Chapter 2270

As the words fell, the Zhutian Zhundi all sprang into action. They activated their Emperor Artifacts and reinforced the Human Emperor Immortal Formation, pushing the protective barrier of Youming Dalu to its maximum defense to withstand the heavenly tribulation.

"Ants, tremble!" Accompanied by Lutian's eerie laugh, the heavenly tribulation thunder descended. Streaks of dazzling lightning intertwined, forming a galactic waterfall that poured down from the void. Each bolt carried the will of the heavens and possessed devastating divine power, scarring the vast cosmos.

"Fight!" the indestructible immortal body roared resoundingly. He was like an immortal king, bathing in the rebellious lightning as he charged upward. The number one emperor's son of Honghuang was no empty title.

Boom! Rumble!

The divine punishment was immense, with thunderous roars shaking the eternal immortal dome.

The Youming Dalu, caught in the tribulation, was not spared. Every person on the continent, whether a seasoned Zhundi or a novice Qi Condenser, was involuntarily drawn into the ordeal.

Billions of lightning bolts converged into a sea, shrouding that stretch of starry sky and surging toward Youming Dalu.

In that instant, people across Zhutian looked up, their faces pale. Lutian was a genuine young emperor-level figure, and his tribulation was overwhelmingly domineering. With so many on Youming Dalu caught in it, every individual was forced to endure the tribulation. The scale of the lightning strikes was unimaginable, an indiscriminate assault that even the immortal formation's protective barrier might not withstand.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Under the watchful eyes of all, the descending lightning struck the protective barrier in waves, sparking brilliant flashes. Even with its formidable strength, the barrier hummed and trembled, causing the entire Youming Dalu to shake. Those inside struggled to stay on their feet.

As the Zhutian Zhundi had anticipated, this so-called heavenly tribulation thunder was more overbearing than dozens of Emperor Artifacts combined, mainly because so many were involuntarily involved.

Lutian was leveraging the tribulation's power. As he underwent his ordeal, he alone rivaled an army of millions.

"At this rate, the protective barrier will hold for at most half an hour," Canglong Huang frowned.

"What makes his tribulation dangerous isn't the tribulation itself, but the sheer number of people forced to endure it."

"This is damn awkward," Shengyuan Huang cursed angrily, his eyes blazing with fiery golden light. The scene on Youming Dalu was massive, bolstered by dozens of ultimate Emperor Artifacts and numerous Zhundi, yet they were trapped by a single heavenly tribulation, unable to even step outside.

The other Zhutian Zhundi wore equally grave expressions.

Everyone knew that if the Youming protective barrier shattered, the losses for Youming Dalu would be catastrophic. In terms of tribulations, the heavens were still fair.

Those involuntarily enduring it faced trials equal to their cultivation levels. Aside from a few, who would dare confront Lutian's divine punishment head-on? A young emperor-level tribulation could wipe out all living beings in an instant.

From the start of the Honghuang war, if the first major battle ended in defeat like this, it would be truly frustrating. An unexpected tribulation could eliminate a third of Zhutian's forces.

"Good!" In contrast, the Honghuang forces laughed heartily, their delight unrestrained.

At a glance, their faces were twisted and ferocious, like demons, licking their blood-red tongues with eyes full of savage killing intent.

While the Zhutian people were involuntarily enduring the tribulation, they had fled far away, for Lutian's divine punishment was too vast. A single misstep could drag them in as well.

"Zhutian, tremble!" Lutian's laughter carried an added thunderous edge, shaking hearts across the world.

He was utterly domineering, charging through the soaring lightning toward the ethereal heights. Billions of bolts couldn't halt his advance. He was like a god, striding through the thunder, tempering his immortal body and forging his physique. This was his tribulation and his fortune. Every scar etched on his immortal body was a mark of the Great Dao, aiding his rebirth.

He was incredibly strong and terrifying. Even world-ending thunder couldn't destroy his golden form. It seemed this tribulation, powerful enough to devastate Youming Dalu, was merely a formality to him.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The rumbling grew louder, accompanied by even more thunder descending, intensifying further.

Gazing into the distance, no figures were visible—only the annihilating lightning filled the view, in shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. It connected the void to Youming Dalu. Not only the Zhutian people but even the Honghuang onlookers were awestruck.

At that moment, the tribulation's range had become a forbidden zone, a death zone. No one dared to enter recklessly without an Emperor Artifact for protection. Even a Honghuang clan emperor in a forbidden area would have their soul scattered.

