An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 375 The Passage Opens

Qingyunzi's words caused everyone to exchange bewildered glances. After a long pause, Chen Lengqiang finally spoke up, "What do you mean, sir?"

Qingyunzi said, "Originally, the Taiyin Treasure Vault was surrounded by mutated death energy. Being in it not only required constantly resisting the erosion of death energy, but also greatly suppressed supernatural powers and magic. Moreover, the larger the creature, the more death energy it came into contact with, and the greater the restrictions it would be."

"In this situation, the only way to destroy the barrier is by using the Tribulation Pearl."

"But now that the death energy has been greatly reduced, we can use our supernatural powers to attack and provide support from the side."

After a pause, Qingyunzi continued, "More importantly, I have a pet beast that I have kept in captivity for a long time. This beast is extremely strong, but it is limited by its size and cannot move through the death aura. If the death aura in front of the treasure vault can be dispelled, its impact force will be no less than that of a calamity bead."

"With our assistance from the sidelines, we have at least a 70% chance of breaking through the barrier."

These words made the eyes of the four members of the Celestial Machinery Guild light up. Chifeng said in a deep voice, "Then what are we waiting for? If we delay any longer, we may miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

He spoke euphemistically, but everyone knew what he meant. The death energy was currently shifting because Chu Xiu was resisting the tribulation lightning, and once Chu Xiu could no longer withstand it, the death energy would naturally return to its original position.

In other words, they must take advantage of Chu Xiu's desperate situation to escape!

Although it seemed somewhat unfair, especially since Chu Xiu had been kind to almost everyone, everyone made a decision in an instant.

Head to the Lunar Treasury!

Even Su Jinyu and Jiang Miaoyin were no exception. The reason was simple: elites like them would naturally make the most rational choice after realizing they couldn't help Chu Xiu.

If they were heroic spirits, they might hesitate, but the rest of us were only kings, no different from ants in front of that tribulation lightning. As Chen Lengqiang said, going there would only cause trouble.

Of course, this might be an excuse for them to comfort themselves, but in any case, none of them intended to die in vain.

But at that moment, Qingyunzi spoke up: "It's not good yet, the concentration of death energy is not low enough."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's expression darkened. No one knew how much longer Chu Xiu could hold on. Right now, it was a race against time, and there was no time to wait.

Seeing the anxious expressions on everyone's faces, Qingyunzi continued, "I do have a method, but I need to trouble you all."

Chen Lengqiang said, "Please speak, sir."

Qingyunzi said, "The only way now is for us to take the initiative to draw away the death energy."

As he spoke, he flipped his wrist, and six small golden beads appeared in his hand.

"These are immortal beads condensed from immortal energy. The tribulation has a natural affinity for immortal beads. All you need to do is hold these immortal beads and draw the death energy to the vicinity of Fellow Daoist Qin."

"Either you have magical treasures to protect you, or you possess bodies that have endured tribulations, so completing this task is not difficult for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's expression changed.

If they were to stand by and watch Chu Xiu die, they could console themselves with the excuse of their own incompetence. But Qingyunzi's suggestion was clearly a way to shift the blame, which was a complete act of repaying kindness with enmity.

"Time is limited, so please make a decision as soon as possible," Qingyunzi urged.

As he finished speaking, a fierce glint flashed in Chen Lengqiang's eyes, and he grabbed a celestial pearl: "Damn it!"

"Brother Chen!" Shen Tianxie called out.

Chen Lengqiang said, "Didn't you see how much death energy there is? Even if Senior Qin can withstand three tribulation lightning strikes, how much more will there be? Do you really believe he can fight against this endless death energy?"

"Since he is certain to die, what's wrong with us seeking a way to survive? Are we going to die with him in vain?"

"Besides."

Chen Lengqiang had one more thing he didn't say, but everyone knew it: if Chu Xiu died, then this favor wouldn't need to be repaid.

Great kindness can turn into great enmity; this is certainly true.

Shen Tianxie stopped talking and after a long silence stepped forward to accept a celestial bead. The other two members of the Tianxie Guild also stepped forward to accept one.

Jiang Miaoyin's eyes flickered for a moment, but she finally took a half step back and said, "I will not participate in this matter."

Qingyunzi chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist must have some special items or trump cards, so there's no rush. Since you're unwilling, I won't force you. I just hope you won't cause any trouble."

After saying that, he looked at Su Jinyu.

A clear struggle appeared in Su Jinyu's eyes, but in the end she sighed and stepped forward to take it.

She was bound by a restriction placed on her body and had no choice but to comply.

None of them were weak-willed or hesitant. After making up their minds, they acted swiftly. The five of them transformed into five streaks of light and quickly arrived near the Taiyin Treasure Vault. Sure enough, the death energy that had been accumulating near the treasure vault seemed to be attracted by something and surged toward them.

The five immediately changed direction, drawing the death energy from different paths to Chu Xiu's vicinity. Once the death energy approached, it was naturally absorbed by the central tribulation cloud.

This process was repeated only three times, and the death energy near the Taiyin Treasure Vault was already less than 30% of what it had been before.

"it's time!"

