Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 378 Surviving Two Tribulations

A faint, eerie blue light flickered like will-o'-the-wisps. It silently seeped into the clouds of calamity, transforming into a sea of ​​the netherworld suspended overhead.

It was as if countless unseen eyes were staring intently at Lin Yan's soul from the depths of that deep blue.

coming.

A thin, hair-like, translucent blue bolt of lightning descended from the clouds. Ignoring the starlight emanating from the outer "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Protective Array," it directly entered his ancestral aperture between his eyebrows!

Soul-Slaying Thunder!

Lin Yan trembled violently! His soul felt as if it had been pierced and torn apart by a red-hot steel cone, causing him extreme pain!

The moment the azure lightning entered his sea of ​​consciousness, it exploded violently, frantically destroying his divine consciousness structure, and carrying with it waves of insidious "heart-piercing" intent.

The illusions overwhelmed him instantly, like a flood bursting its banks!

Xiao Qi was torn apart before his eyes by the invisible power of Heaven, letting out a mournful cry—that was the soft spot and obsession he was unwilling to touch deep in his heart.

The desperate scene of Lin Yi, Lin San, and others perishing along with their own failed tribulation, their souls and spirits destroyed, all their plans vanishing into thin air...

All sorts of negative emotions, inner weaknesses, fears, and nightmares were magnified and distorted a thousand times by this "heart-piercing" lightning, frantically impacting his Dao heart, trying to make him doubt himself, collapse his beliefs, and disintegrate from the inside of his soul!

"Ugh—!"

Lin Yan let out an uncontrollable roar of pain from his throat, and faint blue arcs of electricity shot out from his seven orifices. His face was contorted with excruciating pain.

Just as his consciousness was about to be torn apart by this endless pain and illusion—

The great millstone of gods and demons in the center of the sea of ​​consciousness demonstrated its absolute dominance in dealing with attacks on the soul!

"Rumble..."

The once ancient and silent millstone suddenly burst forth with chaotic light, its volume expanding dramatically in the sea of ​​consciousness, as if it had transformed into a giant pillar supporting the heavens and the earth!

The upper and lower millstones rotated slowly, and an aura of suppression and annihilation spread out.

Those rampant, azure divine soul lightning bolts, those surging, heart-piercing illusions, under the illumination of this light, were like fallen leaves drifting towards the center of a vortex, forcibly pulled away from every corner of Lin Yan's divine consciousness by an irresistible suction force, and thrown into the hole in the center of the millstone!

"Squeak—creak—creak—"

They were mercilessly ground and crushed by the slowly closing millstone!

The Ice Heart Guardian Pill that he had been holding in his mouth dissolved.

A medicinal power, like a cold spring, rushed straight to the mind, leaving a trace of clarity.

No matter how turbulent the waves, my pure heart remains undying!

Time slowly passed amidst the fierce battle between their souls.

The tribulation clouds continued to silently unleash soul-slaying and heart-destroying thunderbolts, each one more insidious than the last, and the illusions more cunning and terrifying.

However, within Lin Yan's sea of ​​consciousness, the great millstone of gods and demons continued to turn, crushing the endless torrent of divine soul attacks.

As more and more lightning and illusions were crushed, the pure soul power reflected from the millstone became increasingly abundant. This soul power was incomparably pure, and even carried a trace of yang energy tempered by heavenly tribulation. It actively merged into Lin Yan's damaged soul, repairing and strengthening it.

Finally, the color of the dark blue tribulation clouds began to fade, and the descending lightning became increasingly sparse, eventually ceasing completely.

The third level, the Soul-Slaying and Heart-Destroying Thunder, has been overcome.

After undergoing a brutal tempering process, the divine and demonic millstone began to reveal its heaven-defying power. The soul-slaying and heart-piercing thunder became resources, the power of the divine soul surged, and the Dao heart became more firm and pure after undergoing the most vicious interrogation.

He took a deep breath, and when he looked up at the sky again, his pupils suddenly contracted!

As the azure light faded, the remaining calamity clouds contracted violently towards the center in a way that defied common sense!

It was as if an invisible hand was gripping and compressing the thick clouds that covered dozens of miles.

The dark red karma, pitch-black annihilation, and ghostly blue soul-slaying energy in the clouds, along with the lingering aura of tribulation lightning, were forcibly mixed together.

