Chapter 916: Chapter 916: The Third Loss Tribulation

The trace of gray mist invading Ning Fan’s divine sense was quickly swept away under the suppression of the Calamity Blood.

The stiffness in his body gradually disappeared, and the petrified parts slowly returned to normal. Seeing this, Ning Fan’s expression relaxed slightly as he quietly watched the ocean of clouds above.

Above the clouds, the blood vortex was slowly fading, and Ning Fan did not continue using the Reverse Spirit Technique to perceive the scene on the other side of the vortex.

The ten drops of Royal Barbarian Blood bestowed by the stone statue had long flown into Ning Fan’s body, devoured completely by the Calamity Blood.

After swallowing the ten drops of Royal Barbarian Blood, Ning Fan’s Calamity Blood level increased significantly, yet it was still a long way from the True Blood Realm.

Ning Fan merely examined the change in his Calamity Blood and said nothing further.

His expression remained slightly serious as he recalled the scene he had perceived previously using the Reverse Spirit Technique.

“The gigantic door… the stone statue… the gray moon… what I perceived using the Reverse Spirit Technique is likely the entrance to the Sky Desolate Ancient Realm, a place long sought by both human and demon clans.”

“The Tianhuang Entrance is at the very top of Tianque, where it’s filled with gray winds, winds that contain the power of reincarnation, giving me an extremely dangerous feeling… this place does not seem benevolent.”

“And that stone statue elder, I wonder what his identity is, why he called me ’an orthodox barbarian race’, and why he would bestow me with ten drops of Royal Barbarian Blood twice…”

“Moreover, even though it was just a quick glance, I distinctly sensed a trace of deeply hidden life force within that stone statue elder… Is he also petrified by that gray mist, becoming a statue? Is he not yet dead… He asked me to see him at the top layer of Tianque, should I go…”

Ning Fan’s thoughts spun rapidly, and after a moment, he shook his head.

He came to the Ninefold Celestial Towers solely to reclaim the millions of barbarian souls from the hands of the seven ancestors and didn’t want to concern himself with other matters for now, nor did he want to meet that elder who had turned into a stone statue.

The blue stone ancient path beneath his feet once again lit up with circles of Formation lights, and in the next instant, Ning Fan’s figure disappeared from the second level and entered the third level of Tianque.

At the entrance of the third level of Tianque, six Yin Yang Evil Veins were currently sitting cross-legged at this place, with seven or eight corpses of human experts lying on the ground.

When Ning Fan’s figure appeared at the entrance of the third level, the six Yin Yang Evil Veins abruptly stood up, each releasing the aura of the Peak of Shekong realm.

These six Yin Yang Evil Veins recognized Ning Fan’s human aura, with vicious glares bursting from their eyes, amidst which were waves of doubt.

“Strange, how did this person enter the third level of Tianque without tearing through the sky of the second level?”

“Forget it, no matter how this person entered the third level, let’s kill him first! Ancestor Dulong ordered us to remain here and intercept any lone humans entering this place, and this one seems to have only a Mid Stage of Shekong cultivation; killing him won’t be difficult! Moreover, this one… has the ghost face and silver hair! He is the one Ancestor Dulong has placed a bounty on! Killing him can earn an Imperial-Grade Proto-Pill from within the clan!”

Thinking of the rich reward of the Imperial-Grade Proto-Pill, the hearts of the six Yin Yang Evil Veins raced with excitement, their expressions towards Ning Fan harboring even greater killing intent, as if looking at a fat sheep.

These six Yin Yang Evil Veins stayed here on orders to ambush any lone human expert entering.

Seeing that Ning Fan’s cultivation was not high, the six Yin Yang Evil Veins naturally harbored murderous intentions towards Ning Fan, and further realizing that Ning Fan was the one targeted by Ancestor Dulong’s bounty, he was undoubtedly a must-kill.

Behind them, each of the six Yin Yang Evil Veins carried a Sword Box with the monstrous Sword Qi surging within.

Just as Ning Fan made his appearance and had yet to take in the view before him clearly, among the six, a tall and a slender Yin Yang Evil Vein stepped forward, simultaneously forming sword seals, and shouted,

“Si Water Demon Sword, Slash!”

“Han Valley Demon Sword, Slash!”

Instantly, the Sword Boxes behind the two demons emitted sonorous and powerful sword cries, with a purple and a red sword light shooting out with a whoosh, slashing toward Ning Fan from left and right.

As for the other four Yin Yang Evil Veins, they each shifted their bodies to block Ning Fan from all sides. They did not attack Ning Fan but sealed all his escape routes.

They had no intention of giving Ning Fan any chance to escape!

