A large mass of figures was flung out of Xue He, hit the ground, twitched twice, and died.
The might of a single punch was terrifying to such an extent.
Han Qingxue covered her mouth, stunned as well.
Then she saw Lu Chen's blood-soaked fist, nearly stripped of all flesh, and her face went pale.
She hurried over.
But Lu Chen suddenly gripped her shoulder, his legs trembling faintly.
That strike had drained all the energy in his body.
Boundless blood qi was pouring from the four great furnaces into the qi sea furnace and throughout his body, restoring him.
As for Ji Wujue and the others, they had all been frightened stiff.
"You..."
"Don't speak!" Lu Chen took a deep breath.
Han Qingxue took out a medicinal pill and placed it in Lu Chen's mouth.
"He suffered a backlash and is recovering. Attack!" That action exposed the truth to Ji Wujue. He roared and lunged forward first.
Seeing this, Blood Owl and the other Blood Son, Xue Chou, charged over with the rest.
Lu Chen gave a cold laugh and abruptly hurled out the Myriad Manifestations Furnace.
The moment Ji Wujue saw it, he abandoned Lu Chen and charged directly at it.
Boom!
To his horror, a pillar suddenly emerged from within, along with chain after chain, ancient demon corpses hanging from their ends.
A terrifying power of restriction crashed down, ruthlessly pinning Ji Wujue and his chariot to the ground.
The two Blood Sons were also caught in the restriction's force and sent flying backward together.
"An... ancient demon? You took in an ancient demon?!" Blood Owl shrieked, his voice brimming with shock.
As the mouth of the Myriad Manifestations Furnace aimed at them, Blood Owl howled and retreated far away.
Xue Chou and the others retreated as well.
If Lu Chen could take in the bronze pillar and the ancient demon, what did that make them?
They were frightened out of their wits.
Especially Ji Wujue, who was pinned to the ground. He fell directly into despair.
He had thought that bringing reinforcements would let him kill Lu Chen. Instead, the one likely to die was himself.
Watching the enormous furnace mouth descend from the heavens, Ji Wujue dared not hesitate any longer.
Boom!
A figure abruptly emerged from his body, directly forcing apart the powerful restriction.
This figure radiated an immense aura, the aura of one in a high position, shaking the surrounding region.
"Hm?" Seeing the bronze pillar and the ancient demon corpse beneath it, the figure's expression shifted slightly.
"Father, save me!"
Ji Wujue screamed.
It was King Yanbei's soul fragment.
"Suppress!" Lu Chen's gaze turned sharp as the Myriad Manifestations Furnace descended with boundless pressure.
Break!
King Yanbei's soul fragment raised a hand and threw a punch.
Boom-crack!
The bronze pillar, the ancient demon corpse, and even the descending Myriad Manifestations Furnace were all blasted away by that punch.
Lu Chen suffered a backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning even paler.
However, King Yanbei's soul phantom instantly became more transparent.
"Die!"
The other party pressed down with an empty hand, and a gigantic palm descended through the air. Space shattered inch by inch like glass.
Lu Chen abruptly flung Han Qingxue aside. The Demon Emperor Phantom appeared once more as he poured all his recovered energy into his fist and smashed it against the palm imprint.
Rumble...
Heaven and earth collapsed.
The enormous shockwave caved in half the cavern.
Lu Chen spat blood as he flew backward, thrown more than a thousand meters away. His right arm hung limp as cotton, every bone within it shattered.
King Yanbei's soul figure became increasingly transparent, so faint that it could not be noticed without close inspection.
Yet its aura remained, and blazing heat burned in its eyes.
Just as it was about to move again, a clear cry rang out: "Burn Soul!"
Han Qingxue suddenly leaped up, an Ice Phoenix Phantom appearing between her brows.
The Ice Soul Sword turned into a streak of light and entered her chest. A crystalline soul arrow condensed on the bowstring.
As the bowstring was drawn taut, the tips of her hair turned snow-white at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew forth like a rainbow!
The soul arrow pierced through the center of King Yanbei's phantom's brow, and the residual force blasted Ji Wujue far away.
Han Qingxue went limp and fell, caught with difficulty by Lu Chen's left arm.
The person in his arms looked transparent as paper, her soul flickering uncertainly like a candle flame in the wind.
The Bone Furnace descended upside down, dripping two drops of Blood Marrow into her mouth.
