Heavenly Tribulation, Disadvantage

On the other side, a few days ago.

Snow Empress took Qian Qizhou far from the scene of the incident, eventually finding a dry cave hidden behind a mountain waterfall.

With a wave of her hand, she cast a thin layer of ice-crystal barrier over the entrance, sealing off all traces of their presence and sound.

Once inside the cave, Snow Empress finally let go of his arm.

Qian Qizhou sat leaning against the cave wall, nodded at her, and began the arduous task of circulating his soul power to stabilize himself.

Snow Empress stood quietly to the side, waiting for him to settle the turbulent soul power within his body.

A moment later, seeing the young man's breathing grow slightly steadier, she finally asked, "What happened? Why were you locked in a death match with those people, and how did you end up in such a state?"

Her gaze fell upon Qian Qizhou. "You have gained a massive and unique surge of life energy."

Clearly, she had sensed the presence of the hundred-thousand-year soul bone.

Qian Qizhou slowly opened his eyes and briefly recounted witnessing the great battle between Tang Hao and Qian Xunji, the Blue Silver Emperor's sacrifice, and Tang Hao's ring-detonation that severely wounded the three.

He also explained his transaction with Tang Hao, which had earned him this soul bone.

"I intended to find a quiet place to examine this bone, but I didn't expect to run into people from the Clear Sky Sect, and that's how it ended up like this."

There was a hint of helplessness in Qian Qizhou's tone. "To humans, the temptation of a hundred-thousand-year soul bone is far too great; naturally, they wouldn't let me go."

Snow Empress listened quietly, unable to fathom these humans. "To throw away one's life for a soul bone—is it worth it?"

Hearing Snow Empress's question, a complex smile appeared on Qian Qizhou's pale face.

He whispered, "Sister Snow, you should know that for a soul master, the improvement provided by a hundred-thousand-year soul bone is immeasurable."

Come to think of it, he had actually gotten the better end of the deal with Tang Hao.

Tang Lie and his group had been searching for Tang Hao and only discovered him by accident.

Since the matter was already resolved, he would give them a pass and not go to the Clear Sky Sect for revenge.

In any case, Qian Xunji would not let the Clear Sky Sect off the hook, so there was no need for him to intervene.

Hearing this, Snow Empress stopped asking.

She walked slowly to Qian Qizhou, extended a hand as white as jade, and pressed it gently against his forehead.

A stream of extremely pure soul power flowed out. Qian Qizhou felt his body tremble slightly as a cooling sensation instantly spread through his limbs and bones.

The meridians that had been burning with pain from overexertion were quickly soothed by this nourishment, and his surging soul power was forcibly suppressed.

Snow Empress's cultivation was incredibly high, and her control had reached the pinnacle; she caused Qian Qizhou no discomfort despite the difference in their attributes, instead helping him stabilize his dire condition with great speed.

"Focus your mind," Snow Empress's cold, clear voice rang out.

Qian Qizhou immediately centered his thoughts, cooperating with the soul power Snow Empress channeled into him to accelerate the repair of his internal injuries and replenish his reserves.

The pallor on his face gradually faded, a hint of color returning, and his aura grew steady and powerful at a visible rate.

As time ticked by, with Snow Empress's help, Qian Qizhou's condition improved rapidly.

He let out a long breath and opened his eyes, the usual luster returning to them as he nodded gratefully at Snow Empress.

Snow Empress withdrew her hand, sensed the now-stable aura within Qian Qizhou, and let her gaze fall on the soul tool where he kept the bone. "This place is safe for now."

"Since your condition has stabilized, you should absorb the soul bone."

She paused, then continued, "The Blue Silver Emperor contains vast life energy, which will perfectly compensate for the bit of origin you overspent; it will be of great benefit to you."

"I will guard you here to ensure nothing goes wrong."

She figured that with her present, no soul master would be able to disturb Qian Qizhou.

Hearing this, Qian Qizhou asked curiously, "Sister Snow, is your heavenly tribulation approaching?"

Snow Empress nodded slightly. "I have long been on the verge of breaking through, but I have been suppressing my cultivation because I lacked the confidence to survive the final tribulation."

"Now that I have exerted my power and stopped suppressing it, the tribulation will surely descend soon."

"However, having you by my side is fine. When I undergo the tribulation, you can absorb the lightning for me; that would be a win-win situation."

Still... is this guy really from this continent?

She had experimented on soul beasts with both lightning and fire, and not only could they not get near Qian Qizhou, but they would also show submission to him.

In the hundreds of thousands of years she had lived, this was the first time she had seen such a thing.

Qian Qizhou pondered for a moment and nodded. "Very well, then I shall trouble you, Sister Snow."

With those words, he carefully took out the crystal-clear Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, which flowed with blue-gold light.

The moment the soul bone appeared, a warm and vast life force permeated the air, rendering the cold cave vibrant with vitality.

Qian Qizhou took a deep breath, cradled the soul bone in his hands, and followed the techniques for absorbing soul bones, slowly bringing it close to his right leg.

His soul power began to attempt to establish a connection with this hundred-thousand-year treasure.

Outside.

Thousands of Spirit Hall spirit masters, led by several elders, launched a fierce, overwhelming assault on the Clear Sky Sect and its affiliated forces from every direction.

The Spirit Temples in all major cities simultaneously struck, purging and suppressing every spirit master and family known to have close ties to the Clear Sky Sect, whether openly or in secret.

As affiliates of the Clear Sky Sect, the Four Single-Attribute Clans bore the brunt of the onslaught and suffered heavy losses.

As the preeminent power on the continent, the strength displayed by Spirit Hall was undoubtedly terrifying.

Seeing this, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, one of the Upper Three Sects, simply played dead.

Seven Treasures Glazed Sect.

Ning Fengzhi looked at the intelligence report delivered to him and sighed helplessly.

Setting aside whether they even wanted to help, the justification provided by Spirit Hall left them with no way to intervene.

Tang Hao had colluded with a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast, killed the Pope, severely wounded two elders, openly betrayed humanity, and provoked Spirit Hall.

To offer help now would be an act of open defiance, equivalent to declaring war on Spirit Hall.

Ning Fengzhi tilted his head slightly and asked Chen Xin, who stood beside him, "Uncle Sword, is Qian Qizhou still traveling abroad? Has he not returned yet?"

Chen Xin nodded slowly. "Indeed, no word has been sent back as of yet."

He fell silent for a moment before speaking again, "The current situation between Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect is far too deep; we had best wait and see how things develop for now."

While ordinary people might not know, they were well aware that the Clear Sky Sect had no way to contend with Spirit Hall.

The strength of Spirit Hall was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface; beyond the Elder Hall, there existed the even more formidable Consecrated Hall.

Conversely, looking at the Clear Sky Sect, how many Title Douluo did they even have left?

In the end, the Clear Sky Sect, as the head of the Upper Three Sects, was forced to retract its influence entirely. Relying on its natural defenses and the foundation of the sect, it fell into a difficult defensive posture, struggling to hold on.

Yet, before the curtain even rose on this earth-shattering war, no one knew that one Clear Sky Sect elder and three Spirit Douluo had already fallen in silence.