Phoenix Butterfly

"Heavenly tribulation!" Qin Sang was shocked. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly was actually undergoing tribulation—could she be advancing to the fourth metamorphosis? Generally speaking, when spirit insects metamorphosed, they needed to sleep for a long time. In her previous two advancements, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had been no exception, encasing herself in a cocoon. Back on Hongye Island in the Demon Sea, when the Heavenly Eye Butterfly absorbed the power of lightning and mutated to gain the divine ability to control lightning, she had also slept for a long time before digesting all that power. This time, there was no intermediate sleep. After spinning the cocoon, she broke out of it immediately, and then summoned the heavenly tribulation. Qin Sang surmised that this had to do with the power of the Green Luan she had absorbed. It was very likely not just a simple metamorphosis for the Heavenly Eye Butterfly; who knew what kind of changes would take place? "What is a spirit insect's heavenly tribulation like?" Qin Sang tilted his head back to gaze at the tribulation clouds, his eyes filled with worry. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly was undergoing tribulation in such haste; there must not be any mishap. He had originally intended to wait until he formed his Nascent Soul before venturing out to seek opportunities to help the Heavenly Eye Butterfly advance. He had never expected her to break through even earlier than him. With absolutely no understanding of a spirit insect's lightning tribulation, Qin Sang had no idea what to do for the moment. When human cultivators underwent tribulation, they faced the Three Disasters tribulation followed by the inner demon tribulation. Yet when a spirit insect advanced, it directly summoned a lightning tribulation, and who knew if there were further variables to come. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly was his natal spirit insect, linked to him by bloodline. Could he help her resist the tribulation lightning? The thought crossed Qin Sang's mind, leaving him hesitant, fearful that acting rashly might trigger an abnormal change in the heavenly tribulation. Yunyouzi's failed tribulation had left a lingering shadow on Qin Sang, and he dared not show the slightest contempt toward a heavenly tribulation. *Crack!* The fissure tore open. Dense green light burst forth. *Rrrrip!* The cocoon of light was completely torn apart. Within the green light, a butterfly held its wings folded in a languid posture, then slowly spread its wings before Qin Sang. Seeing the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's current appearance, Qin Sang froze, astonished. Were it not for the clear tug of their bloodline connection and that familiar sense of intimacy, he would have doubted whether this butterfly was truly his Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Her appearance had drastically changed! When she advanced to the third metamorphosis, even though she gained the divine ability to control lightning, her external appearance had not changed much, except that the heavenly eye markings had become more lifelike. Her body remained ethereal and light, giving the impression of being as frail as a mortal butterfly. After this metamorphosis, however, apart from the heavenly eyes still on her wings, hardly any traces of her past self remained. Even the patterns of the heavenly eyes had changed drastically! Her body was many times larger, her wingspan exceeding a foot. Even more surprising was that her wings were no longer thin, delicate butterfly wings; instead, they closely resembled the wings of a Green Luan, turning her into a true phoenix butterfly! The patterns on the green wings formed feather-like arrays resembling phoenix plumes, closely knit, with an undulating luster so lifelike that they could easily pass for real feathers. The only difference was that at the center of the wings, the heavenly eye markings still remained, now slender and elongated, with lightning flickering in the pupils, appearing even more lifelike and spirited. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly circled Qin Sang, transmitting feelings of joy and filial affection. Her phoenix wings flapped, and her slender tail streamers hung long, unfurling naturally as she danced in flight, resembling the tail feathers of a Green Luan. The tips curled slightly, glowing with green light that flowed through the night, showering specks of luminous motes. The sight was breathtakingly magnificent, utterly peerless! "So beautiful!" Qin Sang marveled in awe, barely recognizing his natal insect gu. Such a tremendous transformation could not be explained by mere metamorphosis alone; metamorphosis and mutation were very likely taking place simultaneously. *Rumble...