Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Chapter 5144 Gambling With Heavenly Tribulation

“My heavenly tribulation has been devoured?!”

“Impossible!”

“Can anyone tell me what the hell’s going on?!”

Seeing their tribulation clouds vanish, Lu Fan and the others were all horrified. After all, without the baptism of heavenly tribulation, how were they supposed to advance to the Eternal realm?

“Senior apprentice-sister Yuhuang...”

The Zither Sect’s disciples were stunned. When Long Chen had shattered the Heavenly Flame Sourcestone and released the Heavenly Flame energy, he had done it without sacrificing anyone. This meant that it was no longer a bloody cake, and there was no need for them to avoid making their breakthroughs here.

However, that was just the start. When their tribulation clouds were devoured by the whirlpool above Long Chen’s head, they started to panic.

Liao Yuhuang stared at the tribulation clouds above Long Chen’s head. With a complicated expression, she explained, “This isn’t heavenly tribulation but heavenly punishment. The Heavenly Daos want to destroy Long Chen, and they are willing to use any means necessary to kill him, including absorbing our tribulation clouds.”

Liao Yuhuang might not be the strongest of everyone here, but her understanding of the Heavenly Daos completely eclipsed that of Qin Keqing and the others. With her incredibly sharp senses, she managed to grasp that the tribulation’s nature had completely changed. Instead of aiding their advancement, it now existed solely to kill.

It wasn’t until Liao Yuhuang pointed it out that Lu Fan and the others noticed the shift in the tribulation’s aura. This was no ordinary heavenly tribulation—it was something far more ominous.

Once their tribulation clouds were devoured, an enormous lightning eye appeared in the center of the whirlpool.

“It’s here,” muttered Liao Yuhuang, her heart clenching. The power of the heavenly tribulation was about to merge with the Heavenly Flame energy. Two immense forces were on the verge of bursting within Long Chen’s body.

At this moment, a pillar of lightning shot out of the eye of heavenly tribulation. Despite their mental preparations, the lightning’s descent made their eyes sting and their souls tremble.

This was a giant lightning sword containing supreme heavenly might. It crashed into Long Chen’s head, and he stood there, making no attempt to dodge or block.

BOOM!

Lightning and flames erupted around Long Chen, merging in a cataclysmic explosion that obliterated the surrounding space. The devastating power terrified countless experts, as it threatened to crush them to bits. The fusion of the tribulation energy and Heavenly Flame energy created a level of destruction beyond their comprehension.

In the midst of the shattered spacetime, a bloody mist appeared. Bai Yingxue, Feng You, Hu Xiaoyu, and the others all cried out in grief, convinced that Long Chen had been obliterated.

As the twisted space slowly settled, everyone saw a figure standing there like an unyielding boulder. Despite the catastrophic attack, Long Chen hadn’t moved an inch. Though his body was a bloody pulp with a large cut on his forehead, the disdainful sneer on his face was unmistakable.

“I thought you would be strong, but this is all you got. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t grasp it!” Long Chen’s voice was dripping with contempt as he gazed at the eye of the heavenly tribulation. Even drenched in blood, his eyes held a look of scorn, as if he were looking down on both heaven and earth. It was as though he was not merely enduring the tribulation but defying it.

“You idiot!” the Earth Cauldron cursed furiously, unable to understand what Long Chen was thinking. Against such a terrifying heavenly tribulation, he actually chose not to defend at all. If the power of that strike had been any greater, he might have perished on the spot.

If Long Chen wasn’t in the midst of his tribulation, the Earth Cauldron would have come out and hit him in the head. To be so gravely injured right at the start of the tribulation—was he out of his mind? The Earth Cauldron felt as if it had lost its sanity. How had it ended up with such an impulsive master?

“He’s alive!”

The Zither Sect’s disciples were stunned by this sight, and Bai Yingxue and the others were overjoyed.

On the other hand, the others were simply alarmed. Even against such a terrifying heavenly tribulation, Long Chen had acted so crazily, causing a chill to run down their spines. He was definitely a madman.

At this moment, more lightning started to brew within the eye of the tribulation. The earth quivered under the strain of a berserk, destructive will that enveloped the world, and darkness spread across the entire realm, as if the tribulation had transformed it into an endless hell. Heaven and earth were suffused with an overwhelming sense of death.

“Are you angry? Do you regret not grasping this incredibly rare chance?” Long Chen continued to taunt the heavenly tribulation.

As if responding to him, a torrent of lightning containing millions of lightning swords fell.

Long Chen snorted and raised his arms, blood-colored scales covering his body. This time, he summoned the Dragon Blood Battle Armor to fight against the tribulation.

BOOM!

The lightning swords hit Long Chen but shattered on contact with the scales, transforming into lightning runes.

“What?!”

This scene stunned people. Each of those lightning swords could threaten their lives, but they couldn’t harm Long Chen at all.

“How?!” Even the Earth Cauldron was stunned, unable to comprehend how Long Chen had done this. The previous attack had been infused with heavenly might and the will of the Heavenly Daos. Yet now, that will seemed to have dissipated.

In the end, the Earth Cauldron was just an item-spirit and couldn’t comprehend Long Chen’s strategy.

Long Chen had taken the risk of directly withstanding the first attack of the heavenly tribulation as if it were a battle between two experts. He was gambling against the tribulation, aiming to dominate it mentally.

After years of facing heavenly tribulations, Long Chen had deciphered their patterns. This time, he gambled to be above it in terms of morale and guts, and his gamble paid off. It turned out that the heavenly tribulation could be provoked and had emotional fluctuations. When he mocked the heavenly tribulation, it was affected by his mental pressure and will, causing its power to become less concentrated.

Without a solid will, the heavenly tribulation’s power weakened. Although it was temporary, Long Chen had achieved his goal.

Long Chen understood that the moment when the Heavenly Flame energy and the tribulation energy first merged was the most critical. His actions had bought him some precious buffer time.

As the lightning storm crackled, he spread his arms and immersed himself in it. The essence of flame and lightning surged around him, his body absorbing it eagerly like a desert soaking up rain. The energies combined within him, flowing as currents that revitalized every corner of his being. Gradually, a new rune—the Rune of Eternity—began to form within his bones, blood, and Dantian.

“Lu Fan, you absolute idiot! You’re full of crap! I should have never believed you!” yelled Yan Hong. He couldn’t endure it any longer and charged over at Long Chen.