Demonic Tribulation

Li Fan leaped into the secret chamber, not rushing to memorize the illustrations and text on the surrounding stone slabs, but instead checking the condition of the skin.

The skin was damp and soft, like a shed python skin. It was blackish-green, rotten, and covered in hair. Tissue fluid was oozing out, making it oily and greasy. How to describe the feeling of poking it? It was like the legendary feeling of stepping in poop.

'Moon Spirit exclaimed, "Ugh! How dirty! And she even poked at it with her hand! Disgusting!"'

Hey! You think you're some kind of bunny?! What are you fussing about with a flying sword?! Shut up!

Li Fan didn't have time to worry about it now. He ripped off the skin, intending to collect the lambskin material first, but half of the skin seemed to be stuck to the floor. The moment he tore off the rotten flesh, most of the skin was ripped open, revealing a spiderweb-like, thick, black liquid, half of which was stuck inside the skin and half stuck to the magic circle on the ground, like unyielding phlegm... but it actually smelled somewhat fragrant...

'Moon Soul says, uh... you, you can't be serious...'

Li Fan rolled his eyes, but if he were to start eating right away, the rabbit would probably be mentally corrupted. So he stopped for the time being, bent down and reached out to touch the patterns of the magic circle on the ground, and examined the remaining black liquid on the ground.

It wasn't petroleum; it felt hard to the touch and seemed to be some kind of mercury-like liquid metal. It was clearly stained black by a large amount of malevolent energy. This black, malevolent mercury spread out from the center along capillary-like lines, covering the entire secret chamber, and then extended outwards into the palace, forming a huge magic array.

Li Fan roughly calculated that the Taichu Palace was located at the core of the Tiger Crouch Palace, which was once a fortress. This underground secret chamber was probably the core array eye of the entire fortress's defense formation. It has now been remodeled, but it should cover the entire palace city north of Crouching Dragon Pool.

Li Fan closed his eyes and tried to use his blind perception. He could feel his Divine Sense being invaded by the black mercury, and his mood was affected, fluctuating little by little. However, his Divine Sense could still trace the path of the magic array through the magical medium of this malevolent mercury, as if he had turned on X-ray vision and fast forward. In an instant, he explored the entire palace, every corner, and continued to extend outward, reaching all the way from the palace gate to the bottom of Rouge Pool.

Again, at the bottom of the river, the ends of these black mercury particles were hidden in the water, like countless butterfly cocoons, one end of which was attached to the earth's spiritual veins. The cocoons were completely covered with runes and incantations, making them impossible to see with ordinary Divine Sense. However, this black mercury was generated from those cocoons, and Li Fan could clearly sense what was inside the cocoons by following the mercury—the dead bodies refined by secret techniques.

These must be the unfortunate people of Rouge Pool that Du Xia mentioned. Looking at them, they are densely packed like fish eggs at the bottom of a river, numbering in the thousands. They were used as tools to make money while alive, and even in death, their corpses are used for the evil arts to refine, perhaps to support the king's cultivation. Judging by this scale, it seems the Ruler of Xun Country has truly gone to great lengths to cultivate this Tai Su Heavenly Scripture without anyone noticing...

Li Fan roughly estimated that the situation in Xun Kingdom was almost identical to what had happened in Li Country. Most likely, it was another arrangement orchestrated by the Divine Cult behind the scenes. They first instigated internal power struggles within Xun Kingdom, keeping the imperial court preoccupied while the hidden Devil Embryo took the opportunity to awaken and wreak havoc on the world. Only this time, it was even more ruthless, directly targeting the Ruler of Xun Country himself, turning him into a lamb to the slaughter. Truly a brilliant tactic—to eliminate a kingdom's ruler without anyone noticing...

No, if I'm not mistaken, the Divine Cult's actions in Xun Kingdom were probably simpler than those in Li Country. They likely only gave the Heavenly Book to the Ruler of Xun Country. The subsequent arrangements—the sacrifices at Rouge Pool, the secret array of Tiger's Den Palace, and the killing spree in the Forbidden Garden—were probably all orchestrated by the kingdom's ruler, Sun Zhonghu.

Thinking about it, it's actually quite obvious. Even a monk like Fahui wouldn't give up reincarnation until his very last moment. How could a powerful ruler of a country be willing to easily relinquish the glory and wealth he has already gained? If he were to exhaust his own lifespan, who would he hand over the throne to?

