Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 311 Palace Master's Heavenly Grade Nascent Soul

"Boom!"

After the Thunder Sword and the Sword River clashed, they transformed into a sky full of black lightning, shooting in all directions.

This was thanks to the fact that the Five Elements Sword Net had consumed 30% of the Thunder Sword's power, which greatly reduced the Thunder Sword's strength.

The remaining lightning was completely dissipated under the sweep of the sword river.

Dean Gong also passed through this tribulation of lightning safely.

However, Zhou Ling's gaze suddenly sharpened.

Through his [Intermediate Observation], he could tell that Dean Gong had already suffered considerable losses.

The power of each subsequent lightning tribulation will increase exponentially, making it increasingly difficult.

This made him worry about Dean Gong.

The dean of the palace, who had already returned to his original form, remained calm as he gazed at the thunderclouds in the sky.

There was no trace of worry in his eyes; instead, they revealed a strong sense of challenge.

"Why is Dean Gong refusing to take elixirs to restore his magical power?"

"Fellow Daoist Liang, you're supposed to be a Nascent Soul cultivator, yet you don't even know this much."

"Dean Gong is trying to unleash one's own potential. At the same time, cultivators who undergo tribulation without the aid of external objects will receive even stronger feedback from the laws of heaven and earth after successfully passing the tribulation!"

"I see. But taking pills to restore one's mana will undoubtedly increase the chances of successfully achieving a Heavenly Nascent Soul."

"If we fail, then it will all be for nothing!"

"That's right! These three subsequent tribulations are not something ordinary cultivators can overcome. If something goes wrong, they could perish at any moment!"

"It would be such a pity if something happened to Dean Gong, given his cultivation level!"

In front of the main hall, many Nascent Soul cultivators were discussing the matter.

Many people don't understand why Dean Gong made this choice.

Moreover, everyone present was a Nascent Soul cultivator, although only City Lord Qi was a Heavenly Grade Nascent Soul cultivator.

But everyone knows that the power of heavenly lightning increases gradually.

The power of the heavenly lightning will increase as the game progresses.

Each step will result in enormous consumption.

The preceding tribulation lightning contained rules.

The subsequent three lightning tribulations were powerful attribute lightning tribulations, and their attributes were all formed by creating attribute restraint against the attributes of the person undergoing the tribulation.

Moreover, it won't be just one type of attribute rule.

It could be two, or three or more, etc.

This was something no one could have predicted.

However, it may be related to the cultivator's own attributes.

Soon, thunder roared in the sky again.

Five enormous lightning vortexes coalesced in the air.

Amidst the swirling thunder and lightning, five-colored spiritual light flashed.

The five-colored vortex exuded an aura of mutual generation and restraint.

This represents the five elements attributes of most human cultivators.

Seeing this, Dean Gong remained calm, and with a flick of his hand, four flying swords of different colors shot out.

It formed a five-element sword formation with the Falling Wood Sword, hovering above the head of the Palace Master.

"The Five Elements Sword that Dean Gong repaired was actually for the purpose of helping the Nascent Soul Tribulation?"

Looking at the four swords, Zhou Ling showed a look of surprise.

Because he personally repaired two of these four Five Elements Swords.

He knew that Dean Gong cultivated the Five Elements Sword Intent, but he himself was not of the Five Elements attribute.

Its power is limited.

This choice of the Five Elements Sword Formation is to deal with the last three lightning tribulations.

In Zhou Ling's view, it didn't seem like a good choice.

However, he quickly shook his head. Given Dean Gong's personality, he would never make such a baseless statement.

Since she chose the Five Elements Sword Formation, she must have something to rely on.

Moreover, if Dean Gong makes this choice and all five swords withstand the lightning tribulation, their power will increase significantly afterward.

Just as Zhou Ling was pondering this, the seventh bolt of heavenly lightning descended from the sky.

The heavenly lightning was twice as large as before, and its power was extremely astonishing.

At this moment, the speed of the lightning did not seem fast.

It seemed to hover and gather in the air, as if brewing some great terror.

In an instant, the five elements vortex surged with five-colored lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the five-colored lightning turned into a fiery red color.

At that moment, the deep purple lightning seemed to turn the entire void into a sea of ​​fire.

Since the Palace Master is of the wood element, this powerful heavenly lightning tribulation is the kind of fire tribulation that counters the wood element.

The powerful fire element can suppress the Palace Master's wood attribute.

Now Zhou Ling understood why Dean Gong had specifically instructed him to look carefully.

This kind of rule-based lightning tribulation is extremely rare.

His Five Elements Thunder and Fire talent also rapidly increased the speed at which he absorbed lightning and fire.

At the same time, it seemed as if flames were rising in Dean Gong's pupils, but his expression remained as calm as ever.

Then, with a flick of her hand, the five swords surrounding her emitted five-colored sword light.

Amidst flashes of sword light, they intertwined to form a giant sword several tens of feet long.

Five-colored sword energy roared and crisscrossed, slashing towards the heavenly lightning in the sky.

