The Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation and the Heartforge Illusion

The seventieth heavenly thunderclap.

A bolt of violet lightning descended with sheer, icy force. Below, the black-robed Ji Ning pointed once more into the distance, and the golden flying swords of the Grand Qian Sword Formation shot forth again.

“Boom~~~” Once again, it was blocked.

“I hope it stays as a thunder tribulation. If it gets any stronger, my heartforce might struggle,” Ji Ning worried inwardly. His third-stage heartforce was powerful, easily handling the thunder tribulation so far. But if it escalated to a ‘Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation,’ the power of the heavenly thunder would undergo a qualitative leap. He would likely have to expend a significant amount of heartforce each time, and once his heartforce was depleted, he would surely die.

Ji Ning had never imagined he would fail during the ‘thunder tribulation’ part of his Heavenly Tribulation. But now, he was beginning to feel fear. The power of the thunder was exceeding his expectations.

“Boom!”

The might of the heavenly thunder grew increasingly terrifying. As the next two thunderbolts crashed down, both Ji Ning and the distant observers—the Diancai Immortal, Yu Wei, and the others—watched with bated breath.

“Junior apprentice-brother is using his Primaltwin. This thunder tribulation shouldn’t be that extreme... it can’t be a Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation, can it?”

“The legendary Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation is usually only encountered by cultivators going through the Empyrean Tribulation for Fiendgod Body Refining.”

Everyone watched nervously.

Several thousand li away, on a mountain peak, a Daoist-robed elder was observing the tribulation site from afar. When he saw that the tribulation clouds in the sky were not dissipating but instead gathering even more terrifying power, his expression changed. He murmured to himself, “My disciple’s mere Primaltwin has actually triggered the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation?”

“It’s just the Primaltwin. In terms of overall fortune, it might even be slightly inferior to Lü Dongbin’s back then. Could it be the Karmic Hellfire’s influence?” Patriarch Subhuti was worried.

Ji Ning’s monstrous talent lay in his true body. His Primaltwin, relatively speaking, only had mastery over heartforce. In other aspects, it was far inferior to Lü Dongbin when he was at the Primal Daoist stage. Although heartforce was formidable, it had a fatal weakness: it could only be used in short bursts. Once his heartforce was exhausted, his combat power would plummet rapidly.

Thus, for a mere Primaltwin to trigger a Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation, even considering the Karmic Hellfire’s interference, Patriarch Subhuti believed it was excessive.

“If this is the case, then what of my disciple’s true body?” Subhuti worried about the future.

The Primaltwin faced a Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation. His true body’s Empyrean Tribulation…

“Once he becomes an Empyrean God, he will soon reach the Empyrean God peak. And after multiple temperings, like Houyi of old, he might be able to rival a Daofather in power while still in the Empyrean God realm,” Subhuti sighed softly. “It seems that even Heaven refuses to allow such a monstrous prodigy to appear without cost. It insists on sending down these terrifying tribulations.”

From Pangu’s creation of the world until now, how many monstrous geniuses had perished under the tribulations?

“Let alone the future Empyrean Tribulation, even this current tribulation…” Subhuti watched from afar, his brow deeply furrowed.

“The Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation!” “It actually went that far!” “How could this be?”

The Diancai Immortal, Mu Northson, Autumn Leaf, Uncle White, Qingqing, and Yu Wei all showed looks of anxiety. There was nothing they could do to help Ji Ning; he had to cross the Heavenly Tribulation entirely on his own.

“Junior apprentice-brother. You must survive,” Yu Wei whispered, gently touching her belly, her eyes filled with ardent hope.

“Ji Ning.” “Young master.”

Everyone was praying. Although the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation was infamous, Ji Ning had weathered the earlier thunderbolts with calm ease, showing no strain. So they still held onto hope.

Boom! The seventy-third thunderclap of the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation arrived. It was a bolt of violet lightning laced with streaks of white. The hint of white made the lightning seem beautiful—a breathtaking, majestic beauty that one dared not look directly at. It was like an emperor of heaven and earth gazing down upon the mortal world. It was the gaze of a sovereign; the mere sight of it could crush one’s will to resist. A weak Primal Daoist Earth Immortal would probably not even try to resist at this point. But a weak Primal Daoist would never have made it this far to face the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation.

Across the Three Realms. Throughout history, any being who encountered the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation was no ordinary mortal. They would never bow their heads or surrender easily. Even if death was certain, they would die standing.

“Go.” Ji Ning pointed into the distance. A single golden flying sword flew from his chest. As it flew, another golden flying sword began to coalesce in front of his chest.

Clang! The first golden flying sword was shattered by the violet-white lightning bolt on contact.

“Looks like I need to expend about one-fiftieth of my heartforce to fully block it. The power of this heavenly thunder has indeed made a huge leap,” Ji Ning thought, quickly sending the second flying sword up to meet the remaining force of that violet-white thunderbolt. “This thunderbolt’s power already surpasses the full-force attack of a moderately skilled Celestial Immortal. An ordinary Primal Daoist Earth Immortal would never be able to withstand this.”

By estimating the thunderbolt’s power, Ji Ning could conserve his heartforce as much as possible.

“He blocked the seventy-third!” “He withstood the first wave of the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation!” The Diancai Immortal and the others showed expressions of excitement and nervousness. Because the transition from a regular thunder tribulation to the Nine-Nine was enormous, and successfully blocking the first wave meant there was hope for the rest.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One thunderbolt after another crashed down in rapid succession.

