Chapter 316: Lucy’s Thunder Tribulation

Over the next half month, Rod focused on practicing in this valley while simultaneously dedicating himself wholeheartedly to searching for the remaining parts of the armor! Hard work pays off—just in the last few days, he found another piece of the armor: a knee guard. At this point, only two elbow guards and one knee guard were left. If all these pieces were gathered, the armor would be complete. As for this valley, Rod no longer held any hopes. This set of armor was quite peculiar; sometimes he even thought it might never have been complete in the first place. The Death Battlefield valley was probably just a small part it passed through.

Rod had searched every corner of the valley over these half months, leaving it almost in ruins—these were the only remnants left for protection.

Lucy was utterly puzzled by Rod’s actions. She didn’t understand what he was searching for; it seemed very important. During this time, aside from practicing, he spent all his other time searching frantically, sometimes causing Lucy to worry.

On the other hand, she was excited too. After a month of practicing in this valley, her Nether Hellfire had reached a mature stage and completed its evolution. She also felt her strength subtly increasing. As her Nether Hellfire was refined, her soul power expanded. At this moment, she touched the barrier of the Yin Yellow realm. Realizing this, Lucy knew she now had the strength to enter the Yin Yellow realm—she just needed to adjust her state to summon the Yin Yellow Thunder Tribulation. If she could successfully overcome it, she would be able to enter that realm.

As for Rod, his strength had also seen a qualitative leap. Finally, on this day, he stepped into the later stages of the Yin Yellow realm. With the help of the yin energy and death energy in the valley, his progress was rapid. However, after entering the later stages of the Yin Yellow realm, Rod clearly felt his training speed slow down. Nothing in this valley could help him anymore! Now, resentment and murderous intent filled half of his internal fighting energy, so Rod dared not continue practicing recklessly, fearing it might disrupt the balance and lead to disastrous consequences.

Meanwhile, Rod had searched the entire valley, using his mental power to scan every corner without leaving any spot unexamined. Realizing he could no longer find what he needed, he knew it was time to leave the valley.

“Are you ready?” Rod turned to look at Lucy, his tone somewhat serious.
“Mm, I’m ready. Big brother, leave this place for now and come back later!” Hearing Rod’s words, Lucy nodded and spoke in a deep voice, her face filled with longing and excitement as she gazed at the sky.
“Are you really sure you don’t need my help?” After pondering for a long time, Rod still asked anxiously.
“No need. The Yin Yellow Thunder Tribulation has already become the God-Annihilating Thunder Tribulation. If you join in, things will change—then the tribulation will be twice as intense, targeting the strongest person, and everyone will have to face it alone. That wouldn’t be good! I can handle it myself!” Lucy said with a blush, smiling. She knew Rod was worried about her, but how could anyone help with the God-Annihilating Thunder Tribulation?
For thousands of years, many people had doubted this, only to end up dying as a result. The tribulation could only be endured by the person themselves. Meanwhile, during the tribulation, the individual’s body would evolve unconsciously to a higher level—this was the key point. Without such evolution, even if one reached the Yin Yellow realm, their strength wouldn’t match that of a true Yin Yellow expert. For example, the patriarch of the Nash family had entered the Yin Yellow realm after being refined. Unfortunately, he hadn’t gone through the tribulation, so his strength couldn’t truly be called that of a Yin Yellow expert—at most, he was a quasi-Yin Yellow expert.
“Then be careful. Call me if you have any problems! I’ll be waiting over there!” Seeing Lucy’s determination, Rod realized she was right. With a sigh, he spoke solemnly.
After saying that, he stepped back, watching the dark clouds gathering in the sky. His expression grew grave as he hoped Lucy could successfully endure the tribulation and enter the Yin Yellow realm!
From afar, he watched Lucy. Her surroundings were filled with fire elements, and the Nether Hell Fire within her body also burst out, burning fiercely. In an instant, the dark clouds in the sky fully formed, and with a sharp, piercing thunderclap, the tribulation began to take effect.
The first lightning bolt, like a soaring dragon, rushed toward Lucy at lightning speed. Rod’s heart soared as well with the appearance of the lightning.
“Boom… boom…” The thunder rumbled, terrifying to hear.

“Fire Dragon Shield!” On the other side, Lucy let out a sharp cry. Before the lightning arrived, a massive Fire Dragon Shield appeared in front of her. It was a defensive magic of the near-prohibited curse level, possessing incredible defensive power. Even gods at the advanced stage would need to exert tremendous effort to break through it—clearly, Lucy was very cautious.

