Chapter 538: Sword Come

Previously, when fighting Li Ming, the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl had already leveled up once.

Li Fei had originally expected it to level up again, but halfway through the fight, Ning Ning Qingman appeared, causing the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl to still be short of leveling up to level 48.

Now, after withstanding two Heavenly Tribulations and receiving one art-based targeting and one Dao rule attack from the Underworld Ancestor, the energy value required for the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl to level up was finally full.

Leveling up from 47 to 48!

The Ten Thousand Blood Pearl was replenished, and the number of blood souls increased by 94, becoming 6864.

Just now, because he had no memory and no control, the battle armor on Li Fei's body had been shattered.

He immediately redeployed 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, but did not consume blood souls to perform 【Sword Sacrifice】.

The Underworld Ancestor's Dao rule left him with lingering fears, worrying that another experience like the one just now would allow someone to break the Sword Realm in vain, wasting blood souls.

Seeing Li Fei deploy 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, the Underworld Ancestor hiding in the shadows was completely shocked.

Under the joint attack of the Heavenly Tribulation and himself, even a pinnacle powerhouse would likely be injured, yet Li Fei was actually unscathed?!

"Could it be the legendary Dao Body, born with Dao rules?"

Thinking of this, the Underworld Ancestor's heart immediately became hot.

A person who hadn't reached the pinnacle realm but possessed Dao rules was simply the most perfect 'material' for him!

Flesh, soul, and the Dao rule that might exist were all great tonics.

"Even if I can't get Ning Ning Qingman, getting this Marquis Jingan is also a great opportunity!"

The Underworld Ancestor had already made a decision in his heart.

If it were before, he certainly wouldn't dare to make a move against a high-ranking official of the imperial court.

Worried about being locked onto by Yun Shu and then hunted down by Wen Ren Zheng!

But now, the imperial court's deterrent power against him had dropped to the lowest point.

Yun Shu was gone, Wen Ren Zheng didn't dare to move lightly, and the Buddhist sect was watching from the sidelines.

Even if he killed Li Fei, would that new emperor disregard everything to avenge a Marquis who was already dead?

The Buddhist sect, the Daoist sect, and the imperial court—the weaker these forces were, and the more chaotic the world, the more unscrupulous the Underworld Ancestor, as an evil demon, became!

"Old Ghost, why aren't you coming to help!!"

Li Ming's angry roar interrupted the Underworld Ancestor's thoughts.

It was because in just a few breaths, this evil demon, whose strength had weakened after resurrection, had been forced into a precarious situation by Ning Ning Qingman!

If it weren't for the 【Flesh Myriad Transformation】 and 【Regeneration】 divine abilities, Li Ming would have already been seriously injured.

After weighing the pros and cons, the Underworld Ancestor decisively gave up on Li Fei and made a move to help Li Ming.

Letting Li Fei help him withstand the Heavenly Tribulation while also using the Heavenly Tribulation to weaken Li Fei was a win-win situation for the Underworld Ancestor.

The Underworld River whistled and swept toward Ning Ning Qingman; the piercing ghost wailing filled heaven and earth, and the cold baleful aura almost froze the space!

Ning Ning Qingman's sword momentum immediately stalled.

She possessed the 【Sword Resolution】 Dao rule and wouldn't be strongly controlled by the Underworld Ancestor's 【Wangchuan】, but she would inevitably be affected to a certain extent.

Seizing this opportunity, the dark blue river coiled around Ning Ning Qingman like a giant python, and the wailing of hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits exploded in her heart and mind!

These vengeful spirits carried the bone-chilling cold from the depths of the Yellow Springs, forming frost-like frost flowers on Ning Ning Qingman's protective sword Qi.

At the moment of being about to be swallowed by the Underworld River, a clear sword cry exploded from the depths of the Underworld—

The green sword light was like a dragon at dawn, piercing through the Underworld River!

Countless vengeful spirits were wiped out in an instant, and Ning Ning Qingman stepped on the recoiling sword Qi and soared into the sky, three thousand strands of green hair flying in the gale.

Under the tribulation clouds, Li Fei, seeing this scene, breathed a sigh of relief.

The best tactic now was for him to help Ning Ning Qingman withstand the Heavenly Tribulation, allowing Ning Ning Qingman to focus on dealing with Li Ming and the Underworld Ancestor.

On the way here, Ning Ning Qingman had told him that although Li Ming had resurrected, his strength had not fully recovered, only about 70% of what it was at Mount Mount Tiansha.

So this time, even without a sneak attack to seriously injure him, and without Wen Wen Xuexian making a move at a critical moment to cut off the karma, Ning Ning Qingman was confident that she wouldn't let the other party escape and would force him to go and resurrect again!

