Chapter 1317: Tribulation

Si Long gazed at the Venomous Snake hell and realised how terrible the situation was. The time taken to devour a soul nascence and the time taken to devour a miniature hell like this was completely different. With the former, it only took an instant with the absolute advantage of his Yang Soul. All that would remain was slowly digesting it. However, the latter was not that simple.

Had he fallen for this bitch's wretched scheme again!?

For a moment, he became slightly hesitant. The Barrier of the Nine Provinces could not last for too long. If he did not complete the possession as quickly as possible and allowed Li Qingshan and the others to break in, he would basically be a sitting duck. However, he simply struggled to accept giving up now. On top of that, the Heaven Climbing Vine was no longer protected by the Barrier of the Nine Provinces. It definitely would be broken off by Li Qingshan and the others.

Thinking up to there, he suddenly halted the possession process. Instead, he gathered the power of his Yang Soul, silently checking the situation of the outside world.

A venomous snake slithered in the swamp. Its scales of interwoven black and red were particularly lustrous. It said in human tongue, "Hiss hiss. Impressive scheme, your majesty!"

Si Long glanced at her coldly. "How can I compare to you?"

"You want to make them kill me?" The venomous snake flicked its bright-red, forked tongue. The hissing resembled a strange laughter.

As it turned out, after finding out that he could not complete the possession in a short amount of time, Si Long just went with the flow. If Li Qingshan and the others thought he was still possessing her and killed her mercilessly, then that would be equivalent to personally murdering the person blessed by the heavens. His Yang Soul was only hiding here at most, so he would not sustain any damage at all. He could even launch a sneak attack while they faced the backlash of the heavens. It guaranteed success for him.

When he heard that, he shivered inside. Not only had he sealed off all of this bitch's senses, but she could not even blow up her soul nascence anymore. Despite that, she managed to guess his plan, and she was completely without any fear. Such thoughtfulness and composure was truly rare. It also left him worried that she had been anticipating this the entire time.

"You're welcome to take a guess. Will they betray you?"

"Hiss hiss. I am blessed by the heavens. I have the protection of the heavens. Look at me. Don't I look like a dragon?"

The venomous dragon twisted its body, imitating Si Long as he turned into a dragon and rose up into the air. It seemed both hilarious and sickening.

"The heavens?" The fury in Si Long's heart almost lost control. He furrowed his brows firmly. My inner demons are becoming more and more severe. I can't afford any more provocations from this bitch.

At this moment, a scorching slash whistled over. His plan was about to succeed. He secretly gathered all of his power, planning to launch a killing strike at Li Qingshan when he cut down Qian Rongzhi.

He also found this difficult to accept. Sure enough, as the reports have detailed, the blade is an asura armament with an artifact spirit, enough to rival my Jade Seal of the True Dragon. If I receive this slash, my body will be destroyed. It's a pity that I couldn't bring any of my arane treasures down with me apart from my lifebound arcane treasure, or I wouldn't be in such a disadvantageous position! So be it, let's bring this to an end!

However, the developments left him disappointed. Li Qingshan stopped in the final moment.

Don't tell me he's seen through my plan?

After he heard Li Qingshan's words, he finally came to a realisation, but it also left him even more irritated. You sinful, wretched daemon, actually posing around at a time like this, acting all loyal and benevolent!

Then he heard what Gu Yanying said and immediately made a decision. His Yang Soul gathered together rapidly, turning into a golden sun and completely illuminating the Venomous Snake hell.

The thousands of snakes raised their heads. The light dyed their multicoloured bodies golden.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The venomous snakes shot towards the sun like arrows. The entire Venomous Snake hell became glorious.

Si Long began the possession. Before absolute power, Qian Rongzhi struggled to put up a struggle regardless of how many schemes she had. Instead, she let out a peal of hysterical laughter. The laughter seemed to open the gates of hell, such that even more venomous snakes emerged from the depths of the swamp, swelling like the tides and throwing themselves at the sun in the sky like moths to a flame.

Si Long endured the pain of being bitten by a myriad of snakes. The resentment and fury he experienced was indescribable, but he also felt a deep sense of sorrow and shame. How had a mighty Human Sovereign like him ended up in such a state?

If this continued, before anyone had come to kill him, his inner demons would immediately set off. He would die from cultivation deviation.

In this juncture of life and death, Si Long suddenly realised something. His trip to the nine provinces was his tribulation.

Heavenly tribulations were not all the tribulations that existed in the world. This was a test of fate.

He was assaulted by his inner demons and disturbed mentally, such that he lost his rational thought, suffering from cultivation deviation.

Furthermore, due to the influence of his ties, he had been used as a borrowed knife, facing a powerful enemy and dragging him into battle.

These two tribulations were often closely connected. His mind disturbed and his body wounded, he would collapse from the inside and out, his body destroyed and his mind annihilated. Even powerful cultivators would die to this.

