That was not all the protection Li Qingshan had granted her.
Strange. She’s not a demonfolk, so why doesn’t she face the rejection from the laws of the Demon domain? She might have used some strange technique or arcane treasure when she infiltrated Cold Blood pass, but it should be useless when she’s facing the tribulation.
Ying Zhe was very puzzled. According to his estimates, it was certain death for Chao Tianjiao.
The laws of the world would not give her a free pass just because she was facing the heavenly tribulation. If she had to fend off the tribulation lightning externally, suppress the inner demons internally while facing rejection and pressure from the laws of the world, it was like facing a powerful foe while chained up. Even if she faced the tribulation a hundred times, there would not be a single time when she succeeded.
This was without a doubt still a blessing from Li Qingshan’s Yin Soul.
Chao Tianjiao recalled his voice and expression again, and she became even more determined, no longer sparing a glance at the kle?a-māra. She completely ignored its existence.
The kle?a-māra was like the tiger from the Chinese fable, the Tiger and the Donkey. It only needed to lunge over, and it could gut the donkey and have a feast, but because it had never seen such a strange animal before, it seemed very frightening, so it did not dare to act rashly.
After all, this was the path of the Demon Purging Grandmaster of Zhenwu. The path of xuanwu itself possessed a certain level of deterrence towards demons. It was not just a front.
The thunder rumbled away and time flew. Chao Tianjiao finally reached the moment when the donkey exhausted its tricks. In particular, the aura left behind by Li Qingshan’s Yin Soul was gradually dispersing.
The invisible laws of the Demon domain enveloped her layer by layer like a spider web. In the beginning, it was still very gentle and very faint, but it rapidly intensified. The kle?a-māra wrinkled its nose as if it identified her aura. It became more and more restless, attempting to approach her.
However, she smiled brightly. She had already bought enough time.
Her Origin Soul had already consolidated completely. It could be called a Xuanwu Origin Soul.
Her body was still around, having become even stronger after being forged by the tribulation lightning.
She had stayed true to herself, without relinquishing her emotions and desires or forgetting him.
“Severing the tribulation!”
With a slash, she cut through an armament of tribulation lightning, which turned into countless arcs, dispersing without taking shape again.
With that as a turning point, she was invincible with her blade in hand. The sixth heavenly tribulation was already approaching its end.
“Demon Purging!”
She swung her blade again, towards the kle?a-māra this time. She did not use the blade’s edge, but the harsh, indestructible intent of xuanwu.
The kle?a-māra only found the edge to be chilling, forcing it to dodge. It was knocked away.
The xuanwu blade aura shone coldly. She was like a goddess of war, standing in the air.
“Ying Zhe, stop wasting anymore time! If this bitch escapes, you won’t be able to bear the consequences!” Tu Wancheng said that both out of worry and also to mock.
Ying Zhe’s heart sank, and he no longer hesitated. He took out an icy-blue, rhombus-shaped crystal from his sleeve and bowed down deeply on the ground.
“Welcoming the Faceless Heretic God!”
The Demon Sovereigns all bowed down as well. They called out together, “Welcoming the Faceless Heretic God!”
The rhombus crystal hovered in the air and gradually climbed higher, shining brighter and brighter. It shattered loudly, and the dazzling light condensed into a teleportation gate that opened slowly.
A “person” of regular stature, attire, and bearing, without anything extraordinary, emerged. Even his gender was blurred. If he were tossed into a crowd of people, he would not be able to attract any attention at all.
The only abnormal part was his pale face—devoid of eyes, ears, a mouth, and a nose. It did not have any facial expressions either, which created a sense of dread.
A voice that also was not special in any way or form rang out from somewhere, “Why so soon?”
As a Heretic God only second to the twelve Demon Gods, he was tasked with important duties. He had to cultivate as well, so time was extremely precious to him.
Even with this assault on Black Cloud city, he planned on only showing up in the final moments to give the final word after the Demon Sovereigns had made all the preparations and fought to the very end. He did not expect Ying Zhe to use the teleportation crystal so soon.
