Volume One: The Celestial Palace of Cloud Mist Chapter Eighty-Three: Struck by Five Thunders

Chapter 83: Struck by Five Thunders

Buzz!

As Zhou Hao’s palm imprint struck the colossal net of lightning again and again, the entire flaming pool trembled uncontrollably, as if mountains roared and seas crashed, waves battering the shore. The sheer force sent shivers through the heart!

At this moment, Zhou Hao’s entire body radiated a blinding golden light, as if the Sun God had descended into the mortal world. In his palm, a miniature sun spun rapidly, and with each strike, his palm imprint shook the heavens. The giant net of lightning simply couldn’t withstand this terrifying power—it shattered inch by inch, despite stretching across the flaming pool. The might of the Great Radiant Sun Palm swept everything before it, leaving nothing capable of resistance.

“Ha… ha… ha…” Freed from his bonds, Zhou Hao immediately burst through the cocoon of solar fire essence. Borrowing the power of the solar fire essence, he had finally broken through his shackles. Now, as long as he survived the trial of heavenly lightning, he could attain the Golden Immortal realm.

In truth, Zhou Hao’s body and immortal soul were already exceptionally powerful—tempered by the nine-petaled Lotus of Fire Heart, which had refined his spirit. This was why he had reached the quasi-Golden Immortal level in just a few decades. Now, with the addition of the solar fire essence and his mastery of the peerless immortal martial art, the Great Radiant Sun Palm, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. The chasm to the Golden Immortal realm, which usually demanded years of accumulated cultivation, was finally bridged.

The so-called tribulation is, in essence, a process of proving oneself to the heavens. Only by withstanding Heaven’s trial can the fruits of one’s cultivation truly be called the Dao Fruit—attaining the rank of the Way.

Rumble! Rumble!

Deep within the Dragon King’s treasury, wind and thunder surged. In the void, dazzling colors appeared, dreamy and surreal. Yet, this was no auspicious omen—it was layer upon layer of tribulation clouds, where lightning roiled, taking on myriad forms. There were mountains of golden thunder, their surfaces woven with lightning as radiant as real gold; charred wood struck by lightning, crackling with azure electric arcs; blue lightning flowing through the void like a boundless sea; scarlet lightning flames howling and threatening to burn through space and time; and earth-yellow lightning swirling like a sandstorm, sweeping all before it. Such power was so fierce it made one tremble—an eruption of the five elements, as if Heaven and Earth themselves were enraged!

“Someone… is undergoing tribulation?” In front of the pure white crystal coffin, Cailingzi, who had been sitting in meditation, was taken aback. The sudden appearance of the prismatic tribulation clouds left him unsettled. Though he was already a Golden Immortal, he dared not claim he could survive such a tribulation unscathed.

Whoosh! In a flash, Cailingzi snatched up the brocade box from the coffin and vanished, reappearing in the coral forest region that had been blasted into a blackened void by the yellow gourd. It was common sense never to linger where someone was undergoing tribulation, for although the heavenly lightning targets the one crossing the threshold, bystanders might be struck as well. Unless one’s realm far surpassed that of the tribulation-taker, remaining in the thunder zone was courting death. Heaven’s wrath was not something ordinary folk could endure—especially not a super-charged Golden Immortal tribulation like this, which would kill even powerful immortals, for the lightning would adjust its might to match the onlooker, growing ever fiercer.

There was once a terrible disaster in the Immortal Domain: a young master was undergoing the Golden Immortal tribulation, while an old monster, having cultivated for centuries in the Great Immortal realm, was meditating nearby. Tragedy struck—the tribulation bolts all fell upon the old monster. Furious, he tried to defy Heaven’s wrath with his own power, but the lightning only intensified, one strike fiercer than the last, until finally, they fell in a torrent. The old monster was blasted to death!

“What kind of tribulation is this? It’s terrifying! While this is clearly the Golden Immortal tribulation, the thunder it has summoned is far too powerful. This proves the person undergoing it has extraordinary talent. In the future, he’ll be someone far beyond my reach…” Cailingzi muttered to himself, gazing through the distant Yin-Yang Eye.

Crack!

A colossal bolt of lightning dropped from the riotous tribulation clouds, like a dragon descending to the mortal world. It plunged straight toward the already raging flaming pool. In an instant, fire sprayed everywhere, and the lava split open, revealing the pool’s bottom.