These six Yin Yang Evil Veins worked together seamlessly and had already jointly slain many human Shedding Void experts.

Among the six Yin Yang Evil Veins, any single one of them would not be considered weak at the peak of the Shedding Void realm. To them, dealing with Ning Fan, who was merely at the ’Mid Stage of Shekong’, having two people act was more than sufficient to easily kill Ning Fan.

The reward of the Imperial-Grade Proto-Pill seemed almost within reach!

Unfortunately, these six Yin Yang Evil Veins had underestimated Ning Fan’s strength!

Cold light flickered in Ning Fan’s eyes. Just because he had encountered multiple Yin Yang Evil Veins without killing did not mean he was merciful or unwilling to kill demons!

If people do not offend me, I will not offend them. Since these Yin Yang Evil Veins have come courting death, he naturally won’t hold back!

“Collapse!”

Suddenly, an overwhelming red glow exploded around Ning Fan, forming into two enormous crimson hands that reached directly for the two demon swords!

Those two demon swords were of extraordinary caliber, being flying swords of the Acquired Five Nirvana level, slightly higher in grade than Ning Fan’s Weichen Four Swords.

Yet, under the grasp of the crimson giant hands, both swords shattered with a resounding boom, crumbling into fine powder in the sky.

With one grasp, the swords broke!

The two Shedding Void Peak Yin Yang Evil Veins who were life-bound with these two swords immediately spat blood as they retreated, and upon looking at Ning Fan again, their eyes were filled with horror.

Not only these two demons, but the other four demons were also equally shocked in their eyes. To destroy two Acquired Five Nirvana demon swords with one strike, such a technique was not something a Mid Stage of Shekong could possess!

“That red glow, what kind of supernatural power is it! It can shatter an Acquired Five Nirvana demon sword in a face-off!”

“This person is definitely not Mid Stage of Shekong! Our combined swordsmanship is difficult even for the Peak of Shekong to handle, yet this person broke it in one move… This person, even if not a Fragmented Thought Elder, must be at the brink of stepping into the Shattered Thought Realm, at the Peak of Shekong!”

“Strike together, kill this one, do not hold back any longer!”

The six demons’ expressions were serious, their movements shifting positions, forming a hidden formation surrounding Ning Fan, with him in the center.

Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with a colder light, refusing to give the six demons the chance to form the formation!

A one-star true blood-level Taicang Calamity Spirit, considered a minor achievement in Calamity Blood, with its powerful bloodline alone, could be unmatched within the Shedding Void Realm!

After continuously devouring twenty drops of Royal Barbarian Blood, Ning Fan’s Calamity Blood, though not yet breaking through to the true blood level, had grown much stronger than before.

The current Ning Fan, relying solely on the might of Calamity Blood, could fight against the Late Stage of Shekong without necessarily being defeated.

Under the suppression of the Banishing Immortal Force in the barbaric realm, even when facing the Later Stage of Shattered Thought, Ning Fan could still fight. What fear of a few Peak Shekong!

“Devour!”

A flash of red light in Ning Fan’s eyes, at this moment, the heavens were filled with calamity clouds, red light crashed down like thunder, rumbling continuously, causing the ocean of clouds here to roll and surge.

He swept his sleeve suddenly, and the Calamity Thought Red Glow around him surged out like a storm, transforming into six scarlet finger glows, each targeting one of the six demons.

The speed at which the finger glow approached was too fast, so fast that the six demons couldn’t make a defense, and the finger glow had already reached before their eyes, crushing the six spirit armor demon armor with one finger, invading into the six demons’ bodies!

Once inside the body, the six demons immediately vomited blood and retreated, their bodies even feeling a sense of stiffness.

With each step back, the stiffness feeling intensified. By the seventh step back, the six demons suddenly realized in shock that they could not retreat further!

At this moment, their bodies had lost control due to the rampant Calamity Thought Red Glow within, unable to move even a tiny bit!

Their bodies, as if no longer belonged to themselves, still had consciousness, but even moving a finger was impossible!

Upon introspection, the six demons immediately found out that currently, their bodies were controlled by a sinister and scarlet red glow, depriving them of their body’s control rights!

The red glow not only eroded their minds, but with the passage of time, the six demons struggled to stay conscious, their eyes turning bloodthirsty and murderous. Gradually, they even developed an urge, a craving to slaughter among themselves, disown their kin, to slaughter their kind…

They had gone insane!

“What… is… this… kind… of… supernatural… power…”

“Terrifying…”

The six demon cultivators ultimately lost their consciousness under the erosion of the Calamity Thought force. They had fallen to Ning Fan’s Calamity Thought Technique, transformed into Ning Fan’s loyal servants, turning into pure killing machines.

