By the time Li Guanqi went to find Gu Changsheng, he happened to run into the returning Gu Li and Xiang Huaizhi.
Seeing Li Guanqi in such a flustered hurry, both were puzzled.
"Brother Li, where are you rushing off to in such a blaze?"
Meng Wanshu smiled. "To save a life."
Xiang Huaizhi turned his head, murmuring in mild astonishment, "A spirit creature breaking through to tier seven? That truly is rare."
With that, Xiang Huaizhi raised his hand. A gentle wave of spatial energy enveloped the three of them, and with a flash of teleportation, they arrived in a spiritual-energy-rich domain of the Gu clan.
Gu Changsheng was currently maintaining a spirit-gathering array and a mind-calming array. The array plates scattered around him were rare magic treasures that could help fend off the heavenly tribulation.
Gu Changsheng turned to see the group, saying in a low voice, "We need to step back. Both little fellows are about to break through."
Li Guanqi's cheek twitched uncontrollably. For both Pengluo and the purple-skinned ginseng to break through at the same time, those two must have gorged themselves senseless!
Li Guanqi mentally weighed the contents of his storage ring.
It seemed... not quite enough to pay for the damages...
Yet Gu Changsheng did not utter a single word about that, merely chatting with Xiang Huaizhi. "Haha, Huaizhi, this is the first time I've ever seen a spirit creature break through to tier seven!"
Xiang Huaizhi also nodded with keen interest. "Me too. It's exceptionally rare. Still... with the energies in their bodies being so chaotic and mixed, aren't they afraid of bursting themselves?"
Gu Changsheng shrugged and said helplessly, "Those two little scamps broke into my Gu clan's Pill Storage Pavilion and stuffed their faces. The fact that they haven't exploded yet is already a miracle."
As he spoke, two powerful surges of primal energy soared into the clouds, and two tribulation thunderclouds materialized one after the other!
The two bolts of tribulation lightning—one massive, one small—formed a stark contrast.
If the purple-skinned ginseng succeeded in breaking through this time, it would formally step into the ranks of tier-five spirit creatures, which was truly remarkable.
By all rights, the purple-skinned ginseng had already surpassed its natural limits.
Li Guanqi could not help feeling a sense of wonder. When he first encountered the Purple Profound Ginseng, it had already been cultivating silently for nearly five hundred years.
Yet five hundred years had only brought it to the late tier-three stage—it had not even reached tier four back then.
Only after swallowing Pengluo's essence did it break through to tier four, and now, in such a short span of time, it was already about to reach tier five.
The tribulation lightning, spanning only two hundred-odd zhang, soon descended.
The purple-skinned ginseng sat cross-legged on the ground, enveloped in a layer of purple light, silently enduring the tempering and baptism of the heavenly tribulation lightning.
This was what set spirit creatures apart from others: when facing a heavenly tribulation, they possessed almost no means of resistance.
Regardless of how powerful or weak the tribulation might be, they could only silently endure it all.
It was almost as though this was the heaven-sent punishment for spirit creatures setting foot upon the path of cultivation.
The tribulation lightning struck rapidly and relentlessly. Though to the onlookers it was no different from a mosquito bite, to the purple-skinned ginseng it was exceptionally perilous.
Boom! Boom!
After just two waves of lightning struck down, the purple-skinned ginseng's body was badly mangled.
Fortunately, the medicinal pills it had swallowed earlier took effect at this very moment; supported by their potent medicinal power, the Purple Profound Ginseng's body rapidly healed.
What was more...
Gu Changsheng paused slightly, staring at the misty radiance shimmering over its surface, and could not help saying, "Did that fellow swallow a tier-six Transformation Pill?!"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi frowned. "Then... if this little guy survives the heavenly tribulation, wouldn't it be able to take human form?"
Xiang Huaizhi looked at Li Guanqi with some surprise. "Your radish can't take human form? Logically speaking, spirit creatures with pure spiritual affinities favored by the heavens and earth can transform on their own at tier five. Only those with poor innate forms or ordinary flora require tier six to transform."
