Chapter 2012: Late Combined Stage (Part 2)

Among our fellow Daoists, those of us who are stuck at the mid-Integration Stage are quite numerous, both within the human and demon races. However, only a handful ever manage to break through to the late-Integration Stage. If this old monk's memory serves, Fellow Daoist Han only recently entered the mid-Integration Stage. To begin assaulting the late-stage bottleneck so swiftly, such a cultivation speed is truly prodigious. Even the most celebrated legendary figures of our ancient times likely achieved no more than this." Master Jinyue nodded, fully agreeing with the silver-haired elder.

"Yet, precisely because Fellow Daoist Han's talent is so astonishing, this particular step will be even more challenging to overcome. After all, given such a short timeframe, Fellow Daoist Han's foundation may be too shallow, which will significantly increase the difficulty of his attempt to break through the bottleneck," the silver-haired elder said, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Haha, all of this is merely our speculation. As for the actual outcome, we'll simply have to wait and see. Fellow Daoist Han might even surprise us yet!" Master Jinyue replied with a light chuckle.

"I hope that is the case! If our city were to gain another late-stage cultivator to stand guard, our decisive battle against the demonic race would be considerably easier. Moreover, with Fellow Daoist Han's divine abilities, he already rivals late-stage cultivators even in his mid-stage. Should he advance further, he might even be able to contend with the avatars of the demonic holy ancestors," the silver-haired elder mused.

"Indeed, as long as the demonic holy ancestors themselves have not descended, their avatars represent the highest echelons of the demonic army. If Fellow Daoist Han truly possesses the means to engage them, we could abandon our original plan and instead concentrate our forces on dealing with the demonic venerables first." Upon hearing this, a sharp glint of cold light flashed in Master Jinyue's eyes.

The silver-haired elder nodded, but said nothing more, turning his gaze back to the distant celestial phenomenon.

At this moment, the fiery clouds high in the sky had transformed into a crimson ocean, engulfing most of the heavens beneath them.

Below the fiery clouds, a dazzling glow began to coalesce into clusters, transforming into colossal, multicolored runes that floated lightly in the high heavens, emitting brilliant radiance.

In the next moment, these runes suddenly vibrated violently, then shot directly upwards towards the fiery clouds, seemingly intent on piercing straight through them.

The fiery clouds responded with a loud hum and churned even more violently. The instant these colossal runes made contact with the clouds, they emitted strange sizzling sounds, then vibrated and shattered one after another.

These runes were completely suppressed beneath the fiery clouds, unable to break through even slightly.

A cold snort suddenly echoed throughout the entire void. Immediately after, a flash of green light appeared in the emptiness, and a blurry human figure, a thousand zhang tall, materialized, expressionlessly pointing several times into the high-altitude void.

After an invisible ripple passed through the space, the colossal runes' rate of coalescence suddenly surged to more than ten times its previous speed.

Millions of runes materialized within a few breaths, appearing one after another, and surged upwards like a tide once more.

The fiery cloud, however, possessed unknown mysteries; even when confronted by the surging runes, it remained as steady as a mountain, holding its ground without wavering.

However, both the fiery clouds and the colossal runes continued to expand at an astonishing rate, seemingly without end.

But the colossal phantom, appearing somewhat impatient, suddenly moved an arm, striking the red cloud from afar.

Although it appeared to be merely a phantom, as it struck with its fist, a colossal roar like a peal of thunder suddenly erupted.

The green figure flickered, then dispersed and vanished, but an immense invisible force easily penetrated the fiery cloud, then exploded within it.

After a continuous series of 'rumbling' sounds, a section of the fiery cloud suddenly vanished, creating a colossal hole over a hundred zhang in diameter.

Some runes shot out from this gap, but the fiery cloud flickered, and the hole immediately mended itself as before.

These escaped runes instantly coalesced into a mass, subtly forming another colossal rune, roughly an acre in size.

With a flash of light, this rune began to become clearer, seeming about to directly transform into a tangible form!

But at this critical juncture, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled above the fiery clouds. Rolling dark clouds coalesced out of thin air, subtly transforming into massive black flood dragons. With bared fangs and brandished claws, they instantly tore apart the immobile multicolored figure in a single encounter.

Immediately after, thunderous roars shook the heavens!

Strangely thick silver arcs emerged on the bodies of the flood dragons, interweaving and flashing, a truly astonishing sight!

"Eighty-one of them! This is truly inconceivable! I recall that the late-stage tribulation overcome by that senior only drew thirty-six lightning dragons. For Fellow Daoist Han's late-stage tribulation to attract such a multitude is simply too unbelievable!” Master Jinyue couldn't help but let out a low cry upon seeing this. The silver-haired elder, witnessing this scene, also showed a hint of horror in his eyes, but he spoke calmly:

"This late-stage tribulation is so potent, I wonder how Fellow Daoist Han will manage it. One misstep, and he might not only fail to advance to the late-stage but also suffer severe damage to his vital essence. It's a pity that outsiders cannot intervene in such a heavenly tribulation. Otherwise, with our assistance, Fellow Daoist Han might still have a chance.”

The elder seemed to have already concluded that Han Li would not be able to overcome this tribulation!

