In the ancient era, when even myths grew old, the nine stages of the Dao were the ultimate limit for spiritual cultivators.
After the mysterious disappearance of savage beasts and the ascendancy of humanity, a conflict arose within the human race over their paths.
The result of this war was the emergence of the first human true immortal in the Ascension realm!
His title was—Yuanshi!
Following that, the spiritual energy civilization flourished, even gradually opening up two distinct paths.
The demons of extreme emotion and desire, and the immortals of the heavens who had forgotten their feelings.
The war between immortals and demons erupted with the culmination of their accumulated conflicts.
This was followed by the seven Immortal-Demon Wars, which spanned countless years.
These ancient histories have become so distant in the current era that they are almost impossible to trace.
However, a peculiar phenomenon that appeared in the primordial era has continued to the present day.
That is, after reaching the peak of the Dao, upon crossing the threshold of Ascension, one inevitably faces the
Ascension Tribulation!
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, transforming the previously clear, boundless blue sea into a dark, gloomy expanse.
Within the depths of the dense clouds, lightning like rivers flowed in and out.
Beneath the clouds, above the sea, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was thrown into utter chaos!
This is the will of heaven!
This is a trial sent from heaven!
This is a blessing bestowed by the heavens!
Heaven and earth give birth to spiritual energy, spiritual energy disperses into all beings, cultivators absorb and refine spiritual energy, seeking transcendence and eternal life!
But this blessing, this longevity! Will not be granted to the weak!
All creatures contend for freedom under the frost-covered sky; only those who overcome the tribulation are qualified to become more powerful beings!
And this Ascension Tribulation, which forged the first true immortal, does not possess a fixed intensity. Under the witness of heaven and earth, the more powerful a life form, the more terrifying the ordeal it must endure!
Boom!!!
A silver lightning bolt, like a cascading river, descended from the sky. With a roar, the seawater within a thousand-meter radius was blasted down by a hundred meters!
And this was merely the prelude to this great tribulation.
As a direct descendant of the True Dragon, Linglong's bloodline potential was not prominent, but heaven and earth would not reduce the power of the tribulation because of this. The tribulation before her was the True Dragon Tribulation, unleashed without reservation!
Linglong's face turned pale as she gazed at the river of lightning that had just struck. Even with her full preparations, she doubted she could easily withstand that blow, and this was not even the tribulation's formal attack!
And similar rivers of lightning, within the dark, cloudy sky above, flickered and flowed in countless numbers.
Even more terrifying auras were brewing furiously behind the clouds.
The immense pressure made Linglong feel that this was the end for her. When the tribulation truly arrived, Linglong finally understood her mother's despair.
This tribulation was not meant for mortals to endure!
The pale-faced maiden looked at Chen Luo, who was observing the sky, and trembled as she said, "Master... you calculated it so accurately..."
Chen Luo gazed with interest at the cloudy sky above, laced with jagged lightning. The spiritual energy throughout heaven and earth was in complete disarray. If a cultivator had not condensed a spirit crystal, they would likely find it difficult to even mobilize the spiritual power within their bodies here.
And fragmented spiritual patterns flickered in and out of existence within this chaotic spiritual energy.
But what most intrigued Chen Luo were the lightning formations in the sky. Within each flashing river of lightning, countless spiritual patterns, unseen by Chen Luo, were flickering.
Even at Chen Luo's realm, he could only vaguely discern that these spiritual patterns might have effects that could break spells, shatter bodies, and grind souls.
If struck directly by this lightning, an ordinary cultivator at the ninth stage of the Dao would be lucky to survive with their skin intact!
Hearing Linglong's faint call, Chen Luo turned his head and gently patted Linglong's small head, "Go, my disciple, your master is rooting for you."
With that, Chen Luo's figure flickered, and he directly moved to Long Ji's side. Compared to the dark sky that enveloped Linglong, the sky where Long Ji was located remained clear and cloudless.
Linglong stared blankly at Chen Luo outside the sky, instinctively reaching out, "Master! Don't go!!"
But Chen Luo merely waved his hand from afar, outside the tribulation's range, and transmitted his voice, "Linglong, do your best to hold on! When you are close to death! Master will intervene!"
"Don't worry! Master will not intervene prematurely unless you are close to death! Trust your master!"
Upon hearing this, Linglong's face turned even paler. Master! Are you sure you can save me from this lightning?!
No, that's not right. Disciple, I don't have the confidence to activate the Heaven-Deceiving Technique to swap places when I'm on the verge of death!
But before Linglong could speak, Chen Luo seemed to remember something and quickly exclaimed:
"Right! I've improved that Heaven-Deceiving Technique. It can only be activated from my side, disciple. Focus entirely on facing the tribulation!!"
"Look up!! The tribulation is coming!"
Boom!!!
Thunderous lightning descended from the sky!!
No longer the casually scattered aftershocks from before, this time, the waterfall of lightning descending directly from the sky transformed into a ferocious, roaring dragon of lightning as it fell:
"Roar!!!"
"Ah!!!"
Amidst the roar of the lightning dragon, Linglong could only muster all her strength, frantically channeling the spiritual crystals within her.
The external spiritual energy could no longer be mobilized; she could only rely on the spiritual light generated by the spirit crystals to operate her Dao techniques!
The moment the spiritual patterns were formed, they were completely torn apart by the violent spiritual energy!
Linglong's mastery of Dao techniques was insufficient to perform them within the True Dragon Tribulation!
In Linglong's terrified gaze, the bright silver lightning dragon, imbued with terrifying destructive power, descended from the sky!
As one bolt of lightning engulfed Linglong, countless equally terrifying bolts of lightning simultaneously plummeted from the sky!
In an instant, the silver-haired dragon girl was completely submerged by the merciless sea of lightning!
"Long'er!!!"
Seeing this scene, Long Ji could no longer suppress her fear and instinctively prepared to summon her immortal essence, rushing into the fray regardless of the cost.
But a large hand firmly grasped Long Ji's shoulder, preventing her from advancing any further!
"Don't rush, trust Linglong!"
Hearing this, Long Ji's heart burned with anger! Forgetting the respect she had accumulated from numerous shocks, she was about to attack Chen Luo directly:
"That's my daughter!!"
Her immortal essence violently vibrated within her, and profound spiritual patterns were instantly etched onto her body. An aura far more terrifying than the destructive lightning rapidly condensed before Long Ji.
But Chen Luo, holding Long Ji, faced the mother's fury and simply said:
"Forbidden!"
The spiritual power of the Dao realm surged out of Chen Luo's body. However, even the spiritual power at the peak of the Dao was far from being able to contend with immortal essence.
But under the embrace of countless profound spiritual patterns, a peculiar change occurred.
The spiritual patterns formed by immortal essence were instantly suppressed by the profound spiritual patterns constructed by Chen Luo.
To Long Ji's astonishment, the immortal essence within her could no longer be mobilized!
"Chen Luo!! Let me go!!!" With her immortal essence forbidden, Long Ji, driven by anxiety as she watched the thunderous roar that completely engulfed the heavens and earth, truly unleashed her full power!!!
Her eyes transformed into bestial vertical pupils, and faint dragon scales appeared along the edges of her beautiful face. Two exquisite dragon horns visibly extended towards the sky.
An aura standing at the apex of all beasts continuously brewed!
This was a mother's rage!!
But from within the sea of lightning, which should have been filled with destructive energy, came the maiden's weak gasp:
"Mother... don't..."