"Puji, you bastard! Quickly undo my restrictions, I'm dying."
After three consecutive bucket-thick heavenly punishment tribulation lightning strikes, Yang Hong was already scarred and his hair had been completely burned off.
"It's fine, you're not dying yet."
Puji Bodhisattva, who had already moved far away from the range of the heavenly punishment, spoke with a teasing tone, showing no intention of appearing.
She had been observing Yang Hong with her divine sense. She was extremely eager to uncover Yang Hong's secrets.
However, what Yang Hong was currently exhibiting was just a powerful and special physique.
Even though Puji Bodhisattva had already reached the True Immortal level, she was still unable to discover Yang Hong's [System of Bestowed Cultivation Returns].
Rumble~
Another silvery-white tribulation lightning strike descended, and Yang Hong let out another scream.
However, the purple-gold Nascent Soul in his Dantian could already absorb a small amount of the silvery-white heavenly punishment tribulation lightning.
A scent of roasted meat emanated from Yang Hong.
The tribulation lightning of heavenly punishment was vastly different from that of heavenly tribulations; its destructive power was hundreds or even thousands of times greater.
Even though Yang Hong could begin to absorb the power of heavenly punishment, while absorbing it, the scorching heavenly punishment almost cooked him from the inside out.
"Hiss~ Hiss~"
Yang Hong could only let out gasps of breath, fully circulating the slightly loosened [Ultimate Body Tempering Technique].
Damn it!
After just nine heavenly punishment tribulation lightning strikes, Yang Hong was already finding it unbearable.
More than half of his life force had dissipated. According to his estimation, if just three more tribulation lightning strikes descended, he would truly be cooked.
[No, I can't just wait for death!]
[I have to fight for it no matter what!]
"System, I—I want to evolve the Ultimate Body Tempering Technique."
"Ding~ Martial skill value accumulated sufficiently, cultivation strength meets the standard, initiating evolution of the Ultimate Body Tempering Technique."
"Ding~ Ultimate Body Tempering Technique evolving..."
As the prompt sound echoed in his mind, a power, not grand but surging like a rolling river, continuously gushed out from Yang Hong's Dantian.
Yang Hong was very familiar with this power; he had experienced it several times before.
Normally, the cultivation returned from the spirit plants he received as gifts often overflowed, and this excess energy did not disappear into thin air but rather dissipated in his Dantian.
This energy would surge out from the depths of his Dantian every time he evolved his body tempering technique, providing the necessary energy for the evolution,
and it could also be used to strengthen his physical constitution.
The reason he could withstand heavenly tribulations with his physical body was that he always cultivated his cultivation to the extreme of extremes and accumulated enough to continuously strengthen his body.
And this time, Yang Hong had broken through the million-year limit of the Soul Splitting realm, directly reaching the new extreme of ten million years in the Soul Splitting realm.
Afterwards, due to dual cultivation with Xi Miaohua, he unexpectedly broke through to ten million years in the Integration realm;
coupled with assisting many Immortal Sect magnates in dual cultivation and enduring heavenly tribulations, the accumulation of energy this time was incredibly astounding.
The powerful energy continuously surged out, repairing the damage to Yang Hong's body from the heavenly punishment.
In the midst of life and death, Yang Hong's body was not only continuously strengthened but also slowly adapting to the heavenly punishment tribulation lightning, and he could even absorb the destructive power of the silvery heavenly punishment tribulation lightning in an extremely weak manner.
Therefore, although Yang Hong looked惨不忍睹 (miserable to behold), his physical condition was actually improving.
"Oh~ this little fellow is quite interesting. To be able to repair his body under heavenly punishment, indeed, he lives up to his special physique that even I cannot see through."
Puji Bodhisattva, hidden in the distance, was secretly surprised, but she only attributed it to Yang Hong's miraculous physical constitution.
"Such a talent must be used for my Buddhist sect, otherwise, he will be wasted."
"Perhaps, I can start with his family."
Puji cast a meaningful glance at Qingfeng Villa. Although the [Five Elements Primal Chaos Array] had been reactivated there, her sharp gaze could easily penetrate the array and see the situation inside.
