Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Pill Tribulation [Seeking Monthly Votes]

Because of the strange magnetic field over the floating island, the seasons never changed.

For a full hundred cycles of sunrise and sunset, Bright Sun sat cross-legged before the alchemy furnace, keeping watch over the fire without rest. Once every day and night, he had to exhale another mouthful of true solar flame to keep the furnace burning.

"Big Brother Li, it’s time to eat!"

Looking at Bright Sun’s haggard face and withered skin, Flower Spirit’s bright eyes had already brimmed with tears.

She truly could not imagine how he had endured these more than three months and nights without sleep, sitting motionless before the furnace each day, unable even to shift his body.

Every time she came to bring him food and saw the bloodshot veins in his eyes and the gaunt lines of his face, Flower Spirit felt as though needles were stabbing at her heart.

Countless times she had wanted to urge him to give up, yet whenever she met the resolute look in his eyes, the words seemed to lodge in her throat and she could not force them out.

"I’m fine. Don’t worry about me."

Meeting the tears he was barely holding back in Flower Spirit’s eyes, and the smile on her face that looked worse than crying, Bright Sun gave a soft laugh and tried to comfort her.

These three months of sitting up day and night to refine the elixir had been a tremendous trial for him, both in spirit and in body. He was not merely exhausted; his mind had to remain focused at every moment, watching for every change within the furnace.

Though the process was painful, his spirit had likewise undergone a transformation. Like the pill within the furnace, worn and tempered by the suffering of the ages, it would one day shatter stone and startle heaven.

Since Bright Sun had begun his cultivation until this day, he had suffered many twists and turns, but never had he endured such a hundred-day vigil without rest. After this ordeal, the soul within his mind grew steadily more rounded and harmonious, as though the dust had been wiped from his heart and spirit. To his eyes, all things in heaven and earth seemed especially clear, radiating an indescribable luster.

He gradually came to understand the meaning of what the Daoists called the light of nature, and what the Buddhists called awakening. Alchemy itself was a path of cultivation. As he felt the golden elixir undergo the vicissitudes of time and the shifting of sun and moon within the furnace, his own spirit seemed to be tempered by the same washing of ages.

Though it had been only a hundred days, to Bright Sun it felt like an entire cycle of rebirth. He had watched with his own eyes every stage by which the elixir within the furnace was transformed from spiritual materials and heavenly treasures into something refined, forged, cultivated, and nourished.

"Kid, be ready. The golden elixir is about to be born!"

Just then, Purple Firmament Daoist’s warning suddenly rang out in Bright Sun’s mind.

Seeing the sky suddenly change color, Bright Sun’s expression also shifted. His hands blurred into afterimages as his spiritual power surged without end, sending out one golden seal after another.

"Flower Spirit, go back first!"

Looking up at the stormy changes in the heavens and the strange phenomena born from the resonance between heaven, earth, and the furnace, Bright Sun said to Flower Spirit in a grave voice.

The alchemy furnace suddenly shook violently, and a piercing clamor of metal striking metal came from within, so loud it was almost deafening.

Two streaks of mysterious light shot up from the furnace lid, transforming into a dragon and a tiger that raised their heads and roared to the sky.

"Dragon and tiger in union..."

With that earth-shaking cry, the clouds overhead began to churn violently. Within a thousand miles, all the poisonous insects and fierce beasts in the mountains seemed to sense something and swarmed in this direction at once. Deep in the valleys, the howls and roars of beasts shook the heavens.

Thunder rolled and crackled. The strange phenomena in the sky grew ever more intense, swiftly gathering into a huge mass of black clouds. Lightning flashed within them, and the poisonous insects and beasts rushing toward the floating island were so frightened they trembled all over. Yet none of them were willing to leave. They remained where they were, watching the spectacle in the sky, hesitant to advance.

"Kid, be ready. When this golden elixir comes into the world, it is like a cultivator ascending to immortality. Heaven and earth will naturally respond. It must pass through the thunder tribulation before it can truly take form."

As expected, the moment Purple Firmament Daoist finished speaking, the dragon and tiger in the sky began to circle the thunderclouds, galloping around them, gradually merging into a single, round, brilliant golden point of light suspended in the air.

Thunder rolled and cracked. The instant the point of light formed, the thunderclouds in the sky contracted violently. A silver-white bolt of lightning, like a thunderous serpent, came surging down and struck the point of light with ruthless force.

Sparks hissed and spat.

The moment the lightning struck the golden elixir, static crackled through the air. Fine golden motes drifted out from it, and a heady fragrance instantly filled the entire valley. The gathered poisonous insects and savage beasts greedily inhaled the scent in the air, each giving vent to fierce roars.

Some even fought fiercely with one another just to seize a better position. Before long, the fragrance in the air was joined by a thick stench of blood.

Breathing in that fragrance, Bright Sun felt as though the bones throughout his body had grown lighter. The exhaustion and weariness of the past few months seemed to vanish in an instant, and his spirit could not help but stir.

Thunder crashed again and again, continuously striking the golden elixir. As the lightning fell, the light point in the sky grew smaller and smaller, and Bright Sun could not help feeling a trace of urgency in his heart.

"Kid, we can’t wait any longer. This elixir is still a little short of perfect tempering. If we keep waiting, after nine bolts of tribulation lightning, I’m afraid there won’t be much left of the pill at all."

Watching the tribulation clouds in the sky gathering power in crackling flashes of lightning, Purple Firmament Daoist said in a grave tone.

