Half an hour later, the Second Elder of the Ten Thousand Manifestations Sect was covered in silver needles, looking like a porcupine at first glance.
However, the expressions of the two elders were not good.
This was because the patient was currently lying motionless on the bed.
The last trace of life force had also vanished.
As expected.
He was dead.
...
"It's my fault..." Master Xie Yan lowered his head, his expression filled with dejection. "If my skills were better, he wouldn't have died..."
"Master, there's no need to blame yourself," the Second Elder gently embraced him. "You did your best, and you can at least be at peace with yourself."
Tears streamed down Master's cheeks.
He leaned into the Second Elder's embrace, crying like a heartbroken child...
"It's all my fault... it's all my fault..."
"Alright, stop crying." The Second Elder comforted him, then suddenly remembered something. "Master, I think we've forgotten something."
"What is it?" Master Xie Yan raised his head, his eyes filled with confusion.
"He was trying to harm Ye Fan earlier, wasn't he?" the Second Elder pointed at the Second Elder of the Ten Thousand Manifestations Sect. "So, he's a bad guy!"
"That makes sense!" Master Xie Yan's spirit perked up. "Someone who harms our good friend is definitely a bad guy!"
"So, you don't need to be sad or blame yourself anymore." The Second Elder, as if enlightened, spoke with a much firmer tone than before. "This is his own doing, a fate ordained by heaven!"
"That makes sense!" Master Xie Yan's sorrow vanished. "Good riddance!"
"Yes, good riddance!"
Afterward, the two elders, hand in hand, jumped around joyfully inside the room.
Outside the room.
Ye Fan stood on the deck, feeling the gentle breeze on his face.
It felt good, making him feel relaxed.
All he needed to do now was wait.
Wait for the two elders to finish harming people...
Oh, no.
To finish treating people, and then he could start thinking about transcending tribulation.
Not long after, the door opened.
Ye Fan looked towards the sound.
The two elders walked out with cheerful expressions, carrying a limp object in their hands.
Upon closer inspection.
It was the Second Elder of the Ten Thousand Manifestations Sect...
No way.
All his bones were shattered, and he looked like a sack of flour now.
If his skull hadn't been intact, Ye Fan wouldn't have been able to recognize what it was...
Ye Fan was not surprised by this outcome.
He even found it incredibly normal!
The two elders came to the side of the ship, preparing to throw the corpse overboard.
The thing looked quite gruesome and would ruin their mood if kept around.
"Wait a moment."
Ye Fan reached over and took the corpse's spatial ring.
"Alright, continue."
With a heave from the two elders, the body twisted and fell overboard.
Ye Fan extended a wisp of his spiritual power into the Second Elder of the Ten Thousand Manifestations Sect's ring.
The spiritual imprint on it melted away like snow encountering fire, disappearing instantly.
Ye Fan took a glance.
Most of the materials were of the fourth and fifth tier, with only three or five of the sixth tier.
Not a single one of the seventh tier.
Tch!
What a stingy bastard!
"Da Fei, bring the flying ship down," Ye Fan called out casually.
"You got it!"
The flying ship slowly descended towards the ground.
"Ye Fan, what are you doing?" the two elders asked curiously.
"Nothing much," Ye Fan replied, stuffing a mineral into his mouth. "I'm going to transcend tribulation."
"What is transcending tribulation?" The two elders seemed to have no concept of it.
"Um..." Ye Fan didn't know how to answer for a moment. "It's nothing..."
"Oh..."
The two elders didn't seem inclined to dwell on the matter.
Their four eyes watched Ye Fan eat the mineral, and their mouths began to salivate.
Their first reaction wasn't to question the strangeness of Ye Fan eating minerals, but rather to wonder what it tasted like.
"Ye Fan," the Second Elder swallowed, "does it taste good?"
"It looks delicious," Master Xie Yan's left eyeball twitched noticeably faster.
Ye Fan looked at the two with a peculiar expression, then handed them two pieces.
"You can try."
He knew that if he said it tasted bad, the two elders would never give up...
After all, spiritual power users were often very stubborn.
It was better to let them try it, so they would give up after realizing it wasn't good.
Ye Fan wasn't worried about their teeth getting chipped.
Given their monstrous strength, gnawing on minerals would be like child's play for them.
"Thank you!"
The two elders happily took the minerals and stuffed them into their mouths.
"Crunch, crunch."
"Crunch, crunch."
