After the Demon Tribulation came the Fire Tribulation.

The flames were Qiantian True Fire; they fell like snowflakes, fist-sized, and turned all types of vegetation into flying ashes upon contact, while sand and rock would melt into magma.

Demons feared this kind of flame the most. If the Nine Demons had controlled the mother body to kill en masse and devour fresh blood and souls in the past three months, they would have had the strength to fight against the Heavenly Fire. Now, however, they had no room to struggle, trembling and cowering inside Shi Longgu's belly, incessantly pleading for help, "Mother save me! Mother, please save me..."

They also continuously transmitted thoughts to Shi Feiyang, "Begging for Master's protection... If we can survive this calamity, we are willing to die for Master..."

Although Shi Feiyang could control them, because demons were wild and hard to tame, he forced them to swear an unbreakable oath of loyalty to the Nine Heavens Yuan Yang Ruler; only then did he wield the Jade Ruler, releasing a vast expanse of Hongmeng Purple Qi to envelop Gupo Ridge.

He had to protect not only the nine demons but also Gupo Ridge; otherwise, the entire mountain range would completely melt in the Heavenly Fire, and the countless creatures and plants on the ridge would turn to ashes.

The Hongmeng Purple Qi alone couldn't withstand the burning of the Heavenly Fire for long. It could defend for a short while, but beyond the duration of one cup of tea, it would be damaged.

Shi Feiyang used the time it took to drink one cup of tea to discern the characteristics of the Heavenly Fire and then directly expelled the Dragon Ball.

That Chaos Dragon Ball flew above Gupo Ridge, encircled by nine Golden Flowers.

Inside the Dragon Ball, starry nebulae circulated, and it was surrounded by Five-Colored Radiant Light. The Pure Yang Golden Flower was especially resistant to the Heavenly Fire, blocking most of it outside, allowing one flame at a time to enter the Dragon Ball for absorption.

The Five-Colored Radiant Light first flew out to contact the Heavenly Fire. This was something an ancient immortal had refined with the Green Mirage Pill Qi of fierce beasts and the essence of the Five Elements, sealed in a Green Mirage bottle. Later, Shi Feiyang retrieved it and refined it into his own Dragon Ball.

Even this Light Energy couldn't withstand the burning of the Heavenly Tribulation True Fire; the moment it touched the fire, its brilliance began to fade, and Shi Feiyang also felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Good, it can hold." He exhaled a stream of True Essence Energy, and with this support, the Five-Colored Radiant Light flared like fuel on a fire, surged violently, and engulfed the Heavenly Fire before retracting it into the Dragon Ball.

Once the Heavenly Fire entered the Dragon Ball, Shi Feiyang felt his whole body heat up, and the Dragon Ball seemed like it was about to melt. So he expelled more Immortal Energy and remotely infused it into the Dragon Ball.

Back then, he had achieved the True Dragon Body without undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation, only the Human and Demon Tribulations.

He would have to follow the path of the Emei Sect, first secluding himself in the mountains to cultivate arduously, letting go of all attachments, remaining uninvolved in worldly affairs, and after nearly refining his Nascent Soul to Pure Yang, he would then come out to accumulate outer skills. With accomplishment in both inner cultivation and worldly conduct, reaching perfection in both, all he would need then was to overcome the Three Calamities to ascend without any further tribulations.

But there were many checkpoints and difficulties in this path, as Master Changmei from the Han dynasty had cultivated until the Ming Dynasty before ascending in his physical body. His disciples too had been cultivating since before the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and many of them were still mingling in the Human World during the later Qing Dynasty, with many unable to achieve Ascension even after seeking Yang God status.

Shi Feiyang judged that he would eventually encounter the Heavenly Tribulation, whether it be the forty-ninefold tribulation of an Independent Immortal or the thirteen-hundred-year Great Tribulation of an Earth Immortal. Thus, he intended to experience it in advance.

He cultivated the Three Emperors Dao, with the belief "heaven carries on its way with vigor; the noble man keeps on striving without cease." Whether in favorable or adverse circumstances, one must always "strive," never letting spirits be dampened. Even in adversity, he would first think of how to use it as a Grinding Stone to sharpen himself and become stronger.

He used this Demon Refinement to perfect three individuals—Xiong Xue'er, Shi Longgu, and himself. After successfully refining demons, all three were to undergo a qualitative leap, with Shi Longgu and himself gaining the most, mainly because Shi Longgu's initial foundation was too poor. Besides them, even Cang Lingzi would benefit.

