Accidentally Triggering a Lightning Tribulation

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of striking metal echoed through this grey, silent space. Wang Xuanyi had lost count of how many times he had swung his hammer, continuously purging the impurities from the dragon bone.

As he forged, he continuously added various auxiliary materials.

The process was long and tedious.

Yet, he persevered.

For no other reason than that Zhu Huai's cultivation realm was difficult to raise, and she was still young. She was normally the most obedient, and aside from occasionally liking to tease others, she had no flaws.

Combined with the fact that they had spent over a decade together.

Wang Xuanyi treated her like his own little sister.

His own sister had to be spoiled by him.

Wang Xuanyi wiped away the sweat pouring from his forehead and took a deep draft of icy Green Bamboo Wine, instantly suppressing the dry heat throughout his body.

He repeated this in an orderly, tireless fashion.

He knew no fatigue.

Finally, the dragon bone was hammered into the shape of a sword embryo.

“Quench!”

Wang Xuanyi pulled out a bucket of spring water radiating waves of chill and threw the glowing red sword embryo into it. The freezing spring water instantly boiled.

Blazing flames burned along the blade, twisting like fiery serpents before being extinguished by the cold.

Burning, extinguishing, burning, extinguishing...

In the blink of an eye, the flames ceased to burn, and the freezing spring water lost its chill. The two merged, and plumes of white mist rose, filling the entire space.

The crisp chime of the sword rang out. Its dull yet sharp sound pierced the air, actually cutting through the air currents.

“Oh, such presence even before it's fully formed? Not bad, not bad.” Looking at the blade that had yet to be sharpened, Wang Xuanyi nodded in satisfaction.

At this moment, the surface of the blade was covered in a layer of dark impurities. However, judging from the specks of light peeking through, beneath this layer of impurities, it was as clear as jade.

“Does Junior Sister Zhu Huai prefer a cute style or a sharp style?”

Wang Xuanyi rested his chin on his hand, pondering whether to forge a magic sword or perhaps dye it pink and make it a rapier with a bow.

After thinking it over, he decided to forge a sword similar to the ones used by Leng Ning'an and the others, though the style would be far superior.

“Time to engrave the sword runes. I wonder if a rudimentary sword spirit will be born.”

Just like cultivators, weapons were divided by strength.

From weakest to strongest, they were: Mortal Weapons, Spiritual Weapons, Ultimate King Weapons, Primordial Dao Heavenly Weapons, Dao-Ending Sovereign Weapons, and at the absolute peak, Chaotic Immortal Artifacts.

From Ultimate King Weapons onward, there was a chance for a weapon spirit to be born, which was highly dependent on the user.

If a user nurtured a weapon with their essence, energy, and spirit over a long period, treating it as a part of themselves, the weapon would respond to its master's wishes and birth a weapon spirit.

Of course, there were also innate weapon spirits.

But that probability was minuscule. Under normal circumstances, only Sovereign Weapons and Immortal Artifacts could possess a weapon spirit at the time of forging. For weapons at other stages, it was extremely rare, almost non-existent.

Thus, for Wang Xuanyi to have such an idea...

“Holy crap! A gold pull?!”

Wang Xuanyi stared at the newly engraved sword runes. The originally faint golden light suddenly flared, and the impurities coating the surface of the blade were instantly purged by the gold light, revealing its original appearance.

The neat and orderly sword runes were printed onto the blade as if custom-made. It was as clear as jade and glowed with a brilliant gold light, buzzing and vibrating as if it were alive.

Furthermore, there was a cluster of light at the center of the blade that was at its densest, wrapping around something like a shelled egg.

“As expected of me! A casual forge, and it's a Heavenly Weapon! Hahaha...”

Wang Xuanyi put his hands on his hips and couldn't help but laugh toward the heavens.

Weapons without a weapon spirit weren't necessarily bad, but weapons with one were definitely exceptional. As the master's cultivation rose, the weapon could break through stage limitations and charge toward higher realms.

Then, before he could celebrate too much...

Tiny arcs of purple lightning manifested in the surrounding space, filling the entire area in an instant.

“Oh no, a lightning tribulation.”

Wang Xuanyi cursed inwardly. He had gotten too excited and completely forgotten.

Whenever a weapon spirit was born or a transcendent item appeared, the Heavenly Dao would deliver a certain degree of tempering to see if it could withstand the punishment of defying the heavens.