Cultivating for immortality and enlightenment had always been an act against the heavens. The greater their cultivation was, the heavier the tribulations they faced, and it would occur depending on the situation, making it completely unguardable. Countless cultivators died as a result. However, just like how afflictions were the seeds of knowledge, tribulations were also opportunities. The heart of a cultivator could be tempered through these many tests and tribulations they faced.

Using this realisation, Si Long reflected on his past mistakes. When I came down to the lower world, I had lust, so I was deluded by Mirao. I was insatiable, so I was stopped by Li Qingshan. I was too proud and reserved, which was taken advantage of by Qian Rongzhi. That was why I faced these numerous disasters, my proposal of love falling through, the failure of the offerings to heaven, and the loss of my body, tortured by this hell. And now, I'm basically in danger of dying. Before I came to the lower world, that was basically unimaginable.

Thinking up to there, he could not help but smile wryly. It immediately turned into determination again. He had not spent his entire life cultivating arduously in vain!

At this moment, the sweeping hot winds surged in. Gu Yanying powered the Hot Wind hell, adding in another punishment from hell.

Darkness suddenly enveloped him, swallowing all of the golden light.

He gritted his teeth, instead using the pain to restrain his inner demons. He felt that he had recovered some clarity, so his Yang Soul turned back into human form, emitting a dragon's cry. The golden light of the Yang Soul shone even brighter, ripping away all of the darkness.

He completely opened up his mind, accepting the Venomous Snake hell, so his speed of refining the soul nascence became even greater.

Despite the Immortal Relinquished sword severing the Heaven Climbing Vine and the connection between the nine provinces and the Human realm being broken, none of it could not shake his determination at all. Instead, he did two other things at the same time. As he refined the soul nascence, he mobilised a part of the power of belief from the living creatures to block the rejection from the laws of the world. At the same time, he paid attention to Li Qingshan and the others' actions. He had already gained control over a part of Qian Rongzhi's body now, which gave him the power to put up a struggle when it mattered.

Just like how there would always be a way out, the pain of hell was his chance at survival.

The ouroboros that formed a circle was rapidly dyed by the golden light.

Suddenly, clear light sprinkled in. The spirit turtle descended from above with the force to suppress everything.

Si Long gazed up. His eyes shone with sparks as he forcefully halted the spirit turtle. The resplendent golden light dyed the spirit turtle as well. Just like that, it lasted for a few seconds before the clear light dimmed. The spirit turtle dispersed.

"It just doesn't work!" Li Qingshan took a step back. He felt dizzy. The spirit turtle created from his soul sense had almost collapsed. The Yang Soul was basically shamelessly strong.

Rāhu Xiaoming furrowed his brows. "Not only is the Yang Soul a condensation of the soul and will, but it also possesses actual power. Our soul senses alone stand no chance against it. Originally, I thought he was suffering from soul deviation, so disturbing him mentally should have had some effect, but I didn't expect..."

Gu Yanying said, "Cut the talk! Kill her!"

Li Qingshan no longer hesitated either, signalling for Xiao An to use the Buddha Slaying sword. If this continued, Qian Rongzhi would be possessed before long. Killing her now might instead force out Si Long.

Si Long reflected this scene above the Venomous Snake hell. "Do you see this? This is your final outcome." He tried to sway Qian Rongzhi's will while remaining on guard, ready to break out at any moment. He was sure that as long as she had even the slightest desire to survive, even just to get revenge against Li Qingshan and the others, she would cooperate with him obediently.

"Hehehehe, I will live in your body forever, continuing until you die!"

Qian Rongzhi's laughter became madder and madder, instead doing all that she could to fight against him for control over the body.

Si Long could clearly sense a delight of liberation from the depths of her soul, which made him frown. "You madwoman!"

Xiao An said softly, "Qingshan, I want to try one more time."

Li Qingshan was slightly surprised before nodding. "Alright."

Xiao An pulled out a cloth from within her sleeve and shook it open gently, spreading it out. It was as thin as the wings of a cicada and rectangular in shape. As it turned out, it was a kasaya, except it was not a proper red. Instead, it was pale-white in colour, divided into rectangles by black lines. The fasteners were neither gold or jade but white bone. However, apart from that, it was no different from a regular kasaya.

However, the feeling it gave off resembled a shroud for corpses, having sent off countless dead in the past. Even when all of the blood and grime had been cleaned away, it could not hide its foul and blasphemous aura.

This was the white bone artifact that Xiao An had forged most recently, the Trisepultural Robes. It flew towards Si Long like a pale-white bird.

A sliver of uneasiness flashed through Si Long. Suddenly, he began to move, controlling Qian Rongzhi's body to make her kick her feet, rising up into the air.

With a great boom, the altar shattered.