Deep within the Primordial Wood Astral Forest, dark clouds roiled as Wu Tianjun reached a critical stage of his tribulation.
By now, more than ten drops of lightning rain had merged into his body, making his already unstable condition from utilizing both meridians even worse. One side of his body was on the verge of collapsing; even with his powerful Demon Meridian, his wounds could not heal in time, and blood flowed incessantly from his arm. Yet at this moment, a sudden mutation occurred. His Demon and Divine Meridians, which had previously run parallel, bizarrely intertwined. Inside his chest, a Taiji diagram actually formed—one half black, one half purple—simultaneously radiating an ethereal Dao rhyme that faintly resisted the oppressive Dao rhyme binding him in place. Not only that, but the diagram also absorbed the power of the lightning rain, causing its pattern to grow increasingly distinct. At first, the absorption was slow, but it gradually accelerated, spinning continuously as it devoured the lightning rain. A massive vortex seemed to form around his exterior, sucking in the lightning rain and the surrounding origin energy to constantly nourish his body.
The lightning rain, that Dao rhyme, and the destructive force were broken down by the Taiji diagram, channeling energy into Wu Tianjun's two meridians, his sea of consciousness, and his newly formed Minor Demon Realm. His Divine Meridian cultivation rapidly soared to the peak of the Profound Divinity realm!
Nearly two hours passed, during which Wu Tianjun absorbed an untold amount of lightning rain. The broken-down energy was primarily absorbed by the Minor Demon Realm and his Origin Soul, while that Dao rhyme was assimilated by the Taiji diagram and transferred directly to his soul. Wu Tianjun's soul now sat atop the Taiji diagram, shrouded in a mysterious Dao rhyme like a divine being meditating on the Dao. Once that Dao rhyme was fully absorbed, Wu Tianjun was finally able to move. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.
"Heheh! You can't do anything to me anymore! Lightning Tribulation Liquid, here I come!" Wu Tianjun leaped into the tribulation clouds like a madman, utterly unaware that his actions were driving the observing experts nearly insane.
"He actually didn't die... and even jumped into the tribulation clouds..." a third-order God-rank expert said, trembling with fear.
"That's right! He really jumped into the tribulation clouds!" a fifth-order God-rank expert said, his voice shaking. Even he could hardly believe anyone could survive that kind of lightning rain. This youth was beyond anything he could comprehend.
"Another Starry Sky monster?" a Profound Divinity expert asked, his voice trembling. With his cultivation level, meeting such a monster meant he could only look up to them in awe.
"A Starry Sky monster... I think this one has already surpassed that level..." another expert said, his voice shaking. Starry Sky monsters were already peak, colossal geniuses; most of them were Holy Sons or Holy Daughters of Holy Lands, or heirs of super hidden clans. They were terrifying monsters capable of fighting far above their realms.
"I really don't know what level this person has reached. I'm afraid he might even rival the Super Demon Wu Tianjun from eight years ago," the fifth-order God-rank expert said in an awe-struck tone. If Wu Tianjun knew about this, who knew if he would rush over to beat the man up? *I, Wu Tianjun, am as elegant as a jade tree, handsome and carefree! When was I ever a demon...*
"That person is already dead..." a God-rank expert remarked.
"I heard the inside story back then was quite complicated. He was forced to fall into demonhood just to save his clansmen..." another sighed.
"Indeed. Back then, he only borrowed demonic energy to temporarily boost his cultivation; it wasn't his own true power..." yet another seemingly knowledgeable expert chimed in.
"Hmph! Monsters like him are beyond our comprehension. Let's leave quickly so we don't cause any misunderstandings," said the cultivator at the Fifth Heaven of the God Realm. Although they wanted to know who had crossed the tribulation, the person had just finished and might be injured. Approaching him now could easily be misconstrued, and monsters of his caliber possessed countless tricks. It was best not to provoke him.
Wu Tianjun rushed into the thunderclouds. Sure enough, given the intensity of the Lightning Rain Tribulation, a vast amount of lightning tribulation liquid had been produced. Looking around, he saw it everywhere—probably over fifty thousand drops, which would be enough to last him a long time. He quickly collected the liquid while preparing to use his Demonic Infant to control his body and leave. Someone had already witnessed his heavenly tribulation, so there was no need to linger.
As the thunderclouds dispersed, Wu Tianjun's figure vanished. He was currently rushing into the Yuanmu Star Forest to find the little green snake. Nearly six hours later, he finally sensed its aura. He had previously enveloped the little green snake in demonic qi precisely to mark it. At the moment, the little green snake was in a bad spot, being eyed by a Purple-winged Eagle. Although this eagle was only at the Yuan Gathering Realm, it was still enough to threaten the little snake's life.
"Screeech..." The Purple-winged Eagle shrieked and dived from the sky, aiming straight for the little green snake. However, protected by the demonic qi Wu Tianjun had left behind, the little snake was safe for the moment. The eagle could not breach it yet, but once the demonic qi dissipated, the little snake would surely die.
