Chapter 871: The Tribulation of Body Integration

"Auntie… how many times have you come now?"

"I've told you, we truly don't know!"

"You must believe—someone of this size, we couldn't possibly hide them, and even if we did, it'd be useless!"

At the entrance of Shanquan Trading House, the white-haired shopkeeper stared at Luo Bingyao in her red Dao robe, his expression bitter.

Luo Bingyao's face was flushed with rage: "My master vanished after coming to your trading house, and since then, not a single trace!"

"Still claim it has nothing to do with you?"

"Today, I demand you hand over the person—or I'll tear your trading house apart!"

"Feng Wu, prepare to set fire!"

Beside her, Feng Wu roared as his true form erupted into view.

It was a colossal true-blooded phoenix, over a thousand zhang in length.

The phoenix hovered in the void, each breath spewing torrents of flame.

Countless people scrambled to flee, screams echoing everywhere.

The chief of Shanquan Trading House, the Peach Immortal of Nascent Soul sixth layer, had no choice but to step outside.

She lifted her icy gaze to the true-blooded phoenix above and said: "Huh… a true-blooded phoenix? Go ahead—burn me."

"Dare you light a fire? Today, neither of you will leave alive!"

"Is that so?" Luo Bingyao said. "Feng Wu, burn it."

Feng Wu was He Pingsheng's servant; now that He Pingsheng was gone, Luo Bingyao's orders were binding.

Besides, He Pingsheng had vanished for forty-four years—he was just as frantic.

So upon receiving Luo Bingyao's command, the phoenix immediately spat a torrent of Nirvana Flame over the trading house.

The massive fire instantly burned away an entire level of the building.

Those around screamed again.

"Damn it…" The Peach Daoist never imagined anyone would dare burn their trading house.

"You're audacious! This is the Imperial City's trading house—you're utterly reckless!"

"Boom…" As she spoke, the Peach Daoist waved her hand, summoning a mass of vapor to block the phoenix's flames, then revealed her true form and clashed with Feng Wu, the Nascent Soul second-layer phoenix in the void.

The moment they clashed, boundless energy and Dao laws exploded across the area.

Energy rippled outward, reducing countless buildings to dust.

"Reckless…" At that moment, from within the Divine Thunder Imperial Palace, a commanding voice rang out. A middle-aged man stepped forward, slapped his hand, and extinguished the flames.

He stood in the void, face dark as iron.

All living souls below prostrated themselves, kowtowing to the man: "We pay homage to Your Majesty, Divine Thunder Demon Emperor!"

"We pay homage to Divine Thunder Emperor!"

Whoosh—

Everyone knelt.

Even the Peach Daoist was no exception.

This man was naturally the lord of the Divine Thunder Demon Domain: Divine Thunder Demon Emperor.

Looking at Luo Bingyao and Feng Wu, Divine Thunder Demon Emperor did not strike immediately, but asked: "True-blooded phoenixes normally exist only on the Heavenly Fire Continent—how did you come to my lands?"

Luo Bingyao said nothing.

Feng Wu replied: "I followed my master here—your Shanquan Trading House imprisoned him!"

"Your master?" Divine Thunder Demon Emperor asked. "Who is your master?"

"And why would your master be imprisoned by Shanquan Trading House?"

As he spoke, Divine Thunder Demon Emperor turned to the Peach Immortal: "What's going on?"

The Peach Immortal hurriedly said: "It's untrue! Your Majesty, we have never imprisoned his master, Tai Xu Zi. This man is lying and has burned down our trading house!"

Before the Peach Immortal finished speaking, the sky suddenly darkened.

Divine Thunder Demon Emperor whirled around, staring toward the direction of the palace he had just flown from.

Above the palace, an ominous black cloud had appeared, covering half the imperial complex.

"This…" Divine Thunder Demon Emperor's brow furrowed, his pupils contracting.

Impossible!

A Mahayana Emperor cultivator can command the laws of heaven and earth with a single thought.

I didn't summon wind or rain—how could wind and rain dare appear above my Divine Palace?

As the Demon Emperor puzzled, infinite thunderous energy began to coalesce within the black cloud.

The Divine Thunder Demon Emperor, intimately familiar with thunder, suddenly roared: "No! Damn it—who is undergoing Tribulation Crossing inside my Divine Thunder Palace?!"

This was the Imperial Palace!

One strike of heavenly tribulation—would my palace even survive?

Before the Demon Emperor could return to the palace, the first wave of nine heavenly lightning bolts descended.

Boom—boom—boom—

In an instant, half the palace's structures were obliterated.

Whoosh—

A streak of lightning flashed, and another Mahayana Emperor emerged, landing in the void.

It was Tian Yuan Demon Emperor, one of the culprits who had imprisoned He Pingsheng.

"Younger brother!" Divine Thunder Demon Emperor stared at Tian Yuan. "What's going on? That's your palace—why is someone undergoing Tribulation Crossing there?"

Tian Yuan's face was black: "I don't know!"

He knew perfectly well—it was the very place where He Pingsheng was imprisoned.

At this moment, Tian Yuan felt like vomiting blood: How the hell did you achieve Dao Union without a body split?

Without Dao Union, how could you even enter the Nascent Soul realm?

Boom—boom—boom—

The second wave of tribulation descended!

Then the third, the fourth…

Soon, the palace lay in ruins.

He Pingsheng's figure now stood revealed before all.

Above the palace ruins, inside a spherical prison, He Pingsheng sat cross-legged.

"Master…" Seeing He Pingsheng, Luo Bingyao screamed: "Master…"

"You said you didn't imprison my master?"

"How is my master inside your imperial palace?"

This question silenced everyone.

The Peach Daoist lowered her head, speechless; Tian Yuan's face was pitch black.

As for Divine Thunder Demon Emperor, he was utterly bewildered.

He had no idea what had happened.

Countless cultivators in the imperial city stared at He Pingsheng.

"Isn't that Tai Xu Zi?"

"Our city's top alchemist!"

"Yes… I wondered why his shop stopped selling pills lately—turns out he was imprisoned by the Demon Emperor!"

"What crime did he commit?"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Luo Bingyao trembled violently, tears streaming down her face as she nearly sobbed: "Master… what happened to you?"

He Pingsheng, still undergoing tribulation, spoke calmly: "What happened?"

"Someone imprisoned me to make pills—I've been their pill slave for forty-four years!"

His words sent shockwaves through the entire city.

Countless people in the imperial city were stunned.

"What the—"

"No way!"

"This—this—this—"

"Just because you're good at alchemy, you get kidnapped as a pill slave?"

"Heaven… that spherical prison is an imperial artifact!"

"Was it a Mahayana Emperor who imprisoned him?"

The crowd's murmurs were like knives stabbing the two Mahayana Emperors.

Divine Thunder Demon Emperor's face turned as dark as a soot-covered pot.

They wanted to stop He Pingsheng—but how could they interfere while he was undergoing tribulation?

"My precious disciple, don't cry!" He Pingsheng said calmly. "These forty-four years, I didn't neglect my cultivation. Helping them make pills? Look—I broke through anyway."

"Watch me—after I survive this heavenly tribulation, how I'll slay Mahayana Emperors."