Where the five-colored sword energy swept, the fiery red thunderclouds vanished completely.

"cut!"

Dean Gong's clear and resounding voice shook the heavens.

The five-colored sword river and the sea of ​​fire and lightning clashed fiercely, like meteorites from outer space colliding.

It burst forth with dazzling light that filled the sky.

The overwhelming sword energy and the terrifying flames and lightning annihilated each other.

For a time, the two sides were evenly matched.

The raging flames and lightning could not penetrate the sword energy covering the Five-Colored Sword River.

Even the Five-Colored Sword River could not cleave the heavenly lightning.

However, at this moment, a beam of moonlight sword light suddenly shot into the sky from within the Five Elements Sword Qi.

Like moonlight spreading out, it slashed towards the heavenly thunder.

"The moon rises and the river flows!"

As Dean Gong's voice faded.

The surging moonlight and sword light instantly reached tens of feet in length.

It stood out exceptionally well amidst the Five Elements Sword Formation and the Flaming Thunder.

The moonlight and sword light whistled through the air, unstoppable.

After a period of exhaustion from the Five Elements Sword Formation, the Flame Thunder had already suffered considerable depletion.

Under the fierce slash of the Moonlit Sword, the fiery lightning gradually dissipated.

Ultimately, it vanished from the world.

Although the Five Elements Sword Formation, combined with the Moon Surge Sword Intent, helped them overcome the fiery heavenly lightning, the depletion of the mana within Dean Gong's body became increasingly apparent.

It's less than 40% of its peak condition.

But just as the flames and lightning dissipated, golden light surged from the five vortexes in the sky.

"Metal-attribute Heavenly Lightning!"

Zhou Ling's expression darkened.

Among the five elements, metal and fire have the strongest attack power.

The sight of two such powerful bolts of lightning struck him with horror.

"It's actually a thousand-foot golden lightning bolt! Dean Gong is in trouble now!"

"Yes, back then when I was undergoing the eighth tribulation of lightning, which was five hundred feet of heavenly lightning!"

"Given Dean Gong's current condition, breaking through this thousand-foot-long heavenly lightning is far too difficult!"

"Dean Gong is using heavenly lightning to temper his own sword intent!"

In front of the main hall, many Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't help but feel a little worried for Dean Gong.

Dean Gong, on the other hand, remained calm.

In her current state, she has only one thought: no matter what comes, she will kill it with one sword.

The golden lightning emitted endless golden light, like golden sword beams, shooting down from the sky and covering the earth.

Each golden radiance exuded an astonishing pressure.

"If Dean Gong uses the Five Elements Sword Formation again, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop him!"

Zhou Ling frowned.

The power of this metal-attribute heavenly lightning is more than twice that of the fire-attribute heavenly lightning before. Given Dean Gong's current depletion of magical power, it would be extremely difficult to block it without external assistance.

"Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword!!"

Facing the vast metal-attribute heavenly lightning, Dean Gong, as always, was fearless and took the initiative to attack.

Then, it was clear that another sword flew out from her hand.

With a flash of sword light, it directly merged into the Five Elements Sword Formation.

In an instant, another blazing sword light condensed within the Five Elements Sword Formation.

This time, however, it was a golden sun-like sword beam.

The Golden Sun Sword Qi and the Moonlight Sword Qi intertwined, like the convergence of Yin and Yang, condensing into a sword qi array resembling a Bagua diagram above the Palace Master.

Within the sword formation, the Golden Sun Sword Qi and the Moonlight Sword Qi rotated and interacted.

This is almost identical to how Zhou Ling and I developed the Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword Formation back then.

However, even Zhou Ling looked puzzled as Dean Gong displayed this skill alone.

With the full activation of [Intermediate Observation] and [Intermediate Analysis]...

At this moment, under the shadow of the lightning tribulation, the area within several miles of the Palace Master's academy has become a forbidden zone.

Even the souls of Nascent Soul cultivators dare not easily venture into this place.

Zhou Ling's two abilities are innate and do not require the involvement of the soul.

Soon, a look of realization appeared on his face.

This is the Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword Formation, which was created by the Palace Master using the sword energy of heaven and earth to imitate his own Golden Sun Sword Energy.

The sword energy of heaven and earth can not only assimilate other sword energies.

Clearly, while the two were practicing the Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword Formation, Dean Gong had become extremely familiar with the Golden Sun Sword Qi.

Therefore, it can be condensed by drawing upon the sword energy of heaven and earth.

Without comprehending the sword energy of heaven and earth, it is absolutely impossible to achieve this.

Through this observation and analysis, Zhou Ling unknowingly gained a new understanding of his own swordsmanship.

Although he did not achieve a state of enlightenment as astounding as Dean Gong.

However, thanks to these two talents, the gains have been considerable.

"Boom!"

Endless thunder roared.

Endless golden lightning and sword formations clashed in mid-air.

A violent roar shot straight into the sky.

Lightning bolts and sword energy bombarded the area, causing explosions and annihilation.

The Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword Formation trembled violently.

It looked as if it might collapse at any moment.

However, things stabilized quickly.

