Chapter 904: The Tribulation of Godhood

It had been three days since the God of the Divine Tree and the Lord of the Wilds fought the Lord of Crimson Gold Mountain, and during those three days, Crimson Gold Mountain remained shrouded in thunderclouds, but no new Lord of the Hundred Mountains came to obstruct Li Yi’s Tribulation Crossing to godhood.

After all, the two previous strong ones had already verified the power of Da Yi with their lives.

Unless a Lord of One Land intervened, few could hinder his path to godhood—but no Lord of One Land existed near Crimson Gold Mountain; the nearest, the Kingdom of Wind, lay five thousand li away.

On this ancient land of the Wilds, Lords of One Land adhered to ancient customs and would not obstruct a Lord of the Hundred Mountains from becoming a Lord of One Land, for every divine-blooded family had its times of decline, and every Lord of the Hundred Mountains sought to restore his ancestors’ glory.

If a Lord of One Land ruthlessly suppressed them, disaster would eventually fall upon every divine-blooded warrior, for even the kingdoms that worshipped Lords of One Land could decay and perish.

And during these three days,

Li Yi sat deep within the Crimson Gold Mountains, his body naturally absorbing spiritual energy from all directions and vast quantities of life essence; by now, his body had grown to a hundred zhang tall, a true giant.

But once he reached this height, his growth halted, as if he had struck a limit.

“A hundred-zhang body—that is the symbol of a Lord of One Land. Has our Lord of Crimson Gold Mountain already become a Lord of One Land before even crossing the Tribulation?” In Crimson Mountain City, a sage gazed upward and, seeing the giant nearly swallowed by the thunder-sea, was both thrilled and stunned.

“No, the Lord of Crimson Gold Mountain’s body has merely grown to the scale of a Lord of One Land, but his power has not yet reached that level. The divine power stored within heaven and earth is still gathering; only when he receives the ancestral divine power’s reinforcement will he truly become a Lord of One Land.”

Other tribal Grand Shamans, who had observed for days in Crimson Mountain City, reached this same conclusion.

But why had this occurred?

Some sages speculated that the Lord of Crimson Gold Mountain’s divine blood had already reached parity with that of a Lord of One Land, causing his body to grow prematurely; previously, a Lord of the Hundred Mountains’ divine blood would slowly mature until it stirred the divine will, summoning the Tribulation of Godhood, after which the limit would break and the body would transform into a hundred-zhang giant.

In other words, the Lord of Crimson Gold Mountain had bypassed that limit in an instant and directly reached the state of a Lord of One Land.

And the root cause was, of course, Li Yi consuming the silver apple.

The silver apple, infused with the residual bloodline power of a deity, had instantly transformed Li Yi’s body to the level of a Lord of One Land, thus summoning the descent of divine will and triggering this tribulation.

“At my current realm, can I withstand the divine power within this thunder-sea?” Li Yi raised his head, gazing at the thunder-sea, now fully charged.

Within the thunder-sea, a giant formed from lightning, divine power, and the deity’s will had already manifested.

He sensed that the Tribulation of Godhood required him to personally defeat his ancestor’s avatar and reclaim as much ancestral power stored in heaven and earth as possible.

How much he reclaimed depended entirely on his own ability.

Of course, he might also be slain outright if his strength proved insufficient.

“At most, half a day remains before the trial begins.” Li Yi thought to himself; he was already prepared, his state honed to perfection.

The only regret was that he could not acquire a powerful weapon or armor to enhance his power.

Whether the Beast King’s weapon, the Crimson Gold Armor, or the Precious Moon Bow, none could withstand the coming battle, for his transformed body had already surpassed the power level of such weapons.

Thus, his only reliance in the coming fight would be his Dao arts and fist techniques.

Only by pushing his own power to its absolute limit could he defeat his ancestor’s divine avatar and cross this tribulation.

Realizing this, Li Yi’s Primordial Spirit manifestation began practicing fist techniques and Dao methods, reviving skills long unused.

With his hundred-zhang divine body, wielding fist techniques and channeling all his divine power would surely produce unexpected effects; indeed, possessing more skills was always beneficial—one never knew when they might prove decisive.

As time slowly passed,

When the ninth day arrived,

The thunder-sea above Crimson Gold Mountain ceased absorbing spiritual energy; the gathered divine power had reached its limit and could grow no further. At that moment, the divine avatar within the thunder-sea began to awaken.

Li Yi immediately returned his Primordial Spirit manifestation to his body, suddenly opening his eyes, and stood up, his hundred-zhang frame towering.

