Its intensity shone brighter than the separate arcs around it—a clear sign that the heavens had chosen a higher trial for them.
Shen Yuan’s sharp eyes caught the change in trial for the Grand Elder and Feng Lian. Looking at the merging energies, he thought to himself, ‘The elements are… merging?’
He decided to remember this detail for later, making a note to talk with Yue Lan about it. ‘Elemental fusion… instead of using two different types of Qi, heaven is merging them flawlessly…’
Below, the Grand Elder and Feng Lian felt the pressure of the combined Qi pressing down on them. The atmosphere around them boiled with scorching heat, while a sharp, metallic tang flickered in the lightning arcs.
The Grand Elder took a deep breath and turned to Feng Lian. “Feng Lian, we will need to face this together. This is much harder than the first strike.”
Feng Lian nodded, her expression turning grave as she felt the increasing pressure upon her. “Illusion techniques are useless in the face of the heavens. We will need to take the attacks head-on and try to reach the Mortal Tribulation Realm as quickly as possible. Otherwise, we might die due to this strike.”
The Grand Elder felt her heart tighten in her chest as the merged tribulation bolt, swirling with fire and metal Qi, descended on her and Feng Lian.
The very air seemed to burn, its edges sharpened by metallic Qi. Sparks flew from the molten arcs of lightning crackling above their heads.
“Feng Lian!” the Grand Elder quickly said. “Draw on your Blood Essence if you must. Even if we can’t fully repel the tribulation, we only need a few seconds!”
Feng Lian nodded seriously, her face colored in the combined glow of red-orange flames and white-silver arcs. “I understand, Grand Elder,” she murmured. “Let’s buy ourselves enough time to complete the core fusion.”
Deep in their dantians, both women felt the merging of their first two Dao Cores inching toward completion, nearly entering the Mortal Tribulation Realm.
Tribulation lightning was both a trial and an opportunity. They had to endure just long enough for that transformation to finish.
The Grand Elder slammed a hand to the ground, focusing her Qi into a defensive barrier around her.
Runes of dark illusions moved upward, forming a half-dome of shadowy fox silhouettes. Though her technique couldn’t fully divert heavenly might, it could mitigate a fraction of the initial impact, giving her a foothold to fight back.
Feng Lian called forth a swirl of foxfire illusions, turning them into a powerful talisman that formed a barrier of fox-like illusions around her.
Though it might only be partially effective against heavenly thunder, the surging illusions helped disrupt the tribulation bolt’s cohesive force.
Together, their techniques combined and formed a stronger defense against the heavenly thunder. Just then, with a BOOM—the tribulation struck their defenses. Fearing it might not be enough to survive, each woman unleashed a personal treasure at the same time.
The Grand Elder gripped a short, obsidian dagger inscribed with thick runes that radiated King Grade aura. It hummed with a minor gravity domain effect that slowed the incoming tribulation arcs, making them a bit easier to handle.
Feng Lian brandished a thin bracelet that glowed with pale silver light—a protective artifact Shen Yuan had given her as the Vice Leader of assassins.
It formed a trembling shield around her shoulders and upper torso, dispersing some of the metallic Qi stabbing at her illusions.
Their combined defensive techniques and treasures collided with the fiery-metal bolt in a torrent of metallic sparks, burning heat, and trembling Qi.
Even so, they sensed the tribulation’s unstoppable force upon them. They gritted their teeth and roared before transforming into their pseudo-forms of foxes.
The tribulation essence descended upon them through their defenses and began to fortify their bodies, hammering at their meridians and forcibly refining them.
Amidst the roar and chaos of the tribulation, both the Grand Elder and Feng Lian felt a fierce resonance within their dantians. Each had nine Origin Cores, and two of them were nearly completely fused, nearly entering the Mortal Tribulation Realm.
They closed their eyes for a single, desperate moment. The Grand Elder guided the tribulation energy into her half-finished second core. The scorching might of fire Qi mixed with razor-edged metal Qi and raging thunder Qi shot through her meridians. She didn’t even have time to react before all the energies went inside her Dantian and entered the two cores.
Feng Lian’s condition was similar to the Grand Elder’s, as she had closed her eyes and was trying her best to guide the tribulation Qi into her Dantian, refining her cores as quickly as she could.
Time stretched, each heartbeat felt like an eternity as they balanced on the edge between annihilation and ascension. All the while, arcs of tribulation kept battering their bodies and treasures.
At last, after enduring what felt like hell to them, both women felt their cores merge. A huge wave of new spiritual essence flooded their meridians from the outside—cleansing, expanding, stabilizing them.
They quickly deployed their techniques again and formed a barrier, but to their relief, the tribulation lightning began to weaken.
The ground around them had melted down from the intense heat as they could see sharp slices on the ground from the metal Qi. Feng Lian and the Grand Elder nearly stumbled down on the ground but managed to stand straight as they quickly looked around to see the rest of the legion members.
Meanwhile, the rest of the legion fought with their own elemental onslaught. Some members received heavy water and earth lightning, forcing them to use techniques that mimicked a fluid earthen barrier.
Others were hammered by flurries of metal and wood arcs, vines binding illusions while razor Qi cut them to pieces. Many overcame these challenges by combining fire techniques or using personal relics bestowed by Shen Yuan.
Where a disciple nearly stumbled, a nearby teammate used techniques or tossed a quick pill. Despite the chaos, not a single assassin let another fall behind.
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One disciple was being battered by the repeated wood lightning and was about to collapse. But another nearby member stepped in with a swirling black flame technique, burning away the vines and giving their comrade a chance to refocus Qi and push through.
A smaller group formed a triangular formation and used defense layered thrice—any single tribulation arc had to pierce multiple defenses, dispersing enough energy to avoid lethal damage.
The synergy and discipline—born of months training in the Ancestral Pagoda—shone brightest now. Feng Lian and the Grand Elder heaved a sigh of relief and began lending help where it was needed to ensure no unnecessary casualties happened.
Soon, more and more assassins felt that internal resonance—core merging under the tribulation’s might. One by one, they broke through the second wave’s punishing thunder, letting the destructive energy refine their bodies and souls.
Near the plateau’s edges, arcs of leftover lightning fizzled away as the formation deflected them.
High above, Shen Yuan watched the plateau swirl with half-spent tribulation energy, a satisfied smile on his face. ‘They’re doing great.’
Bing Rong and Huo Rong exchanged relieved nods. Wan Ling and Chen Yue murmured quietly in awe at how effectively the legion members were coordinating.