As the giant Earth Cauldron quivered, flames burst out from underground, manifesting into the Moon Flame, the Sun Flame, the Heavenly Rainbow Flame, the Ice Soul Divine Flame, and countless other heavenly flames.
“Are the Heavenly Daos trying to refine boss?”
Guo Ran and the others were shocked. Even though they didn’t understand alchemy, it seemed that heaven and earth had now sealed Long Chen and wanted to refine him.
“Break!” Long Chen roared, a sense of danger gripping him. Previously, he had confidence in dealing with the heavenly tribulation, but it seemed that some other power was interfering with his heavenly tribulation. An intense sensation of death enveloped him.
Long Chen instantly took out the Earth Cauldron and smashed it at the duplicate Earth Cauldron.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Long Chen unleashed his full power, each of his strikes sending shockwaves through heaven and earth. As a result of this, the world seemed to flicker and darken, while the stars trembled in response.
The Earth Cauldron, now fused with the mysterious dagger and empowered by the force of Heavenly Flames, had become insanely tough. However, cracks started to appear after Long Chen’s relentless barrage, and this development made Long Chen see hope. There was still a possibility of breaking it.
Buzz.
Just as Long Chen’s hope ignited, a heaven-covering hand reached down from above the nine heavens and grabbed the Earth Cauldron. The moment the hand clutched the cauldron, all sound seemed to vanish from the world. Even the pupils of the palace master contracted, and a wave of horror swept over Bai Shishi's mother.
“Six fingers suppress heaven and earth? Is that the hand of the heavens?”
The hand of the heavens, a mythical phenomenon said to have last manifested in the primal chaos era, was believed to emerge specifically during heavenly tribulations to eliminate Divergents capable of disrupting the Heavenly Daos. If the heavenly tribulation alone was unable to kill these individuals, the hand of the heavens would descend as a final judgment. However, any information related to the hand of the heavens existed only in extremely ancient legends, with no concrete records of its existence.
Despite the skepticism surrounding the legends, most of them described the hand of the heavens as possessing six fingers, each representing one of the Six Daos of Reincarnation. This unique trait bestowed upon it the ability to obliterate any lifeform existing within the Six Daos.
Also, this ancient tale was something only extremely erudite members of the senior generation had heard of. Despite their knowledge of the legend, many regarded it as a mere story, not to be taken seriously. However, when these erudite seniors saw the descent of this enormous hand, which suppressed all ten thousand Daos within heaven and earth with its six fingers, all of them were stunned.
The enormous Earth Cauldron’s copy rapidly shrank. Trapped within it, Long Chen felt a crushing pressure, and even his real Earth Cauldron was unable to smash his way out.
“I knew someone was cheating!” Long Chen roared furiously at this hand.
He recognized the hand of the heavens, but it was of no use. After all, the hand of the heavens had come to kill him.
As the Earth Cauldron shrank, Long Chen felt an intense pressure, as if millions of stars were compressing him, threatening to make him burst. Six kinds of explosive power came from that hand.
“What hand of the heavens? Isn’t it just someone who dislikes me? Once I get stronger, I’ll break your legs!” roared Long Chen.
As he mustered all his power to fight back, he suddenly realized that his Spirit Blood, Spirit Root, Spirit Bone, and Spiritual Strength were sealed. He was unable to draw out even a trace of their power.
Gritting his teeth, he knew he couldn’t do anything. It felt as though an unseen force had tightly bound and sealed every ounce of his potential.
Buzz.
At this critical juncture, the real Earth Cauldron suddenly vanished, reappearing in Long Chen’s spiritual space. Long Chen almost cursed it, having not expected the Earth Cauldron to be so lacking in loyalty. When he needed its support the most, it actually chose to flee into his mind-sea.
Suddenly, Long Chen noticed that his connection to the Earth Cauldron was gone, and he couldn’t even sense Huo Linger or Lei Linger. Stripped of all his power, it was as if he had returned to the time when he was nothing more than an insignificant figure in the Phoenix Cry Empire.
When the power of the Six Daos crashed down on Long Chen, blood oozed out of his skin. However, Long Chen didn’t feel any pain. It was like even his sense of pain had been stripped from him.
At first, Long Chen could still feel the terrifying flames roasting his entire body, trying to turn him to ash. However, he didn’t feel any pain now. Gradually, he lost his sense of sight as well and couldn’t even feel the hand of the heavens.
Before him stretched a vast, white expanse—an empty world where time seemed frozen.
Unable to move, speak, or see, Long Chen harbored a seething hatred and an overwhelming sense of unwillingness. Dying in such a manner was not an option for him! He refused to submit to this fate, vowing to fight these unfair heavens to the bitter end!
Buzz.
Just then, a glimmer of golden light illuminated this empty world, driving the emptiness away. Successive golden lotuses unfurled, creating a breathtaking scene around Long Chen, leaving him in awe. A feeling of déjà vu settled over him.
Following that, a beautiful middle-aged woman appeared before him, her eyes tenderly looking at him with an abundance of affection.
“Child, why are you so angry?”
“Aunt Gong? Why are you here?” Long Chen questioned, disbelief etched across his face.
“Answer Aunt Gong first,” she gently urged.
“I hate… I hate this world for being unfair… I hate the ten thousand Daos for being heartless, and I hate the foolishness of all life,” declared Long Chen, clenching his teeth.
“If you hate them, why do you not take the initiative to fight back? Why not directly counterattack? Why not wipe them out by the roots?” asked Aunt Gong.
“I…” Long Chen was stunned.
“Is it because your heart has misgivings? Are you afraid of being labeled a sinner?”
Long Chen shook his head. “Of course not. I’ve never cared about my reputation.”
“Then what are you afraid of?” Aunt Gong asked softly.
“I… I… I’m afraid of being wrong. I’m afraid of not being able to recover from such a mistake.”
Hearing his answer, Aunt Gong smiled. She then reached out and caressed Long Chen’s cheek. With a holy light coming from her, she looked like she was full of motherly love.
“Foolish child, have you forgotten what I told you? I entrusted it to you, and it will guide you. Do not doubt yourself and do not deny yourself. Everything you do is correct. As long as you believe in yourself, you will be stronger than anyone. Long Chen, stand up! This world requires a giant to lift it up.”
Suddenly, the bright world vanished, yet the radiant golden light persisted. Hovering above Long Chen's head, a golden lotus seed emerged, casting its luminous glow throughout every corner of this world.
When the golden lotus seed manifested, Long Chen felt his strength returning. The hand of the heavens had suppressed all his powers, but they all came back when they were immersed in this golden light.
Moreover, endless flame energy and thunderforce instantly poured into Long Chen, and the World King divine radiance appeared behind his head.
“Damnable hand of the heavens, break!” Long Chen roared. Holding the golden lotus seed, Long Chen smashed the enormous hand with a fist.
BOOM!
In front of countless stunned gazes, that enormous hand was pierced through by the golden lotus seed, crumbling to nothing.
Just then, all the disciples of the High Firmament Academy, the Battle God Palace, the Starry River Sect, as well as the Dragonblood Legion, radiated a brilliant World King divine radiance. They had fully advanced to the World King realm.
“Success!” Guo Ran and the others cheered. This terrifying tribulation was finally over.
Just as everyone was excited, an enormous hand pierced toward Long Chen.
“What?!” Did the hand of the heavens descend again?
“Some people are simply tired of living.”
The palace master simply smiled and vanished from sight.
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