Chapter 712 - 706: Whose Dog is This?
“Chi…”
A sneer filled with disdain resounded by the ears of those few disciples, their young hearts instantly bristling with indignation. They whipped their heads around and saw an old man, his hair and beard all white, looking at them with scorn.
“Master!”
The young disciples were startled upon seeing the old man.
Their previously defiant thoughts were quickly shelved as they cautiously bowed in respect.
“Hmph!”
The elder glared at them harshly, “A bunch of ignorant fools, unworthy of being my Beast Taming Sect’s disciples—so shallow in experience!”
He wore a look of vexation as though hating iron for not becoming steel, pointing at them as he chided, “I always tell you to spend more time in the Book Collection Pavilion, reading the Daoist books, and to listen to the teachings of the elders, but you never listen.
Now you’ve made a laughing stock of yourselves!
You can’t even recognize the heavenly tribulation and mistook it as mere clouds and rain—it’s a disgrace to our Beast Taming Sect!
Ah… how did I ever take you fools as disciples?”
“Ah?”
“Heavenly… heavenly tribulation?”
The young disciples first paused, then were struck with fear, grateful as they spoke, “Luckily, we reacted quickly and came down in time; otherwise, with our cultivation, we wouldn’t have been able to withstand the bombardment of heavenly tribulation—it would be a pity to lose our lives for no reason!”
“Ha…”
The elder nearly trembled with anger at their words, “With your meager cultivation, you dare speak such words?
Heavenly tribulation is not something you can just withstand whenever you wish!
Let alone that heavenly tribulation wouldn’t even bother with you, you can’t even get close to the tribulation clouds!”
“Why is that?”
One of the young boys, face full of displeasure, said, “I have a spiritual beast of the Foundation Establishment Realm; I can fly above the clouds on a regular day, let alone now when the tribulation clouds are so low!”
“Slap!”
The elder slapped him on the head, making the young boy stagger as he scolded, “Foolish boy, do you think having a Foundation Establishment Realm spiritual beast is impressive?
Heavenly tribulation is the trial from the Heavenly Dao descending upon cultivators. Not even a Primordial Spirit Realm spiritual beast would dare approach the tribulation clouds.
To say nothing of how even a single small lightning bolt from the heavenly tribulation could kill your tiny Foundation Establishment self, even if the lightning were not attracted by the qi from your body, just the sheer majesty of the Heavenly Dao Will within the tribulation clouds is more than you could approach.
You’d likely wet your pants from fear before you could even get close!”
“…”
The boys remained silent, their heads bowed, no longer daring to speak, after being chastised by their master.
Fortunately, their senior fellow disciples quickly tried to smooth things over, flattering, “Master truly sees wide and far; you recognized the heavenly tribulation with a single glance!”
“Yes, yes, just now we only saw the sky clouding over and lightning flashing—although it felt different from the usual storms, we didn’t think much of it, only Master has such keen vision!”
“Hmph!”
The elder lifted his chin, which sported a tuft of a goatee, putting on an air of someone who is above worldly cares, looking quite smug.
However, he certainly wouldn’t tell these youngsters that he could recognize the tribulation clouds in the sky instantly only because he had seen many heavenly tribulations over recent years!
Mainly because ever since the Beast Taming Sect had returned victorious from their expedition to the Red Flame Demon Realm, there had been periods when cultivators from their sect were crossing tribulation to become Immortals. Virtually every disciple who had been with the Sect for more than a few years had seen such spectacles, it’s only these young ones, due to their short time at the sect, hadn’t witnessed the sect elders crossing tribulation yet!
Not only had they noticed the tribulation clouds in the sky, but the entire Mountain Gate of the Beast Taming Sect along with the nearby twelve markets had all sensed this unusual phenomenon.
After all, the presence of heavenly tribulation was immense; it not only drew spiritual energy from a vast expanse nearby to condense the tribulation clouds but the immense pressure brought by the Heavenly Dao Will was boundless and fearsome—who wouldn’t feel apprehensive?
Nonetheless, disciples of the Beast Taming Sect and cultivators of the nearby twelve markets had seen heavenly tribulation descend so many times over the years that many had grown accustomed to such an ordeal and even developed an attitude of indifference. Some cultivators even traveled great distances specifically to gain experience by witnessing the frequent occurrences of cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect crossing their tribulations.
Occasionally, even a few Great Cultivators from the Primordial Spirit Realm would come to observe the scenes of Beast Taming Sect cultivators crossing their tribulations, as a preparation for their own future tribulations.
Therefore, both inside and outside the Mountain Gate, as well as within the markets, a peculiar scene had now unfolded.
In the markets where cultivators had stayed for longer periods, they bore a nonchalant expression, even after merely glancing at the heavenly phenomenon in the sky before continuing with their business.
Those who were supposed to forge continued forging, those who were supposed to paint talisman carried on painting, exhibiting the demeanor of unperturbed hermits despite potential disasters—earning genuine respect from many newly arrived cultivators in the markets!
When these new cultivators showed respect to the old hands, those who continued to keep their heads down and busied themselves retained a calm and breezy demeanor.
In the past, they might have made a big fuss just like these newcomers.
But having seen it happen time and time again, their mindset had since become serene, no longer easily disturbed.