Unfortunately, Ning Fan did not need such loyal servants. After the six fell, Ning Fan glanced coldly at the six demons, raised his hand to unleash the Memory Severing Dao Sword, piercing through their Dantian, annihilating their Demon Souls.

Casually collecting the six demon’s storage pouches and demon swords, Ning Fan glanced at the blue stone ancient paths, choosing one to enter.

In the third layer of the Tianque, a total of thirty-six blue stone ancient paths could lead to the fourth layer. Ning Fan chose the nineteenth route, a path no one had walked before.

He took such a short time to kill the six demons, but with great momentum. In the third layer, there were still thirteen Early Stage Shattered Thought old monsters challenging the palace, both human and demon. These six old monsters detected some waves from Ning Fan’s slaughter of the six demons, yet due to the dense mist in this place, they were too far to discern exactly what happened at the entrance.

“Judging by this fighting momentum, could it be an old monster of the Shattered Thought Realm making a move here…” Outside the 84th Palace on the seventh ancient path, Demon Yuanzi was sitting cross-legged, striving to restore mana, with many injuries on his body.

Outside the 84th Palace on the ninth ancient path, Jin Hua Ancestor sat cross-legged, with many injuries, nursing his wounds. Detecting the terrifying waves of the fight direction, Jin Hua Ancestor was slightly shocked but said nothing.

The eleventh ancient path, the twelfth ancient path, the fourteenth ancient path… Each Shattered Thought Elder noticed the waves caused by Ning Fan’s supernatural power performance, with changing expressions.

Most of the Early Stage Shattered Thought elders stopped at the 84th Palace, a palace difficult to pass with early stage cultivations.

“Are the Si Water Six Demons all dead… Hmph! I wonder which Human Shattered Thought, couldn’t tolerate the six demons assaulting lone humans, finally acted against them!” On the twenty-first ancient path, an old man with snake hair perceived the shattering of six soul plates in his storage pouch, his face sinking.

This snake-haired old man, his face covered in snake scales, exuded an extremely chilling aura, hailing from a True Spirit Race—Sky-swallowing Python Race, with a formidable talent, rarely encountering opponents in the shattered thoughts early stage realm.

“Among the six demons, one practiced a cultivation technique that is quite beneficial to me. I had intended to train this demon into a python vessel, but unexpectedly, this demon was killed by a human elder… Hmph! The human elder who slew the six demons, did he take the nineteenth ancient path, lucky him! If he had taken my path, I would certainly have given him a painful lesson!”

The snake-haired old man let out a cold snort, flashing into the 84th Palace.

Moments later, the snake-haired old man let out a muffled groan, spitting blood as he flew out of the palace, a hint of unwillingness in his expression.

“Damn it, the pressure of the 84th Palace is several times that of the 83rd Palace. Without Mid-Phase Shattered Thought cultivation, it’s truly impossible to pass… I don’t believe it!”

The snake-haired old man adjusted his breath slightly, attempted to enter the 84th Palace again, but moments later, flew out spitting blood again.

“Can’t get through…” he sighed in dismay, suddenly noticing something, slightly startled.

“Huh? The human elder who killed the six demons, already reached the third palace, and is unable to move further?”

The snake-haired elder’s spirit sense vaguely locked onto the nineteenth ancient path, fixed on Ning Fan’s direction.

He noticed that Ning Fan had been inside the 3rd Palace for about ten breaths, but the 3rd Palace had yet to emit Divine light indicating clearance.

“Why not stop at the 4th Palace…” the snake-haired elder thought curiously.

The third layer of Tianque was noticeably different from the second, and this difference was specifically directed at Ning Fan.

Ning Fan had passed through the 1st Palace and 2nd Palace along the nineteenth ancient path, and these two palaces were not particularly special for him.

But once he entered the third layer’s 3rd Palace, he immediately sensed changes in the barbarian patterns within his body!

Originally, there were 224 barbarian patterns in his body, but upon reaching the third layer’s 3rd Palace, a 225th barbarian pattern began to form!

“Passing through the Ninefold Heavenly Fort’s palaces increases the count of barbarian patterns!” Ning Fan’s gaze sharpened, seemingly confirming something.

The cultivation of barbarian patterns, when reaching 46, 96, 156, creates new barbarian blood within Ning Fan’s body.

When advancing to the 46th and 96th peak within Ninefold Heavenly Fort, the palace pressure significantly increases.

The second layer’s 45th Palace had a similarly intense pressure, and the 45th Palace of the second layer just happened to be the 156th Palace Ning Fan had passed through.