"Brother Gu, there’s no need to worry unduly. Since Fellow Daoist Han chose to challenge the late-stage bottleneck at this moment, he surely possesses a certain degree of confidence. Let us simply wait and observe first,” Master Jinyue took a deep breath, speaking with a solemn expression.

As if to confirm the monk's words, a clap of thunder suddenly resounded from the clear sky!

Dozens of golden bolts of lightning, as thick as water vats, tore through the air from below. With a flash, they directly pierced through the runes and the fiery clouds, striking hard against the black flood dragons.

A mighty roar erupted!

Wherever the golden light passed, colossal holes appeared on the massive bodies of the black dragons. The silver arcs coiling around their bodies were instantly absorbed by the golden light, as if dragons returning to the sea. Had the golden light not vanished after only a brief moment, these flood dragons might truly have been shattered by that single strike.

However, this action of the golden light also instantly enraged the flood dragons.

All the black flood dragons let out a low roar from their mouths. Nearby, winds surged and clouds gathered, and countless mists converged on their damaged bodies, instantly mending them as good as new.

The group of flood dragons opened their mouths once more, and torrents of gray elemental wind surged forth, sweeping wildly downwards.

The fiery clouds below, caught by this wind, suddenly ignited into a furious blaze with a 'whoosh'.

With fire harnessing the wind's momentum and wind augmenting the fire's intensity, a vast sea of flames, over a hundred li wide, instantly formed as wind and fire intertwined, slowly pressing downwards from the sky.

Even before the sea of flames had truly descended, the void below was already illuminated crimson, as if the entire space were about to ignite.

Master Jinyue and the silver-haired elder, seeing this situation, couldn't help but slightly change their expressions.

Given the extensive reach of this fire, if the tribulation-undergoer were to mishandle it, the number of ordinary cultivators affected would likely far exceed common imagination.

The other cultivators nearby also collectively gasped.

They had not expected this heavenly tribulation to possess such immense power right from its onset.

They inwardly wondered if this single wave of heavenly fire alone would be enough to reduce them to ashes.

At the very center of the descending sea of flames was precisely the stone tower where Han Li was in secluded cultivation.

Although this tower possessed some restrictive defenses, if it were truly crushed by the sea of flames, its inevitable fate would be destruction and the death of its occupant.

Just then, a mass of silver light flickered and appeared at the tower's summit. A clear cry followed, and a ball of silver flames emerged, twirling out from the spiritual light. With a slow rotation, it transformed into a gigantic firebird adorned with silver plumes.

Initially, this firebird was only about a zhang in size, but as it spread its wings, silver flames surged over ten zhang high, transforming it into a colossal entity a hundred times its original bulk, and it swooped towards the sea of flames.

A muffled thud.

As soon as the silver bird touched the sea of flames, it silently submerged into it, but in the next moment, the sea of flames began to boil.

The crimson flames seemed to be drawn by an irresistible force, surging wildly towards where the gigantic firebird had submerged, then rapidly vanishing with flickering light.

In a short time, more than a fifth of the entire sea of flames instantly disappeared.

At this rate, the complete disappearance of the sea of flames would be a matter of mere moments.

But before that could happen, the black flood dragons in the sky shook their heads and tails, and opened their mouths once more.

This time, streams of white mist swept down from the sky.

These white mists appeared ordinary, but as their chill diffused in mid-air, they transformed out of thin air into crystalline ice cones over ten zhang long, with incredibly sharp tips and exceptional translucence.

However, before these ice cones could truly descend, a series of ghostly wails erupted from the stone tower below. Then, five fist-sized skull heads flew out, tumbling. Opening their mouths and spraying in unison, five streams of five-colored cold flames transformed into a torrent of ice and snow, surging upwards like a waterfall.

As soon as the ice cones were enveloped by the cold flames, they melted away one after another, reverting into extremely pure spiritual energy, which was then absorbed and vanished by the cold flames.

Despite two consecutive attacks being thwarted, the black flood dragons remained unfazed. With a twist of their bodies, they astonishingly self-detonated one after another with loud bangs in the next moment.

Their shattered bodies merely flickered in the air, then transformed into countless enormous stone fragments of varying sizes.

The smaller ones were less than head-sized, while the larger ones were a colossal thousand zhang, as massive as small mountains. So many colossal stones rained down, as if the heavens and earth were collapsing, instantly turning the faces of the ordinary cultivators caught beneath the shower of stones ashen.

In the deepest underground secret chamber of the stone tower below, a figure sat cross-legged on a yellow futon, eyes tightly closed.

Spiritual energy surged around him, his face was flushed crimson, and hot sweat streamed down his temples, as if he were in the midst of an extremely critical juncture.

In front of him, two miniature mountain peaks, one green and one black, each a zhang tall, stood side by side. Above his head, seventy-two small green swords transformed into a green sword lotus, circling and dancing unpredictably around him.

Layers of black runes continuously churned over his body, subtly shrouding him in a battle armor as dark as ink.

But strangely, on the outer perimeter of these numerous magical artifact defenses, countless dense gray light spots were scattered. Each was only thumb-sized, but all exuded an extremely chilling aura and emitted a low humming sound.