451: Refining Tribulation into Pearl

"Mr. Mo, are you... sure you didn't miscalculate?" Feng Changge's expression flickered, his voice holding a barely perceptible tremor, still clinging to a last sliver of hope.

Mo Xiu's face, originally pale, suddenly flushed red upon hearing this, a surge of anger rushing to his brows—it was the color of blood brought forth by sheer exasperation.

He spoke coldly, each word like ice: "Ninth Prince! This old man has Cultivated the Heavenly Secret Divination for eight thousand years; there have been Heavenly Secrets I couldn't divine, but never once—a miscalculated divination!" His tone suddenly intensified, "If you don't believe me, then let's stop here! But the things you promised me, not a single bit can be less!"

He had long calculated that this divination would come at a considerable cost, so the price he demanded was naturally extremely high.

Therefore, even if he suffered a backlash from the Heavenly Secret and had a thousand years of his Lifespan cut short, he wouldn't hesitate; this was already within his expectations.

But Feng Changge dared to question his authority? This was an insult he absolutely could not tolerate.

For those in their line of work, reputation was life!

Feng Changge knew he had misspoken and quickly apologized.

He didn't want to offend Mo Xiu, whose connections ran deep and widely.

It was just that the result of this divination... was simply too outrageous.

Though he didn't know who exactly took the formation diagram, he had a rough idea of their cultivation level.

Earlier intelligence reported a Late Stage of Soul Transformation, but soon after, it changed to a suspected Body Integration.

But now Mo Xiu was telling him—that it was a Quasi-Immortal about to Undergo Tribulation and ascend to Immortality?

Feng Changge felt a thunderous boom in his mind, and he was almost completely dumbfounded.

What kind of Cultivation speed was this? Was this reasonable?

Could it be that he was truly so unlucky as to encounter an old monster who had been lurking for many years?

This old monster happened to be angered by an incompetent subordinate, and while the subordinate's death was one thing, he also managed to lose the formation diagram that was crucial to himself, causing all his plans to completely collapse?

If the formation diagram was truly in this person's hands... how could there still be any hope of getting it back?

As soon as he thought of this, a wave of powerlessness surged in Feng Changge's heart, and he felt utterly disheartened.

Just then—

Thunder rumbled across the sky, and purplish-black calamity clouds, like a waking giant beast, churned and roared, streaks of lightning tearing through the long sky.

"The Heavenly Tribulation has begun!" Cries of alarm echoed from all directions.

Beneath the calamity clouds, Xiao Zhuo casually tossed away a fruit pit and slowly rose.

Dao Principle flowed around him, like a galaxy appearing and disappearing.

The next moment, a purplish-black calamity light, thick as a pillar supporting the heavens, suddenly struck down from the center of the vortex!

Wherever it passed, clouds shattered, airflow reversed, and dozens of miles of sky were twisted!

Xiao Zhuo looked up, his gaze calmly meeting that destructive light.

Under the gaze of ten thousand people, he slowly raised a finger and pointed casually towards the calamity light—

"Black Hole Devour."

An invisible black speck of light leaped from his fingertip, and in an instant, expanded into a deep black hole over ten zhang wide, suspended between heaven and earth.

That violent calamity light was like a mud ox entering the sea, swallowed by the black hole without a sound.

"This... what Divine Ability is this?! It can devour the Heavenly Tribulation!"

"This is a Tribulation for Immortal Ascension! Although it's only the first one, this is... too easy, isn't it?"

"No! Look quickly—that black hole is still growing!"

Under countless shocked gazes, the black hole not only didn't dissipate but expanded another circle, rising against the heavens, crushing towards the calamity eye at the very center of the calamity clouds!

The Heavenly Tribulation seemed to be enraged, purplish-black lightning continuously erupting from the calamity eye, each bolt thicker, each bolt more violent than the last, striking down like the whip of divine punishment—

But the black hole still steadily ascended, devouring all calamity light it touched.

Until the calamity eye glowed with brilliant golden light, attempting a final struggle!

By this time, the black hole had expanded to a hundred zhang, dark and bottomless, devouring all things, and finally... arrived directly in front of the calamity eye.

