Ye Xuan knew nothing of what was happening outside.
He had remained in the Holy Son Palace cultivating, never setting foot outside.
In the blink of an eye.
Another half month passed.
Ye Xuan had now opened one hundred and seven spiritual meridians within his body.
At this moment, he was working hard to open his one hundred and eighth spiritual meridian.
Above the Holy Son Hall, dark clouds gathered in a dense mass, oppressively terrifying.
Behind those clouds, streaks of lightning seemed to flicker and surge.
It seemed a terrifying storm was brewing.
The twelve ancestors and Han Bingning had once again appeared above the Holy Son Hall.
They looked at the dense black clouds overhead, their expressions all extremely grave.
"Is this... heavenly tribulation?" the eleventh ancestor asked in a low voice, his expression solemn.
The twelfth ancestor nodded. "That's right. It should be heavenly tribulation."
The eighth ancestor sighed softly. "They say only a breakthrough to the Supreme Extreme Realm can draw heavenly tribulation. Could the Holy Son be about to break through to the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Meridian Opening Realm?"
At his words, the other ancestors could not help their faces twitching, at a loss for what to say.
The early stages of cultivation were Meridian Opening, Essence Condensation, Wheel Sea, and Golden Core.
According to legend, only after passing through the first three realms and reaching Golden Core could one possibly touch the Supreme Extreme Realm, unlocking this legendary realm through some unseen workings.
But someone touching or even reaching the Supreme Extreme Realm at Meridian Opening was something they had truly never heard of.
Never mind Meridian Opening-even the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Golden Core Realm was something very few could truly reach.
Even Han Bingning, whose talent had been unparalleled in the Eastern Wasteland back then, had fallen a hair short and failed to reach it.
Han Bingning looked solemn, her voice clear. "Judging by its power, this heavenly tribulation should be enough to strike a Golden Core cultivator dead. If he really breaks through, can he withstand it?"
The other ancestors were all silent.
How could a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator withstand heavenly tribulation powerful enough to strike a Golden Core cultivator dead?
This was simply a joke.
After all, aptitude was aptitude, and cultivation was cultivation.
Even if Ye Xuan possessed the Chaos Sacred Body, with heaven-defying aptitude unmatched throughout the ages.
His current cultivation was still plain to see: merely the ninth level of Meridian Opening.
How could he withstand heavenly tribulation powerful enough to strike a Golden Core cultivator dead?
The hot-tempered fifth ancestor could not help bursting into curses:
"Damn this Heavenly Dao! He's breaking through to the Supreme Extreme Realm of Meridian Opening, so why are you brewing heavenly tribulation powerful enough to strike a Golden Core cultivator dead? Damn it!"
The others said nothing, merely pondering how to respond.
This heavenly tribulation was an enormous crisis for Ye Xuan, but to them, it was nothing at all.
Yet they could not interfere.
Once they interfered, the Heavenly Dao would send down heavenly tribulation powerful enough to strike them dead.
When that happened, not only would Ye Xuan certainly die, but even they would likely perish.
For a time, this group of old relics who had lived for countless years racked their brains, yet could think of no solution.
The Chaos Sacred Body-was it going to be destroyed before it could even rise?
Then again, it was inherently a heaven-defying aptitude. Perhaps it was only fitting that the Heavenly Dao would not tolerate it.
Inside the Holy Son Hall.
Ye Xuan had no idea that the Heavenly Dao was already brewing a lightning tribulation.
He was still working hard to open that one hundred and eighth spiritual meridian.
At a certain moment-
Boom!
With a low, muffled rumble from within his body, the one hundred and eighth spiritual meridian appeared!
In an instant, extraordinary phenomena erupted, and fierce winds howled!
Crack!
Behind the clouds, the thick bolts of lightning that had been brewing for so long suddenly lit up the void, pierced through the clouds, and crashed down!
Amid a chorus of crackling, they blasted toward the Holy Son Hall in moments.
Their target was clear: Ye Xuan.
The twelve ancestors' expressions shifted slightly at the sight.
Powerful presences surged from some of the ancestors as they prepared to charge out, only to be held firmly back by the ancestors beside them.
"What are you doing? Do you want to get him killed? Do you want to get all of us killed? Do you want our Ancient Desolate Holy Land to be wiped out here and now?"
At these furious rebukes, the ancestors who had been about to intervene immediately wilted.
Their eyes were scarlet, their corners nearly splitting. "Are we... are we just going to watch him get struck dead by heavenly tribulation?"
The ancestors stopping them also had reddened eyes. "What else can we do? What way is there? He can only rely on himself for all of this!"
Inside the hall.
Ye Xuan had opened his eyes as well.
As he watched the heavenly tribulation falling from the firmament, his deep, dark eyes suddenly turned cold.
"Sacred Armor!"
As the words left his mouth, a suit of armor blazing with golden light suddenly appeared on his body.
He had obtained it through a sign-in a few days earlier, and it could block a Sacred Venerable's attacks.
Ye Xuan had originally planned to wear it only when he went out to temper himself or encountered a lethal crisis, never expecting it to come in handy now.
Almost as soon as the Sacred Armor covered his body, a thick bolt of lightning struck him with a thunderous crash.
A terrifying force swept over him, only to be completely blocked by the Sacred Armor.
Even so, the enormous shock wave still made Ye Xuan's body sway involuntarily.
But he held his body firmly under control and endured it, not shifting an inch.
The Sacred Armor could block the destructive power, but not the force of the impact.
Naturally, a lightning tribulation capable of striking a Golden Core cultivator dead also carried tremendous impact.
Ye Xuan shouted and abruptly rose to his feet!
Boom!
Almost as soon as he stood, another bolt of lightning struck him, and his body swayed again.
Yet he stood ramrod straight, like an ancient pine, without moving a step.
Ye Xuan's actions seemed to enrage the heavenly tribulation.
The bolts that followed instantly grew more terrifying, more violent.
Boom!
Boom! Boom!!
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Bolt after bolt seemed to vent its fury, unleashing boundless, terrifying might as it slammed relentlessly into Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan clenched his fists and held on with all his might, never retreating a step!
He raised his head and looked into the void, his gaze defiant. "A mere heavenly tribulation thinks it can destroy me?"
He laughed wildly. "If gods seek to destroy me, I'll slaughter gods. If heaven seeks to destroy me, I'll destroy heaven!"
He recalled another classic line and added, "The youth who slays gods will ultimately become a demon!"
Boom!
As Ye Xuan's words fell, the final bolt of lightning descended.
At last, Ye Xuan could not hold on and was sent flying.
Fuck, that hurts!
Lying on the ground, Ye Xuan could not help grumbling.
The heavenly tribulation had already dispersed, however, and no more lightning fell.
Whoosh!
A fragrant breeze appeared in an instant, and then Ye Xuan felt himself entering a gentle embrace.
"Are you all right?" A cool voice drifted out, filled with deep concern.
Ye Xuan looked up and saw his stunningly beautiful master, Han Bingning.
Her gaze was like water, and her lovely face, usually an iceberg that never melted through the ages, seemed to have thawed, revealing concern and looking all the softer and lovelier.
Her beautiful, watery eyes gazed at him tenderly.
For an instant, he actually felt as though his very soul was about to be drawn away.
Ye Xuan's heart trembled, a warm current passing through it, and then he threw his arms around his master.
He rolled his head against her and said, "Master, I'm fine."
Sensing something unusual, Han Bingning blushed slightly and was just about to speak-
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The twelve ancestors barged in at precisely the wrong moment.