Xiao Wenbing looked down and a strange look flashed across his face. He laughed and handed the things to the old Taoist priest, saying, "Master, I don't need them."
"You..." The old Taoist priest was so angry that his hair and beard stood on end. In his extreme anger, he suddenly slapped him across the head.
"Slap..." A crisp and loud sound rang out, and Xiao Wenbing's right cheek swelled up high. A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. The old Taoist priest Xianyun showed no mercy in his slap.
"Are you going to take it or not..." The old Taoist priest's face was contorted with rage as he unleashed his fury on his beloved disciple for the first time.
“Master,” Xiao Wenbing managed to force a smile that was both incredibly difficult and utterly ridiculous, “This disciple does not want to.”
"You...I, I'll beat you to death." The old Taoist priest Xianyun raised his hand high again. He looked up and saw that there was no sign of submission in Xiao Wenbing's eyes. Instead, there was a warm smile, yet it was so firm and unyielding.
The old Taoist priest's fist was suspended high in the air, his body trembling, but he just couldn't bring himself to deliver the slap.
Seeing that things were not going well, Zhang Daoren wondered why the master and disciple had suddenly turned against each other when the heavenly tribulation was about to arrive.
He quickly stepped forward, pulled the old Taoist priest back, and advised, "Taoist priest, please calm down."
He then turned to Xiao Wenbing and scolded him, "Your master loves you so much, yet you are so ungrateful. Quickly apologize to him."
Xiao Wenbing chuckled and said, "Senior Zhang, do you know what the lower limit is for me?"
Master Zhang was taken aback and shook his head to indicate that he did not know.
Xiao Wenbing suddenly stepped forward and came to the side of the old Taoist Xianyun. He said in a low voice, "Master, I know you love your disciple, but you are in the Tribulation Transcending stage. The Heavenly Tribulation can come suddenly without any warning. You gave your disciple the natal golden talisman that you have cultivated for nearly a thousand years. What will you do if the Heavenly Tribulation suddenly comes?"
Zhang Daoren exclaimed "Ah!" and looked at Xianyun Laodao with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
The old Taoist priest's face twitched. He snorted and said, "Nonsense, there's no such thing as a coincidence."
Xiao Wenbing's eyes were full of smiles. He gently embraced the old Taoist priest and said, "Master, don't lie to me. The Natal Golden Talisman is a talisman for your life and death. If you use it to resist the Heavenly Tribulation, can you say that it won't trigger your own Natal Heavenly Tribulation?"
The old Taoist priest raised his eyebrows, suddenly filled with arrogance. He laughed loudly and said proudly, "So what, Wenbing? I have been practicing the immortal path for nearly a thousand years. What storms haven't I seen? What about heavenly tribulations? As long as it's not the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, I can get through it without my natal golden talisman."
His words were spoken with great confidence and without the slightest hesitation, demonstrating his extreme confidence in his own cultivation level.
Volume 4: The Divine Artifacts Chapter 124: Heavenly Thunder Descends
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"What if it's the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation?" Xiao Wenbing lowered his voice and asked slowly.
The old Taoist priest was taken aback. Under his disciple's seemingly gentle gaze, he suddenly felt a pang of guilt and was deeply moved.
The old man twitched his lips, frowned, and then suddenly waved his sleeve, saying righteously and solemnly, "I am not a very evil person, and I should not be so unlucky. Moreover, if I really encounter this calamity, even if I have my own natal golden talisman, it will be of no use."
Xiao Wenbing shook his head inwardly. The old Taoist priest spoke lightly, but everyone knew that having or not having that natal golden talisman accumulated over a thousand years made a huge difference. If one had it, there was still a sliver of hope, but without the natal golden talisman, under the Nine Heavens Thunder and Flame Tribulation, one would likely be annihilated in a single encounter, beyond any hope of survival.
"boom……"
In the distance, a piercing thunderclap could be heard. At first, the thunder was faint, but it continued to grow louder and louder.
"Oh no, Dao Shi, hurry up and leave!" the Tianyi Sect Master exclaimed.
Suddenly, the old Taoist priest waved his hand and shouted, "You go ahead first. I have a few words to say to my disciple and will be there shortly."
The Sect Master of Tianyi sighed helplessly, beckoned to him, and said softly, "Brother, be careful. If they are undergoing tribulations, they may not have no chance of survival, but if you are also involved in the chain of tribulations, then..." He sighed again, said nothing more, and turned to drift away.
