Chapter 355: Heavenly Thunder Tribulation
*Rumble---*
Thunder rolled among the dark clouds, and wind fluttered the snow wildly on the mountaintop.
A young man with long hair sat on the mountaintop under the eye of the storm with his eyes closed. The wind howled around him and the lightnings and thunder flashed above his head, but he was still sitting like a rock without the slightest change in his expression.
"Hoo..."
Ye Anping exhaled slowly before looking at the fierce *Heavenly Dao* thunder tribulation with a hint of helplessness in his deep purple eyes.
In fact, ever since he and his sister killed Wu You and passed the first death tribulation of his destiny, he had been planning his own *Core Formation* tribulation.
He had planned to form a second-grade golden core like Ye Ao, and when the time came, he would go to **Cold Country** to marry Xiyue and take her and his sister to live an ordinary life in the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect.
However, the prerequisite was to avoid being entangled with Feng Yu Die.
But now, Feng Yu Die and he had been bound by the *Heavenly Dao*.
Previously in the ***Imperial*** Sect, he had observed that Feng Yu Die had fallen into a bottleneck that should not have been there, and it happened because of his cultivation.
Although he was not sure, this was just in case.
If he formed a second-grade golden core and dragged down Feng Yu Die, she would definitely die in Gu Mingxin's hands in the future, and he, his sister, Xiao Yunluo, and the others would naturally not have the slightest chance of survival.
Ye Anping didn't like taking risks, but how could one avoid danger in life?
Rather than regretting yesterday, it is better to take a risk hoping that everything will go well tomorrow.
*Thunderbolt---*
The deep purple eyes reflected the golden lightning flashing in the storm.
Ye Anping made a hand seal in front of his chest, opened his mouth slightly, and exhaled a white spiritual mist. "Ha..."
Then, he gritted his teeth and inhaled.
"Hiss--"
Water and wood spiritual energy flowed between his mouth and nose, revealing a subtle blue-green glow.
At the same time, the *Snow Jade Spirit Sword*, made of black ice, flew out of his storage bag and remained hanging as if from a beam, with the blade pointing downward, directly above his head.
*Boom---*
A golden thunderbolt rushed down with a roar, hitting the hilt of the sword, and then was instantly frozen by the majestic icy aura within the sword, as if it was an ice tree connected to the sky.
The tree trunk was the black ice blade, while the tree crown was the dazzling golden thunder.
*Thunderbolt---*
The thunder guided by *Snow Jade Spirit Sword* unreservedly fell on Ye Anping's head through the tip of the sword. The majestic spiritual energy rushed into his meridians like a waterfall and gathered in his chest, condensing into a thumb-sized round bead.
The bones and organs in his body seemed to be torn into pieces and then put back together.
Even though Ye Anping had practiced hard in his childhood and was used to pain, he could not help but grit his teeth and entertain a fleeting thought of escaping.
But he also knew that if he fainted now, or had the slightest thought of retreating, this heavenly thunder tribulation would instantly turn him into ashes.
*Boom-boom---*
The thunder spread out from the sword like a snake, landing on grass, trees, mud, and rocks around Ye Anping, blasting out charred holes one by one.
"Haaa---!"
With a loud shout, the veins on Ye Anping's forehead burst with blood, and the majestic spiritual energy that fell on him spread in all directions in a ring, blowing away all the storm clouds in the sky.
*Boom---*
Startled, birds flew up and beasts fled when suddenly, the storm stopped.
The morning light broke through the clouds, falling on Ye Anping.
He looked up with a pale face and a wry smile.
And then---
With a "thump", he fell to the ground, and the *Snow Jade Spirit Sword* above his head also fell suddenly from the sky into the mud.
...
When Ye Anping woke up, he saw a wooden ceiling above him.
A girl with a silver hairpin in her hair appeared in his line of sight, and she waved in front of his eyes. "Young Master Ye, do you recognize me?"
Ye Anping rolled his eyes, and seeing that it was Ye Waner, he was slightly relieved. After a moment, he sat up from the bed with Ye Waner's help. "Miss Ye, how many days have I slept?"
"Three days."
A gloomy baritone voice came out from the corner of the room. Ye Anping turned his head and saw Liang Zhu wearing the uniform of an Elder of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, leaning against the wall with his arms folded and looking at him with his serious poker face.
Ye Anping smiled and asked, "Brother Liang, what's with the long face?"
Liang Zhu shook his head slightly, then looked up and down at him with a frown. "Sixth Brother, you are overestimating yourself. You insist on forming the *Heavenly Dao* golden core. This is only the first thunder tribulation, and you are already half dead. There are seventy-one more left, how many can you last?"
Ye Anping replied, "Each thunder tribulation is equally powerful. Since I survived the first one, why can't I survive the remaining seventy-one?"