As expected, moments later, the lightning struck hard against the defensive barrier Lucy had created. A dull sound was heard, and from afar, Rod could clearly see the Fire Dragon Shield trembling slightly and its color dimming significantly. Inside the shield, Lucy quickly formed various hand seals, and instantly, the shield regained its luster, even becoming brighter.

At the same time, the Nether Hellfire surrounding Lucy seemed to sense the danger she was in and voluntarily merged into the Fire Dragon Shield. In an instant, the shield took on a striking red and green color, extremely gorgeous.

The Fire Dragon Shield made of prison fire was clearly different now—lacking its previous dominance but becoming more stable and subdued.

The second wave of lightning arrived at this moment. This time, Lucy managed to easily withstand it with the help of the Fire Dragon Shield. Only then did Rod breathing a sigh of relief. Indeed, with the addition of the Nether Hellfire, the shield’s defensive power had at least reached the curse level—the first ten waves of lightning could not cause it any harm!

As Rod had predicted, waves of lightning continued to come one after another, extremely fierce, but they paled in comparison to the Fire Dragon Shield. Lucy stood at the center, striving to maintain the shield while channeling her own magical elements and drawing in magical elements from all around. She continuously formed seals in her hands to enhance the shield’s power.

Her body trembled slightly. Truly, this was the wrath of lightning. Even though she had blocked the energy, a pure energy stream still entered her body and circulated throughout it. After a brief moment of tension, Lucy completely relaxed. This energy was nothing other than the one that helped transform her body. She could clearly feel that wherever the energy passed, her body seemed to be reborn, gaining new vitality. It felt incredibly comfortable.

With the addition of the Nether Hellfire, the Fire Dragon Shield’s defensive power far exceeded Rod’s expectations—even Lucy was somewhat surprised. Unnoticed, sixteen waves of lightning had passed, and it seemed the ordeal was about to end. The shield still stood firm, protecting Lucy without any major issues.

Watching Lucy effortlessly endure so many lightning strikes, Rod felt ashamed. He could only survive them thanks to his abnormal physique, but Lucy was a normal person with no advantages at all—yet she had passed nearly half of the thunder trials with ease. This result was quite astonishing.

Boom… The entire valley was filled with lightning, and even Rod was affected, groaning in pain. Only after retreating a distance could he stabilize himself.

It seemed even the heavens were enraged by Lucy’s monstrous strength. Lightning after lightning struck relentlessly. Most people would have given up by now, but Lucy remained unharmed.

The twentieth wave of lightning arrived, its deafening sound tearing through space. Finally, under this wave, Lucy’s Fire Dragon Shield dimmed!

“Nine Phoenixes Ascending!” She promptly removed the Fire Dragon Shield and shouted. This time, she used all her strength, unleashing the powerful fire-based forbidden spell, Nine Phoenixes Ascending. Instantly, the entire world grew dim, and the deathly atmosphere in the valley seemed to vanish, replaced by peace and comfort. Nine Phoenixes Ascending was the Black Phoenix clan’s ultimate defensive spell.

Nine phoenixes in space let out a long cry before gliding down toward the ground and surrounding Lucy. They formed a circle, protecting her tightly.

The Nether Hellfire also joined this spell at the right moment, further strengthening it. Rod didn’t know exactly how strong the defense had become, but one thing was certain: even he would need tremendous effort to break through this spell now!

It was the first time Rod had seen Lucy use such fierce tactics. He was deeply impressed—this girl truly hid her true strength. It seemed he had underestimated her all along. With a wry smile, he realized that after going through the trials in the Nether Mountains, her strength must have reached a terrifying level—almost on par with Sognar and Lilith, if not even greater.

Under the protection of Nine Phoenixes Ascending, Lucy continued to endure the thunder trials effortlessly. In the blink of an eye, thirty-three waves of lightning had passed, leaving only three left.

As the final moments approached, Lucy’s expression became serious. Calm and unhurried, she showed no signs of rushing. She glanced at Nine Phoenixes Ascending, formed several hand seals, and murmured complex spells, further strengthening the defense.

Boom… Under such circumstances, even the power of the thunder calamity was helpless, as its attack strength was only on par with that of a beginner martial artist at the Yin Yellow level. Thus, Lucy didn’t encounter too much trouble. With the help of Nine Phoenixes Reaching for the Sky, she easily passed through the last thunder calamity. Watching the dark clouds in the sky gradually disperse, Rod breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy also slowly dismissed the Nine Phoenixes Reaching for the Sky spell and gasped for breath in place.