Ye Tiancheng, risking harm to himself, channeled his true qi with all his might. Instantly, the wind and clouds shifted, thunder boomed, and the Wuling Hongguang minivan swayed precariously forward through the tempest.
Besides the terrifying and repulsive insects, small, slender snakes hung from the trees, ready to strike and sever their necks at any moment.
Suddenly, a mass of dark clouds gathered from nowhere, turning the sky black. The car felt as if it were trapped in a dark, sealed space.
This time, Ye Tiancheng was defying heaven itself. A bolt of lightning, without any warning, tore through the pitch-black sky and struck directly towards the battered Wuling Hongguang.
The car suddenly stopped. The engine refused to start, much to Xiao Pang's distress.
"Heavens, are you picking on me, Fatty? If you have the guts, just strike me dead with one bolt. Fatty isn't afraid of you."
The previous lightning was just a prelude. Now, a genuine heavenly tribulation struck Xiao Pang the moment he finished speaking. His fatty flesh jiggled with the impact. The blinding light forced the others to shut their eyes. Xiao Pang had no time to dodge, not even a curse escaped his lips before he was struck by the lightning. He instantly collapsed onto his seat, convulsing and foaming at the mouth, a terrifying sight.
Ye Tiancheng had already exhausted his true qi fighting the sudden swarm of locusts. To save Xiao Pang's life, he could only muster all his strength and unleash another surge of true qi.
Just moments ago, Xiao Pang had been convulsing and foaming. Now, the tremors lessened, then stopped. He lay still, his eyes closed as if asleep.
It seemed that crossing this dark land to reach the pure land would not be easy, akin to enduring a heavenly tribulation. They had to be even more cautious.
Ye Tiancheng quickly switched seats, telling Hou Mingzhu to take care of Xiao Pang. He then drove the Wuling Hongguang, now almost split in half, using his true qi to propel it forward with great difficulty.
However, the dark clouds had not dispersed. With a crackling sound, the next heavenly tribulation descended. Ye Tiancheng attempted to block it with his true qi, but his qi was insufficient. The tribulation struck Ye Tiancheng directly.
"If I don't want to die, no one can touch me. What's wrong, heavens? I, Ye Tiancheng, have never bowed to anyone. I believe man can conquer heaven."
Ye Tiancheng's battle cry was loud, but it couldn't ward off the real damage. His hair was charred black and emitting smoke, on the verge of catching fire.
"Brother Ye, what do we do? Are we going to die here?"
Xiao Pang and Lin Xue on either side had lost their fighting ability and were both unconscious. Hou Mingzhu, the only one still conscious, was the most terrified, wishing she could also faint to escape the horror.
"It's fine, we will get through this."
Ye Tiancheng, knowing he was close to death, said this only to comfort Hou Mingzhu. In his heart, he silently called out to Da Shitou and Da Qing She, thinking that if these two divine beings didn't appear soon, he would surely perish here. They should have appeared by now and stopped being so mysterious.
"Stinky rock, Big Green Snake, if you two don't come out and help, the next time you help will be to collect my corpse. You wouldn't be so heartless, would you? We've been through life and death together as comrades. Have you forgotten our bond? Come out quickly."
At this critical juncture, a shadow of a green snake appeared in the sky. Soon after, all the miscellaneous corrupted insects on the ground, corroded by black energy, were dealt with.
More importantly, the sky returned to its clear state. As the sunlight streamed in, Ye Tiancheng knew he had survived.
"Brother Ye, did you see that just now? I think I saw a dragon in the sky."
"That wasn't a dragon; it was my good friend, Da Qing She. But I feel he's even more handsome than a dragon. He saved our lives this time."
Da Qing She's sudden appearance was due to Ye Tiancheng's dire situation. Appearing forcefully like this would also deplete his cultivation.
It seemed Da Qing She had gone somewhere to heal. Ye Tiancheng didn't dwell on it. Having narrowly escaped death, he hurried towards the pure land.
After the dark clouds dispersed, a torrential rain began. The rain was cool and refreshing. Although the Wuling Hongguang was on the verge of falling apart from the ordeal, its quality was still commendable, steadily moving forward.
"That giant snake is your friend, Ye Tiancheng. It seems when we get home, I'll have to take you to the hospital for a CT scan to check if there's something wrong with your brain."
"Haven't you seen enough strange and peculiar things on this journey? That giant green snake is my divine beast. I discovered him in the back mountains. You have to keep it a secret for me, or others will try to snatch him away."
After Ye Tiancheng's explanation, Hou Mingzhu found it reasonable and readily agreed.
"Then I understand. Acting low-key is essential, otherwise, if someone really snatches him away, this divine beast is very precious. I've never seen anything so powerful anyway."
Ye Tiancheng's car finally entered the pure land. The black energy on their bodies instantly dissipated. This place was indeed more magical.
