“How can you possibly be here!”
Yu Yin’s face showed disbelief when she saw that Sun Yuan had reached the Tribulation Transcendence Stage—yet Sun Yuan himself was even more shocked to see Jiang Li standing there before him. He should have been guarding the Ji Clan within the void. Why was he here?
How did he return so quickly? He hadn’t even reached the Mahayana Stage yet! And what of the Ji Clan?
Could it be that the Human Emperor Jiang failed to protect them, and they had all perished in the void? Jiang Li naturally had no obligation to answer Sun Yuan’s questions. The moment he arrived, he had already understood everything that had happened.
The Absolute Spirit Extermination Formation. The Empty City. These two things placed together—if there were any other explanation, then his title as a Human Emperor who comprehended all Demonic Path methods would have been in vain!
Though Sun Yuan was not of the Demonic Path, he was even more detestable than any who were! Jiang Li’s hand shot out like lightning, one gripping Sun Yuan’s throat, the other clutching his wrist. A brutal twist—bones cracked.
With sheer physical strength, he tore off Sun Yuan’s arm.
Left arm. Right arm. Left leg.
Right leg.
In just a few moves, Jiang Li dismantled Sun Yuan into a grotesque pile resembling a club. A cultivator of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage could regenerate from a single drop of blood—such injuries were not fatal to Sun Yuan.
Yet at this moment, he would rather have died outright, for Jiang Li’s rage made death itself a luxury he would not grant. Struggling in pain, Sun Yuan gritted his teeth, twisted his own neck, and tore off his own head to break free from Jiang Li’s iron grip. His spine rapidly regrew, followed by his limbs and flesh.
The instant he reformed his body, he turned and fled without hesitation. The closer one reached the Mahayana Stage, the clearer one understood Jiang Li’s terror.
Sun Yuan had slaughtered an entire city to step into the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and now would need to destroy a whole nation to take the final step to Mahayana—but the chasm between those realms filled him with utter despair!
“Are you alright?”
Jiang Li appeared before Yu Yin, lifting her gently to her feet and feeding her a Great Rejuvenation Pill. His face remained utterly expressionless throughout.
If it were the usual days, upon seeing Yu Yin in such a miserable state, he would certainly tease her with a half-smile, saying something sarcastic—something like how she had finally reached the Tribulation Transcendence Stage only to still end up defeated so miserably.
But now, not only was Yu Yin on the brink of death—nine million souls had been annihilated, their bodies not even remaining. There was no way Jiang Li could bring himself to smile. Nine million lives.
What concept was that? Even when the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons attacked the Nine Provinces, the casualties had not been so dire! This was his failure as a Human Emperor!
He felt unworthy of the line of Human Emperors that came before him. How could he still dare claim to be the strongest Human Emperor? How could he even face himself!
Jiang Li bent down and picked up a piece of red cloth from the ground. Judging by the size, it must have belonged to some lively young girl. Yet now there was no laughter, no joy—only this small piece of clothing left behind.
And such a sight was repeated nine million times over. Nine million lives. Nine million empty graves without bodies.
Jiang Li’s heart trembled violently. He even felt the urge to weep.
“Don’t let Sun Yuan escape!”
Yu Yin cried out.
“Escape?”
Jiang Li folded the red garment neatly and placed it to the side. His voice was cold, his smile colder.
“Before the Heavenly Tribulation, where could he possibly escape to?”
Yu Yin lifted her head—and realized that at some unknown moment, dark clouds had already blanketed the heavens above the Imperial City. Though the area affected was smaller than the time she herself faced the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, the aura it gave off was infinitely greater.
Because this was the most terrifying known Heavenly Tribulation of all—she had only ever seen it once, when Jiang Li faced it himself. The Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
“Master, are you alright!?”
The Ruyi Gourd rolled to Yu Yin’s side, crying anxiously.
“That man almost killed you, Master! Watch me summon the Immortal Ascension Tribulation and strike him down!”
Its mouth opened wide, and from within swam out a tiny white fish. The little white fish turned human in an instant, leaping into Yu Yin’s arms.
“Aunt Yu Yin, are you okay?”
She was none other than the Nineteenth Princess of Great Zhou—of course, she recognized Yu Yin from the neighboring kingdom. When Jiang Li had been within the void earlier, he had ordered Ji Kongkong to transform into this little white fish and hide within the Ruyi Gourd. Jiang Li needed to protect Ji Kongkong, not the Immortal Artifact itself.