The lightning was all violet-white, but as it progressed, the proportion of white increased, and so did its power. Ji Ning’s heartforce consumption also grew.

Seventy-ninth! Eightieth! “One more left.” “The last one.”

Yu Wei, Uncle White, and the others all had their hearts in their throats. The legendary Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation was about to reveal the power of its final strike. Few were fortunate enough to witness it. Yet, a nameless fear also gripped their hearts. Just looking at the swirling vortex of tribulation clouds in the sky, gathering power for the final blow, filled them with inexplicable dread.

“Even I, who have long become a Celestial Immortal, would surely die if I tried to block that,” the Diancai Immortal thought to himself.

…

Standing atop the lonely peak like a drawn sword, Ji Ning stood atop a nine-petal snow lotus, surrounded by orbiting lotus petals. Hundreds of immortal-ranked flying swords pointed their blades toward the heavens. Ji Ning looked up at the tribulation clouds.

The last one. The final strike of the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation.

“Boom!” A bolt of white lightning descended, pure, holy, and majestic. It had no violent aura, only an air of regal grace. It surged down, overwhelming and unstoppable. This was the true form of the final thunderclap of the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation.

“Go.” Ji Ning pointed.

Whoosh. A dazzling golden sword-light transformed into a giant sword, shooting straight up into the sky to meet the white lightning.

“Go.” Ji Ning manifested a second golden flying sword as quickly as he could. By this time, the first golden sword had already been completely shattered by the white lightning. The second golden flying sword shot upward against the flow. “Boom~~~” The remnant of the white lightning shuddered and then completely dissipated.

The massive sword-light continued its upward trajectory, plunging directly into the vortex of tribulation clouds above, churning them until they scattered completely.

A streak of electric light materialized out of thin air, landing on Ji Ning. His body began to emanate an aura of celestial spirit energy.

“A Celestial Immortal body.” From a distance, the Diancai Immortal, Yu Wei, Autumn Leaf, and the others all shouted out in excitement.

“It worked!” “The Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation! The legendary Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation, and our master survived it!” “So its final form is a pure white lightning bolt. It was so noble and majestic! I almost felt like kowtowing!”

…

Ji Ning looked at his distant companions—Uncle White, his senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, his master the Diancai Immortal, and the others—exulting and cheering. He smiled as well, but a wave of lingering fear washed over him. “That Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation was terrifying. I was conserving my heartforce as much as I could, and in the end, I had less than thirty percent left! I couldn’t even block the final thunderbolt with a full-power sword strike!”

“If the thunder tribulation was this bad, what will the Heartforge Tribulation be like?”

Ji Ning had a bad feeling. Although this was his Primaltwin crossing the tribulation, its power was still far higher than he had anticipated. The upcoming ‘Heartforge Tribulation’ would likely be as legendary as any recorded in ancient texts.

…

“It’s a young master. It’s a young master.” That awkward-sounding voice immediately stirred a memory in Ji Ning.

Ji Ning opened his eyes. He was being held by a giant in white fur. The white-furred giant was giving orders: “All of you, leave first!”

“Father!” The giant’s face made Ji Ning’s heart tremble. He strained to look to the side. There, on a bed covered with a huge fur pelt, lay a woman drenched in sweat.

“Mother! I… I’m back at the moment of my birth again?”

Days passed one by one. Ji Ning lived once more in the Western Prefecture city, under his parents’ care, and soon began his training again. Although he still had his memories, his cultivation had to proceed step by step. Though his body was young and weak, the world of the Heartforge Tribulation could not change Ji Ning’s memories or his Dao-heart. Ji Ning was well aware that this was the Heartforge Tribulation’s illusion!

But even knowing that didn’t help. He couldn’t leave this illusory world; he had to wait until the ‘Heartforge Tribulation’ was over. Only then would this world end.

…

Ji Ning gradually grew up. Because he retained his memories, he cultivated very quickly in this illusory world. With his mastery of third-stage heartforce—a tremendously powerful force—he was, despite being a child under ten, already as strong as a top-tier Celestial Immortal. Everything had changed. In this illusory world, although Fiendgod Body Refining had to follow its natural course, his Ki Refining progressed rapidly. With his immense heartforce, obtaining immortal pills and other treasures was easy. By the age of nine, he had already reached the Primal Daoist Earth Immortal level. He also found an immortal pill for his mother, Yuchi Snow, allowing her to live.

A nine-year-old Primal Daoist Earth Immortal. Absolutely monstrous.

In the Heartforge world, Ji Ning still concealed his heartforce abilities, but his Primal Daoist cultivation level could not be hidden. And so, a nine-year-old Primal Daoist Earth Immortal appeared in the Grand Xia world. His status was so unique that even the Beishan clan of Anchan sent representatives. The Xia Emperor, however, paid him little heed. The Xia Emperor believed that this ‘Ji Ning’ was likely a disciple of some great power who had been reincarnated without his memories being sealed. With memories of a past life, a nine-year-old Primal Daoist Earth Immortal was not so remarkable.

But the political landscape of the Anchan Commandery had changed. Ji Ning’s status became increasingly transcendent. For convenience, he still chose to appear as a youth.

“Ning’er, a disciple of the Black-White College named Nine Lotos is here to visit you,” said Yuchi Snow, now a Zifu Disciple, smiling. Many came to visit Ji Ning given his transcendent status in Anchan Commandery. His old enemies from Snowdragon Mountain had long since been eliminated.

“Nine Lotos?” Ji Ning’s heart trembled. In this Heartforge world, he had never even attended the Black-White College. Why had Nine Lotos come to visit him?