I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: AFKing to Become a God
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Xu Yuan paid no heed to the changes outside.
At this moment, he was fully focused on helping Phantom Star (Huan Xing) and Star Lord (Xing Jun) undergo their tribulations.
Initially, the two spirit souls absorbed life energy and destruction energy separately, clearly distinct.
Now, the two energies they absorbed were no longer pure. Under Xu Yuan's control, Huan Xing absorbed some destruction energy to thoroughly erase its original essence, thereby giving birth to a more complete one. Xing Jun, on the other hand, used life energy amidst destruction to stimulate vitality.
Of course, the so-called essence here wasn't the origin condensed by the plane; it didn't involve time-convergence situations.
"The heavenly tribulation intensifies as the cultivation of soul beasts increases. Experiencing both the heavenly tribulation and lightning tribulation simultaneously allows for strengthening the lightning tribulation with a stronger heavenly tribulation, altering its annihilating nature. However, it's impossible for a soul beast to complete hundreds of thousands or even millions of years of cultivation before undergoing the lightning tribulation."
As Huan Xing's evolution approached its end and the dangerous period passed, Xu Yuan had some extra thoughts.
He also understood that the bug he discovered hadn't fully resolved the issue of the heavenly tribulation.
A normal soul beast would find it difficult to undergo both the hundred-thousand-year lightning tribulation and the first heavenly tribulation after a thousand years simultaneously.
Let alone possessing the combat power of a two-hundred-thousand-year-old ferocious beast at only a hundred-thousand-year cultivation stage.
Cultivation is not equivalent to strength.
The strength of soul beasts never aligns directly with their cultivation level. The so-called cultivation years are just a standard measure of a soul beast's strength, but it's only the most basic strength. In reality, due to differences in bloodlines and soul skills, their strengths vary widely. Some powerful ones can unleash the strength equivalent to a weak soul beast's hundred-thousand-year cultivation while only at the hundred-thousand-year mark.
This is the gap.
However, even if a soul beast possesses the combat power of a two-hundred-thousand-year-old ferocious beast at a hundred-thousand-year cultivation stage, it still cannot trigger the two-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation.
What triggers the heavenly tribulation is still cultivation—the quantity and quality of accumulated soul power.
Therefore, to trigger both the lightning tribulation and the heavenly tribulation simultaneously, one must ensure an instantaneous increase in cultivation by a thousand years—breaking through from less than a hundred thousand years to over a hundred and one thousand years.
To trigger an even stronger heavenly tribulation, one must either find another ferocious beast undergoing the heavenly tribulation or instantly increase cultivation by ten thousand years—from ten thousand years to twenty thousand years.
The latter is obviously impossible.
As for the former, if the simultaneous tribulation involves a soul beast undergoing its first heavenly tribulation, it's manageable. But if it involves a ferocious beast with hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation, it will be a catastrophic change for the instigator of the lightning tribulation.
Thus, the bug Xu Yuan discovered still has significant limitations and cannot perfectly solve the mechanism of soul beasts' heavenly tribulation.
However, for powerful ferocious beasts, there's now a cruel method of undergoing tribulation—while enduring the heavenly tribulation, capture a soul beast about to undergo a hundred-thousand-year lightning tribulation, seek out heavenly treasures, and instantly undergo both tribulations. Merge the heavenly tribulation with one's own, then suppress the lightning tribulation, which will be absorbed by the lightning tribulation, achieving a mixed tribulation.
Such an increase in tribulation might not be significant for high-level ferocious beasts, but it adds the characteristics of the lightning tribulation, providing a glimmer of hope.
This glimmer of hope could be the key to surviving the tribulation.
For instance, Di Tian, with his status among soul beasts, could definitely find such a soul beast. However, the outcome of the million-year heavenly tribulation remains uncertain even to Xu Yuan.
Since the purpose is to prevent soul beasts from ascending to godhood, the degree of despair is evidently not limited to ordinary god levels. Even with a slim chance of survival, the intensity of the mixed tribulation likely exceeds what soul beasts can endure.
"The method of mixed tribulation still needs further research since only mixed tribulation can fully utilize future heavenly tribulations." Xu Yuan had his own calculations.
He had five spirit souls, each different, representing achievements in various directions, which he would step-by-step elevate to god-level. The number of heavenly tribulations they'll undergo during this process would undoubtedly be substantial.
With so much heavenly tribulation power and thunder power, he naturally wouldn't want to waste it.
This is all the thunder power his spirit souls worked hard to attract—if it can't be utilized, Xu Yuan felt it'd be a disservice to his adorable spirit souls.
And mixed tribulation is evidently a way to utilize the heavenly tribulation.
As long as the mechanism of vitality within destruction is triggered, there's an opportunity to devour all this power.
"Huan Xing, Xing Jun, give it a try. The Thunder Quenching Technique should have the ability to mobilize these heavenly tribulation powers. Leave the absorption to me."
After Huan Xing and Xing Jun passed the dangerous period, Xu Yuan decided to let them try first to see the effect of absorbing the heavenly tribulation.
"Alright!"
"Understood."
Huan Xing and Xing Jun began operating Xu Yuan's Thunder Quenching Technique in their respective ways.
Huan Xing revealed his form, quite similar to his initial Phantom Beast form, but each part of his body was enveloped in dense five-element forces, constantly changing. As the five elements flowed, his form underwent slight transformations.
The five elements swallowed the heavenly tribulation power, circulating it internally. His internal meridians changed unpredictably, and with the movement of the five elements, human-like meridians appeared.
Xing Jun's tentacles spread out, each becoming a conductor, channeling all the heavenly tribulation power into its body. Inside, it resembled a vast star map.
In its large eyes, a star map similar to Xu Yuan's visualization diagram appeared. Different from Xu Yuan's diagram, this star map structure varied, though the form was similar, both being patterns of stellar power in motion.
The heavenly tribulation power circulated within the star map in its eyes, rapidly tempering its body.
Xu Yuan took a deep breath, sensing the vast amount of heavenly tribulation power inside him.
All this was the heavenly tribulation power absorbed by the two spirit souls.
He activated the Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique.
Devour!
The heavenly tribulation power circulated within him but showed no signs of being absorbed.
"As expected of a power designed to annihilate soul beasts, but since it's power, there must be limits—it's impossible to exist without being able to be devoured." Xu Yuan took a deep breath, triggering the lightning tribulation power transmitted from the two spirit souls.
The two powers intertwined and crossed each other.
Though Xu Yuan couldn't devour the heavenly tribulation, he could devour the lightning tribulation power. With previous experience, his speed was extremely fast, though slower now because he had to return the devoured power to the two spirit souls.
Overall, his devouring speed was still very fast.
With swift devouring, the two types of thunder power inside him noticeably changed. The lightning tribulation weakened, then began transforming the heavenly tribulation.
Xu Yuan exhaled in relief.
Indeed, the mechanism of the lightning tribulation surpasses the heavenly tribulation.
Though the heavenly tribulation is stronger, the mechanism of the lightning tribulation prevails!
Ten days later.
The two spirit souls undergoing tribulation lasted at least ten days.
As both the lightning tribulation and heavenly tribulation dissipated simultaneously, the sky above Devil Island unusually gave a sense of calm.
Of course, Devil Island remained Devil Island. The fluctuation of destruction energy was heart-stirring, and the desolate atmosphere lingered around. It was just the illusion of calmness brought by the dissipation of the hundred-day mixed tribulation.
Northern Sea Legion Command Center.
Shen Yue watched the dissipating lightning tribulation and heavenly tribulation above Devil Island on the monitor, exhaling in relief.
"Could there be a ferocious beast at the center of Devil Island?"
Shen Yue's heart trembled.
Everything she just witnessed could only remind her of a ferocious beast undergoing the heavenly tribulation.
But if a ferocious beast resides there, why would it become Shrek's so-called military training area?
Her mind was filled with many questions.
But she also knew she couldn't get answers to these questions. She had no authority to investigate the secrets of Devil Island.
Even though a large number of Northern Sea Legion officers came from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, which had grudges with Shrek, Shen Yue herself also came from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, yet she dared not forcibly probe Devil Island occupied by Shrek.
They were truly lawless individuals.
The Federation couldn't govern them!
Shen Yue's face turned bitter.
Her grandfather's teachings echoed in her mind.
"Let Shrek be as they are. Though domineering, they're better than the Holy Spirit Sect. They restrain a group of strong individuals and uphold justice. At least, the apparent stability of the Federation owes something to Shrek."
Shen Yue took a deep breath, watching the restored 'calm' of Devil Island on the screen.
"Continue monitoring Devil Island. Notify me immediately if any changes occur."
She left the command room, preparing to rest properly.
These ten days, her nerves were too tense, constantly coordinating the legion's forces, setting up around Devil Island, and negotiating with the Federation, bearing considerable pressure.
Because she didn't forget the duty of the Northern Sea Legion.
Guard Devil Island!
Though it was merely watching Devil Island, it was the second line of defense after Shrek.
If Devil Island encountered any changes, and even Shrek's forces within collapsed, the release of destruction energy would bring disaster to the entire Douluo Star.
Hence, she carried immense psychological pressure.
There had been no such anomalies for thousands of years, and suddenly today, a ferocious beast undergoing the heavenly tribulation appeared. Her mental pressure was imaginable.
If the heavenly tribulation triggered the destruction energy within Devil Island, the whole island would explode like a bomb, spreading destruction energy over surrounding waters and vast land.
Shen Yue believed that destructive power wouldn't be inferior to the God-Slaying Missile.
Xu Yuan stood still as Huan Xing and Xing Jun completed their tribulations and re-integrated into his body.
His brain martial soul released, surrounding him with a brilliant galaxy.
This was his brain martial soul.
Named the brain martial soul, it had transformed into a galaxy.
Below Xu Yuan's feet, rings of soul rings rose.
Red, red, red, orange-gold, orange-gold, orange-gold, orange-gold, orange-gold, orange-gold.
Three red, six orange-gold!
Having undergone the heavenly tribulation, the soul rings provided by Huan Xing and Xing Jun to Xu Yuan turned orange-gold. On the orange-gold soul rings, golden patterns surrounded them, with a particularly prominent golden pattern.
(A/N: Although the original work doesn't depict this situation, it generally involves breaking through to 200,000 years during absorption, resulting in two golden-patterned orange-gold soul rings. Here, it's set that after the 110,000-year heavenly tribulation, it becomes orange-gold.)
"Though the difference in years isn't significant, this orange-gold soul ring has undergone a qualitative change."
Xu Yuan was slightly astonished.
Even after devouring the power of the heavenly tribulation, Huan Xing and Xing Jun's current cultivation was only around 112,000 years, not much different from Yao Yao's.
But the orange-gold soul ring felt more powerful than the blood-red soul ring.
"These golden patterns..."
Xu Yuan had some doubts in his mind.
He guessed who set up the heavenly tribulation but didn't know the motive.
After all, Dragon God, revered by various divine beast races as the master of the Dragon God Realm, even in death, shouldn't impose such restrictions on the soul beast race.
Yet, the existence of the heavenly tribulation was inexplicable and practically an unachievable means by normal gods. Therefore, Xu Yuan deduced that the heavenly tribulation was set by the Dragon God.
Previously unaware of the motive, Xu Yuan now had a slight understanding.
Perhaps the existence of the heavenly tribulation was also a kind of trial.
The path of the heavenly tribulation was, in another way, the path to godhood. Only that enduring the heavenly tribulation offered no chance of survival, facing only despairing calamity.
To ascend to godhood, one must endure ten heavenly tribulations, which was exceedingly cruel.
So although Xu Yuan had some understanding, he still couldn't agree with the Dragon God's actions.
"Unless undergoing ten heavenly tribulations to ascend to godhood offers sufficient benefits."
Xu Yuan didn't know what layout the Dragon God had or that in the Dragon God's perception, a new Dragon God would inevitably return, merging the power of the Gold Dragon King and Silver Dragon King to re-ascend the Dragon God's throne.
The toll of undergoing tribulation was still enormous.
Xu Yuan spent over half a month recuperating on Devil Island to repair his meridians completely.
Indeed, swallowing a mixed tribulation severely damaged his meridians. Even under the nourishment of life energy, it took over half a month to recover.
"Now we have the ability to utilize the heavenly tribulation, but problems arise accordingly. Only the first heavenly tribulation can be absorbed well."
Though the power of the heavenly tribulation added over ten thousand years of cultivation to Huan Xing and others respectively, it wasn't insignificant.
Moreover, swallowing a mixed tribulation, though damaging his meridians once, made them more resilient under the rebirth principle of destruction, and his entire blood qi seemed to undergo a quenching.
"Unless I can find a stable source of lightning tribulation."
Xu Yuan pondered whether the Heavenly Forging Lightning Tribulation could be utilized.
After some thought, he shook his head.
The gap between Heavenly Forging Lightning Tribulation and hundred-thousand-year lightning tribulation was evident, and their mechanisms differed.
The crucial aspect of Xu Yuan's method for creating mixed tribulation was the simultaneous occurrence of the same soul beast's lightning tribulation and heavenly tribulation, allowing the two tribulations to mix, forming a mixed tribulation.
Subsequently, using the attraction between heavenly tribulations, one could achieve fusion of heavenly tribulations between different individuals, followed by a joint reaction with the lightning tribulation to create a mixed tribulation.
"If soul beasts could actively trigger corresponding lightning tribulations at two-hundred-thousand or three-hundred-thousand years, that'd be great." Xu Yuan sighed.
It was impossible, but it was the simplest stable source of lightning tribulation Xu Yuan could think of.
"Never mind, whatever. Tribulation must be endured when it comes."
Even without a clear solution to stabilize the source of lightning tribulation, Xu Yuan didn't intend to suppress Shan He.
If it's time to undergo tribulation, then undergo tribulation.
Pursuing the ephemeral goal of increasing cultivation by ten thousand years instantaneously just to utilize the heavenly tribulation was too foolish.
"Shan He, come undergo tribulation!"
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