Chapter 1637: Quasi-Emperor Tribulation

To become an emperor in the flesh, even a "quasi-emperor," was astounding. Ye Fan had endured great hardship to survive and had retreated into obscurity, but now he was returning in such a powerful way.

The title "Quasi-Emperor" carried immense weight, oppressive enough to suffocate. With such a powerful physical body, Ye Fan could roam the universe unchecked, even without the full mastery of universal laws. Few could hope to restrain him.

This trend of development was truly terrifying; if the Lord of the Divine Court knew about it now, he would surely be unable to remain calm.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared as countless bolts of electricity densely wove through the cosmos, transforming into dragon-like serpents that whipped their tails, striking towards Ye Fan's physical body.

Blinding flashes of lightning streaked across the previously dark cosmos, illuminating the eternal void as Ye Fan confronted the Heavenly Tribulation.

Evidently, this Heavenly Tribulation was unlike any before. While its initial spectacle wasn't overwhelmingly grand, its power had suddenly surged by an incalculable margin.

"Aowww... Roar..."

Everyone distinctly heard the roars of dragons as several colossal beasts, their bodies covered in dense green scales and as robust as mountain ranges, burst forth from the sea of lightning, lunging at Ye Fan.

"Is this the great tribulation specifically for achieving quasi-emperor status in the flesh?"

People were awestruck, trembling even from an immense distance, every hair on their bodies standing on end. How could those dragons appear so lifelike, emitting roars and seemingly possessing vital energy?

It truly felt as if the nine heavens were splitting open and the nine netherworlds were being suppressed. Everyone's scalp tingled; it was incredibly vivid and realistic, perfectly resembling true dragons.

The green true dragons circled, opening their mouths and extending their claws, moving to kill Ye Fan, intent on his destruction. Becoming an emperor was an act against heaven, and even merely approaching that realm as a "quasi-emperor" was seen as a threat by the heavens, prompting this suppressive slaughter.

Ye Fan's body shimmered with radiant light, and the blood within him surged like a tsunami, coursing through his flesh. His thick black hair billowed, and his gaze was sharper than cold lightning. He looked up at the sky, facing everything with a profound sense of solemnity and seriousness.

This was both an opportunity and a potential transformation. Crossing this threshold would allow him to traverse the universe. Even without mastering the laws of order or possessing the full divine abilities of a quasi-emperor, he could still dominate the world simply by virtue of his physical body.

"Boom!"

The colossal body of a true dragon descended directly, its mass shattering the starry sky and grinding numerous meteorites into dust. Its coiled form resembled a world-grinding millstone, striking terror into the hearts of all who witnessed it.

Its might was unparalleled. People believed that even multiple Great Sages would be ground into pulp by the dragon's body; it exuded an irresistible force.

Yet, Ye Fan resisted, directly clashing with his Saint Body, his fists pulverizing the void. The true Heavenly Emperor's Fist erupted, revealing his terrifying power to all present.

"It's terrifying; no wonder there were rumors that even after losing his powers and understanding of the Dao, he still managed to kill the disciple of the Longevity Heavenly Venerable just before leaving the True Path."

Ye Fan moved swiftly across the sky, delivering punch after punch. Each blow drew blood from the green dragon's body, shattering scales and causing blood to spray with startling realism. Could it truly be formed from lightning? People began to doubt, as the green scales and dragon blood appeared so tangible.

"Aowww... Roar..."

The green dragon cried out in pain, leaping into the air after Ye Fan broke one of its claws. It then fled into the cosmos, crashing into a large star and shattering it.

"This..." People were terrified. It had directly destroyed a celestial body and continued to roar, clearly behaving like a living creature.

"Could it actually be a living being, a flood dragon possessing the body of a quasi-emperor, descended from the Immortal Realm?" Some individuals harbored this suspicion.

"Roar..." The green dragon turned back, and the other dragons also closed in on Ye Fan, initiating a fierce battle.

No one could definitively ascertain the realm of these green true dragons. They appeared to possess quasi-emperor bodies, yet also resembled lightning bolts shaped by a quasi-emperor's strike. Undeniably, they were immensely powerful; no one present dared to contend with them.

Even Ye Fan wore a solemn expression, his punches drawing blood—not just from the dragons, but also his own, exposing the white bone on his fingers. Yet, he seemed oblivious to pain, ignoring it, his gaze fixed on the green true dragons as he relentlessly struck with the Heavenly Emperor's Fist.

