Chapter 81: with translation of chapter title

Niepan Jie Ling's face couldn't help but reveal a hint of bitter smile.

But things have come to this point, and we've said all that needs to be said.

In an instant, on his right hand appeared a dim, profound thunder seal that slowly surfaced and floated; immediately after, boundless life force, like a surging tide, poured into that thunder glow.

At the same time, he also removed one by one the destructive power hidden within the thunder glow.

「Boom—」

At that moment, above the Profound Yang Sect, thin wisps of faint thunderclouds began to roil and gather; it turned out that Niepan Jie Ling was transmitting the power of laws to Qin Yu.

After all… even relying only on a clone, he is capable of handling this thunder Dao life force.

When within the Lei Fa Gu Lu, those violent thunderbolts fiercely struck Qin Yu's flesh.

Qin Yu instantly felt streams of warm current swiftly spreading throughout his body, even extending into his sea of consciousness, causing his figure to pause slightly.

Of course… this warm current merely slightly enhanced his defensive ability, and could not fully block the might of the thunder.

After all, if he completely blocked it, he would lose the meaning of this tempering.

Roughly estimating, the power of these thunderbolts is roughly at the level of second-stage Spirit Entry.

Immediately thereafter, repeating this cycle, Qin Yu continued to stride forward. Each time he withstood the impact of that mental pressure, he instantly received soul restoration from Niepan Jie Ling; after recovering a bit, he rose and pressed on.

At this moment, above the cloud layer, the gaze of Leize Zhiling sank little by little, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch violently.

「Damn it, isn't this blatant cheating! 」

「If I keep doing this, won't I truly have to lose everything in Leize? 」

「If Zhu Jing finds out about this, I'll likely be erased instantly. 」

Thinking of this, Leize Zhiling's heart involuntarily surged with fear.

You should know, this secret realm exists, in a sense, to seek out peerless geniuses.

Looking across all heavens and worlds, Leize can be found everywhere.

Just within the Cangyuan Jie alone, there are over a hundred Leize.

Naturally, the stronger a cultivator's own strength, the higher the grade and the deeper the foundation of the Leize secret realm they enter.

Once a true peerless genius appears, these Leize will all step forward, either employing recruitment tactics or luring with heavenly treasures.

Ordinary people cannot withstand the bombardment of such heavenly treasures; most will choose to compromise and accept.

Qin Yu is also one of the key targets Leize Zhiling pays attention to.

But who could have expected that, before he could even act, Qin Yu would instead turn his thoughts toward him?

「Hmph, since you dare to cheat, I can only personally intervene. 」

Leize Zhiling sprang to his feet; although he harbored apprehension toward Niepan Jie Ling, that did not mean the other could act recklessly on his turf.

One could see brilliant energy spheres of light slowly drifting toward the ninth level checkpoint. Notably, the mental pressure inside the checkpoint would not diminish in the slightest due to any external offset.

In other words, setting aside all external factors, each of Qin Yu's impacts will have to withstand an attacking force equivalent to Hua Ling Qi Chong.

Leize Zhiling was also left with no choice; if he continued to let this go unchecked, he would truly be finished.

On the other side, Qin Yu's brows slightly furrowed as he keenly sensed that the ninth level checkpoint seemed to have undergone some anomaly.

Just then, Niepan Jie Ling quietly appeared beside him, lowering his voice to say: "The secret realm's spirit has made a move; he has secretly arranged things for the next checkpoint, even if I keep infusing life force."

"But… the intensity of that mental impact will still subject you to the pressure of Hua Ling Qi Chong."

"Even if I construct a defense wall of Tian Yuan realm strength in your sea of consciousness, you will still have to endure the impact force of Hua Ling Qi Chong; this checkpoint is likely already an extreme challenge."

Hearing this, Qin Yu frowned even tighter, secretly thinking: "Looks like it's not just me playing tricks—Leize Zhiling also knows how to scheme."

"No problem, just keep moving forward." Qin Yu spoke with a calm expression, composed and unflustered.

However… at that very moment, Niepan Jie Ling, who had been guarding beside him, flashed a hint of terror in his eyes.

For… the aura of heavenly mandate he had clearly sensed yesterday has now vanished without a trace!

Holy shit!

Gone?

What on earth is going on?

You should know, a living being born and nurtured by heaven and earth like him is always extremely sensitive to the aura of the Dao.

"Could it be that I sensed wrong back then?" Niepan Jie Ling's heart felt a faint rise of anger.

If the perception was truly mistaken, wouldn't that mean I had been badly played by someone?

Thinking of this, his face grew even darker.

Consequently, at this moment, the thunderclouds hovering above the Profound Yang Sect also began to flicker with silver-white thunder glints, growing increasingly intense and heavy.

Faintly, a chilling aura of thunder punishment enveloped the entire Profound Yang Sect.

Nevertheless, despite his anger, Niepan Jie Ling still dared not act rashly; he simply waited quietly, preparing to observe further later.

