After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Night was falling.

The army of the Bone-Swallowing Duke has already approached within 300 miles of Black Wind City.

The roars of war beasts began to echo throughout the city, and the guards on the Black Wind City Wall ran back and forth.

Even the city lord's mansion has raised a warning flag against demons.

The entire city was shrouded in a depressing atmosphere.

The top floor of the Magic Crystal Inn was unusually quiet.

Xuan Ying and Gu Li guarded the entrance, watching for any disturbance.

Qin San disassembled the black iron array plate and, following Zhou Ran's instructions, carved the Heaven-Deceiving Array Pattern on the floor of the secret chamber.

Each line of the design shimmers with a faint glow, completely isolating the secret chamber from the outside world.

Xiao Rou released hundreds of tiny Gu worms.

The worms burrowed into the walls, floors, window cracks, and corners of the array, devouring every wisp of leaked energy.

She made sure no energy fluctuations escaped from the inn.

Zhou Ran sat in the very center of the formation.

The Nine Nether Marrow hung before him, like a viscous black liquid, exuding an extremely cold aura.

The Star-Transforming Grass was ground into powder and mixed into the magic crystal solution, emitting a faint starlight.

One by one, the Demon Infant Fruits split open, and the dark red flesh transformed into pure demonic energy, surging into his body.

"Let's begin."

Zhou Ran said.

Qin San raised his hand and placed it on the array plate.

The purple lightning core lit up, and the airflow in the secret chamber began to vibrate, with violent lightning power surging across the array plate.

Zhou Ran opened his mouth and swallowed the Nine Nether Marrow.

The cold air seemed to freeze his blood and meridians completely.

His chest wound, which had just healed, split open again, and dark gold blood flowed down his skin.

The medicinal power of the Star-Transforming Grass rushed into his sea of ​​consciousness.

His nascent soul sat cross-legged deep within his dantian. It had already solidified, but it still bore the cracks left by the forced breakthrough across realms.

Zhou Ran did not wait for it to repair itself.

He intended to use this violent power to completely shatter the Nascent Soul and reshape his Divine Body.

He raised his hand to form a hand seal, guiding the demonic energy and lightning power within his body to slam them fiercely into the nascent soul.

boom!

The first crack appeared on the surface of the nascent soul.

Pain swept through his entire body, and Zhou Ran's body trembled slightly, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.

Qin San's hands clenched tightly, his knuckles taut.

Xiao Rou's face turned pale, but she didn't say a word, only looking at Zhou Ran nervously.

Zhou Ran's forehead veins bulged, but his tone remained steady: "Continue."

A second crack appeared.

A third crack appeared.

The nascent soul was being forcibly torn apart, and violent power was raging within the dantian.

Zhou Ran remained conscious despite the pain.

He could clearly sense that as the nascent soul shattered, a new, more powerful force was slowly gathering.

This is the principle of breaking through and establishing anew, a forced breakthrough!

The tearing apart of the nascent soul brought a chilling fear to the depths of the soul.

Zhou Ran remained conscious despite the pain.

He knew that only by completely shattering the old Nascent Soul could he rebuild a more powerful Divine Transformation body from the ruins.

The chilling energy of the Nine Nether Marrow clashed violently within his body with the raging demonic energy of the Demon Infant Fruit, attempting to burst his body apart.

Zhou Ran gritted his teeth and forcefully guided these two forces into the cracks in his nascent soul.

"break!"

Zhou Ran gave a low shout.

The fourth and fifth cracks appeared in succession.

The nascent soul's body had become dilapidated and would completely dissipate in an instant.

But on the brink of destruction, a new force is quietly being nurtured.

That was the light of laws belonging to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Zhou Ran's meridians were repeatedly damaged under the impact of the violent force, but were quickly repaired under the nourishment of the Nine Nether Marrow and the medicinal power of the Demon Infant Fruit.

This alternation of destruction and rebirth is more torturous to the will than mere suffering.

Qin San watched from the side, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

He could feel the terrifying pressure in the secret room that seemed to tear the space apart.

"Master, the tribulation lightning is coming."

Qin San reminded him in a low voice.

Above the secret room, the originally gloomy clouds began to churn violently.

Streaks of purple lightning streaked through the clouds, emitting a deep rumble.

The powerful figures in Blackwind City all looked up at the sky, their eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"Is this... someone undergoing the Nascent Soul Tribulation?"