One, two… a total of eight dragons emerged from the lightning sea. Each time their massive bodies coiled, they destroyed numerous meteorites, possessing terrifying divine energy.

"Roar!"

With a final dragon roar, an even larger dragon materialized, swallowing several stars in a single gulp. The light it spewed forth was like a boundless, sprawling galaxy.

The entire starry sky was in upheaval, and Ye Fan was directly in its path, fiercely resisting.

People were terrified, particularly the Divine Court army, who secretly congratulated themselves for retreating. Otherwise, this lightning tribulation would have annihilated them all; it was utterly unstoppable.

Li Heishui sneered, remarking, "Little Ye Zi is soft-hearted; he doesn't want to annihilate all of them. Otherwise, do they truly believe they could escape? He once used the lightning tribulation to destroy many formidable enemies."

"It's better to face fewer killing tribulations; otherwise, it would cause immense trouble for becoming an emperor. Those are the endless karmic fires of the mortal world, which will eventually catch up." The Black Emperor stated.

The notoriously dark-hearted Black Dog, for a rare moment, showed mercy to his sworn enemies, though not without reason. Having once followed an ancient emperor, he understood many secrets unknown to ordinary individuals.

"He's stable; he's finally gaining the upper hand!" Dongfang Ye exclaimed, visibly relieved. The savage, bare-chested, exuded a primal, bestial aura, making him exceptionally dangerous to his foes.

The nine dragons wailed in agony. Ye Fan's fists, though exposing white bone, seemed immune to pain. He continued to strike with unwavering rhythm and eternal pulsation, unleashing his full power.

He struck the nine green true dragons, causing them to tremble and wail incessantly. One by one, their claws shattered or their bodies were broken in half. All were heavily wounded and could not approach him.

With a long roar, his entire body glowed even more intensely. The true blood of his Saint Body boiled, a vibrant red covering his fists, and his wounds rapidly healed, concealing the bones beneath.

He adjusted himself to his peak state, charging rapidly. Stepping onto the dragons' backs, he swung his fists, unleashing his most formidable power, one after another, forcing them to prostrate at his feet.

With a mighty roar, Ye Fan transformed into a great cauldron. His human form became indistinct as he floated, the nine green dragons suppressed beneath him.

"He hasn't actually transformed; he's still in his human form. It's simply his current state and the aura he's emitting that make him appear as a cauldron. Unless one possesses a special Divine Eye, the true nature of what's happening cannot be seen," the Black Emperor explained, its forehead splitting to reveal a vertical eye glowing with ethereal light.

The nine green true dragons, suppressed by Ye Fan, wailed and continuously spewed immortal light from their mouths, burning fiercely like flames, searing the cauldron.

For Ye Fan, this was a form of tempering. He had intentionally drawn upon the nine powerful and mysterious creatures shaped by the lightning tribulation, using their energy to refine his physical body.

The sea of lightning above raged. Infinite energy converged upon the nine great dragons, enlarging them many times over, but it was futile; they remained trapped beneath the cauldron's suppression.

Only when the nine true dragons were completely ground down, transforming into light and Dao principles that were absorbed into Ye Fan's body, did the lightning sea finally explode, releasing one weapon after another.

"Huh. No ancient emperors manifested this time; how strange. It's unlike his previous tribulations. Could it be because he's becoming a quasi-emperor purely in the flesh?" Yan Yixi wondered, surprised.

"It's not simple at all; those are terrifying weapons, extremely difficult to handle!"

The weapons emerging were all extraordinary. The first was a round cauldron, with three legs and two ears. Primordial chaos filled its opening, descending to suppress, functioning as both an offensive and defensive artifact.

Next came a grand bell, its resonant toll causing the cosmic rivers of stars to tremble faintly. Following it was an ancient pagoda, imbued with the power to suppress the thirty-three heavens.

A celestial sword cleaved down, a grand halberd descended... weapon after weapon, each possessing immensely powerful offensive capabilities!

Ye Fan fought back, clashing bare-handed in a cacophony of metallic sounds, like a blacksmith's forge. Covered in blood, he was undertaking something astonishing: absorbing weapon after weapon into his body.

This was undeniably a life-threatening endeavor. He risked exploding at any moment, as each weapon was incredibly dangerous, being a manifestation of the universe's fundamental Dao principles. Yet, he used them to forge himself, treating them as Dao fire.

Later, Ye Fan's bones crackled throughout his body. Covered in blood, his form trembled, like a discordant, clanging melody, threatening to shatter at any moment.

