After Yue Meng spent a few days preparing for her Tribulation, Chen Jiuge also began his preparations for his Nascent Soul breakthrough.
He took out the Communication Stone and waited calmly for a reply.
A projection appeared. The lazy Hua Yu looked at her eldest son and asked, "What's up?"
"Dear Mother, are you free lately?" Chen Jiuge asked ingratiatingly.
"Just get to the point." Hua Yu wasn't one for sweet talk.
"Alright, Mother, my last Guardian Beast is about to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, and I'm finally ready for my own breakthrough. I was hoping to find someone to act as a protector," Chen Jiuge said straightforwardly.
"I see," Hua Yu frowned.
"Mother, is there something wrong?" Chen Jiuge said, a slight headache forming.
"Yes, I've been thinking about entering seclusion lately. After all, I've been at the Divinity Transformation Realm for quite some time, and it's about time for a breakthrough. Never mind, I'll inform your father. After so many years, his Returning to Void Realm should be stable by now. I'll need him as my protector when I'm in seclusion. Just wait for news in your little valley; I'll have your father come directly to you," Hua Yu said before cutting off the communication.
Father? Chen Jiuge shuddered at some unwelcome memories.
It was hard to describe. While his mother, Hua Yu, could be somewhat childish, she was quite good to her children and possessed a motherly demeanor. His father, Chen Chen, however, was different—a battle maniac through and through. Young and already at the Returning to Void Realm, he was quite famous in the Chen Family, though also highly unreliable. He was always either on his way to a fight or on his way back from one. In short, he was a battle maniac even more extreme than War Song.
Right, speaking of which, that Fighting Demon Ape had been a gift from his father, who asserted that a man couldn't possibly live without fighting. Then, under his mother's threats, it became: how could the Spiritual Beast of a Beast Master not fight? And so, War Song became his Lifebound Spirit Beast.
「Seven days later」
Chen Jiuge stared at the person-shaped hole that had just appeared in his valley's protective Array. Annoyed, he called out to his father, "Dad, couldn't you have just asked me to open the door?"
Chen Chen touched his bald head and said disdainfully, "What's the use of such a fragile Array?"
"Is this really about the Array?" Chen Jiuge said, exasperated.
"Alright, Little Jiuge, don't get hung up on such things," Chen Chen said, draping a bulky arm over Chen Jiuge's shoulder. "The most important thing is, when are you breaking through? Your mother is entering seclusion soon, and I need to go act as her protector."
Chen Jiuge looked helplessly at the Array, then at his robust father, and said, "Yue Meng should undergo her Tribulation tonight. Once she's finished, I'll proceed with my breakthrough."
"That's good, as long as it doesn't delay things. By the way, where's the little monkey I gave you?" Chen Chen looked around after speaking.
After pointing out War Song's location to his father, Chen Jiuge quickly patched the hole in the Array with another Array Plate to prevent the Spiritual Beasts in the valley from sneaking out.
「That night」
Under the moonlight, the pristine Moon Rabbit's aura surged, and the Moonlight Power enveloping her exhibited intense fluctuations.
The clear moon was shrouded by dark clouds.
"Those aren't damn clouds, that's the Heavenly Tribulation! Everyone back off, get away from Yue Meng!" Chen Jiuge had just finished shouting when he noticed the other Spiritual Beasts. They had already been led far away by his father and were looking at him as if he were a fool.
Chen Jiuge forced himself to calm down and concentrated on Yue Meng's Heavenly Tribulation.
The blue-purple Heavenly Tribulation descended in an instant, angrily cleaving down upon Yue Meng. Her snowy white fur was singed black, and her expression was clearly one of distress.
Watching Yue Meng pull out a Medicine Mortar to fiercely confront the second wave of the Heavenly Tribulation, Chen Jiuge was dumbfounded. Since when was Yue Meng this fierce???
Only at the eighth wave was the Medicine Mortar in Yue Meng's hands finally struck down by the Heavenly Tribulation.
For the ninth wave, the deep purple Heavenly Tribulation formed a Thunder Dragon. It opened its maw to devour Yue Meng, but she retaliated by spitting out a snow-white beam of light, and the Thunder Dragon… melted???
