Chapter 981: Passing the Demonic Tribulation Seeking a Guarantee!

"A demon has emerged from the Central Lands!" These four words, heavy as ten thousand pounds, shook the Western world to its core. The complete annihilation of the Crusader army, like a thunderbolt, left everyone utterly stunned.

The army dispatched for the eastern expedition was meticulously chosen, comprising an exceptionally powerful group. Each member hailed from a different ancient family, all possessing noble bloodlines.

Furthermore, three of their leaders were mighty figures at the first heaven of the Immortal Platform, renowned throughout the West. They were advanced in age, had participated in numerous wars, and their fame resonated across the world!

Yet, this entire formidable army was annihilated; not a single person escaped. Those who went to the site reported that not even a fragment of armor remained, only faint bloodstains on the scorched earth and rocks.

"In this day and age, it's impossible for such a great demon to appear! The Central Land's Daoist sects don't know how to gather faith, and without the augmentation of belief-power, how could they possibly cultivate to such a realm!?"

After the initial shock, many began to raise doubts, feeling that this defied common sense, contained significant flaws, and was likely part of a conspiracy.

"No, it must be those Central Land Daoists playing tricks. Their heritage is very strange; perhaps some ancient Ten Absolute Great Arrays were left behind, and they used the power of heaven and earth to slaughter the Crusaders."

Some quickly speculated that the Daoist sects likely knew the purpose of their eastern journey, which was to seize the ancestral artifacts of the Central Lands. Therefore, they intercepted the army mid-journey, then pushed all the blame onto a 'demon'.

Suddenly, the entire Western world was in an uproar, and the cultivation world erupted, because this incident was unprecedented in its scale. While many Crusader expeditions throughout history had met with defeat, never before had one been completely annihilated.

Especially since it was now the Age of Dharma Decline, the three mighty practitioners would normally be considered at the pinnacle of power, unbeatable. How could they all have died?

Three great knights with glorious battle records, along with five hundred battle-hardened knights, were specifically prepared to counter the powerful figures of the Daoist sects. Their combined strength should have been sufficient to seize the ancestral artifacts of the Central Lands in a surprise attack!

"Enforcing the law and passing judgment on that heretic was merely a secondary objective. Unexpectedly, they met their bitter end because of it, turning it into a most terrifying event!"

"The Pope is already enraged, and will personally issue a summons, gathering all Western cultivators to form the strongest Crusader army for an eastern expedition!"

Tibet, deep and mysterious, was one of the few pure lands remaining in the current world. Ye Fan and his companions traveled onward until they arrived before the ruins of an ancient temple.

This was Little Pine's old home. As soon as they arrived, it recovered from its sickly state and quickly became lively, scurrying up the rocky mountain and burrowing into its small nest.

Yan Xiaoyu found it adorable and followed it. Inside the clean and dry stone cave, she looked at it eye-to-eye while Little Pine rolled its big eyes, gazing out.

This place held too many memories for it. It had grown up here since childhood, ignorantly absorbing moonlight, until it met Ye Fan.

"This is the Tibetan Buddha Cave, excavated by a great virtuous saintly Buddha," said Celestial Master Zhang Qingyang, who knew a great deal. He recognized the origin of the stone cave, realizing that the small stone Buddha was enshrined here.

The stone cave, less than half a foot high, was filled with divinity. This was why Little Pine could gradually gain sentience, truly because it was imbued with the divine radiance of ancient sages.

"Speaking of which, the Buddhist school is very profound," You Weiyu said. "Although Buddhism is almost extinct in India, its lineage is widely spread in the Central Lands. Even Spirit Mountain has moved eastward; who knows what misfortunes will occur in the future."

He hailed from Kunlun and naturally possessed a clear understanding of Tibetan Buddhism and the Buddhist temples in the renowned mountains of the inland. His sect had also sensed the vast power of Spirit Mountain.

Whoosh!

Little Pine hopped and bounded, transforming into a streak of purple light, darting wildly across the rocky mountain. Finally, it entered a fissure in the ground at the mountain's base, and the group followed.

