The God of Heavens

Chapter 258 Spring is here
Inside the residence of Prince Yu.

After beating Hong Xuanji and obtaining the cultivation method for 360 acupoints, Lin Yu began to cultivate in seclusion, waiting for the change in the heavens.

Soon, winter passed and spring came. The sun shone brightly, and the mansion remained quiet and peaceful, unlike other wealthy families who were decorated with lanterns and firecrackers.

Because Lin Yu was not yet married, the family operated under military discipline, with Yun Qing in charge of internal affairs. The household was simple yet well-organized and utterly uncluttered.

When Yun Qing stepped into the martial arts arena, Lin Yu was practicing martial arts in the courtyard.

He was dressed in a light yellow gauze outfit, his steps were agile, his palms flew like butterflies, and as he moved left and right, the wind swirled and surged in the courtyard, and the surrounding air seemed to turn into surging waves.

As he unleashed all his moves, the air around him became like a solidified wall of copper and iron, exuding immense pressure.

Yun Qing stood under the eaves with a tea tray in her hand. Seeing that Lin Yu's fist movements were gradually subsiding, she stepped forward lightly and asked, "Isn't Your Highness always used to practicing breathing exercises? Why are you in the mood to practice your fists today?"

Lin Yu took the teacup, but looked up at the sky: "The weather is about to change today, let's stretch our muscles."

"The weather has changed?" Yun Qing looked up in confusion, only to see a clear blue sky, bright spring sunshine, and not a breath of wind. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw a flash of lightning in Lin Yu's eyes—

"Boom!"

The once clear sky suddenly darkened, and a dark cloud had somehow obscured the blazing sun. Immediately afterward, a deafening clap of thunder boomed, startling the plum trees in the courtyard, causing their petals to flutter down like snow.

"pat-"

The first raindrop struck the bluestone slab, instantly transforming into a torrential downpour. Through the rain curtain, Lin Yu's clothes remained completely dry; every raindrop that touched him within three inches was repelled by an invisible force.

"When the first thunder of spring sounds, all things come back to life."

Everyone could feel the fresh, spring-like atmosphere amidst the spring rain and thunder. A sense of comfort welled up from the depths of everyone's heart.

Standing in the spring rain, Lin Yu seemed to feel the earth's intense life-giving energy. The time to undergo the tribulation of lightning had arrived!

With a thought, Lin Yu immediately separated his soul from his body, transforming into a vast, warm wind that soared upwards into the clouds and spring rain above.

In the blink of an eye, his divine soul had risen three thousand feet, reaching the outer edge of the clouds. He was just one step away from entering the dark clouds, seeing the true face of the thunder within, and feeling the true power of heaven and earth!
The intense, vast, and boundless qi, almost tangible, was many times more terrifying than the martial saint's powerful fist intent. Even the thoughts within Lin Yu's soul felt a tingling sensation.

Those dark clouds, rumbling with muffled thunder, each muffled sound shook heaven and earth, intimidating evil spirits, carrying with it an endless force of resistance.

He witnessed the true form of the thunderbolt and was instantly enveloped by its overwhelming divine might.

On rainy days with thunder and lightning, cultivators under the tribulation of lightning dare not easily show themselves.

As thunder roared, a torrent of lightning poured down from the sky. The two wills of destruction and creation clashed fiercely, enough to shatter even the divine soul.

If one's Taoist skills are weak, one's body and soul will be destroyed instantly.

Even a master who has cultivated to the level of a ghost immortal would have to retreat in the face of this overwhelming heavenly might. After all, the soul is of the yin nature, and is most easily subject to the yang thunder. Unless one is determined to undergo tribulation, no matter how powerful one's cultivation is, one would not dare to easily leave one's body during a thunderstorm.

Throughout history, only one in ten cultivators survives the tribulation of lightning. Even those who manage to survive often fall into a period of weakness. If their enemies discover this during this time, at best their foundation will be completely destroyed, and at worst their soul will be refined into a magical artifact, preventing them from ever transcending the tribulation.

Countless brilliant talents have turned to ashes under the mighty power of Heaven.

But at this moment——

Lin Yu's soul stood proudly in the void, facing the sky full of thunder, yet remained as unmoved as a reef.

