Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 76 - Hitching a Ride on the Heavenly Tribulation

“Roar!” The black tiger’s jaw trembled in pain as it tried to pull its paw out of Ye Zhou’s grasp, covering its face with its paws while it rolled around on the ground in agony, shaking the entire mountain. Rocks tumbled down in all directions.

Down at the foot of the mountain, Yimeng Xiaoyao and the others heard the sounds of roaring and howling, and when they saw the scene of destruction before them, they couldn’t help but sigh. This battle between Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou was truly intense; they wondered if the two could hold out.

The black tiger, in pain and unable to unleash its strength, waved its front paws wildly in the air.

Seeing this, Ye Zhou felt a bit sorry and nudged Dugu Zhuo, saying, “It’s really pitiful.”

Dugu Zhuo remained expressionless. “He’s a demon cultivator with a strong regenerative ability. He’ll be fine in a moment.”

This tiger had the same disposition in his previous life. For spiritual cultivators, the Foundation Establishment stage was like infancy, the Golden Core stage like childhood, around eight to twelve years old, and only after surviving the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation did they truly mature. Didn’t you notice how the Lingzhi Doll still looks like a three-year-old chubby baby?

Dugu Zhuo hadn’t known the tiger for long before it underwent its tribulation and advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, becoming much more mature. Moreover, the tiger was innately pure and didn’t resort to underhanded tactics, which is why Dugu Zhuo could become close friends with it.

However, while the tiger acted mature in front of him, it would try every trick to play dumb and win Ye Zhou’s affection whenever they were on Xingchui Peak. Fortunately, in their previous lives, Ye Zhou ignored the tiger; otherwise…

Dugu Zhuo snorted coldly and said to the black tiger, “Aren’t you going to use your true essence to speed up your recovery?”

The more the black tiger rolled, the smaller it became. When it was only about three meters tall, it crawled to Ye Zhou’s feet and let out a small whimper.

Ye Zhou heard it say, “The poison hasn’t completely dissipated yet. I feel awful.”

Ye Zhou thought about the talismanic jade he found on the village chief and wondered if it might help. He took out the jade, tied it with a red string, and hung it around the tiger’s neck.

Dugu Zhuo also handed the beast tooth necklace to the black tiger. With these two items, a faint light began to emanate from the tiger’s body, and the blackness in its fur gradually transformed into a murky mist that dissipated into the forest.

Dugu Zhuo deliberately ignored this murky mist, watching as it slowly dispersed into the air and disappeared. This mist would likely neutralize some of the spiritual energy, but over time, it would merge into the earth’s veins, and after being nurtured by the veins, it would become new spiritual energy and return to the cultivation world.

Even without the Xuan Su Twin Swords, the world would still continue to function.

The black tiger gradually turned white, and the beast tooth was properly in place. It shook the dirt off its body and stood up, then deliberately rubbed its head against Ye Zhou’s hand.

The soft, furry touch conveyed warmth from Ye Zhou’s fingertips straight to his heart, and he couldn’t resist hugging the tiger’s head.

Dugu Zhuo: “…”

Feeling slightly fatigued, Dugu Zhuo rubbed his temples and asked, “How did you know about my use of the Illusionary Heart Pearl? You even knew that I had chosen the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth as a secondary gate for our sect?”

The white tiger didn’t respond. Its crimson eyes slowly turned a clear blue, and it glanced at Dugu Zhuo with those large blue eyes before letting out a low growl.

“Still haven’t formed your core, you lousy tiger.” The white tiger’s thoughts directly entered Dugu Zhuo’s mind.

Dugu Zhuo silently clenched his fist.

“Roar!”

The white tiger: The Heavenly Tribulation is coming. Let’s finish this dungeon first, then we can talk. We’ll have to explain everything eventually.

Ye Zhou was completely confused. How could Dugu Zhuo have a past with the white tiger? Could it be that the tiger’s mind was implanted with memories after using the Illusionary Heart Pearl?

These questions couldn’t be answered for now. All they saw was the white tiger leap into the air, flying to the mountain’s peak and landing on a large stone that had been prepared in advance. It roared toward the sky.

“The tiger has turned white!” Yimeng Xiaoyao and the others also saw the flying white tiger and rubbed their hands in excitement.

The roar transformed into a thought that entered everyone’s minds, and they all heard the tiger say, “I was ambushed by the vile disciples of the Fushen Temple, which was a calamity destined for me. You young heroes have aided me in overcoming this trial, and I see that you all struggle with forming your cores. I am willing to lend you a hand. Please ascend the mountain.”

This time, the tiger’s speech was dignified and majestic. One wouldn’t have guessed that the same tiger was earlier rolling around in pain after getting its tooth pulled.

Ye Zhou whispered to Dugu Zhuo, “The tiger speaking in classical Chinese sounds a bit awkward.”

Dugu Zhuo responded, “He hasn’t read many books. He cultivates based on instinct, and only recognizes a few characters. The fact that he can string together coherent sentences is already impressive.”

The people at the foot of the mountain, having heard they could form their cores—essentially advancing to level 40—hurried to the top. There, they saw Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou already standing next to the large stone.

The stone under the tiger’s feet had an array carved into it. The white tiger glanced at the group and said, “Stand properly within the array.”

Everyone rushed into the array, noticing that there were stone platforms within it that could hold six people, and they quickly chose their spots.

Yimeng Xiaoyao even tied up You Lang and tossed him aside to prevent him from causing more trouble.

Once everyone was in place, the Spirit Tiger looked up and let out a roar that shook the heavens and the earth: “Roar!!!”