He had even already calculated that, after leaving this secret realm, he would definitely conduct a covert probe.

If he discovers that the heavenly mandate aura is false…

then don't blame him for being ruthless!

…………

At the same moment, Lin Wu Ren, who was observing on Leize Guangchang, saw his face change drastically.

「Not good! Why has such a dense thunder-punishment aura suddenly surged forth! And its grade is extremely high! 」

It turned out that the earlier thunder-punishment aura had spread, causing his internal spiritual energy to erupt violently, actually seeking to impact the pass and break through to the Tribulation Venerable realm.

This could not have come at a worse time!

You should know, at this moment he has not yet made sufficient preparations; in such haste, it is utterly impossible for him to safely pass the Venerable Tribulation, and he will only meet a miserable end of body and spirit destroyed.

Boom!

The terrifying aura spread out like a surging tide, wildly assaulting all directions; that surging, tumultuous spiritual energy was like an untamed wild horse, completely out of control.

Yang Hao, Wu Lao, and the others also sensed something amiss; they hurriedly acted, circulating spiritual energy, and jointly forced down the riotous aura within Lin Wu Ren's body.

"Quickly summon the Old Ancestor to leave seclusion; this suppression won't last long—we must promptly prepare the needed items for the tribulation."

"What on earth is happening? Why did your aura suddenly erupt?"

Seeing this, Qi Tai and the others' pupils contracted sharply; they hastily sent a message to the Old Ancestor, urging him to come out and help.

You should know that, in everyone's eyes, Lin Wu Ren is a key figure expected to advance to the Venerable rank.

As long as the Venerable does not appear, even the entirety of Canglan Yu bound together is no match for Lin Wu Ren.

If the Venerable does not appear, he is invincible.

But now, if Lin Wu Ren falls here, the Profound Yang Sect's overall strength will surely plummet, and a major disturbance will definitely occur!

Boom—rumble!

Again, a series of thunderous, dull booms rang out.

Above the Profound Yang Sect, thunderclouds gathered thicker and thicker; seeing this, many disciples and elders showed hesitant expressions, because……no one was actually undergoing tribulation here at all.

It's been a long time since then—why haven't the thunderclouds dispersed yet?

Little did they know, each increase and thickening of the thunderclouds meant that Niepan Jie Ling's mood grew heavier and more vexed.

For at this moment, he firmly discovered that Qin Yu truly lacked the so‑called Mandate aura.

Not a trace of it could be found.

In an instant, the anger in Niepan Jie Ling's heart had risen to its peak.

At that moment, Qin Yu and Niepan Jie Ling stood at 899 meters on the Lei Fa Gu Lu; they needed only to step forward one more pace to reach the final gate.

Niepan Jie Ling's face darkened as if water could drip from it; he secretly thought: this time, he had truly been played for a fool.

Qin Yu had repeatedly fallen into deadly predicaments, yet never received any aid from the Mandate aura.

There must be some hidden secret behind this.

Just as he was immersed in contemplation, pondering how to test it,

a prompt suddenly sounded in Qin Yu's mind.

"Use the Heavenly Dao Blessing."

【You are about to complete the challenge; given the extreme difficulty, the Heavenly Dao Blessing will descend.】

Immediately afterward, Qin Yu hesitated not, stepped forward, and directly entered the ninth outer barrier.

Niepan Jie Ling, standing behind him, did not choose to follow; he secretly reckoned that he must see clearly—next……whether this child truly is the Child of Mandate.

If so, even if he fails the trial, Qin Yu can still escape safely.

By then, I can apologize and make amends to him, and it will not be too late.

If not……then I can only let him die and vanish.

As Niepan Jie Ling pondered, countless surging, violent mental pressures and terrifying, blinding lightning bolts, like raindrops, wildly bombarded Qin Yu's body.

At that very moment, a faint seven‑colored light slowly emerged; within it seemed to contain the rules of all heavenly paths and earthly beings, mysterious and profound.

The light gently blanketed Qin Yu's surroundings, like an indestructible shield.

At the same time, a faint light flickered above the firmament; the heavy mists in the Lei Fa Gu Lu gradually dissipated, and warm sunlight poured down, illuminating everything clearly.

In an instant, all the lightning and that suffocating mental pressure vanished into nothing.

The final hundred meters of the ancient path shimmered with a faint light, holy and solemn.

The aura emanating from it……Niepan Jie Ling knew it all too well; seeing this, his face changed abruptly.

"Damn it, I actually still doubted the Mandate aura."

"Holy shit, I've kicked up a huge mess."

Immediately, he said nothing more, stepped straight into the final gate, fully exerted his power, drew upon countless lightning laws, and bolstered them on Qin Yu to ensure he suffered not even the slightest harm.

Leize Zhiling, equally familiar with this aura, now wore a look of utter bewilderment, then burst out cursing.

"Holy shit, you can actually summon the Heavenly Dao Blessing?"

"Again, a forbidden spirit lends aid, and again your damn heavenly assistance—this kind of cheating, who the hell would still play with you?"