Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Bibi Dong remained seated on her throne, the profile of her face outlined in a soft arc by the setting sun outside the window.

She stared at the sky outside the window, motionless, as if looking at something far away, something only she could see.

Hu Liena did not make a sound to disturb them, withdrew her gaze, and stepped out of the main hall.

The palace doors closed slowly behind her, making a dull sound that separated the inner and outer worlds.

Bibi Dong sat alone in the empty hall, while the last rays of twilight slowly sank below the horizon outside the window.

The light streaming through the window gradually descended, casting her long, pale shadow on the wall behind her.

What is she thinking? Maybe she's not thinking about anything at all. Maybe she's thinking about a lot of things.

But those thoughts, like the twilight outside the window, vanished before they could even take shape.

Night is falling.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the deep sea, another storm is brewing.

Deep sea, fishbone cave.

The dark seawater surged silently in the cave, and the bioluminescent jellyfish trapped on the cave walls emitted eerie green, pale white, and pale blue light, making the entire cave appear bizarre and fantastical.

Ursula sat atop the giant clam altar, its massive body casting a deep shadow in the dim light.

Her lower body was made of octopus-like tentacles, with countless thick tentacles hanging down to the edge of the altar, swaying gently and rhythmically in the seawater, each sway creating a fine ripple.

Her upper body leaned slightly forward, one elbow resting on the rock at the edge of the altar, her palm supporting her chin, her eerie green eyes half-closed, as if she were dozing, or as if she were waiting for something.

But at this moment, her heart was not at peace.

Chapter 545 Tribulation

Ursula could clearly sense that the power within her body was surging, expanding, and churning at an unprecedented speed.

That power originated from the essence and primordial power of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, which she carefully sealed within her body, refining and absorbing it little by little.

Now, those powers have been completely integrated into her bloodline.

Her cultivation had already reached that invisible barrier. Six hundred thousand years.

In the world of soul beasts, 100,000 years is a threshold, 200,000 years is the second, and 300,000, 400,000, and 500,000 years are all insurmountable barriers. And 600,000 years is an absolute cliff that would deter the vast majority of soul beasts from even attempting it.

Ursula's lips twitched slightly, the curve carrying a complex and indescribable expression.

She has lived for many years; she had already lived a very long time in the fairy tale world.

After arriving in this world, she witnessed firsthand just how cruel its rules could be.

When a human Soul Master reaches a bottleneck in their cultivation, they only need to find a suitable Soul Ring to break through it smoothly and naturally.

And what about soul beasts?

Ursula cursed inwardly again.

Every time a soul beast's strength reaches a new level, it must face a heavenly tribulation.

A calamity where survival is a matter of life and death.

If you fail, you'll be reduced to ashes, leaving not even a trace.

Only those who succeed by sheer luck will be granted the right to continue living.

Why?

Ursula's tentacles tightened abruptly, gripping a protruding rock on the edge of the altar, her knuckles turning white. Her heart was filled with anger and resentment.

She's lived so many years and experienced so much; what storms hasn't she weathered?

But every time she thought about the Heavenly Tribulation, she wished she could drag out the god who made this rule and beat him up.

Why should non-humans be treated like this?

Why should their path of cultivation be paved with thorns and flames?

Why should they have to gamble their lives on the gambling table every time they take a step forward?

But despite her anger, she knew now was not the time to dwell on these things.

The heavenly tribulation will not be delayed because of her anger, nor will it be less difficult because of her resentment.

What's meant to come will come.

Ursula took a deep breath, suppressing her surging emotions. She opened her eyes, a sharp glint flashing in her deep green pupils.

It's time to get ready.

Ursula slowly straightened up, and countless tentacles retracted from the edge of the altar, gathering and coiling around her.

She raised her hand, her pale, slender fingertips tracing a line in the air. A faint blue light spread from her fingertips like a thin thread, outlining a complex rune pattern in the air.

The runes hovered in the air for a moment, then silently dissipated, turning into countless tiny specks of light that merged into the surrounding darkness.

She needs something to get through this ordeal.

A 600,000-year heavenly tribulation and a 500,000-year heavenly tribulation are completely different concepts.

Five hundred thousand years ago, she could still weather the storm with the treasures she had accumulated in the Fishbone Cave, but the tribulation of six hundred thousand years ago was at least twice as powerful. Her meager resources were simply insufficient.

Fortunately, she has accumulated quite a few good things over the years.

Besides the ocean energy crystals that Lan Fuzi regularly sent, there were also rare and precious materials that she traded with various sea spirit beasts, as well as ancient treasures that she excavated from shipwreck ruins. All of these filled the two dark chambers deep inside the Fishbone Cave.

Ursula slid off the giant clam altar, her enormous body moving rhythmically in the seawater, her tentacles leaving several winding trails of water behind her.