However, the power of the Xun Kingdom had grown too strong, and the Three Palaces certainly couldn't trust the Ruler of Xun Country to continue ruling and carving out its own territory. Otherwise, it would become too powerful to control. Therefore, Sun Zhonghu probably knew that he could no longer rely on the longevity pills from the Immortal Palace, and after trying them himself, he probably also realized that his aptitude was not suited for the Tongxuan Sect's path; reaching the Nascent Soul Stage was already the limit. So he simply turned to the Divine Sect, obtained the Heavenly Book of Tai Su for cultivation, and now, unsurprisingly, he has become Non-Thing.

It's hard to say whether the Ruler of Xun Country was simply influenced by those Tai Su Dao Ancestor, or whether he has completely transformed into something else, or whether he still maintains his own will. But it doesn't really matter. Given his actions, which have killed so many people, there's no reason to let this vicious tiger off the hook. Moreover, I'm afraid he will soon awaken into a 'Non-Thing' that transcends common sense.

Indeed, although its physical appearance seems to have changed a year or two ago, it's still a bit short of complete maturity. The ruler of the nation couldn't possibly be unaware of the power of the strategists of the Immortal Palace and the Profound Gate. If they had already awakened into something akin to a natural disaster on Earth, even the Beichen Sword Sect wouldn't be a match for them. It's impossible that they could have kept it a secret until now.

Yesterday, Li Fan met a protector of the Divine Cult near Moon Worship. He figured that the King of Ruler of Xun Country must also have experts from the Divine Cult helping him conceal his true strength, but they were probably close to their limit. According to Li Fan's estimation, the Ruler of Xun Country had been suppressing his strength for a long time, just waiting for an opportunity to break through.

Now that the Immortal Palace's Xuanmen army is assembled to attack the Divine Sect, and all attention is focused on the Kun Country, this is the best opportunity. Otherwise, why choose this time to meticulously instigate infighting between the two palaces and divert others' attention? Why leave a lamb in the royal palace as a smokescreen to conceal his whereabouts?

Therefore, Sun Zhonghu was still a little short of fully taking shape and manifesting Tai Su Dao Ancestor, but not by much.

It's probably just a matter of these next two days, during the tribulation. There's no doubt about it. This tiger hunt in the Forbidden Garden, the coup, and the struggle for the throne between the two palaces—it's all likely a scheme orchestrated by the Ruler of Xun Country to facilitate his own tribulation. He wanted to muddy the waters, obscure the secrets of heaven, and ensure that all factions fought tooth and nail so that he could seize the opportunity to break through the limits of humanity and transform into the Dao Ancestor of the Primordial Chaos...

Li Fan stopped his fingertips calculating, opened his eyes, and his eyes were a deep, dark purple, with one pupil like a black star and the other like a silver ring, radiating starlight of two colors. He slowly stood up, a purple light flashed behind his head, and he put away his jade flute and fan, rolling up his sleeves.

This vicious tiger cannot be allowed to live.

"Ah--!"

A strong gust of wind swept in from above, and a eunuch, his entire body bluish-black with dark, menacing eyes and bloodshot pupils, howled like a hungry wolf as he lunged forward, his claws aimed straight for Li Fan's head.

Li Fan's figure blurred, and he also turned his entire body skin black. He stretched out his hands, interlaced his fingers with the eunuch's, and made a claw strike.

With a loud 'bang!', the violent energy exploded like a whirlwind, blasting away bits of flesh and knocking over the stone slabs.

"The body is Martial God Body formed by consuming a new Corpse Refining Pill, but the soul has been seized and replaced by a Great Demon. This demon is incredibly powerful..."

While using the Crimson Eyes to kill is faster, the Rabbit Sword is now occupying his primordial spirit, and Li Fan's energy is limited. He might have to deal with a Dao Ancestor later, so he needs to conserve some strength. He should save his ultimate move for the BOSS.

So Li Fan narrowed his eyes and used the Ghost Hand to unleash the domineering power of the Tai Su Dao Body, putting all the monstrous strength of his several Dao Bodies to his fullest extent. He struggled against the Devil Embryo and actually managed to fight it out to a draw!

"Haaah!" Seeing that he did not have the advantage in strength, the demon immediately changed his move, grabbed Li Fan with both hands, pulled him up, and then lunged forward with a knee strike, like a bayonet, crashing into Li Fan's chest!

"Screech!" Li Fan roared, throwing his opponent aside. He blocked the sweeping kick with his left arm, breaking his elbow instantly. But his right hand broke free and countered with a punch, 'Bang!' breaking Mo Sha's thigh!

