Chapter 981: Crossing the Demon Tribulation, Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!
A Demon Emerges in the Central Land!
These four words carried a weight of ten thousand jun, shaking the entire Western region to its core. The Crusader army had been completely annihilated, a thunderclap that shocked the world and left everyone utterly astounded.
The Eastern Expedition army had been carefully selected, a group of exceptionally powerful individuals. Each one came from a different ancient family and possessed a noble bloodline.
The three leaders among them were great supernatural power (shentong) practitioners at the first level of the Immortal Platform, renowned throughout the West. They were advanced in age, had experienced many great battles, and were famous across the land!
Yet, such an army had been completely wiped out, with not a single person escaping. Someone went to the scene to investigate and found not even a fragment of armor left behind—only faint traces of bloodstains on the scorched earth and rocks.
"What era is this? Such a great demon couldn't possibly exist! The Daoist sects of the Central Land don't know how to gather faith, and without the blessing (jiachi) of mental power (nianli), how could they have cultivated to such a realm!?"
After the initial shock, many began to voice doubts, finding it contrary to common sense. They saw major flaws in the story and suspected some kind of conspiracy or scheme.
"No, it must be the work of those Central Land Daoists. Their heritage (chuancheng) is very strange. Perhaps they left behind some ancient Ten Absolute Grand Formation, using the power of heaven and earth to slaughter the Crusaders."
Some quickly made guesses, believing that the Daoist sects had likely learned of their eastward mission—to seize the ancestral artifacts of the Central Land—and had therefore ambushed them midway, then pinned everything on a single demon.
For a time, the entire Western region was in an uproar. The cultivation world was in complete turmoil because this incident was too significant. Since ancient times, although many Eastern Expedition Crusader armies had been defeated, never before had one been completely annihilated.
Especially now, in this era of the End of Dharma, three great supernatural power (shentong) practitioners were, under normal circumstances, already at the top of the pyramid. What was this little creature thinking, just standing there in a daze?
The little purple creature whimpered a few times, tears rolling down its big eyes. It told Ye Fan and the others to leave first, that it would catch up on its own in a little while.
The few of them nodded and all came to the surface, leaving the little thing alone there, giving it time.
Yan Xiaoyu and the others had strong divine senses, stronger than Little Pine's current level. They could sense what it was doing and couldn't help but show strange expressions. They discovered that Little Pine was secretly burying its treasures—many extremely precious spiritual fruits—in that stone cave, burying them together with its mother's remains.
"This is an act of filial piety. Let's all pretend we didn't see anything for now." Long Xiaoque said.
He didn't need to say it; none of them would have pointed it out anyway. This innocent little creature was sometimes endearing and amusing, and at other times, pitiful and heartbreaking.
"Let's go." Ye Fan said.
Little Pine wasn't in high spirits. It whimpered a few more times toward the crevice in the ground, then walked away with Ye Fan and the others, looking back with every step.
None of them said anything. This kind of thing couldn't be comforted; it had to adjust on its own. It had to be said, Little Pine was very spiritual. This time, its emotions fluctuated violently, actually triggering a resonance between heaven and man, and it was about to break through its tribulation.
In fact, its cultivation base had long been sufficient. Before the Four Extremes Secret Realm, the main focus was on inhaling spiritual energy. As long as it consumed enough essence, it could definitely enter the Dao.
It was only after reaching the Four Extremes Secret Realm that bitter cultivation and enlightenment were needed. Over these many days, it had often eaten spiritual fruits and never stopped absorbing moonlight. It should have crossed this threshold long ago.
Today, it felt something. The Dao stirred within its heart, thus triggering the heavenly tribulation, breaking into the Four Extremes Secret Realm, truly stepping onto the path of enlightenment, and opening the foundation of cultivation.
"Boom!"
A thunderbolt from the clear sky fell from ten thousand zhang high, striking directly at Little Pine. The force of the thunder was fierce and domineering to the extreme, causing the earth and mountains to rumble.
"Heavens! It actually triggered a heavenly tribulation! How many years has it been? Since the Earth dried up, this should be the first time someone has attracted tribulation lightning, right?"
Zhan Yifan exclaimed, and the others also changed color. In the current era, there were almost no people who could undergo tribulation because the environment had changed drastically. Even monstrous prodigies who could originally undergo tribulation were now difficult for the Great Dao to perceive, making it hard for heavenly tribulation to descend.
