Alien Science Cultivation

Beneath a mountain range, two figures slowly emerged. "Brother Zhang is truly skilled. With a single strike, he annihilated a Black Gold Cicada King who had reached the Perfection of the Nirvana Realm," Chen Ying said with deep emotion. Along the way, Zhang Qiang had barely made a move, at most helping to dismantle the corpse. He knew that if he did, he had to do it with drastic force to subdue Chen Ying. It seemed the effect had already been achieved. Zhang Qiang smiled and changed the subject, wondering, "What is Wang Yan doing here? And all alone... and she even managed to alarm the Black Gold Cicada King?"

"I suspect she's here to seek the Guixu Qi... According to records, the combination of spiritual energy and Guixu Qi generates a mysterious power. Based on our technological planet's knowledge, it's a powerful force of annihilation, capable of reshaping the meridians and dantian. Therefore, we can infer that she's here for her brother. The Black Gold Cicada King is typically born deep underground, relying on a small amount of Guixu Qi to be born. Without it, it remains a Black Gold Cicada, never a Cicada King..." Chen Ying's golden finger explained. Zhang Qiang naturally knew that the Black Gold Cicada emerged from the earth, just like the cicadas on Earth. Chen Ying's golden finger's words confirmed Dulong's theory about the aptitude of immortal cultivators. The higher the relative amount of Guixu Qi and spiritual energy within a person, the better their aptitude. "So, if we find its cave and enter, we might be able to find the Guixu Qi? Is that what you mean?" Zhang Qiang asked softly. "Yes, Mr. Zhang has learned as much as a techie like me these days..." the golden finger replied. Zhang Qiang also smiled slightly, and his spiritual sense spread rapidly.

A moment later, his figure appeared at the foot of a mountain. Looking at the massive rock before him and the shattered transparent shield beneath it, covering the roughly ten-foot-wide hole, Zhang Qiang was certain this was the Black Gold Cicada's birthplace. Judging by the signs of recent destruction surrounding it, it was likely caused by Wang Yan. "It seems she was discovered by the Black Gold Cicada King before she could enter, so she fled, leading to what just happened..."

"Yeah! I think so too. Let's go in and find out..." Chen Ying responded. With that, she rushed in first, followed by Zhang Qiang, who then repaired the broken array. Although Zhang Qiang didn't understand arrays, these arrays were just basic atomic structures. Extracting nearby atoms to rebuild an array wasn't difficult, let alone a simple repair. This array was designed to evade the divine senses of cultivators and exotic beasts. After repairing it, Zhang Qiang and Chen Ying's chances of being discovered would be much lower.

A few minutes later, Chen Ying and Zhang Qiang finally reached the bottom of the tunnel. Chen Ying pulled out something resembling a light from her spatial ring and surveyed the area. "It looks like we're at the base of the mountain. The only way to open a passage is to go inside..." Chen Ying analyzed. Then, Zhang Qiang's consciousness shifted, and a passage about the size of a person appeared. Chen Ying's pupils shrank noticeably. After a moment, she forced herself to remain calm as the two of them entered, one after the other.

Half an hour later, Zhang Qiang and Chen Ying appeared beside an underground river. The river was about ten feet wide. While not very large or deep, its flowing water did contain Guixu Qi, though its concentration couldn't compare to the entrance to Hell. This Guixu Qi constantly overflowed from the river, seeping through the cracks in the mountain, and was absorbed by the Black Gold Cicada King. Even just this tiny amount was enough to make it the ultimate king of its species...

Zhang Qiang didn't despise him, controlling his consciousness to control the nearby Guixu Qi and rapidly absorbing it into his body. Three hours later, Zhang Qiang's Guixu energy replenished completely. Although Zhang Qiang knew that the Guixu Qi would be even more concentrated at the end of the underground river, he didn't want to go there yet. Not to mention the unknown dangers, even the first and second dantians required foundation building.

