Chapter 156: Thunder Core
Li Yao gritted her teeth as another wave of excruciating pain shot through her being. She deconstructed yet another portion of her core painstakingly, her hands trembling slightly from the strain. Despite having repeated this process countless times throughout the night, the agony remained just as intense with each attempt—a burning, tearing sensation that threatened to break her concentration.
"Why isn’t this getting any easier?" she thought, sweat beading on her forehead as she pushed through the pain.
She examined her core, noting with satisfaction that it now pulsed with pure lightning energy, the transformation nearly complete. Only a few sections remained untouched by her reconstruction process.
"Just a few more," she encouraged herself, drawing a deep breath before continuing the grueling task.
The Empress’s voice resonated within her consciousness, carrying a note of urgency. [Be ready, the tribulation is almost starting.]
Several miles away, restlessness spread through the band of cultivators who had been waiting since the previous night. One of the men shifted impatiently, casting an anxious glance toward their leader.
"Boss, how much longer do we have to wait? We’re getting late. The elder might scold us," he complained, his expression pinched with concern.
Another cultivator nodded vigorously in agreement. "That’s right, boss. How come it’s taking so long to just breakthrough to the Golden Core realm? We took almost two hours max, yet it’s been nearly half a day for this one."
"Should we just interfere after all?" a third suggested, his hand drifting meaningfully toward his weapon.
The leader’s face had darkened with suspicion, his thoughts mirroring his subordinates’ concerns. What could possibly explain such an extended tribulation period? Could they have miscalculated the breakthrough’s nature entirely?
Just as doubt threatened to overwhelm his patience, the thunderclouds above began shifting dramatically, swirling with renewed intensity. His expression immediately brightened, a satisfied smile replacing his previous scowl.
"Don’t worry," he assured his men with newfound confidence. "It’s about to start now." He gestured toward the gathering storm. "It’s just that the one breaking through has such poor talent that it took them this long to start the process."
Relieved laughter rippled through the group at this explanation.
"It indeed sounds reasonable," one cultivator remarked.
"Can someone really have such poor talent?" another asked between chuckles.
A particularly boisterous member slapped his companion’s shoulder. "Vice captain, we finally found someone even less talented than you!"
"What? Why am I catching a stray?" the vice captain protested, triggering another round of laughter among the gathered men.
Meanwhile, Li Yao completed the reconstruction of the final section of her core, feeling the circuit close with a satisfying resonance. Power began building within her at an alarming rate, her body humming with barely contained energy.
[It’s coming,] the Empress announced, her voice carrying both excitement and caution.
She materialized behind Li Yao, placing a hand on her back. [Don’t try to reject it. With your lightning core, it won’t hurt... much.]
"What?" Li Yao questioned, alarm flashing across her face. The Empress, however, continued as if she hadn’t heard the interruption.
[Just distribute the energy in the method I taught you,] she instructed firmly. [I’ve activated the rebirth pill. Your body will start undergoing a rebirth effect.]
The Empress’s voice grew more urgent as she continued. [I want you to guide the lightning energy through as your body gets reconstructed. If you do it correctly, your body will be transformed into the Nine-Heavens Thunder Body.]
Her form began fading, retreating toward Li Yao’s spiritual sea. [At my current level, I won’t be able to survive the heavenly tribulation, so it’ll be all you from now on.]
"Wait, you can’t just say that and—" Li Yao began to protest, but her words died in her throat as she looked upward. The sky had split open, a massive bolt of lightning already descending toward her with unstoppable force.
"Oh crap..."
...
When the first lightning bolt struck Li Yao, her entire body went numb. Despite her extensive practice with high-level lightning techniques that had built up her immunity, the heavenly tribulation lightning operated on an entirely different scale. This pain transcended anything she had previously experienced—even the agonizing deconstruction and reconstruction of her core paled in comparison to this divine punishment.
The disparity made perfect sense. Most cultivators approached their tribulation fully prepared, surrounding themselves with protective formations, consuming tribulation resistance pills, and utilizing various treasures to soften the ordeal. Even with these precautions, survivors universally described it as the most excruciating experience of their lives. Li Yao faced this celestial judgment completely unshielded, absorbing each devastating bolt directly into her being.