But now there was an extra Underworld Ancestor.

One-on-one, she could win steadily, but the situation of one-on-two was completely different.

The world's powerhouses almost all recognized one point: compared to dealing with two martial artists, dealing with a combination of one martial artist and one sorcerer was more difficult.

Because sorcerers have more means and are more suitable for providing support.

If today it were Li Ming and another evil demon setting a trap together, two Martial Saints joining forces.

The two hadn't cooperated before, hadn't specifically practiced combo skills, and with their hearts not being aligned, it was hard to truly display the combat power of two pinnacle powerhouses.

But changing to a Martial Saint and a True One Realm powerhouse joining forces, it was very easy to achieve an effect of one plus one greater than two!

This was the reason Li Ming chose to join forces with the Underworld Ancestor, and it was also where their confidence lay.

Even without the help of the Heavenly Tribulation, both of them were confident they could defeat Ning Ning Qingman!

Now, Li Fei could only choose to believe in Ning Ning Qingman and do his own part well.

Boom—

The fourth Lightning Tribulation fell.

This Lightning Tribulation had already reached the pinnacle level from the second one, and each one was stronger than the last!

This time, Li Fei finally had full preparations; before the Lightning Tribulation fell, he consumed 1000 blood souls to perform 【Sword Sacrifice】 to strengthen 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】.

The golden sword realm quickly contracted and condensed, transforming into brilliant battle armor.

Li Fei had an extra Ghost-Slaying Blade in his hand, facing the falling thunder, slashing upward in reverse.

Spring mountains turning to snow, summer thunder destroying cities... the changing of the four seasons, ten thousand waters and thousand mountains, billions of living beings, all kinds of phenomena collapsed and condensed!

Between the dim heaven and earth, a streak of brilliance appeared, tearing through the darkness—

【Not Knowing the Height of Heaven】, slashing against the Heavenly Tribulation!

That streak of brilliance collided with the dark golden thunder, like two armies at war, the heavy cavalry of thunder killing into the ranks of the heavy infantry.

The heavy cavalry tore through the formation and trampled the mortal world!

After breaking the national power blessing brought by the 【Jingan】 divine ability, the thunder still landed on Li Fei.

On the golden battle armor, lightning spread and thunder intertwined.

Li Fei transferred the damage that the battle armor couldn't withstand to the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl, ultimately reducing it by over 600 blood souls.

In terms of the damage brought by the Heavenly Tribulation, it was actually weaker than Li Ming at the peak of Mount Mount Tiansha.

But the energy value increased by the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl was more than that time!

"The energy quality of the Heavenly Tribulation is indeed different."

Li Fei praised in his heart, very calm.

After all, he wasn't facing a pinnacle powerhouse, so he didn't need to counterattack.

So he didn't consume blood souls to use 【Blood Rage】, nor did he activate the 【Dragon Elephant】 divine ability to add burden to the sword realm.

He only needed to focus on doing defense well.

After the fourth Lightning Tribulation, the thunder within the tribulation clouds became increasingly surging, already forming a golden pool of thunder!

The majestic heavenly might was soul-stirring.

The fifth Lightning Tribulation fell, as thick as a mountain peak!

Each Lightning Tribulation was stronger than the last; if the Underworld Ancestor released all the vengeful spirits to attract the Heavenly Tribulation, this Lightning Tribulation could reach up to seven levels.

However, the Underworld Ancestor was worried that Ning Ning Qingman wouldn't block the Heavenly Tribulation, so he intentionally held back, so there were only five levels of Lightning Tribulation.

Li Fei slashed out 【Not Knowing the Height of Heaven】 again, the streak of heavenly light was instantly shattered, and he was also knocked down by the terrifying thunder for over three hundred meters!

He continuously transferred the overflowing damage to the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl, only then forcibly stopping his downward momentum in the air.

The fifth Lightning Tribulation was not a one-time event; the golden thunder was like a waterfall, flying down from the firmament, continuously impacting Li Fei!

In fact, withstanding the Heavenly Tribulation, the hardest part was not blocking the Heavenly Tribulation, but not letting the Heavenly Tribulation fall into Tancheng.

Otherwise, the tens of thousands of commoners in Tancheng would suffer immediately!

So if it were Ning Ning Qingman blocking it, she could only strike with her sword again and again to break the Heavenly Tribulation.

But for Li Fei, facing this kind of power that was purely 'high numerical value' and didn't have specific Dao rules, it was actually very easy to deal with.

