Chapter 784: Sword Tribulation Third Refining, Killing Spirit Divine Dao

Ye Tianling’s heart sank. He knew all hope of surviving this tribulation was lost.

"Sigh..."

Ye Tianling sighed, but his will remained firm. He refused to give up.

He gathered the Power of Demon God, performed a Blood Sacrifice to the Baiyu Demon God Radiant Bow, and manifested the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword, preparing to unleash the Celestial Evil Heaven-Breaking Annihilation Dao.

But in that instant, he suddenly felt lost, as if his entire perception had shifted.

He seemed to have become the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit, while the one opposite him was now himself.

"WHOOSH—"

The Celestial Evil Heaven-Breaking Annihilation Dao shot forth, but it instantly went out of control, turning back to pierce his own brow.

A sharp pain flared between Ye Tianling’s brows, and he snapped back to his senses, only to find that a Void Sword in the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit’s hand had pierced straight through his forehead.

Meanwhile, the Baiyu Demon God Radiant Bow was still in his hand, as was the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword. He hadn’t even launched the Celestial Evil Heaven-Breaking Annihilation Dao.

’This... So this is a Young Emperor? Is this the power of the True Void Celestial Forbidden Technique and the Slaughter Divine Dao?’

Ye Tianling smiled bitterly. He knew he had lost.

He had lost to this peerless Young Emperor.

"BZZZT—"

But at that very moment, just as he accepted his defeat, his heart suddenly jolted, and the Mechanical Heart vibrated violently.

"BZZZT—"

A chill ran through Ye Tianling’s body and soul, and he abruptly came to his senses.

"PFFT—"

An unknown Energy rippled around his body, and everything that had just happened seemed to disappear.

The Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit was still in the distance, but it didn’t attack again.

Ye Tianling dazedly touched his brow, but there was no trace of blood.

"That was an Illusion Realm, a fusion of True and Void. In one thought, there is life and death. In a flower, a world; in a leaf, enlightenment. One thought spans three lifetimes; one thought is an eternity."

The Mechanical Heart transmitted in its robotic voice.

Ye Tianling was completely stunned. He had somehow broken that attack without understanding how.

Only then did he realize he hadn’t even brought out the Baiyu Demon God Radiant Bow or the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword.

In other words, the moment his opponent used the True Void Celestial Forbidden Technique and the Killing Spirit Divine Dao, he had already fallen into their trap.

The shock Ye Tianling felt at being so easily trapped was immense.

’How am I supposed to break this?’

Ye Tianling sank into thought.

In that moment, after a few breaths’ time, the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit attacked again.

"BZZZT—"

A surge of Celestial Tribulation Power transformed into the Power of Demon God, coalescing into a bow and arrow resembling the Baiyu Demon God Radiant Bow. It performed a Blood Sacrifice, then formed the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword and simulated the Celestial Evil Heaven-Breaking Annihilation Dao, launching a fierce sword strike at Ye Tianling.

Seeing this, Ye Tianling’s soul nearly fled his body in terror.

’Is this real, or is it the Void?’

Ye Tianling had no way to defend himself; he could only play his trump card.

He brought out Yanyan’s true body, which jabbed a finger forward and annihilated the attack.

Just as expected, the Celestial Tribulation immediately underwent an unimaginable transformation.

At this point, Ye Tianling could only see it through to the bitter end.

He couldn’t take it anymore, nor could he win.

Now that he had used Yanyan’s true body, there was no longer any hope of successfully crossing this Celestial Tribulation.

But if he hadn’t, Ye Tianling knew he would not have been able to block that last attack.

’How can I possibly defend against a killing intent manifested from an Emperor Pattern?’

Darkness fell over Heaven and Earth. All the power gathered together, and the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit became corporeal, its aura identical to Yanyan’s.

"WHOOSH—"

In that instant, the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit struck.

Its power was already far beyond what Ye Tianling could withstand.

He had no way to resist.

