2399

Chapter 2399: Crossing the Tribulation! . . .

Once again, half a year passed.

Initially, the black strands of energy that emerged from Huang Xiaolong's body didn't stop. Only after ten years had passed did they start to slow down. The black color also faded. In the final half a year, the energy that escaped from his body started to shine with a gentle golden hue!

Moreover, the golden color seemed to turn into a deeper, darker gold. If one were to look at Huang Xiaolong, one would realize that he had turned into a golden statue.

As he sat in the middle of the space in the hall, Huang Xiaolong seemed to have vaguely touched on a special type of energy contained in the Holy World. With his body trembling slightly, it seemed like he had broken through a specific barrier.

As a Venerable, Huang Xiaolong was able to cultivate by absorbing origin energy from the world. However, there was an invisible barrier that inhibited the speed of origin energy absorption. It was extremely difficult for Venerable Realm experts to comprehend the grand dao.

Only by shattering the barrier would one be able to break past the Venerable Realm and enter the highly esteemed half-True Saint Realm!

As soon as one entered the half-True Saint Realm, they would no longer be blocked from sensing the secrets of the world, allowing them to better comprehend the grand dao. At the same time, the speed at which they would be able to absorb origin energy would increase by several folds.

In the instant the barrier around Huang Xiaolong was broken, tribulation clouds started to form around the Four Seas Holy Manor. Lightning bolts flickered in the skies, and terrifying bursts of energy filled the lands.

"This...?" Chen Zhi and the Departing Sword Sage gasped in shock. "It's a holy tribulation! The young master is about to enter the half-True Saint Realm!"

Holy tribulation would only appear when one managed to shatter the shackles of the Venerable Realm!

As long as one managed to cross the tribulation, they would be able to devour the energy and traces of grand dao contained in the holy tribulation. After all, only the sentience of the grand dao was able to lay down tribulations for those who had crossed the requirements. Only by crossing the tribulation and absorbing the traces of grand dao would one be able to enter the half-True Saint Realm. If they were to fail, they would be devoured by the energy instead, forcing their cultivation to regress. They would return to the peak of the late-Tenth Order Venerable Realm, and crossing the tribulation again would be ten times harder.

As the thunderclouds in the skies above the manor continued to gather, the lightning bolts intertwined to form majestic lightning snakes that flickered ominously. As the lightning bolts gathered, the snake evolved into a lightning dragon as it continued to strengthen.

In the short span of five minutes, the destructive energy contained in the tribulation cloud increased by several folds.

When the two True Saints felt the change, they couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.

"This... How is this possible? This should be the first tribulation a half-True Saint has to pass, but the energy contained in the tribulation clouds seems to be stronger than what a First Tribulation half-True Saint needs to endure when crossing the second tribulation!" Chen Zhi yelled.

"No. I'm afraid that even the third tribulation wouldn't be much stronger than the Young Master's first tribulation!" The Departing Sword Sage's expression became solemn as he muttered under his breath.

"When Old Man Cangqiong broke through the barrier of the Venerable Realm, he managed to attract a lightning dragon during his first tribulation. It seems like the Young Master will also have to face a lightning dragon this time.... Things might get troublesome," Chen Zhi continued.

All of a sudden, the Departing Sword Sage chuckled. "We seem to be a little over our heads here. The Young Master has two holy souls, and a mere lightning dragon tribulation is nothing! Moreover, the stronger the tribulation, the more energy our Young Master can absorb. He will only become stronger in the future!"

Chen Zhi was stunned for a second, but he burst out laughing the next moment. "You're right. I was too hasty and forgot about the fact that that the Young Master has two holy souls! But wouldn't this mean that the Young Master's eighth or ninth tribulation would reach a terrifying level? Even with two holy souls, he might face some difficulties...."