As the light faded, a figure stepped out from the chaotic light.

It was a humanoid silhouette ten feet tall, its entire body composed of constantly flowing and flickering lightning, the details blurred and its face indistinct.

The only place where there were eyes was two constantly appearing and disappearing, extremely cold and ruthless bolts of lightning.

It was clad in a majestic suit of armor woven from intricate lightning patterns, and held in its hand a giant lightning halberd composed entirely of highly condensed annihilation divine lightning.

Simply by standing in the void, a majestic aura of the Heavenly Dao descended, freezing space and causing all things to bow down!

This is a projection formed by the Heavenly Tribulation itself! It possesses some characteristics corresponding to the previous Heavenly Tribulations.

His icy gaze locked onto Lin Yan, and he slightly raised the Thunder Halberd in his hand.

No words were needed; their fighting spirit was overwhelming!

Lin Yan, covered in blood, stood ramrod straight, his eyes burning with the fire of battle. Faced with the manifestation of this law, any trickery was useless; only force could overcome force, and the Dao itself could fight the Dao!

"Sword, come!"

With a clear shout, a brilliant light shone from his dantian! The Qiankun Sword Formation reappeared, but this time, the power of the eight natal swords was completely different from before! They seemed to sense their master's surging fighting spirit and determination to die, their swords humming like dragons roaring, and eight-colored sword lights soaring into the sky, intertwining and entwining with each other, instantly evolving into a sword domain covering a radius of a hundred feet!

Within the sword domain, the golden blades were chilling, the wood energy was burgeoning, the water shimmered, the fire energy surged, the earth element was heavy, the ice was biting, the wind howled without form, and the thunderous prison was pervasive!

The eight attributes cycle and generate each other, forming a unique world that is both ever-evolving and fraught with danger.

The so-called Qiankun is the power of the world!

The sword domain generated a powerful suction force, actively enveloping and pulling in the lightning projection high in the sky!

Lei Ying stepped into the sword domain, his movements seemed to pause slightly. Clearly, this domain, which combined Lin Yan's nine realms of intent and chaotic core essence, also had a certain degree of suppression and interference with pure Heavenly Dao lightning.

"war!"

Lin Yan pointed his finger, and the [Chaos Returning to Nothingness Sword] at the core of the sword formation emitted an excited tremor, serving as the main attack center and controlling the overall situation.

The Vajra Subduing Demon Sword transformed into an indestructible stream of platinum light, directly slashing at the giant lightning halberd thrust by Lei Ying! The sword and halberd clashed, unleashing a piercing sound of metallic friction and thunderous explosions, as the platinum sword energy and the annihilating black lightning were violently annihilated.

The Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword's light dispersed, transforming into endless threads of azure vitality that coiled around Lei Ying's body. This vitality, like a bone-deep infection, continuously permeated, differentiated, and weakened his solidified lightning structure.

The Xuanming True Water Sword and the Xuanbing Twin Swords combined, their azure and icy blue sword lights intertwining, freezing the space in their path and forming an extremely cold force field. This severely slowed down Lei Ying's lightning-fast movements, making him feel as if he were stuck in a quagmire.

The Nanming Fire Sword and the Nine Heavens Gale Sword were like the most ferocious assassins. The wind fueled the fire, and the fire borrowed the power of the wind, transforming into a series of destructive fire storms that fiercely bombarded Lei Ying's armor from all directions. Each explosion dimmed the lightning on his body.

The sword light of the Ten Thousand Miles of Yellow Sands Sword sank into the lower part of the sword domain, drawing upon boundless gravity and the power of confinement. Like an invisible shackle, it firmly suppressed this space, restricting the movement and bursts of power of the Thunder Shadow.

Meanwhile, Lin Yan himself was not idle either.

His hands moved like phantoms, and various fusion spells such as the Vajra Subduing Demon Seal and the Southern Bright Fire rained down like a storm, precisely targeting the gaps in the Thunder Shadow Armor and the blind spots in the trajectory of the Thunder Halberd. Combined with the sword formation attack, he sought out the weak points in the projection of its laws.

The eight runes of intent in his sea of ​​consciousness lit up once more. The "Thunder Intent" allowed him to move with lightning speed, traversing the sword domain and dodging the lightning shadow's counterattacks. The "Fire Intent" enhanced the power of his fire-based spells...