Only when the thunder turned into a torrential downpour did he suddenly have a thought, and his soul, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, rushed into the most violent core area of ​​the thundercloud!
"boom--!!"

Within the thunderclouds, the will of Heaven manifested as billions of blinding bolts of lightning. This supremely yang and powerful thunder seemed to transform into countless whips, lashing at one's soul, or like sharp knives, dismantling one's thoughts.

Even being torn to pieces wouldn't be as bad as this.

If it were an ordinary ghost immortal, their soul would have long since dissipated, but this level of lightning was no match for Lin Yu.

Within the heavens and earth, the immense yin and yang energies collided, and clusters of brilliant light constantly writhed, rising and falling with the thunder.

In the blink of an eye, he disregarded the most yang and powerful thunder in the world and rushed straight into the core of the thundercloud!

The moment Lin Yu's soul entered the thunderclouds, the scene before him changed abruptly—

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but blinding light!

These beams of light, like billions of red-hot steel needles, carrying the purest power of destruction and creation in the world, frantically drilled into his every thought.

The excruciating pain instantly swept through my soul, as if thousands of red-hot iron skewers were piercing into every pore of my soul!

"laugh--"

The instant the brilliance touched the thought, it produced a sound like a branding iron being plunged into water. Each ray of light seemed alive, greedily devouring Lin Yu's soul essence, trying to assimilate him into a part of the thundercloud.

This is the will of Heaven and Earth, the will to devour Lin Yu!

At this moment, Lin Yu was engaged in an unprecedented struggle with every thought.

Within the vast thunderclouds, the most primal will of heaven and earth is present—the fury of the collision of yin and yang, the chaos of the beginning of the universe, and the purest and most extreme power of devouring and assimilating.

There is no emotion, no pity, only the coldest law of nature: either be assimilated or conquered!

"boom--"

Billions of lightning bolts surged like a tidal wave, assaulting Lin Yu's soul. Every instant, countless thoughts of heaven and earth attempted to crush his consciousness, trying to turn him into a part of the thundercloud.

These thoughts are incredibly powerful. Although each one is not as refined as Lin Yu's thoughts, their quantity is ten times, a hundred times, or even tens of millions of times greater!
To confront the boundless will of heaven and earth, one must defeat and devour it, forcibly subjugating it to one's own thoughts, only then can the will of heaven and earth submit to one's own will. This is the true meaning of cultivation, the true meaning of tribulation!

The power of thunder is the essence of the collision between Yin and Yang in heaven and earth, and every strand contains the purest will of creation.

Even the first tribulation of lightning is comparable to the fist intent of a martial saint, extremely yang and strong, destroying all evil!
When ordinary ghost immortals undergo tribulation, they must disperse their thoughts into thunderclouds and endure the baptism of thunder as if being tempered a thousand times. In the extreme pain, they wash away the yin impurities and gradually transform their thoughts into pure yang.

Those who successfully transcend the tribulation gain resistance to the martial saint's fist intent and can even rival a novice martial saint. This is the difference between a tribulation-bound ghost immortal and an ordinary ghost immortal!

But Lin Yu's method of undergoing tribulation defied common sense!
His soul was focused and unified, not only did he not let his thoughts wander, but he also transformed his soul power into a vortex, frantically devouring the essence of thunder like a gluttonous beast.

The Jade Body of Creation radiated brilliant divine light, actually opening up a domain in the thunderclouds, forcibly restraining and refining the lightning that filled the sky!
"Rumble--"

The profound truths of life and death contained within the thunder exploded in his mind:

A bolt of lightning strikes, giving rise to the vibrant life force that drives the growth of all things;
Another lightning bolt flashed, revealing the terrifying power of annihilation.

This is the essence of the tribulation of lightning: using heaven and earth as a furnace and lightning as fire, one tempers one's own thoughts to a level that can contend with the will of the universe!

"Not enough! More!"

Lin Yu's divine soul suddenly soared into the sky, evolving into a magnificent ship that traversed the vast universe and transcended to the other shore.

The ship was nine zhang long and sixteen chi high, cutting through the waves amidst thunder and lightning. Every thought it had was a fierce suppression of the will of heaven and earth, which then gradually transformed into its own power.

