Chapter 198: Falling into the Trap Again

This innate treasure birthed by Heaven and Earth has at last crossed the final threshold and ascended to become an Ultimate Dao Imperial Soldier.

Even more astonishing, as Zhou Yi's cultivation advances, this destined divine artifact still has the possibility of transforming into a celestial weapon.

The Minghe Sect Leader was so shocked he could not speak, watching Zhou Yi break through his realm amid the world‑shattering Thunder Light.

When that aura that burst through the clouds detonated, even the ancient demon lord who had lived for billions of years felt his heart race; this pressure was clearly the kind only a top Honghuang powerhouse possesses.

It should be noted that previously Zhou Yi, though ranked as a quasi‑Saint, had combat power comparable to the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

But now the Chaos aura flowing through his whole body even made the Lord of the Sea of Blood feel a chill down his spine. The Minghe Sect Leader's hand that was sealing the technique trembled: "This guy can't have cut three corpses, can he? Cutting corpses doesn't even trigger a heavenly tribulation!"

He had originally planned to wait for the opponent to be gravely injured during tribulation and then loot, but now seeing Zhou Yi's entire body sparkling and hair unscathed, the Minghe Sect Leader almost crushed the Sea of Blood Jade Ruyi.

Just as he was irritated, he suddenly sensed something odd. The thunder clouds above not only failed to disperse but coalesced into the six great Saint projections, and the illusory forms of three supreme treasures—the Heaven‑Opening Axe, the Chaos Bell, and the Taiji Diagram—hovered in the sky.

"It's done!" the Minghe Sect Leader exclaimed, his blood‑stained robe rippling with excitement, and he stealthily withdrew a thousand li away to watch the battle.

Although those Saint projections possessed only one‑thousandth of the original's power, with the three innate supreme treasures unleashed together, even the Dao Ancestor himself would have to shed a layer of skin.

In the eye of the storm, Zhou Yi grinned. He flicked his wrist, his knuckles emitting a crackling thunder sound: "Perfect, I'll test you with this."

Before his words finished, the entire firmament twisted into a vortex, the purest fist intent blasting straight through space, exploding a black hole beyond the thirty‑three layers of heaven—

The watching Minghe Sect Leader hurriedly summoned a Twelve‑grade Fiery Red Lotus, watching helplessly as the Sea of Blood a thousand li away was evaporated by the aftershock, losing thirty percent.

This void‑shattering power clearly brushed against the Mixed‑Origin threshold; now the Honghuang lands will likely be unable to withstand this newly risen powerhouse's three punches and two kicks.

Honghuang Heaven and Earth had already become riddled with wounds from successive cataclysmic wars, and this witch‑demon final battle even sliced Mount Buzhou at its waist, shattering the entire continent into fragments.

Perhaps for this reason the Heavenly Dao seeks to suppress the cultivation of all living beings, fearing that a few more ruthless figures capable of shattering Heaven and Earth might appear.

At this moment Zhou Yi has formally entered the Great Emperor realm; with his Great Completion Saint Body cultivation, he now stands among the top echelon of quasi‑Saints.

He raised his arm and threw a punch, the three great innate treasures were blasted backward, and even the six Saint projections were forced back half a step.

Zhou Yi gave his opponent no breathing room, swinging punches with violent blows like a sudden storm. The entire Thunder Sea rippled like torn silk, and the void continuously erupted with spider‑web cracks.

The Minghe Sect Leader, watching from afar, felt his heart race with fear yet secretly rejoiced; although Zhou Yi held the advantage, each clash with the supreme treasures caused him to bleed, and his Saint Body was already riddled with cracks.

It is unknown how long this brutal melee lasted, until the tribulation clouds dispersed, leaving only a blood‑soaked figure in the Nine Heavens.

Zhou Yi knelt on one knee atop the clouds; each cough released a golden‑red blood mist, the cracks on his Saint Body ran deep enough to expose bone, and even the so‑called Immortal "Zi" Secret could not mend them.

He staggered down from the Nine Heavens, found a secluded mountain cave at random, and collapsed to sit inside.

Blood pits quickly accumulated on the ground, each drop exuding a suffocating pressure.

Just as he closed his eyes to regulate his breath, the space rippled, and the Minghe Sect Leader arrived, dual swords cutting through the air.