Li Guanqi's brows knitted tightly. Pengluo's talent could be called exceedingly rare, infinitely more precious than that of the ginseng kind.
Yet Pengluo seemed incapable of transforming, even now that it had reached the peak of tier six...
Rumble—!
The heavenly tribulation thundercloud above Pengluo's head gradually took form. When the onlookers caught sight of a flash of blood-red lightning in the heart of the sky, their expressions changed drastically.
Meng Wanshu spoke with a solemn expression, "An Obliteration Heavenly Tribulation! What on earth is Pengluo?! Even one with the purest bloodline could never trigger a tribulation of this caliber! The world will not tolerate it—heaven... does not want Pengluo to live!"
Xiang Huaizhi and Gu Changsheng exchanged a glance, both sensing that something was amiss.
While a pengluo was rare, they were not unheard of.
Yet never had they heard of a pengluo's tribulation triggering a blood-red Obliteration Heavenly Tribulation!
Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. He didn't care what Pengluo was; if heaven wanted it dead... absolutely not!
Buzz!
Swoosh! Screeech!
A streak of crimson light flashed into Li Guanqi's grip. Holding Red Lotus, Li Guanqi raised his head to gaze at the heavenly tribulation in the sky.
If the tribulation proved too powerful for Pengluo to endure, he would rather step in and cleave the tribulation apart himself!
Even if... Pengluo would forever remain halted at tier six as a result.
Pengluo seemed to sense Li Guanqi's intent. Standing in midair with hands on its hips, it burst into hearty laughter.
"Master, don't worry! It's just a piddling tribulation!!"
BOOM-CRACK!
A bolt of lightning as thick as a water bucket flashed by in an instant.
Pengluo's body crashed toward the earth with a whoosh, slamming into the ground with a deafening boom and carving out a hundred-zhang-deep crater.
"Uh..."
Everyone was struck speechless. Pengluo hadn't even circulated its protective primal energy...
There in the crater, a charred, blackened radish jumped up and down, swearing up a storm.
"You bastard! No martial virtue at all! I wasn't even ready, and you weren't fully charged either—why did you attack already?!"
And indeed, Pengluo's tribulation thundercloud was still expanding; the crimson color had not fully spread across it yet.
Even so, that single strike put Pengluo on high alert. It seemed...
This tribulation was vastly more terrifying than it had imagined!
Inhaling deeply, the primal energy within Pengluo began circulating in an extraordinarily profound fashion.
Mysterious purple runes shimmered with faint light across its surface, and its aura erupted violently!
Thump!
Facing the fully formed tribulation, Pengluo actually leaped into the air, charging straight toward the firmament!
The thunderclouds churned, and in an instant, violent winds swept through the entire domain, whipping up sand and dust.
Confronted by the thick bolt of lightning crashing downward, Pengluo laughed boisterously, raised its fist, and twisted its head to yell, "Son, watch closely!!!!"
The purple-skinned ginseng, who was grimly holding on, looked up with bright eyes at the figure thrusting a fist toward the heavens!
BOOM—!
A blood-red bolt of lightning a full four feet thick instantly swallowed Pengluo's form. Falling from the heavens, the lightning once again slammed Pengluo deep into the ground.
Rumble—!
Blood-red arcs of lightning surged outward in all directions, scaring the Purple Profound Ginseng into turning tail and running for its life.
Its bewildered eyes seemed to ask: 'Dad, are you all right...?'
The onlookers could only cover their faces in exasperation...
Climbing out of the crater, Pengluo clearly showed a bit more dread in its eyes as it clutched its rear and shouted:
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Who behaves like this?! You weren't like this last time!!"
All complaints aside, the descent of these two tribulation bolts had actually caused Pengluo's aura to grow steadily stronger.
Under the lightning's body tempering, the tangled, discordant energies within Pengluo were gradually sorted out, and the potent power of the pills was fully unleashed at this very moment.
Chapter 873