Chapter 7: Three Tribulations Arrive Together, Severely Injured

Although the situation he faced was grim, a trace of excitement appeared on Lingyun's face. It had been a long time since he had fought with all his might; only a challenge could stir the hot blood in his heart, and wasn't this Heavenly Tribulation the greatest challenge for him?

A Light Ball over a zhang wide rose from the River of Time and Space, emitting waves of terrifying fluctuations. Coupled with the reinforcement from the Sea of Origin and the River of Fate, its power was multiplied several times over. The Heavenly Tribulations Lingyun crossed in the River of Time and Space always consisted of only three waves, but the power of these three waves was absolutely more terrifying each time, and every time, it required Lingyun to give his all.

Looking at the Light Ball before him, the ease on Lingyun's face was gone, replaced by gravity. The power of this Light Ball had already reached the sum of all the Heavenly Tribulations he had experienced before. Lingyun dared not be negligent; he flipped his palms, and a mass of golden light slowly took shape in his hands.

The Haokong Cloud Breaking Collapse was a peerless move Lingyun had summarized from his many martial arts, and it was one of his trump card techniques. With his current strength, if he unleashed it with full force, it would be enough to shatter a medium-sized Continent into fragments. Ever since he created this move, Lingyun had never unleashed it with full force; he did not expect to be forced to use it right at the start of this Heavenly Tribulation.

"Zzz—" The Heavenly Tribulation's Light Ball turned into a streak of light and rushed straight at Lingyun. Lingyun let out a long whistle, and the light ball between his hands flared brilliantly, meeting the Heavenly Tribulation's Light Ball. With a muffled "Boom—", the River of Time and Space rippled, and a massive energy storm spread in all directions. Within this energy storm, a figure flew backward for hundreds of zhang, sliding another dozens of zhang across the River of Time and Space before stabilizing their body.

Lingyun, having stabilized his body, stomped his right foot against the space, and the light ball between his hands, which had shrunk slightly, flared with light once more, slamming into the Heavenly Tribulation's Light Ball that had arrived through the air. Violent explosions rang out incessantly; Lingyun and the Heavenly Tribulation's Light Ball clashed head-on thousands of times on the River of Time and Space, finally shattering the Heavenly Tribulation's Light Ball into pieces.

Lingyun, suspended in mid-air, had blood spilling from the corners of his mouth, and the clothes on his hands turned into specks of light and scattered away. This outfit of Lingyun's was condensed from his own pure power and possessed powerful defensive capabilities; he did not expect it to be partially destroyed directly in this Heavenly Tribulation.

"Just the First Layer of the Heavenly Tribulation has already injured me; it seems this Heavenly Tribulation is truly not to be underestimated!" Lingyun looked at the energy storm formed by his clash with the tribulation as it gradually dissipated, a trace of gravity flashing in his eyes. He flipped his right hand, and a golden Long sword appeared in his hand.

This Long sword was the only weapon that had accompanied him from the very beginning until now. Having experienced the tempering of countless time and heavenly treasures, it already possessed its own spirituality. Holding this Long sword in his hand, Lingyun's strength increased by at least double. But Lingyun dared not have the slightest carelessness; before him, the next layer of the Heavenly Tribulation had already formed, and its power was at least four times that of the previous one!

The Light Ball rising from the River of Time and Space was surrounded by lightning, causing the surrounding space to show traces of distortion.

"Lightning, is it? One of the most destructive forces between heaven and earth." Lingyun whispered, the light on the Long sword began to flicker, and massive power began to condense. This sword strike was the supreme sword strike that condensed Lingyun's will.

With a "Zzz—" sound, the Heavenly Tribulation, which had completely turned into a lightning ball, dragged a gorgeous trajectory and rushed straight toward Lingyun. Wherever it passed, even time and space showed irregular distortions.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!" Lingyun gave a low shout, pointing the Long sword in his hand at the lightning ball. Sword shadows separated from the Long sword one by one, each emitting a different profound aura. Countless sword shadows turned into a torrent and rushed straight toward the lightning ball.

"Boom, boom, boom," the sword torrent bombarded the lightning ball, emitting violent roars. The power of the lightning ball was extremely fierce; each sword shadow separated from the Long sword possessed powerful strength, but as soon as they came into contact with the lightning ball, they were smashed to pieces. Domineering, savage, and unreasonable—this was the most direct impression the lightning ball gave Lingyun.

The entire torrent of ten thousand swords bombarded the lightning ball, turning into fragments filling the sky. Looking at the lightning ball, it had only shrunk slightly and was still rushing straight toward Lingyun. The Long sword in Lingyun's hand was held high, and the sword shadow fragments scattered in space gathered rapidly above his head, reforming into a huge sword shadow.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to One, slash!" The Long sword in Lingyun's hand slashed down violently, and the giant sword followed, clashing heavily with the lightning ball and emitting a violent roar. "Crack!", countless cracks appeared on the lightning ball, and then it exploded.

Having defeated the Second Layer of the Heavenly Tribulation, there was no joy on Lingyun's face; instead, he became even more grave. Three tribulations superimposed, yet the second layer was only four times the third; this was absolutely not a normal thing. The only possibility was that all the power was concentrated on the Third Layer of the Heavenly Tribulation.

With a "Hum—", golden and silver light spread from Lingyun's body. His hair slowly turned from black to gold, and the ribbon binding his hair snapped. Three thousand strands of hair danced, each strand containing terrifying power. Wisps of silver light spread from his pupils, dyeing his eyes silver. The golden and silver light intertwined on his body, turning into a powerful battle armor, and even the Long sword in his hand was covered by the terrifying golden and silver light.

This state was Lingyun's ultimate state. Now, once Lingyun used this state, he was making a final stand, because the consumption of this state was truly too great. In this state, the time Lingyun had available to fight was extremely short.

A chaos-colored Light Ball rose from the River of Time and Space; this was the last of the three layers of the Heavenly Tribulation. This Light Ball was only a foot in size, but the light emitted from it made Lingyun feel a sense of palpitation.

"A final strike betting everything, then? I can only use this move!" Understanding that this battle was different from the past, Lingyun used his strongest killing move without hesitation; one move to decide the outcome! "Heart Sword!"

Countless streaks of light radiated from Lingyun's body, condensing into silver or golden crystals beside him. Lingyun's body gradually faded, and the two-colored crystals began to combine continuously. When Lingyun disappeared, the two-colored crystals condensed into a golden and silver-colored Long sword.

The collision between the chaos-colored Light Ball and the golden-silver Long sword happened only once. There was no sound, only the constant shattering of each other and the constant breaking of space. When both completely crumbled and disappeared, the River of Time and Space suddenly calmed down, as if nothing had happened, with only specks of golden and silver light scattering in the River of Time and Space. Most of the golden and silver light seemed to be attracted by something and quickly disappeared into the River of Time and Space.

After a long time, the remaining golden and silver light spots scattered in the River of Time and Space began to gather, finally forming a figure; it was Lingyun. However, Lingyun's current condition really did not look good; his face was pale, his aura was weak, and there was a possibility of collapsing again at any time.

"This time it's a real loss. Although I survived the Heavenly Tribulation, I don't know when the injuries on my body will recover. Moreover, almost everything on me is gone; that strike actually shattered my Small World! It's a pity for all that wealth I accumulated over who knows how long!" Lingyun sighed helplessly, "But fortunately, there was a harvest after all. I finally found it; the Space-Time Coordinate from when I left Earth. It's about time to go back!"