"Who would have thought the Human Race's co‑ruler could also suffer a tiger's fall on the plain?" the Minghe sneered, raising his blood‑red longsword, "Today I'll settle the final account with you!"

Zhou Yi slowly opened his eyes, his face showing no hint of emotion: "If you're going to act, do it quickly; stop wasting words." Before the words finished, the cave's temperature dropped sharply, murderous aura solidifying into tangible frost that spread across the stone walls.

As the founding patriarch of the Path of Slaughter, the Minghe Sect Leader should have delivered a silent, lethal strike to Zhou Yi, yet now he brazenly revealed himself for a stand‑off.

This abnormal move exposed his inner wavering; although he was convinced the opponent had been severely wounded during tribulation, he could not gauge how much combat power the veteran opponent still retained.

Recalling the numerous duels with Zhou Yi over the years, he realized he was always the one who suffered losses.

The Minghe Sect Leader stared at the seated figure regulating his breath; beneath his scarlet robe his fingers unconsciously stroked the sword sheath at his waist, his Adam's apple bobbing twice before he spoke: "That world‑ending thunder tribulation would have been impossible for even the Great Luo Golden Immortal to escape unscathed!"

"You're right." Zhou Yi's mouth lifted in a faint, ambiguous smile, his knuckles tapping the still‑wet blood on his knee, "Then what are you waiting for?"

This airy reply made the Minghe's pupils contract sharply; the Abyss and Yuan Tu twin swords buzzed in his sleeves, yet remained sheathed.

"Empty bravado!" the Minghe shouted suddenly, two blood‑colored sword rays tearing through space.

When the sword tips were only three inches from Zhou Yi's celestial spirit, the opponent's left hand suddenly turned into a lingering afterimage, forcibly clamping onto the two infamous Killing‑Path supreme treasures.

The scarlet killing aura erupting from the blades instantly decayed the vegetation within a hundred zhang, yet it could not move the seemingly pallid palm.

"Pretending to be a deity!" the Minghe's neck veins bulged, silently urging his destined sword technique.

The twin swords emitted a shrill, ghost‑like buzz, finally breaking free of the restraint and flipping back.

Zhou Yi rose with the momentum, his body, once riddled with cracks, now glimmered with jade‑green light, looking brand new in the blink of an eye.

"You… you used the Immortal Pill!" the Minghe realized in shock, but saw Zhou Yi already having shattered the mountain rock beneath his feet, enveloped in lingering thunder power, charging forward to strike.

This hunting game was doomed from the start; a severely wounded tiger remains a tiger, and the wavering jackal is destined to pay a painful price again.

"I pretended to be gravely injured, and sure enough it lured out those scheming old foxes. Look, the Minghe fell right into the hook," Zhou Yi's mouth curled into a cold grin; since the opponent had walked into his trap, he would naturally present him a grand gift.

The Minghe Sect Leader scowled, staring intently at the Human before him, his back molars grinding as if to bite them off; at such a life‑or‑death tribulation moment, this fellow still managed to set a trap to harm others.

He counted the past duels on his fingers, from the Human Realm incident to the Western Sect's scheming of the Six Realms of Reincarnation, each time he ended up shortchanged by this kid.

After finally waiting for Zhou Yi's tribulation—a deadly world‑ending heavenly tribulation—he fell into a trap again.

Minghe's heart pounded: although the tribulation was over, how much combat power had this kid actually recovered?

Zhou Yi suddenly stepped half a pace forward, a wave of his aura exploding outward, crushing the Minghe's robe with a mountain‑like force that rattled loudly.

"Did you really cross that threshold?"

Minghe's pupils contracted sharply, the veins on the back of his hand gripping the Yuan Tu sword bulging.

Although he had long suspected, seeing the opponent display his strength in person still exceeded expectations.

Quasi‑Saint pinnacle! The elite ranks of Honghuang's top masters! This realm is so lofty that even the whole world could count it on its fingers; calling it the combat ceiling just below a Saint is no exaggeration.

Now the Saints have withdrawn from the world, and these old monsters can make Honghuang tremble three times just by stamping their feet.

"We are both at the quasi‑Saint pinnacle, yet you are no longer my opponent," Zhou Yi said in a tone as flat as commenting on pleasant weather, but it made the Minghe so angry his seven orifices smoked.