When they saw the true dragon head formed by the earth's ley lines, they were all startled. A stone dragon lay here, dried and lifeless. Beneath its mouth was a tattered small clay pot containing clear, glistening liquid that emitted a faint fragrance.

"Earth Milk," Ye Fan murmured. "This is why the little one was able to survive and grow sentient."

Little Pine ran over, earnestly lifting the small clay pot, insisting that Ye Fan drink it. It was very firm and resolute, unwilling to back down.

"Are you showing filial piety to your master?" Ye Fan said with a smile, patting its head.

The little creature nodded earnestly, its face filled with solemnity and hope.

Ye Fan did not refuse this time as he had before; instead, he truly accepted it and drank it all in one gulp in front of Little Pine, because it was Little Pine's sincere gesture.

The small purple creature was very happy, hopping and bouncing. It took a long time for it to calm down, after which its mood became a little low, and it slowly walked towards a small stone cave.

There, lay the skeleton of a squirrel, its mother, who had died saving it years ago. After its journey in the human world, it had come to understand many things.

Last time, it had been carefree and laughing, but this time, it lay there very seriously, gazing at the skeleton with a sorrowful expression, remaining motionless for a long time.

The others exchanged glances. Ye Fan sighed softly, saying nothing, allowing the little creature to be lost in thought.

The small purple creature whimpered a few times, tears rolling from its large eyes, and gestured for Ye Fan and the others to leave first, promising to follow shortly.

The group nodded and came to the surface, leaving the little creature to its solitude, giving it time.

Yan Xiaoyu and the others had strong divine senses, stronger than Little Pine's current level, and could sense what it was doing. They couldn't help but show surprise. They discovered that Little Pine had secretly buried many of its precious and extremely rare spiritual fruits in that stone cave, interring them with its mother's remains.

"This is its way of showing filial piety. Later, let's all pretend we don't know anything, that we saw nothing," Long Xiaoque said.

They didn't need him to say it; no one would expose it. This innocent little creature was sometimes adorable and amusing, but at other times, pitiable and heartbreaking.

"Let's go," Ye Fan said.

Little Pine's spirits were not high. Finally, it whimpered a few times towards the fissure, then walked away with Ye Fan and the others, looking back with every step.

The group said nothing; there was no way to comfort it in this matter, so they could only let it adjust on its own. It must be said that Little Pine was very spiritual; this time, its intense emotional fluctuation actually triggered a heavenly induction, signaling an impending tribulation breakthrough.

In fact, its cultivation had long since reached the required level. Before reaching the Dao Palace secret realm, its primary method of cultivation involved inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy. As long as it consumed enough essence energy, it could certainly enter the Dao.

Only after reaching the Four Extremities secret realm would it need to undergo arduous cultivation to comprehend the Dao. For many days now, it had frequently consumed spiritual fruits and absorbed moonlight, so it should have long since overcome this hurdle.

Today, feeling this emotion, its Dao was stirred from its heart, thus attracting a heavenly tribulation, breaking through to the Four Extremities secret realm, truly embarking on the path of Dao comprehension, and initiating the foundation of its cultivation.

Boom!

A clear sky thunderclap descended from ten thousand feet, striking directly at Little Pine. The thunder's might was utterly fierce and overwhelming, making the earth and mountains rumble.

"Heavens, it actually triggered a heavenly tribulation!" exclaimed Zhan Yifan. "How many years has it been? Since Earth's spiritual energy dried up, this must be the first time anyone has attracted tribulation lightning, right?"

Zhan Yifan exclaimed, and the expressions of the others also changed. In this era, hardly anyone could undergo heavenly tribulation, as the environment had drastically changed. Even monstrous talents who could originally withstand tribulations were now rarely sensed by the Grand Dao, making it difficult for heavenly tribulations to descend.

No one had expected Little Pine to be so powerful that merely entering the Four Extremities secret realm would attract the attention of the heavens, requiring a tribulation to descend to obstruct it.

The small purple creature whimpered, quickly adjusted its emotions, its expression focused, and began to confront the vast heavenly tribulation.

