Wuzhiqi's intervention had caused the power of the Heavenly Tribulation to surge twofold. This tribulation was itself born from Wuzhiqi's Water Disaster, and now with its aid, the identical source of energy turned the Ren Water Divine Thunder into pure black, elevating its might to the extreme.

Boom!

The pure black thunder, like undulating waves, struck down from above, hitting the starlight barrier and scattering into streaks of lightning racing away.

Jiang Li felt an overwhelming and turbulent Qi Mechanism sweeping over him, as if he was in the midst of the vast ocean, struck by horrifying waves, his robes flapping wildly, and his True Qi shaking uncontrollably as if impacted.

Though the Ren Water Divine Thunder was blocked by Tianxuan, Jiang Li's Qi Mechanism was already entwined with the Heavenly Tribulation, inseparable. As the tribulation intensified, so did the Tribulation Qi, further stirring Jiang Li's own energy, causing his True Qi to run rampant.

Unless Jiang Li used the tribulation to temper his own Qi, expelling the Tribulation Qi and Yin Dregs, merging divinity and Qi in a complete cycle to his liking, the tribulation would be endless. Even if it were scattered, remnants of Tribulation Qi would linger.

Tianxuan could block the Divine Thunder for him, but to truly cross the tribulation, Jiang Li had to rely on himself.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Divine Thunder was relentless, roaring like an angry dragon in the sky, continuously striking down. The tribulation clouds above had turned into an abyss, brewing a terrifying storm.

"Yaoguang."

Tianxuan stood resolute, supporting the Qi Shield while saying, "The instigator of the tribulation is coordinating with Wuzhiqi to manipulate it. He must be in the eastern part of the city; go and capture him."

From amidst the ruins of the largely destroyed mansion, a bolt of lightning shot towards the east of the city.

However, before he could leave the city, a flash of Thunder Light suddenly appeared, with the phantoms of the Thunder God and Mother of Lightning passing by, colliding with the bolt that Elder Tianpeng had transformed into.

Boom!

The sky exploded with thunderous roars, shaking the heavens and the earth, and the whole of Jun City seemed to tremble in the wake of the Thunder Sound.

As predicted, the Thunder God and Mother of Lightning of the Taiping Sect had indeed taken action.

Just as Yun Jiuye had anticipated, once the tribulation began, the enemies of Tianxuan and Jiang Li had all surfaced concurrently, not missing this opportunity.

Even if they knew it was unlikely to endanger Jiang Li's life, they still wanted to drag him down and trouble Tianxuan for a bit.

At the same time, heavy rain began to pour in the direction of the Golden Dam. Within the veil of rain, the shadow of the Dragon Clan Killer from Yuxu Temple appeared and disappeared, clearly having encountered opposition.

And in the north of the city, a raging Essence Blood dragon ascended to the sky, colliding with the distant clouds.

Elder Kaiyang had once again encountered his old nemesis and was held up.

The entire Shu County was plunged into darkness, with multiple fourth-rank beings clashing. Even the fluctuations of their Qi Mechanisms were enough to kill ordinary people, while the repercussions could transform into a natural disaster threatening the entire city.

"Pull one hair and move the whole body. First, they used the Heavenly Tribulation to bypass me directly and target Jiang Li. Then, they used it to draw out our enemies," Tianxuan, who was protecting Jiang Li, could not help but admire the situation and then glanced towards Jiang Li, who was floating cross-legged in the air. "But, my disciple is no less capable."

Not only was he capable, but he was also about to take lives in return!

······

······

On the eastern outskirts of Jun City, three miles south of Canglang Pond, on a shallow beach.

The thunder from above had made the flowing water on the beach wrestle constantly, washing over each stone pillar with waves that sparkled under the gleam of light.

There were eight pillars in total, each thick enough to be embraced by a person, arranged in positions corresponding to the Eight Trigrams. Each was inscribed with mystical runes and symbols representing the Eight Trigrams, emitting a faint Bright Light.

On the stone pillar at the Kan Position, clad in red attire and with a long sword at his waist, Ling Wujue stood firm, holding a Jade Talisman in his hand.

"Fifth Junior Brother, the situation has been set; it's time to retreat. We're no longer needed here."

Through the Jade Talisman came Yun Jiuye's voice. Upon hearing this, Ling Wujue felt both excitement and regret.

"What a pity, I won't be able to witness Sixth Brother's failure firsthand."

He shook his head in disappointment, looking towards the direction of the city. "This time, you won't escape your fate."

With Elder Tianxuan at his side, Jiang Li would probably not die, but this tribulation would be difficult to cross. With Wuzhiqi meddling, the power of the tribulation continued to grow. If not for Elder Tianxuan blocking it, Jiang Li would either be dead or severely wounded by now.

With his injured body, the thought of him crossing the tribulation...

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

"Before leaving, use the Heavenly Seal I gave you earlier to erase all traces and Qi Mechanisms, eliminating any remaining clues," Yun Jiuye's voice continued.

"Yes, Senior Brother."

As Ling Wujue responded, he pulled out a yellow talisman from his sleeve and was about to activate it with True Qi.

Unexpectedly, just then, the talisman burst into flame without fire, exploding in Ling Wujue's hand. Even the Jade Talisman used for communication cracked, as if crushed by an Invisible Power.