Qingyunzi suddenly opened his eyes, took a step, and passed through the Penglai barrier!
He was an ancient cultivator whose consciousness had awakened. Once he appeared, he would automatically be attacked by death energy. However, at this moment, most of the death energy had been drawn away. The immortal artifact beside him lit up and easily dispelled the death energy in the vicinity.

The Taiyin Treasure Vault, though seemingly far away, is in reality just a phantom. The true portal is an invisible and intangible legendary passage that can only be discovered by those who are proficient in the Dao of Space.

Qingyunzi was incredibly fast, like a phantom. He covered dozens of miles in the blink of an eye and arrived at the gate!
This astonishing speed shocked the other six people. They had previously underestimated Qingyunzi because he had been backing down in front of Chu Xiu. But now, they realized that this ghost's two thousand years of accumulation was extraordinary and that he had probably deliberately shown weakness to hide his strength!
At this moment, an invisible barrier rose up near the passage, separating the inside from the outside.

Without any hesitation, Qingyunzi let out a low shout and a tribulation pearl shot out from his hand!

No one knows what kind of supernatural power he used, but the tribulation pearl was covered with fine spiritual patterns. If it was just an ordinary pebble before, it now felt like a volcano that was poised to erupt at any moment!
The activated tribulation pearl crashed into the barrier like a bomb thrown into a volcano, instantly igniting the already agitated volcano!
"boom!!!"

A deafening roar that nearly ripped eardrums exploded in the air, and the shockwave that swept over them even knocked several King-level beings backward!

Jiang Miaoyin and the others all showed expressions of shock. The power of the tribulation bead was truly like a nuclear explosion, far surpassing even the attacks of ordinary demigods!
At the center of that terrifying power, a hole the size of a water tank appeared, and the power of the calamity raged around the hole, further expanding it.

However, at this moment, the barrier began to flow like ripples on water. As the ripples flowed, the remaining calamity was quickly covered, and then the barrier began to recover at an extremely fast speed.

"What are you all standing around for! Break the formation at once!"

With a loud shout, Qingyunzi threw out the second Calamity Pearl without stopping!

"Boom!" The massive explosion near the breach, directly impacting the calamity bead, widened the gap once more!

Jiang Miaoyin and the others also seemed to wake up from their daze, and they all unleashed their supernatural powers to attack the barrier.

The power of the six people was naturally no match for the Calamity Pearl, let alone able to shake the barrier. However, their continuous attacks disrupted the flow of the water ripples and slowed down the barrier's repair speed.

As if he had planned it all along, Qingyunzi threw the remaining five tribulation beads in different directions!
"Boom! Boom!"

The violent impact caused the barrier to shake violently. The landing points of these five tribulation beads were clearly carefully calculated, cutting off the flow of power in the barrier and expanding the central gap by more than ten times!
Just then, accompanied by a roar that shook the entire world, a huge hole suddenly appeared in the space above everyone, and a huge black shadow emerged from the hole!

The main body of the shadowy figure was pitch black and could not be clearly seen, but one could feel its immense life force. Countless thick tentacles extended from the main body and swayed in the air, like a dark and bewitching sun.

With a roar, the tentacles on the side of the monster suddenly extended and grew, covering a distance of thousands of meters in an instant, and more than a dozen tentacles tightly blocked the gap!

"Squeak!"

A sharp friction sound came from all around the barrier. The tentacles were constantly being squeezed by the repaired barrier, and the outermost ones had even begun to be cut off!

Jiang Miaoyin's eyes showed a look of horror. She knew all too well how strong the tentacles were. Back then, Chu Xiu had fought this monster and unleashed power close to that of a demigod before he could barely sever one of the tentacles!
It can be said that the strength of these tentacles is far beyond what even the super steel that has been forged through countless hammerings can compare to!

However, the dozen or so tentacles were being forcibly severed from the barrier like soft limbs, barely managing to delay its healing process!

"It's now!"

Qingyunzi let out a low shout and took the lead, rushing towards the gap, with the others hurriedly following behind!

"Puff puff!"

One by one, the tentacles were severed by the healing barrier, and the monster let out a painful groan. Qingyunzi cast a spell, and the creature made a "woo-woo" sound, as if it was begging, but Qingyunzi was unmoved and continued to cast spells one after another.

As the final incantation was cast, the monster jerked violently and suddenly charged towards the barrier as if it had gone mad, its massive body crashing heavily into the gap!

The creature was enormous, with its core alone exceeding a kilometer in length. The impact, delivered with full force, was no less powerful than an attack from a demigod, causing the barrier to shake violently. Its most solid main body, taking advantage of the impact, was forced into the gap.

Its main body was significantly harder than its tentacles, which slowed down the healing of the barrier, but the monster also let out a more painful roar.

Taking advantage of the brief moment, the group rushed into the Taiyin Treasure Vault.

Jiang Miaoyin glanced back one last time. The tribulation clouds in the distance, having absorbed the death energy, had become even more powerful than before, and new tribulation lightning was brewing within them.

She sighed softly, then, without looking back, slipped into the portal.

Just a few breaths later, with a heart-wrenching wail, the enormous monster was suddenly cut in two!
"Boom."