But at this moment, a purple lotus flower suddenly flew out from between the brows of the Venerable Body Shell, floating quietly in the void.

The lotus spun silently. When the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit’s attack slammed into it, the lotus only shone more brilliantly.

RUMBLE—

The world itself seemed to be shattering as the terrifying Celestial Tribulation continued unabated.

The Emperor Spirit’s attacks landed on the Purple Flame Lotus again and again.

Ten times.

A hundred times.

Nine hundred times.

The Purple Flame Lotus kept spinning, blocking every single one of the Celestial Tribulation’s attacks for Ye Tianling. At the same time, it intercepted nearly all of the Hell Celestial Tribulation Origin Power.

Finally, after delivering one last strike, the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit gradually dissipated.

The Purple Flame Lotus also spun back, transforming into a streak of bloody light that vanished deep into the brow of Yanyan’s body.

Ye Tianling was utterly exhausted, both in body and soul. Even though the Purple Flame Lotus had blocked all the subsequent attacks, he had still been tremendously affected.

He couldn’t even comprehend the final battle.

Although he had successfully passed the tribulation, he knew that in a way, he had failed.

’I’ve already failed the Third Layer of Hell Celestial Tribulation; what hope do I have for the fourth?’

Ye Tianling took a deep breath and returned to his physical body, his heart filled with gratitude for Yanyan’s help.

He knew Yanyan must have a spirit watching over him from the heavens; otherwise, he would have been doomed this time.

But he said nothing, simply engraving this debt of gratitude into his heart.

Back in his physical body, the torment of being completely drained and starved made him tremble all over, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

He silently began to absorb the benefits of the Celestial Tribulation tempering his body—the process of Body Refining and Soul Refining that followed the Hell Celestial Tribulation—and started his transformation.

This process lasted for a very long time.

In this part of the world, at least ten days passed.

After that long period, he finally stabilized his Realm at the Middle Stage of Sword Tribulation Third Refining. However, his usable Battle Power only stabilized at fifty-four percent of its potential, showing no further improvement.

His Soul had undergone a further transformation, and his strength had indeed grown by leaps and bounds.

But compared to his Battle Power coefficient from Sword Tribulation Second Refining, there was almost no progress.

This increase in Battle Power was merely a benefit of his Realm advancement.

In the past, Ye Tianling would have been more than satisfied with this kind of Great Perfection transformation. This time, however, the Celestial Tribulation Emperor Spirit had taught him a harsh lesson.

Ye Tianling settled himself, focusing on comprehending the Celestial Dao Rule Domain and re-cultivating all the Cultivation Techniques he knew.

The result was just as Ye Tianling had expected. His Battle Power didn’t transform. Even though his comprehension of the Celestial Dao Rule Domain had deepened, reaching the Second Layer, his Cultivation of techniques like the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique, Chaos Destiny Scripture, Emperor’s Qi Dragon Swallowing Heaven Divine Technique, Panhuang Life and Death Killing Dao, Reincarnation Life and Death Fist, Asura Soul-Slaying Killing Dao, Tianshu Ancient Town Celestial Secret Divine Skill, and Kunpeng Hidden Dragon Technique all remained stuck at the Third Layer Great Perfection, with no further breakthroughs in understanding.

And although his understanding of the Azure Dragon Fist had deepened considerably, the progress was similarly insignificant.

’Overall, this transformation was a failure!’

At least, for Ye Tianling, aside from comprehending another layer of the Celestial Dao Rule Domain, he had failed in every other aspect.

"Tianling, congratulations! I can’t believe you managed to withstand even a Celestial Tribulation like that! Your strength is truly well-deserved!"

"Tianling, you’re terrifying! In the end, you just unleashed your power, manifested that Purple Flame Lotus, and took the Young Emperor’s Emperor Spirit’s attacks head-on! I’m impressed! Truly, I’m impressed!"

Que De and Wan Jimie had already flown up into the sky, their gazes filled with reverence and admiration as they looked at Ye Tianling.