He sensed a fierce battle intent.

Though merely an embodiment of heavenly energy, after a mysterious will descended, it became as if the deity had been reborn—possessing sentience, albeit incomplete, leaning heavily toward instinct.

As their bloodlines resonated,

The divine avatar stood firm within the thunder-sea, its body saturated with boundless power, then roared, proclaiming its return to this ancient heaven and earth.

Li Yi knew the moment had come; rather than wait passively for the divine avatar to strike, he would strike first.

Thinking this,

His massive body radiated silver light; he stepped forward, and a vast auspicious cloud appeared, bearing his hundred-zhang frame as he surged toward the thunder-sea above.

“Boom.”

The thunder-sea churned and roared with divine power; countless terrifying lightning bolts crisscrossed the heavens, instantly severing all passage—any who dared enter the sky would be mercilessly struck down.

Only Li Yi was immune to this lightning; even when bolts struck him, they were absorbed, becoming part of his own power.

Soon,

Li Yi tore open a gap in the thunder-sea, leaping into the heavens’ apex and appearing before the divine avatar.

At first sight,

Without hesitation, Li Yi instantly threw a punch; his fist glowed with five colors, entwined with Dragon and Tiger, drawing upon the thunder-sea, every inch of his arm shimmering with silver radiance.

He slammed it hard into the divine avatar’s body.

As the sky trembled and the thunder-sea churned, Li Yi’s devastating punch shattered the avatar’s form—but instead of blood, glistening threads of divine power erupted from the wound, drawn by ancient bloodline ties into his massive body.

This made Li Yi feel his strength surge instantly.

“So this is how the Wilds’ inheritance works.” At that moment, Li Yi understood the meaning of this battle.

The divine avatar, wounded and enraged, immediately assumed an ancient posture, releasing a terrifying aura, then swung its fist, reversing the thunder-sea and shattering space.

The lightning dimmed.

Clearly, this was the divine art Li Yi had once used—Heaven’s Severance.

Seeing this, Li Yi’s eyes narrowed sharply; he could not dodge, so he raised his arm, gathering all his strength to block the blow.

Boom!

The heavens shattered; the thunder-sea cracked apart, torrents of lightning surging in all directions—luckily, the battle raged in the sky, so even the residual force did not reach the ground.

With a terrifying outpouring of divine power,

Li Yi’s arm was shattered outright; silver blood sprayed across heaven and earth, then transformed into lightning bolts that flowed back into the thunder-sea, while a portion of his divine blood’s power was stolen, returning to the divine avatar.

“This divine avatar is absurdly strong.” He winced.

If he took a few more hits from divine arts, he feared he’d be killed outright.

No wonder the God of the Divine Tree and the Lord of the Wilds had interfered—had he been in poor condition, fighting this avatar would have been impossible to survive.

Yet these thoughts passed in an instant.

Li Yi’s gaze hardened again; no matter his current realm or strength, he had not forgotten he was a warrior from the Four Seas and Eight Provinces.

Warriors confront enemies with overwhelming momentum, fighting to the death without retreat.

“Again.”

Li Yi roared; his recoiling body surged forward once more, swinging a single arm, his hundred-zhang frame coiling into a single force, channeling every ounce of power—his fist blazed with brilliance, aiming to pierce the opponent in one strike.

Though the divine avatar’s sentience was incomplete, its combat instinct was terrifying; sensing danger, it instantly sidestepped.

Yet even so, the punch tore a grotesque gash across its chest.

Glistening divine power sprayed out, again flowing into Li Yi’s body.

But soon, countless silver lightning bolts surged from the thunder-sea, striking the avatar’s wound and swiftly healing it.

The divine avatar, restored, charged at Li Yi once more.

Li Yi did not retreat; after wounding the avatar, he swept his leg horizontally, unleashing divine power that split the entire thunder-sea, the force exploding through heaven and earth, cracking space itself.

In his youth, training in the Four Seas and Eight Provinces, he had mastered fists, legs, palms, swords, spears—every limb a weapon of death; only later in cultivation had such martial arts become difficult to wield.

But the divine avatar did not dodge—it swung a punch straight, choosing to trade blows with Li Yi.

After exchanging blows, both massive bodies tumbled backward into the thunder-sea.

But Li Yi recovered first, ignoring his wounds, charging forward again.

The two titans clashed once more, frantically stealing each other’s divine power; this style of battle demanded relentless combat—no retreat, for if the opponent stole enough power to reach a critical threshold, you would never rise again.

(End of Chapter)