Ying Zhe lowered his head deeply and was just about to explain. “Sir, it’s-”
“You bunch of trash!”
The Faceless Heretic God had realised what was going on a long time ago. He might not have possessed any facial features, but he was not blind or deaf. Even a blind man or a deaf man could sense such bright lightning and such loud thunder.
The might he suddenly erupted with pressed down on the Demon Sovereigns, such that they could not raise their heads. They all called out, “Please punish us, sir!”
This was the might of a god, even if he was only a half-god.
Tu Wancheng was filled with twisted joy. You old bastard, you actually angered the Faceless Heretic God. Let’s see how you deal with this now. And Chao Tianjiao, you bitch, do you really think you’re safe just by undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation? Let’s see how you die!
The Faceless Heretic God reached towards Ying Zhe’s head. Ying Zhe abruptly cried out sharply, “Congratulations, sir! Felicitations, sir!”
“What am I supposed to be celebrating?” the Faceless Heretic God asked. He did not have any facial features, but his face wriggled about like it was making an expression.
Ying Zhe raised his head and sucked up to him. “Congratulations on slaying an enemy Human Immortal!”
The Faceless Heretic God was taken aback. His hand paused mid-air, and he realised what was going on. He patted Ying Zhe on the head. “It truly is a grand occasion. You’ve done very well. All rise!”
The Demon Sovereigns looked at one another, while Ying Zhe behaved like he had just been spared. He shot a vicious glance at Tu Wancheng.
“Yeah, and she practises the path of xuanwu!”
The Faceless Heretic God “gazed” at Chao Tianjiao in the air. If he had eyes, they would definitely be sparkling. If he had a mouth, he would definitely be drooling right now.
In the war against the Human realm, anyone who slew an opposing Human Immortal would have made a great contribution. Not only would they receive a colossal amount of resources even to him, but they would receive the good graces of the will of the heavens.
However, contributions were not easily made. Since they were “immortals”, they were extremely difficult to kill. Even Demon Gods may not necessarily be able to take them down, as it was not just a matter of life-preserving measures once they reached the heights they were at.
The entire Desireless Heavenly Palace led by the Demon Purging Grandmaster of Zhenwu would be protecting them, so they could not be infringed upon so easily.
If Human Sovereigns were still pieces on the chessboard, relatively stronger pieces like rooks, bishops, and knights, then even if Human Immortals were not the chess players, they were the king at the very least. They were protected by all the other pieces. If they lost the king, that would be losing the entire game of chess, and that often meant millions of soldiers and thousands of kilometres of land.
Killing a Human Immortal, and one from the Zhenwu Emperor’s lineage, would result in contribution no less than taking down Black Cloud city or even more than that. This had essentially fallen into his lap, so how could the Faceless Heretic God remain angry?
The origins of the Human Immortal were rather awkward, but the will of the Demon domain would not care about this. If she was slain, then she was slain. The Demon Gods probably would not care about this either, as a Human Immortal was a Human Immortal.
Once she succeeds with the tribulation and ascends to the state of a Human Immortal, that’ll also be her most feeble moment. I’ll only need a gentle strike to kill her. In the Human realm, perhaps she still has a chance to escape with her Origin Soul, but she’s completely at my whim in the Demon domain!
The Faceless Heretic God was determined to kill a Human Immortal here and now to render a meritorious service. He had no interest in capturing her alive at all. His face wriggled with an eerie, terrifying expression as a pale hand reached towards Chao Tianjiao. It extended and expanded mid-air, turning into a sharp claw, like it was trying to rip apart the entire sky.
Boom!
The final bolt of tribulation lightning shattered under Chao Tianjiao’s blade. She eased up inside, and the xuanwu blade aura dispersed from her blade. Her weapon then crumbled and collapsed, reduced to ash.
She felt exhausted, unable to muster any strength anymore. She had directed all of her focus towards the heavenly tribulation the entire time, such that she did not even notice the Faceless Heretic God’s arrival.
The Faceless Heretic God’s face wriggled into a smile. He suddenly reached down with his pale-white claw. “Die!”