It could be said that Ye Fan's earlier training played a crucial role; now, it no longer feared lightning and thunder, daring to face them alone.

Zhang Qingyang and the others finally understood why Ye Fan had taken a small creature as his second true disciple. Earlier, they had felt some resentment and skepticism, but now all of that had vanished.

This was a heaven-defying little monster. To begin experiencing thunder tribulations at such a tiny size, its future achievements would undoubtedly be limitless and unparalleled.

Because, according to ancient records, true thunder tribulations began when one broke through to the Four Extremities secret realm, as it was at this stage that one needed to comprehend the Dao, thus being sensed by the heavens.

This meant Little Pine had become one of the few throughout history capable of undergoing tribulation at its initial stage, and would surely achieve unimaginable Dao fruits in the future.

Zhan Yifan, You Weiyu, and the others were immensely envious, yet also deeply shocked, as they watched in silence.

The sea of thunder was fierce, engulfing the entire area with continuous, earth-shattering roars. Little Pine ascended to the sky, entering the midst of the lightning, confronting it directly.

Ye Fan nodded, his second disciple having truly embarked on the path of cultivation. He also made a move, not to assist, but to dissolve all the tribulation lightning that struck the ground using the 'Deceiving Heaven Array Pattern,' otherwise it might have shattered the mountains and rivers in this area.

Ultimately, Little Pine whimpered; it was still too young and struggled to endure, suffering severe injuries in the thunder tribulation.

"Master, please act quickly! Senior Brother Little Pine can't hold on," the others said with worried and anxious expressions, urging Ye Fan to help.

"To pass a tribulation, one can only rely on oneself; it must endure it alone," Ye Fan said, appearing ruthless at this moment. He did not assist but merely sent a telepathic message, telling Little Pine that it must hold on and persevere.

Whimpers continuously resounded. Eventually, even someone as stoic as Long Xiaoque could barely watch, wanting to defy the heavenly punishment and lend aid.

However, Ye Fan stopped them; no one could approach. The small purple creature's body was torn open and bleeding, nearly charred, yet the heavenly tribulation grew even mightier.

The terrifying thunder tribulation became a vast ocean, surging across the sky, boundless and endless, as it poured down. Within it, a small purple sprite wailed and struggled.

Ye Fan remained ruthless, loudly transmitting instructions on how to pass the tribulation, yet he consistently refused to intervene.

Finally, Little Pine used every means to preserve its life, even forgetting to cry out in pain. It unleashed its full cultivation, manifesting the first three strikes of the Nine Demon Emperor Slashes, resisting with all its might.

At this instant, Long Yuxuan, Huang Tiannv, and the others all had an illusion, as if they saw a great emperor surveying all directions within that ten-thousand-foot sea of heavenly tribulation lightning!

"Master, did you see it? Little Pine has a potential within its body, which vaguely transformed into an immortal divine radiance, looking down on the heavenly tribulation!" the group said with trembling voices.

"That is its 'Dao Self' potential, and it's the fundamental basis for its future ascent to the pinnacle," Ye Fan murmured. In a trance, he seemed to see a Demon Emperor rising.

"Master, only one person in a world can achieve Dao-enlightenment and become an Emperor," they asked a sharp question. "If Little Pine always follows you, who among you two will become Emperor then?"

"From ancient times until now, no Saint Body has ever been able to achieve Dao-enlightenment and become an Emperor...," Ye Fan muttered to himself, saying nothing else.

"This... even if Master doesn't achieve Dao-enlightenment, if you teach and produce two great emperors, it would still be unprecedented and unmatched throughout the world."

They had heard that Ye Fan also had a senior disciple in the Big Dipper star domain, who possessed bloodline power akin to the Solar Saint Emperor and might achieve Dao-enlightenment in the future.

"What about my Dao... what will become of it?" Ye Fan gazed at the infinitely profound sky. He had been accumulating power, building up for a grand burst, because his Dao would be unique; when breaking through, he would need to defy and sever the Grand Dao!