The phantom figure slashed out with its sword against the Heavenly Tribulation, unleashing its Slaughter Sword Intent to the extreme, transforming into a dark red line of blood that tore through the sky from bottom to top!
"Laugh--!!!"
Where the sword light passed, the World-Destroying Divine Thunder, like a silver river falling from the Nine Heavens, was split in two.
Lightning exploded, electric snakes howled, and scattered into countless points of light across the sky.
The sword light, undiminished in its momentum, pierced straight into the heavens and fiercely slashed into the Tribulation Cloud that covered the sky and earth!
"Boom--!!!"
The Tribulation Cloud trembled violently, and a pitch-black crack ten thousand feet long was cleaved in its center, with lightning crackling around the edges, as if it were a wound in the sky.
The next moment--
The entire sea of thunder Tribulation Cloud shattered like broken Glazed Glass, turning into countless showers of light that dissipated into the heavens and earth.
One sword, Heavenly Tribulation!
"..."
Dead silence.
Between heaven and earth, only the mournful sound of the wind remains.
Everyone stared blankly at the sky, at the illusory figure slowly sheathing its sword, at the vanishing Tribulation Cloud, and at Jiang Feng, who stood opposite the illusory figure with a face as pale as paper.
"How is this possible... a single sword... Heavenly Tribulation?!"
Jiang Feng was completely dumbfounded.
He had hoped to use the Heavenly Tribulation as a blade, temper his Dao with the Tribulation Lightning, and use the power of the Heavenly Tribulation to kill the illusory figure.
But the result--
With a single, illusory sword strike, his greatest reliance vanished into thin air!
"One sword Heavenly Tribulation... One sword Heavenly Tribulation..."
Zhou Wentao and Xia Hongjue muttered to themselves, their faces filled with shock and bewilderment.
As peak True Immortal, they hesitated to trigger the Heavenly Tribulation because they knew how terrifying Heavenly Tribulation power was, and that the slightest mistake would lead to their death and annihilation.
But this Tribulation Lightning, which instilled fear and awe in countless cultivators, was actually shattered by that murderous phantom with a single, casual sword strike!
This completely shattered their understanding and destroyed the last shred of awe they held for "divine power".
Not only them, but anyone with even a slight understanding of the Heavenly Immortal Tribulation was shaken to their Divine Soul by this unbelievable scene, their Dao heart wavering.
Jiang Pojun's legs went weak, and his Remnant Soul was on the verge of dissipating.
Where did such a monster come from in a small Soul Refining Sect?!
"Wow, that's amazing..."
Deep within the Earth Vein, Zhang Yu also silently gasped.
The Exterminating Immortal Sword Intent is so domineering!
But if we're talking about who's the most frustrated—
It is undoubtedly Jiang Feng.
Heavenly Tribulation are both calamities and fortuitous opportunity.
He could have used the Tribulation Lightning to temper his Ruthless Dao foundation and forge a perfect Heavenly Immortal body.
But now, the Tribulation Cloud have been dispersed by a single sword strike.
Although he successfully advanced to the Heavenly Immortal by triggering Heavenly Tribulation and elevating his Dao foundation.
However, lacking the final tempering and baptism of the Heavenly Tribulation, his Dao foundation was ultimately flawed, and his Combat Power was only that of an ordinary Heavenly Immortal, falling far short of expectations!
"I..."
Jiang Feng opened his mouth, as if to say something, but just then—
"Buzz--!!!"
Nine Heavens above, where the shattered Tribulation Cloud remained, the void suddenly twisted violently.
A gigantic eye, the size of a mountain, dark gold in color, and with eyes as bright as the sun and moon, slowly opened from the depths of the clouds.
Within its colossal eyes, there was neither sorrow nor joy, neither anger nor resentment, only a cold indifference that looked down upon All Beings and judged the world.
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment!
"The Eye of Heavenly Punishment?!"
"This Devil Creature... actually attracted the Eye of Heavenly Punishment?!"
"It's over... It's completely over... Under divine punishment, all living beings within ten thousand miles will be reduced to dust!"
Zhou Wentao, Xia Hongjue, and all the disciples of the Soul Refining Sect were pale with fear and despair.
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment is a manifestation of the Heavenly Dao Will; each appearance of it brings a catastrophe that will destroy the world!
Jiang Feng was truly panicked at this moment.
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment is more than a hundred times more powerful than the Heavenly Tribulation!
He had absolutely no chance of escaping!
Deep within the Earth Vein, Zhang Yu saw the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, and his heart trembled violently.
