novelraw Chapter 188 - 187 - Ascending Tribulation
Chapter 188 - 187 - Ascending Tribulation
All present felt the pressure of the black clouds but unlike any Gold or Diamond Tier tribulation they may have witnessed, the Sky Realm tribulation was true ascension. The chains of the world fall away and one can fly under their own power without an artifact.
That all presumed one survived the tribulation of course.
Sparks of lightning were gathering and the once massive snake looked quite small as the blue sky filled with a storm from the Heavens.
"We are still in range!" The caravan leader yelled but there was no more to do. The graels hardly needed convincing to move anymore as they pushed themselves to escape. And dread snakes were no doubt like them. Burrowing deeper into the sands or fleeing as fast as they could.
Lind's harmony was now stone in shape but it resonated with the rumbles of thunder. He could feel it. Something familiar was in that storm and it called to him!
"Lind!" Annabelle's voice shook him free but that feeling of connection had been strong. He realized the world truly was one with him. The tribulation was a part of it, a trial sent to determine if the dread snake was worthy to ascend.
"How many bolts will it take to pass?" Lind had only studied ascension, but never really found detailed accounts. Most of the powers would guide their disciples or promising members but they were stingy with recording details.
"I heard at least 3 but that would be a very poor Sky Realm. That is also for a human or demon, I have no idea about beasts!" One of the passengers in the Gold Tier answered but the caravan driver nodded in confirmation.
"There are potentially 9 bolts. If you can survive, the skies will open and you will be reborn. However, if it is only a 3 bolt tribulation, they will never rise past the 2 or 3 tier of Sky Realm without a Heavenly Treasure." Lind knew how rare such treasures were already but the tribulation he felt was not low.
The clouds kept gathering and the pressure increased.
"I am guessing this is not even remotely a 3 bolt tribulation?" The caravan leader only shrugged as he had no idea but all there had been cultivators for centuries or knew older ones that had told them legends. Most all of them agreed with Lind they were seeing far too great of power to just be 3 bolts.
Annabelle held his hand tight as they looked back at the snake. It was no longer cowering but readying itself to be hit.
"If it dies…" Annabelle trailed off but he hugged her close.
"We are allowed to survive. We did all we could and took our chance. It is up to it to live or not." Lind looked on as he took in the feeling until a twinge in the Qi warned him. "CLOSE YOUR EYES!"
He put a hand over Annabelle's and put his head down. The world went white before the peal of thunder shook the boards of the carriages. The graels cried out in their deep voices in fear but never stopped.
The fact they were not struck meant they were doing well, but the farther the tribulation went, the wider it could reach. It was why no cultivator broke through in cities or villages. They could be wiped out or heavily damaged.
The snake seemed to have easily weathered the first strike. Only a complete fool of a cultivator would not be able to withstand their first strike. It still happened but that was due to pill reliance and not truly comprehending as they should. The belief they were too important to die likely contributed to it as well.
A few of the passengers wailed as their eyes were bleeding but all shivered in fear at the power felt even as they fled.
"It will do it again soon!" The caravan leader's words warned them and most protected their eyes as the pressure built even more than before. Lind felt it again but there was no need to warn as all were looking away now as well. The flash of white was still so strong when it came!
The sands were picked up by the force of the lightning but the graels kept going despite starting to froth at the mouth once more.
"We are not going to make it. We are going to die here!" A demon broke down but a human woman slapped him quiet. They were all afraid but they were certainly dead in the oasis as they could see a smoldering column of smoke rising from it even now.
The snake fell farther back but then it looked at them with what seemed like an evil smile.
"By the spirits! That cursed beast is coming for us!" Lind felt coldness in his heart but it was the best bet to survive the 3rd strike. The snake was not too injured but the power would keep increasing.
Lind summoned several metal rods and instantly began Forging right in front of everyone. He had worked hard to reacquaint himself after being unable to Forge or make elixirs for 6 years but progress had been lost.
He was still stuck at peak grade 2 for Forging but now that their lives were on the line he broke through in his desperation. The feeling of the rock walls came back to him as well as his understanding of Earth science.
His Qi flowed like a storm and the rods were changed in front of all their eyes into low grade 3 items. No one felt hope but Annabelle smiled wide. The rods were now simple spears but she knew Lind would not simply fight for the sake of fighting. He had a plan.
"Eat this!" The rods were made to rotate and then flung through the skies but missed the snake as it dodged. It flicked its massive black tongue like it was laughing but Lind still smiled at it and pointed.
It was an old trick but the feeling in the clouds had changed which made it instantly prepare to receive the strike. It was irritated but the people would not get away from it so easily!
"Any one with earth or darkness, shield us right now!" Lind's words stunned them but a few responded in reflex as they all felt the knife at their throat. Lind also put all his Qi into it and a massive formation was created on the fly between them.
It was unstable but it was better than nothing as they all closed their eyes.
