Chapter 127: The Thunder Tribulation

Chu Han did not dare move a muscle inside the cave. He had no idea whether the lightning phantom had truly deceived the Taotie. The intelligence of such a ferocious beast was already fully comparable to that of a human; perhaps it had only chased after the phantom to lure him out.

An hour passed. Chu Han’s body had gone completely numb, and only after he could no longer sense the Taotie’s presence did he finally emerge from the cave and let out a long breath. In the face of such a savage beast, all he could do was flee.

He felt a wave of weakness spread through his body. The aftereffects of forcibly absorbing the medicinal power of the pill had finally manifested. With a sigh, he crawled back into the cave, sat cross-legged on the ground, and slowly began repairing the injured meridians within his body.

As his true qi circulated throughout him, the medicinal power hidden within his body was gradually awakened. The warm, soothing sensation was extremely comfortable, and before long, his body had recovered completely.

From this point onward, he would have to act with the utmost caution. He absolutely could not lure the Taotie back again. According to the ancient records, Taotie was addicted to sleep. Aside from eating, it spent nearly every day sleeping, and its slumber was extraordinarily deep. Unless there was a disturbance as great as the battle between it and Wang Tian, it should not be awakened.

Chu Han walked alone through the Phantom Forest. He had no idea where Duanmu Meng’er had gone, but since the Taotie had been pursuing him, he no longer needed to worry about her safety. In that case, there was no need to search for her.

He wandered aimlessly through the Phantom Forest. The place was enormous, and encountering another trial participant was exceedingly unlikely. Just then, however, he heard a rumble of thunder, which immediately caught his attention.

Sounds from the outside world could not be heard within the Phantom Forest, so this thunder must have originated from somewhere inside it. The sound was exceedingly strange, and he hurried toward it to see what was happening.

As he drew closer, the true qi within his body began to stir. He cultivated the Thunder Emperor’s Art, which could suppress all the lightning power between heaven and earth. However, his Thunder Emperor’s Art was incomplete, which was why he could feel the agitation within him. That alone was enough to prove that the lightning this time was extraordinary.

He concealed himself in the undergrowth and peered ahead. A gigantic brown bear lay sprawled on the ground, its body covered in blood as it cried out in agony. Bolts of lightning rained down wildly from the sky, striking the bear and tearing its flesh apart in an instant.

Chu Han was stunned. If his instincts were correct, the brown bear was undergoing a tribulation. When magical beasts reached a level equivalent to the human Inscription Realm, they had to undergo a heavenly tribulation. Such tribulations were terrifying beyond compare, for they were formed from the purest power of heaven and earth.

Chu Han had undergone a tribulation in his previous life, so he naturally understood how frightening it was. For magical beasts, however, the tribulation was even more terrifying, because they had no way to withstand its power.

The situation before him was a perfect example. The brown bear was already at death’s door. If things continued like this, it would eventually perish. This was precisely why high-level magical beasts were so rare. Only a small number of them could endure the might of a heavenly tribulation.

Seeing this, Chu Han found himself unable to stand by and watch. Although the creature was a magical beast of the Inscription Realm, reaching such a level had certainly not been easy. He wanted to save it. In any case, the bear was already gravely wounded, and even if it tried to retaliate, he had nothing to fear. He simply did not want to see the bear’s years of cultivation destroyed in an instant.

With that thought, he made his decision.

At that moment, another bolt of tribulation lightning descended. It was undoubtedly the final blow—the last straw that would break the camel’s back. The brown bear could no longer withstand another strike.

At this critical moment, a figure appeared above the bear. Lightning coiled around his body as he blocked the descending tribulation. The figure was none other than Chu Han.

He braced himself against the tribulation with all his strength. The immense force caused blood to spray from his mouth, but he did not retreat. Instead, he clenched his teeth and shouted, “Break!”

He punched the lightning in midair, shattering it into countless fragments. Chu Han let out a breath of relief, but another bolt descended immediately afterward. Unable to dodge in time, he was struck directly on the head.

His mind rang with a deafening roar, as though five thunderbolts had exploded above him. Then he felt the power of the tribulation enter his body, where the lightning energy began forming a seal.

Chu Han was instantly overjoyed. He was only at the Fifth Palace of the Dao Palace Realm, yet he was already capable of forming a Thunder Seal. The Thunder Seal was the essence of the Thunder Emperor’s Art. Once he formed a complete seal, both his true qi and physical body would contain the complete power of lightning, making him extraordinarily powerful.

In his previous life, he had only managed to form half a Thunder Seal after reaching the Great Master Realm. He had not formed a complete seal until he had reached the Half-Step Heavenly Venerable Realm. He had never expected to begin forming one now.

The lightning power within this tribulation was clearly immense. Delighted, Chu Han frantically absorbed it. Before long, half of the Thunder Seal had formed within his body. At the same time, however, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed. The tribulation had come to an end.

Chu Han felt somewhat disappointed, but he quickly accepted the result. At the Fifth Palace of the Dao Palace Realm, he had already managed to form half a Thunder Seal. Even if he encountered a peak Sun Realm expert now, he would have the strength to fight. Against a Dragon Transformation expert, he might even be able to exchange several blows.

After everything was settled, Chu Han descended from the sky. The brown bear on the ground was already on the verge of death, so he hurriedly took out a pill and placed it in the bear’s mouth. He then circulated his power, transforming the pill within the bear’s body into a stream of pure medicinal energy that began repairing its injuries.

“Brother, thank you so much. If not for you, I would have died beneath that tribulation. Its power was simply too terrifying.”

After swallowing the pill, the brown bear recovered some of its strength and quickly expressed its gratitude. Its body was still unable to move, however, and it could only lie there on the ground.

Chu Han smiled faintly. This brown bear seemed quite different from ordinary magical beasts. Its intelligence was remarkably high, which meant he would not have to worry about it turning on him.

“There’s no need to thank me. I was merely passing by. I came here to take part in the trial. Since you are no longer in danger, I’ll be on my way.”

Chu Han cupped his hands as he spoke. Since he had achieved his purpose, there was no need to waste any more time here. Magical beasts possessed excellent self-healing abilities, and he had already used the pill to repair the bear’s life-threatening injuries. The rest could be left to the bear itself.

With that, Chu Han turned to leave.

At that moment, the brown bear suddenly rolled over and rose from the ground. Its enormous body was like a small mountain; a single step would be enough to crush Chu Han into a bloody pulp.

Chu Han was startled when it stood up. He thought the creature had decided to turn against him, so he immediately assumed a fighting stance and stared at it grimly. If the brown bear truly intended to attack, he would fight to the death and make certain it paid the price.

“Brother, don’t worry. I mean you no harm. I only wanted to speak with you. You came here to take part in the Taiyi Sect’s trial, didn’t you?”

The brown bear naturally understood what was going through his mind. It hurriedly waved its paw and shook its enormous head, looking comical beyond words, before dropping onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Chu Han regarded it with suspicion. Only after confirming that it had no intention of attacking did he relax. He quickly nodded. “You know about the Taiyi Sect?”

He was astonished. Magical beasts at the Inscription Realm rarely possessed intelligence as high as this bear’s. Yet it even knew of the Taiyi Sect and was aware of the trial. Clearly, the brown bear’s identity was far from ordinary.