"But this thunder tribulation is a trial sent by heaven and earth. If I interfere, it might bring down the Three Calamities ahead of time!"

Hearing this, Bright Sun was anxious, but he did not dare act rashly. He knew that if he made a move now, heaven and earth would regard it as a challenge. Not only would he fail to help, he would only make the thunder tribulation worse.

"I know what you mean. Use the Thunder Lord’s Chisel. This treasure is forged from primordial yin-yang thunderstone, and it was born with the power to summon lightning. You just need to use it to draw the thunder away and disperse some of the tribulation’s force.

"But remember this: do not try to be a hero. The power of this thunder tribulation is no small matter. Any lightning that is dispersed will have to be borne by you yourself."

"All right, then I’ll give it a try."

At this point, there was no room left for Bright Sun to hesitate. He knew Purple Firmament Daoist’s suggestion carried a degree of danger, but for the golden toad’s successful metamorphosis, he had no other choice.

Thunder rumbled and cracked.

As soon as the Thunder Lord’s Chisel appeared in Bright Sun’s hand, the lightning in the sky seemed to sense it and began to surge restlessly. The thunderclouds themselves grew heavier and darker.

"This..."

Looking at the scene in the sky, Bright Sun’s face twisted bitterly. Staring at the yin-yang thunder patterns endlessly surging over the Thunder Lord’s Chisel in his hand, he truly did not know whether to laugh or cry.

With the appearance of the chisel, the laws of thunder and lightning between heaven and earth responded on their own, and the tribulation lightning showed signs of becoming ever more violent.

Thunder boomed. Lightning split the sky.

A dazzling thunder-serpent suddenly divided into two in midair. One half struck the golden elixir, while the other half slammed into the Thunder Lord’s Chisel in Bright Sun’s hand.

"Mmn... ngh..."

Feeling the lightning coursing through his body, Bright Sun could not help letting out a muffled groan. Lightning shimmered all over him, his hair stood straight on end, and black smoke poured from his mouth.

After exhaling a long breath of foul air, he felt as though his entire body had gone numb. The blood and qi within him began to run wild of their own accord, gradually forcing the lightning back down inside his body. At first glance, his skin was covered in golden arcs of electricity, radiating a gold-red glow. He looked strangely like the legendary warriors from another life who transformed under a burst of power.

But before Bright Sun could even fully flare his energy, his whole body crashed stiffly to the ground and began convulsing uncontrollably.

Even so, he still clutched the Thunder Lord’s Chisel tightly in his hand, with no intention of letting go. He knew that if he released it and no one bore the burden of that thunderous force, the lightning born of heaven and earth would merge on its own into the next tribulation strike, and might even destroy the golden elixir outright.

For a long while, Bright Sun finally managed to regain control of his numbed body. His form twisted, transforming into a six-winged golden centipede more than thirty feet long. With the chisel held in his mouth, he let out a shrill cry to the heavens.

Thunder boomed again.

As though provoked, lightning scattered in all directions across the sky. A blinding flare lit up the entire valley, and bolts like a web spread through the heavens, cleaving heaven and earth apart. Two strands of purple lightning wound and twisted through the air, then crashed down mercilessly at the golden elixir and the six-winged golden centipede.

The entire floating island trembled at that moment. Gravel rolled and tumbled. Lightning scattered from the sky and struck the island, leaving black scorch marks wherever it touched. Every flower and blade of grass on the floating island withered in an instant, and the air filled with the acrid stench of ozone and burning.

"Uuugh... hiss..."

"Flower Spirit... ahwoo..."

The moment Bright Sun was struck by the thunder, his body swayed restlessly through the void, emitting miserable cries of pain.

Looking down from above, he saw that Flower Spirit, for some unknown reason, was lying not far away in the grass, alive or dead, he could not tell. Bright Sun’s spirit felt as though it had suffered a heavy blow. His compound eyes flashed with savage ferocity, and from his throat came a cry that was half human, half beast, a grieving howl.

"Hmph! Kid, stop howling. That little girl is fine. She only fainted."

Seeing that Bright Sun was about to go berserk, Purple Firmament Daoist let out a cold snort, like a morning bell striking at dusk, instantly jolting Bright Sun awake.

"Hiss... hiss..."

Glancing at Flower Spirit, unconscious on the ground, then at the golden elixir in midair, flickering and shifting like a mass of golden light, Bright Sun’s compound eyes flashed with a ruthless gleam. He let out another skyward screech, spread his six wings behind him, and transformed into a streak of golden radiance, charging fiercely toward the golden elixir.

"Kid, what are you doing? Stop at once!"

Seeing Bright Sun’s actions, Purple Firmament Daoist in his mind was shocked and roared in fury.

"You brat, do you want to die? Approaching the elixir at a time like this will only drag you in as well!"

Ignoring the old Daoist’s shouting in his mind, Bright Sun moved like a dragon through the void, straining with all his might to drive the elixir into the thunderclouds. Then, with his body swelling violently, he thrust upward like a dragon playing with a pearl, carrying the golden elixir straight into the thunderclouds overhead.

Sparks crackled.

Thunder roared.

Mournful hissing and howling rang out.

In an instant, the entire thunderclouds erupted into chaos. Above, silver serpents writhed wildly. The cloud bank itself became a storm eye. Bright Sun’s body bathed in the thunderclouds moved like a divine dragon—its head seen, but not its tail.

One miserable cry after another came from within the thunderclouds, nearly equal to the thunderclaps that shook heaven and earth.