A moment later, Zhang Qiang appeared in a vast valley. Dark clouds rolled overhead, filling the entire canyon with dark clouds, rendering the sky as pitch black as midnight. Purple arcs of electricity crisscrossed within the clouds, and in a moment, three purple thunder dragons darted towards Zhang Qiang. Chen Ying, standing by, was speechless, observing Zhang Qiang's bewildered expression. "No wonder you're so ridiculously strong... Is this the Foundation Establishment Tribulation? Even the Divine Transformation Tribulation wouldn't be this strong..." Chen Ying shouted at Zhang Qiang. While her Foundation Establishment Tribulation was terrifying, and she'd easily passed it with the help of the Golden Finger, she'd never seen one preceded by three purple thunder dragons. And judging by Zhang Qiang's expression, he showed no intention of resisting. Zhang Qiang glanced at her and smiled faintly. As if provoked, the three thunder dragons condensed into a thicker one in mid-air, instantly hurtling towards Zhang Qiang's head. Chen Ying, perched on the mountaintop, was terrified, covering her face with her hands, unable to look directly at him. After a moment, he glanced through his fingers at Zhang Qiang's location and nearly laughed out loud. A dark figure stood comfortably in the pit, its shattered hair gleaming with sparks. A pair of white eyes darted back and forth, gazing at the dark clouds in the sky, as if in anticipation... Actually, Zhang Qiang didn't want this to happen, nor did he want to be so bored. It was just that the bamboo leaves in his dantian seemed to dance with excitement as the dark clouds gathered. That expression, minus the lack of hands, was definitely a standard embrace. Helplessly, Zhang Qiang could only use his body to resist, testing the bamboo leaves' reaction.

Astonishingly, upon contact with Zhang Qiang's body, the lightning was quickly absorbed by the bamboo leaves, leaving not a trace. As if unsatisfied, the leaves repeated their previous embrace. Meanwhile, the dark clouds seemed even more violent, crisscrossing each other frantically. About five minutes later, the second thunder tribulation rapidly formed. Six lightning dragons rapidly condensed in midair and instantly struck Zhang Qiang. The large pit in the valley expanded from several feet wide to dozens of feet, and became more than ten feet deeper. Several more burning trees appeared, but everything else seemed unchanged. The dark clouds in the sky seemed completely enraged. Endless dark clouds began to gather again, and one could faintly feel the mountains and forests on both sides begin to tremble. Chen Ying also began to retreat rapidly. "Crazy... Crazy... Is this still a human... Is this still the Foundation Establishment Tribulation? You can't play like this..." Ten minutes later, nine golden lightning dragons appeared, instantly condensing in midair and rushing down. "Boom..." With a resounding explosion, half the mountains on either side instantly shattered into ash. Naturally, aside from a larger, deeper crater, everything else remained the same. The dark figure remained largely unmoved, save for a slightly more torn garment and a thinner hair. Zhang Qiang felt helpless. He wondered what it would feel like to withstand this thunder tribulation himself. However, the moment it touched his body, it was instantly absorbed by the bamboo leaves. He felt nothing, not even the pain of the tiny sparks from his skin. Zhang Qiang began to sympathize with the thunder tribulation in the sky. Twenty minutes later, twelve golden thunder dragons condensed... Thirty minutes later, fifteen, forty minutes later, eighteen... The ninth thunder tribulation, twenty-seven golden thunder dragons coalesced into a sea of thunder, pounding the ground hundreds of feet deep. The surrounding mountains were completely reduced to ash, and the dust beneath was scorched to a depth of several feet.

Zhang Qiang looked at everything around him with an innocent look on his face. With a flick of his consciousness, the dust on his body automatically dissipated, and a green robe appeared on him. He appeared beside the dazed Chen Ying and said, "Let's go... It might be dangerous here soon."

"Hmm..." Chen Ying responded blankly, and then the two of them went deeper into the forest.