The flying tiger, with its fluffy head raised, rubbed against Ye Xiruo like a big cat, instantly melting her heart. She couldn't help but reach out and rub the fluffy head, though the fur was a bit stiff and didn't feel as good as Xiao Bao's.

I've heard that spirit pets are all very intelligent and can understand human speech.

"Little Feifei, can you take me to see the elder?"

Flying Tiger's lips twitched, clearly dissatisfied with the foolish name, but he still walked forward with elegant cat-like steps.

Ye Xiruo and Zishu followed on top. Compared to the dense array below, the mountaintop was obviously much more spacious.

Vast fields of spiritual energy thrived within the protective barrier. A path, worn smooth by footsteps through the greenery, led to two thatched huts not far ahead, which must be Elder Wenqing's residence.

The flying tiger walked to the open space in front of the thatched hut, lay down directly, half-closed its eyes, and exposed its soft furry belly, seemingly sunbathing.

"Elder Wenqing, Ye Xiruo has brought my senior brother to Rao."

"Come in!" came an old voice from inside.

"Let's go inside!"

Pushing open the door, this room appeared to be an alchemy room. In the very center stood a red-hot alchemy cauldron, with three legs and two handles, its design simple and ancient. Around the room were large cabinets that almost reached the ceiling, divided into countless small compartments, each containing a medicinal herb with a small label attached.

Elder Wenqing's blue robes were covered in a layer of dust, almost obscuring their original color. Her long, gray hair was also disheveled, and although her bright eyes showed fatigue, they were also filled with excitement. It seemed the alchemy was about to succeed; her luck was indeed good. If she had unfortunately stumbled upon the elder's furnace exploding, there probably wouldn't have been a proper conversation.

Sure enough, a moment later, the black tribulation clouds in mid-air began to churn, with faint four-colored light hidden within them.

The tribulation lightning had appeared, and it was four-colored, so it must be a high-grade projectile. Ye Xiruo and Si Hao obediently stayed to one side, even shrinking into a corner of the room. Ye Xiruo was still muttering to herself, this tribulation lightning should be aimed at someone with intelligence, please don't let it strike the wrong person, her senior brother wasn't here, she didn't want to be struck by lightning and turned into charred remains.

Unfortunately, this tribulation lightning seemed to have poor eyesight or be rather dim-witted. The first bolt of lightning struck straight down at the pills in the cauldron, and Elder Wenqing didn't even lift his eyelids. He casually tossed out a magic weapon, which barely managed to block the lightning.

As expected, the eldest disciple was a superman. Among so many alchemists, only the eldest disciple dared to leap up and shatter the entire tribulation lightning with a single strike, sending it back to where it came from. That domineering white figure remained in the hearts of many.

The second bolt of lightning unfortunately landed right at Ye Xiruo's feet. Ye Xiruo's pupils contracted, and the hairs on her body stood on end. Damn it, is this lightning bolt blind?! Then she took a few more steps toward the door, wishing she could shrink herself into a ball so that the lightning bolt couldn't see her.

Unexpectedly, the third lightning bolt struck her directly on the forehead. Ye Xiruo turned and ran. Si Hao's fan flashed with a white light as he swung it twice at the lightning bolt. The third lightning bolt finally dissipated. Ye Xiruo came to her senses and pulled Si Hao outside, saying, "Um, Elder, please go ahead with your work. I'll come back another day to bother you."

Oh my god, did I forget to check the almanac before going out today? I'm going to be struck by lightning.

The fourth bolt of lightning struck down fiercely, chasing after Ye Xiruo. Si Hao pushed Ye Xiruo aside and faced the lightning in the sky with his gleaming silver fan. The power of the fourth lightning bolt was indeed great. Although Si Hao dispersed the tribulation, he suffered serious injuries.

"Elder Wenqing, help me!" Ye Xiruo shouted at the top of her lungs.

There are countless lightning bolts; if a few more come, they'll both be finished here.

"Diamond Bamboo".

Isn't this her main purpose for coming today?

"The Diamond Bamboo is a metal-type mutant that can absorb lightning. As long as we can find the Diamond Bamboo, we will be safe."

"How would I know where the Vajra Bamboo is?" The fifth lightning bolt was about to strike.

"Perhaps your spirit pet knows."

"Oh right, how could she not have thought of that?" She quickly dragged Xiao Bao out of the space.

"Baby, wake up, wake up! See where there's something to eat."

The little guy, still half-asleep, wiggled his chubby paws, pointing to where the spill had occurred.

Ye Xiruo and Si Hao ran as fast as they could, following the direction Xiao Bao pointed out.

"The tribulation lightning behind us is already approaching."

"Second Senior Brother, step aside, let me handle this." Ye Xiruo took out a black umbrella from her ring and opened it, like a large black flower blooming rapidly above their heads. The lightning strikes the umbrella, but are deflected like raindrops, without harming the people under it. However, the ground around the umbrella has been scorched black by the lightning, with countless craters of all sizes.

Ye Xiruo folded her umbrella, and the two continued their frantic run. Was this lightning tribulation sentient? It was clearly a pill tribulation, so why was it chasing after her relentlessly instead of striking the pill itself? She wasn't some humanoid pill.

The sixth lightning tribulation seemed to be brewing something, and it didn't strike for a long time, which gave Ye Xiruo and Si Hao time to reach the Vajra Bamboo Forest.

The Vajra Bamboo is entirely emerald green, with golden segments, making it exceptionally beautiful. Not only is it beautiful, but it is also incredibly hard, almost like metal; even a small Vajra Bamboo is difficult to cut. Furthermore, the Vajra Bamboo can mutate during lightning tribulations, and the mutated Vajra Bamboo will far surpass ordinary seventh-grade plants.

"Let's hurry inside!"

To Ye Xiruo's surprise, there wasn't a single formation here. Could there be some kind of trap?

“The Vajra Bamboo is very difficult to cut. It’s good if a Golden Core cultivator can cut one in three hours, a Nascent Soul cultivator in two hours, and a Deity Transformation cultivator in one hour. The risk of stealing this thing is too great, so it’s normal that there is no protective formation.”

"I see."

As soon as they entered the Golden Bamboo Forest, Xiao Bao struggled to jump off her arms, his dark eyes sparkling, and there was suspicious drool at the corner of his mouth.

"Can't you be a little more mature?" Ye Xiruo placed Xiaobao on a golden bamboo. Xiaobao immediately hugged the bamboo tightly with all four paws, opened his mouth, and started eating.

"Isn't the bamboo supposed to be very hard? Won't Xiao Bao's teeth break?"

"Don't worry about that. The leaves of the Bamboo Sinensis are not as invasive as bamboo stalks. They are no different from ordinary plants."

"Then I'm relieved."

The thunder outside began to approach again. Ye Xiruo gripped the black umbrella in her hand tightly. If the Vajra Bamboo could not withstand the lightning tribulation, she would not hesitate to raise the black umbrella.