Observing Yue Meng, who had now smoothly advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, Chen Jiuge was bewildered. Girl, with combat power like that, you were still telling me you couldn't pass the Heavenly Tribulation???
"Little Jiuge, your rabbit is impressive and has great potential," Chen Chen said, very satisfied as he looked at his son. A Spiritual Beast that dares to confront the Heavenly Tribulation head-on is worthy of being my son's Lifebound Spirit Beast.
Chen Jiuge, sensing his father's thoughts, felt powerless to object. He simply said earnestly, "Dad, it's my turn to face the Tribulation. Keep an eye on things for me, and prevent any stray lightning from the Heavenly Tribulation from destroying the valley."
"Don't worry, consider it a small matter," Chen Chen said, dismissing it as a trifle.
Unlike Yue Meng, Chen Jiuge's Heavenly Tribulation was even more magnificent. This was related to the Myriad Beasts Sect's Cultivation Techniques. By harnessing the power of their Lifebound Spirit Beasts, cultivators could forge stronger Nascent Souls. However, this method of borrowing external power would cause the Heavenly Tribulation to intensify.
As the Heavenly Tribulation conjured various Thunder Snakes, Thunder Tigers, and Thunder Wolves, Chen Jiuge tensed his entire body. His formidable Body Refiner aura erupted. With each punch, he shattered these lesser tribulation manifestations and even absorbed their scattered energy using his Body Refining Technique, bolstering his own foundation.
With the seventh wave, the Thunder Dragon reappeared.
"You really think highly of me, huh?!" Chen Jiuge scoffed coldly.
A colossal Dharma Image then rose with him—this was the Giant Spirit Dharma Form, a Body Refining Magic Technique he cultivated. As the roaring Thunder Dragon approached, the giant Dharma Image grasped its gaping maw. Amidst Chen Jiuge's furious roars, it tore the Thunder Dragon in half.
Bathed in thunderbolts, the Dharma Image gained a hint of the Giant Spirit's divine essence, but this act seemed to infuriate the Heavenly Tribulation.
The eighth wave immediately unleashed three Thunder Dragons, three Thunder Qilins, and three Thunder Phoenixes.
After a harsh struggle, the Giant Spirit Dharma Form finally managed to obliterate them all. Chen Jiuge, covered in soot and dirt, looked at the still-brewing Heavenly Tribulation, countless sarcastic remarks forming in his mind. Does a Nascent Soul Tribulation really need to be this extravagant? Even Qilins and Phoenixes are appearing!
After a long pause, a thunderbolt, lightning-fast and invisible to the naked eye, struck Chen Jiuge. The massive Dharma Image shattered, and the lightning bolt lashed fiercely at Chen Jiuge.
"Darn it." Fiercely giving the middle finger to the dispersing Heavenly Tribulation, Chen Jiuge spat out a puff of black smoke and collapsed to the ground.
Sensing the miniature figure meditating within his Divine Sense and the richer Mana in his Dantian, Chen Jiuge knew he had successfully passed the Tribulation.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Little Jiuge. Your Nascent Soul Tribulation even included a strand of Purple Cloud Divine Thunder. If I didn't know you'd been at the Sect this whole time, I'd have thought you were some young Demon," Chen Chen said with a mocking smile, looking at his son sprawled on the ground.
Chen Jiuge weakly rolled his eyes, showing he had no energy to deal with him.
That night, Chen Chen left after telling him to cultivate well. It seemed his mother was indeed in a hurry.
Chen Jiuge also needed to solidify his new Realm, so he could only silently wish his mother an early advancement to the Returning to Void Realm.
As soon as Myriad Beasts Sect Disciples broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, they could become Inner Sect Disciples. This was also related to the Myriad Beasts Sect's Cultivation Techniques, which allowed them to use their Lifebound Spiritual Beasts to lay a profound foundation during the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul Realms. Subsequently, their progress relied solely on their own efforts. Therefore, Inner Sect Disciples often undertook missions to temper themselves, and even Chen Jiuge had no intention of shirking these duties.
To seek immortality, one must make sacrifices; after all, good things don't just fall into one's lap.