* The tribulation clouds surged with immense momentum. Far away, Qianji Demon King suddenly halted his pursuit. He gazed toward the direction of the tribulation clouds, his expression grim. After a while, the snake demon Consort and the other great demons finally caught up, landing beside the demon king out of breath. "Husband, why have you stopped the chase?" Qianji Demon King gave a cold snort. "If this king goes over now and accidentally causes the heavenly tribulation to mutate, wouldn't I be taking the blow for him?!" "Over there... is that a tribulation cloud?" The Demon Consort gasped, only now noticing the anomaly in the dark clouds above. The aura of tribulation lightning was starkly different from ordinary heavenly lightning. Being the daughter of a demon king and married to Qianji Demon King, the Demon Consort naturally knew such secrets. "How dare he undergo tribulation right in front of this king!" A look of annoyance crossed Qianji Demon King's face as he snarled, "Even if he manages to survive the heavenly tribulation by some stroke of luck, that thief will surely suffer severe damage to his vitality and fall into a state of weakness... courting death!" "Has Husband identified the thief? He could infiltrate the Ten Thousand Snakes Abyss without a sound, and both his escaping art and swordsmanship are extraordinary. He certainly cannot be an unknown figure." The Demon Consort also dared not act rashly. Even from such a distance, the aura of the heavenly tribulation still made her shiver, fear flashing in her eyes mixed with a hint of envy. She was only at the mid Demon Core stage, still infinitely far from Transformation. Qianji Demon King's brow furrowed tightly. "This king originally thought he was a petty demon thief possessing the bloodline of a Green Luan. But after this chase, I am somewhat uncertain. Among the Nascent Soul Patriarchs of the two domains, very few have comprehended sword momentum. For this fellow to only undergo tribulation now—could he be an outstanding genius of the human race?" "Why trouble yourself, Husband? Whether he is a cultivator or of the demon race, won't we know once we see the tribulation lightning?" The Demon Consort stared at the tribulation clouds. Between humans and demons, there was a difference in tribulation lightning. Suddenly, Qianji Demon King let out a soft exclamation. He had felt that something was amiss all along, and upon hearing the Demon Consort's reminder, he finally realized where the problem lay. "Why is the very first strike a lightning tribulation?" Qianji Demon King's expression shifted slightly. Staring intently toward the tribulation clouds, his demeanor grew increasingly solemn. "No! The aura of the tribulation cloud is very abnormal!" The Demon Consort was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Why?" "The tribulation cloud has already formed, but its power is far weaker than mine was back then!" Before his words faded, another anomaly arose within the sky's tribulation clouds. They suddenly converged frantically toward the center, drawing inward and condensing into a single mass, with lightning coursing within. In an instant, all the power of tribulation lightning accumulated in the clouds vented out completely! From across the entire sky, the tribulation clouds unleashed only this single bolt of tribulation lightning before scattering away. *Crack!* An earth-shattering thunderclap. The mountains shook and the earth trembled. A curtain of silver-white lightning descended from the heavens, crashing down toward a mountain peak. In an instant, the night sky lit up as bright as day, and the void was permeated with the aura of destruction. Amid the mountains, living creatures were terrified, shivering in fear as birds and beasts fled in panic. "Silver tribulation lightning!" Witnessing this, both the Demon King and the Demon Consort cried out in alarm, exchanging glances in disbelief. "Silver tribulation lightning... silver tribulation lightning..." The Demon King furrowed his brow, trying hard to recall something. Moments later, he finally remembered, and thick shock flooded his eyes. "Silver tribulation lightning! A spirit insect! It's a spirit insect undergoing tribulation! There's actually a spirit insect advancing to the fourth metamorphosis over there!" "A fourth-metamorphosis spirit insect... So that's it..." The Demon Consort was dazed. In the present cultivation world, a fourth-metamorphosis spirit insect was definitely an existence rarer than Transformation stage great demons and Nascent Soul Patriarchs. Demon bloodlines were fragmented and their inheritances incomplete, making their cultivation harder than that of humans; yet compared to spirit insects, they were practically blessed by heaven. Spirit insects had an extraordinarily difficult path of cultivation. It was said that the power of their heavenly tribulations was not as terrifying, and their tribulation lightning was silver.