Liang Zhu narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a hint of anger, he said, "You're looking for death! You barely survived the first thunder tribulation with your full strength. You will surely die in the second thunder tribulation nine days later."
Ye Waner also nodded and advised him. "Young Master Ye, Brother Liang is right. Although the power of each thunder tribulation is the same, injuries will accumulate. Once there are too many injuries, your mind and body will get worse and worse. Young Master Ye, you can't withstand this heavenly thunder tribulation."
"Sixth Brother, you'd better listen to me in this matter. Break the shell of this core that you've only just condensed. The worst that can happen with a shattered core now is to drop a level or two. You will spend another year cultivating the *Incipient Core Formation* again, and then you can go through the second or third-grade golden core thunder tribulation again."
Ye Anping knew that the two were concerned about him, so he smiled and cupped his hands, thanking them. "Thank you for your concern, Sister Ye and Brother Liang. Admittedly, this *Heavenly Dao* thunder tribulation was slightly beyond my expectations, but it's not enough to make me change my plan."
Liang Zhu stared at Ye Anping's eyes and saw that he really didn't hesitate. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Sixth Brother, you are not the kind of person who takes risks. What happened with seeking safety in everything?"
"Some things cannot be avoided."
Ye Anping shook his head and got off the bed, but he staggered and couldn't steady himself. Fortunately, Ye Waner quickly supported him and prevented him from falling.
"Young Master Ye, think about this again... With your dual spiritual roots, there is really no need to pursue the *Heavenly Dao Core Formation*. Even if you only form a second-grade core, you are already the best among the four regions. Why bother?"
"I don't do anything unnecessary."
Ye Anping took a deep breath, straightened up again, and then took out an old map of the **Western Region** from the corner of the room and spread it on the table.
"If I say I can, then I can."
Seeing how confident and stubborn he was, Liang Zhu and Ye Waner walked over to the table with heavy faces and looked down at the map that he had taken out.
This map had turned yellow and there were quite a few red and black ink markings on it. However, the ink had cracked in many places and looked like it was drawn more than ten years ago.
Ye Waner glanced at it, a little confused. "Young Master Ye, what are you doing with this..."
"There are a few things that I hope you two can get for me."
Ye Anping leaned on the table and pointed to a mark on the map. "There is a fifth-level demonic beast here, and in its lair, there grows a rare spiritual plant called '*Cold Snow Lotus*'. Brother Liang, with your cultivation, it should not be difficult to deal with it. I hope you can help me get it."
Liang Zhu listened with a hint of surprise in his eyes. "People in the black market are buying it at a high price of one hundred thousand spirit stones per plant. It is said that it can have the effect of breaking the spirit, but it is usually out of stock and extremely rare."
"Well, the *Cold Snow Lotus* can help a cultivator improve his cultivation to a higher level in a short period of time, but it is extremely toxic and cold. If you take the wrong amount, you'll end up poisoned, and there is almost no cure."
"..."
Ye Anping pointed to another location marked with a triangle on the map, then looked at Ye Waner. "Sister Ye, you are very good at escaping. This is the hideout of a group of fallen mountain bandits, whose highest cultivation level is only in the early stage of *Core Formation*. There are seven people in total, and one of them has a blood-red pill."
"Blood-red pill?"
"It comes from the ***Poisonous Insects*** Sect in the **Eastern Region**. It is a highly toxic poison, but it also has the effect of stabilizing the spiritual sense."
"Poison..." Ye Waner frowned with some concern and asked, "You also said that the *Cold Snow Lotus* is poisonous... This..."
"My sister and I specifically trained since young and already experienced thousands of poisons in the world. Two more kinds of poisons won't kill me."
Ye Waner looked at Ye Anping's pale face. "But who will take care of you when Brother Liang and I leave? How about I bring your maid Xiaodie here?"
"No, Xiaodie is too soft. If she sees me taking such a big risk, she will definitely tell my parents. If they worry, I will be distracted."
"Then..."
Liang Zhu shook his head and didn't listen anymore. He turned around and walked toward the door. There, he looked back at Ye Anping. "Sixth brother, after you die, I will put your tombstone together with the second, third, fourth, and fifth brothers."
Ye Anping smiled. "...Will Brother Liang be buried there too in the future? The six of us brothers will be together in the afterlife, right?"
"Heh." Liang Zhu rolled his eyes at him before looking at Ye Waner. "Miss Ye, let's go and return quickly."
Ye Waner sighed slightly and gave Ye Anping one last look. "Then, Master Ye, take good care of yourself. We will return with the stuff as soon as possible."
"Good."
After waiting for Ye Waner to leave the room first, Liang Zhu held the door and turned his head to look at the pale Ye Anping. He was silent for a while, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.
Seeing this, Ye Anping smiled. "Brother Liang, are you so worried about your sixth brother?"