However, this demonic aura was clearly unaffected by pain and could quickly repair its body with its demonic energy, making it far more troublesome than a typical Martial God. Although it was sent flying backwards in a daze, it still managed to unleash a powerful, gusting palm strike that grazed Li Fan's cheek, leaving his shoulder raw and ulcerated! The palm strike landed on the bronze wall of the secret chamber with a deafening boom, creating a massive palm print. The supposedly impenetrable wall of bronze was dented as if it were made of putty!

But Li Fan, without uttering a word, swept away the attack and pursued, striking with his right hand with the Dalu Jing Tian Finger. The force of his finger, like a sword, pierced directly through the eunuch's right eye socket, breaking a hole in his skull and sending small pieces of his skull flying out. However, this kind of damage had little effect on a demon of this level.

Instead, the demon seized the opportunity to counterattack, swooping down like a bat pounced on him once more. Its fingernails grew longer, and taking advantage of Li Fan's severed arm being held by his side, it slashed its palms straight at Li Fan's chest!

But this was actually an opening Li Fan had created for it. Just as his palm blade was about to pierce its chest, he managed to shift his body slightly, allowing the demon's claws to tear open his chest, along with the protective layer of black charcoal, leaving five bloody claw marks. Suddenly, two more arms sprouted from his waist, using their monstrous strength to hold the demon back and prevent it from escaping. The Ghost Hand then grabbed the demon's mouth, nose, and eye sockets, snapping them open with a 'crack' as it tore its head off its body!

'Li Fan killed the Super Greater Chi'

'Li Fan's mood cap has increased by 100 points.'

Li Fan's mood improved significantly.

Tsk, it's just Super Greater Chi? Even with a fresh demon body instead of a regular dried corpse, it's this hard to fight...

'Moon Soul exclaimed, "What... what is this thing? How come all the fiendish corpses are so powerful?"'

"How long has it been since you've been out? Don't you know the times have changed?"

As Li Fan spoke, the muscles in his abdomen suddenly twisted and trembled, then tore open, the muscles transforming into the tiger's mouth of Qiongqi, which opened its fangs and bloody maw, swallowing the demon's body whole and chewing it with crunching sounds.

Li Fan also picked up the demon's head and the lambskin on the ground and threw them into Qiongqi's mouth, letting it devour them, splattering blood, flesh, and bone fragments everywhere.

'Moon Soul says, Xuan Girl of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, Ruyi True Lord, Great Heavenly Venerable... what kind of evil magic is this...?'

"It's not evil magic, it's just keeping up with the times, an old relic." Li Fan reattached his severed left arm, and the claw marks on his chest and the abrasions on his shoulder were quickly healed thanks to the nourishment from the mutton.

Well, the main problem is that if the rabbit eats all that mutton directly, his mood will probably plummet. This whole thing is for Kenmaru's mental health.

However, Li Fan originally thought that his opponent in this tribulation would be Human Race cultivator from the Immortal Palace and the Profound Sect, but he didn't expect it to be Tai Su's Devil Embryo. Well, that's fine too, as he can unleash his true strength without having to hold back and be afraid of being torn apart by someone.

He picked up the twelve stone slabs around him, threw them into Qiongqi's mouth to swallow, and then used the Jade Pure Bottle to take some Fiend Mercury to study. Li Fan then leaped out of the Taichu Palace and could see that the entire palace was still in the midst of a frenzied battle.

Judging from the eunuch's Dao body, the Ruler of Xun Country had originally arranged for many death warriors and guards who had taken the new corpse-refining pills to protect the lambs of the Primordial Palace and the Heavenly Calligraphy Array below. However, due to a twist of fate, the jars sent by Luo Feng contained extraterrestrial demons. The Dao bodies strengthened by those new corpse-refining pills were simply natural vessels for them to seize. As a result, most of these death warriors had their Dao bodies taken by the demons and scattered in the Fourth Department, with only a small number remaining in the palace to run rampant.

However, the situation did not improve even though the Ruler of Xun Country's many trump cards were stolen by Luo Feng's backup plan by a twist of fate. Li Fan had previously discovered during his research on the lower magic array that the evil mercury was connected to the waterways of Rouge Pool, and was also interconnected with the moat, wells, and waterways of Tiger Crouching City. Now that the evil energy was so heavy, all the palace servants were infected by it, and many were gradually turning into evil corpses. Some of the top palace experts were directly possessed by the Super Greater Chi, making them even more difficult to deal with.

Last time, when he left Qiucheng, he was able to prevent the problem from escalating, but the situation in Xun Kingdom this time is far too serious. If only a group of professionals from the Ink Bamboo Mountain Discipline Institute could help him eradicate the evil aura in the palace, but by now it's too late.

