Within the Tian Xing Cultivator Abode.
The thirteen Li family members still trapped within its confines, after a long interval of laying low, had, on this rare occasion, ventured forth once more from their sanctuary three hundred meters deep.
Leading the charge, the Seven Ironclads arrayed themselves in a circular formation, unleashing the power of their Totem Array as they launched a ferocious assault from within its bounds.
Overhead, Li Yunlin brought the might of the Skyveil Hall, suppressing their target.
Encircling the fray, the four members of the Tian generation stood ready, gathering their power, poised to unleash it at the opportune moment.
Years of shared confinement had honed the coordination among the Li family members to an exceptional degree.
And caught within their trapping formation?
It was none other than a scholar, clad in traditional scholar robes, his face a mask of livid fury.
This scholar, in one hand clutching a calligraphy brush, in the other an inkstone, glared at the assembled Li family members, his expression a mixture of utter helplessness and incandescent rage.
"You thieves!" he roared. "You've pushed me too far! There are countless cultivators within this Tian Xing Abode – why must you repeatedly, insistently, target me for plunder, again and again?!!"
The space of a single incense stick later, Li Yunlin's voice echoed coolly, "You talk too much."
As Li Yunlin's final words faded, the Li family members vanished from view.
The Wuwen Scholar of True Yang Faction slumped to the ground in utter despair.
All around, the ambient Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi hung heavy, refusing to dissipate.
High above, a magnificent poem that had materialized – its every character, every space between the lines, imbued with the essence of 'Sorrow' – began to fade, along with the last of Wuwen Scholar's own formidable Qi, slowly dissolving into nothingness.
His eyes utterly lifeless, Wuwen Scholar gazed at the sky and let out one final, weary sigh. "To hell with those Li family fiends."
He cast a bitter look at his scholar's brush and inkstone.
This marked the second occasion the Li family had plundered him.
Those Seven Ironclads were nigh indestructible, and Li Yunlin himself was monstrously strong, his power easily rivaling Wuwen's own.
"These cursed Lis!" he fumed internally. "They pillage everything in sight, yet they pointedly leave me my implements!"
When they'd plundered him the first time, he hadn't grasped their reasoning. But now, it was all too clear.
"Those scoundrels!" The horrifying truth dawned on him. "They were deliberately leaving me armed so I'd continue my own looting, gather more treasures... and then they could come back and fleece me – the classic 'dog-eat-dog situations among criminals' scheme!"
[System Notification: Your descendants within the Tian Xing Abode have successfully plundered Wuwen Scholar for a second time, acquiring a substantial hoard of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.]
[Processing Loot: Currently filtering for and prioritizing spirit medicines designed to bolster physical might from the acquired treasures...]
...
Several days passed.
On this day, across all the disparate lands where they were scattered, Li family descendants were simultaneously erecting sacrificial altars!
With utmost reverence, they presented their sacrificial offerings. Yet, on this occasion, not a single one of these offerings was dedicated to Li Wei himself!
As these myriad items flowed into the 'Room', Li Kuanghua, amidst the gathering fury of her lightning tribulation, prostrated herself repeatedly before the Ancestor's Spirit Tablet.
"Ancestor, set your heart at ease!" her spiritual voice declared. "This child will transcend this Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation! I will fulfill the task entrusted to me by yourself and our people – I will deliver Great-Granduncle Li Yunlin from his current plight!"
No sooner had Li Kuanghua's solemn vow faded than, upon the numerous altars established by the scattered Li descendants, a vast array of items abruptly manifested.
Were these not the very corpses, spirit elixirs, Heavenly Materials, and Earthly Treasures that their kin had painstakingly gathered over the past two years, including those treasures wrested from the Wuwen Scholar?
[System Grant: You have bestowed upon your descendant Li Kuanghua a storage ring containing the remains of three hundred thousand Wu Clan warriors!]
[System Grant: You have bestowed upon Li Kuanghua: Rank 7 Starforged Adamant Elixir, Rank 6 Divine Rock Golden Eye Elixir, Rank 7 Mythweave Dragon Elixir....]
[System Grant: You have bestowed upon Li Kuanghua, sourced from Li Yunlin and extracted from the very core of the Skyveil Hall, the 'Nine Spirits Wonder Fire'....]
RUMBLE!
The instant these offerings settled upon the unseen altars, the very surface of the ocean began to churn violently, winds howling and dark clouds boiling across the sky!
At that precise moment, Qing Yuan and his two fellow Crab Spirit Beast leaders felt their faces drain of all color!
They had already retreated to the far edges of the protective crab cordon. Now, as the tribulation clouds thickened with terrifying intensity, none of them dared extend their spiritual sense, not even their Nascent Souls, to investigate Li Kuanghua's state.