Zhang Daoren looked up at the sky and finally said, "Old Daoist Xianyun, what Tianyi said is indeed unreasonable. Don't dawdle. If you trigger a series of calamities and cause something to happen to my daughter, I will never let your Secret Talisman Sect off the hook." After saying that, he moved and instantly disappeared.
The old Taoist priest Xianyun had a gloomy expression. He stuffed the natal golden talisman into Xiao Wenbing's hand again and said, "Take this."
Xiao Wenbing shook his head and refused, saying, "Master, don't forget, I still have the life-saving golden talisman in my hand. A mere heavenly tribulation is nothing to me."
The old Taoist priest sneered, "Life-saving talisman, not bad. This treasure from the immortal realm can indeed withstand heavenly tribulations, but its power is limited to only one person. Is he planning to use it himself, or give it to one of the two of them?"
"Ah..." Xiao Wenbing's expression immediately became quite amusing, and he exclaimed, "Only one person?"
"Not bad. Do you think your master doesn't know your little tricks? Hold on to this carefully." The old Taoist priest Xianyun stuffed the natal golden talisman into his disciple's hand for the third time.
"Master." Xiao Wenbing looked at the old Taoist priest with a complicated expression, hesitating to speak.
Seeing that he finally did not refuse, the old Taoist priest Xianyun showed a relieved smile and said, "Don't worry, my illustrious reputation is not for nothing. Since I said that I am not subject to the Heavenly Tribulation, I certainly won't care. Use it as you wish, and don't hesitate."
"Yes, Master." Xiao Wenbing nodded silently.
The old Taoist priest, with a relieved smile on his face, suddenly reached out and touched his swollen cheek, sighing, "It's my fault, Master. I used too much force."
For some reason, Xiao Wenbing suddenly felt an urge to cry, but he took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the sudden feeling.
Patting his shoulder, the old Taoist priest suddenly leaned closer, staring into his eyes, and said softly, "Wenbing, remember my words. If it's a four-thunder tribulation, you can withstand it with my natal golden talisman. But if it's a five-thunder tribulation, then..."
A sharp and extremely violent glint suddenly flashed in the old Taoist's eyes, sending chills down Xiao Wenbing's spine.
"Then, use your life-saving talisman to save one person, and use my natal talisman to protect yourself. As for the rest, you don't need to worry about them."
A chill ran down Xiao Wenbing's spine, and his voice trembled slightly: "Master...you mean..."
The old Taoist priest, Xianyun, nodded silently with a gloomy face and said, "Remember, if it is a Five Thunder Tribulation or higher, you can only choose one person. Remember that."
Xiao Wenbing stared in disbelief, and in his daze, he seemed to respond with a sound.
The old Taoist priest nodded in satisfaction, then gave him one last look, his eyes filled with deep reluctance: "Boy, you must get through the tribulation safely. Your master will be waiting outside. Don't let this old man down."
Having said that, the old man turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped and said, "As for your master, you can rest assured. Before our sect's founder ascended to immortality, he left behind a supreme treasure with such great efficacy that it is no less powerful than the Qiankun Circle. If it weren't for your insufficient power... Alas, however, I can say frankly that even the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation would be able to pass through safely."
He waved to Xiao Wenbing, and in a flash, he turned into a wisp of white smoke and disappeared instantly.
After a while, Xiao Wenbing's eyes regained their clarity. It seemed that he had made a decision in his heart, which allowed him to calm down so quickly.
He withdrew his gaze from the distance, and a happy smile suddenly appeared on his face: "Master, you run really fast..."
If the old Taoist priest Xianyun were to hear that this kid still had the leisure to joke around at this moment, he would probably risk triggering a series of calamities by coming back and slapping him to bring him to his senses.
Looking up at the sky, the horizon was shrouded in darkness, a howling wind raged, sand and stones flew everywhere—a scene of utter devastation, as if the heavens were about to collapse and the world was ending. Such divine might truly lived up to its name as the lightning of a heavenly tribulation…
Above them, thick layers of mist slowly accumulated, and even their surroundings were shrouded in a thin fog.
Hundreds of miles away, the Tianyi Sect Master and Zhang Daoren, along with other senior Taoist elders, were carefully observing this place.
Inside the Heavenly Dao Sect, chaos reigned. However, everyone present was a cultivator who had entered the Daoist sect, whether inner or outer. Such composure was useless to ordinary people.