This roar was clearly louder than the one that had previously wiped out players, yet it didn’t cause any harm. In fact, Yimeng Xiaoyao and the others felt as if they were protected by the roar.

As the roar echoed, the sky instantly darkened with dense clouds, and countless flashes of lightning flickered within them.

It was now 5:30 in the afternoon, and while the sun was setting in the west, it had not yet fully disappeared, so it was still quite bright. But as soon as the dark clouds appeared, Tiger Roar Mountain became darker than midnight, plunging everything into pitch blackness where one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face, let alone their teammates.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down, lighting up the surroundings as bright as midday.

In that flash of lightning, everyone saw a white tiger with black stripes standing tall in mid-air, amidst the lightning, roaring furiously at the sky.

Silver lightning struck the white tiger, but it remained unmoved. The lightning then split into six smaller bolts that, through the array, struck the players standing on the stone platforms.

When hit by the small lightning bolts, everyone lost 2%-3% of their health, but they also received the message: “You have gained 30,000 experience points.”

This heavenly lightning struck nine times in total. At first, the white tiger could withstand it with its roar, but by the seventh bolt, it was struggling, and wounds began to appear on its body.

Worried, Ye Zhou sent a paper crane to Dugu Zhuo, asking, “Will he be okay?”

Dugu Zhuo replied, “It’s tough for demon tribes to survive tribulations, but this white tiger is different. He has half the bloodline of a spiritual cultivator and hasn’t committed many evil deeds, so the tribulation won’t be too severe. There are only nine lightning bolts, and he can withstand them. Besides, transforming is a process of rebirth, and a few flesh wounds are nothing.”

Only then did Ye Zhou feel somewhat relieved.

Each lightning bolt, like the first, split into six smaller ones, aiding the players in their tribulation.

The second lightning bolt granted 32,000 experience points, the third 34,000, and with each subsequent bolt, the experience points increased slightly.

“This tiger is really generous!” Yimeng Xiaoyao remarked.

When the eighth bolt struck, the white tiger seemed a bit dazed, likely seeing something it liked. It began to circle around a space about three meters long and one meter wide, rubbing its head and flipping onto its back like a child.

“What’s happening to him?” Ye Zhou asked.

Dugu Zhuo replied, “It’s the Heart Demon Tribulation. He’s seeing what he desires most and is getting lost in it. If he doesn’t wake up and circulate his true essence in time, he’ll die under the ninth lightning bolt. From the looks of it, the white tiger is probably seeing his father’s or mother’s family. But don’t worry, beasts are more sensitive to natural disasters than humans. Once the lightning strikes, he’ll snap out of it quickly.”

At this moment, the ninth lightning bolt struck down. This bolt was far more terrifying than the previous ones, three times thicker than the first, and it descended straight from the sky.

The white tiger, who had just been lost in his Heart Demon, suddenly snapped awake. He spat out a pristine white demon core that met the massive lightning bolt head-on. The demon core and the lightning clashed, and with the lightning at the center, countless rays of light spread outward in concentric circles.

The players also received the final lightning bolt and a whopping 50,000 experience points. The eighth bolt had given 46,000 points, but the ninth had increased significantly!

As the ninth lightning bolt struck, all six players simultaneously leveled up to 40. Ye Zhou even felt the true essence in his dantian compressing under the tribulation, eventually forming a small golden core that floated within his dantian.

Meanwhile, the white tiger began to transform within the lightning. The players all strained their eyes, eager to see what the white tiger would eventually become.

Unfortunately, just as everyone leveled up, the system booted them out of the dungeon. The players who had been on the mountain peak suddenly found themselves at the base of the mountain, and the system promptly issued a public announcement: “Congratulations to players Dugu Zhuo, Yi Ye Bian Zhou, Yang Fan ¥ Yuan Hang, Yimeng Xiaoyao, Baiyi Piaopiao, and Ti Tou Lai Jian for successfully pacifying the White Tiger and clearing the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth dungeon, advancing to the Golden Core stage!”

The first clear of a dungeon triggers an announcement across the entire server, but the second clear doesn’t get this honor.

Immediately, six players tied for first place appeared on the game’s leaderboard, all at level 40.

“Damn! Yimeng Xiaoyao has been quiet for so long, turns out he was clearing the dungeon, and he actually succeeded!”

“My 10,000 spirit stones, just gone like that!”

“Spirit stones aren’t the issue; I’m willing to pay for a guide! How did you guys clear the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth dungeon? I die at the first roar every time. Did you use a special item?”

“Name your price, great masters! How about 10,000 spirit stones? We’ll pool our money; with ten of us, it’s only 1,000 spirit stones each.”

“I don’t think Yimeng Xiaoyao and Baiyi Piaopiao have the skills to clear this dungeon. Just yesterday, Yi Meng was complaining in world chat about getting one-shotted, and now he suddenly clears it?”

“Didn’t you see who the first player listed was? In the system notification, the leader is placed first, and that was Dugu Zhuo!”

“Newbie, just started playing the game less than a month ago, who’s Dugu Zhuo?”

“Oh my god, Dugu Zhuo again! It’s been two months, and I’m seeing your name once more!”

“You were the first to create a unique skill, the first to trigger the main storyline, the first to clear a dungeon in hard mode, the first to clear the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth dungeon, and now the first to reach level 40. Dugu Zhuo, how many game firsts do you plan on taking?”

Reading the countless mentions of these “firsts,” Ye Zhou inexplicably blushed. They were only talking about the game, not about him, so why was he embarrassed?

Dugu Zhuo, on the other hand, silently made a note of a player named “Gu Zhou Du Jiang” and thought to himself, this person seems to have a good eye.