Precisely because the tribulation was so overpowering, the Honghuang forces laughed without restraint. With this destructive tribulation, there was no need to use Emperor Artifacts to breach the barrier. Before long, Youming Dalu's protective barrier would collapse under the tribulation, and those inside would face doom, turning to ash in waves. Why bother attacking?

Look at the protective barrier—it hummed incessantly, unable to stop trembling. The Emperor Dao immortal patterns flowing over it showed signs of fracturing under the tribulation lightning, on the verge of exploding.

It wasn't that the barrier wasn't strong enough; it was enduring too much lightning.

Rather than saying the Zhutian people were involuntarily enduring the tribulation, it was more accurate to say the barrier was. Since all the Zhutian people were inside, every bolt of tribulation lightning was blocked by it. If Youming Dalu didn't have dozens of Emperor Artifacts, it would have been destroyed in an instant.

"Hold on!" The Zhutian people shouted hoarsely, gathering around each Emperor Artifact in layers, channeling their mystical power to the utmost, activating the artifacts to unleash their divine might and stabilize the formation.

Even so, every suspended Emperor Artifact hummed and shook, its immortal glow flickering between brilliance and dimness. They were under immense pressure, on the brink of collapse.

All ultimate Emperor Artifacts possessed supreme intelligence, akin to divine spirits, and could also face tribulations—Emperor Artifact-level tribulations. This was why cultivators rarely used Emperor Artifacts during their own tribulations. A single mistake could trigger an Emperor Artifact-level tribulation, leading to instant destruction of body and soul.

"Hold on!" The Zhutian Zhundi also roared. On every peak, Zhundi stood, some in groups of three or five, others seven or eight, all raising their hands to the sky, channeling boundless mystical power. They summoned their natal visions and merged them into the barrier to bolster its defense.

"Kid, how much longer do you need?" The old man from the earth struggled to hold on, coughing up blood as he glanced at Ye Chen's clone, knowing Ye Chen's true self could hear.

"Hold on, I'm almost there." Ye Chen's clone spoke, but it was his true self replying.

The Emperor Dao domain gate passage shimmered with bizarre lights, interwoven with spatial forces.

Ye Chen streaked like a brilliant divine light, his speed at its peak. Through his clone, he could see Youming Dalu already submerged in tribulation lightning. The divine punishment's power far exceeded his expectations; the protective barrier's collapse was only a matter of time.

His face darkened severely—he had underestimated Lutian.

Both were at the peak of Great Saint, on the same level. He never imagined that in just a few months, Lutian had found a fortuitous opportunity, breaking through against the heavens and triggering a Zhundi tribulation. A young emperor-level tribulation's terror was evident without needing to witness it; the so-called protective barrier would become a laughable facade at a certain point.

Crack!

In the void, a crisp sound echoed in Ye Chen's ears.

It came from Youming Dalu, more precisely from its protective barrier. The first crack had appeared. Through that crack, lightning struck in, instantly reducing a massive ancient city to ruins. The Zhutian people in that city were slaughtered in an instant, reduced to ash in droves, including a Zhundi.

Though the casualties weren't huge, it was shocking, proving Lutian's divine punishment was indeed formidable. Even a Zhundi couldn't withstand it. If the barrier collapsed, it could lead to total annihilation.

"Quick, seal the cracks!" Shouts erupted everywhere as countless people cast spells, forming formations to plug the gaps. But before they could get close, they were caught in the tribulation lightning and buried in waves.

"Step back!" A resolute voice rang out as Youming Emperor's Son Yang Feng arrived in a flash, charging into the lightning with an Emperor Dao formation in his palm, forcibly sealing the crack.

For this, his immortal body nearly shattered from the lightning. Even as an emperor's son-level figure, he struggled against a young emperor-level tribulation. Fortunately, he sealed the crack.

Yet, misfortune piled on. Though the first crack was sealed, the cracking sounds continued relentlessly.

The protective barrier couldn't hold. Cracks appeared everywhere, bringing disaster to Youming Dalu. Lightning flashed and thundered across the sky, toppling massive mountains and ancient cities, turning them to dust. Countless people became ash under the tribulation, and even the vast rivers crisscrossing the land dried up from the lightning.

"Quick, seal the cracks!" Countless shouts rang out as people rushed forward selflessly.

"It's collapsing—they can't hold!" The Honghuang armies surrounding them laughed wildly, pointing excitedly, on the verge of frenzy, eager to witness the bloody scene.

After being struck by the tribulation so many times, they now reveled in seeing the Zhutian people suffer, delighting in their desperate expressions. What a wonderful feeling.