“Is it just Crossing Tribulation? What’s so great about it?”
Er…
That statement was a bit too boastful!
Indeed, crossing the tribulation was extraordinary, for once one crossed the Heavenly Tribulation, they could attain Longevity and become an Immortal, whom countless life forms aspired to be!
However, the first time they witnessed this phenomenon, it was shocking; the second time, it was surprising. By the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh time… until now, many can no longer recall how many times they had seen the Heavenly Tribulation, thus their expressions of astonishment had long been exhausted!
Within the Sect, many Elders looked up toward the sky one after another.
Someone could not help but lament, “Which Elder is crossing the tribulation again? These years, it happens from time to time. Can’t they let us cultivate in peace?”
“Come on, the Heavenly Tribulation isn’t targeting you, and the core area of the tribulation cloud is behind the mountain in the Ten Thousand Demons Cave Heaven. It’s so far from your Cave Mansion; if you really want to meditate, just ignore these happenings. Could it really affect your cultivation?”
“If you envy the predecessors who achieved Longevity, we should just cultivate diligently. Eventually, our day to prove our Dao might also come!”
“Daoist Fellow speaks truth!”
“But which predecessor is undergoing the tribulation this time? In recent years, many Elders in our Sect have advanced to the Primordial Spirit, but those who could become Immortals have already done so. The remaining ones, who have recently reached the Primordial Spirit Realm, should make things quieter for a few years at least!”
“Hehe, maybe one of the Elders suddenly had a sudden enlightenment, and their Dao Cultivation made swift progress!”
“Regardless of who it is, it’s a good thing for our Beast Taming Sect. Each time an Elder achieves Longevity, it solidifies the status of our Sect!”
“…”
While various Elders were discussing animatedly and countless Disciples craned their necks to look toward the area targeted by the Heavenly Tribulation, eager to find out which Elder was undergoing it, a rumble of thunder suddenly erupted from the oppressive tribulation cloud.
Then a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky with a fierce force.
“Ow…”
Suddenly, a ferocious beast’s howl echoed through the mountains, startling all the Elders who were originally hidden in palaces with activated Array Formation Restrictions and stationed at higher peaks to watch the Crossing Tribulation.
“Is… is that a Spiritual Beast undergoing the tribulation?”
“Which Supreme Elder’s Spiritual Beast has cultivated to such an extent?”
Back when Elder Chu from the Divine Bull Lineage had his Five-Colored Divine Bull advance to Demon Immortal, he had flaunted it for a long time, only quieting down after Qin Feng and Li Miaozhen returned to the Mountain Gate.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue flaunting, but the focus of the Sect’s Cultivators had shifted away from him, all towards the two newly become Immortals who were Masters of Qi Luck.
Compared to young folks like Qin Feng, this old fellow who had cultivated for thousands of years really couldn’t attract much attention anymore!
Nonetheless, when Elder Chu heard the ferocious roar, the originally calm and seated figure also couldn’t help but be stirred, standing up to look towards where the lightning of the Heavenly Tribulation was striking.
Even though he hadn’t been flaunting much recently, if another Supreme Elder had a Spiritual Beast become an Immortal, he had to pay attention and see whether it was stronger or weaker than his own Five-Colored Divine Bull.
If it couldn’t compare to his Five-Colored Divine Bull, he still had reason to boast.
Then, he saw a large dog with three heads rising from below to the sky.
The dog was robust, its entire body exuding a fierce aura. Its sharp claws supported itself on the ground, directly causing the mountain rocks to shatter. Its three mouths, filled with sharp fangs, opened simultaneously and audaciously swallowed the powerful bolt of lightning!
Swallowed… swallowed it?
Many Cultivators watching this scene widened their eyes.
This was the Heavenly Tribulation sent by the Heavenly Dao, used to test Cultivators, yet still imbued with immense destructive power, where any slight misstep spelled death and obliteration of Dao.
Thus, everyone felt that this method of crossing the tribulation was a bit too reckless; they had hardly seen anyone daring to swallow the Tribulation Thunder!
Yet this very large dog being struck by the lightning just did that!
“Whose dog is this? How could they be so recklessly daring?”
For a moment, various Elders inquired amongst each other, wanting to know which Supreme Elder commanded such a foolhardy character!
However, Hellhound had not been under Qin Feng’s command for long, and apart from a few close individuals like Ning Wuxu, very few knew he possessed such an Otherworld Monster.
Moreover, Hellhound had drastically changed its form, growing three dog heads, significantly different from its original appearance, making recognition even scarcer.
Nevertheless, after today, the entire Beast Taming Sect would spread its renown.
After all, a big dog capable of swallowing Heavenly Tribulation was worth noting wherever it was.
Of course, it had only swallowed a few initial, less powerful lightning bolts. As subsequent bolts grew increasingly powerful, Hellhound dared not be careless any longer. Following Qin Feng’s guidance through the Binding Spell, it earnestly started deploying various Spells to resist the Heavenly Tribulation.
With each bolt of lightning striking down, Hellhound endured the thunderstrikes, and gradually, the power within its body began to transform.
The originally fierce and violent aura somewhat retracted, but in a manner that suggested control rather than suppression, making it seem an even greater threat!