She walked through several dark passages and stopped in front of a large door forged from a single piece of deep-sea black iron. She raised her hand and placed it on the door, a faint light flashing in her palm.

The doors slid open silently to both sides.

Inside the dark room, various rare and precious treasures gleamed faintly in the dim light.

There were fist-sized deep-sea energy crystals, their bodies shimmering with a blue aura. There were palm-width sea spirit beast scales, their edges sharp as blades. There were several ancient seaweeds sealed within transparent crystals, their interiors containing creatures from long-extinct species.

There were also several ancient soul tools salvaged from the shipwreck. Although they were mostly rusted, they still emitted faint, mysterious energy fluctuations.

Ursula's gaze slowly swept over the treasures, finally settling on an item at the deepest part of the dark room.

It was a completely black bead with a smooth, mirror-like surface and a faint, dark red light flowing within, like a heartbeat frozen in black crystal.

The bead was small, only the size of a baby's fist, but the energy fluctuations it emitted far exceeded the sum of all the treasures around it.

She unearthed it from an ancient shipwreck many years ago, sacrificing two tentacles and nearly 30% of her soul power in the process.

But now, it will finally come in handy.

Usula extended its tentacles, carefully rolled up the black bead, and put it into its bosom.

He then selected several materials suitable for setting up a defensive formation and a few energy-rich crystals, making sure nothing was missed, before turning and leaving the dark room.

She didn't bring much with her. When it comes to transcending tribulation, bringing countless treasures is useless.

The only things that can truly save one's life during a heavenly tribulation are one's own strength and luck.

These things are merely for buying a few more breaths.

More importantly, she cannot undergo tribulation in the Fishbone Cave.

The calamity that had lasted for six hundred thousand years was powerful enough to completely crush this cave, which had been under construction for many years, into dust.

She didn't want to have finally survived the lightning tribulation only to return home to find her home gone.

Ursula slid down the passage toward the cave entrance, her tentacles neatly retracting behind her.

She moved swiftly, traversing the dark depths of the sea, the water parting invisibly beside her, her speed so fast she resembled a dark streak of light moving through the water.

Before long, she reached the seabed.

A faint blue halo shone through the darkness overhead; it was the last glimmer of sunlight refracted by the seawater.

Ursula rose to the surface, and the moment it broke through the sea, a salty sea breeze rushed towards her, carrying the last trace of warmth left over from the daytime.

The sky was deep blue, a few stars were beginning to appear overhead, the moon had not yet risen, and only a dim, silvery-gray shimmering surface remained on the sea.

She chose a relatively open area of ​​the sea, hundreds of miles from the nearest island.

The commotion caused by the Heavenly Tribulation was too great. If it got too close to the shore and was noticed by human soul masters, those hunters who coveted the cultivation of soul beasts would surely swarm in like sharks smelling blood.

Although she wasn't afraid, she figured it was better to avoid trouble.

Ursula hovered several feet above the sea surface, with countless tentacles spreading out behind her like blooming dark flowers.

She raised her hands, her ten fingers moving rapidly in the air. Streams of dark blue runes flew from her fingertips, silently condensing and arranging in the surrounding air to form a complex three-dimensional array.

The formation slowly rotated, covering an area of ​​dozens of miles in radius.

A deep blue light flowed along the edge of the array, like a serpent of light connecting head to tail, isolating this area from the outside world.

After setting up the formation, Ursula took out several more items from the pile of treasures and embedded them one by one into the nodes of the formation.

The moment each treasure is embedded, the light of the array brightens and the speed of its circulation increases.

She did all this quickly, without any unnecessary hesitation.

The heavenly tribulation wouldn't wait for her to be fully prepared before it descended; she had to complete all preparations before the heavenly lightning struck.

Having done all this, Ursula hovered in the center of the formation, sensing the defensive power contained within the surrounding dark blue light. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The salty sea breeze filled my lungs, carrying the unique crispness of the night.

She opened her eyes, her deep green pupils reflecting the darkening sky above.

Then, she mobilized the power within her body.

The power that she had suppressed for so long surged forth like a dam that had been breached!

Her essence, scales, and the primordial power originating from the Deep Sea Demon Whale King flowed into the main stream like three rivers that had been suppressed for too long, frantically merging, swirling, and soaring with her soul power.

Her aura surged at a visible speed, and the surrounding seawater was stirred up by this force, creating waves several meters high that crashed out in all directions.

The sky changed the moment she broke through the six hundred thousand-year mark.

First came an extremely muffled clap of thunder, as if some giant beast had rolled over deep in the clouds.

Immediately afterwards, large swaths of dark clouds gathered from all directions at an incredible speed, completely obscuring the entire sky in the blink of an eye.

The moonlight was swallowed up, the stars were obscured, and the sea was plunged into complete darkness.