In an instant, the great ship of creation that Lin Yu had transformed into amidst the dark clouds shone with boundless brilliance and divine might.

"Boom! Boom!"

Deep within the thunderclouds, lightning and thunder roared incessantly. Lin Yu's soul, like a whale swallowing the sea, absorbed all the supreme yang essence from the first tribulation of lightning.

Once the last trace of thunderous essence was refined, his soul had undergone a complete transformation.

Its entire body was crystal clear like jade, exuding a pure and flawless yang aura. Its four thousand eight hundred thoughts were dazzling, each containing astonishing power.

This is the sign that you have survived a tribulation of lightning: your thoughts are pure Yang!
Looking up, above the thunderclouds, in the vast space, from the edge to the center, there seemed to be nine circles, each representing a different strength of the will of heaven and earth.

The nine layers of lightning were more terrifying than the last.

The lightning in the second layer of thunderclouds was like a dragon, and even just looking at it from afar was enough to make one's soul tremble.

"How can we stop here after nine tribulations of lightning?"

Lin Yu laughed loudly, and his divine soul transformed into a golden stream of light, rushing into the second layer of thunderclouds without hesitation.

The moment they stepped into the lightning tribulation circle, a thunderous roar erupted.

Countless shimmering lights appeared out of thin air, roughly the size of the thought, their bodies radiating crystalline light like thorns, faintly outlining ferocious facial features. They surged forward like a tidal wave, carrying the momentum of a thousand armies.

"kill!"

These streams of light seemed to possess a faint consciousness, an exceptionally powerful consciousness!

Lin Yu felt as if he had fallen into hell, being frantically torn apart by this group of "evil spirits," with the overwhelming force of the demons devouring him.

Lin Yu remained unmoved. With a slight thought, his four thousand eight hundred thoughts suddenly changed, and a towering gate materialized, with dark golden vortexes sweeping over it, instantly drawing the streams of light into the vortex.

With a slight rotation,
boom!boom!boom!boom!boom!
Countless streams of light were shattered, emitting a shrill scream, and were absorbed into the mind.

In an instant, the Gate of Hell, formed from Lin Yu's thoughts, shattered and swallowed the will of heaven and earth generated by the second tribulation.

The will of heaven and earth arises and vanishes with each passing moment, and even more streams of light surge forth.

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into tiny figures wielding crystalline swords, unleashing profound sword techniques and boundless fist intent, rushing straight towards the Gate of Hell that Lin Yu had transformed into.

Ordinary cultivators are already exhausted from dealing with these immortal and indestructible wills of heaven and earth. Even if they gain the upper hand for a time, they will die under these endless attacks.

Lin Yu remained unmoved, focusing solely on manipulating the Hell Vortex.

A dark golden vortex swirled, devouring everything in its path—light, swords, and fist intent. Like a gluttonous beast, it frantically crushed and melted away any thoughts containing the power of destruction and creation.

Lin Yu's soul trembled violently within the thunderclouds. After absorbing a massive amount of thunder essence, the four thousand eight hundred pure Yang thoughts finally reached their saturation limit and began to undergo a qualitative change—

"Crack!"

The first thought suddenly cracked open, splitting in two. This nascent thought was as fragile as thin ice, teetering on the brink of collapse amidst the raging lightning.

Then, a chain reaction broke out:
Bang bang bang!
Countless thoughts split one after another, each one cycling between shattering and rebirth.

This is precisely the most dangerous moment of the tribulation.

In the instant of splitting apart, thoughts become extremely weak; ninety-nine percent of masters perish here. Many elders of the Great Zen Temple throughout history have failed at this critical juncture of tribulation, ending up ashes.

When the Amitabha Sutra was recited in the past, his thoughts became still and unchanging, eternally the same.

The crystalline light vanished one after another, completely absorbed by the divine soul. Thoughts split wildly until, at a certain moment, they abruptly ceased.

At this moment, each thought was the size of a goose egg, yet perfectly square and upright, radiating brilliant light, each one like a luminous pearl!
The total number of thoughts was fixed at 9,999, which was the limit that could be achieved in the second tribulation!

(End of this chapter)