A yellow gourd shot out first along the fissure, moving at incredible speed, though struck several times by lightning along the way. Yet the gourd was so tough that even such terrifying bolts left not a single mark upon it.

Hot on its heels came the figure of a young man, his hair wild, his body bare, yet shrouded in dazzling golden light. He resembled a blazing sun streaking across the void.

The lightning dragon let out a true draconic roar, opening its massive jaws to swallow Zhou Hao as he hurtled toward it at great speed. Zhou Hao, lips curled in a confident smile, made no attempt to dodge.

One could see a silver-white thunder dragon, spanning a thousand meters, charging at a golden sun. Astonishingly, the golden sun seemed even more eager than the thunder dragon, flying directly into its open mouth. The moment Zhou Hao entered the dragon’s maw, the jaws snapped shut, as if the beast possessed intelligence.

Thud!

In the next instant, an unexpected reversal occurred—the thunder dragon’s massive silver-white body began to overflow with golden light, like sunlight piercing a sheet of white paper riddled with holes. The dragon exploded in a flash, and the golden sun emerged unscathed above the Yin-Yang Eye, while the prismatic tribulation clouds rolled turbulently above his head, all manner of lightning poised to strike at any moment.

“Kid, this tribulation is called the Fivefold Lightning of Righteous Law—a super Golden Immortal tribulation reserved for ancient prodigies. For you to draw down such a terrifying tribulation proves your talent and limitless potential. But you must remember: only those who survive great calamity will find great fortune. Many geniuses of ancient times perished beneath such tribulations.” The yellow gourd suddenly flew out from the void on Zhou Hao’s left, and Deng Tulang’s voice warned him gravely to be utterly cautious.

“Rest assured, senior. I won’t act rashly. Besides, this Fivefold Lightning of Righteous Law cannot block my path!” Zhou Hao was full of confidence, his eyes fixed on the swirling tribulation clouds as if searching for something.

The yellow gourd once again vanished into the void. Deng Tulang grumbled, “This young man’s confidence is overflowing. It seems he doesn’t take the Fivefold Lightning of Righteous Law seriously at all. I must really be getting old!”

The tribulation clouds churned, lightning raging within, thunder roaring. Five terrifying bolts, each representing one of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—descended upon Zhou Hao, seeking to suppress him. There was nowhere to hide, for the range of the Fivefold Lightning of Righteous Law was vast as the sky, leaving Zhou Hao no escape.

“Heh, the Fivefold Lightning of Righteous Law? Looks to me more like being struck by five thunders at once!” Zhou Hao looked up at the terrifying, scalp-numbing fivefold thundercloud above him and simply smiled.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

As if something in the void had heard Zhou Hao’s words, the fivefold tribulation instantly engulfed him. The golden mountain forged of lightning pinned his body; the charred lightning wood, crackling with blue arcs, bound his limbs; the blue oceanic lightning submerged the void around him; the tornado of fiery lightning enveloped his entire form; and earthen-yellow lightning, like a sandstorm, sealed off every escape.

The Fivefold Lightning of Righteous Law—struck by five thunders at once!

This patch of void became an absolute storm zone; even gods would perish on the spot. The unfathomable might of Heaven thundered overhead, turning the place into a grave tailor-made for those seeking immortality through tribulation.

“What the hell! What is this place?! Ahhh, I’m going mad—tribulation, it’s a tribulation!” Within the Fivefold Lightning, a sphere of golden light remained untouched, impervious to the raging thunder. Inside that golden light, Zhou Hao was completely unharmed, when suddenly, a familiar voice emerged from his hair.

A tiny turtle, no larger than a fingernail, stood upright. It had slept for ages and now finally awakened. Previously, it had almost devoured every Dragon Blood Herb in sight, and at the time, having reached a bottleneck, it had used hibernation to digest the immortal essence contained within those herbs.

Upon waking, the turtle had ascended to the Golden Immortal rank, but now, faced with the prismatic lightning, it was utterly panicked.

“Damn it all, I only took a nap! Little Hao, what the hell did you do? Why is there so much terrifying lightning all around us? Don’t you dare tell Grandpa Turtle you’re undergoing tribulation!” The little turtle shrank back into its black shell, questioning Zhou Hao about what had happened.

“Oh, nothing much. Just being struck by five thunders at once!” Zhou Hao replied nonchalantly.