Under Chen Shanji's command, they scattered into the distance, occasionally glancing at the dark, stormy place, their eyes filled with fear.
Hundreds of miles away, in the opposite direction from Sect Master Tianyi and the others, the old Daoist Xianyun sat alone cross-legged. Around him, countless runes were densely arranged; once activated by his Samadhi True Fire, they would form an indestructible defensive array. Even a calamity of heaven could likely withstand several strikes.
Above his head, the magical artifact that Xiao Wenbing had described as resembling a bra was displayed high, disregarding its unseemly appearance. Life was at stake; what use was face if someone were to die?
He went to such lengths because he knew that the natal talisman he gave Xiao Wenbing contained too much of his own unique spiritual power and imprint. Once the natal talisman was consumed to a certain extent, it would be impossible to avoid this heavenly tribulation.
If this is truly the Five Thunder Tribulation, then his heavenly tribulation is unavoidable.
A faintly visible storm cloud slowly formed above Xiao Wenbing's head.
Xiao Wenbing flipped through the Heavenly Void Ring. Although it contained many items, very few were actually useful.
With a flick of his wrist, a small point of light appeared in his palm. Guided by his divine sense, it slowly rose and gradually spread outwards until it enveloped them all.
The Xuanwu Shield, the only usable item in Xiao Wenbing's possession, is now unleashing power beyond its limits.
Below the Xuanwu Shield are three golden talismans that shimmer with light.
If other disciples of the Secret Talisman Sect were here, they would definitely shout and yell. This thing is clearly a natal golden talisman, but why did three of them appear all at once?
Xiao Wenbing's expression was solemn. He had copied these three natal golden talismans in his spare time when he had nothing else to do. Unexpectedly, they had become life-saving treasures at this moment.
"boom……"
With a thunderous roar, a bolt of lightning, visible to the naked eye, swiftly struck down from the storm clouds.
Xiao Wenbing looked tense, and the Xuanwu Shield was operating at full power, its defensive capabilities reaching their peak.
"Thump..."
Like a thunderous roar, lightning struck the Xuanwu Shield with tremendous force.
The standoff lasted for almost a second before the Xuanwu Shield shattered into pieces, turning into specks of light that vanished without a trace.
A mere second-level magical artifact, under the might of Heaven, couldn't even last a few seconds before returning to nothingness.
"Crack..." The three natal golden talismans exploded simultaneously, and the powerful impact formed an interception net, blocking the heavenly lightning for a moment.
However, in just a moment, the lightning had already broken through the interception net and crashed straight down towards the bottom.
"Go to hell." Xiao Wenbing gritted his teeth and whispered. His hands flew like a machine gun spitting fire, and countless bright spots exploded in mid-air from his hands.
The Fiery Talismans, which Xiao Wenbing had accumulated over half a year, finally shattered the heavenly lightning.
The thundercloud storm began to swirl again, and a small point within it continuously gathered new power.
"Ugh..." Xiao Wenbing felt as if his internal organs had been violently struck, and he uncontrollably coughed up a mouthful of blood. Only now did Xiao Wenbing truly understand the terror of the Heavenly Tribulation.
Heavenly tribulation is also known as thunder tribulation. Every thunderbolt that roars down is equivalent to a heavenly tribulation.
The heavenly tribulation lightning is twice as powerful.
If the first bolt of heavenly lightning was so powerful, what about the second?
Volume 4: The Divine Artifacts, Chapter 125: Choice
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Xiao Wenbing smiled bitterly. For a disciple at the early stage of the Golden Core realm to think he could withstand such a heavenly tribulation was simply wishful thinking.
No wonder the old Taoist priest Xianyun repeatedly instructed him to hand over his own natal golden talisman, because the old Taoist priest had already seen that with his disciple's cultivation level, he simply could not withstand the heavenly tribulation.
Come to think of it, a Heavenly Tribulation is such a high-level event. If even a mere Golden Core cultivator could easily withstand it, then why would the old monsters in the Tribulation Transcending stage be so terrified of it?
Looking up at the sky, what he saw was yet another scene that filled him with dread...
The powerful energy that filled the entire world gradually gathered in that small area, and a faint, looming thunder slowly emerged.
Xiao Wenbing sighed bitterly. He had originally planned to use his master's natal golden talisman a little later, but now it seemed that it was an extremely extravagant dream.