The pure land was a barren area, much like a primeval forest. For now, their only shelter was within the car.
After a few hours of rest, Xiao Pang stretched and woke up. "Ah, I slept so well."
Then, Xiao Pang saw Ye Tiancheng busy working. He squinted, carefully identifying him for a long time before confirming it was Ye Tiancheng.
"Brother Ye, what happened to you? Does your hair want to make people laugh to death? Why is it like a bird's nest?"
"You were also struck by lightning. I don't think there's a mirror. Why don't you try to find a way to look at yourself and see how your hairstyle is."
The smile on Fatty's face froze. He quickly took out his phone and looked. He discovered his hair wasn't much better than Ye Tiancheng's. A black mass on his head, it was impossible to tell where one part ended and another began.
"How could this happen to Brother Ye? Although I, Fatty, am a bit plump, I rely on this hairstyle to look good. My hairstyle is very handsome, and many young girls have complimented it. Now that it's like this, what should I do?"
Fatty was on the verge of tears. Ye Tiancheng hadn't noticed it before, but Fatty was actually a person who cared a great deal about his appearance, especially his hair.
"I'm busy building a house. After I finish building it, I'll deal with my personal image. Most likely, I'll just shave it off."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Fatty's first reaction was strong resistance. "No way, Brother Ye. Neither of us is a monk. Why shave our heads? Besides, you have such high颜值, even bald you'd be handsome. But I'm just average-looking. Without this hairstyle, I'm afraid I'll be so ugly that even gods and spirits would be enraged."
Fatty was truly about to cry. Ye Tiancheng felt a pang of sympathy.
"Oh, we'll see about that later. If you're awake, hurry up and help me build the house. If we have no place to stay when it gets dark, you'll be primarily responsible."
"Brother Ye, is this the pure land? Why does it look so desolate? Are you sure we can live a good life here? I think it will be difficult even to survive."
Ye Tiancheng was not afraid. He had the experience of starting from scratch once before. Moreover, this wasn't starting from absolute zero. The pure land was very suitable for cultivation.
Even the birds and beasts here were spiritual. Ye Tiancheng instantly fell in love with this place, wanting only to build a cozy little house here. The most important thing was for the four of them to settle down first.
"Hurry up and help me build the house. We still have a long way to go. No one can be lazy, and you, especially, can't slack off."
"Alright, Brother Ye, I'll come and help you right away."
Although Xiao Pang had been struck by lightning earlier, his heart's vital points were protected by Ye Tiancheng's true qi. Furthermore, some of Ye Tiancheng's true qi had entered Xiao Pang's body, expelling the turbid qi from him as an ordinary person. Therefore, after a brief period of unconsciousness, Xiao Pang was now refreshed and invigorated. If he were compared to ordinary people who didn't cultivate, no one could match him.
The two men with bird's nest hair were busy sawing wood to build a house. Hou Mingzhu had gone out to explore and returned with a bucket of water from a stream. The bucket was also from the town, thinking it would be useful, as they needed water to drink.
"Brother Ye, you wouldn't believe how clear the river water is here. I've only seen water that clear in the Maldives. The fish were clearly visible floating around. And those fish seem very intelligent. I tried to greet them just now. Guess what? All the little fish gathered around, as if welcoming me."
Xiao Pang found Hou Mingzhu's account rather unbelievable. "Sister-in-law, why does it sound like you're telling a fairy tale? Fish are meant to be eaten. Even if they are spiritual, they can't understand human speech."
"I've learned a bit about the pure land before. It's about a thousand square meters in area. Only this circular, enclosed area is the pure land. However, the beings born in the pure land are extraordinary. Some say that only immortals who have descended from heaven have the chance to be born here, so it's normal for them to be spiritual. Those fish might have been celestial beings before."
Hou Mingzhu agreed wholeheartedly because she had just witnessed the divine miracles herself. Otherwise, she wouldn't have believed it.
"Brother Ye, I love this place so much. I feel that after coming here, my scratches from earlier have healed quickly. They're already itching, as if they'll be completely healed soon. Isn't that amazing?"
All these pieces of evidence proved that this was no ordinary place and could make people stronger. Therefore, Hou Mingzhu had to agree that it had such miraculous effects.
"Sister-in-law, now that you mention it, I think you're right. Look, in the car just now, I felt like I was about to be struck by lightning. Although Brother Ye helped me, my eyes haven't been this clear in a long time, and my hearing has also improved significantly."
Ye Tiancheng understood their feelings about the matters they were discussing. It was like the feeling of bathing in a spring breeze he experienced when he first cultivated and advanced to a higher level, an unforgettable sensation.
"Then let's stay here for a while longer. You two haven't cultivated yet because you lack spiritual roots, but perhaps in this pure land, you'll have another fortunate encounter."