The excitement and anticipation in the eyes of the two elders gradually faded, replaced by disgust.
"Ptooey, ptooey!"
"It doesn't taste good at all!"
Ye Fan smiled slightly.
Everything was within his control.
Soon, the flying ship landed on the ground.
"I'll be gone for a while, you two entertain yourselves."
After saying this, Ye Fan quickly walked away into the distance.
The two elders were obedient and waited on the flying ship.
However, they weren't idle.
They called Da Fei over and began their usual routine of acupuncture and taking medicine.
Da Fei looked blissfully content, letting the two elders do as they pleased.
After walking about a thousand feet, Ye Fan finally stopped.
His body felt full.
His cultivation had also reached the tenth level of Foundation Establishment.
Ye Fan stood still, quietly awaiting the arrival of the lightning tribulation.
The lightning tribulation did not disappoint.
In just two or three seconds, the entire sky turned dark.
"CRACK!"
A bolt of lightning as thick as a water bucket hurtled directly towards Ye Fan's head!
The aura emanating from this tribulation lightning had already reached the Soul Transformation realm!
Ye Fan, who had been prepared, immediately dodged!
With the experience from before, Ye Fan dared not be careless anymore!
After dodging, he didn't stop and frantically jumped around!
However, his current state was not ideal.
The lightning stayed within half a meter of him.
Every strand of his long hair stood on end, no longer possessing its usual elegance.
He looked like a giant broom...
Meanwhile.
The two elders were successfully attracted by the commotion!
Seeing Ye Fan dodging lightning bolts, a flicker of excitement flashed in their eyes.
"So, this is transcending tribulation."
"It looks like so much fun."
Five minutes later.
Ye Fan felt a deep sense of existential dread.
This time, he made no mistakes, yet the tribulation lightning was getting closer and closer!
The lightning was now less than three inches from his backside!
One could only say that his tribulation lightning was becoming increasingly monstrous!
Next time he transcended tribulation, he might not be able to dodge it at all!
As the lightning drew nearer,
Ye Fan felt a tingling sensation all over his body.
Fine.
No more struggling.
It was bound to happen sooner or later...
Seeing that he could no longer dodge, Ye Fan decisively gave up.
He lay down on the ground.
With an attitude of "do whatever you want."
The lightning bolt descended towards Ye Fan!
Just as it was about to strike him!
Suddenly!
An arm shot out from the side and grasped the lightning bolt!
Then, two familiar and distorted faces appeared in Ye Fan's line of sight.
Ye Fan's mind momentarily froze.
What the hell?!
Catching tribulation lightning with bare hands?!
What kind of outrageous move was this?!
In his previous ninety-nine lives, he had indeed been incredibly powerful, even reaching the pinnacle of the world in many of them.
But he had never performed such a daring act.
After all, the stronger one was, the more powerful the tribulation lightning became!
Surviving even a full-force resistance was considered fortunate, let alone having other thoughts.
"Ye Fan, you're really not very considerate," the Second Elder complained while holding the lightning bolt, "You didn't even call us for something so fun."
"That's right, that's right," Master Xie Yan grabbed a segment of the lightning and played with it in his hand. "Good thing we found out, hehe!"
Ye Fan's mind continued to freeze.
His mind was filled with a single question.
This...
The hell, was this something humans could do???
The two elders, like children who had just received new toys, immediately began to play happily.
Tribulation lightning was the embodiment of the will of heaven!
How could it tolerate being insulted by mortals like this?!
The lightning immediately trembled violently and wrapped itself around the two elders!
The crackling electrical sparks carried immense power!
The beards and hair of the two elders stood on end!
"RUMBLE—!"
A muffled roar of thunder echoed from the clouds, as if declaring the wrath of heaven!
The two elders offered no resistance.
They even spread their limbs, welcoming the embrace of the lightning!
In an instant, they were wrapped up like mummies!
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably from the electricity.
Shiver...
Shiver...
Shiver...
Then.
"Plop!"
"Plop!"
The two elders fell to the ground simultaneously, continuing to tremble.
"Wah wah wah!"
"So exhilarating!"
While trembling, they began to wiggle on the ground.
At first glance, they looked like two electric maggots.
Then, the two suddenly stood up and began to spin in place, their foreheads touching.
As they spun, they emitted strange laughter.
"Hehehe!"
"Hehehehehehe!"
It was very much like...
Some kind of cult ritual...
...