He only needed to transfer all the overflowing damage to the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl to perfectly block the Heavenly Tribulation without letting a single bit of power fall into Tancheng.

The Lightning Tribulation poured down, the blood souls within the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl decreased at an extremely fast speed, while the energy value soared!

The fifth Lightning Tribulation lasted for a full thirty seconds; as it neared its end, the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl leveled up to 49!

The blood souls increased by 96, and the number of blood souls within the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl became 6960.

On the other side, the three pinnacle powerhouses who were fighting were all distracted, paying attention to Li Fei's situation.

Ning Ning Qingman was worried that Li Fei couldn't withstand it, while the Underworld Ancestor was thinking about when it would be appropriate to make a move to capture Li Fei.

But seeing Li Fei withstand the fifth Lightning Tribulation completely and still be unscathed with his breath undiminished, he couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

The greed in the Underworld Ancestor's heart became even stronger.

After the Lightning Tribulation, the tribulation clouds in the air did not dissipate, turning from ink-colored to crimson.

The originally pitch-black firmament turned red, as if covered by a sea of fire.

After the Lightning Tribulation came the Fire Tribulation!

The scorching sea of fire surged in the air and then fell across the sky.

It was as if an immortal in the nine heavens had overturned a huge alchemy furnace, and lava poured out from the furnace continuously, falling into the mortal world!

Li Fei's expression changed slightly; he didn't wait in place, actively flying toward the high sky, and at the same time deployed 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】 which had transformed into battle armor.

This Fire Tribulation was not highly condensed like the Lightning Tribulation; it was an area-of-effect attack, so Li Fei could only deploy the sword realm to wrap all the pouring sea of fire within it.

He consumed another 1000 blood souls to activate 【Sword Sacrifice】 to strengthen the sword realm.

The maximum range of the original sword realm was 1600 meters, and now it reached an astonishing 3000 meters in radius!

The golden light sphere as large as a mountain blocked above Tancheng, blocking in front of the Fire Tribulation.

The sea of fire surged over, quickly igniting the entire sword realm, turning the golden light sphere into a huge fireball.

It was as if an extra sun had appeared above Tancheng!

The Lightning Tribulation was an eruption, and the Fire Tribulation was a continuation.

The Lightning Tribulation tested the upper limit of defense, while the Fire Tribulation tested endurance.

Li Ming had long used the 【Swallowing Heaven】 Dao rule to gather all the heaven and earth Qi within a range of several thousand meters, making it impossible for Li Fei to replenish his Qi from the outside world.

So the difficulty of facing the Fire Tribulation was even greater than the previous Lightning Tribulation.

Li Fei stood on the altar of the sword realm, watching the heavenly fire continuously burning the sword realm.

Mountains were burned and cracked, rivers were burned dry.

Frost and snow melted, bamboo forests turned to ash...

The various phenomena within the sword realm were constantly being destroyed, and the fire began to spread toward the sun and moon in the air.

There were also raging flames around the altar where Li Fei stood; he suddenly sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The fire within the sword realm suddenly paused, and a huge vortex appeared above the firmament, continuously absorbing the heavenly fire.

【Refining Gold with Fire】!

The seventh-grade Ghost-Slaying Blade that Li Fei and Chen Chen Tiexin forged together only possessed this one ability, and it was not used for fighting enemies, but for tempering the body.

【Refining Gold with Fire】 required absorbing fire-attribute heaven and earth Qi; there was no fire-attribute heaven and earth Qi more pure and powerful than the current heavenly Fire Tribulation!

For others, this Fire Tribulation was a dangerous test.

But Li Fei could transfer all the overflowing damage to the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl, so this Fire Tribulation was actually a great opportunity for him!

While absorbing the Fire Tribulation with 【Refining Gold with Fire】, he activated the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability.

Li Fei was forging his own flying sword body in the Fire Tribulation!

He had previously used Yun Shu's Hunyuan Compass to specifically strengthen himself once with the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability.

Now without the 【Analysis】 divine ability to assist, Li Fei's strengthening was relatively simple and crude—

Tempering steel a hundred times, washing away the lead, constantly polishing, making the flying sword body become purer and purer!

Within the sword realm, wisps of black smoke continuously emerged from Li Fei's body.

These black smokes were all kinds of impurities left behind when strengthening the flying sword body in the past, and also included impurities from Li Fei's own flesh, meridians, bones, and internal organs.

As these impurities continuously turned into black smoke and dissipated, Li Fei's body gradually presented a texture like exquisite jade.

Blood flowed within it like rivers, finally gathering toward the heart.

Each acupuncture point radiated light, as if stars were residing within them!

