Chapter 431: Heavenly Tribulation—what if we break it!

Master, something feels off.

Under the thunderclouds, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast, the Cold Chant Flood Dragon, and the other demon beasts could more or less feel the pressure emanating from the heavenly tribulation.

But besides the pressure, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast sensed a slight difference amidst the endless yellow sand, so it immediately ran to Yunhe's side to warn him.

No problem.

Yunhe's expression remained completely composed, still holding his hands behind his back as he gazed at the five-colored phoenix in the sky.

But Master.

Seeing him like that, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast feared he didn't grasp the importance of the matter, so it opened its mouth to say more.

Yet Yunhe gave a faint smile, cutting it off: 'Gold Armor.'

'Here, Master.' the Gold-toothed Armored Beast hastily replied.

Hahaha——

As for the Wind-swallowing Beast, there's no need to say more—its seemingly sturdy, compact frame suddenly swelled, and immediately a powerful gust of wind surged forth.

The Gold-toothed Armored Beast slowly reacted, its eyes widening as it blurted out in astonishment:

Although the newly awakened spirit treasure has already formed a certain bond with its master, its nascent intelligence makes it easy to 'pacify,' so it is absolutely easier to handle than some fully formed spirit treasures.

I never expected it to have such an 'awakening' at a critical moment.

Even if the Azure Wood Flood Dragon Qingqing doesn't come along, given the Wind-swallowing Beast's partial memories, I believe it will be easier to locate the Azure Wood Flood Dragon Qingqing.

Whoosh——

During that time, he even found a moment to glance at the dark thunderclouds above.

Immediately after, with two soft 'swish' sounds, a green and a red figure appeared not far away.

Given the longevity of the demon race, the number of human Nascent Soul cultivators they have slain is not small, and they have even fortuitously obtained spirit treasures before.

Before the person arrived, the voice came first—the Wind-swallowing Beast's sound traveled far on a peculiar current.

Moreover.

Could it not be because this place is relatively safe?

With it controlling the yellow sand here, it can monitor most affairs in the sand region at any time, and with the Fan Clan's Mountain-Guardian Array in place, this is absolutely a relatively safe spot; had it not met Yunhe, it would have peacefully spent nearly a hundred years here.

These are precisely the Wind-swallowing Beast and the Flame-stepping Crimson Jackal, two great demons that have taken human form!

The Flame-stepping Crimson Jackal glanced at the five-colored phoenix, a flash of light in its eyes: 'An innate spirit treasure? What a fine prize! Hey, the artifact spirit that has just gained intelligence saves us all sorts of trouble.'

Yunhe glanced sideways at his own 'cowardly' spirit pet with some surprise.

'Two fellow Daoists, it seems you've taken a liking to this set of my magical treasures?' Yunhe asked, hands behind his back, with interest.

Oh?

Wait!

Of course, these are matters for later.

Hearing that, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast stared blankly.

However, the artifact spirits of those spirit treasures are mostly sane; facing these greater demons in human form, they simply ignore them, let alone be controlled.

Therefore he chose to seclude himself here, waiting for the Wind-swallowing Beast to come to him of its own accord.

Only they, the Wind-swallowing Beast, and the Flame-stepping Crimson Jackal—these two mid-Fourth Level demon beasts—know of this place.

Having understood Yunhe's intention, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast swallowed nervously: a mere early-Nascent Soul cultivator actually set his sights on a mid-Fourth Level demon beast?

No, make that two!

In the distance, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast could already see two black dots appearing in the yellow sand.

'You think I returned here to cultivate for no reason?' Yunhe asked.

After a moment's consideration, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast gritted its teeth and said: 'Master, I ought to intercept one of them!'

Moreover, this early-Nascent Soul cultivator's natal magic treasure is still preparing to withstand the heavenly tribulation.

For a moment, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast didn't know whether to praise its master's daring boldness or worry whether its master could escape unscathed.

'So it's a spirit treasure—no wonder you're so excited, Old Devil Yun.'

But it never spoke those words, for it knew Yunhe naturally already knew them.

'Not bad.'

'Master, you're waiting here for them to come?'

Seeing this, Yunhe burst into laughter; his spiritual power surged instantly, and the erupting aura made the Gold-toothed Armored Beast's breath catch.

'But Master, I can't hold out for long either.' the Gold-toothed Armored Beast said with a woebegone face.

Yunhe indeed has part of his purpose here for the Wind-swallowing Beast.

'No need to waste words with him; he wants to buy time, waiting for his set of spirit treasures to undergo the heavenly tribulation's baptism, which will make them harder to deal with!' the Flame-stepping Crimson Jackal snarled, and a scorching surge of magical power burst outward from it.

The artifact spirit of this set of flying swords has only just gained intelligence, yet it already attracted a heavenly tribulation—testament to its extraordinariness.

Little did they know, Yunhe actually had his eye on it as well—or, more precisely, he was eyeing the Azure Wood Flood Dragon Qingqing.

Moreover, the Wind-swallowing Beast had already set its sights on him back when the exchange meeting ended over a decade ago.

Yunhe gave a light chuckle.

Yunhe thought to himself.

