Everyone was shocked. The man in black had imprisoned many souls in order to help them undergo tribulation.

Numerous primordial spirits erupted with dazzling light, merging together to form what appeared to be a barrier.

The seventh bolt of lightning struck the man in black with pinpoint accuracy, but was blocked by numerous primordial spirits.

The primordial spirits let out a miserable wail.

Lan Hua knew very well how powerful the lightning tribulation was; it was many times more powerful than his Five Thunder Talisman.

Even with the aid of secret techniques, these primordial spirits were no match for the lightning tribulation.

All the primordial spirits disintegrated under the terrifying destructive power, merging with this world.

Du Renjie snorted, "What a grand gesture! To use the power of one's primordial spirit to avoid calamity, aren't they afraid of suffering the consequences?"

After the seventh lightning tribulation, the man in black only had his hair slightly disheveled and was otherwise unharmed.

A moment later, the eighth lightning tribulation descended, the terrifying lightning bolts being a full half-zhang thick.

The man in black was not afraid. With a flick of his right hand, thirty primordial spirits flew out of the gourd and reappeared above his head.

This time, the primordial spirit transformed into two colorful barriers, containing terrifying primordial spirit power.

This combined force is enough to destroy a mountain.

boom!

The eighth lightning bolt slammed into the black-clad man's head, breaking through the first barrier of his primordial spirit in an instant, and then shattering the second barrier.

Those primordial spirits were controlled, and faced with death, they had no chance of escape.

The scream had barely escaped when it was swallowed up by the lightning tribulation and vanished into nothingness.

Despite the assistance of the primordial spirit, a trace of lightning still struck the man in black.

However, this amount of lightning power was insignificant compared to the eighth lightning tribulation, only making the man in black's hair even more disheveled.

Rumble...

The silver light in the sky suddenly intensified, and a massive bolt of lightning, ten feet thick, descended, illuminating an area of ​​hundreds of miles.

Even though everyone was quite far from the center of the lightning tribulation, they all felt the aura of destruction, and even breathing became a little difficult.

The man in black looked solemn, but a hint of excitement shone in his eyes.

As long as one can withstand the final tribulation lightning, one can achieve the realm of celestial beings, enter the heavenly realm that cultivators yearn for, and attain immortality.

However, the power of the final lightning tribulation surpassed the sum of the previous eight lightning tribulations. Even with the help of his primordial spirit, the man in black would not easily overcome it.

The man in black moved his right hand again, and the gourd at his waist flashed with light, releasing the primordial spirit imprisoned inside.

There were a total of seventy primordial spirits, all of whom were experts at the Dan Shen realm and Lian Shen realm. At this moment, they were like cabbages, being casually discarded.

The man in black chanted a secret incantation, and his many spirits moved swiftly, setting up four layers of defense above his head.

"That's the primordial spirit of Ouyang Quan, a distinguished disciple of the Ouyang family. How did his primordial spirit get imprisoned by the man in black?"

Nalan Ruode recognized Ouyang Quan's primordial spirit and was greatly surprised.

Lan Hua snorted, "The way the man in black is undergoing tribulation is so wicked, nothing could be more shocking than this!"

The ninth lightning tribulation descended, breaking through four strands of primordial spirit power in succession, before slamming into the man in black and completely engulfing him.

boom!

The man in black screamed in agony. Even though he used all his Yuan Power, he was still shattered by the terrifying lightning and blasted into the underground pit.

"Dead?" Lan Hua asked in surprise.

"It's not that simple. Getting injured is certain, but they definitely won't die. That primordial spirit power wasn't just for show!" Du Renjie snorted.

A moment later, a man rushed out of the pit, covered in blood, his clothes torn and barely recognizable.

The man in black wiped the dried blood from his face and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, I have finally achieved the realm of the celestial being!"

Once the ninth lightning tribulation was over, the dark clouds in the sky began to disperse rapidly, revealing the long-awaited clear blue sky and bright sunshine.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling light descended, enveloping the man in black, surrounded by a misty aura.

"This is the essence of Heavenly Origin!" Du Renjie exclaimed.

Lan Hua frowned slightly. "What is that thing?"

Du Renjie said, "Once a cultivator in the mortal realm successfully transcends the tribulation, the Heavenly Realm will open its gates wide and send down the essence of Heavenly Origin."

"Reshape the cultivator's body, achieve a celestial body, and transform primordial energy into celestial primordial energy!"

"I see!"

Lan Hua had some aspirations, and so did the successors of the three religions.

Suddenly, the man in black turned his head to look at Lan Hua and the others, revealing a sinister smile.

A powerful spiritual force surged forth, causing everyone's heads to throb with pain.

As a sixth-grade talisman master, Lan Hua's mental strength was no less than that of a Yuanxiang Realm expert. With the help of the Consciousness Bead, she barely managed to block the black-clad man's mental attack.

The three disciples' divine senses were damaged, and their Heavenly Eyes were instantly shattered, so no one could see the black-clad man's condition after his tribulation.

Wang Tianyi and the others suffered damage to their sea of ​​consciousness and looked somewhat listless, but fortunately, their fundamental health was not damaged.

Nalan Ruode and Du Renjie were in much better condition, though they still looked somewhat pale.

Wang Tianyi angrily said, "It seems everything is obvious now, and Senior Brother Yuanxin's question has been answered. Tianyuan Cave is indeed a place of intrigue and treachery!"

Pan Wen nodded and said, "This man in black must be in cahoots with the people behind Tianyuan Cave. He may seem to be participating in the trial just like us, but he's actually here to harvest the souls of the trial participants!"

Nalan Ruode said, "That's right. Now that I think about it, after the primordial spirits of so many people who participated in the trial were absorbed by the vine, a portion of them were given to the mother vine, allowing the mother vine to bear the Heavenly Origin Fruit, which served as an opportunity for the Heavenly Origin Cave!"

Another part must have been obtained through some secret method, which was used to imprison the remaining primordial spirits and leave them for the person behind Tianyuan Cave or his subordinates to undergo tribulation.

It seems this is the secret of Tianyuan Cave. No wonder Tianyuan Cave has been opened so many times, and each time one or two people successfully overcome their tribulations.

This led later generations to believe that Tianyuan Cave contained an immense opportunity, the so-called opportunity to become a celestial being, thus prompting them to rush to enter Tianyuan Cave for trials.

Little did they know, this was a conspiracy orchestrated by the people behind Tianyuan Cave; the so-called trial was nothing more than a death sentence!

"Brother Nalan is right!"

Lan Hua said, "In order to prevent things from going too far, Tianyuan Cave deliberately allows a few people to survive each trial and obtain the Tianyuan Fruit, so that future generations will not completely give up."

This ensured that the Tianyuan Cave trial would yield a sufficient amount of primordial spirit, while also guaranteeing the sustainability of the conspiracy—truly a wicked scheme!

Just as everyone was analyzing the situation, the man in black had already absorbed more than half of the Heavenly Essence, and his Celestial Body was about to be formed.

Pan Wen angrily said, "We will definitely inform the higher-ups of the three religions about such a heinous act, expose the conspiracy of Tianyuan Cave to the public, find out the person behind Tianyuan Cave, and give justice to the cultivators who died in the Half-Heaven Realm!"

Nalan Ruode nodded slightly, "Indeed, my mission in this trial has been completed."

Perhaps, Immortal Island will take action against those behind Tianyuan Cave in the future, restoring order and justice to the Half-Heaven Realm!

Amidst the crowd's outrage, Lan Hua suddenly asked, "What do you think was the meaning behind the attack the man in black just now?"

Wang Tianyi's expression changed drastically. "Are you going to silence me?"