Chapter 553: A Small Group of Demon Cultivators

Chen Shuang'er kept sizing up Zhang Nuo with her beautiful eyes, and after a long while, she tentatively asked:

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, are you truly a human cultivator?"

Hearing this, Zhang Nuo was stunned, but then he burst into hearty laughter!

"Haha! Fairy Shuang'er, how can you not tell that I am a human cultivator?"

This counter-question made Chen Shuang'er feel somewhat embarrassed. Regardless, in order to protect her, Zhang Nuo had now formed a feud with the Human Emperor Realm; even with the White Tiger True Spirit Bloodline gifted by Chen Sihuai, it was not something an ordinary cultivator would dare to accept!

Seeing the suspicious look on her face, Zhang Nuo shook his head slightly and said:

"Fairy Shuang'er, rest assured. I am indeed a human cultivator. It is just that among the few divine abilities I cultivate, there are some that allow me to transform into the appearance of a Spirit Beast. As for the incarnation of the divine beast True Spirit Phoenix, it is because I truly possess a trace of the Phoenix Bloodline within my body!"

After these few brief sentences, Zhang Nuo stopped speaking. He sat down on the ground and began to regulate his breathing! The previous battle with Niu Xiukong, coupled with the days of rushing and fleeing, had long since drained the Spirit Power in his body!

He had to take advantage of the rest time to properly recuperate! During this period, Chen Shuang'er had been carried by Zhang Nuo while flying, so she had lost no Spiritual Qi at all, and she simply released her Divine Sense to stand guard for Zhang Nuo!

Several days later, the two of them took to the air once more, heading toward the Chen Family's secret cultivation site! The journey was relatively peaceful. After all, this was the territory of the Wuliang Dao Sect; even if the Human Emperor wanted to strike, he would have to wait for the right moment and find a secluded spot! Furthermore, he had already flown a great distance, and he believed that even if there were pursuers, they would likely be unable to reach them.

More than a year later, as Zhang Nuo and Chen Shuang'er were flying at high altitude, they suddenly felt a chaotic surge of Spirit Power below, and sounds of fighting could be heard faintly! Raising his eyebrows slightly, Zhang Nuo stopped and swept his powerful Divine Sense downward! Before long, his expression turned somewhat surprised!

He lowered his head to ponder for a moment, but his face became even more clouded with worry!

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, what happened?"

Chen Shuang'er stood by his side, but with her Divine Sense, she was unable to probe that far.

"There is a small group of demon cultivators below, fighting with some cultivators. It looks like those cultivators belong to the Wuliang Dao Sect!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuang'er's expression changed slightly, and after blinking her eyes a few times, she said:

"How is this possible! Even if the Demon Beast Tide has a wide reach, it shouldn't have been able to attack this far so quickly!"

"That is what I thought as well, but it appears to be just a small force of demon cultivators that has penetrated deep into the Immortal Domain, and there are no particularly powerful figures leading them. We don't need to get involved; we just need to focus on our journey! Oh, right! Fairy Shuang'er, how much longer is the journey to the Chen Family's secret cultivation site?"

Once Zhang Nuo figured this out, he was no longer so worried!

"It will take about two more years to arrive!"

After thinking it over, Chen Shuang'er replied.

"In that case, let us increase our speed and strive to arrive as soon as possible so that I may fulfill my promise!"

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Nuo felt that if he could safely deliver Chen Shuang'er to the destination, the heavy burden in his heart would finally be lifted!

"Hehe! It has truly been difficult for you on this journey, Fellow Daoist. But please rest assured, once we reach the Chen Family's secret cultivation site, I have another heavy reward for you! As for what it is, you will know in the future!"

Chen Shuang'er deliberately kept him in suspense without revealing the answer! Zhang Nuo glanced at the young woman, his face remaining completely calm. Just as the two were about to resume their flight, Zhang Nuo's expression suddenly changed drastically, and his whole body shivered as if struck by lightning!

Thinking he had seen something again, Chen Shuang'er hurriedly looked around, but the high sky was empty, with nothing but gusts of wind!

"Sigh! I didn't expect it to come at this time!"

Zhang Nuo let out a long sigh, his expression becoming solemn!

"What are you talking about, Fellow Daoist?"

A bewildered Chen Shuang'er asked in great surprise.

"It is the Heavenly Tribulation! Ever since I entered the Immortal World, I have never undergone a Heavenly Tribulation. I didn't expect it to arrive earlier than I anticipated!"

He said this while calculating the time in his heart.

"Earlier? Could it be because you triggered your True Spirit Bloodline?"

During the previous battle with Niu Xiukong, Zhang Nuo had triggered the White Tiger True Spirit Bloodline, raising his cultivation to the Integration Stage; it was likely that the early arrival of the Heavenly Tribulation had a great deal to do with this!

Zhang Nuo felt miserable inside; it was truly a case of "it never rains but it pours." At such a dangerous moment, he had actually been sought out by the Heavenly Tribulation!

"Fairy Shuang'er, we must find a secluded place as soon as possible. I need to make some preparations!"