Back then, the Gold-toothed Armored Beast said the Flame-stepping Crimson Jackal had silently infiltrated the Fan Clan's grounds and found it; if the Jackal could do that then, why couldn't it do so now, with the formation largely unchanged?

In an instant.

A fierce wind rose, howling.

'Fire borrowing the wind's momentum?'

Yunhe narrowed his eyes, showing no panic; he raised his palm, and instantly a sharp sword-qi condensed before him.

At the same time, he let out a low hum.

"Formation?"

Only saw.

A barrier formed from the power of the Five Elements appeared out of thin air, solidly blocking the probing strike of the Wind-Devouring Beast and the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal.

Quite obvious.

Yunhe actually dared to wait here for the Wind-Devouring Beast to arrive; naturally, he had made preparations.

However, the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal, worthy of being a demon beast capable of silently infiltrating the Fan Family's Mountain-Protecting Formation, actually had some precautions against the formation; before Yunhe's Five Elements Mutual Generation Formation was fully formed, it actually darted out first.

Only the Wind-Devouring Beast had no such reaction; it was trapped by the formation.

At the same time.

"Roar!!"

The Gold-Biting Armored Beast let out an angry roar, then charged into the formation, lunging to bite the Wind-Devouring Beast.

"Initially I spared your life because you are also a demon beast; I never expected you to now be driven by humans again—you really should be killed." Seeing the Gold-Biting Armored Beast charging at it, the Wind-Devouring Beast angrily cursed.

But the Gold-Biting Armored Beast is naturally skilled at defense, and with the aid of the Five Elements Mutual Generation Formation, it found it difficult to pull back in a short time.

And the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal that had run out of the Five Elements Mutual Generation Formation narrowed its eyes at Yunhe, saying, "Your formation attainments are indeed impressive. But your spirit treasure is preparing to withstand the heavenly tribulation—this is your greatest weakness at present."

As its words fell, the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal let out a long howl; the demonic energy-red light around it flashed wildly, and it suddenly unleashed a fire-attribute divine ability.

Roar roar!!

Red jackals appeared one after another, seemingly forming a huge surge that rolled up the sky‑covering yellow sand.

The terrifying fire and sand merged, seemingly forming a meteoric fire rain of astonishing destructive power, sweeping horizontally toward Yunhe.

The fire and sand made the momentum even more extravagant.

Faced with such an offensive, especially the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal's suppression of him in Cultivation Base realm, Yunhe could not help but take it seriously.

He raised his hand, and a small shield instantly appeared before him, accompanied by a misty hue; the small shield quickly transformed into a "wall" that completely blocked what lay before Yunhe.

At the same time, as the five-colored light on Yunhe's body flashed and cycled, finally settling on a dark black hue, the shield also emitted a "hualah" sound of flowing water.

Water overcomes fire, as per the Five Elements!

Sizzle—

As soon as the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal's scorching fire wave touched the shield, it immediately gave rise to a thick smoke and a fine "puff-puff" sound.

However, that was all; the shield remained utterly unmoved.

"Heavenly Demon Armor!"

Seeing the shield Yunhe had produced, the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal actually recognized it.

This, however, surprised Yunhe somewhat.

He had not spent a short time refining this armor; he had already finished it since the Jie Dan Stage, and this was the first time its origin was recognized.

However, the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal was even more surprised than Yunhe.

It too had only learned the names of the seven great treasures of the demon race by a chance occurrence, and also learned that one of them was called the "Heavenly Demon Armor".

The "Heavenly Demon Armor" Yunhe had produced was obviously an imitation, but even as an imitation, it was still an imitation of one of the demon race's seven great treasures!

Moreover, imitations are not something it would refine.

What surprised it even more was that the quality of this "Heavenly Demon Armor" had actually reached the Fourth Level upper‑grade tier!

If one were to say, Yunhe's previous set of personal magic treasures, the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword, had already made the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal covetous, then now producing this "Heavenly Demon Armor" truly made it green‑with‑envy, its greed impossible to restrain.

"Demon race treasures—how could they be used by a puny human cultivator like you?!"

The Flame-Stepping Red Jackal opened its mouth, and instantly spat out a vermilion‑red pearl.

Boom!!

In that instant.

The flames surged suddenly!

Each cluster of flames seemed to turn into an incredibly lively jackal, countless in number, like moths flying into the fire, hurling themselves at Yunhe.

Yunhe's expression suddenly changed.

He felt the pressure emanating from the "Heavenly Demon Armor".

Indeed, his "Heavenly Demon Armor" is a Fourth Level upper‑grade magic treasure.

But after all, he is only at the early Nascent Soul stage and cannot fully display this treasure's power.

However, the pearl spat out by the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal is different.

Although it is also a Fourth Level middle‑grade magic treasure, it is an extreme example of that grade, and more importantly it is extremely well suited to the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal; combined with the beast's abilities, it can exert power comparable to a Fourth Level upper‑grade treasure.

"Even if you have this 'Heavenly Demon Armor,' it can only protect you for a moment, not for a lifetime!"

"Moreover, you can barely defend yourself and have no means to counterattack—how can you oppose me!"