Qi and blood like a dragon and elephant, flesh and blood like a diamond.

It possessed both the hardness and sharpness of a flying sword and the vitality of a flesh-and-blood body.

The vast vitality and the peerless sword intent were perfectly fused together!

Ning Ning Qingman, who was fighting Li Ming and the Underworld Ancestor, suddenly felt something and subconsciously looked toward the golden light sphere.

As a Sword Immortal of the current era, her sense for swords was the sharpest, so only she sensed the changes within 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】.

She felt as if a peerless sword was slowly taking shape within it!

"This is..."

Inexplicably, she felt some anticipation in her heart.

The Fire Tribulation lasted for nearly ten minutes.

During these ten minutes, Ning Ning Qingman withstood the attacks of Li Ming and the Underworld Ancestor, shattering Li Ming's body more than ten times!

But she also paid a not-insignificant price; she was injured in many places, and the wounds were constantly corroded by the cold baleful aura, leaving no time to clean them.

Not only that, her heart and mind were also repeatedly eroded by 【Wangchuan】, and a clear sword heart was already difficult to maintain.

Facing the combination of a Martial Saint and a True One Realm expert, even if Li Ming only had seventy percent of his peak combat power, Ning Ning Qingman was still at a disadvantage.

The situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for her.

"Old ghost, free up your hands and kill Li Fei first!"

Li Ming suddenly transmitted his voice to the Old Ancestor of the Styx.

Seeing that the fire tribulation was about to end, he worried that without the restraint of the heavenly tribulation, Li Fei would come to stir up trouble, so he told the Old Ancestor of the Styx to kill one person first.

Having endured the heavenly tribulation for so long, even if that number one in history was heaven-defying, they were not a peak expert after all, and must be at the end of their rope!

In fact, there was no need for him to speak; the Old Ancestor of the Styx had the same intention.

However, the Old Ancestor of the Styx did not intend to kill Li Fei, but to capture him alive.

Inside the Sword Realm, Li Fei, sitting cross-legged on the sacrificial altar, was radiating a jade-like luster.

He was indeed at the "end of his rope."

All the blood souls within the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl were exhausted, and only about 500 blood souls remained in the blood spring.

But—the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl had leveled up again!

If he were exchanging blows with a peak expert, given the current level of the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl, it would no longer be possible to achieve continuous upgrades.

However, the energy quality of the heavenly tribulation was higher.

The Ten Thousand Blood Pearl upgraded from level 49 to level 50, increasing the blood souls by 98, bringing the total number of blood souls within the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl to 7,058!

If the blood souls in the blood spring were full, Li Fei would truly have reached the realm of "Ten Thousand Blood."

And as the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl's level reached 50, what was unlocked this time was no longer a blood soul skill, but a new change!

On the sacrificial altar, Li Fei opened his eyes and retracted the 【Hun Yuan Sword Realm】.

Between heaven and earth, the fireball as large as a mountain disappeared.

This fireball was like a scabbard; when the scabbard was gone, the divine sword was revealed—

A peerless sword intent shot straight into the sky, piercing a huge hole in the tribulation clouds!

The firmament seemed to be completely pierced through, and the third heavenly tribulation that had just formed—which was also the final heavenly tribulation—the Mind Tribulation.

The Soul-Absorbing Demon Pupil had just begun to open when a crack appeared; the Soul-Absorbing Demon Sound that had yet to ring out was directly silenced.

The Mind Tribulation had not yet erupted when it was scattered by half by this sword intent!

For the first time, Ning Ning Qingman took the initiative to stop her offensive, turning to look at the figure in the distance, her eyes bright.

All along, she had no requirements for the swords she carried; any iron sword she picked up would do.

It wasn't that she didn't love swords, but that she couldn't find a sword worthy of her.

Just as all swordsmen have a special fondness for peerless precious swords.

For the first time in her life, Ning Ning Qingman felt a heart-fluttering sensation for someone!

She stared blankly at Li Fei, who was like a divine sword, the longing she had suppressed for many years finally erupting.

Back then, under the bright moon, she had discussed the peak experts of the world in front of Li Fei.

She had ranked the top three of the current era, and her own name was not among them.

Li Fei asked her where she ranked herself, and she said it wasn't worth mentioning.

But in fact, if she could have a peerless divine sword that suited her, her name, Ning Ning Qingman, should be among the top three of the current era!

"Li Fei—"

Between heaven and earth, black silk flew, and the green robes were like a painting.

"Lend me your sword!!!"

The next instant, a streak of brilliance cut through heaven and earth.

Sword, come!

(End of chapter)