With the death of all those Upper Heavenly Gods, Ian Song finally felt at ease. He immediately handed three drops of fresh blood to the Little Corpse Puppet, then continued onward toward the direction of the tribulation.
Running at full speed, it took him less than half a quarter of an hour.
Ian soon arrived near the tribulation cloud.
The tribulation cloud of the God-King Tribulation covered a hundred acres of sky and earth. Eight bolts of lightning had already struck, and now the ninth was still brewing.
"Little brother, what are you doing here?"
Suddenly—
A figure flashed by, and Rhea Redmoon appeared not far away, her voice bright with delight.
Thanks to the tribulation cloud, much of the mist in this area had been scattered, allowing visibility for several hundred meters.
Seeing Rhea Redmoon, Ian immediately realized that the one undergoing tribulation was Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing).
"Hiss!"
When she saw the thousands of corpse puppets behind Ian, Rhea Redmoon instinctively stopped in her tracks and nervously took a step back.
"Don't worry, sis, these corpse puppets won't hurt you!"
Ian hurried to explain.
As he spoke, Ian walked straight over.
Rhea Redmoon, still uneasy, glanced at the corpse puppets and asked in confusion, "You can actually command these corpse puppets?"
"It's him! That little guy must be the Corpse Puppet King."
"Corpse Puppet King!"
Rhea Redmoon was stunned again.
Ian added, "I guess you could say we're sort of friends! Oh, and by the way—all those Upper Heavenly Gods from the Tian Clan and Jensen Clan who were hunting you have been taken care of by these corpse puppets. You two can focus on crossing your tribulation!"
"Really? That's great! I'll let Galen Jensen know so he can focus on his tribulation too!"
As she spoke, Rhea Redmoon formed a hand seal, transformed into a stream of light, and flew toward the tribulation cloud.
"By the way, little brother, why did you come here?"
Ian smiled, "I heard you and Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) were being hunted by a group of Upper Heavenly Gods and escaped into the Misty Forbidden Land, so I rushed over to help."
Hearing this, Rhea Redmoon was deeply moved. She hadn't expected Ian, still only a Lower Heavenly God, to dare come support them. On impulse, she hugged Ian and whispered, "Thank you, little brother!"
Breathing in the faint fragrance from Rhea Redmoon, Ian looked a little dazed for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Since you treat me sincerely, sis, of course I won't let you down!"
Just then—
The long-awaited ninth bolt of lightning crashed down. As it struck, the surrounding mist was swept away, and Ian saw Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing), shrouded in divine light, floating in midair.
"Boom!"
The massive lightning bolt overwhelmed his body, then slammed into the ground. The powerful shockwave turned the whole area into scorched earth, while Rhea Redmoon clutched Ian and shot forward at top speed.
Once the lightning's power faded, the tribulation cloud in the sky also slowly disappeared.
"Is it over?"
Ian asked.
"Not that easy!" Rhea Redmoon let go of Ian and shook her head. "The God-King Tribulation has nine rounds. This was just the first round—the Lightning Tribulation!"
As she spoke, she anxiously looked toward where Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) had been struck. She couldn't sense his aura.
"Should we go check on him?"
Ian asked.
"We can't!"
Rhea Redmoon said seriously. During tribulation, any living being who steps into the tribulation cloud's range will be attacked.
Just then—
A faint trace of vitality spread from the center of the scorched earth.
Sure enough, as time passed, that trace of vitality grew stronger and stronger. Finally, a figure shot up from the scorched earth and into the sky—it was Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing).
Though his clothes were tattered and his whole body charred, he radiated a powerful vitality.
Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) turned his head, giving Ian and Rhea Redmoon a small smile, but when he saw the thousands of corpse puppets beside them, he couldn't help but freeze in surprise.
"No need to worry, Galen Jensen—just focus on your tribulation. These corpse puppets won't harm us!"
He nodded, then sat cross-legged in midair and began to recover.
Meanwhile, a mysterious power was gathering in the sky above.
Suddenly, a massive palace appeared in the sky.
At first, the palace was blurry, but gradually its shape grew clearer. Then, nine golden-armored divine spirits flew out from within.
The golden-armored spirits first swept their imposing gazes over Ian and the others, then fixed their eyes on Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing).
Just then, Rhea Redmoon's voice sounded: "This is the second round of the God-King Tribulation—the Divine Spirit Trial!"
Ian asked curiously, "Where do these divine spirits come from?"
"They're created by the Heavenly Dao of the God Realm," Rhea Redmoon explained.
A sword-wielding spirit descended from the sky, landing before Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing).
According to Rhea Redmoon, only by defeating or killing all nine divine spirits can one pass the second trial.
Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) was incredibly strong.
He'd already surpassed the Upper Heavenly God level, but the divine spirit was no pushover—in fact, it was incredibly formidable.
The two clashed fiercely, their battle growing more and more intense. Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) unleashed several powerful divine abilities.
In the end, Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) managed to drive the spirit back.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Two more spirits swooped down and attacked Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) again.
This fight was even more brutal, but with some injuries, Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) managed to defeat both spirits.
But soon, three more spirits descended, forming a mysterious ancient battle formation and joining forces to besiege Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing).
Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) fought with everything he had.
Suddenly, a pair of silver wings appeared behind him.
With the silver wings manifesting, his power surged. Seizing the opportunity, he broke through the spirits' encirclement.
The three spirits didn't pursue him further—they simply left.
At last, the final three spirits descended.
These three spirits were even stronger. Working together, they quickly left Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) badly wounded.
Ian and Rhea Redmoon both looked worried.
But at that moment, a divine spirit avatar suddenly flew out from within Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing).
Back in the Life Ancient Land, he and Rhea Redmoon had each obtained an innate divine spirit; Ian had gotten five and gifted one to each of them.
During the siege at Xuliang Prefecture, Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) sacrificed one divine spirit avatar—now he still had one left.
With the avatar's help, Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing) stabilized his position and, after unleashing a secret technique, barely managed to defeat the final three spirits.
Then, the bodies of all nine spirits shot into a beam of golden light and merged into Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing). His aura surged, growing at least tenfold compared to before.
His injuries healed instantly as well.
The palace in the sky vanished, and another mysterious power began to gather.
A quarter of an hour later...
Groups of female divine spirits appeared in the sky—each one breathtakingly beautiful. They descended from above and began to dance an incredibly seductive dance around Galen Jensen (Galen Silverwing).
"Are these really divine spirits? They look more like enchantresses. If you can't resist their allure, you'll be lost forever!" Rhea Redmoon explained.
Ian grinned and joked, "Sis, if it were a female god crossing tribulation, would the ones descending be peerless handsome men?"