489: Chapter 506 Daoist Sin!

This commotion more or less let the people within the Restriction sense that something was wrong.

“What happened to him?” Yin Leici frowned. “He was fine just a moment ago, why did he suddenly...”

“It looks like a backlash.” Yue Qingyao's voice remained cold. “His dao foundation has likely run into a problem.”

“Hahaha, I knew it!” Yin Leici suddenly perked up, a mocking curve hanging at the corner of his mouth.

“How could it be so easy for him to pass? He's making it seem like becoming a Nascent Soul True Monarch is trivial. If it were that simple, I would have started my Breakthrough long ago.”

Hua Nongying glanced at him but said nothing.

Xuan Zhenzi, however, stood with his arms crossed, his expression somewhat solemn.

“It was only three bolts of Heavenly Tribulation, did he really think he could make it?”

Yin Leici spoke with increasing vigor, “Daring to shatter his core before his Law was fully harmonized—isn't that just seeking death?”

Yue Qingyao's brow furrowed slightly; she felt things weren't that simple.

That kind of backlash had come too suddenly, too strangely.

Given the methods that Black-robed Man had displayed, it didn't seem like it was caused by an unstable dao foundation at all; it seemed more like he had been plotted against.

But it was only a suspicion, so she didn't say anything.

As the person involved, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was also completely bewildered, not understanding what had happened.

Although the Law of this body wasn't fully harmonized, he had already forcibly brought forth the Dao Flower and shattered the core to form the soul. He only needed the tempering of the Heavenly Tribulation to truly step into the Nascent Soul stage.

Everything was proceeding according to plan, so how could a backlash suddenly occur?

He tried to trace the source of the anomaly, only to find that the power was like a clay ox entering the sea—he couldn't find its origin at all.

He tried to suppress the backlash, but found that its power was growing stronger and stronger, becoming impossible to hold down.

Soul-Devourer gritted his teeth and forcibly activated the Ice Law, wanting to suppress the churning energy within his body.

This was indeed effective. He had wielded the Ice Law to its limit, capable of freezing even time and fate. Suppressing this backlash energy wasn't exactly effortless, but it didn't take much work either.

However, this was merely drinking poison to quench thirst; it couldn't achieve a substantial effect.

Moreover, as time passed, the backlash grew stronger, and the intensity required to suppress it increased repeatedly.

Eventually, he could no longer keep a lid on it.

His Meridians began to tear, his flesh crumbled, his bones snapped silently, and even his aura began to wither. Like a kite with a severed string, he plummeted straight down.

This wasn't because the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was weak, but simply because this descent body was too frail.

The energy of the backlash had already reached the threshold of this Physical Body. Even if he possessed world-shaking power, being limited by this shell left him with a feeling of having strength but nowhere to apply it.

But the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was, after all, a Nascent Soul True Monarch who had lived for tens of thousands of years; he had experienced countless Life and Death crises in his life.

The more critical the moment, the calmer he became.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surging blood within him, changed his hand seals, and several streaks of profound light emerged around him.

“Azure Wood Longevity.”

He used the Ice Law to drive a Wood-element Divine Ability. Using Water to generate Wood, he utilized the vitality of the Wood element to suppress the crumbling flesh within his body.

The cracked Meridians began to heal, the broken bones began to reconnect, and the decaying flesh began to radiate new life.

It didn't end there; a streak of crimson profound light also suddenly ignited around him.

This was the 'Water-Fire Nirvana Art'.

He used the Ice Law to reverse the Fire element—Fire hidden within Ice—using extreme heat to neutralize the chill in his body and prevent the Ice Law from losing control and backfiring.

Several streaks of profound light intertwined and coiled, forming a prismatic light shield around him.

It not only blocked the blood-colored light from the outside but also slowly suppressed the riot within his body.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's face remained pale, but his aura stopped declining, stabilizing at a dangerous equilibrium.

“Whew—”

Soul-Devourer let out a long breath of turbid air, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.

Within the Restriction, everyone looked at that tri-colored light shield with varying expressions.

“This... what kind of method is this?” Hua Nongying's voice was full of shock and doubt. “The Ice Law can be used like this?”

“It's not the Ice Law,” Yue Qingyao's brow furrowed slightly.

“He is using the Ice Law to drive other Five Elements Divine Abilities. Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, and Metal generates Water.”

“Using the Ice Law as a foundation, he forcibly reversed the Five Elements to bring forth Divine Abilities of the Wood, Fire, and Metal elements. Such an understanding of the Way of the Five Elements is simply inconceivable.”

“So what?” Yin Leici sneered. “It's just a deathbed struggle. This person's dao foundation has already run into trouble; no matter how much he tosses and turns, it's all in vain.”

Yue Qingyao glanced at him, not wanting to talk to the man.

After barely stabilizing the riot in his body, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord began to think of a countermeasure.

The root cause hadn't been resolved; continuing like this definitely wasn't the way.