As a projection of the Heavenly Dao, Lei Ying possesses terrifying combat instincts. His lightning halberd wields black lightning capable of annihilating all things; every gesture can unleash soul-slaying azure lightning, and he can even spew forth small-scale crimson karmic fire from his mouth.

It fought against many alone, charging left and right in the sword domain. Each strike of its thunder halberd sent a divine sword flying backward with a mournful cry. Although its thunder armor was constantly damaged, it quickly drew power from the surrounding tribulation lightning to repair itself, as if it were immortal.

The battle was incredibly fierce! The sword domain's light flickered violently, and many of the eight divine swords were already damaged. Lin Yan was even forced to cough up blood by the aftershock of Lei Ying's attack from afar, his newly formed internal organs suffering further injury. His vital energy was being consumed frantically, like a floodgate being opened.

Just as he felt powerless and his sword domain was on the verge of collapse—

In the deepest part of his consciousness, the illusory image of humanity suddenly trembled slightly.

An incomparably tenacious and fervent will, the indomitable spirit and struggle of humanity—"Though the might of Heaven is vast, humanity can surely prevail!"

This will resonated instantly with Lin Yan's own arrogance stemming from a transmigrator, his defiant spirit as a cultivator, and his desire for control as a strategist!

"roar--!"

Lin Yan roared to the sky, his roar filled with indomitable rage and boiling fighting spirit! The previously somewhat scattered sword intent suddenly condensed and soared, reaching an unprecedented peak! The eight damaged divine swords seemed to be infected by this "human will can conquer nature" spirit, and their sword light blazed brightly once again!

"Chaos—Return to Nothingness!!!"

Lin Yan poured all his remaining spiritual energy, along with his indomitable will to humanity, into the core of the sword formation!

The eight swords swelled up, transforming into a giant sword that spewed out chaotic light, with a black hole vortex appearing in the center of the sword! With an indomitable and all-consuming momentum, it transformed into a chaotic rainbow that pierced through the heavens and earth, stabbing straight into the very center of Lei Ying's chest—the core of his lightning.

Raikage seemed to realize the deadly threat, letting out a silent roar as his lightning spear frantically retreated to defend, all the lightning power on his body contracting inward to defend.

But it was too late!

"puff--!"

The Chaos Return to Nothingness Sword pierced precisely into the core of the Raikage!

The chaotic vortex on the sword spun wildly, unleashing terrifying power of devouring and decomposition! Raikage's lightning body twisted and struggled violently, as the massive energy was forcibly absorbed, decomposed, and assimilated by the Chaos Returning to Nothingness Sword like a flood bursting its banks!

Raikage let out a final, silent roar, his body suddenly expanding as if he were about to self-destruct.

But Lin Yan gritted his teeth and persisted. The sword formation withdrew the other seven swords and locked his limbs and torso tightly. The life-giving threads of the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword took the opportunity to frantically invade his internal structure, exacerbating his collapse.

finally--

"BOOM!!"

With a muffled thud, the ten-zhang-tall lightning projection completely exploded into a chaotic, lifeless expanse of lightning that filled the sky. Most of it was greedily devoured by the nearby Chaos Returning to Nothingness Sword. Without this core support, the tribulation clouds could no longer sustain themselves and began to rapidly dissipate and dissolve.

For the first time, the sky revealed a hazy twilight and a few sparse stars.

The sword domain receded, and the eight divine swords dimmed in luster, wailing as they flew back to Lin Yan's side and entered his dantian to be nurtured. Clearly, they had absorbed too much high-level tribulation lightning energy and needed time to digest it.

Lin Yan himself was teetering on the brink of collapse, his face as pale as paper, his vital energy nearly depleted, and his body covered in old and new wounds, looking utterly miserable.

He raised his head, looked at the dissipating tribulation clouds, grinned, and revealed an extremely arrogant smile.

The Heavenly Tribulation Transformation Tribulation has been overcome!

The sword formation was damaged, the vital essence was depleted, and the physical body was on the verge of its limit.

However, before he could catch his breath, a sense of crisis, like a venomous snake, quietly coiled around his heart.

The external calamity has temporarily subsided, but the internal calamity has arrived.