"Hey! You dare bully my little snake? You must be tired of living!" A gust of wind blew past, and Wu Tianjun appeared in front of the little snake, looking at it with amusement. With a flick of his hand, he grabbed the Purple-winged Eagle by its neck. Although the eagle was only at the Yuan Gathering Realm, it was a demonic beast with a massive body—nearly a zhang long with a wingspan of over three zhang. Held in the hand of a small twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy, the sight was rather comical.
"Haha! Looks like I have roasted bird to eat." Wu Tianjun exerted his strength, instantly killing the Purple-winged Eagle. He then looked at the little snake. "Haha, we really are fated, aren't we?" Wu Tianjun said shamelessly.
The little snake did not understand his words, but its instincts told it that this human had no intention of killing it.
With that, Wu Tianjun ignored the little snake for the moment and carried the Purple-winged Eagle toward a distant waterfall.
"I wonder how old I am now? How is everyone doing? Are they alright?" Wu Tianjun thought aloud as he walked toward the waterfall. "Sigh... I should worry about myself first, then figure out a way to find them." Wu Tianjun's current appearance could only be described as that of a little beggar. He hadn't changed his clothes since eight years ago when he was only five. They were torn in many places, stained with blood, and his face was smeared with mud... even his hair hung down almost to the ground. "Sigh... I'm about to become a wild man," he muttered with a bitter smile, looking at his reflection in the water. Then, without even undressing, he jumped into the water.
"Ah... I finally feel alive again." After jumping into the pool, he splashed around for a bit before letting his body float naturally to the surface, staring blankly up at the sky. He had to find the Nine-colored Holy Lotus to save his mother, find his clansmen, and seek vengeance! Yes! He had to take revenge. He would make those who attacked the Wu family that day pay ten thousand times the price his family had suffered.
He adjusted his clothes a bit—though it wasn't much of an adjustment. Since his clothes were already too short, he decided to fashion them into a loincloth just to cover his vital parts, leaving his upper body bare. His hair was tied back, looking a bit messy; he had never tied his hair before. After that, he cleaned the Purple-winged Eagle in the only way he could think of, keeping only the two thighs and the torso while discarding the rest. Talk about a lack of experience!
Not long after, the meat seemed to be done. As a savory aroma wafted up, Wu Tianjun put a piece in his mouth to taste it.
"Pah! Why is there no flavor at all? Didn't I do it right?" He didn't realize he needed to add seasoning. "Sigh... If I had known, I would have learned some cooking beforehand! I'll just have to make do." Helplessly, Wu Tianjun sat and ate the Purple-winged Eagle meat. Although it smelled delicious, it was almost completely tasteless.
"Little rascal, what are you sneaking around for?" Grimacing as he ate, Wu Tianjun suddenly waved his hand toward a distant bush. A little green snake was instantly snatched into his grip, startled and struggling in sheer panic.
"It hasn't even unlocked any spiritual intelligence yet..." the Origin Soul spoke from his Sea of Consciousness.
"It carries a trace of a bloodline from the Primordial Era, which seems close to the Demon Race. Let's give it some of my demonic qi and see what happens," the Devil Infant sitting in his Dantian added.
"Huh! The Devil Infant is right. With the demonic qi generated by the Primordial Demonic Veins, it might actually have a chance to awaken its bloodline," the Origin Soul agreed.
"Haha, little guy, it's up to you now!" Wu Tianjun laughed. With that, the Devil Infant released a strand of demonic qi, channeling it into the little green snake's body. The snake let out a wild shriek as its body swelled, thrashing and rolling frantically on the ground.
"What's happening?" Wu Tianjun couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Its bloodline is awakening. It all depends on the snake now. If it successfully triggers the bloodline, it has a chance of survival; otherwise, death is certain. Just wait," the Origin Soul said indifferently.
"Oh! I see. Well, I have nothing else to do anyway, so I'll wait for it a bit," Wu Tianjun said out of boredom. He only found it amusing; he didn't care much about its life or death—at least, not at the moment.
Nearly a day passed before the little green snake finally stopped thrashing. Over the course of the day, its body had ruptured several times before regenerating. Now, it lay weak and motionless, yet one could sense that it was much stronger than before. Its body was nearly a zhang long, and its green scales now emitted a faint black mist. It looked at Wu Tianjun with eyes full of gratitude, then sent a faint, intermittent voice transmission.
"Give... me..." A childish voice echoed in Wu Tianjun's ears.
"Give you? Demonic qi?" Putting away his bored expression, Wu Tianjun waved his hand, sending a strand of demonic qi twice as large as before into the little green snake's body. This time, the little green snake did not thrash in pain but quietly refined the demonic qi, its aura steadily rising. Wu Tianjun could feel the little snake breaking through its own shackles. Its Pulse Opening Realm reached twelve pulses, and it continued to open more, quickly reaching thirty-six pulses. However, the demonic qi was also rapidly depleting.
"Oh! This little fellow is not simple at all! Hehe, let me help you fulfill your potential then," Wu Tianjun gave a strange laugh. Just imagine how carefree and dashing it would be to travel the world standing on the back of a beast with eighty-one opened pulses in the future. With that, he waved his hand and threw out a wave of demonic qi, enveloping the little green snake to assist it in opening its pulses.