As the lightning coursed through her, she felt the rebirth pill activate, initiating the reconstruction of her physical form at the molecular level. This transformation added another dimension of torment—her muscles, bones, and meridians simultaneously breaking down and reforming with each thunderous impact from above.
Yet amid this overwhelming suffering, Li Yao’s expression twisted into something unexpected—a villainous smile that would have chilled any observer. Rather than surrendering to the pain, she channeled it into burning determination, her thoughts turning to the enemies who awaited her return.
"This is all their fault," she thought fiercely, her inner monologue growing increasingly vindictive. "If Dean Gu Hanming hadn’t frightened senior brother back then, he probably would have already agreed to marry me."
The memory of the dean fueled her rage, the lightning seemingly feeding off her darkening emotions. "Dammit, Gu Hanming. I should have killed you more painfully," she seethed internally. "If you reincarnate, pray that I don’t find you."
Her expression contorted further as her thoughts spiraled toward her sect’s true adversaries. "The Wuming Cult," she growled, their name like poison on her tongue. "Always ruining everything."
A disturbing chuckle escaped her lips as another lightning bolt shattered against her transforming body. "Hehehe, how do I make them suffer? I want them to feel even more pain than me. It’s not that much to ask, right?" she mumbled, her voice barely audible beneath the thunderous cacophony surrounding her.
From within Li Yao’s spiritual sea, the Empress observed this alarming transformation with growing concern. "What’s wrong with that girl? She’s not going into qi deviation, is she?" the Empress wondered, anxiety mounting.
Interference would be extraordinarily risky—disrupting the heavenly dao’s judgment could have catastrophic consequences for both of them. She watched intently, ready to intervene despite the danger if absolutely necessary.
After careful observation, the Empress noted that despite Li Yao’s unsettling behavior, she continued methodically guiding the lightning energy through the prescribed pathways. A sigh of relief escaped the Empress’s spiritual form—the girl’s core remained stable despite her concerning demeanor.
"This girl really makes me worry," the Empress thought, her features softening momentarily before hardening into determined focus. "I should also start making my move," she resolved.
...
Far, far away—separated by a distance that transcended conventional measurement—a young boy drifted through absolute darkness. Terror gripped his small frame, the oppressive void achingly familiar despite its otherworldly nature. This wasn’t his first visit to this nightmarish realm.
A sound behind him caused him to turn, his movements unnaturally sluggish in this strange dimension. A beautiful girl materialized from the shadows, her delicate features initially serene. Then, in a horrifying transformation, her face contorted into a malevolent grin that split her face unnaturally wide.
"It’s all your fault," she hissed, her voice echoing impossibly through the empty space.
The boy tried to flee, but his body refused to respond, as though the darkness itself had solidified around his limbs. Paralyzed by terror, he could only watch as the girl descended upon him, a knife clutched in her slender fingers, gleaming despite the absence of any source of light.
"It’s all your fault," she repeated, her voice rising with each iteration as she plunged the blade into his helpless form again and again. "All your fault! All your fault!"
The boy’s screams tore through the void, growing more desperate with each stabbing motion until—
"Xiao Ming! Xiao Ming!"
His eyes snapped open, the nightmare dissolving around him as reality reasserted itself. He found himself lying in bed, his mother’s worried face hovering above him, her hands gently shaking his shoulders.
"Xiao Ming, did you have that dream again?" she asked softly, gathering him into a protective embrace as she noticed the tears streaming down his face.
"Yes," he whispered, his voice small and fragile in the darkness of his bedroom.
His mother’s arms tightened around him, her warmth chasing away the lingering chill of the nightmare. "Don’t worry, mom is here. Don’t be afraid," she murmured, rocking him gently as she had done countless times before.
The boy leaned against her, drawing comfort from her presence even as the girl’s twisted face lingered in his mind’s eye. He didn’t understand why the same nightmare tormented him night after night, or why he couldn’t escape the accusatory words that followed him even into his waking hours.
"It’s all your fault."
...
Author’s Corner
Don’t ask, time flows differently in different worlds.
Also, I just put this in here just for giggles, I may or may not focus on it later on.