Yang Hong's wife, and those unregistered disciples they had favored.
These people were living leisurely within the array. They were too familiar with heavenly tribulations, and for Yang Hong to endure heavenly tribulations, they found it as simple as eating and drinking.
Even knowing that Yang Hong was being blackmailed by the Buddhist sect to help monks overcome tribulations, they were not worried.
Even a Bodhisattva from the Upper Realm had to seek Yang Hong's help, so what was there to worry about?
"So leisurely, so carefree."
Puji Bodhisattva saw Li Lizhi and Wanwan still playing happily, and she felt a surge of envy, jealousy, and hatred.
"Since you all wish for isolation from the world, then I shall make you obediently stay put."
As her voice fell, Puji Bodhisattva formed seals with her hands in a fluid motion.
*Da~*
With a sound like a pebble dropping into a lake, a wave of undulation suddenly rippled through the area within a hundred-mile radius of Qingfeng Mountain.
A spatial fluctuation swept across, and Qingfeng Mountain directly vanished from sight.
"Damn it!
I forgot that this is just a lower realm, and my strength cannot be fully utilized here."
"However, I have cast a spatial seal. After a thousand years, the seal will only weaken, not disappear directly."
Puji smiled confidently.
However, the golden light emanating from her body had already become more apparent, and that ethereal, immortal-like feeling was even clearer.
"As expected, acting in the lower realm has too many restrictions."
Puji continuously adjusted and restrained her aura and energy fluctuations, resisting the strong sense of rejection from heaven and earth.
Meanwhile, as she sealed Qingfeng Mountain, Yang Hong had already completed the first heavenly punishment tribulation lightning.
Eighty-one ninth-order Buddhist cultivators vanished in a golden ascension Buddhist light.
"This little fellow is truly useful.
Quickly replace them."
Puji Bodhisattva saw the Eye of Heavenly Punishment tribulation clouds dissipate and instructed the other monks to quickly fill the positions.
As for Yang Hong?
As long as Yang Hong was not dead and could still be used, she did not care about his life or death.
This time, the Buddhist sect not only forcibly unsealed the Five Directions Domain, but they also made significant moves in the Myriad Monster Islands, Central Divine Continent, and even the entire Taiyuan Continent.
Although the karma involved caused the cultivation of the participating Buddhist monks to advance by leaps and bounds, it also burdened these monks who participated in the formations and actions with heavenly punishment.
Except for a few emperors who were arranged to be pawns, all the monks were targeted by heavenly punishment.
This was also why the Buddhist sect had over 100,000 ninth-order Buddhist cultivators lingering on the Taiyuan Continent.
Given the intensity of the heavenly punishment, even an Earth Immortal would face certain death if they tried to block it.
Even Yang Hong, if he had not evolved his body tempering technique in time, might have been annihilated.
Over the next year or so, Yang Hong was truly treated as a tool, directly fixed in the air and continuously struck by lightning.
Fortunately, after three months of being struck by lightning, Yang Hong successfully completed the evolution of his body tempering technique, allowing him to fully withstand the silvery tribulation lightning of heavenly punishment.
Yang Hong's cultivation did not break through due to the evolution of his body tempering technique. Under the suppression of heavenly punishment, the [System of Bestowed Cultivation Returns] could not increase Yang Hong's cultivation.
Actually, Yang Hong did not know that his cultivation could not break through because Puji Bodhisattva had been sealing him all along.
Puji was a true True Immortal-level immortal. Her knowledge and abilities were far beyond what Yang Hong could imagine.
Puji was actually able to use the power of heavenly punishment to guide the residual power of heavenly punishment after the tribulation to seal Yang Hong.
Yang Hong's cultivation began to slowly decline unknowingly.
And he only thought that he was using his cultivation to survive under the heavenly punishment.
When the last heavenly punishment ended, Yang Hong's cultivation was tragically sealed to the early Golden Core stage.
"Lucky little fellow, if it weren't for your immense merit, fortune, and karma, I would have killed you."