"Tremble, you Zhutian ants!" Seeing the barrier's multiple cracks, Lutian, in the midst of his tribulation, flashed a savage smile.

His words made the Zhutian faces turn extremely grave.

Meanwhile, Honghuang was ecstatic beyond measure, their blood boiling like fire, their crimson eyes gleaming with bloodlust. The number one emperor's son of Honghuang lived up to his reputation, single-handedly forcing Youming Dalu into helplessness.

Perhaps the scene was too grand, drawing all of Honghuang's attention, so they didn't notice the arrival at the outskirts.

The newcomer was Ye Chen, who had finally arrived. That stretch of space had been sealed by Emperor Artifacts, blocking even the Emperor Dao domain gate passage, so he could only reach the outer edge.

"Use the Emperor Artifacts to drive Lutian into the black hole," Ye Chen transmitted through his clone.

Then, he dove into the black hole, using Zhou Tian evolution to conceal his aura, heading toward a specific direction. The priority was to seal Lutian's Blood Wheel Eye; everything else would follow. He planned to teach Honghuang another harsh lesson.

On a mountain peak of Youming Dalu, Donghuang Taixin moved.

Buzz!

With a hum, the Xuanyuan Jian soared through the sky and landed in her hand. She fully awakened its Emperor Dao divine power and thrust it toward the void, firing a devastating immortal beam.

"You cannot destroy this king," Lutian sneered mockingly. Just before the Xuanyuan Emperor beam hit, he vanished into a spatial black hole, evading the lethal strike.

"Kid, it's up to you now," Donghuang Taixin murmured softly. The Xuanyuan Jian flew out of her hand again, heading to reinforce another part of the Emperor Dao immortal formation.

With Lutian entering the black hole, the tribulation followed him in, giving Youming Dalu a brief respite. Everyone exerted themselves to seal the cracks, preparing for greater turmoil.

Boom! Rumble!

The dark, desolate spatial black hole rumbled with Lutian's entry.

As the one undergoing the tribulation, it followed him wherever he went.

"Continue!" Lutian smiled playfully, a sly move. He shifted positions in one step, intending to exit the black hole again and draw the tribulation back to strike Youming's protective barrier.

However, as soon as he stepped down, before he could manipulate the heavenly path, he saw an iron staff hurtling toward his forehead.

The attacker was none other than the great Young Master Ye, the tenth emperor of Great Chu and the supreme commander of Zhutian.

Clang!

A metallic clash echoed as Lutian staggered from the blow. His indestructible immortal body had an incredibly tough skull, like striking iron or stone.

Still, Lutian wasn't unscathed. The staff made his divine sea buzz unpleasantly, leaving him stunned. In this pitch-black hole, where did this staff come from?

Once steady, he saw who it was—his old rival, Ye Chen.

Seeing Ye Chen, he gritted his teeth furiously. He was in the middle of his tribulation, about to go out and show off, but now he was blindsided by a staff. Anyone would be infuriated.

"Emperor's Son, what a coincidence!" Ye Chen chuckled leisurely, baring his teeth, gripping the iron staff as he stepped through the void toward him. Within the tribulation's range, he was also bathed in lightning, but who was he? The overbearing Desolate Ancient Holy Body could withstand any bloodline's tribulation, even Lutian's young emperor-level one. That was the legend of the Desolate Ancient Holy Body.

"You really think you can save Youming Dalu by coming here?" Lutian snarled with a mocking grin. "Entering the black hole doesn't mean you can stop this king."

"We'll see about that," Ye Chen shrugged, not pausing his steps.

Lutian fell silent, his smile growing more mocking as he instantly activated his Blood Wheel Heavenly Dao. He had no time to banter with Ye Chen; he was more interested in Youming Dalu.

As for Ye Chen, he could settle scores after advancing to Zhundi.

"You won't escape," Ye Chen uttered coldly, his third eye on his forehead opening—it was the Nine Wheel Eye borrowed from Xiao Lingwa. He was shrewd, activating it the moment Lutian invoked his heavenly path, timing it perfectly.

"Your Nine Wheel Eye..." Lutian's expression changed. His Six Paths Blood Wheel Eye met the Nine Wheel Eye and instantly dimmed, sealing itself, while he suffered backlash, suddenly spitting blood.

The awkward part wasn't that—it was that his lower body had already exited the black hole, while his upper body remained inside. He'd only used half of his heavenly path before the Nine Wheel Eye countered it, resulting in this absurd situation.

He was embarrassed, and so was his tribulation.

Half inside, half outside—the lightning was confused: Should it strike? The inside or the outside? Or split in two—one half for inside, one for outside?