Chapter 133 Transcending Tribulation and Claiming a Natural Training Ground

Chapter 133: Undergoing Tribulation and Securing a Natural Body-Forging Site

Ji Fu was afraid of heavenly thunder, but since her sister wanted to enter, she, as a Spiritual Pet, couldn't back down.

"Sister, I'm coming." She gritted her teeth and stepped into the formation.

As soon as she entered, two finger-sized bolts of lightning shot toward them.

Just as the lightning was about to strike, Jiang Yingxue, moving faster than the lightning itself, held up an umbrella over them.

It was a Golden Thunder Bamboo Umbrella—ten-thousand-year Heavenly Thunder Bamboo that could effectively ward off lightning attacks, protecting those underneath from harm.

"Xiao Fu, wait for me under the umbrella. I'm going to check it out." Jiang Yingxue placed the umbrella's handle in Ji Fu's hand and stepped right out.

"Sister..." Ji Fu called out worriedly from behind.

Jiang Yingxue responded, "It's fine."

She let the lightning wash over her.

"Boom—"

"Boom—"

"Boom—"

The first two heavenly thunderbolts might as well have been tickles to Jiang Yingxue; her clothes remained untouched and perfectly neat.

As if angered that this outsider, Jiang Yingxue, remained unharmed, the heavenly thunder intensified. The bolts targeting her grew steadily thicker.

From fist-sized to bucket-sized, sometimes several bolts would fall together. Jiang Yingxue's clothes were slowly reduced to tatters.

With a wave of her hand, she changed into a new set of cultivation robes.

Ordinary clothes would be destroyed by the heavenly thunder's power before even making contact, but cultivation robes could last a little longer.

Beside her, Ji Fu's expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to quiet concern.

*Sister is using the lightning's power to temper her body.*

An hour later, Jiang Yingxue's cultivation level leaped from the mid-Golden Core stage to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, skipping a major realm and a minor stage within it.

This speed made Ji Fu's eyes shine with their original deep blue hue, filled with a mix of envy and immense joy.

"Sister is just too amazing! Just what I'd expect from my master! So awesome!"

Almost immediately, the joy on Ji Fu's face turned to worry as she saw the dark clouds gathering in the sky.

Within the rolling black clouds came a low, muffled roar of thunder.

This was a tribulation!

"Boom!" Deafening thunder roared beside their ears.

Jiang Yingxue's gaze was firm as she looked up at the dark clouds.

While others typically faced the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation for the Nascent Soul stage, Jiang Yingxue was undergoing the Five-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.

Forty-five heavenly thunderbolts struck Jiang Yingxue in full force. Her cultivation robes turned to ashes under the lightning, her beautiful hair became charred, and glimpses of white bone showed in several places on her body...

Not long after, a final, frustrated roar echoed from the sky, followed by the clouds dispersing. A melodious and ethereal celestial music played from above, accompanied by the harmonious cries of cranes. Healing dew then fell upon Jiang Yingxue.

The healing dew rapidly mended the wounds on Jiang Yingxue's body. New, even more radiant and translucent skin grew over the exposed bones, and a head of lustrous, jet-black hair regrew.

With a mere thought, Jiang Yingxue clad herself in a set of cultivation robes from her time in the cultivation world.

The light green robes shimmered faintly in the sunlight. The butterflies embroidered at the hem were so lifelike they seemed ready to fly off the fabric at any moment.

Ji Fu exclaimed happily, "Congratulations, sister!"

Jiang Yingxue said with a gentle smile, "Mm-hmm. Xiao Fu, do you want to temper your body here too? The lightning here scales up from weak to strong, and it doesn't ramp up too quickly. It's just right for body tempering."

"I..." Ji Fu hesitated. Heavenly thunder was terrifying to her. Apart from during her unavoidable tribulations, she had never considered voluntarily subjecting herself to lightning strikes.