The third layer’s 3rd Palace was, correspondingly, the 225th Palace Ning Fan had passed through.

The previous 224 palaces did not increase the barbarian pattern count, but here, suddenly, another pattern appeared…

“Earlier I suspected that the Ninefold Heavenly Fort is linked to the cultivation of barbarian patterns through the Summon Barbarian Technique, and it seems this hypothesis is correct now.”

Ning Fan’s eyes radiated with clarity as he stepped out of the 3rd Palace, causing the 3rd Palace to explode with Divine light.

His figure flickered, entering the 4th Palace, and his gaze immediately froze.

The palace pressure in the 4th Palace was several times greater than the 3rd Palace! Without the cultivation of the Shattered Thought Early Stage, one would definitely be directly repelled by this palace pressure!

“The 4th Palace is the 226th Palace I’ve traversed, and in this palace, the pressure has significantly heightened…”

Ning Fan moved forward, bearing the weight as heavy as a mountain, step by step. He had been breezing through the palaces, but here he finally started to feel the difficulty in his stride.

In the 4th Palace, Ning Fan spent nearly a hundred breaths before pushing through the pressure.

Upon passing through the 4th Palace, the count of barbarian patterns in Ning Fan’s body reached 226, causing barbarian blood to be born once again!

“46, 96, 156… then 226… I’ve found some pattern within this. The number of barbarian patterns for next birth of barbarian blood should be 306…”

“306, corresponding to the 84th Palace of the third layer!”

The newly born barbarian blood in his body was dominantly consumed by the Calamity Blood, significantly raising the Calamity Blood’s level.

Getting closer to breaking through to one-star True Blood!

With the slight improvement in Calamity Blood level, the pressure here seemed to lessen for Ning Fan, making his steps significantly lighter.

Palace after palace, Ning Fan continued forward, with palace pressure constantly escalating – he was able to pass through each palace every twenty breaths.

With every palace he passed, the count of barbarian patterns inside Ning Fan would increase by one.

When he passed the 78th Palace, the count of barbarian patterns reached 300!

In the 78th Palace, Ning Fan faced the third damage tribulation upon becoming a Young Master Barbarian!

In just one breath, his flesh began to wither, and the life force within his body was crazily swallowed by the barbarian patterns.

This devouring was different from the curses of barbarian patterns, not determined by the barbarian patterns themselves.

To survive the third damage tribulation, more life force is required than the previous two. If Ning Fan fails to pass the third damage tribulation, he will perish when his life exhausts.

If Ning Fan survives the third damage tribulation, he can awaken the Barbarian Ancestor lineage with 300 barbarian patterns, becoming a Young Master Barbarian, achieving the ancestral-level barbarian cultivations!

The onset of the damage tribulation was silent, unnoticed by the dozen Fragmented Thought Elders of the third layer.

But someone did notice the aura here!

The sixth layer, the 95th Palace, the Fourth Ancestor’s gaze shifted, detecting the aura of damage tribulation from the lower layer Tianque.

The sixth layer, the 17th Palace, the Second Ancestor was about to break through this palace, when suddenly he turned back, gazing downward, as if perceiving something extremely astonishing.

The seventh layer, the 49th Palace, the First-Generation Barbarian Ancestor shielded by a White Bone sword proceeded step by step toward the other end of the palace under immense pressure.

At the moment Ning Fan’s damage tribulation descended, the First-Generation Barbarian Ancestor suddenly drew a copper mirror, and from the mirror, saw Ning Fan’s ghost-faced silver-haired appearance!

“Impossible! Even if he is Taicang’s Calamity Spirit, it’s absolutely impossible to induce the third damage tribulation! Besides the barbarian tribe, no other race should have the qualification to bring down the third damage tribulation…”

“No master from the Barbarian Clan can possibly gain the ’recognition of the Twelve Barbarian Gods’, nor can they receive the arrival of the third calamity! How can this child have such merit or ability to trigger the third calamity! Could it be that his true identity is that of a barbarian? He is not a member of the Human!”

None of these three Barbarian Ancestors expected that Ning Fan could trigger the third calamity.

Even the Five Ancestors, who planted the “Summon Barbarian Technique” within Ning Fan, did not expect that Ning Fan would be able to bring about the third calamity one day.

Only barbarians can gain the recognition of the Barbarian God through the Summon Barbarian Technique, triggering the third calamity; this rule was established by the twelve ’Barbarian Gods’ together.

The Barbarian Gods are the deities that all barbarians, including the First-Generation Barbarian Ancestor, must worship! They are the true progenitors who, modeling after the Calamity Blood, created the Barbarian Clan bloodline!