Without the burden of shielding the girl, Jiang Li had been able to return to the Nine Provinces so swiftly. As for Sun Yuan, fleeing was but a dream. Wherever he ran, the Immortal Ascension Tribulation pursued.
Massive thunder pillars split the heavens, turning him pitch-black and mangled. All his profound methods of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage were useless before it—utterly invalid! The Immortal Ascension Tribulation tested the core of one’s cultivation.
One could only endure it head-on.
“Sun Yuan, are you prepared to die?”
A quiet, emotionless voice sounded directly behind him. The moment Sun Yuan heard it, his hair stood on end and his blood turned to ice. Under the downpour of divine lightning, their clash became more ferocious—the Tribulation doubled in intensity, devastating Sun Yuan’s vitality.
Jiang Li, however, remained completely unharmed.
“N-no, wait! I don’t want to die! I—I know things! I can tell you how to obtain the Power of the Divine Repository! How to become stronger! You can become even more powerful! You may not yet know what the Power of the Divine Repository truly is—but look! I used it to go from Peak Union Stage to Peak Tribulation Transcendence in so short a time! With this power, we need never fear the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons again! Just spare my life, and I’ll tell you how to acquire it…”
Sun Yuan’s words tumbled out desperately, each one trying to prove his value.
“Do you understand me?”
Jiang Li suddenly asked. Sun Yuan froze, unable to respond.
“I’m asking you—do you understand me!”
Jiang Li’s eyes flared open like two fierce tigers glaring down their prey. Sun Yuan’s knees buckled, his voice trembling.
“I—I—of course I understand you! You are the impartial and righteous Human Emperor, guardian of the Nine Provinces, the people’s divine protector—” He had no idea what answer could possibly satisfy Jiang Li.
He had never truly interacted with him before. The Heavenly Mystery Tower didn’t sell intelligence about Jiang Li, so what could he know except the common praises sung across the land?
“Not you.”
Jiang Li shook his head, disappointed. Sun Yuan did not understand him—so he was not the one who had set this trap. Only someone who truly knew Jiang Li’s heart and methods could have calculated things to such perfection.
He already had an idea who it might be, but he did not wish to believe it.
“What is your position in the Divine Repository Cult?”
“Vice Cult Master! Both I and General Divine Might hold that title—but he doesn’t know me, while I know of him.”
Sun Yuan’s heart sank as soon as he realized Jiang Li knew of the Divine Repository Cult. He could feel his leverage slipping away.
“Yes—it’s the Cult Master’s fault! All because of him! He said you were busy guarding the Ji Clan and could not spare the attention for this place, so I could act freely—no, no! I wasn’t at ease at all, but the Cult Master demanded I do this!”
Sun Yuan rushed to shift the blame.
“Who is the Cult Master?”
“I don’t know! The Cult Master has never once revealed his true face.”
“And the so-called Divine Repository Venerable—what is that?”
“I don’t know either! The Cult Master only told us that there existed such a being.”
Jiang Li said no more. He raised his hand and unleashed the Heart Sword. Again and again it slashed, tearing Sun Yuan’s body silently apart—his exterior remained whole, yet within, his flesh and meridians were shredded into countless wounds.
Yet because of his regenerative nature as a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, his body healed again and again. Beside him, the Ruyi Gourd assisted, summoning every kind of tribulation known to heaven—Heart Demon Tribulation, Hell Tribulation, Reincarnation Tribulation, and the Eight Sufferings Tribulation. These did not wound the flesh, but assaulted the soul.
The Reincarnation Tribulation forced him to relive the deaths of the nine million souls he had slaughtered—each time dying, each time reborn, over and over without end.
The Eight Sufferings Tribulation made him experience the agonies of birth, aging, sickness, and death; of being parted from those he loved; of being forced together with those he hated; of yearning without fulfillment; and of the raging torment of the Five Aggregates.
Sun Yuan screamed endlessly, unable to live, unable to die—afraid to open his eyes to face the illusions of the tribulations, yet equally terrified to close them and sink deeper into the endless suffering. At last, Jiang Li grasped his wretched soul, drew it forth, and refined it into ashes.
(The End of Chapter)