Azure Dragon! Qin Xi immediately recalled that the Heaven-Earth Fan had been crafted using the bones of an Azure Dragon. Those dragon bones contained a dense Breath of the Azure Dragon, but whether due to issues with the refining method or his own shortcomings in artifact forging, the Breath of the Azure Dragon had almost completely dissipated after the fan was successfully completed.
Could it be that the Breath of the Azure Dragon hadn't actually vanished, but merely hidden itself? Divine beasts possessed spiritual awareness, just as his Bow of the Vermilion Bird had chosen its own master. The Azure Dragon was also a divine beast. Perhaps, back then, Mo Tiange's strength had been too weak, and the Breath of the Azure Dragon had been unwilling to acknowledge her as its master. But now, Mo Tiange had advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, her power greatly increased. Under the Heavenly Tribulation, if she were to perish, her Dao extinguished, the Heaven-Earth Fan—being her lifebound Magical Treasure—would also be destroyed along with her, and the Breath of the Azure Dragon would naturally vanish completely. So, had this triggered the latent Breath of the Azure Dragon?
These were merely Qin Xi's speculations, but aside from this, he couldn't think of any other reason to explain the current situation.
The Azure Dragon surged forward to meet the golden lightning, its maw gaping wide as it clashed with the golden thunder in a ferocious, head-on collision.
After the successive self-destructive attacks from the Three Yang True Fire Sword, the three swords of the mortal world, the Bow of the Vermilion Bird, and Mo Tiange's countless Magical Treasures, the power of the golden lightning had already been greatly diminished. Struck by the Azure Dragon's assault, its force was finally exhausted, gradually dissipating into nothingness.
The ninth level of the Heavenly Tribulation had thus passed.
Mo Tiange stood suspended in mid-air, finding it hard to believe.
An Azure Dragon? How could an Azure Dragon suddenly appear? She looked at the Heaven-Earth Fan in her hand. After this battle, her lifebound Magical Treasure's glow had dimmed considerably, sustaining significant damage. Its Spiritual Qi was also completely depleted, let alone the Breath of the Azure Dragon.
"Cough, cough!" There was no time to ponder further. Blood and Qi churned violently within her body. She realized her Spiritual Qi was utterly exhausted, and she was severely injured. Having withstood the heavenly thunderbolts several times and exhausted all her means, even with her body and meridians tempered by the Five Elements, the injuries were not light. Now that the tribulation had ended, her spirit relaxed, and she could barely muster the strength to remain standing in the air.
"Tian Ge!" Qin Xi called out, gathering the last dregs of his Spiritual Qi as he sped towards her.
Mo Tiange forced herself to focus and managed a faint smile in his direction. The next moment, however, she truly couldn't stand any longer. If not for Qin Xi being beside her, she likely would have plummeted downward.
Beneath their feet, monstrous waves surged, the sea revealing its ferocious visage.
Not far away, Yang Chengji's ninth Heavenly Tribulation had also concluded. Regardless of his motives, Nan Guitian had ultimately intervened. His tribulation's power had been halved, making it less perilous, but he too had exhausted all his Magical Treasures and Spiritual Qi.
As for the three demon beasts, Mo Tiange paid them no attention, nor did she have the strength to.
The tribulation gradually passed, the heavenly thunder slowly dissipated, but the tsunamis it had triggered showed no signs of abating. In fact, their power seemed to be growing even greater.
"Cough, cough!" Jing Xingzhi coughed twice, swallowed a healing pill, and stood up. Although he had used his trump card, his condition was much better compared to Mo Tiange and Qin Xi. At the very least, he still had some strength left to move.
"How strange," he said, steadying himself on his flying sword and looking up at the sky. "Even though none of us have witnessed a true Heavenly Tribulation before, shouldn't celestial phenomena appear after the tribulation passes?"
Hearing this, Qin Xi also looked up. Indeed, there seemed to be signs of Spiritual Qi gathering in the sky, yet it remained densely overcast with dark clouds, showing no sign of dispersing.