In fact, the Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain, led by the Fan Family, is just a branch of the Barbarian Clan, under the rule of the Taicang Calamity Spirit. There are many other such Barbarian Clan tribes like the Fan Family… they are all descendants of the twelve Barbarian Gods!

“Unexpectedly, the barbarian pattern that Five Ancestors desperately planted within this child’s body has triggered the third calamity for him, becoming a kind of fortune… If this child successfully crosses the third calamity, a drop of ancestral-level Barbarian Blood will emerge within his body… Can this child cross the third calamity! If he crosses…”

The First-Generation Barbarian Ancestor retracted his initial expression of shock, the corner of his mouth suddenly curling into a cold, sinister arc.

“So be it, if this child can break through the ancestral-level Barbarian Blood bloodline, it is good. By that time, his usefulness will not be limited to being swallowed by us Barbarian Ancestors for healing. His use can be even greater, such as sacrificing him to that sleeping master on the top layer of Tianque…”

The eighth layer of Tianque, Palace No. 15.

Fan Mokong walked forward against the pressure with empty eyes.

He, like the other three Barbarian Ancestors, noticed the calamity on Ning Fan, but he did not share the shock of the other three or bother to pay attention to Ning Fan.

His expression was always empty and numb, like a machine that only knows how to complete its tasks.

He forged ahead, breaking through obstacles, just to reach the top layer of Tianque, because there, his true self had laid out tasks for him!

“My name is Fan Mokong; I am the Seventh Generation Barbarian Ancestor… The day of my death, I borrowed the power of the Causal Beast seized from slaying High Realm Robber, letting my will escape into the Dreamland Realm, forming my true self, attempting to wield fate…”

“Memory is very hazy… Can’t remember too many things, most memories were taken away by my true self…”

“I have tasks entrusted by my true self, I must climb to the top of Tianque, I must plant this Gu within the Ninth Generation Barbarian God…”

“To turn the Ninth Generation Barbarian God into my third body double for Fate Wielding…”

Fan Mokong, the Seventh Ancestor, proceeded with numb eyes, carrying a small bottle, within which was a Gu, stolen by his true self from the Southern Clan Gu Sect of the Eastern Heaven Immortal World.

He also had a banner, within the banner were the souls of the million barbarians Ning Fan once saved, as well as countless souls of barbarians with bewildered eyes, most of whom fell in this blood sacrifice…

These souls were gathered by him using Soul Summoning Technique, the potion to activate that mysterious toxic Gu!

The empty-eyed Fan Mokong did not expect that his actions of collecting barbarian souls had attracted a fierce star, who had entered the Ninefold Celestial Towers, pursuing him!

His consciousness was very low, only knowing to instinctively complete the tasks entrusted to him by his true self, with things unrelated to the tasks, he would not inquire.

…

The third layer of Tianque, the Twenty-First Ancient Path, Palace No. 84, the elder with serpent-like hair once again failed to break through the palace, ejecting blood and flying out from within the palace.

This was already his fifteenth attempt to break through Palace No. 84.

“Can’t really break through… Being familiar with how the pressure is distributed in this palace, if a bit more clever, perhaps I could…”

The elder with serpent-like hair was contemplating his plan to break through the palace when his expression suddenly changed dramatically.

In the direction of the Nineteenth Ancient Path, rolling dark clouds suddenly appeared, starkly different from the hazy ocean of clouds here, giving the elder an extremely unsettling feeling.

Amidst the dense dark clouds, a voice transmitted from afar, indifferent, icy, causing fear in all who heard it!

“Ancient Moment!”

That dark cloud was released by Ning Fan through Divine Skills!

That dark cloud was the anomaly induced by Fu Li’s clan-stabilizing Divine Skill—Ruins Guidance!

Ning Fan crossing the third calamity required a significant amount of Life Force, to consume through his Barbarian Pattern. His own Life Force was insufficient for the pattern to consume, so he could only gain it externally!

The master closest to him here was the elder with serpent-like hair located on the Twenty-First Ancient Path.

This person had been locking Ning Fan with spirit sense, harboring hostility.

This hostility was not concealed from Ning Fan, so when Ning Fan needed Life Force the most, he directly chose to seize it from this person!

Rolling dark clouds flew from the direction of the Nineteenth Ancient Path, shrouding the sky as they came, at the center of the dark clouds a sudden large vortex appeared, within the vortex was actually a black-clad apparition of Ning Fan, directly materializing, descending aggressively towards the elder with serpent-like hair, coldly speaking,

“Hand over your Life Force to me! This is the punishment for your hostility towards this demon!”

(1/1) No more updates, wash up and go to sleep. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations or monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep