Dragon Tamer
Chapter 1361 - 1365 Heavenly Tribulation Embodiment

Chapter 1361: Chapter 1365 Heavenly Tribulation Embodiment

It was an extraordinarily tranquil sea, yet scattered across its surface were countless peculiar crystal mountains, as majestic and resplendent as floating glaciers.

Zhu Minglang landed amidst these floating crystal mountains and began Gathering Spirit and Lingna Air.

The sun shone gently—it was regrettable that it wasn’t the Sword Spirit Dragon’s turn to assist, as its presence would amplify the effect of Gathering Spirit and Lingna Air by several folds. With such augmentation, the Nine-tailed Dragon’s cultivation base after breaking through the Moon Radiance God Level State would stabilize more profoundly, possibly even advancing several stages further.

Qiao Caiqing’s choice of this particular floating crystal mountain was actually quite a good one.

Beside him, the Little Glutton’s stomach emitted a rumbling "grrr" sound. Clearly, these floating crystal mountains were not just a breathtaking sight but also nourishing delicacies to the creature.

"Stay here and guard well. After the Nine-tailed Dragon ascends, you can drink this entire sea dry, and I won’t say a word," Zhu Minglang remarked with a smirk.

Following the preordained order for Divine Soul cleansing, the White Kirin’s fake egg still served as the main ingredient.

In truth, the Quenching Bead that Elder Sister Master had given him could also act as a primary component for the Six Divine Cleansing. After all, its soul-offering power derived from a Mystic Ancient Fox Immortal with ninety thousand years of cultivation.

But one can never have too much of a good thing. These additional elements would endow the Nine-tailed Dragon with even greater divine skills and abilities post-ascension.

Everything was in place!

Zhu Minglang initiated the Ascending Ceremony for the Nine-tailed Dragon!

Sure enough, the moment the Nine Flavored God Cleansing activated, the previously tranquil sea began to stir, and the winds and clouds in the sky above churned violently. Rolling thunder appeared to weave an ominous purple net, intent on obliterating all beings from the Lower Realm who dared defy the heavens!

"Boom! Boom! BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Torrential rain poured down, lightning rampaged in chaotic arcs, tidal waves surged, and fierce gales howled with fury!!

The entire world seemed engulfed by countless ghostly gods, malevolent apparitions conjuring a storm of spells and throwing every means at their disposal to obstruct the ascension of this Lower Realm being!

Zhu Minglang lifted his gaze. Through his Divine Sense, he discerned numerous pairs of eyes amid the stormy skies and seas, all glaring menacingly at the Nine-tailed Dragon, whose body radiated brilliant dragon light.

There was the Heavenly Tribulation Wind Uncle, the God Tribulation Thunder Gong, the Moving Sea Dragon King... A host of divine Heavenly Souls had coalesced into a massive barrier, manifesting as an inverted Dragon Gate stretching tens of thousands of feet, looming beneath the vast Sky Dome. To pass through, the Nine-tailed Dragon had to rely on its mortal body and Divine Soul to scale to its peak!

In the past, Zhu Minglang hadn’t understood that the heavens had erected a series of Dragon Gates for all gods—one for the transition from mortal to god, and others for the transition from god to immortal...

The so-called tribulations and trials were experienced throughout one’s growth, but the ultimate breakthrough at each level culminated in a trial akin to a cascading Sky Dome waterfall!

The galaxy tumbling down this celestial waterfall wasn’t water in the literal sense—it could be the crushing force of tens of thousands of thunders, the fires of heavenly tribulation, or even winds that could shatter souls...

These were merely tests of the ascendant’s mortal body. Far more crucial was the trial of the soul.

The Three Souls and Seven Spirits: every step of the ascension was an unrelenting flogging of the soul. If the one ascending belonged to the Human Race, even the slightest stray thought or lingering attachment during the ascension would be magnified infinitely, manifesting as an internal mental trap. This entrapment could bind that fragment of the soul at this level, making it impossible to climb further. The body and soul would grow heavier and heavier under the weight of these attachments!