Even under these circumstances, the entire royal city was still infected, and judging from the towering flames in the south of the city and the Sword Light of battle raging in the sky, it seemed that the cultivators of the two palaces of the Xun Kingdom in the south of the city had only just reached the climax of their fight.

With both the Crown Prince and Prince of Lu's palaces currently in the city, and given the recent explosion and the current commotion at the Tiger Crouch Palace, it's likely that instead of working together to quell the chaos, they might even turn against each other, fighting to the death because they've been attacked by the evil corpses and other malicious individuals, who might suspect the other side is planning to strike first tonight.

There are still Super Greater Chi and Extra Greater Chi with Devil Embryo bodies lurking in the shadows. Expecting these two groups to calm down, give up their power struggles, and prioritize saving the common people is probably harder than climbing to heaven.

Li Fan dodged left and right, avoiding the attacks of the monstrous palace maids and eunuchs who were turning into demonic corpses. He killed these demonic corpse soldiers with a punch and a claw, and threw their heads into Qiongqi's mouth to gnaw on.

He couldn't save everyone. If he stayed in Xingye City, killing all the evil corpses and scattering all the demons wouldn't be enough. He would also have to stop the infighting between the two palaces, organize people to deal with the pollution of the evil energy, retrieve the cocoons at the bottom of Rouge Pool, and guard against the person who threw the thermobaric bomb launching another one...

In short, if things get delayed here, the Ruler of Xun Country might truly succeed in his scheme, transforming into the Tai Su Dao Ancestor, whom even the annihilation of the Bei Chen Beichen Sword Sect couldn't handle. At that point, it wouldn't just be Xingye City, but the entire Xun Kingdom, turning into a deathly wasteland overrun by demons like the Kan Country.

Sometimes, to save the majority, do we necessarily have to abandon the minority...?

Li Fan sighed, knowing he had no time to hesitate. He made up his mind, unleashing his Ghost Hand to instantly kill the surrounding corpses and demons. He then returned to the main hall, collected the lamb's scraps, and found a small piece that was barely recognizable as half a human face. He wrapped it in a yellow talisman, then vanished from the palace and found the palace maid he had just met.

This Pan Liu really did wait in the same spot, but only half of his body remained human. The other half transformed into a pomegranate tree, as if half a person was stuck on the trunk. Large red pomegranates grew from the branches, each bearing a child's smiling face.

Not only her, but also all sorts of beings nearby that were human-like, non-human, object-like, and Non-Thing- like, as if they had taken people apart from their genetic chains, reassembled them, and molded them into new things, as if people were originally made of clay. It's just that some still had their form, while others still didn't.

'Moon Soul exclaimed, "What... what has become of this world?!"'

Seeing this scene, Li Fan was taken aback, but then he remembered that he had witnessed it firsthand during his first tribulation. Not everyone has the protection of a system's talent, and the baleful aura had already spread throughout the city, yet the city still only contained the Tai Su Heavenly Scripture, which was at the level of a lamb. Even the Nascent Soul Stage Divine Transformation cultivators of Ink Bamboo Mountain could not withstand the influence of even a few words from the Heavenly Book, let alone these mortals?

Yes, so actually not many people could hold out until he was rescued...

"Heh, so what? Isn't this how the world has always been? Ordinary people are lucky to even survive..."

Li Fan took the remaining half of the palace maid's face from his bosom, placed it in the embrace of the half-woman on the pomegranate tree branch, and then turned and flew away into the air towards the eastern forbidden garden.

'Moon Spirit says, where are you going this time?'

"Slay the demon."

Li Fan finally understood. In fact, he could ignore the struggles between the Three Great Sects, the pursuit of imperial power, and the plots and robberies.

But once that thing disguised as the Ruler of Xun Country is truly born, even if it merely passes through this valley, all living beings on earth will vanish into thin air, turning into this deathly scene in the city.

If we cannot allow the Tai Su Dao Ancestor to be born, then we cannot allow that 'Ruler of Xun Country' to live.

The flying sword, Moon Soul, recognized Li Fan as its master.

What? You're giving up already? Didn't we agree that I'd take on four of you and show you what I'd do?

Then Li Fan heard a little girl's sweet, childish voice speaking in his ear.

"Our founder forbade all disciples of the Sword Sect to wield their swords to vanquish demons, and none shall desert in the face of battle. I will lend you a hand!"

Li Fan nodded, "Okay, let's go!"

Then he opened his mouth and spat out a beam of silver light, which swirled around him and instantly drew a streak of moonlight across the starry sky before disappearing without a trace.