The combination of Jin Yang and Yue Hua with the Five Elements Sword Qi achieved the effect of mutual generation of Yin and Yang.

Originally, Dean Gong's sword intent was the Falling Wood Sword Intent, but he also comprehended the Sword Intent of the Rules of Life.

When combined with the five elements' mutual generation and restraint, and integrated into the sword formation, it naturally achieves the effect of continuous generation.

After about ten breaths of continuous fighting, the metal-attribute heavenly lightning had clearly weakened.

However, the Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword Formation seemed unaffected and remained steadfast.

It seems to be endless and continuous.

But this is the eighth heavenly lightning strike after all; how could it be so easily broken?

As the roar continued to erupt, countless golden lightning bolts swept down from the sky.

The Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword Formation features five-colored sword energies intertwined.

Despite the raging golden lightning crashing down, the golden sun sword energy and the moonlight sword energy complemented each other, rendering the golden lightning ineffective.

Even under such intensity, Dean Gong's breathing fluctuated noticeably.

Rumble!
Enormous golden lightning coalesced into a giant golden sword, slashing down with overwhelming force.

The Five Elements Sun and Moon Sword Formation also intertwined to form the Five Elements Return to One Sword, which roared out.

The giant swords shattered into pieces in mid-air.

The eighth tribulation of lightning passed safely.

However, Dean Gong no longer had the composure he once had.

His face was pale, he was panting, and his hair at the temples was blowing in the wind, looking somewhat disheveled and embarrassed.

His aura had noticeably weakened, and his magical power was probably less than 20%.

"With such magical power, how could one possibly survive the ninth tribulation of lightning?"

Seeing this, Zhou Ling looked concerned.

It has to be said that the ninth heavenly lightning is many times more powerful than the metal-attribute heavenly lightning. Even if they were evenly matched, Dean Gong might not be able to survive it safely.

But now, during the tribulation process, no one else can interfere at all.

Even if Dean Gong wanted to withdraw voluntarily, he couldn't.

The heavenly lightning has been unleashed; it will not wait for anyone, it will arrive as promised.

He had now truly witnessed the terror of the lightning tribulation.

Dean Gong's combat strength is comparable to that of cultivators at the third or fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

But there is still a risk of it falling.

And how terrifying would the power of one's own five elements be when undergoing the Golden Core Tribulation?
This made him hesitant to continue thinking about it.

In any case, we need to prepare more methods.

He certainly wouldn't fight against the heavenly tribulation with just his own swordsmanship, like Dean Gong did.

Swordsmanship was merely one of his methods.

There is no need to deliberately try to improve it.

It doesn't matter if a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.

He himself was a fourth-tier weapon refiner.

Therefore, we need to prepare more precious items at that time.

Add the Five Elements Spirit Flame and the Five Elements Treasure Sword, and that should be about right.

However, Dean Gong seemed to have no fear whatsoever, and looked at Zhou Ling.

With a smile on her face and her red lips slightly parted, she seemed to be saying, "Watch closely."

Seeing Zhou Ling's immense gratitude, he wished he could go up and take Gong Yuan's place to undergo the tribulation.

If the Palace Dean cannot overcome the final tribulation lightning, it will be extremely dangerous.

If that were indeed the case, Zhou Ling would not hesitate to take action.

Regardless of the rules or tribulations, the priority is to save Dean Gong.

As for myself, even if I can't stop it, I'll block it with five spiritual flames.

At most, only five spiritual flames will be destroyed; there is no danger to their lives.

"Boom!"

The final tribulation lightning, which would determine whether one could successfully achieve the Heavenly Nascent Soul stage, had finally arrived.

A fierce wind howled, and thunder roared!
The ninth tribulation lightning bolt erupted violently.

Golden light and flames shimmered together.

Everyone gasped in shock; it was a terrifying lightning tribulation with both metal and fire attributes.

This time, Dean Gong is really in danger!
Dean Gong remained calm and instead of retreating, he advanced.

······.

The thunder subsided, and the world returned to its clear state.

Zhou Ling looked relaxed.

The defensive array of the entire Anyang Immortal City was already extremely dim, and this wave of lightning attack was no less impactful than the beast tide.

"Fortunately, Dean Gong successfully entered the Nascent Soul realm!"

At this moment, Zhou Ling was filled with excitement and exhilaration.

The lightning tribulation had receded, and Dean Gong still stood in the void.

His aura was completely different.

Just now, the lightning bolts with both metal and fire attributes were incredibly fierce.

But Dean Gong was still in a state of miraculous enlightenment.

He directly used this state to unleash the Heaven and Earth Sword.

With the sword intent of heaven and earth, the two terrifying lightning tribulations were neutralized.

In the end, he survived the tribulation without serious injury and achieved the Heavenly Grade Nascent Soul.

Now Zhou Ling finally understood why the White House Dean had chosen this state to undergo the tribulation!
Such an opportunity is one in a million.

Of course, only Dean Gong could do that.

The others were probably already reduced to ashes in the lightning tribulation.

(End of this chapter)