Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation

"While this Spirit Body of mine is still here, go ahead." All the Heavenly Emperor wanted now was to help as much as he could while he still remained.

But the next moment, he saw Futu Yijing rise to his feet, his hands forming an exceedingly complex series of seals. Even with his vast knowledge, the Heavenly Emperor did not recognize them.

Futu Yijing raised his hand, and a seal carved from white jade appeared in his palm.

Four characters were inscribed in small seal script on its underside: Nine-Nine Human Emperor!

When the Heavenly Emperor saw the seal, uncertainty flickered in his eyes. He sensed an aura of supreme nobility from the jade seal, an aura that felt very familiar.

"Where did you get that jade seal?"

Futu Yijing grinned. "Senior Heavenly Emperor, this jade seal is called... the Human Emperor Seal!"

At that name, surprise flashed through the Heavenly Emperor's eyes. "The Human Emperor's?"

The Human Emperor was one of the ancient Nine Emperors, a figure whose fame rivaled the Heavenly Emperor's, and a powerhouse who had never appeared in the original novel.

Futu Yijing had obtained this Human Emperor Seal in the Outer Realm Evil Clan's territory.

"You truly are blessed with fortune, lad." Even the Heavenly Emperor marveled at Futu Yijing's luck.

The fact that he had obtained the Human Emperor Seal and could wield it meant that Futu Yijing had received the Human Emperor's inheritance. Now, he had also received the Heavenly Emperor's.

The inheritances of two of the ancient Nine Emperors had converged in Futu Yijing.

"Why didn't I see you use it against the Demon Emperor?" the Heavenly Emperor asked curiously.

Futu Yijing gave a bitter smile. "I obtained the Human Emperor Seal in the Outer Realm Evil Clan's territory. Senior Human Emperor seemed to have foreseen that his inheritance would end up in the Outer Realm, so he placed a seal on it. I couldn't break it at all before."

He had wanted to use it too!

But the sealing method was far too profound, and he was no expert in that field. He simply could not undo it.

Without breaking the seal, the Human Emperor Seal was nothing more than a brick in his hands.

"Senior Heavenly Emperor, although I still haven't broken the seal on the Human Emperor Seal, I can open a space within it that can nurture souls. This Spirit Body of yours carries a wisp of your soul. Though I haven't found a method of resurrection, I can ensure that your soul survives and gradually grows stronger." Futu Yijing gazed at the Heavenly Emperor with ardent eyes.

The Heavenly Emperor now understood Futu Yijing's intentions.

He had brought out the Human Emperor Seal not to ask for help breaking its seal, but to invite the Heavenly Emperor inside.

At that thought, the Heavenly Emperor's gaze softened further as he looked at Futu Yijing, and a trace of hope appeared in his eyes.

He had thought he would vanish completely from the world after helping Futu Yijing advance to Heavenly Sovereign. He had never expected this junior before him to have a way for him to continue existing.

Looking at the junior who had accepted his inheritance, the Heavenly Emperor now felt that even if no method of resurrection existed, remaining with him as a soul and watching him grow would be a wonderful thing.

"I'll enter after I help you advance to Heavenly Sovereign." The Heavenly Emperor smiled and nodded.

"I'm sorry you'll have to put up with this, Senior," Futu Yijing said.

"What is there to put up with, lad?" The Heavenly Emperor shook his head with a smile.

Then his expression grew serious, and he offered a reminder. "From here on, it will be up to you."

"I understand!"

The Heavenly Emperor guided the power of the Heavenly Emperor Sword to wash over Futu Yijing, who sat cross-legged once more and endured the baptism of sword light that filled the sky.

Even though Futu Yijing had already touched the threshold of Heavenly Sovereign through his own cultivation, breaking through would still take some time.

Half a month passed just like that.

At that moment, spiritual light burst from the countless cracks the Heavenly Emperor Sword's light had scoured into Futu Yijing's body. The radiance gradually expanded, until a thunderous sound suddenly rang out.

Bang!

Futu Yijing's body actually exploded apart, yet no blood splashed out. Instead, it turned into a sky full of powder, each particle sparkling with crystalline light as it floated silently.

Hundreds of millions of glimmers drifted in the air. After an unknown length of time, a gentle breeze suddenly gathered. It whistled through the air, continuously drawing in the countless particles of spiritual light to reshape them.

As time passed, the luminous powder gradually converged. A figure faintly emerged within it, as though his physical body was about to be formed anew.

Destruction before rebirth!

Rumble!

Just then, however, a strange vibration suddenly sounded above this space. It was profoundly mysterious, and merely spreading outward was enough to shake the physical body that was on the verge of being restored.

Futu Yijing's soul stood above the Heavenly River. He raised his head and looked up, only to see the void trembling overhead as layer upon layer of pitch-black clouds surged out. Black light churned within them, brewing something unknown while constantly absorbing the power of lightning, growing ever deeper and more mysterious.

"The Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation is coming." The Heavenly Emperor, who had been standing guard nearby, noticed it as well.

The Heavenly Emperor roused Mu Chen and Nine Nether from their cultivation.

"Senior," the two called out.

"Futu Yijing's Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation is coming. This is where he will face it, and it is far too dangerous. I will send the three of you out of the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum now," the Heavenly Emperor said.

It was said that breaking through the heavenly barrier would inevitably summon a calamity known as the Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation. This tribulation was incomparably terrifying. Not only those below Heavenly Sovereign, but even true Heavenly Sovereigns regarded it with considerable dread.

Mandala looked at the Heavenly Emperor, her eyes filled with reluctance to part.

The Heavenly Emperor looked at Mandala and smiled gently. "Mandala, we will meet again."

Mandala visibly froze. Before she could say anything, the Heavenly Emperor waved his hand and sent all three of them out of the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum.

Now, only two Spirit Bodies remained within the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum: Futu Yijing's and the Heavenly Emperor's.

High overhead, black clouds churned, and a world-shaking bolt of lightning struck down toward Futu Yijing's soul. The lightning carried a dense aura of annihilation, as though the slightest touch would reduce him to drifting ash.

"Senior Heavenly Emperor, please enter the Human Emperor Seal," Futu Yijing said to the Heavenly Emperor.

"Very well." The Heavenly Emperor nodded, turned into a streak of light, and entered the Human Emperor Seal.

The past half month had given the Heavenly Emperor ample time to deepen his understanding of Futu Yijing.

For this junior, surviving the Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation would not be difficult.

Rumble!

More world-shaking lightning suddenly tore through the clouds and descended in a torrent that blotted out the sky. Every bolt contained the power of destruction, terrifying beyond measure.

Endless light erupted from Futu Yijing, and the Endless Light Body stood behind him, swinging its fists to resist the world-shaking lightning of the Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation.

Lightning fell without end. Relying on the Endless Light Body's defensive power, Futu Yijing withstood bolt after bolt.

After unleashing the Light Wall, Futu Yijing blocked the eighth strike of the Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation.

Within the Human Emperor Seal, the Heavenly Emperor watched Futu Yijing, a hint of wonder in his eyes.

An ordinary Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation consisted of only four strikes, yet Futu Yijing had already endured the eighth. Judging by the black clouds, a ninth seemed to be brewing.