Chapter 73: Who’s the Big Boss Here?
Si Chen and his companions traveled with laughter and easy conversation along the way. Their cultivation was high enough that they could press on without rest and never feel the slightest fatigue.
It was only when the terrain below began to look strange that they finally slowed their pace.
The scenery around them gradually turned desolate. The lush, verdant mountain forests gave way to vast stretches of bare, dark-red rock, lending the land a bleak and forsaken air.
"Huh? What's that up ahead?" Heishan suddenly pointed into the distance, puzzled.
At the far edge of the horizon, a boundless expanse of water had appeared — so deep in color it was nearly black.
Chifeng narrowed his eyes and studied it for a short while before speaking. "That should be the legendary Demon-Subduing Sea."
"Legend has it that in ancient times, a great powerhouse fought a decisive battle here against Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, shattering the heavens and splitting the earth... and this enormous crater was the result."
"...Over countless ages, water filled the pit and formed a lake. Because the water is so dark, people came to call it the 'Demon-Subduing Sea.'"
Chifeng explained, then added, "Of course, whether that's true or not, who can say."
There was a hint of resignation in his voice as he spoke.
What could he do? This group had one fool, one person with no sense of direction, and a bird that did nothing but sleep all day. If he, the team's strategist, didn't take on a little extra responsibility, who would?
Si Chen stood suspended in the air, his cyan robe swaying gently in the breeze.
He sensed the ancient aura lingering in the air, then swept his gaze across this desolate, uninhabited wasteland, and gave a satisfied nod.
"This is the place. It's perfect for crossing the tribulation."
What he needed was somewhere open enough that no innocent bystanders would be caught in the crossfire.
The so-called Demon-Subduing Sea was rarely visited by anyone — it suited his needs perfectly.
Heishan and Chifeng exchanged a glance, and each saw the gravity in the other's eyes. Even the usually carefree Heishan set aside his joking manner; his rugged face was now etched with solemnity.
A heavenly tribulation was no laughing matter. It was the Heavenly Dao's trial for those who dared defy the natural order — one misstep and the result was death, with one's Dao extinguished.
"Brother, don't worry — we've got your back!" Heishan thumped his chest.
Only Red Bean remained unbothered. She seemed utterly oblivious to the tense atmosphere. She lifted off lightly from Si Chen's shoulder, fluttered over with practiced ease, and landed atop Heishan's wild, unkempt black hair. She found a comfortable spot, curled herself into a ball, and prepared to resume her nap.
Si Chen looked at the two of them bracing themselves as if facing a great enemy, and couldn't help but smile. "Relax. It'll be fine."
Heishan and Chifeng exchanged another glance, said nothing more, and in a single motion transformed into two streaks of flowing light — one to the left, one to the right — retreating to a safe distance far enough away. They began scanning their surroundings with vigilant eyes, their expressions grave as they stood Guardian for Si Chen.
Si Chen stood alone, hovering above the ink-black surface of the Demon-Subduing Sea. He drew a long, deep breath and ceased suppressing the surging cultivation within him.
In a fleeting moment, the wind and clouds changed color.
Boom!!!
A thunderous roar seemed to descend from the highest heavens. The sky, which had been clear just moments before, darkened at a visible pace. Dense, heavy storm clouds surged in from every direction in a frenzy, rolling and churning as they pressed down over the Demon-Subduing Sea.
Lightning flickered within the cloud layers, thunder rumbled and roared, and a heart-shaking pressure blanketed the entire sky and earth.
The commotion was so immense that every living creature within ten thousand miles felt it in their bones, and they all turned their uncertain, startled gazes toward the Demon-Subduing Sea.
Heaven's Wrath blazed in all its glory, sweeping across ten thousand miles!
"This commotion... it's way too big, isn't it?!" Heishan craned his neck back to stare at the tribulation clouds that seemed about to press down on his very head, his expression grave.
Chifeng's brow was tightly furrowed. "This is already beyond the scale of an ordinary heavenly tribulation for the Nascent Soul Stage."
Both of their hearts leapt into their throats.
