Chapter 246: Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation (2)
As her words fell, You Wange's expression finally softened a little. She slowly looked toward Franklin, her eyes filled with encouragement.
"What she said just now wasn't pleasant to hear, but it is the truth. The heart demon tribulation can indeed only be faced by relying on yourself."
"However, some things aren't so absolute. There's one aspect where you can still make some adjustments—namely, the choice of the tribulation illusion."
"There is a type of one-time spiritual artifact called the Heart Demon Lure. It takes all the places the tribulation-taker has experienced as selectable options."
"The one undergoing the tribulation can designate a fixed location to serve as the illusionary environment for the heart demon tribulation."
"I believe you should be able to understand this point. As long as the illusion's location is chosen by you, the heart demon's room for manipulation will be extremely limited."
Listening to You Wange's guidance, Franklin let out a breath, bid farewell to the two of them, and directly withdrew from his sea of consciousness.
Looking at the Dimensional Heavenly Tome floating before him, Franklin calmed his mind and silently contemplated:
"Spirit Transformation heart demon tribulation Heart Demon Lure, Spirit Transformation heart demon tribulation Heart Demon Lure."
He then directly activated Dimensional Summoning.
[Age: 47/1612]
[Dimensional Summoning successfully used]
A seven-colored vortex once again appeared, and as it spun and contracted, a long wooden box about thirty centimeters in length fell out. Seeing this, Franklin rubbed his aching temples with a headache.
The Dimensional Heavenly Tome flipped rapidly, arriving instantly at the page corresponding to the newly summoned item.
[Heart Demon Lure]
Origin: Origin Continent
Grade: Sixth-tier top-grade spiritual artifact
Target: Cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage undergoing the Spirit Transformation thunder tribulation—usable during the heart demon tribulation
Usage Method: Insert into the heart
Uses: One time
Effect: Allows designation of the illusionary environment for the heart demon tribulation
Looking at the simple description of the item, Franklin felt a bit surprised.
He summoned the Heart Demon Lure. As the long wooden box opened, lying quietly at its center was a withered finger. Franklin's gaze sharpened.
Examining it carefully, the jet-black fingernail was four to five centimeters long, the finger itself around fifteen centimeters, making the whole thing roughly twenty centimeters in length.
Staring at it closely, an eerie, malevolent sensation welled up in his heart. Closing the wooden box, Franklin let out a breath, then once again sat cross-legged and began pushing his cultivation steadily toward the Spirit Transformation stage.
Two years passed in a flash. By this time, his spirit stones were nearly exhausted, and Franklin opened his eyes.
The Nascent Soul within him had grown into an adolescent form, identical to what he himself looked like at twelve years old.
The Dimensional Heavenly Tome opened, and basic information surfaced:
Spiritual Energy Cultivation: Nascent Soul Great Perfection
Physical Body Cultivation: Blood Qi Realm (average cell diameter: 1000 attometers)
After restoring his mental state to its calmest, peak condition, Franklin directly exited the dimensional space. Flying Thunder God activated, and he appeared standing upon the Moon.
In just an instant, dark clouds formed out of nowhere. Pitch-black, dense thunderclouds spread endlessly through the vacuum—hundreds of kilometers, thousands of kilometers—
Extending beyond the range of Franklin's divine sense, stretching to an unknown, distant end.
On the lunar surface, Franklin sat cross-legged. The Five Elements Tempering Spirit Pill and the Soul-Stabilizing Pill were directly summoned and swallowed.
Immediately, he felt the medicinal power spreading throughout his body, while the soul residing within his Nascent Soul sensed a warm force diffusing outward.
Staring straight at the thunderclouds overhead, Franklin's gaze was incomparably resolute. Feeling the boundless pressure bearing down, he summoned the Yang Thunder, suspending it above his head.
His safe passage through the Spirit thunder tribulation had owed much to the existence of Yang Thunder. This time, he hoped it would bring him some luck as well.
As the thunderclouds slowly pressed downward, Franklin saw the endless expanse of dark clouds begin to flicker with five-colored light.
As the flickering grew more frequent, the pressure became increasingly terrifying. Even the raised surface of the Moon began to cave inward.
At the very center of this pressure, Franklin wiped the cold sweat from his brow, then simply closed his eyes, holding fast to unity of body and mind—no matter how mighty the tribulation, he would endure it.
The five-colored thunderclouds gradually descended, and the power of the Five Elements fused with the thunder tribulation, undergoing an indescribably profound transformation.
The instant Franklin closed his eyes, Yi Wood Divine Thunder struck down.
The fusion of wood and lightning endowed the divine thunder with extreme extensibility. The emerald-green bolt descended and, upon reaching Franklin, instantly coiled around him.
In that moment, Franklin opened his eyes in agony.
Boundless lightning power surged into his body, bombarding it relentlessly, with no sign of dissipating.
Immediately after, Bing Fire Divine Thunder followed. The fire-attributed divine thunder struck directly onto the wood-attributed lightning enveloping Franklin.
Wood generates fire—the thunderflames instantly intensified.
Franklin's entire skin rapidly cracked and blackened. Even an attometer-level physical body could not withstand lightning imbued with such extreme penetrating power.
Wood generating fire—Thunderflame Body Tempering. In an instant, thunderflames tempered his body, and even his internal organs ignited. His transformed spirit burned, his body burned—Franklin could only release a silent roar.
Moments later, Wu Earth Divine Thunder followed.
Heavy and oppressive, the yellow divine thunder did not target Franklin's body directly. Instead, it struck the thunderflames, and in the next instant, a thick earthen shell formed around Franklin.
The might of the thunderflames surged once more. Chunks of charred skin peeled away, only to be reborn—layer after layer.
All Franklin could do was endure.
At this moment, Geng Metal Divine Thunder suddenly descended.
Combining extreme penetration with the speed of lightning, the golden divine thunder pierced straight through the yellow earthen shell, striking directly down from the top of Franklin's head.
Already reduced to bones brittle from burning, Franklin shattered instantly under this strike, exploding into blackened fragments scattered across the ground.
All that remained was a semi-transparent golden transformed spirit, sitting cross-legged amid the thunderflames. The Yang Thunder that had been floating above fell and hovered around the transformed spirit.
Yet everything was far from over.
Gui Water Divine Thunder followed immediately, pouring through the breach in the yellow shell.
With lightning power combined with water's connectivity, the charred fragments scattered across the ground began to turn into wisps of green smoke, as if they were about to be completely refined into nothingness by the thunder's might.
At this moment, something Franklin had never noticed—or perhaps long since forgotten—the black Yin Water slowly drifted out, hovering around his transformed spirit as well.
With the addition of Gui Water Divine Thunder, the two items that had previously been unable to reach Yin-Yang balance began to merge once more. In that instant, Yin and Yang achieved equilibrium.
Thunderflames tempered weapons, thunderflames tempered the body. The Five Elements Tempering Spirit Pill, the balance of the Five Elements—everything reached a critical point in perfect harmony.
The Five Elements Divine Thunder transformed into Five Elements power and lightning power, rapidly circling around Franklin's transformed spirit together with the black and white objects.
A Yin-Yang Five Elements vortex fully formed.
Yi Wood Divine Thunder, Bing Fire Divine Thunder, Wu Earth Divine Thunder, Geng Metal Divine Thunder, Gui Water Divine Thunder—struck down repeatedly in that order, each joining the cycle of balance and mutual generation and restraint.
All fifty-four thunder strikes fell.
The five-colored glow within the clouds faded away, and the black thunderclouds pressed down once more, as if utterly enraged by Franklin's actions.