For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Finally, he wondered if he should use the power of his true body.

As long as his true body descended, this bit of backlash and Heavenly Tribulation would be completely beneath mention.

But doing that would inevitably startle the snake.

The Heavenly Dao would also sense it, and the other Nascent Soul True Monarchs weren't fools either; they would likewise sense that something was wrong.

At that point, his plan to plot for Reincarnation might very well fall short because of it.

“Forget it, there's no need to be impatient.”

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's expression flickered, but after a moment of deliberation, he still decided to give up the idea of using his true body.

He had plenty of Lifespan. If it didn't work once, he'd try twice; if twice didn't work, he'd try three times.

At worst, he would wait for the next opening of the Secret Realm to make a comeback.

“Since I can't use the power of my true body, I'll try everything this body can do to see if I can solve it.”

Soul-Devouring Demon Lord gritted his teeth, a cold light flickering in his pupils.

He formed seals with his hands again, and the Ice Law around him surged once more. Ice-blue light intertwined to form an even sturdier defense.

At the same time, he circulated the magic power in his body, attempting to force the backlash power out of his system.

However, misfortunes never come singly.

After sensing the anomaly below, the eye of the heavenly dao also began to kick him while he was down.

The giant eye overlooking all living beings slowly turned, its gaze falling back onto the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord.

There was no emotion in its eye, no will, only a vast indifference.

Normally, when encountering a Cultivator Undergoing Tribulation, It could only turn a blind eye.

After all, living beings Undergoing Tribulation was a rule. Even It could only act according to the rules, at most sneaking in some personal agenda.

But now was different!

As the descent body's fortune drained, Luck dissipated, and Lifespan withered, a sliver of the true soul aura belonging uniquely to the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was exposed.

It was lucky the Heavenly Dao had no expression; if It did, It would surely look quite amused right now.

Well now, a Nascent Soul True Monarch, using a descent body to masquerade as a Golden Core Cultivator, quietly attempting a Breakthrough right under Its nose.

This was simply not showing It any respect!

And for this kind of fellow who exploited loopholes in the rules of heaven and earth, there must be severe punishment!

The Heavenly Dao didn't play around. Since you wanted to borrow a body to attain the Dao, you had to be prepared to bear the consequences of that person's Karma!

The intensity of the Heavenly Tribulation suddenly skyrocketed at this moment.

A silver-white light instantly and slowly emerged from the depths of the Heavenly Eye.

That light wasn't dazzling or brilliant, yet it carried an indescribable sense of ancient vicissitude.

With just a sliver leaking out, all things began to wither and fall silent.

As if washed over by millions of years, everything in its path weathered away inch by inch, turning into grains of dust. Even the Void Realm took on a hue of dead silence.

“This is... the Power of Time!”

Hua Nongying cried out in alarm.

“No, it's not just the Power of Time.” Yue Qingyao's voice finally lost its usual coldness, carrying a hint of irrepressible dread.

“This is the Time Law!”

That's right, this was the Time Law in its true sense, one of the supreme Laws in the Cultivation World.

In the eyes of ordinary Cultivators, time was a line that flowed uniformly and irreversibly.

But after comprehending the Time Law, one could 'see' that time was actually an entity that could be folded, compressed, and segmented in higher dimensions.

The Heavenly Dao was using the Time Law to crush the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord.

Unlike the previous severing of Lifespan, this was making his time accelerate its flow.

A thousand years in an instant, an instant in a thousand years.

In just a flash, the sideburns of this descent body the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord inhabited began to turn white, wrinkles began to crawl onto the corners of his eyes, his skin began to sag, and his figure began to hunch.

His Lifespan was draining at a rate visible to the naked eye. His aura began to wither, his magic power exhausted, and his Divine Soul aged.

“No—”

He activated the Ice Law, trying to freeze the flow of time within his body.

But the status of the Time Law was far higher than that of the Ice Law; his efforts were in vain.

He then activated the Azure Wood Longevity Art, trying to use vitality to combat aging, but that bit of vitality was like trying to put out a bonfire with a cup of water in the face of the power of years.

His body continued to age, from middle age to old age, from old age to extreme seniority, from extreme seniority to the brink of death.

His hair turned completely white, his skin shriveled like tree bark, his teeth fell out, and his eyes grew cloudy.

His aura became so weak it was almost imperceptible, and finally, his magic power was too exhausted to drive any Divine Ability.

He knelt on the ground, hands propping himself up, gasping for breath.

Every breath seemed to use up his last bit of strength.

His eyes were full of anger and unwillingness.

This was absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Everything had clearly been going smoothly, and his plans for Reincarnation were almost within reach, only for a hitch to occur at the final critical moment, leaving him with no chance to turn things around.

“The variable... it's that variable...”

He roared hoarsely, a flash of realization suddenly crossing his eyes.

He remembered the person who had dispelled his phantom and obscured their own heavenly secret.