"Calling you 'Old Devil Yunhe'—do you really think everyone fears you? Pah!"

Seeing Yunhe, who wielded the "Heavenly Demon Armor," being gradually forced back, the Flame-Stepping Red Jackal shouted with a ferocious expression.

"Come die!"

Bang!!

The demonic energy around his body surged again.

Aoo——!!

The terrifying demonic energy behind it seemed to condense into a crimson‑red jackal stepping on flames, wearing a scarlet hide, raising its head to let out a long howl, fierce and menacing, overwhelming the heart.

For a moment, the pressure Yunhe bore increased again.

Looking at its posture, it seemed intent on, even if unable to directly shatter the "Heavenly Demon Armor," refining Yunhe with flames and high temperature.

"Hah."

Yunhe let out a light sigh.

While maintaining the "Yao-raising Armor" with magical power, he lifted his head and glanced at the five-colored phoenix bird soaring in midair.

"You human cultivators, without a natal magic treasure, are like tigers without fangs, and we jackals are best at dealing with 'tigers'."

The Flaming Scarlet Jackal continued to shout arrogantly, as if trying to completely overwhelm Yunhe in aura.

But Yunhe remained unmoved.

He had simply forgotten that five-colored phoenix bird.

He gave a light chuckle.

"Huh?"

The Flaming Scarlet Jackal narrowed its eyes.

How can you still laugh at a time like this?

"Indeed."

Yunhe suddenly said slowly, "A cultivator without a natal magic treasure will undoubtedly have their strength greatly diminished."

He paused, and the smile on his face grew even wider.

"But who says I don't have a natal magic treasure?"

"Your magic treasure is not."

The Flaming Scarlet Jackal's heart gave an inexplicable jolt, but before it could finish speaking, it was cut off by Yunhe's low shout.

"Go!"

Immediately thereafter, he pointed with his hand, shooting out a stream of magical power that poured into the five-colored phoenix bird's body.

Cry!!

As his magical power flowed in, the five-colored phoenix bird let out a long cry, fiercely flapped its wings, and swept up five-colored rosy light.

It then flew straight toward the thunderclouds in the sky.

What is he doing? The tribulation clouds are about to descend!

Seeing this, the Flaming Scarlet Jackal's heart was filled with doubt.

But for some reason, its feeling of unease grew stronger.

As the five-colored phoenix bird approached the thunderclouds, golden arcs of electricity leapt across its body, resonating with the thunder fluid within the clouds.

Cry!!

The five-colored phoenix bird cried out again, its surrounding lightning surged, accompanied by intertwining five-element magical power, like the tip of a sharp sword, it thrust straight toward the thunderclouds.

"Is he going to counterattack the tribulation clouds?"

The Flaming Scarlet Jackal was utterly astonished in its heart.

"Break!!"

At this moment, Yunhe's expression was solemn, a sense of sharpness emanated from his body, and the five-colored phoenix bird's body manifested an even stronger "five-element sharp sword qi."

Directly pressing toward the thunderclouds!

When his cultivator body reached Nascent Soul, he had survived nine layers of heavenly tribulation; when his demon beast body underwent the tribulation of metamorphosis, he had even swallowed more than half of the heavenly thunder. Facing tribulation, he truly lacked the reverence that other cultivators or demon beasts hold.

Moreover, the tribulation of the Five-Element Heavenly Thunder Sword is incomparably lesser than what he has endured.

Tribulation, what does breaking it matter!

Cry—

The five-colored phoenix bird's actions seemed to provoke the thunderclouds and tribulation; terrifying golden thunderbolts crashed down, striking directly upon the bird.

Yet that heavenly thunder merely added a magnificent aura to this newly sentient five-colored phoenix bird.

Its momentum remained unchanged, pressing forward as before!

Where the sword intent reaches, everything is cut down!

Boom!!!

A tremendous roar exploded.

Even the heavens seemed to be split in two beneath this sword.

The dark thunderclouds were directly split down the middle!

The thunderclouds dispersed.

The tribulation vanished!

After the sun-obscuring black clouds dispersed, a brilliant radiance pierced the layers of cloud and shone straight down onto the five-colored phoenix bird.

At this moment, the five-colored phoenix bird seemed like a true spirit descending.

Spreading its wings across the nine heavens, crying out in the celestial heights!

The Flaming Scarlet Jackal, having witnessed the entire process, widened its eyes.

"Broken, broken?"

Tribulation, the Flaming Scarlet Jackal is no stranger to it; when it broke through to the Fourth Level, it endured the metamorphosis tribulation, and when it broke through to the mid-Fourth Level, it experienced another tribulation.

Yet each time it nearly cost it its life.

The demon race's reverence for tribulation stems from this.

Yet it truly is the first time it has seen such a way to break tribulation.

Even if this is a relatively weaker tribulation.

Let alone seeing it; it had never even heard of such a thing before.

It previously didn't even dare to get too close to that five-colored phoenix bird, fearing it would attract the tribulation's "attention."

But now.

Is this crossing the tribulation, or giving the tribulation a crossing?

What it witnessed gave its cognition a tremendous shock!

(End of Chapter)