Going by past experience, whenever Ling Tian reached the peak of a certain level—such as the peak of the seventh or eighth heaven among the Near-Saints—the Venerable Sword Saint would attack them. He would also strike just after Ling Tian broke through a major realm, such as when he advanced to the eighth and ninth heavens. Moreover, as time went on, the Lord of the Universe made their trials much harder. Under these circumstances, even if Ling Tian didn't break through a major realm, he would still have to face the Venerable Sword Saint's attacks.
In other words, when Ling Tian advanced from the initial stage of the ninth heaven among the Near-Saints to its peak, he should normally have faced an attack from the Venerable Sword Saint. Yet this time, the latter hadn't attacked. They didn't know whether it was because the Venerable God Devourer was stationed in the Fengyun Realm or because the Venerable Sword Saint hadn't fully refined all the Ultimate Lightning Tribulation Power he'd gathered.
Either way, it didn't make much difference to Ling Tian and the others. The Venerable Sword Saint's not attacking again had both benefits and drawbacks for them. The obvious benefit was that they had more time to cultivate and comprehend various secret arts, further improving their strength. The drawback was that they'd lost an opportunity to be attacked and temper themselves. After all, facing the Venerable Sword Saint's pressure could give them valuable insights and hone them, which would significantly improve their strength.
But Ling Tian and the others had little energy to worry about that now. They were more concerned about the Venerable God Devourer, since it looked like he'd soon have to attempt to break free of the Lord of the Universe's restraints.
That was right. A long time