"Wasn't this thing... sealed away by Qin Xuehua?"
Why are you out again?
"Rest assured."
The system's voice suddenly sounded, carrying a hint of solemnity, but without any panic:
"Look around the pupil of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, at those faintly visible Dark-Gold Chains."
That was the Heavenly Dao Law seal jointly laid down by the Empress Houtu, Donghua, and Maitreya.
"It was merely drawn by the murderous aura of the Exterminating Immortal Sword, its instinct manifesting, and it is still bound by the Principle, unable to truly unleash its world-destroying power."
Zhang Yu looked closely and indeed saw that the edges of the giant eye's pupils were wrapped with countless fine, spiderweb-like Dark-Gold Chains.
Runes flowed across the chains, faintly Supreme Daoist energy, which suppressed the power of the giant eye.
Even so...
Hong Yue's voice was hoarse:
"Even a mere wisp of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment's aura leaking out would be enough to wipe out all living beings in this world."
As if to prove her words--
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment trembled slightly, and a hazy, annihilating Annihilation Divine Light slowly condensed from its pupil.
Although bound by chains and its power reduced to almost nothing, its destructive aura had already caused the mountains and rivers below to crumble and all things to wither!
Faced with the overwhelming might of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, Jiang Feng's Dao Heart shattered completely, and his eyes lost all fighting spirit, leaving only boundless fear.
Without further hesitation, he turned and transformed into a streak of azure sword light, tearing through the void as he frantically fled towards the outside of the Soul Refining Sect!
However, most of the power of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment was bound by the chains of Heavenly Dao, and the power of the Annihilation Divine Light was reduced to less than one-tenth. In fact, he managed to escape thousands of miles away amidst the aftershocks of the thunder, disappearing into the horizon.
"Elder! Wait for me!!"
Upon seeing Jiang Feng Jiang Pojun escape, Jiang Pojun's Remnant Soul was terrified. He no longer cared about Qiu Ruobai and Soul Body to transform into a ghostly light to flee.
"My dear grandpa, where do you think you're going?"
Zhang Lingyun had been secretly watching him; how could she let him escape?
On the other side--
The phantom formed by the Exterminating Immortal Sword Intent was not afraid of the overwhelming power of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment at all. Instead, it soared into the sky, holding the sword and killing towards the mountain-like giant eye!
The Slaughter Sword Intent soared to the sky, as if it wanted to cleave even the heavens!
Even though the Eye of Heavenly Punishment was bound by Dark-Gold Chains and its power was reduced to a hundred percent, the Annihilation Principle it contained was still something that a mere phantom of Sword Intent could not withstand.
"Laugh--!!!"
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment trembled slightly, and the hazy, Annihilation Divine Light in its pupil suddenly shone brightly, transforming into a world -World-Destroying Thunder that pierced through heaven and earth, striking the illusory figure of slaughter fiercely!
The phantom figure parried with a sword, Slaughter Sword Intent. But the moment it touched the lightning, it melted and disintegrated like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun!
In less than half a breath, the phantom let out a silent wail, then exploded completely, turning into countless dark red specks of light that vanished without a trace.
Only the Soul Snatching Chain itself remained, falling helplessly from the sky.
Its body glowed dimly, its ferocity vanished, as if it had exhausted all its Origin.
The phantom shattered, but the "gaze" of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment slowly turned to the Soul Refining Sect mountain range below. The gray light in its pupils gathered again, as if it wanted to completely erase this "Heavenly Dao" place!
But just as the Annihilation Divine Light was about to erupt—
"Buzz--!!!"
The dark gold chains of order that had been wrapped around the giant eye's pupil suddenly tightened!
On the chains, Heavenly Dao Runes flashed wildly, and an incomparably vast sealing power suddenly erupted, forcibly pulling the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, causing it to slowly close!
"Boom--!"
The void trembled, and heaven and earth wept.
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment seemed to struggle, its pupils blazing with gray light, but the chains of order clung to it like a malignant tumor, relentlessly suppressing its power.
Finally, with a deep sigh that seemed to come from ancient times, the Eye of Heavenly Punishment—
Completely closed.
"This is troublesome. I wonder how long Empress Houtu and the others can keep that rebel trapped?"
The Hong Yue gazed at the tranquil sky, a wave of melancholy washing over it.
The system remained silent, equally preoccupied.
But no one noticed that a beam of mysterious light shot out from the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, secretly invading the chaotic Soul Refining Sect.