmured. With a flicker, she vanished from the spot.
Zhu Guo’er, witnessing this, was momentarily stunned before comprehension dawned. After a brief hesitation, she chose to remain.
Ten thousand miles from the basin, two groups of fleeing and pursuing lights streaked across the sky, heading straight for Han Li’s tribulation site.
The fleeing group consisted of over a dozen human cultivators, mostly at the Nascent Soul stage, led by a late-stage Deity Transformation female cultivator in a crystalline light.
The woman, fair-skinned and beautiful in her twenties, wore a blue palace gown. Her face was etched with anxiety as she glanced back repeatedly.
The pursuing group, emitting dark and grayish lights, exuded strong demonic energy. Among them were ferocious-looking demons, half of whom were at or above the Deity Transformation stage, including a tall, snake-bodied demon at the Void Refinement stage.
Given the disparity in strength, the distance between the two groups closed rapidly.
As the demons drew within a few miles, the blue-gowned woman gritted her teeth and slowed slightly. With a flip of her hand, she produced a translucent white cauldron.
A tap from her jade-like hand caused the cauldron’s lid to fly open, releasing countless icy threads that shot toward the demons.
The threads, crystalline and razor-sharp, pierced through the demonic energy, catching the demons off guard. Two Nascent Soul-stage demons were instantly impaled and frozen into ice sculptures, plummeting from the sky.
Enraged, the snake-headed demon spewed a stream of dark green mist. The white threads, upon contact, corroded and lost their potency.
The demon then summoned over a dozen black tridents, which shot toward the threads, deflecting them effortlessly.
The woman’s expression darkened as she stowed the cauldron and prepared to flee, but it was too late.
Two late-stage Deity Transformation demons surged ahead, blocking the humans’ path.
The woman’s face turned grim as she and her companions halted, forming a defensive formation. The other humans paled, their fear evident.
The demons encircled them, cutting off all escape.
With a roar, the snake-headed demon signaled the attack, leading the charge with his tridents. The other demons followed suit.
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