In truth, if the timeline were extended, even the Cold Centipede and those nine captured Heavenly Demons would eventually be liberated and achieve their true potential—though that would bear fruit far in the future.

He actively faced the Heavenly Tribulation, first confronting the Heavenly Divine Flames.

If the Chaos Dragon Ball were simply burned by the Heavenly Fire, it wouldn't take long for the exterior Five-Colored Radiant Light to be refined and vanish; ultimately, even the Dragon Ball would disperse into the sky as scattered flashes of light.

The key was that Shi Feiyang constantly infused Mana into it—Immortal Energy from his many years of hard cultivation, the crystallization of his overall essence and spirit. With his support and nourishment, the Dragon Ball kept repairing its wear, becoming stronger under the assault and honing of the Heavenly Fire.

He controlled the nine Pure Yang Golden Flowers, first letting in one flutter until it adapted, followed by two, three... His Mana drained significantly, but he felt increasingly energized. Towards the end, he drew back the nine Golden Flowers, allowing the Heavenly Fire to burn freely.

As the Dragon Ball absorbed a large amount of Heavenly Fire, refining it on the inside and burning on the outside became purer; the specks of stardust inside grew brighter, while the exterior Five-Colored Radiant Light slowly condensed, acquiring tangibility.

Shi Feiyang swallowed an Angry Mysterious Pill, feeling the surging Mana release inside his Dantian and deeming the intensity sufficient; then he released the Purple and Blue Duoluo Fire.

The Purple and Blue Divine Flames were formed from the lamp flowers on the Qianling Lamps of the Taixu Immortal Mansion in the heavens. There were numerous Qianling Golden Lamps in the heavens, not just one, and among them, one was located in the Illusion Wave Pool of Saintess Jiayin, as a generic term for this class of Divine Lamps.

The key was that the Nine Heavens Immortal Spirit Qi in the heavens was even more concentrated, and the Spiritual Energy in the Taixu Immortal Mansion was stronger than other places in the Spiritual Space Immortal Realm. It took three thousand years to form a single bloom and Shi Feiyang had three of these which altogether went through nine thousand years of cultivation. Later they were brought down to the Lower Realm by a Fallen Immortal for protection and Demon Refinement. They were all of the level of ancient immortals. Once they ascended again, they would stay behind in the Human World, and after changing hands several times and being nurtured and refined over thousands of years, they became even more miraculous.

However, these items were ultimately just lamp flowers. The Daoists revered the source, and without the source, this fire, though still possessing much spiritual effect, was seldom used by Shi Feiyang, who would bring it out only when absolutely necessary.

Originally he intended to wait for the right moment to go to the ancient tomb of the Wuhua Family to obtain ancient lamp oil, but now, upon seeing this Heavenly Fire, he had a new idea.

All Heavenly Divine Flames were produced through Qiantian, containing True Gold, and shared the same origin as the Purple and Blue Divine Flames, which made them ideal for absorbing fiery energy.

So he released the three Divine Flames, suspending them above the Dragon Ball, surrounded by a large cluster of five-colored clouds and mist. As the Heavenly Fire descended, he used the Purple and Blue Divine Flames to meet it. The two types of flames intertwined, and he then infused them with Immortal Energy to refine fire with fire, purifying the Heavenly Fire and only absorbing the most fundamental Qiantian fiery energy.

With the previous experience of the Dragon Ball, everything went smoothly, initially a bit unfamiliar, but gradually became second nature.

Soon, Shi Feiyang was not content with the directly drifting Heavenly Fire, and so he activated the "Absorption Mode" of the Dragon Ball, drawing all the descending Heavenly Fire toward him. The first layer was absorbed into the Purple and Blue Divine Flames, the second layer into the Five-Colored Radiant Light, and the vast majority was absorbed into the Dragon Ball, refining all three together!

Undoubtedly, this would consume a considerable amount of Mana, but Shi Feiyang had so many Elixirs that he could literally eat them like food, fully capable of sustaining the load. He continuously converted the medicinal power into Mana in his Dantian and then, like a tidal wave, channeled it into the Dragon Ball and Purple and Blue Divine Flames.

The Fire Tribulation continued for just over two hours before gradually subsiding, followed by the final Heavenly Tribulation.

The Thunder of the Heavenly Tribulation was even fiercer than the fire, and Shi Feiyang then released both the Hunyuan Umbrella and the Three Yangs One Qi Sword to receive the baptism of the Heavenly Thunder.