Jiang Yingxue said, "The tempering results here are excellent, and I'll be here watching over you. It'll be fine."

Encouraged by Jiang Yingxue, Ji Fu gave a determined nod.

"Sister, I'll give it a try too." She put away the Golden Thunder Bamboo Umbrella and began her body-tempering session.

Before long, another ominous bank of dark clouds gathered above this patch of sky.

Celestial music sounded once more, the cranes cried again, and healing dew fell upon Ji Fu's face and beautiful tail. She officially became a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Jiang Yingxue asked the spiritual pets in her space if they wanted to come out and temper their bodies in this lightning-rich area, but they all refused upon hearing the details.

They ran off faster than rabbits.

Jiang Yingxue was somewhat puzzled. "Most Monster Cultivators possess tough hides. Why did they all refuse?"

Ji Fu's mouth twitched. Although demon beasts had thick, sturdy hides, they didn't enjoy self-inflicted torture by lightning either.

Not every Human Cultivator or Monster Cultivator was as extreme as Jiang Yingxue, who was so keen on using heavenly thunder for body tempering, thriving on self-punishment.

She said, "Perhaps they haven't mentally prepared themselves to be struck by lightning yet."

"Mm, then they can face the lightning when they're prepared."

Jiang Yingxue and Ji Fu, each holding a Golden Thunder Bamboo Umbrella, walked through the lightning field.

The ground was covered in black stones and half-broken trees that had fallen.

The closer they got to the central area, the darker the soil, the thicker the trees, and the larger the stones became.

Most of the lightning-struck wood here was over ten thousand years old. This trip to Y City had yielded great rewards.

Jiang Yingxue stood before the thickest tree, examining it thoughtfully.

With so much ten-thousand-year lightning-struck wood here, could there be Thunder Wood Crystals?

She gathered power in her palm and struck the trunk of the lightning-struck tree.

"Bang—" The lightning-struck wood instantly shattered into pieces scattered on the ground. A milky-white crystal floated in mid-air.

It was a Thunder Wood Crystal, and a sizable one at that, as big as a fist.

A smile curled at the corner of Jiang Yingxue's lips. She reached out and grabbed it, storing the Thunder Wood Crystal in her storage ring.

The Thunder Wood Crystal contained the concentrated energy absorbed by the lightning-struck wood from the heavenly thunder. It had the functions of suppressing evil, warding off misfortune, calming the spirit, ensuring safety, and could be used to forge magical artifacts.

Jiang Yingxue and Ji Fu split up. After each had collected a pile of Thunderwood Crystals as big as a small hill, they set their sights on the black stones.

These stones were called Sound-Absorbing Stones. This place was so quiet because the Sound-Absorbing Stones absorbed all the noise from the thunder strikes.

Jiang Yingxue tried to break apart a Sound-Absorbing Stone and discovered Sound-Absorbing Crystals inside as well.

The two of them busily and happily smashed stones and struck Thunderstruck Trees within the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Ground, collecting crystals.

As the sun was about to set, Jiang Yingxue gazed at the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Ground with a hint of reluctance.

This training ground was perfect for those Spiritual Pets to exercise, and it would also be suitable for her grandparents to use in the future.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yingxue cast a Teleportation Spell to move this entire Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Ground into her space, making it her own.

She placed the ground behind the stone house. With the Sound-Absorbing Stones there, it wouldn't create noise, so it wouldn't affect the healthy growth of the stored grains or the work and life of the Spiritual Pets within the space.

Witnessing the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Ground transform into a bottomless pit before her, Ji Fu was stunned and said, "Sister, this..."

Jiang Yingxue said, "I've taken it into my space. You can go there often to exercise if you like in the future."

She also stared at the large pit. After pondering for a moment, she moved an inconspicuous, uninhabited small hill directly onto the large mountain.

"Done!"

After removing the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Ground, the formation here disappeared, allowing everyone to see the real topography.

The illusory cliff became a real small hill.