He persevered, one by one drawing these weapons into his body, causing them to resonate and allowing these fragments of Law and Dao to burn and forge within his flesh.

"Boom!"

Ye Fan's body was almost completely shattered, revealing stark white bone fragments. Fresh red blood and golden plasma flowed freely, presenting an extremely horrifying sight.

However, his flesh possessed astonishing regenerative power, allowing him to recover rapidly even amidst the lightning tribulation. This was due to his physique having evolved to an extreme state.

For three hundred years, the purification and sublimation of his body had continuously progressed. The bloody battle against the supreme being had profoundly affected him; his flesh remembered every detail of that conflict, compelling him to evolve and transform in a specific direction.

Ye Fan battled the various weapons, narrowly escaping death time and again. At one point, his forehead bone was shattered, and his primal spirit was almost split in half, yet he persevered.

Finally, he drew all the weapons into his body, then expelled them. His primal spirit was also tempered through this process; the small golden figure within wielded its fists and feet, battling the various weapons.

"Cauldron, come forth!"

With a mighty shout from Ye Fan, the void tore open, and the Cauldron of Myriad Things Mother Qi appeared, hovering above his head. It joined his physical body and primal spirit in undergoing the tribulation, with the incoming weapons becoming its most coveted targets, clashing violently against it.

Although the cauldron developed numerous cracks during this process, it ultimately remained intact, swallowing all the weapons and melting them into its own form.

"This is unbelievable..."

People were astonished. This cauldron was truly extraordinary; despite the weapons being nearly shattered by Ye Fan's strikes, its ability to simply swallow them was astounding.

"Boom!"

The sea of lightning churned and descended, revealing mountains, rivers, and diverse fauna. On closer inspection, it was a vivid, lifelike world where mythical creatures like Kunpeng, White Tigers, Tengshe, and Vermilion Birds roamed the land.

Soon, Ye Fan was completely engulfed, surrounded by dazzling divine energy.

"No, wait, what is that place? Is it simulating a world from the Immortal Realm? This is unlike any previous Heavenly Tribulation!" The Black Emperor's expression turned grave.

This Heavenly Tribulation was incredibly peculiar!

"Those mountains and all things seem to possess immense condensed power. Ye Zi, he... ah... his chest was directly split open!" Li Heishui cried out in alarm.

It was only the beginning, yet Ye Fan had already endured such a devastating assault. The mountains and all living things seemed sentient, and creatures like Kunpeng, Tengshe, White Tiger, and Vermilion Bird were like genuinely existing beast-gods, overwhelmingly powerful.

Despite the incredible resilience of Ye Fan's physical body, it suffered such damage. This lightning tribulation was utterly terrifying, far exceeding all normal expectations.

The only saving grace was the astonishing speed of Ye Fan's physical recovery. In the blink of an eye, his flesh and bones reconnected, a testament to the remarkable nature of his quasi-emperor body.

The cauldron, primal spirit, and physical body endured a cataclysmic ordeal. The sky collapsed, the earth shattered, and the air filled with the wails of ghosts and howls of deities. The array of exotic creatures was vast: some were prehistoric beings, others were great devils from ancient texts, some were gods and demons, and others included Vermilion Birds and Heavenly Ghosts.

The members of the Divine Court were invigorated, believing that even Ye Fan could not withstand such a catastrophe. His physical body had shattered multiple times, and even his cauldron had been broken and reformed repeatedly.

"Why is this so peculiar? It looks like Ye Fan is struggling. Can he endure it?" Li Heishui whispered, his face etched with worry.

This Heavenly Tribulation differed from previous ones; no ancient emperors manifested, yet it was equally boundless and terrifying, capable of claiming lives at any moment. Had anyone else faced it, death would have been certain.

"Confound it, Ye Zi can't use his powers or understanding of the Dao, otherwise the situation would be much better."

"For him, it's a rare opportunity. By confronting the Heavenly Tribulation solely with his physical body and primal spirit, without relying on divine abilities, the more intensely he's tempered, the greater his eventual gains," the Black Emperor stated.

Amidst a series of violent explosions, the area became intensely bright, rendering everything invisible. Evidently, the lightning punishment had instantly multiplied its power severalfold, truly obliterating everything!

In that region, numerous stars vanished instantly, pulverized into cosmic dust and reduced to ashes.

Subsequently, that world of mountains and rivers, along with the Kunpeng, gods, demons, Vermilion Birds, Heavenly Ghosts, and all other beings within it, completely vanished. The cosmos returned to a state of clarity.

The end was shockingly abrupt!