As this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly saw several streaks of Escape Light speeding towards them from the direction of Yiye Island.
His brow furrowed. "Not good, we must leave!" They were all severely injured and drained of Spiritual Qi. Even if a Core Formation cultivator arrived, they wouldn't be able to deal with them as casually as before. Moreover, anyone daring to fly over the sea in such weather, with Escape Light at that speed, was most likely a Nascent Soul cultivator. If the other party harbored ill intentions, they would be utterly at their mercy.
The others weren't foolish either. Yang Chengji's expression changed slightly. Suddenly, he withdrew his aura and plummeted straight down from mid-air, disappearing into the sea with a loud splash.
He certainly wasn't seeking death, but rather hiding in the ocean. It was unclear if he possessed some secret technique allowing him to escape through the sea. Otherwise, given his current condition and the massive waves, his chances of survival would be slim.
Jing Xingzhi glanced at the approaching streaks of Escape Light and asked, "What about you two? I don't want to have to carry you."
"Just worry about yourself," Qin Xi replied. A seemingly unremarkable pearl suddenly appeared in his hand. The pearl emitted a faint, shimmering light that instantly flowed into his body.
"Let's go!" He put away the pearl, wrapped an arm around the semi-conscious Mo Tiange, and instantly transformed into a streak of light. Using the cover of the waves, he vanished from the sea's surface.
"Hey! Leaving so fast..." Jing Xingzhi was dumbfounded. What was that thing? After using it, it seemed like his Spiritual Qi was restored? However, now wasn't the time to investigate. Shaking his head, he stepped on his flying sword and swiftly followed, making his escape.
The streaks of Escape Light from Yiye Island arrived before them in no time.
The sea surface, almost dyed crimson, was littered with the corpses of numerous sea beasts, but there was no sign of the expected transformed Demon Cultivators.
Just as everyone was puzzled, they soon discovered Nan Guitian.
"Fellow Daoist Nan?" As the former leader of one of Yunzhong's Five Great Daoist Sects, Nan Guitian had extensive connections. There wasn't a single person present who didn't recognize him.
Nan Guitian's face was ashen, clearly severely injured. He forced himself to clasp his hands in greeting. "Fellow Daoists, it has been a long time."
Old Donkey Ma narrowed his small, shrewd eyes, scanning the surroundings keenly. "What happened to you, Fellow Daoist Nan? After so many years without seeing you, we old friends thought you must have encountered some heaven-defying opportunity and were in seclusion!"
"Ah!" Nan Guitian let out a long sigh. "If only that were the case, but alas... I won't hide it from you, Fellow Daoists. I was originally in seclusion within a secret realm, using its abundant Spiritual Qi to attempt a breakthrough. Unexpectedly, the spatial fabric of that secret realm suddenly collapsed, forcing me to emerge. Who would have thought that as soon as I came out, I would run into someone undergoing their tribulation here and get implicated for no reason at all. Truly an unwarranted disaster!"
"Someone else?" Hearing these words, Old Donkey Ma lost interest even in the collapse of the secret realm. "Fellow Daoist Nan, are you saying you know who was undergoing the tribulation here?"
"Indeed!" Nan Guitian clicked his tongue in amazement. "The one undergoing the tribulation is someone we all know—that young friend Mo who inherited Fuzi's legacy. Who would have thought she was still alive and had even formed her Nascent Soul. Heh, in today's cultivation world, I've never heard of anyone needing to face a tribulation to form their Nascent Soul. This young friend Mo's future prospects are truly limitless!"
"What?" Several more streaks of Escape Light arrived from the horizon; it was Daoist Ruyi and the others.
Hearing Nan Guitian's words just as they arrived, Daoist Ruyi, who was on good terms with him, didn't even have time for greetings and asked in surprise, "Brother Nan, are you saying the one undergoing the tribulation here is that young friend Mo from back then?"
Old Donkey Ma immediately followed up, "Then who were the others undergoing tribulation? Why were they undergoing it here?"