"To undergo tribulation at this time? Are they crazy? The army of the Bone-Devouring Duke is right outside the city!"

Inside the warlord's mansion, Yan Lie also walked out of the main hall.

He looked at the thunderclouds gathering in the sky and a cruel smile appeared on his face.

"It's finally starting."

Yan Lie sneered.

"Shadow Demon, is there any movement from the Soul-Locking Nails?"

A dark figure appeared behind Yan Lie: "Reporting to the general, the Soul-Locking Nail has already resonated with that person's soul. As soon as the tribulation lightning strikes, the Soul-Locking Nail will activate immediately."

"very good."

Yan Lie stood with his hands behind his back.

"I want to see how he gets through this ordeal."

However, what Yan Lie didn't know was that at this moment, in the secret room of the inn, Zhou Ran was writing the last word on the array plate with a bone pen.

【inverse. 】

As the word was uttered, the Heaven-Deceiving Array Patterns on the array plate shone brightly.

The array patterns forcibly bound the resentment emanating from the Soul-Locking Nails to the lightning tribulation falling from the sky.

Boom!

The first lightning bolt finally struck.

Thick, purple lightning bolts, like a giant dragon, struck the great array above the inn.

The formation shook violently, but it did not break.

The power of the lightning was rapidly absorbed by the lightning array base, transforming into pure lightning power that surged into Zhou Ran's body.

At the same time, the destructive will contained within the lightning tribulation also transformed into an invisible wave along the Soul-Locking Nail.

The fluctuations traversed space, heading straight for the Zhenbei Military Warlord's Mansion.

puff!

Yan Lie, who was standing in the courtyard, suddenly shuddered and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The crimson crystal in his eyes dimmed in the blink of an eye.

"General!"

The lieutenant was shocked and rushed forward to support him.

Yan Lie's face was deathly pale, his eyes filled with horror and anger.

"Damn it! He countered the Soul-Locking Nails! The power of the lightning tribulation... is backfiring on me!"

"How is this possible? How could he have discovered the Soul-Locking Nails and even countered them?"

The lieutenant exclaimed incredulously.

"Foolish! We've been fooled!"

Yan Lie gritted his teeth, wanting to forcibly sever the connection with the Soul-Locking Nail.

But the destructive will of the lightning tribulation had already locked onto his soul, making it impossible for him to break free.

Inside the secret room of the inn, Zhou Ran had already faced the second and third lightning tribulations.

His body emitted a faint golden light under the baptism of thunder.

The nascent soul within his body had completely shattered, turning into countless golden fragments that merged with the power of thunder.

"Transform into Spirit, Condense!"

Zhou Ran formed a hand seal and uttered a low shout.

The shattered fragments of the nascent soul began to rapidly reassemble.

A tiny golden figure, identical to Zhou Ran but radiating divine power, slowly emerged from the depths of his dantian.

On the forehead of this golden figure, a faint black-gold door pattern shimmered, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

As the golden figure coalesced, Zhou Ran's aura began to rise steadily.

In the blink of an eye, he broke through the shackles of the Nascent Soul stage and stepped into the Divine Transformation stage!

The violent air currents in the secret chamber gradually subsided, and he completely absorbed the power of the lightning tribulation.

Zhou Ran opened his eyes, and two beams of golden light shot out from them, piercing through the space in front of him and creating two tiny black holes.

"Congratulations, Master, on successfully advancing to the Nascent Soul stage!"

Qin San knelt on one knee, his eyes filled with fervor and worship.

Xiao Rou breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Master is amazing!"

Zhou Ran stood up, feeling the surging power within his body, and looked towards the direction of the Zhenbei Military Warlord's Mansion.

"Yan Lie, are you satisfied with this gift?"

Zhou Ran said calmly.

At this moment, in the Zhenbei warlord's mansion, Yan Lie had collapsed on the ground, his body charred black, emitting a strong smell of meat.

Although the backlash from the lightning tribulation didn't kill him, it severely injured him and caused his cultivation level to plummet.

"General, what should we do now?"

The lieutenant looked at Yan Lie's pitiful state and asked in a trembling voice.

"Run...run away quickly..."

Yan Lie said weakly.

"That person... is completely beyond our reach..."

However, before they could take any action, a deafening roar that shook the heavens and the earth resounded from outside the city.

The army of the Bone-Swallowing Duke has breached the outer defenses of Blackwind City!