In an instant, the medium connecting Ling Wujue and Yun Jiuye was damaged, and the talisman meant for erasing traces was mysteriously destroyed.

At the same time, a flock of blue butterflies flew in from nowhere, circling above the surface of the water. Among them, a figure transformed from misty to solid, gradually becoming visible.

He wore a white robe that billowed around him, his long hair hanging loose. His face was enveloped in a faint glow that blurred his features, rendering them indistinct.

He strode across the surface of the water without any sign of his Qi Mechanism, walking on waves without sinking, his form like a phantom. It was as if he was both there and not there, like a fleeting reflection on water, or a ghostly apparition, yet also like a mystical fantasy.

"Who goes there?" Ling Wujue, grasping the hilt of his saber, his body flush with the color of Red Copper, called out sternly, his gaze sharp and alert.

The destruction of talismans, the damage to the Jade Talisman, the malevolence of the newcomer was undisguised. Yet Ling Wujue still attempted to converse, both to probe the identity of the other and to buy time.

Although in Jiang Li's eyes, Ling Wujue was foolish to a certain extent, being a True Inheritor of the Dinghu Sect meant he possessed some intelligence, albeit not much.

"I prefer your stubborn and unruly side, Fifth Brother."

The newcomer sneered, his words causing Ling Wujue's stature to quake.

"Sixth Brother!" Ling Wujue's pupils constricted, his body tensed, encircled by a fierce Blade Energy. "How could it be you!"

The Heavenly Tribulation was still unfolding at the moment, growing ever more intense. Even Elder Tianpeng had been intercepted. How could it be possible for Jiang Li, the key figure at the center of the storm, to have arrived here?

Ling Wujue would rather believe that the person before him was an impostor than accept that it was Jiang Li.

If it were Jiang Li, then all of their previous actions would fall through and they might even give away a handle to be used against them.

'No, he's not after a handle; he wants me dead.' Ling Wujue denied in his heart once more.

To assassinate a fellow sect member, one cannot escape culpability. However, whether such a crime leads to death still depended on what followed. Though in theory it warranted death, theory was never the same as reality, and Ling Wujue was a follower of Yun Jiuye, with the Sect Leader's support behind them.

There was potential for the situation to unfold beyond theory.

Thus, Jiang Li chose a permanent solution.

It wasn't just Ling Wujue he was targeting; if given the chance, Jiang Li also wished to clash with Yun Jiuye.

"It's best to be unexpected when taking your life."

Jiang Li said with a light chuckle, his figure shifting, and within a few blinks, he had closed the distance.

Ling Wujue couldn't capture Jiang Li's trajectory at all. Before he could even react, Jiang Li had already closed in.

"Canghai Hengliu."

Without a moment's hesitation, Ling Wujue drew his saber. The cold edge turned into raging waves, the Blade Energy surging turbulently like a tsunami. His Qi Mechanism fluctuated wildly as he deployed the Dao Fruit Abilities of the Heavenly Soldier, Merit, Divine General, and Spirit Official all together.

The saber waves surged fiercely, intent on engulfing Jiang Li completely.

However—

Jiang Li's gaze slightly shifted, and a barrier emerged out of thin air. The surging Blade Energy crashed upon it, breaking like mighty waves against the shore into a snowstorm of fragments. Countless shattered Blade Energies rebounded onto Ling Wujue's body, producing an incessant clanging sound.

"Red Copper Primordial Body, Bone Burning into a Hill."

Ling Wujue activated his Red Copper Primordial Body, facing the backlash of Blade Energy head-on, unstoppable as one with his saber. He moved as fire would ravage, his momentum fierce like a wild beast with a blade, unmatched in ferocity.

The Jiuli Saber Scripture was pushed to its extreme, with the murderous Blade Energy transforming into a fire dragon, roaring and clawing forward.

Ling Wujue showed no sign of retreat in the face of Jiang Li. He could not afford to fall back, so he displayed the full might of his power, even igniting his Essence Blood to further boost his power and strength.

"Kill!"

The backlash of Blade Energy surged within him, paradoxically becoming a boost to his own strength. The fiercer the battle, the more ferocious he became, a true essence of the Jiuli Saber Scripture. The fire dragon roared, enveloping the skies, a fiery blade light spinning to meet Jiang Li's advancing right hand.

Ding!

The savage Sword Style halted at the sound of a crisp clang, the Sword Light dispersing; the fire dragon, like a spirit snake caught by its vitals, suddenly stalled, its Sword Force greatly diminished.

Ling Wujue's all-out attack was effortlessly pinned down by Jiang Li with a single finger. The saber struggled but could not break free from the finger's grasp.

"Impossible!"

Ling Wujue's face showed disbelief.

An all-out attack so easily thwarted revealed a power disparity that could lead to despair.

Ling Wujue's eyes were filled with unwillingness to accept the scene before him. "Did you advance?"

Indeed, only an advancement in power could explain such strength, the ability to block a Sword Style with just a look and capture his full-force strike with a finger. Only then could it make sense.

But with that realization came an even more dire truth—

"Red Blood Dragon Flag."

His heart pounded, his blood rising like smoke signals from the Heavenly Spirit to form a Red Flag above his head.

And because of this, Jiang Li had lost his last means of protection. He could no longer harbor the power of a Fourth Grade Killing Move within him, but Ling Wujue still had one trump card left to play.

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