Chapter 386 - 203: Peak Master

The sky was dim, the clouds thick and black as ink. A fierce wind howled, tearing through the cloud cover. Amidst a boundless sea of blood, a crimson pillar of light shot into the heavens, piercing the firmament. It broke through the desolate sky, radiating an immense, blood-red glow that covered every corner of the world!

A shadowy figure slowly emerged from the crimson, sky-piercing pillar of light. It had two horns atop its head, stood seven feet tall, and possessed a ferocious expression and scarlet eyes. It wore a blood-red robe, its ink-black hair whipping about. Its body seemed to pulse with a terrifying Demon Fiend aura, and an overwhelmingly powerful, blood-colored Demon Qi swirled around it, causing the very heavens and earth to tremble violently.

"Human, you truly deserve to die!"

"To disturb my blood sacrifice... tell me, how do you wish to die?!" Xue Wuqi’s voice was deep and hoarse, laced with such intense killing intent that the very void grew cold.

"Heh...

How do I wish to die? By tearing you apart limb from limb, of course!"

"Instead of being on the Void Celestial Battlefield, you’ve run off to Yin Qi Mountain, plotting who knows what. But since I’ve found you, this can only end with one of us dead."

"Isn’t that right, you mongrel?!"

Sparks of fire flickered in Xiao Chen’s eyes as a savage grin spread across his face. A terrifying Fiery Fire Dao Rhythm coiled around him. In the void, the pale Cyan Lotus Water and Fire and the icy-blue Frost Cold Spiritual Fire rotated, scorching the very air, burning unceasingly.

"Me dead, and you alive?"

"So in the end, you’re the one who gets to live.

You humans truly are as cunning as they say.

A pity your strength is lacking." A bloody glint flashed through Xue Wuqi’s scarlet eyes, his face twisting into a savage sneer. "Since you are the weak one, you will obediently become my next meal!"

The moment he finished speaking, the terrifying Demon Monster Dao Rhythm within Xue Wuqi erupted. Demon Qi surged from his body with immense momentum, causing the surrounding void to tremble. He then took a single step forward.

The step sent ripples spreading out like waves on water. He became a bolt of blood-red lightning, tearing across the sky with immense power. His thick arm, wreathed in Demon Qi, formed a tight fist. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he instantly charged at Xiao Chen!

"Courting death!"

Xiao Chen hovered in the void, his robes fluttering without wind and his black hair dancing wildly. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He watched his opponent barrel toward him at incredible speed, backed by immense momentum and a monstrous, roiling Demon Qi. In that critical instant, Xiao Chen reacted, fiercely striking out.

He shattered the air as he moved, clenching his fist. Blazing flames wreathed his hand, infused with a potent Dao Rhythm that scorched the sky and whistled through the air as he violently punched at the approaching Xue Wuqi!

"BOOM!"

The flaming fist and the one wrapped in terrifying, blood-red Demon Qi collided, instantly triggering an earth-shattering explosion. Huge swathes of the surrounding void shattered, revealing pitch-black abyssal fissures and leaking ferocious streams of chaos.

A horrifying storm swept out for hundreds of miles. The fierce wind howled, scattering the clouds. Mountains crumbled, ancient trees snapped—it was a scene straight out of the apocalypse.

...

Meanwhile,

as Xiao Chen was locked in a frantic battle with a Tongxuan Realm Demon Fiend...

...in the Eastern Profound Domain, within the Profound Celestial Sect, on Celestial Thunder Dao Peak, Gu Yun hovered inside a cave abode. The cave, protected by a barrier of Profound Mysterious Inscriptions and filled with dense Spiritual Qi, was where he was circulating his Cultivation Technique.

[Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision, Second Tribulation (Purple Sky Tribulation 98%)]

[Description: Even if the heavens and earth are annihilated, Thunder will remain.]

[Due to your tireless Cultivation, your Skill Level in the Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision has increased by 1%.]

[Through your intense, second-by-second Cultivation, your Skill Level in the Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision has increased by 1%. You have comprehended the Purple Sky Tribulation to the level of Perfection and successfully advanced to the Third Tribulation: the Red Flame Tribulation!]

RUMBLE!!

A scorching flash of lightning flickered in Gu Yun’s eyes, like a brilliant bolt piercing through heaven and earth. The space within his cave abode trembled violently, as if battered by a raging flood. Golden blood flowed through his veins, the symbol of a body tempered to an exceptionally tyrannical degree: the Vajra Jade Soul.

Crimson Thunder Arcs, imbued with Divine Power, flickered around him, shattering the space and bathing the entire cave abode in a red, electric glow.

’The Red Flame Tribulation...’

Gu Yun muttered to himself. ’I’ve finally broken through to the third tribulation.’

As he knew, very few disciples in the history of Celestial Thunder Dao Peak had ever chosen to practice the Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision. Between its immense difficulty and the unimaginably long time it took, it was exceptionally rare for anyone to cultivate it beyond the third tribulation.

He, however, possessed the innate ’Heaven Rewards Diligence’ fate. Combined with his Celestial Thunder Dao Body, his speed at cultivating Thunder Techniques and his overall aptitude were the absolute cream of the crop.

Now, having consumed the Phoenix Feather Vermilion Fruit to forge his Vajra Jade Soul, his Cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, bringing him to the verge of the Tongxuan Late Stage. On top of that, his Cultivation Technique had reached the Red Flame Tribulation.

’My overall strength is probably comparable to the Half-Step Harmonization Realm now. With such unparalleled power...’

’...in the entire Profound Celestial Sect, aside from Senior Brother Ye, the two Supreme Elders at the Unity Realm, and that unfathomable Sect Leader, I have nothing to fear from anyone else!’

’It’s about time I headed to Central Earth.

The Great Calamity, the fiends from beyond our Domain... I trust they won’t disappoint me.’ A glint of lightning flashed in Gu Yun’s eyes as he murmured thoughtfully.

DONG! DONG! ...DONG!

Just as Gu Yun was lost in thought, a vast and mighty bell toll resounded through heaven and earth, spreading for tens of thousands of miles across the entire Profound Celestial Sect. The boundless Dao sound contained a majestic power, as if it could touch one’s very soul and grant enlightenment on the Heaven-Reaching Dao.

’Hm?’

Gu Yun’s brow furrowed. ’That’s the sound of the Dao Rhythm from the Dao Artifact, the Celestial Reaching Divine Bell. It rang six times... What does the Sect mean by this? Even the grand Inner Sect competition, held only once every fifty years, only warrants three tolls.’