Hundreds of miles away, the group of Immortals who were intently watching the battle were once again profoundly shocked: "This Evil Dragon is actually using the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Fire to temper its own Dragon Ball and sacrificially refine Magical Treasures!"

Some who were astute, such as Bai Mei Monk of Emei Mountain, Master Shi Longgu of Great Snow Mountain, the couple Ling Hun, Jiang Shu of Qingcheng Mountain, Mr. Zhong of Eastern Sichuan, Master Fen Tuo of Western Sichuan, and others, all understood Shi Feiyang's intention.

Some were happy for him, believing that after this event his Mana would surely increase greatly, advancing to the next level;

Some were worried about him, having refined such a formidable Nine Child Mother Sky Demon, he may later have to bear a lot of karmic consequences;

Some were worried for others: This demon beast was able to withstand the Heavenly Tribulation, seemingly unafraid of even the tribulation. Who could restrain him in the future? Although this time the tribulation was not his, but that of nine Demon Infant's Evil Embryos, and although the Demon's Heavenly Tribulation differed from that of Humans and lacked the power of the Daoist's forty-nine major tribulations and the Earth Immortal's Final Tribulation, the power and means revealed were genuinely alarming.

Several Sword Immortals of Emei Sect even felt somewhat terrified. How would the Emei Sect face such an enemy in the future?

Four individuals from the Emei Sect, both young and old, had fallen at the hands of this Evil Dragon. Logically, they should gather a host of Immortals to kill him for revenge. At worst, they could deploy the Liangyi Dust Formation to refine him. Still, with the powerful foe of the Wutai Sect present, once they went to besiege Shi Feiyang, the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor would certainly also come forth to offer full protection. At that point, with demons joining forces, the Emei Sect would be at risk of falling into decline.

Qi Shuming's strategy was to first deal with the evil beings of both Wutai and Hua Mountain, especially since the date for the third Swordfight in fifty years was rapidly approaching. If they could suppress these two sects first, then after Emei opened their own Mansion, they could settle the account with the Evil Dragon. However, in the meantime, the development of this Evil Dragon was too rapid; he was about to acquire the treasures of the Yuan River, now having refined the Nine Child Mother Sky Demon, and he could even strengthen himself with the Heavenly Tribulation. If they waited until the third Swordfight was over, who knew how powerful he would have become!

Li Yuanhua and Wu Yuanzhi and others were discussing: "We cannot let him succeed in refining the Demon into perfection! Let's go to Gupo Ridge now and slay the Demon Mother Shi Longgu first and release the nine Demon Embryos."

The Inebriated Daoist commented, "Once the Demon Infants leave the mother's body, should the Prohibitions fail, they could escape into the Human World and cause a great catastrophe!"

"The Demons have already been targeted by the Heavenly Tribulation; no matter where they flee, their fate cannot be avoided!" Master Can Xia stated, "We will keep a watchful eye. Even if a single Demon were to escape, we would immediately intervene. As they are under the Heavenly Tribulation, it won't take much effort to destroy them."

Master Baiyun said, "If there's a chance to eliminate that Evil Dragon as well, that would be ideal!"

The short-bearded Zhu Mei, however, stroked his beard and shook his head resolutely: "Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! This matter is complicated and interconnected. The Demon Dragon still has several accomplices who are also observing from afar. If we were to go, eight or nine out of ten would come to interfere. Not counting the others, my own disciple brother would jump out to protect that demon."

Upon hearing this, everyone found it reasonable. It wasn't just Jiang Shu who would intervene, but also Ling Hun. These two would definitely step in, and there was also a probability that Cang Lingzi and Mr. Zhong would get involved.

After Master Changmei's ascension, Master Can Xia became a disciple of Master You Tan of the Baihua Mountain Chaoyin Cave, thus engaging in Buddhist and Daoist Dual Cultivation. He now sought help from within the Buddhist community. Baihua Mountain was far from here, and he could not depend on his teacher. Yet, a high monk who achieved the Dao was readily available at Ningbi Cliff:

"Bai Mei Zen Master once visited Emei Mountain to pay his respects to the Buddha Light, and since then he has been residing here. Why don't we ask him to take action? Just by spreading the Sandalwood Buddha Light over Gupo Ridge, others will recognize that he has intervened and would naturally not come."

Everyone thought this was an excellent idea, and so they all went together to Ningbi Cliff to find Bai Mei Zen Master.

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