He had always thought it was just a somewhat interesting minor character, not worth investing too much attention in.

Now it seemed that things were likely not that simple.

“Who on earth is it?”

No one could answer his question.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord only regretted that he had been careless, relying on his cultivation. Now that he finally understood, it was already too late!

The silver-white light gradually faded, the eye of the heavenly dao slowly closed, and that giant eye overlooking all living beings vanished from above the firmament.

The Heavenly Tribulation was over. It wasn't that he had passed it, but that the one undergoing it was dead.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's descent body knelt on one knee on the ground, motionless.

His aura was completely gone, his Divine Soul dissipated, and his Lifespan exhausted.

But his body did not turn to ash, nor did it disintegrate into points of light; it just knelt there quietly, like a stone statue.

Within the Restriction, there was a dead silence.

“Dead... he's dead?”

Yin Leici's voice was trembling.

No one answered him. They looked at the corpse kneeling on the ground, their hearts filled with a complex mix of emotions.

Just a moment ago they were mocking him for not knowing the heights of the heavens, yet now they couldn't bring themselves to smile at all.

They couldn't quite describe what they were feeling.

There was relief, regret, fear, and also bewilderment.

They thought of themselves.

They were also Golden Core Cultivators, also pursuing the Nascent Soul Great Dao.

Today they had seen someone fail their tribulation right before them, their life ending and their Dao vanishing.

Could that be their tomorrow?

Would they also have such a day?

“By the way, what was he screaming about at the end?”

Xuan Zhenzi suddenly asked curiously.

Hua Nongying frowned and thought for a while: “It seemed like he was saying someone plotted against him?”

“That's impossible, right?”

Yin Leici shook his head in denial. Although he found the Black-robed Man unpleasant no matter how he looked at him, he had to admit the other's strength was absolutely in a league of its own. Who could plot against him?

Besides, this was under the watch of the eye of the heavenly dao, and with so many of their own eyes present, it was clearly just the man failing his own tribulation.

“Then how do you explain those final words he said?” Yue Qingyao countered.

Yin Leici opened his mouth but couldn't find anything to say.

The group fell silent for a moment, their gazes scanning the surroundings, trying to find that so-called 'hidden hand'.

But they found nothing; there were only the few of them within the Restriction.

They subconsciously ignored Lu Ming, who was off in a corner with his eyes closed, regulating his breath.

Listening to the conversation of those around him, Lu Ming's heart was beating fast, but his face remained impassive.

His Karma technique had already completely erased his presence during this time; no one could trace anything back to him.

As long as he didn't actively take action and expose his existence, no one would remember that someone like him was even at the scene.

However, Lu Ming soon frowned.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's descent body was dead, and his crisis was temporarily resolved.

But this wasn't the end; it was only the beginning.

Looking at the golden book in the void, Lu Ming's mouth twitched violently.

“I really did end up on the list!”

Because the descent body had died, the name was directly removed, but on the Nascent Soul page, the name [Qin Guan] had appeared.

“Defeating the other's phantom earlier really did leave a sliver of a loophole.”

Lu Ming sighed.

He estimated that it was precisely this point that allowed the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord to link it to him.

That old fellow's true body was still in the Inner Domain; he would come knocking sooner or later.

He had to Breakthrough to Nascent Soul as soon as possible, otherwise, when that old fellow's true body descended, he wouldn't even have the room to resist.

“Ah well, things have come to this, there's nothing for it.”

He took a deep breath and was about to withdraw his gaze when he suddenly froze.

And the people within the Restriction likewise all looked toward one direction.

“That's...”

Hua Nongying pointed at the corpse in the distance, her voice full of shock and doubt.

Looking in the direction she pointed, they saw that the corpse kneeling on the ground didn't show the decay of an exhausted Lifespan, nor was it the disintegration of a Physical Body after a failed tribulation, returning its essence to heaven.

Instead, a strange light began to emanate from its body.

Then its skin began to melt like a candle being heated, starting from the fingertips, softening, becoming transparent, and flowing downward inch by inch.

What was exposed wasn't flesh and blood, but a turbid, glowing gelatinous substance, wrapped in dense fragments of Dao patterns, like cracks frozen in amber.

The spine arched up from the back, piercing through the skin bone by bone.

Then its face began to collapse, the features slowly melting until one couldn't distinguish the eyes from the mouth, leaving only a blurred outline.

Finally, everything went quiet.

Only a semi-transparent 'shell' remained in place, maintaining the posture the Cultivator had held in life.

The upper body could barely be recognized as human, while the lower body had already turned into a pool of Crystal Mud, slowly and silently sinking into the ground.

Within that pool of Crystal Mud, something was pulsing slightly.

“This is...” Yue Qingyao's pupils constricted slightly as if she had thought of something.

But before she could speak, Yin Leici beside her cried out in alarm.

“Dao Abomination!”