Above Tianzhu Peak, rolling thunderclouds gathered. The interwoven lightning was darker than the night sky, radiating a destructive aura that could obliterate anything.

At the same time, the high-level members of the Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect were all awakened by this lightning tribulation, and they rushed over to surround Tianzhu Peak.

“What's going on? Is someone breaking through?” an outer sect elder asked.

“Could it be Peak Master Mo Yan breaking through to a new realm?”

“It doesn't look like it.”

“This is a lightning tribulation triggered by the birth of a weapon spirit,” Shen Shi, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect, spoke up.

“Sect Master.”

Upon seeing him arrive, the elders and Peak Masters bowed respectfully.

“No need for formalities.” Shen Shi then called out, “Junior Brother Mo Yan, come out!”

“Sect Master, I'm over here.”

At that moment, Mo Yan arrived by Shen Shi's side, bringing along a somewhat dazed Zhu Huai.

The moment Mo Yan appeared, not only were the elders dumbfounded, but even Shen Shi was stunned.

“You aren't the one who triggered the lightning tribulation?” Shen Shi asked.

The other elders were also extremely curious. In the current Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect, who else besides high-realm cultivators could forge a top-grade weapon capable of causing this?

“This...” Mo Yan paused before speaking. “I just searched all over Tianzhu Peak and couldn't find my grandson's aura. I suspect...”

“...”

They were even more bewildered!

Mo Yan's words were like a bomb, instantly setting off the emotions of the Sect Master and the elders.

“You mean...”

Just as Shen Shi was about to speak, the lightning tribulation finished gathering.

The thin purple lightning arcs had now transformed into bowl-thick, dark-purple lightning bolts. Their aura grew stronger, and their power became far more terrifying than before.

The lightning tribulation struck right on cue.

Wang Xuanyi dared not be careless. He instantly tore open space, ignoring the crowd gathered around Tianzhu Peak, and leaped out of the void holding the newly forged Heavenly Weapon.

At this moment, he had been blasted completely black by the lightning, looking extremely comical.

“Senior Brother!”

Zhu Huai cried out.

Seeing this, Wang Xuanyi waved his hand and shouted, “Little girl, wait a bit and Senior Brother will give you a huge treasure! Just give me a moment.”

“...”

Zhu Huai was silent for a moment, then she smiled and muttered to herself, “So Senior Brother already knew. And here I was, trying so hard to hide it for so long.”

Meanwhile, Shen Shi's face turned completely black. Looking at his daughter's bashful expression, he felt an intense pang of misery, as if the plump, tender cabbage he had raised for over a decade had just been dug up by a pig.

Next, Wang Xuanyi held the Heavenly Weapon and soared up to meet the lightning tribulation.

He knew that Tianzhu Peak couldn't withstand this kind of havoc.

The first bolt of lightning struck the Heavenly Weapon. Instead of destroying it, it triggered a resonance within the weapon.

As if it had a life of its own, the Heavenly Weapon flew out of Wang Xuanyi's hands, radiating a scorching and dazzling golden-jade light as it resisted the lightning tribulation on its own.

“Not only does it have a weapon spirit, but it has also birthed a will! This is a growth-type Primordial Dao Heavenly Weapon!” an elder cried out in shock upon seeing the weapon defend itself.

At this moment, the disciples who had gathered to watch the commotion instantly grew excited.

This was the first time they had ever witnessed the birth of a Heavenly Weapon.

“Father, Senior Brother won't be in danger, right?”

Shen Zhu Huai sent a voice transmission, feeling a bit worried for Wang Xuanyi, who was in the midst of the lightning tribulation.

“No, that kid is tough; he won't die.” Shen Shi's teeth gritted in frustration, but he still patiently explained, “The Heavenly Weapon Wang Xuanyi forged has an innate will to protect its master and already possesses a rudimentary weapon spirit. It absolutely won't let its creator come to harm.”

“That's great.”

Shen Zhu Huai's laughter rang out like silver bells, and her appearance unconsciously reverted to its original state.

With a petite face, cherry-like lips, flowing long hair, skin like congealed fat, and faint Peach Blossom Eyes, she had the look of a cute girl-next-door.

If the looks of Leng Ning'an and the others were a perfect score of one hundred, then Shen Zhu Huai was a ninety-nine—just a tiny fraction short.