A frown slowly formed on the Departing Sword Sage's face. However, he shook his head slowly. "The Young Master is far from facing his eighth or ninth tribulation. Therefore, there's no need to look so far into the future. Since Old Man Cangqiong was able to pass all nine tribulations to become a True Saint, the Young Master will definitely be able to do so."

"I guess you're right..."

Before they could continue, another lightning dragon was formed above the skies of the Four Seas Holy Manor!

Even though the lightning dragon seemed to be in its infant stages, it absorbed energy at a terrifying rate and turned into a three hundred foot long lightning dragon in an instant.

Staring at the skies, the two True Saints were stunned.

"When Old Man Cangqiong passed the first tribulation, the lightning dragon he faced was only two hundred feet long! The Young Master's tribulation managed to form a three hundred foot long dragon!" No matter how confident the Departing Sword Sage was in Huang Xiaolong's two holy souls, he felt a sense of apprehension when he saw the massive lightning dragon swimming along the tribulation clouds.

With the strength of the lightning dragon, Huang Xiaolong's tribulation soon approached an ordinary fourth tribulation.

Boom!

When the dragon reached a length of four hundred feet, it finally stopped sucking in the energy contained in the clouds and shot straight towards Huang Xiaolong.

As the two of them saw the dragon falling from the skies, they couldn't help but stare in shock. Every bolt of lightning around the body of the dragon was enough to obliterate a First Tribulation half-True Saint.

Piercing through the restrictions around the manor, the lightning dragon fell directly on Huang Xiaolong's head.

No restriction could stop the grand dao's tribulation when one wanted to enter the half-True Saint Realm.

Only by crossing the tribulation with one's true strength would one be able to devour the energy and grand dao contained in the tribulation! Only then could one enter the half-True Saint Realm. Of course, it was equally useless for someone to enlist the help of an expert to cross the tribulation.

As the bolt slammed down on Huang Xiaolong, the dragon attributed holy soul emerged and the thousand armed holy devil appeared. The four hundred feet long lightning dragon was blasted open like a watermelon and it turned into pure tribulation energy and strands of grand dao that streamed into Huang Xiaolong's body.

After absorbing the energy, Huang Xiaolong didn't hesitate to circulate the Grandmist Parasitic Medium. The energy that entered this body was quickly devoured by him.

Along with the absorption, the golden light around Huang Xiaolong became even more concentrated. His organs started to evolve and a ray of brilliant light emerged from his chest.

This...?

Huang Xiaolong was stunned for a second.

The Heart of Hell!

Since the time he had entered the Holy World, Huang Xiaolong's Heart of Hell had been dormant. When he finally crossed the first tribulation, the Heart of Hell finally awakened! Moreover, it started its transformation along with the rest of his organs. When the transformation was complete, an endless amount of energy started to pour out of it.

In that instant, Huang Xiaolong realized that the Heart of Hell had formed an unshakable connection with the lower world. It connected with Hell in the lower worlds. Moreover, a strand of grand dao emerged from the depths of the Holy World and streamed into Huang Xiaolong's Heart of Hell. The grand dao that emerged was mysterious, and no matter how hard Huang Xiaolong tried to comprehend it, he failed.

Strands of holy light emerged after the grand dao seeped into his Heart of Hell. The light that emerged was completely different from the holy light emitted from the bodies of True Saints.

In a state of pleasant surprise, Huang Xiaolong discovered that the Heart of Hell was merging with the mysterious grand dao!

Strands of majestic qi emerged from the Heart of Hell.

"This... Could it be?!" Huang Xiaolong's body shook as a possibility emerged in his mind. He didn't dare to believe it, but from what he felt, it seemed extremely plausible. It was said that a Dao Heart could be formed when a Ninth Tribulation half-True Saint entered the True Saint Realm.

Even though the holy soul of a True Saint was said to have transcended reincarnation, it wasn't truly indestructible. It was a different story if a Dao Heart was formed. A Dao Heart was a truly inextinguishable presence.

Was the Heart of Hell about to evolve to become a Dao Heart?!