Nan Guitian replied, "They've been inside that secret realm all these years and hadn't emerged. When the secret realm collapsed, all of us rushed to get out, including a few Demon Cultivators. As soon as we emerged, we triggered the Heavenly Tribulation."
"Is that so?" Uninterested in their experiences, Old Donkey Ma continued scanning the sea surface. "Then where are they now?"
"They all left as soon as the tribulation passed," Nan Guitian said with apparent regret. "The whereabouts of those Demon Cultivators are unknown. As for that young friend Mo, she had several companions. I got dragged into the tribulation and nearly lost my life, so I couldn't keep track of them."
No one doubted his words. Nan Guitian's appearance clearly indicated severe injury; he must have truly been caught in the tribulation. They had all witnessed the might of a Heavenly Tribulation. In such a situation, being able to protect oneself was already an achievement.
Old Donkey Ma nodded and smiled at Nan Guitian. "Thank you for the information, Fellow Daoist Nan. This old man will take his leave first." With that, he opened his spirit beast pouch and released his donkey-like spirit beast with snow-white hooves. Mounting it, he gave a light flick of the reins, and man and beast swiftly disappeared over the horizon.
Seeing Old Donkey Ma take the lead in departing, the other Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't hold back either. Some left alone, others in pairs, they all scattered. Only Daoist Ruyi remained behind.
"Brother Nan," Daoist Ruyi sighed, looking at his condition. "Have the past few decades been... smooth?"
"Heh, even if they were going smoothly before, now I'm thoroughly unlucky!" Nan Guitian's tone now carried a hint of gritted teeth. He glanced at Daoist Ruyi and asked, "What, Brother Ruyi, aren't you going to search? If you could capture a demon beast that just survived its Human Transformation Tribulation, the benefits would be immense! Failing that, finding that young friend Mo would also be good. They stayed in the Immortal Palace for so long; they must have encountered significant opportunities."
Daoist Ruyi smiled and shook his head gently. "Brother Nan, we can be considered close friends. Why test me in front of me? If obtaining benefits were truly that easy, you wouldn't be staying here. Even if severely injured, you would have invited me to join you, wouldn't you?"
Nan Guitian paused for a moment, then laughed heartily. "Brother Ruyi, you truly know me well!"
Daoist Ruyi merely smiled but then asked, "However, I don't understand. Why did you speak up for them? Did you develop some rapport with them inside the secret realm?"
"Ha!" Nan Guitian let out a self-deprecating laugh. "What rapport? If there were any rapport, I would have gotten some benefits too. It was merely a coincidence that we emerged together! When I say this, others might not understand, but surely you do, Brother Ruyi? What kind of person is that Old Donkey Ma? He appears honest and simple, but in daily life, he never misses a chance to take advantage. I'm not willing to let him pick up such a bargain! Besides, whether it's those Demon Cultivators or those few individuals, none are easy to deal with. Brother Ruyi, if you trust me, don't get involved in this matter."
Daoist Ruyi hesitated slightly and was about to say something when he suddenly looked up, alert. "Didn't the tribulation pass? Why haven't celestial phenomena appeared, and why are there even more dark clouds?"
Beneath their feet, the waves surged higher and higher, their roaring crescendo nearly deafening. Above their heads, dark clouds churned violently, heralding an impending storm.
Before Nan Guitian could answer, a rumbling sound suddenly erupted in the distance. The two turned towards the source and immediately paled.
In the direction of Yiye Island, the defensive formation was teetering on the brink, seeming as if it would shatter at any moment!
"What is happening?" Nan Guitian exclaimed in astonishment. He knew the scale of Yiye Island's restrictions. They had withstood four and a half Heavenly Tribulations just moments ago. How could they now be on the verge of collapse?
"Boom!" Another dull sound echoed in their ears. This time, it came from beneath their feet. The seawater suddenly parted, forming a vortex hundreds of zhang deep.
"It's a ground collapse!" Daoist Ruyi realized, his face filled with terror. He looked around and saw that not only Yiye Island, but the coastline was also shaking violently. "Is the sky falling and the earth splitting? What in the world is happening?!"