Nodding slightly, Chen Shuang'er agreed. After all, the Heavenly Tribulation was no small matter for a cultivator. She had personally experienced a Heavenly Tribulation once before; if the Chen Family hadn't prepared everything for her back then, she would have found it very difficult to survive!

After flying forward for a few more days, they landed on a plain. It was an endless expanse of yellow earth, and the ground was covered in huge cracks due to the drought, some of which extended for a great distance!

"This place will do!"

Zhang Nuo said after sweeping his Divine Sense around. After they landed, Zhang Nuo turned his palm slightly, and a stack of Array Disks appeared in his hand!

"Fairy Shuang'er, please stand guard for me while I undergo the Heavenly Tribulation. I must not be disturbed by outsiders!"

"Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist! I have also undergone a Heavenly Tribulation once, so I naturally understand the importance of this!"

Giving Zhang Nuo a sweet smile, the young woman readily agreed! At the same time, her figure flashed, and she hid in the high sky far away!

Zhang Nuo frowned and looked up at the sky. It was still clear for now, but in a few hours, it would likely be a different scene! Although it was only a One-Nine Minor Heavenly Tribulation, his heart could not remain calm. After all, this was his first time encountering a Heavenly Tribulation; if he were not careful, his life would end here!

Heavenly Tribulations are divided into nine stages based on their rank, from One-Nine to Nine-Nine. Depending on one's cultivation, the Heavenly Tribulation released will be completely different!

Taking a deep breath, he realized that what is meant to be will be, and what is to be avoided cannot be escaped. Zhang Nuo had no choice but to bite the bullet! He reached out and cast several hand seals, activating the Array Disks in his hands. In an instant, Dharma Arrays of various colors bloomed with dazzling light all around his body.

Within a radius of a hundred miles, runes flowed endlessly across the ground! Zhang Nuo stood in the center of these overlapping Dharma Arrays, scanned the area, and sat cross-legged on the ground!

At the same time, with a wave of his sleeves, he summoned all his Magic Treasures, which began to circle around him! Seeing that everything was ready, he slowly closed his eyes and waited quietly for the arrival of the Heavenly Tribulation!

Thousands of miles away from where Zhang Nuo was preparing for his tribulation, dozens of demon cultivators were fleeing frantically through the mountains. The strongest among these demon cultivators had reached the Eight-Tier Peak, and the weakest were at the Sixth-Rank!

The demon cultivators all had varying degrees of injuries, looking as if they had just been through a major battle! After running through the dense forest for several hours, the leading half-transformed demon cultivator suddenly raised one hand high above his head, and the demon cultivators behind him immediately stopped!

"Lord Yezhao! What happened? Are there human cultivators ahead again?"

A sheep-headed demon cultivator closest to the leader hurried over to ask!

The half-transformed demon cultivator had an upper body that had already turned into human form, but his lower body remained in its beastly state.

"No! It should be safe here. Let everyone rest! We will continue after we have regained our strength!"

Upon hearing this, the sheep-headed demon cultivator immediately relaxed. He then turned his head and said something to the group of demon cultivators behind him, and all dozens of them sat down on the spot to regulate their breathing!

"Lord Yezhao, what is our next target?"

The half-transformed demon cultivator lowered his head to think for a moment, then said with a blank expression:

"The Palace Master originally ordered us to enter the interior of the Immortal Domain to create panic, but he did not give us a specific location! We can only go wherever we end up! However, we must absolutely not provoke those high-level cultivators; we should only deal with small human settlements!"

The sheep-headed demon cultivator nodded slightly. Although it had not fully undergone Transformation Stage, it had developed linguistic intelligence, and its thinking was much better than that of ordinary demon cultivators!

Yezhao was also quite exhausted at this moment; the days of fleeing had been too much even for this demon! This task of infiltrating human territory seemed lucrative on the surface, but in reality, it was an extremely dangerous job. It was fine if they didn't run into high-level human cultivators, but if they did, all of them together would be no match for the enemy! In the end, they would all meet their demise.

As for the Palace Master mentioned by Yezhao, she is naturally the master of Huan Shou Gong, Ai Yuchen! This woman's actions are nothing more than an attempt to incite panic within the Immortal Domain, and then use the opportunity to intensify attacks on the periphery of the Immortal Domain!

At the same time, there are hundreds of groups of demon cultivators who have infiltrated the Immortal Domain; not only the territory of Wuliang Dao Sect, but even the two major powers of the Human Emperor Realm and Jile Temple have not escaped!

The reason Zhang Nuo was able to escape to the territory of Wuliang Dao Sect so smoothly is inextricably linked to the demon cultivators infiltrating the Immortal Domain to cause disturbances!

The Human Emperor Realm is gathering manpower to deal with these infiltrating demon cultivators, while Fang Leihuo is single-mindedly convinced that Niu Xiukong can capture Zhang Nuo, but the result is a great disappointment to him!

After resting here for a period of time, the dozens of demon cultivators continued on their journey, charging toward the interior of the Immortal Domain; they dare not use escape light to fly and can only advance on land, but for the naturally formidable physiques of these demon cultivators, sprinting on land is not a difficult task!

On this day, the numerous demon cultivators finally rushed out of the great mountains, and before them lay an endless plain of yellow earth!