On Ye Xiu's Breakthrough Mountain.
The lightning tribulation still raged, and the battle had already persisted for a full half-day. High above, the Dharma combat between the two Divinity Transformation experts had likewise endured for that same length of time!
From his initial composed response at the battle's outset, Daoist Shanchen now found himself unexpectedly feeling as if he were once again confronting the Soul Duke from that fateful day.
This was particularly true of Qu Yang—that bastard—who, to Shanchen's surprise, possessed a Spirit treasure, which was gradually forcing Daoist Shanchen into a disadvantageous position.
Outside the Mountain, where over three hundred cultivators had originally been locked in a bitter struggle, fewer than a hundred now remained, their numbers roughly halved on both sides.
Now, the individuals from Azure Cloud were clustered together, no longer charging forward as they had previously. They must have made preparations long in advance, for they had erected dozens of Spirit arrays—arrays that now constituted their final, desperate line of C.
Within the array formation, which was suffering a relentless bombardment, at this moment, every single individual from the Azure Cloud Region was covered in grievous wounds.
Raging Sky Flood Dragon, the Li family's guardian Spirit beast, had now reverted to a mist-like form, floating listlessly high above, so weak that it seemed a mere gust of wind could scatter his essence.
The Heavenly Star Sword Saint's complexion was frightfully pale, his body visibly riddled with wounds, and even his robes were tattered beyond recognition. Not fitting his title, the renowned title of "Sword Saint," he now wielded a long saber.
This was only because his own supreme-grade spirit sword had been shattered in the great battle, and the subsequent longswords he had borrowed had also been destroyed one after another. Despite the many cultivators who had come from Azure Cloud Region, they could, astonishingly, no longer provide him with a single serviceable longsword.
As for the Feng family Ancestor, he had long since perished in the fray.
This Ancestor had been exceptionally brave and fierce in slaying foes on the battlefield, yet he ultimately fell at the hands of a Golden Core cultivator who experienced a breakthrough mid-combat.
In his final moments, he had chosen to self-detonate, ensuring mutual destruction with a Nascent Soul expert.
On this battlefield, achieving mutual destruction with an enemy had become an all too common occurrence.
As for Li Kuanghua, one of her arms had been severed clean at the root, and half of her face was blasted to smithereens.
At the root of her arm, flesh and blood could be seen writhing, and a gory mess shifted upon what remained of that side of her head.
While in the initial stages of the battle, her regeneration had been visible to the naked eye, now, her physical recovery was proving exceptionally slow. And in this one battle, she had already pushed her body to endure eighty percent of the absolute limit of the lightning punishment it could withstand!
This, too, was the first time Li Kuanghua had ever felt so perilously close to death.
In stark contrast to her opponent who was bombarding their Spirit array.
It was evident that Lai Teng, too, must have endured a grueling battle against Li Kuanghua.
His silver armor, which at first had seemed utterly indestructible, was now marred with dents and cracks in numerous places.
His helmet was long gone, his hair disheveled, and the hand he held clasped behind his back trembled noticeably. Yet, his aura at that moment was even more powerful than when he had previously clashed with Li Kuanghua; the killing edge of his long spear was now fully and dangerously revealed!
At that moment, he gazed with grim solemnity at Li Kuanghua, whose body had been battered almost to a pulp; a lingering fear still flickered in his eyes.
Only he truly knew just how monstrously powerful Li Kuanghua had been moments before.
This young lass, he surmised, must have employed some desperate method that risked her very body and Dao, borrowing the might of the lightning punishment to continuously fortify her physique—to the extent that she had even become capable of posing a threat to a "monstrous talent" like himself, ranked third on the Nascent Divinity List!
This young lass, Li Kuanghua, had, at the very end, even seemed intent on drawing upon the might of the lightning punishment yet again. Fortunately, he had retreated at the final critical moment; that, too, had been the closest he had ever brushed to death.
"If she were to genuinely reach the peak of the Nascent Soul realm," he mused, "I fear she could contend with me even without resorting to such desperate, life-risking measures. If that were the case, how could such a situation possibly be tolerated? That abominable thing possessing both Buddhist power and demonic Qi—where in the blazes did it originate? And these people from Azure Cloud..."
Lai Teng gazed with an ice-cold glint in his eyes at the mere forty-odd individuals from Azure Cloud Region who remained within the array formation; every last one of them was covered in wounds. Yet, despite their state, Lai Teng still couldn't help but feel his heart tremble with a chilling dread.
The Tian Xing avatars beside him had indeed already acquired even greater strength and were consequently rejoicing. Yet Lai Teng genuinely felt no cause for celebration.
These Azure Cloud Region people were, in his estimation, thoroughgoing lunatics; otherwise, how could they (the avatars) have been driven into such a wretched state by them!
