The wind atop Spirit Mountain carried the fresh, soothing breath of the Tree of Life, yet it could not suppress the increasingly oppressive might of the Heavenly Tribulation in the air.
The Ice Empress sat cross-legged on the surface of the Lake of Life. Her ice-blue soul power had condensed into a cocoon of light as thin as a cicada's wing, temporarily containing the restless energy around her.
She looked up at Qian Daoliu, her emerald eyes stripped of their initial panic, leaving only a resolve tempered in fire-the power of the ten-thousand-year ice jade marrow settling within her flowed through every limb and bone like a warm current. The memories of despair she had felt when facing Heavenly Tribulations in the Far North now became fuel that ignited her fighting spirit.
"I'm ready."
The Ice Empress spoke softly, her voice piercing the heavy pressure and reaching everyone's ears clearly.
Qian Daoliu nodded, his golden robes snapping in the wind as he spoke solemnly:
"Remember, you must overcome the Heavenly Tribulation yourself. We can only stand guard for you; we cannot intervene in the slightest. Once anyone else's soul power gets involved, every subsequent strike will double in strength. That would only harm you."
He turned toward Jiang Mo, who could barely contain himself, and added:
"Activate the Holy Spirit Guardian Light Array."
"You got it!"
Jiang Mo sprang into action, slamming the Coiling Dragon Staff into the ground. Black-gold soul power spread along the channels laid out across the summit, instantly activating the nine Level 9 Soul Tool cores hidden beneath the rocks.
In an instant, nine pale-gold pillars of light shot skyward from the ground, weaving into a vast net high above. Intricate angel runes flowed along its edges. Though this Holy Spirit Guardian Light Array had no