Chapter 132: The Fourth Heavenly Tribulation

"Boom!" The dark clouds churned, boiling over in an instant as bolts of lightning gathered to form a massive pillar of electricity, roughly a dozen feet in diameter, which descended with a thunderous roar.

Long Yun’s expression shifted; such a terrifying heavenly tribulation would surely reduce him to dust at the slightest touch. He could not help but worry for Yan Qingqing’s safety. Having weathered two tribulations, her gaze had grown increasingly cold, and the aura she exuded began to resemble that of Yan Ruoqing. A sudden realization struck Long Yun—this scene mirrored the moment back in the underground world of Biqu Mountain, when Yan Ruoqing was struck down by the palm of a horrific demonic entity.

"No!" Long Yun bellowed, his eyes turning blood-red in an instant. Forgetting to remain hidden, he shot forward like a bolt of lightning. His Qinghe Wufeng Sword hummed in his palm, and the Heaven-Seizing True Energy within him was pushed to its absolute limit. With a single swing, a sword radiance ten feet long erupted forth.

He unleashed "Dragon God’s Creation" with everything he had, holding nothing back. Although the effect of this strike exceeded his expectations, to the three experts watching, Long Yun was merely a moth flying into a flame. They did not understand how he had escaped the joint siege of their Sect Master and Vice Sect Master, but seeing him seek his own death, they simply exchanged glances, none of them making a move.

"Brother—" The icy coldness in Yan Qingqing’s eyes vanished, replaced by deep anxiety as tears welled up and spilled over. For the one undergoing the tribulation, the ordeal was not entirely without a chance of survival; there was always a sliver of hope. However, if an outsider intervened, they would be forced to withstand at least three to five times the intensity of the lightning strikes. Both Yan Qingqing and the onlookers were well aware of this. Yet, even so, Long Yun did not hesitate to interfere, desperate to secure a slim chance for her to survive.

"Bang!" Long Yun’s sword collided with the descending pillar of electricity. At the point of contact, he was instantly repelled, blood spraying from his eyes, ears, nose, and throat as if from a fountain, turning him into a blood-soaked specter. Simultaneously, his meridians shattered completely. As his body was thrown through the air, it crackled with lingering arcs of lightning, a truly terrifying sight. Such is the power of the heavenly tribulation—the absolute ruler of the world, controlled by the Heavens, whose majesty brooks no desecration.

Long Yun collapsed heavily to the ground, his body feeling as though it had been dismantled; he lacked the strength even to twitch a finger, yet his eyes still flickered with intense concern. Yan Qingqing was overcome with grief. Seeing Long Yun lying motionless, unable to tell if he was alive or dead, her anxiety and fury reached their peak. She let out a sharp cry that sounded like the mournful wail of a phoenix, shaking the very heavens.

With a flick of her jade hand, two streams of Nine-Turn Heavenly Fire surged forth with irresistible momentum, forcefully holding back the massive bolt of lightning and preventing it from descending a single inch further.

"How dare you hurt my brother! I will not forgive you!" Yan Qingqing was like a crazed leopard. She spat out another great mouthful of Nine-Turn Heavenly Fire, and the three streams of flame twisted together, shattering the lightning bolt into fragments.

"Pfft—" Though she had successfully deflected the tribulation, Yan Qingqing was far from unscathed. Gasping for air as if completely drained, she coughed up a small spray of blood.

"A perfect chance! She seems to be injured as well!" The three elders of the Blood Origin Sect saw this and smiled. One of them, unable to contain his joy, remarked, "Strike while she is weak! That boy is at the end of his rope. Kill the girl, and everything else will be easily handled!"

"No time to lose, let’s move!" the third expert said, his eyes flashing. He was about to dash toward Yan Qingqing when the first expert pulled him back.

"Wait, something is wrong!" the expert frowned, a look of confusion crossing his face.

The man who had been restrained looked annoyed and retorted, "Why are you holding me back? Are you trying to steal the credit?"

The other frowned, "If you aren't in a hurry to die, go ahead. I won't stop you again!"

The third expert stepped forward, asking, "What is going on?"

"The tribulation clouds haven't dispersed," the man replied, brow furrowed. "I fear it isn't over yet."

"Hmph! Don't tell me you think there's a fourth tribulation?" the other man grumbled, his anger not yet subsided.

But as soon as the words left his lips, the roiling clouds in the sky began to churn once more. The black clouds, which had covered a hundred miles, gathered toward the center. The color grew even darker and more ominous; to the naked eye, one could see piercing, brilliant flashes of lightning within the ink-black clouds, accompanied by ear-splitting sonic booms.

The three Blood Origin Sect experts stood frozen. Ordinarily, a heavenly tribulation consisted of three strikes, but that was not a hard rule. Legend had it that tribulations with more than three strikes did occur, but each time one appeared, it signaled the birth of a peerless expert capable of turning the world upside down. Seeing the fourth tribulation about to descend, cold sweat broke out on the backs of all three men—especially the one who had intended to kill Yan Qingqing. His face turned ghastly pale, and the anger he felt toward his companion vanished, replaced by gratitude. Had he not been held back, he would surely have been blasted into fine powder by the tribulation.

"Boom!" The space shattered, sending ripples of spatial fluctuations radiating outward. Two bolts of lightning simultaneously pierced the sky and struck down, rolling toward Yan Qingqing like two silver dragons!

Yan Qingqing’s delicate brows knitted together. Each of these two strikes matched the power of the third, and with them falling side-by-side, even with all her heaven-defying talent, she struggled to cope. Long Yun, too, witnessed her predicament. Though his meridians had been shattered, the baptism of Reincarnation Power allowed them to recover rapidly. Combined with his pores absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he had regained enough strength to lift his head and look toward Yan Qingqing under the shadow of the tribulation.

Long Yun could see that Yan Qingqing’s True Energy was nearly exhausted and that she lacked the strength to withstand the force of the tribulation. With a thought, he quietly opened the Reincarnation Space. Two black shadows shot out, their trajectories aimed directly at the two descending bolts. These figures were none other than Blood Shadow and Blood Form. The two brothers had sensed an unprecedented crisis within the Reincarnation Space and had been searching for an exit. Long Yun had opened a spatial rift above them, using his power to create a tunnel that exited right beneath the lightning.

Sensing the tunnel, the two escaped without hesitation. However, the moment they exited, they felt a terrifying aura envelop them. There was no escape! In their panic, they roared and unleashed their full strength, throwing their palms upward to meet the horrific descending power.

"Boom!" The power of the double tribulation was immense. It smashed through their defenses without exception, crashing down upon them and obliterating the two masters, leaving not a trace behind!

To Long Yun’s dismay, the two had only slightly weakened the tribulation, achieving no substantial effect. Gritting his teeth, he focused his intent on the Reincarnation Mirror. A golden radiance flashed as the mirror transformed into a massive grinding disc, spinning and positioning itself above Yan Qingqing. Intricate, archaic patterns on the mirror's surface pulsed with an indescribable aura, and the black-and-white power of reincarnation condensed above it as it spun.

Yan Qingqing’s face brightened; the appearance of the Reincarnation Mirror proved her brother was still alive. Her brows, previously furrowed with the intent to die, relaxed, and her injuries began to heal at a visible rate. Then, the dual force of the heavenly tribulation slammed fiercely into the massive grinding disc formed by the Reincarnation Mirror.