He drew a deep breath and, narrowing his eyes, addressed Li Kuanghua in a cold tone: "I never imagined that a place like Azure Cloud Region could actually produce cultivators of your caliber. It seems I have indeed underestimated you all. What a pity, then," he sneered, "that you insist on guarding one who is inevitably doomed to fail. You, too, shall all perish in this place!"
He gestured towards the summit of the Mountain. Yet, even as he uttered these most ruthless of words, he could not entirely conceal the cowardice lurking deep within his heart!
He was genuinely terrified, afraid that Li Kuanghua might ultimately drag him down with her into mutual destruction.
His threats were merely a ploy, hoping that Li Kuanghua would take these individuals from Azure Cloud Region and flee.
He still harbored ambitions of becoming Tian Xing's true vessel; he ought not to risk his life battling an insignificant ant like Li Kuanghua!
Li Kuanghua, however, had no time to decipher the true intent behind Lai Teng's words; she and her numerous fellow Daoists from Azure Cloud Region were all looking intently behind them.
High above in the sky, they saw the lightning transformed into a colossal, primordial beast resembling an elephant.
This manifestation was currently locked in combat with Ye Xiu's Nascent Soul, which, in turn, was visibly weakening and beginning to disperse.
For the Divinity Transformation tribulation, it was not enough for the physical body merely to endure the baptism of heavenly lightning; the Nascent Soul itself also had to undergo a severe ordeal.
The principle governing the Divinity Transformation tribulation was much the same as that for advancing to the Nascent Soul realm: the more potent the lightning tribulation endured, the greater the power one attained after the breakthrough.
The specific ordeal faced by the Nascent Soul would involve the tribulation lightning coalescing into all manner of beings and phenomena, the nature of which also signified the overall intensity of the heavenly trial.
It was said by some that Divinity Transformation lightning tribulations could be classified into five grades, with the fifth grade representing the absolute extreme.
And Ye Xiu, in confronting this primordial, elephantine behemoth... his tribulation was rated as... fourth grade!
"How could it have escalated to the fourth grade?!!"
A look of utter disbelief flashed across what remained of Li Kuanghua's face.
Lightning tribulations were classified into five grades; upon reaching the third grade, a cultivator could choose whether to proceed to an even higher-grade trial.
Initially, her Master had been facing a third-grade lightning tribulation; she had never imagined he would actually opt to confront a fourth-grade one!
"Hahaha! I had long heard that Ye Xiu is proud and arrogant, never one to admit defeat. But I never imagined, ah, that his arrogance would extend to attempting a fourth-grade tribulation!"
At that very moment, Cheng Lingwu himself materialized, taking his place beside Lai Teng.
He roared with laughter, "What a pity, ah! Sometimes, such excessive arrogance is merely the hallmark of a fool! A backwater is a backwater, after all. How could the likes of Ye Xiu have ever witnessed the true terror of a fourth-grade Divinity Transformation tribulation? He is genuinely courting his own demise!"
At Cheng Lingwu's appearance, Lai Teng's expression turned exceedingly sour.
He had, in fact, been intending to let the matter rest there.
Cheng Lingwu's materializing now clearly indicated he had seen through Lai Teng's intentions.
"What a cunning old fox of the official circles," Lai Teng thought with vexation.
And just as expected, Cheng Lingwu smiled at Lai Teng and said, "Lai Teng, Ye Xiu is already a dead man walking; there's no need to concern yourself with him. As for these people from Azure Cloud Region..."
Gazing upon those cultivators from Azure Cloud Region, now engaged in what was clearly a desperate, dying struggle, Cheng Lingwu himself felt a twinge of fear in his heart. Every last one of them was a potential scourge.
He then scoffed, "The Lord Imperial Preceptor's intention is clear—leave not a single one of them alive!"
Resigned to his fate, Lai Teng could only grit his teeth and lead the remaining Tian Xing avatars charging fiercely forward.
Seeing the enemy advance, Li Kuanghua's eyes turned crimson.
She stared intently at the charging Lai Teng. "They are here!" she cried. "My friends, regardless of whether my Master succeeds in his breakthrough or not, we fight on! And should we fall and descend to the Netherworld, my Master and I shall repay your grace together!"
The cultivators from Azure Cloud Region roared in unison—how could they possibly fear a battle?
However, when Lai Teng and his contingent had charged merely halfway, they all froze, stunned in place.
Even the individuals from the Azure Cloud Region, their fighting spirit moments before so boundless, now collectively frowned.
Every single person on the battlefield turned their gaze in the same direction.
"BOOM! BOOM!"
The sound of explosions erupted in quick succession.
It was coming from... the direction of the Heavenly Light Sect!
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