Amidst the continuous rumble of thunder in the distance, the barrier leading to the Taiyin Treasury closed completely.

"Stab!"

A jet-black bolt of lightning struck Chu Xiu's chest, instantly shattering one of his ribs. The remaining lightning bolts tried to spread deeper, but at that moment, ten ghosts near Chu Xiu exploded simultaneously. The remaining lightning bolts seemed to be weakened considerably, and after shattering some more flesh, they finally disappeared.

However, Chu Xiu, who had just defused the tribulation lightning, showed no joy whatsoever; instead, his expression became even more solemn!
He looked up, and the tribulation clouds above the dome resembled a gigantic, ferocious beast coiled in the sky, brewing its next attack.

In the past half hour, Chu Xiu has endured a total of eleven tribulation lightning bolts!
The first lightning strike only created a small hole in his palm, but it should be noted that Chu Xiu's actual consumption was far greater than the apparent injury!
This was the result of him using a great deal of magical power, divine and demonic power, and the essence of magical treasures.

The second and third bolts of lightning then shattered his entire arm!
Fortunately, the tribulation lightning takes time to form, which gave Chu Xiu a chance to catch his breath. If the tribulation lightning had continued to fall without stopping, then at most three more lightning bolts would have been enough to completely shatter Chu Xiu!
Upon realizing that things were out of control, Chu Xiu's first reaction was naturally to run away.

But he was horrified to discover that the surrounding space was like the bottom of a furnace of a hundred ghosts, forming a closed loop that prevented him from escaping the deathly aura!
This made a word flash through his mind.

The Tribulation to Become an Immortal!
The Demonic Sect's heritage records that one must withstand the Heavenly Tribulation to become an immortal. Once it begins, there is no turning back. The Heavenly Tribulation will seal off the entire space shrouded in tribulation clouds!

His ability to withstand the first heavenly tribulation seemed to have triggered some kind of program, causing a change in the tribulation clouds above his head!

This left Chu Xiu in a state of utter distress, never expecting such a turn of events.

However, he did not complain or blame others. He quickly adjusted his mindset, consumed a large number of recovery items, and prepared to face the tribulation with all his might.

During the fifth tribulation lightning, his ghost army could no longer withstand the onslaught and could not resist without losses. He had to sacrifice ghosts to continue sharing the burden.

This means that even the smallest bolt of lightning can shatter the souls of hundreds of vengeful ghosts!
Under these circumstances, the ghost army that Chu Xiu had painstakingly cultivated and grown began to be consumed at an alarming rate! This caused Chu Xiu extreme heartache.

But he soon found himself overwhelmed with his own problems.

During the seventh tribulation lightning, the Golden Embryo's original essence was completely exhausted.

To make matters worse, the death energy attracted by the Celestial Machinery Guild and Su Jinyu and her group of five accelerated the formation of the next tribulation lightning bolt from the tribulation clouds!

This made Chu Xiu curse in frustration.

But at that time, he naturally had no time to pay attention to the five people, as he was fully focused on resisting the tribulation lightning.

During the eighth tribulation lightning strike, he was forced to activate the [Divinely Bestowed Living Armor].

By the time of the ninth tribulation lightning strike, the ghost army had already suffered losses exceeding one-third! The remaining ghosts were also in extremely poor condition!
Then came the eleventh tribulation lightning.
Chu Xiu glanced around. The life force of the Purgatory Demon Corpse and the Blood Demon Avatar had been almost entirely used up. The ghost army was left with only two Ghost Kings and two special combat ghosts, who were still barely alive and guarding him.

The immortal energy that Qingyunzi gave to Chu Xiu had also been completely consumed, neutralized with the tribulation lightning, and turned into causal points lying around the ground.

As for Chu Xiu's physical body, it was almost completely exhausted. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that his body's completion level would increase significantly with each tribulation lightning experience, thus enhancing his resistance to the tribulation lightning, Chu Xiu would have been pulverized by the tribulation lightning long ago.

Right now, the twelfth tribulation lightning is brewing. Chu Xiu can clearly feel that this time the momentum is far greater than before, as if the death energy of the entire Penglai world has been gathered together!
Having already revealed almost all his trump cards, there's absolutely no way he could withstand this lightning strike! He'd only be forced to use the [Freedom Diving Rope] as a last resort to save his life when he's on the verge of death!
Although he had a way to save his life, it was essentially Chu Xiu's second life! How could he accept losing his life so easily?

Furthermore, this appears to be the final blow from the tribulation cloud. The power of the tribulation lightning condensed at its core is almost depleted, which is why it is frantically absorbing death energy to maximize the power of this final attack.

He'd withstood eleven bolts of lightning, and now he was lying here, he was unwilling to accept it!
Looking at the tribulation lightning that was constantly growing stronger overhead, a ruthless glint flashed in Chu Xiu's eyes, and a crazy idea popped into his mind.

"Fight!"

He reached out and clenched his fist, drawing all the causal points around him into his palm. With a flick of his wrist, the millions of causal points he had accumulated over this period appeared in his other hand!

The next instant, a massive amount of causal points surged into Chu Xiu's body!

(End of this chapter)