The greater the power of a heavenly tribulation, the stronger the potential of the one crossing it — but correspondingly, the danger multiplied many times over!
The scale of these tribulation lightning clouds was more than ten times more terrifying than the heavenly tribulation they had each faced when they took on human form!
At the same time, forces from all directions were stirred by this sudden, extraordinary phenomenon in the heavens and earth.
* * *
In several nearby Sects, old monsters who had been in Closed-Door Cultivation opened their eyes one after another, gazing with uncertain suspicion toward the direction of the Demon-Subduing Sea.
"Such Heaven's Wrath... which Fellow Daoist is making a push for Soul Transformation?"
"The Demon-Subduing Sea?... Which old monster chose to cross their tribulation there?"
In an instant, countless threads of Divine Sense crossed the vast sky, probing cautiously toward the Demon-Subduing Sea.
* * *
The Fang Clan's agents, who had already been lurking in secret surveillance, immediately realized what was happening. Message talismans shot into the sky one after another.
"The target has begun crossing the tribulation at the Demon-Subduing Sea!"
"Assemble at once! Strike while he is weakened by the tribulation — take him down in one fell swoop!"
Shadowy figures and gazes filled with killing intent converged from all sides toward the Demon-Subduing Sea.
* * *
High in the ninth heaven, deep within the clouds.
"This kid... he really does know how to pick a spot."
A graceful silhouette stood motionless, her skirt utterly still despite the fierce gale, as though she had merged with the heavens and earth themselves.
Even a Nascent Soul Cultivator passing below would have been completely unable to detect her presence.
She gazed down at the tribulation clouds gathering below, a flicker of surprise crossing her beautiful eyes.
"The momentum of this tribulation lightning... is even more outrageous than that bastard's was back in the day?"
She murmured softly to herself, and her silhouette gradually dissolved into the sea of clouds, as though she had never been there at all.
* * *
A hundred miles away.
Li Tiezhu was in the middle of an argument with the System in his mind.
"Idiot? Did you just call me an idiot?!"
He was so furious he was practically hopping. "Let me tell you something — just because you gave me a bit of cultivation doesn't mean you can buy me off! I, Li Tiezhu, have my pride!"
[WARNING: High-danger energy fluctuation detected. Immediate withdrawal recommended.]
The System's alert chimed again.
Li Tiezhu froze, looked up toward the Demon-Subduing Sea, and the sudden pressure bearing down from the heavens and earth made his heart lurch.
"What's all that commotion?" he muttered to himself.
[Analysis result: heavenly tribulation for the Nascent Soul Stage. However, the energy level is anomalous and has exceeded conventional understanding. Danger rating: unpredictable.]
Exceeded conventional understanding? Danger rating unpredictable?
Li Tiezhu's heart sank, and his instincts screamed at him to run.
But then he thought back to the System just now calling him an idiot, and that stubborn streak of his flared right up.
At that moment, the System seemed to grow urgent and sent another message:
[Host, withdraw immediately! This is not something you can get involved in! You moron!]
Fuck?!
Was Li Tiezhu really going to take that?!
"You dare call me a moron?! Are you staging a revolt?!"
He flew into a rage, his mind went hot, and without a second thought he launched himself flying toward the Demon-Subduing Sea.
"You tell me not to go, so today I'm going to go and have a look — that'll teach you to keep insulting me!"
He told himself he'd just watch from a safe distance and absolutely not get involved.
But today, he, Li Tiezhu, was going to make this damned System understand who the big boss was around here!
Yet when he flew halfway there and got a clear look at the apocalyptic scene in the distance, his whole body froze.
The sky had been completely blanketed by pitch-black tribulation clouds. Countless bolts of lightning writhed through the cloud layers, and blinding flashes of light periodically lit the heavens and earth a ghastly white.
The world-destroying, heaven-shattering aura made this newly minted Foundation Establishment Cultivator's legs go weak.
"Oh my god..."
Li Tiezhu swallowed hard.
He suddenly felt like maybe the System's insults... had a point.
If he turned around and left right now... was it still too late?