No one had expected Little Pine to be so formidable. Entering the Four Extremes Secret Realm had drawn the attention of the heavens, requiring a tribulation to block its path.
The little purple creature whimpered once, quickly adjusted its emotions, focused its mind, and began to resist this vast heavenly tribulation.
It could be said that Ye Fan's earlier training had played a key role. Now, it was no longer afraid of thunder and lightning and dared to face it alone.
Zhang Qingyang and the others finally understood why Ye Fan had accepted a small creature as his second true disciple. They had been somewhat indignant and unconvinced before, but now all those feelings had vanished like smoke.
This was a heaven-defying little prodigy. Starting to suffer a thunder tribulation at such a young age meant its future achievements would surely be limitless, absolutely unparalleled.
Because, according to ancient records, a true thunder tribulation began when breaking through into the Four Extremes Secret Realm. Since reaching this realm required enlightenment, one could be sensed by the heavens.
Calculating it this way, Little Pine had become one of the few people in history to undergo tribulation at the very beginning stage. It would surely achieve an unimaginable Dao fruit in the future.
Zhan Yifan, You Weiyu, and the others were extremely envious and also deeply shocked as they watched quietly.
The sea of thunder was fierce, submerging the entire area. The sound was unceasing, startling heaven and earth. Little Pine rose into the sky, entering the thunder and facing it directly.
Ye Fan nodded. His second disciple had truly embarked on the path of cultivation. He also made a move, not to help, but to use the "Heaven-Deceiving Array Pattern" to dissolve all the thunder tribulation that rushed to the ground, lest it destroy the mountains and rivers.
In the end, Little Pine whimpered. It was still a bit too young and couldn't hold on, suffering severe injuries in the thunder tribulation.
"Master, please make a move! Little Senior Brother can't hold on any longer!" The others showed worried expressions, somewhat anxious, and asked Ye Fan to help.
"Crossing a tribulation can only be done by oneself. It must rely entirely on itself to get through." Ye Fan appeared very ruthless at this moment, not helping at all. He only transmitted his voice, telling Little Pine that it had to hold on and persevere on its own.
Continuous whimpering sounds came. In the end, even someone as cold-tempered as Long Xiaoque could hardly bear to watch and wanted to make a move to resist the heavenly punishment and help.
But Ye Fan stopped him. No one could get close. The little purple creature was covered in wounds, its skin and flesh torn open, nearly charred, while the heavenly tribulation grew even more immense.
The thunder tribulation was terrifying, becoming a vast ocean, surging across the sky, boundless and endless, cascading down. Within it, a little purple spirit wailed and struggled.
Ye Fan was very cold. He transmitted his voice loudly, instructing it on how to cross the tribulation, but he never made a move.
In the end, Little Pine used every means to save its life, not even caring about its cries of pain. It displayed its full cultivation base, unleashing the first three slashes of the Demon Emperor Nine Slashes, doing its utmost to resist.
At that moment, Long Yuxuan, Huang Tiannu, and the others all had an illusion. In the ten-thousand-zhang thunder tribulation sea, they seemed to see a Great Emperor, looking down on all directions!
"Master, did you see that? There is a potential within Little Pine, faintly transforming into an immortal divine radiance, looking down on the heavenly tribulation!" The others said with trembling voices.
"That is the potential of its 'Dao Self,' the very foundation of its future ascension." Ye Fan murmured. In a daze, he seemed to see a Demon Emperor rising.
"Master, only one person in a world can attain the Dao and become an Emperor. If Little Pine always follows you, then when the time comes, which of you will become the Emperor?" They asked a sharp question.
"From ancient times to the present, no Sacred Body has ever been able to attain the Dao and become an Emperor..." Ye Fan muttered to himself, saying nothing else.
"This... Even if Master does not attain the Dao, if you can teach two Great Emperors, that would be unprecedented and unrivaled in the world."
They had heard that Ye Fan had a great disciple in the Big Dipper Star Domain, one who possessed a bloodline power like that of the Sun Saint Emperor, and might attain the Dao in the future.
"My Dao... what will become of it?" Ye Fan gazed at the endlessly deep heavens. He had been accumulating power all along, building up slowly and releasing it in a burst, because his Dao would be different. When breaking through the barrier, he would have to reverse-cut the Great Dao!
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