The whiteness came but this time it was accompanied by roaring pain from the snake! They all opened their eyes to see the 6 rods sticking out of the dread snake's scales. Blood flew from each wound as the snake was enraged but could not immediately go after them.
The tribulation lightning had flooded its body directly with the spirits cursed spears!
"W-what? How?!" A human man jumped up in shock who was at the low Gold Tier. Lind smiled and just shrugged. He had no way to explain how a rail gun worked.
The repulsion of Qi was used to disrupt the clouds which would incite the tribulation to go off faster as it would interpret any interference as fighting back. It was not a normal storm. The rods then allowed the lightning to accelerate them even faster before being launched back due to the massive magnetic charge.
Blind luck they did not shatter during that and reached near the speed of light to channel the tribulation lightning directly inside the aether beast.
Normally, lightning would get in regardless but not to the extent it just did. Lind was also glad of the mercy the Heaven's showed him as it could have targeted him as well. Given the beast came after them, he gambled a little karma would let him retaliate.
The snake's massive head stared in rage at the fleeing caravan but it could no longer catch up as the 4th strike was coming.
Lind felt something shift in the skies and worried he was still to be struck but then lightning flew across the black clouds to gather over the snake.
"By the spirits! I never knew it was this bad!" A demoness yelled out but they all covered themselves with the shield once more. The world went white but Lind felt a shift below so he pulled Annabelle close to him.
The moment the thunder came, Lind realized he was airborne.
The sands were making a giant plume into the sky and the caravan was split in half. The front half barely stayed on the ground and kept charging while the back half was pulled into the skies.
Lind and Annabelle clung to each other but then a massive gold disc appeared under them. It thrummed with all 6 elements as he jammed peak World Stones on top of his own Qi into it.
The disc had a railing pop up that Annabelle grabbed while the disc moved faster than the caravan ever could. Bodies that were falling suddenly found themselves caught gently by a shield that slowed their fall.
Lind could not get them all but a few on the disc used tools and their own Qi to reach out and snag all they could. Sadly, some still fell screaming back to the sands below. Lind's Qi was draining fast but he pushed himself to the max as the flying disc screamed forward.
They quickly overtook the front half of the caravan as they lowered out of the air. He did not stop as the pressure was now terrifying even at their current distance. The roars of the snake did not allay their worries.
"How long can you keep it flying, Lind?!" Annabelle shouted but he had no time to respond. The time did not matter, only the distance. The racing ground was closer and some of the others let go of the ones they held to preserve their Qi and it was now safe to do so.
They were all running as Lind turned pale but slammed in one more set of peak World Stones. The disc thrummed with power but it was being sucked out due to being in the Dread Desert far faster than any time before.
The 5th bolt fell and Lind thought the world had come to an end. All Sky Realms faced this?! How could they possibly find a safe place to do it?
The roar of thunder and now a sandstorm filled their ears and eyes. Lind knew they could not keep flying as he had no Qi left to guide even with World Stones.
"Hop off and run!" The others did not wait nor thanked him but dove to the sands as Annabelle grabbed him. With the last of his Qi, he stored away the disc and she took over. He downed an elixir but it only stabilized him.
The pressure did not drop, it only increased. How far was this tribulation supposed to reach?!
"Lind…" Annabelle was weeping but he hugged her and kissed her cheek. He then summoned one last artifact. It was a storage treasure he had been gifted back in the Lotus Academy. It was the first storage treasure he had ever been given by Cyntilla.
Now, he had to use it to save their lives.
"Don't stop, no matter what!" Lind roared as he caused the dimensions between within and without to destabilize. The puzzle throbbed with power and he tossed it into the air. Normally a storage treasure failing would just make all the items pop out.
Lind had learned, however, that he could invert the pocket dimension to have a critical failure in another way. Rather than simply expel all the item, it would pull in all the space around it for a time and then explode.
It was only a grade 2 item, but Lind suspected it would be spectacular.
He was not wrong. Not even a few moments after he threw the puzzle back, a wrathful bolt of lightning blasted onto the world. The puzzle suddenly collapsed inward and all the sand and wind was pulled towards it.
He had no idea if anyone would get sucked inside, but they should not. The more worrisome part was next.
The thunder and sand was blasted outwards like a wrathful God wiping out all life. Compared to that, the tiny whirlpool of suction was nothing but then it stopped and reversed violently.
Space exploded outward, creating a bubble the force from the tribulation had to break around. The area in front of it was much weaker and Lind wept as he saw a poor man ripped apart by the sands just outside of it.
He and Annabelle never stopped moving as the world roared around them. The pressure finally let up and a mournful roar told them the snake had not succeeded. Whether it would die or simply be crippled was not the greatest concern. The world was just flying sand and death around them.
They kept on and did not stop until the sun finally returned near dusk as they found themselves in the middle of nowhere with no sign of the caravan or any survivors.