Four pillars descended at the same time, creating air shockwaves which traveled for many miles, destroying many trees and killing many beasts.
Emperor Absolution! Ji Chen executed the strongest style of his Tri-absolution Sword Art.
Eight successive slashes welcomed the four pillars. Eight sword projectiles which totally robbed the surrounding area of all the elements were produced by these slashes. The green grass became gray. The trees withered and even the ground lost its earthly colors.
The devastating scene made the two demons hiding nearby to think twice for a moment.
"The human has superior sword art. Are you sure we can kill him in one go?"
There was short silence between the two demons.
"Just use your strongest attack."
"Good. But you need to compensate me."
"I know."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The four pillars were chopped off in the midair by the eight sword projectiles. The shower of earth debris and the dazzling explosion of energies created a more spectacular sight to behold.
However, there were six more pillars in the sky which were vibrating as if the energies within could not be contained anymore.
Below, Ji Chen knew that even if he used his Light Phantom Step Art, he would never outrun these giant pillars.
Moreover, the suffocating pressure created by the sand trying to bury him reached its peak as if these sand solidified into hard rock, entombing him alive.
The gravity also increased a thousand times, adding more pressure to his fragile body. It was as if many ropes were entangled to him and trying to tear his limbs and head apart. It made him very uncomfortable.
He did not want to be titled as One-Legged Great Emperor or One-Armed Great Emperor. Such a future would render him having less strength than his peers.
"Damn it. I will temper my body before I ascend to the Sovereign Realm next time." He cursed as he vowed to be more ready in his next tribulation.
The six vibrating pillars burst out a blinding umber light made of pure earth energies before descending towards Ji Chen. Small space cracks could be seen webbing outwards in the sky. This did not happen during the last descent of pillars.
As a cultivator with earth domain, how could Ji Chen not feel the heaviness and gravity packed within the umber light surrounding the pillars.
"Earth Domain."
"Emperor Absolution."
"Inescapable Sword Screen."
A brownish dome with swirling earth energies materialized with him at the center. Ji Chen finally used his domain against the tribulation since he was not sure whether his sword arts could stop these special pillars.
At the same time, he attacked with his Tri-absolution Sword Art and made layers upon layers of sword screens to defend himself. In addition, he used another sword art to dampen the energies in those pillars.
This sequence of attack was the best he could do since he hadn perfected the Meteor
Dash Sword Art bought from the system. This prevented him from incorporating it into his set of attacks.
Although he was nervous, he knew the system would protect him at the crucial time.
All the onlookers nearby and in the sect were watching intensely at this final wave of tribulation with some having malicious intentions and some with worried expressions.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sword projectiles met the six pillars with the support of streams of rushing sand. A thunderous explosion created strong shockwaves while the pillars continued to descend, albeit the umber light coating dimmed.
The first resistance created by Ji Chen merely attenuated the energies within the pillars.
As the pillars entered his earth domain, two opposing earth energies clashed aggressively, trying to outdo each other. Naturally, Ji Chens comprehension of earth elements had not reached the beyond-the-heaven level, thus, his earth energy was less pure than the one coating the pillars.
The pillars continued to descend with flickering umber coating.
Screech!
The barriers erected tried to stop the pillars. One by one, the barriers lost their energy. However, this time, the pillars totally lost the umber light coating.
The pale Ji Chen watched the pillars inching closer to him as he panted heavily due to exhaustion of energies. The successive activation of many art manuals while maintaining the earth domain was too taxing for him.
Regardless, he swung his sword once again.
Tri-absolution Sword Art: Mage Absolution!
Although he could only use the second form, it would at least cut the pillars into smaller parts. He judged that these smaller parts would only injure him which was enough as long as he was still breathing.
Dozens of miles away, two fast moving figures were coming straight towards Ji Chen. These two demons retrieved their baleful weapons, a trident and a spear.
"Lets attack at a distance."
"What if he did not die after this?"
"Then you check him closer to make sure."
With only two mountains apart from the figure of Ji Chen, the two demons charged long distance attacks with vicious expressions. They would never allow the enemy race to have another great emperor.
Their actions naturally got caught by Ji Chen due to the fluctuations of baleful energies.
"Idiots. The tribulation is not yet finished." He curled his lips in contempt while being buried by the crashing fragments of pillars. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he readied himself to intercept their attack.
The four elders and three visitors also inched closer to check Ji Chen. As the strongest among the seven, City Lord Feng was the first to sense the baleful aura coming from the opposite direction.
"Not good. There are demons around!" He shouted to others.
"Demons? Why are the demons here?"
"F*ck! Opportunistic rats!" Long Zhu roared in indignation while rushing faster to guard his brother. He had already a bad premonition about the presence of demons during Ji Chens tribulation.
Jiang Feng, Qiang Ji, and Li Xuanyu also rushed to guard their leader and friend.
Naturally, the City Lord was faster than them.
A crimson blood sword projectile followed by a faster pinpointed attack suddenly came out from the opposite direction.
"Not good! They are too close to him." Pavilion Lord Su exclaimed. Her eyes turned frosty seeing the attack by detestable demons.
"Two great emperors. How did Void Demons sneak near our city?" City Lord Feng flew faster and unsheathed his sword.
His complexion was already pale. There was no great emperor in the city after all except the newly ascended Ji Chen. A catastrophe would happen if these two demons wreak havoc in the city proper.
However, in the next moment, they saw an inconceivable scene.
The crimson blood projectile and the other attack collided with multiple invisible barriers until they vanished.
At the same time, the heavens became furious and two thick sharp earth pillars whistled through the sky and landed in the opposite direction. Loud screams full of pain and terror reverberated from the opposite direction. There were two hoarse voices, each with distinct screams.
The seven rushing figures halted their movements and silently stared at the source of echoing screams.
"The tribulation attacked them! It is still ongoing. We need to get out of range."
"How about Sect Master Ji?"
"Hes still alive since the tribulation is still active." City Lord Feng assured them.
The seven made a detour away from the range of tribulation and towards the source of the screams.
What they saw after getting a closer view were two demons with dark crimson horns impaled by sharp earth spikes. The terrorized and unwilling expressions of the two demons before they died were still etched on their faces.
"Pitiful demons." City Lord Feng shook his head while the others were suppressing their urge to laugh.
Under the rubbles and debris, the wounded and exhausted figure of Ji Chen was trembling from laughing after seeing the notifications from the system.
[Ding! Mission "Survival of the Fledglings" fulfilled. Rewards are deposited in the inventory.]
[Ding! Mission "Great Emperor" fulfilled. Rewards are deposited in the inventory.]
Novel Bin 