The purple haze still had faint arcs of violet lightning swirling around within it, making it look like a nebula in the depths of space. Then the haze descended to the ground, breaking the illusion without the darkness of space behind it as a backdrop. The hazy zone shimmered and then a humanoid figure appeared. A golden eyed man with long dark hair appeared, which was quite a shock, especially given the complete lack of any clothing. The man was quite lean, but with exquisite muscle definition. Such a look wasn’t vanity so much as it was the standard for Cultivators. Only those who practiced unusual cultivation techniques would actually have excessively skinny or fat bodies.

The last remnants of violet lightning coursed over his skin, making a few laps over the entire surface of his body before fading away. Only when the violet arcs had disappeared for a few seconds did clothing appear around his body, covering him in a set of long, multi-layered robes. Then he fell to his knees and had to brace himself with both arms to keep from toppling over.

Unlike how things might have appeared, Sage was not destroyed by the tribulation while he was in the form of the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel. After many experiments on the Inner World, there was a tactic he had developed for the worst case scenario and unfortunately, he ended up making use of it. At the current moment he realized he might not have had to use it, but before the tribulation ended, he couldn’t really tell how long it was going to go on. He kept aiming to remain at his peak condition, and with each bolt leaving him weaker and weaker he kept escalating his efforts. Others might be at the verge of death upon passing their tribulation, but Sage had just fallen to his knees.

On the Inner World, he’d transformed the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel’s body into a different form of lightning. The issue was that the Heavenly Materials were very different there from the outside world. They were woven into the creation of the whole world and were at his complete control on the Inner World. It was the same reason he couldn’t really practice techniques using the Heavenly Materials there: it was just too easy. It was like trying to weight train in zero gravity, he didn’t learn much and what he did barely helped in a different environment. He first tried to merge with the Silver Yin Lightning, but that didn’t work very well. Thankfully, that wasn’t the only Heavenly Lightning he had, and he was successful with the Occult Thunder.

The purple haze of the Occult Thunder was mysterious and had the ability to mix with and assimilate other lightning. Compared to trying to become the Silver Yin Lightning, the Occult Thunder was almost effortless. It was easy to change his Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel body into the Occult Thunder, but it actually started to drain his Spirit Power to maintain his shape. The mysterious thunder haze wanted to assimilate itself into the Lightning Tribulation. He was successful in using the tribulation clouds to confuse and reduce the power of the lightning, but it took a huge amount of Spirit Power. If he didn’t also have a Spirit Power Cultivation Technique, that decision might have killed him. Hiding within the storm clouds worked in a similar fashion to the Faraday Cage he’d made with Magical Tools. Normally a cage would perfectly protect against electricity, but the laws in the tribulation meant it was only delayed. He still had to face the same amount of energy, but instead of facing it all in a single instant, he was constantly shocked over the course of a few long moments.

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Using Magical Tools to resist the tribulation would require a quality of materials and craftsmanship to match the strength of the lightning, while taking this alternate form should correspond to the strength of his own body and cultivation. The stronger he was, the stronger the tribulation. Since they both scaled, he now knew the best way to face any future tribulations. Not that he expected any, but he’d heard that crafting things equivalent to the 7th rank also caused a similar reaction, just like Cultivators or Demonic Beasts breaking through, and it was best to be prepared.

At this time he was still down on his knees, and fighting to keep from keeling over. The last remnants of the violet lightning was still rushing through his body, destroying it from the inside out. This was supposed to be where he breaks through that barrier to the next rank and becomes an ‘Immortal’. Except, something didn’t feel right. He could observe all the rips, tears, and burns inside his body with his Spirit Sense, but it didn’t feel correct.

Did I resist it too well? Is it possible to fail after succeeding?

Just as he’d had this thought he realized he was wrong, he hadn’t failed. He could feel a change coming, but it just didn’t feel perfect. The only thing that he knew about the 7th rank was after passing the tribulation, his Body and Nascent Soul were supposed to combine. There would no longer be a possibility of losing his body and being left with just a Nascent Soul. If he lost a limb, he could just grow a new one. With mind, body, and core all unified, the name of ‘Immortal’ was not just for show. Or at least, that was the theory. The actual life expectancy and other information about the 7th rank was only known by those closely related to a saint. Even though Sage had helped a Dragoon reach such a height, they started as just a test subject and so their relationship with Sage was shallow at best.

With the Law of Change still swirling in the air around him, Sage realized what the problem was. It wasn’t just a body that merged with the Nascent Soul, it was a Body of Laws. The parts of his body that had been destroyed by the tribulation lightning were not just being repaired by the leftover energy. They were also being changed, such that they were far more accepting of the Law energy swirling around him. A more perfect Body of Laws. He could tell that including more of the imperfect parts would leave him with a weaker end result. The Tribulation was a double edged sword. The closer to death one got without failing, then the more powerful they would become afterwards. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

For another Cultivator, they would be helpless at this point, as the tribulation lightning targeted the weakest parts of their bodies first. The most vital and important organs and systems would be the last to be damaged, which meant it would be hard for anyone to survive them being greatly damaged, especially with the rest of their body already destroyed. Yet, Sage was not just any Cultivator. He was no longer purely human, and he had an answer that others would be hard pressed to copy. Just as he’d been able to take a human form, he now took another. It wasn’t one he’d used since he got the Master Seal, but one that he’d directly fused with long ago.

A large wriggling mass the rough size and shape of a human took his place. It was a grass green color with flecks of white along the edges, and a mucus-like fleshy texture. Just like he could restrict his size from a massive beast down into the frame of a human he could also shrink down into the natural body shape of the Fat Grass Worm. It was the source of the healing ability that he’d passed down to the whole of the Lang Clan and while it may not have the strongest effect in its original body, due to the somewhat low rank of the beast, there was still an important advantage to it.

Just like the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel’s body made of energy, the ability would be more effective on its original body. The eel could maintain its energy form indefinitely while other bodies using the same power had a limited duration. Well, the Fat Grass Worm was a sort of flatworm and could regenerate its whole body no matter how it was cut apart. That special quality was exactly what he needed right now.