Chapter 2197 - 2186: Heavenly Thunder Rolling

"Boom!"

In an instant, the barren land where the two stood was lit up as bright as day. Dongka’s figure had already sprinted several hundred meters away. Staring at the halo of light ahead, a trace of regret flashed in his eyes as he murmured softly, "So... we still couldn’t dodge it? As expected, how could Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Thunder be something ants like us can resist?"

At the center of the halo, Lin Zifeng was blasted backward by waves of faint purple energy. His delighted smile flickered and vanished, replaced by utter shock and terror.

Just moments ago, he’d planned that since he couldn’t avoid the Heavenly Thunder, he would rely on the gravity formed by combining the Primordial Battle Banner and the Magic Bracelet to slow the thunder to its utmost, then use his eerie movement technique to slip away.

Then the Heavenly Thunder would crash down on empty ground, and he would be considered to have luckily escaped a tribulation. What Lin Zifeng hadn’t expected was that the terrifying Heavenly Thunder was so overwhelmingly powerful it actually broke through the suppression the instant it touched him!

The back of Lin Zifeng’s robe had already turned to ashes, and even his originally smooth back was now pitch-black and charred. Suspended in midair, a strand of faint purple energy like a tangible wave flashed across Lin Zifeng’s eyes.

"Still not enough? Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Thunder really is this terrifying."

Silently whispering to himself as he watched the wave of energy draw near in a blink, Lin Zifeng knew that, injured badly and hanging in midair, there was no way he could evade this strike.

Just as Lin Zifeng coughed up several mouthfuls of fresh blood and prepared to close his eyes and await death, the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Shadow Stone he had been clutching tightly without ever loosening his grip suddenly burst forth with a radiance as dazzling as the blazing sun of the Nine Heavens.

"Crack... Boom!"

What Lin Zifeng never imagined was that the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Shadow Stone, which had been perfectly intact in his hand, released one blinding flash of light—and then cracks spread all over its surface. With a deafening bang, it shattered into countless streaks of light that scattered and vanished into the night sky.

Watching the treasured item he had obtained through untold hardships, nearly losing his life for it, turn into such a state, Lin Zifeng unwillingly stretched out his right hand, as if trying to snatch one of those streaks of light from midair before the energy wave struck.

Only when he gripped one of the Fragments in his hand did he realize in astonishment that his right arm, and even his whole body, was cloaked in a layer of semi-transparent ripples. The faint purple energy wave slammed against his body, but only stirred a few ripples from that barrier before everything calmed again.

Before Lin Zifeng could think further, a heart-rending pain suddenly came from his back. With a cry of agony, he abruptly realized that his blood-soaked back had just slammed into the ground, and a sharp stone had stabbed directly into his wound.

"Ah... I just managed to dodge the Heavenly Thunder, and now I get ambushed by a rock. How unlucky can I be?"

That joy of surviving a calamity loosened Lin Zifeng’s taut nerves. Rubbing his aching back and flicking away the bloodstains on his hand, Lin Zifeng lifted his head, searching for Dongka’s figure.

When the Heavenly Thunder struck just now, Lin Zifeng had caught, from the corner of his eye, Dongka sprinting several hundred meters away. Carefully estimating, he knew the aftershock of Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Thunder would absolutely reach several hundred meters out. Lin Zifeng staggered to his feet and limped toward the direction Dongka had fled.

After only a few steps, Lin Zifeng suddenly noticed that the streak of light he had been gripping so desperately just now had dimmed. Its brilliant glow had faded, transforming into a rhombus-shaped, completely transparent Jade.

"Though it’s just a small piece, it still comes from the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Shadow Stone. There must be some Xuan Ji hidden within it."

Though he thought this, Lin Zifeng had no mood to toy with the Fragment of the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Shadow Stone at the moment. They’d caused such a commotion—especially that last Heavenly Thunder—which absolutely couldn’t escape the senses of the Five Supreme Venerables in closed-door Cultivation.

In all likelihood, once the Five Supreme Venerables came back to themselves, they would definitely come to investigate. His most urgent task now was to find Dongka and then rush back to their quarters.

Thinking this, Lin Zifeng forced himself to endure the pain and limped across the barren land. Finally, his eyes lit up: right ahead lay Dongka, collapsed on the ground and unconscious.

Dongka’s robe, originally as white as snow, had long since been blasted to tatters by the aftershock of the Heavenly Thunder. The skin exposed to the air was charred black, crisscrossed with dark red wounds oozing fresh blood. Seeing Dongka’s deathly pale face and ragged breathing, Lin Zifeng didn’t dare hesitate. He hurriedly dragged Dongka up from the ground and leaned him against his own shoulder.

"Ah..." The instant they touched, both let out a cry of pain. Lin Zifeng guessed that his own shoulder must have had some bones shattered by the aftershock of the Heavenly Thunder; he could barely exert any strength now.

Lin Zifeng also discovered that Dongka’s right arm, resting on his shoulder, had a gruesome wound that pierced straight through the limb, blood flowing in streams. He hadn’t noticed before because of the light and angle, but seeing it now sent a chill down his spine.

"We’ve got to get back and treat Dongka immediately. If we waste too much Time, this arm of his might be ruined."

Staring at the deep wound where shattered bone fragments were still visible, Lin Zifeng’s sword-like brows knotted tightly. Ignoring his own pain, he hoisted Dongka onto his back, enduring the heart-rending agony from his own wounds as he ran toward the edge of the wasteland.

At this moment, the White Sky Venerable, who had been sitting cross-legged on the Stone Platform with eyes closed in Cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes. A gaze as sharp as sword-light shot forth, as if to pierce the cave and see everything outside.

"Green-clothed, it seems there’s some disturbance where the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Shadow Stone is. Go take a look." He intoned silently in his heart. A hint of gravity rose on the White Sky Venerable’s wrinkled old face.

That barren land was strictly guarded by elite Blood Shadow Dark Guards under his command. Normally, he’d also declared to the clan: anyone who strayed into that place was to be killed without mercy. He truly couldn’t imagine that someone would dare intrude now.

Feeling the waves of powerful aura coming from the east, the White Sky Venerable was just about to urge a few more words when a calm, rippleless voice sounded in his mind: "White Sky, I crossed my Tribulation Lightning a few days ago and am now at a critical stage of closed-door recovery. If you’re free, go investigate yourself."

"Anyone able to break into that place is definitely no ordinary person. I fear Wen Quan and Jiuzhou would be no match for them."

With a cold snort, the White Sky Venerable cut off his spiritual link with the Green-clothed Venerable and said icily, "Hmph, when you needed help crossing your Heavenly Tribulation Lightning a few days ago, you were all deference, but now that something’s happened, you’re hiding faster than anyone. Wen Quan and Jiuzhou aren’t a match, yet you think I, White Sky, can handle it!?"

The White Sky Venerable understood well the terror of the Heavenly Slaying Five Thunder Formation. He asked himself: if he were in that position, even if he could avoid those Heavenly Thunders, he would still end up covered in wounds.