And then, it began – the lightning tribulation stirred!
"This... what in the blazes is this?!" one of the Crab Spirit Beast stammered, utterly confounded. "Weren't they saying she had no protective formations readied?!"
Then, spread out upon the ocean's surface, a gigantic spiritual array abruptly shimmered into existence.
The intricate runes emblazoned upon it pulsed with a sickening, blood-red light, and from it radiated an overwhelming miasma of dense Blood Qi and chilling Death Qi. Above, spectral, resentful souls began to drift and wail – the entire construct reeked of profound evil!
"Such a profoundly wicked formation!" one of the Crab Spirit Beasts cried out. "I sense it... the emergence of countless corpses!"
"This... this breakthrough of that Li family lass... what in the blazes kind of unholy art is she employing?!"
They could feel it with chilling certainty: Li Kuanghua... she was drawing upon the vital essence of dead bodies to fuel her own ascension!
"No," their thoughts raced, amending their initial shock. "It's possible she already possessed the inherent power to confront the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation head-on. This... this ritual now... she intends to become even more powerful!"
...
[System Notification: Your descendant, Li Kuanghua, is currently employing the 'Essence Harvesting Death Formation Disc', an artifact prepared by Li Yaotie. Utilizing three hundred thousand Wu Clan corpses as sacrificial offerings, her power is about to ascend to an entirely new echelon!]
RUMBLE!
Heavenly thunder rumbled incessantly, like a host of coiling dragons!
High above the storm, within the churning tribulation clouds themselves, a pair of colossal eyes took shape, glaring down as if some celestial being orchestrating the heavenly trial was enraged.
Enraged that this mortal woman dared to defy the sanctity of the tribulation itself, and enraged that she would unleash such a profane and wicked formation in its face!
As the heavenly lightning gathered and crackled overhead, Li Kuanghua stood at the very heart of the blood-red 'Essence Harvesting Death Formation.'
All around her, suspended about half a meter from the ground, were the Wu Clan corpses.
From the seven apertures of these bodies, streams of Spirit Qi and Blood gushed forth, converging and pouring into Li Kuanghua, who faced the heavens with her arms wide in a gesture of defiant welcome.
She had already attained the very apex of the Golden Core realm, and yet, her aura continued to swell, growing stronger with each passing moment!
BOOM!
At last, the heavenly lightning tribulation began to fall. Yet Li Kuanghua met its fury with calm fearlessness, silently absorbing each crashing bolt as it struck.
From this first strike of the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation – a force that would typically leave even seasoned cultivators trembling in terror – Li Kuanghua emerged utterly unscathed!
Simultaneously, as the countless Wu Clan corpses within the Formation withered into desiccated husks, all the spirit elixirs that had materialized earlier now streamed into her open mouth.
Then, four of the five supreme elemental treasures she had painstakingly gathered over the years materialized, beginning to orbit around her.
Close behind them appeared the 'Nine Spirits Wonder Fire' – that which Li Yunlin had nurtured within the Skyveil Hall for so long, now extracted and bestowed upon Li Kuanghua!
In that very instant, the Five Element spiritual treasures, one after another, started to deconstruct, their pure essences pouring into her physical form.
Her own power began to surge and expand with terrifying force!
At the very peak of her power infusion, a brilliant golden gleam ignited in Li Kuanghua's eyes.
The bizzard Flesh-Blood Lotus Throne materialized once more at her back as her form began to swell and distend, transforming her into a five-meter colossus.
Blue veins throbbed visibly upon her corded, powerful muscles. Tilting her head back, she let loose a deafening roar towards the heavens.
"Hmph! Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation, is it?" she bellowed. "Is this display the extent of your might? Today, I intend to find out once and for all: which is superior – your heavenly lightning, or these fists of mine!"
And then, incredibly... she launched herself upwards, directly into the heart of the raging heavenly tribulation above!
Far beyond the tribulation's immediate radius, the three transformed Crab Spirit Beast leaders watched as if they were mortals beholding the descent of a divinity, their heads craned back to stare at the spectacle tearing through the heavens.
Cold sweat poured down their faces.
A full day passed before the last of the tribulation clouds finally scattered.
Then, a small figure approached them – a little girl lad in a yellow dress, her hair in simple twin pigtails.
She walked towards the Crab Spirit Beast leaders, her face utterly devoid of expression, and, astonishingly, completely unscathed by the ordeal!
Despite her diminutive form, the sheer oppressive might radiating from Li Kuanghua was so intense it nearly forced these powerful transformed Spirit Beasts to their knees upon the very surface of the ocean.
---
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