Thus, cultivators were prone to demonic influence; their Dao hearts often risked instability. Those with unsteady foundations, even if granted the Six Divine Cleansing, might not successfully ascend to the Moon Radiance God.

To become a Star God required reaching the utmost pinnacle, comprehending one’s Dao, and advancing unwaveringly toward its zenith.

But to become a Moon God was akin to building a dam. The Six Divine Cleansing was so named because it required comprehensive fortification, without any weak points. Every aspect had to withstand scrutiny and endure the erosion of time.

The Nine-tailed Dragon was, in fact, far from being a true Moon Radiance God. Its body harbored numerous vulnerabilities, and its temperament lacked refinement. But its Divine Soul was linked with Zhu Minglang’s, whose Divine Soul had attained an unshakable level of resilience, though even he no longer remembered how he had cultivated to such a Realm...

The Nine-tailed Dragon’s ascent wasn’t particularly arduous. At this moment, it was akin to wearing armor impervious to water and fire and possessing powerful wings on its back. It climbed against the torrent of the Dragon Gate, pushing forward with unstoppable momentum!

However, its smooth progression encountered complications as it neared the summit.

Unlike the ascension of a Star God, that of a Moon God induced much greater chaos. The opening of the Ascending Gate itself disrupted Heaven and Earth, generating ripples of distortion that caused spatial anomalies, overlaps, and pathways across a radius of tens of thousands of miles...

This distortion also allowed the demonic creatures and evil spirits within those miles to traverse these spatial disruptions easily, gathering at the site of ascension and, under the name of the heavens, interfering with the ascending dragon!

"Interference" was a euphemism. In truth, they circled like vultures, shamelessly preying on the dragon mid-ascent.

They tore its flesh, consumed its soul, and siphoned its vitality!

When a dragon was reduced to bare bones, its soul stripped of all luster by these despicable incarnations of celestial and godly Heavenly Soul embodiments, and its vitality drained to the last spark, the outcome was painfully predictable.

Thus, surviving an ascension failure with one’s life intact was considered a miraculous fortune!

Little Jiuwei was a privileged dragon, so to speak—a dragon raised by Zhu Minglang in a veritable greenhouse.

Its current ascension had drawn the frenzied interest of the Heavenly Tribulation embodiments. After all, such tender and fragrant prey was a rarity in these times, like a young fawn attempting to traverse a swamp teeming with Ferocious Crocodiles...

The majority of ascension dragons honed themselves into beings fiercer than crocodiles before braving such swamps. Yet even with such preparation, many ascension dragons fell into the mire, only to face relentless group attacks and carnage.

The Nine-tailed Dragon was too juvenile, so much so that the moment these Heavenly Tribulation embodiments caught wind of its climb, their eyes glinted with greed, as if they had stumbled upon a rare prize, barely able to restrain themselves from devouring it whole, flesh and bone.

The Nine-tailed Dragon ascended rather smoothly to the upper reaches. Yet when it raised its head, it was met with countless feral embodiments amassed above, awaiting it like ravenous ghosts in hell. A flicker of panic crossed its heart, and in that instant of hesitation, it was struck by the triple calamities of wind, fire, and thunder, plummeting a significant distance.

"Don’t be afraid—just keep going upward!"

Zhu Minglang’s voice rang out, offering comforting encouragement.

The Nine-tailed Dragon calmed itself, adjusted its mindset, and resumed its climb.

Qiao Caiqing, on the other hand, couldn’t hide her concern. She could not help but remark, "We should prepare some offerings for those Heavenly Tribulation embodiments. If they taste the offerings, they would at least reduce their assault on the Nine-tailed Dragon."

This was indeed an oversight on Zhu Minglang’s part.

Primarily, Zhu Minglang didn’t have anything presentable as offerings at the moment. Besides, his prior ascensions relied entirely on sheer strength, rarely resorting to forms of bribery like this.