Lu Chen swallowed one drop as well, and his shattered right arm regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"All of you deserve to die!" Lu Chen roared as the pure soul power inside the Myriad Manifestations Furnace surged fiercely into his soul.
The flames of his soul suddenly swelled, materializing above his head.
Rumble...
The exposed half of the sky churned with wind and clouds, while a terrifying aura blanketed the surrounding heaven and earth.
"Not good, he's about to undergo tribulation!" Blood Owl's expression changed drastically. He turned and ran.
"Go back to Myriad Manifestations City!" Lu Chen stuffed a teleportation talisman into Han Qingxue's hand. "I'll find you after this. Go!"
"You must come back alive!" Han Qingxue solemnly urged him. Enduring her weakness, she activated the teleportation talisman and vanished from the spot.
It was not that she did not want to stay. She simply could not.
Once the heavenly punishment appeared, it would draw down her own heavenly punishment as well.
"Run? Heh heh..." Lu Chen let out a cold laugh, transforming into a bolt of lightning as he circled behind Blood Owl and the others in pursuit.
Blood Owl, Xue Chou, and Ji Wujue stared with their eyes wide, their breaths heavy and their hearts pounding like thunder.
Their voices had gone hoarse from shouting.
Within only a few breaths, they sensed their own heavenly tribulations. Outside, tribulation clouds continuously piled up across the sky.
Layer upon layer.
At the bottom was Lu Chen's Martial Dao Heavenly Punishment. Above it were the heavenly tribulations of the cultivators present, no fewer than ten layers of every kind.
Back in Eternal City, Han Qingxue endured the backlash as she watched this scene, and she was utterly despairing.
The entire Blood Fiend Battlefield was filled with tribulation clouds, their crushing heaviness seeming capable of collapsing heaven and earth.
Han Qingxue's heart trembled.
Lu Chen truly did not want to live!
Layer upon layer of thunderclouds surged like an ink-black sea, violet lightning slithering through the gaps like dragons. Every flash dyed heaven and earth a ghastly white.
A despairing heavenly might shrouded all directions.
Lu Ran's True Martial Tribulation manifested the Nine Heavenly Gates and the Magma Fire Purgatory, yet before the tribulation clouds covering the entire world, it seemed utterly insignificant.
Lu Chen looked up at the sky, his black robe snapping in the wind and battle intent burning in his eyes. As the heavenly tribulation drew closer step by step, his fighting spirit rose ever higher.
The Martial Dao Will tempered beneath the will statue at Tianyan Academy was fully revealed: the stronger the foe, the stronger he became.
Blood Owl, Ji Wujue, and the others had their escape routes locked down by the tribulation clouds, their faces pale as paper.
Their Golden Core Tribulations and Nascent Soul Tribulations had been forcibly drawn in by Lu Chen's Martial Dao Heavenly Punishment. Dozens of layers of tribulation clouds overlapped, and the sight left them with hearts as dead as ash.
They had not prepared to undergo tribulation at all.
Especially those whose cultivation had not yet reached the required realm—there was not the slightest chance of survival for them.
With an earthshaking blast, a sea of lightning crashed down, turning heaven and earth pure white.
It made all those pale faces appear even whiter.
"You madman, you'll die a miserable death!" Blood Owl howled as he summoned the Blood Devouring Banner. Before the banner could even unfurl, the first wave of lightning tribulation came crashing down.
Boom!
Violet lightning descended like a heavenly sword. The Blood Devouring Banner spewed blood qi as it struggled against it, but the lightning sword pressed lower and lower. Finally, with a thunderous boom, it blasted Blood Owl and the banner alike into the ground.
"Even as a ghost, I won't let you off! Aaah, aaah, aaah..." Blood Owl lay on the ground, convulsing violently and letting out wails like ghosts weeping and wolves howling.
Xue Chou's left arm brushed against a thread of lightning. It instantly blackened, charred, and exploded apart. He staggered backward, his face filled with despair.
Ji Wujue was not much better off. His battle halberd was warped, his hair disheveled, and his clothes torn to shreds, making him look like a beggar.
His aura was weak. One bolt of lightning had nearly taken his life on the spot.
As for the other cultivators, whether disciples of the Blood Spirit Sect or King Yanbei's cultivators, they did not even have time to scream before turning to ash beneath the lightning.
Before you continue