"Devouring calamity light to strengthen itself... what kind of Divine Ability is this?!" The Great Feng Emperor, cloaked in a black robe and with his aura completely concealed, was hidden in the Void Realm, yet the shock in his eyes could not be hidden.

He had originally come to observe the Tribulation and comprehend the Dao, but he witnessed a scene that completely transcended his understanding.

The energy of this Heavenly Tribulation was terrifying to the extreme, making even him, a Peak Quasi-Immortal, feel suffocated, but the person Undergoing Tribulation... only made one finger move and then did nothing else?

Xiao Zhuo still stood with his hands behind his back on the mountaintop, his robes fluttering, as if admiring the scenery.

He had now successfully achieved Fusion with the Space-Time Spiritual Root he had constructed, and with the Dao Principle of Freedom within him, his magical power was even stronger than in the past.

This move, "Black Hole Devour," though only activated by utilizing a Law, was far from one ten-thousandth of his full power in his prime, yet it was still a terrifying Divine Ability that transcended this realm.

The calamity eye still wanted to struggle, but the next moment—

The black hole silently closed, swallowing the entire calamity eye... in one gulp.

The vast sky suddenly fell silent for thousands of miles.

All thunder, lightning, and fluctuations of calamity power... disappeared in an instant.

Only a black hole, expanded to a thousand zhang, hung in the sky, still continuously devouring the remaining calamity clouds.

The sky full of dark clouds receded like a tide, and sunlight once again shone down, as if a lifetime had passed.

"Hiss..."

Gasps of cold air rose and fell.

Everyone was completely awestruck by this scene of defying the Heavenly Tribulation.

"This... is it over?"

But soon, someone noticed something amiss:

"The aura on that Senior... hasn't changed! The Immortal Dao Law also hasn't descended!"

If the Tribulation for Immortal Ascension is successful, there will certainly be heavenly phenomena, and immortal radiance will wash over the body, shedding the mortal coil and forging immortal bones—

But Xiao Zhuo still stood calmly in place, unperturbed, as if what he had just swallowed was merely a wisp of clear breeze.

"Everyone."

He suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, yet it clearly entered everyone's ears, like thunder.

"The Heavenly Tribulation has dispersed, please all return."

The crowd awoke as if from a dream, only then remembering: even if he hadn't ascended to Immortality, this was still a Quasi-Immortal! How could they long observe him?

For a time, numerous Cultivators bowed in salute and quickly dispersed.

Only the Dragon carriage and a few scattered figures with obscure auras remained suspended in mid-air, not leaving.

The black hole in the sky slowly contracted, finally disappearing, and a seven-colored luminous pearl fell from where the black hole had vanished.

Xiao Zhuo raised a hand to grasp it, collecting the thunder pearl, which had condensed the power of the entire Heavenly Tribulation, into his palm, then his gaze shifted slightly, sweeping past the several Quasi-Immortals who had concealed their auras in the distance, finally... settling on the Dragon carriage.

He naturally recognized the person inside the carriage.

Feng Changge was looking for him, and he had naturally long since discerned this person's appearance?

It was just unexpected that the other party, even knowing he was a Quasi-Immortal, still didn't retreat.

Could it be... he was still thinking about that formation diagram?

Xiao Zhuo's lips curled slightly, looking at the carriage with a half-smile, his voice clear and resonant:

"May I ask... if it is the Ninth Prince Changfeng in person?"

On the carriage, Feng Changge's expression changed with complex emotions.

He was a person who knew when to yield and when to assert himself, deeply understanding that the general trend could not be reversed.

Since the formation diagram had fallen into the hands of such an existence, he had long given up any thought of forcibly taking it.

—Even if his maternal grandfather was also a Quasi-Immortal, he would absolutely not be this person's opponent!

The scene of devouring the Tribulation, swallowing the heavens, and refining lightning into a pearl just now had already exceeded his understanding of the words "Quasi-Immortal."

He even suspected that this person... had already achieved Immortal Ascension!

Hearing Xiao Zhuo speak, Feng Changge dared not be negligent, immediately tidied his clothes and rose, walking quickly to the front of the carriage, respectfully bowing deeply:

"I am Feng Changge, greetings, Senior!"