Chapter 83: Who Truly Cannot Escape?

These words dealt a heavy blow to the disciples; indeed, the formation appeared only to temporarily immobilize Lady Fox, without inflicting any real harm. Fan Jingwen shouted, “Everyone, don’t listen to the nonsense of this demoness! Keep holding on!”

Hearing Fan Jingwen’s call, Lady Fox sneered, “Hahaha, I’d like to see just how long you can endure.”

Suddenly, the sky was filled with dark clouds, lightning flashing and thunder rumbling.

“What’s happening?” Bai Tao asked in confusion.

The little dwarf dragon glanced upward, noticing the clouds converging toward Jiang Yan.

“It’s Jiang Yan—he’s about to undergo the tribulation!”

At these words, Bai Tao’s face was filled with astonishment. “How is Jiang Yan already facing another tribulation so soon?”

Under Bai Tao’s shocked gaze, Jiang Yan sensed the spiritual power in all six of his spiritual roots had reached their peak; his body brimmed with boundless energy.

“Master, congratulations! The time for your tribulation has come!”

Xiao Xue’s cheerful voice rang in Jiang Yan’s mind.

Jiang Yan slowly opened his eyes, gazing through the clouds to the thunderclouds above, and felt a strange sense of kinship.

Watching more and more thunderclouds gather toward him, the corners of his mouth curled upward in a slight smile.

He mounted his flying sword and soared toward Lady Fox’s location, deliberately drawing the thunderclouds in her direction.

The thunderclouds, like enraged beasts, chased after Jiang Yan, thunder rolling across the sky.

Boom...

A bolt of lightning split the heavens, awe-inspiring, as if questioning: Why are you running around, boy?

Jiang Yan called out to those maintaining the formation, “Everyone, get out of the way!”

Before his words even faded, Jiang Yan was already piloting his flying sword, shooting upward to hover high above Lady Fox.

He provocatively shouted at the thunderclouds, “Come on, I’m waiting for you! Don’t just be all thunder and no rain—show me your true might!”

Boom...

Boom...

After two deafening thunderclaps, a violet lightning bolt, like a spear, tore through the sky and struck rapidly toward Jiang Yan.

Both the humans and the demons watched as Jiang Yan and Lady Fox were struck simultaneously by the tribulation, the wild energy engulfing them in an instant.

It turned out, when Qi Yu and the others had flown away, the immobilization on Lady Fox had not been immediately lifted.

Lady Fox could only watch helplessly as Jiang Yan lured the tribulation toward her.

“You… I… won’t… let… this… go…”

Struck by lightning, Lady Fox trembled all over, the scene almost comical.

Her body had been obtained through sacrificial magic—a forbidden art not recognized by the Heavenly Way—and now struck by tribulation lightning, it weakened drastically.

But before she could even catch her breath, another wave of lightning crashed down.

Witnessing this, the demons secretly felt vindicated.

“That human cultivator is truly a good guy!”

“Indeed, he broke through so quickly just to use the tribulation lightning against Lady Fox.”

“Let’s hope he succeeds!”

Jiang Yan, the center of their discussion, stood atop his flying sword, enduring the cleansing of tribulation lightning. If his memory served, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage required surviving eighteen bolts of lightning.

Three consecutive bolts struck him, yet all he felt was a tingling sensation—nothing more.

“Xiao Xue, do you notice? This tribulation seems weaker than before.”

“Master, your lightning spiritual root is absorbing the power of the thunder, so you aren’t suffering any real harm.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Yan’s eyes. “Such a fortuitous advantage?”

He marveled inwardly; the lightning spiritual root was truly practical, useful both in battle and for enduring tribulations.

“Master, don’t forget—your lightning root was bestowed by Heavenly Tribulation, so it shares the same origin with these thunderbolts.”

But Jiang Yan had little time for conversation; three even fiercer bolts of lightning crashed down upon him.

Struck, Jiang Yan’s hair stood on end, as if nourished by the electric force, and his body absorbed even more thunder energy.

Below him, Lady Fox was writhing in agony, emitting a series of shrill screams, “Ahhhh!”

Smoke rose from her body as if she were being burned by fire.

Lady Fox knew that if things continued, she would likely perish, reduced to ashes.

Clenching her teeth against the pain, she waited for her body to regain motion, then struggled to flee from Jiang Yan’s side.

Jiang Yan saw through Lady Fox’s intentions.

Whenever she moved, he instantly maneuvered his sword to follow her closely.

Everyone—humans and demons alike—witnessed a peculiar spectacle: lightning chased after Jiang Yan, while Jiang Yan chased after the fox demon.

She fled, he pursued, it pursued—who, in the end, could escape fate?

“Sister Hua, that youngster is no ordinary cultivator; this tribulation is like child’s play to him!”

Wang Xingzhi gently fanned himself, his gaze resting on Jiang Yan, a note of admiration in his voice.

He found Jiang Yan fascinating; while others faced tribulation with caution and fear, Jiang Yan was utterly different.

After all, a failed tribulation could mean serious injury, or even instant annihilation.

Clearly, the boy possessed confidence and daring.

“Senior, Jiang Yan is truly a genius of extraordinary talent,” Hua Ling’er replied with a hint of pride.

Jiang Yan had endured fifteen bolts of tribulation lightning, yet remained unscathed, recovering with just a few healing pills.

“Xiao Xue, have any new chains been unlocked?”

“Master, the current tribulation’s power is not enough to break other chains.”

No wonder—after so many strikes, Jiang Yan still felt no new chains shatter.

It seemed, to destroy Lady Fox or unlock more chains, the present tribulation was still lacking in strength.

Lady Fox had been struck dozens of times, black blood oozed from her lips, presenting a ghastly sight.

She staggered, feet heavy, retreating slowly in an attempt to escape Jiang Yan and the range of the tribulation. Yet Jiang Yan chased after her like a relentless wolf.

Lady Fox’s fury burned ever brighter!

During a brief pause in the lightning, her fiery eyes flashed with resolve, and her nine fluffy tails swept fiercely at the surrounding cultivators and demons.

“Dragon Lord, let’s lend Jiang Yan a hand,” Bai Tao said, wielding his meteor hammer.

“Of course! Jiang Yan surely needs my help. Killing a fox demon is such a tedious affair!”

The little dwarf dragon carried Bai Tao, spewing flames at Lady Fox’s attacking tails, forcing her to withdraw them in pain.

Having consumed the Azure Strength Fruit, Bai Tao’s power had increased noticeably.

He swung his meteor hammer, hurling it at Lady Fox’s forehead.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan shouted at the thunderclouds, “You really are weak—such feeble force, are you just scratching my back?”