"Heh..." Liang Zhu sneered. "Brother, I'll wait for you to die in this thunder tribulation. When the time comes, you can leave me your spirit stones. I will accept them. Those spirit stones are enough for Ating to use until she enters *Nascent Soul* stage."
*Bang---*
Liang Zhu closed the door with an exhale and looked at Ye Waner, who was waiting for him. "Miss Ye, shall we go?"
"Say, if Master Ye really dies in the thunder tribulation, where will you go, Brother Liang?"
"I'll just find a place to live in seclusion."
"I haven't even thought about this." Ye Waner tapped her lips, thought for a while, and finally gave up. "Forget it, I don't want to think about it. We'll see when the time comes!"
"..."
The two of them summoned their flying swords at the same time, jumped on them, and flew toward the two places that Ye Anping had indicated.
...
The sun set, and the moon rose; the moon set, and the sun rose.
After this cycle was repeated four times, Liang Zhu and Ye Waner successfully retrieved the medicines that Ye Anping wanted.
After that, Ye Anping sent them to two other places to get more things for him, so without rest, they immediately went to help him get the herbs or pills he wanted.
As for Ye Anping, in the past few days, apart from condensing his energy and meditating, he slept and rested, and used the pills he prepared earlier to repair the meridians that were broken by the first thunder tribulation.
There were seventy-two thunder tribulations, one every twelve days, which meant a total of eight hundred and sixty-four days.
...
The silver moon hung high in the starry sky.
The golden-crowned parrot spread its wings and floated to the window sill of the tile-roofed house with the night wind. It looked at the young man sleeping on the bed in the room and opened its beak. *"Here!! Here!!"*
Immediately, a streak of purple starlight fell onto the window edge as if brought by wind and condensed into a girl with yin and yang eyes.
*Jingle-ling---*
Si Xuanji landed barefoot in the room, and the bell on her ankle made a light sound.
A trace of anger flashed in her eyes as she blamed Ye Anping for his decision that disregarded his own safety. But when she saw him lying on the bed with sweat all over his forehead, she felt helpless.
Si Xuanji glanced around the room and noticed some spirit herbs on the table. She tiptoed forward, gently touched them with her slender finger, and brought them to her nose to smell. "*Cold Snow Lotus*, *Yellow Perilla*, *Black-Yellow Fruit*... these are all strong poisons... who taught him to match the medicine like this?"
Angrily, she waved her sleeves, wanting to wipe everything on the table away, but when her hand was about to fall on the plants, she stopped abruptly.
She stayed silent for a while, then turned and walked to the bedside, staring at Ye Anping.
Ye Anping seemed to be having a nightmare at this moment. His eyelids trembled slightly, his teeth were clenched, and his bedding and hair were soaked with sweat.
Si Xuanji made a sword-like finger and gently touched Ye Anping's forehead, then closed her eyes and sent her spiritual sense into his body to investigate.
However, when she saw the condition of Ye Anping's body, she was shocked.
His body was like a battlefield, with dozens of poisons fighting in his organs and meridians.
The poison already penetrated the bone marrow, and there was no cure at all.
However, the meridians that should have already been overwhelmed by the intense poison were actually strengthening because of the "chaotic battle" of these poisons.
Si Xuanji immediately understood that Ye Anping wanted to use the poisons to help him bear the pressure of the thunder tribulation on his body.
To ask if it was feasible, naturally, it was.
But ordinary cultivators could never use this method. Ye Anping took nearly twenty poisons, and just one of them was enough to kill a *Core Formation* cultivator.
Si Xuanji turned her head to look at those medicinal powders on the table, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
There really was a little boy of four or five years old who would endure hardships and practice to such an extent for something that would happen decades later?!
She slowly raised her hand, took out a handkerchief from the storage bag, and sat on the edge of the bed, gently wiping the sweat on Ye Anping's forehead.
Now Ye Anping no longer needed to fight against the heavenly thunder tribulation. The poisons he drank could help him resist.
For now, he needed to fight for his life against these twenty kinds of poison.
Ye Anping ingeniously turned his spiritual root qualification, which was his shortcoming, into his strength.
"You're a very smart kid, but even you might not be able to withstand these cumulative poisons..."
Si Xuanji half-closed her eyes, stood up, and walked to the window, looking up at the black star in the sky that was accompanying the moon.
After a moment, she stood on tiptoe, closed the window with the latch, then walked back to the bed.
*Rustle---*
The purple veil slipped from Si Xuanji's shoulders around her white bare feet.
*Jingle-ling...*
*Jingle-ling...*
The bell rang softly in the room.
The parrot, who had been driven out of the room, landed on a nearby tree, tilted its head to look at the quiet house, and then spread his wings and took off.
*"Ye Yunluo!! Ye Yunluo!!"*