Boom! Boom! Boom!
Successive thunderous explosions, unbroken and ceaseless, rang out across the skies of Cloud Cover Continent, deafening all who heard.
"That's the Sky Drum Thunder Tribulation!" Langya Earth Spirit exclaimed from within the silver giant formed by the ancient war formation, the Tianpo Suo Luo.
His face was filled with shock and confusion.
"This Sky Drum Thunder Tribulation—each time the thunder booms, it generates invisible vital thunder that directly strikes inside a Gu Immortal's body, blasting apart their five internal organs. Its power can shatter mountains and split rocks, and it uniquely combines both Sound Path and Lightning Path, making it incredibly difficult for ordinary Gu Immortals to defend against. Encountering such a tribulation means a nine-in-ten chance of death! But Fang Yuan, you don't need to worry. Our entire domain here is enveloped by Refinement Path dao marks, which itself provides excellent defense. Besides, I have a countermeasure—as long as this Tianpo Suo Luo stands, you'll be perfectly safe!"
In his urgency, Langya Earth Spirit sent a voice transmission to Fang Yuan, fearing the tribulation might distract him and cause the Gu refinement to fail.
Although Langya Earth Spirit had designs on the Soul Crushing Mountain, and Fang Yuan's failure would actually serve that purpose, he was by nature a spirit of his word. This refinement was the agreement made long ago between the Theft Demon Venerable and Ancestor Long Hair. Therefore, he had to give his full assistance without any ulterior motives.
Fang Yuan hovered in mid-air, utterly deaf to the roaring thunder outside.
His expression was calm, and his mind was as cool and clear as ice and snow.
Langya Earth Spirit's worry was unnecessary. Fang Yuan had experienced countless situations, from the five-region chaotic war to the great battle at Yitian Mountain. These kinds of disturbances were practically immune to him.
Without the slightest panic, his ten fingers danced like blooming flowers, steadily advancing the refinement process.
Boom, boom, boom.
With each thunderclap, the silver giant's body shivered slightly.
The hairman Gu Immortals forming the war formation all felt irritable and anxious, their body hair standing on end as if the end of days had arrived.
Langya Earth Spirit gave a cold snort. "Just in time, I have a move that counters Sound Path! Watch my immortal killer move—Heaven and Earth Silence!"
The silver giant suddenly erupted with boundless radiance.
The silver-white light was blinding, like fragments of the sun.
Fang Yuan closed his eyes in time; multiple defensive killer moves on his body had already been activated.
The silver light burst forth, then vanished in an instant.
Heaven and Earth Silence!
Not a trace of thunder could be heard.
In the sky, dark clouds churned, filled with countless flickering bolts of lightning.
But every thunderclap that should have accompanied the lightning was completely gone.
After a long while, the sound of thunder gradually returned, rising from a faint murmur.
"Even if the scale of your Sky Drum Thunder Tribulation increased tenfold, it couldn't disrupt this refinement," Langya Earth Spirit began, his tone smug. But then the dark clouds in the sky rapidly transformed.
Countless blue spheres of light shot out from the clouds like electric bolts; every single one was a Meilan Dianying!
These were lightning spirits, their combat power comparable to a Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal.
Back when the Fox Immortal faced her tribulation, she had died at the hands of a single Meilan Dianying. Now, the ones Fang Yuan faced numbered a full twenty!
Langya Earth Spirit's eyes bulged as he shouted, "What's going on?! Why is there a second wave of the Meilan Dianying Tribulation? And the scale has instantly increased twenty times!"
Even with Langya Earth Spirit's vast experience and knowledge over countless years, he couldn't help but be shaken.
Fang Yuan's heart skipped a beat—the scene before him bore a striking resemblance to his own recent tribulation.
"When I faced my first Earth Disaster, the tribulation was terrifying enough to surpass a Heavenly Tribulation. Now, refining the Transformation Immortal Gu is the same. Twenty Meilan Dianying appearing at once... If I had faced this during my Earth Disaster, it would have been certain death!"
During his first Earth Disaster, Heaven-Earth qi had formed several Iron Crown Eagles and two or three ancient Xubats, and he had also encountered numerous ancient snow monsters and desolate beast snow monsters.
In terms of sheer scale, that Earth Disaster had naturally been stronger, and Fang Yuan had barely survived it.
But if the Earth Disaster he faced had been these twenty Meilan Dianying, there would have been practically no chance of survival.
When he faced that Earth Disaster, the ancient Xubats and others had only just formed. Fang Yuan had been decisive and attacked with full force without hesitation, eliminating them swiftly. Fang Yuan was strong in offense but weak in defense; this approach played to his strengths.
However, fighting twenty Meilan Dianying was entirely different.
The Meilan Dianying were incredibly fast, with combat power comparable to a Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal. Even if Fang Yuan used Sword Wave Triple Fold, he likely wouldn't hit them.
While Fang Yuan possessed several Seventh and Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu, none were defensive in nature. His offensive capabilities were extremely potent, but his defensive means were far lacking, making him highly vulnerable to the Meilan Dianying.
"Ultimately, it's because I've developed too quickly. My foundation is unstable, with far too many shortcomings," this thought flashed through Fang Yuan's mind.
In truth, he had long since recognized this problem.
But ever since the great battle at Yitian Mountain, time had been too tight. He had absolutely no leisure to address these issues.
The twenty Meilan Dianying shot towards Fang Yuan simultaneously. Their speed was akin to lightning itself, leaving only a few blue streaks in his vision before they were upon him.
Langya Earth Spirit shouted urgently and unleashed an immortal killer move.
The silver giant's entire body blazed with light. Amidst the pure white radiance, the giant's form swelled rapidly, expanding over ten times its original size in the blink of an eye.
Already immense, the silver giant's transformation turned it into a pillar of heaven that stood on Cloud Cover Continent with its feet, its head brushing the ceiling of the Immortal Aperture.
The mountainous body of the silver giant trembled powerfully, unleashing another immortal-level killer move.
The Meilan Dianying, which had just breached Fang Yuan's immediate vicinity, suddenly found a colossal wall of light blocking their path. They crashed into it and were sent rebounding far away.
Having successfully relieved the pressure, the silver giant then brought its hands together, interlocking its ten fingers to form a sphere, cradling Fang Yuan within its palms.
The space within its hands was vast, easily encompassing several li around Fang Yuan.
"The situation is getting dire. Although my killer move can block the Meilan Dianying, it also hinders your refinement. From now on, you must be careful. Powerful shockwaves are very likely to reach you. If you can't hold steady, this refinement will certainly fail!" Langya Earth Spirit transmitted again.
Fang Yuan nodded without speaking, his face solemn.
At this moment, as he refined the Gu, countless Refinement Path dao marks aided him, and the remnants of the refinement furnace high above provided assistance. But the battle between the silver giant and the Meilan Dianying would disturb the dao marks, triggering countless tremors. This was extremely detrimental for Fang Yuan! The slightest error would waste all his prior efforts.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Successive explosions echoed in Fang Yuan's ears.
The Meilan Dianying swarmed like a blue hornet nest around the silver giant, continuously ramming against its hands.
They were extraordinarily fast, while the silver giant appeared clumsy and slow.
"You foolish creatures!" Langya Earth Spirit cursed.
He had to protect Fang Yuan and keep his hands perfectly stable, leaving him no room to split his attention. Therefore, the task of confronting the Meilan Dianying fell to the other hairman Gu Immortals.
But their combat power was pitifully low, and they operated the giant with great difficulty. Despite their best efforts, many of the immortal killer moves they attempted failed outright. Even the successful ones, when manifested externally, were impressive in spectacle but meager in actual result.