“Freedom?” Lady Onion muttered the word.…Unknowingly, she’d become someone with little to no desire for ‘freedom’.

　　She could watch movies every day and use Song Shuhang’s account to go shopping, and even had other people bring her cultivation techniques and medicinal pills for her to practice with. Not long ago, there was an expert who imparted her some strength, which allowed her to raise her cultivation realm very quickly. Besides the occasional instances where she had her onion sprouts plucked, her life had been pretty good.

　　Compared to having freedom, she would much rather be able to survive.

　　Song Shuhang exclaimed, “In fact, if your roots hadn’t been taken root in the ‘enlightenment stone’, I could have killed you first, making you enter a resurrection period, and thus allowing you to avoid the heavenly tribulation.”

　　Lady Onion’s roots were her ‘heart’. If someone wanted to kill her, they would have to destroy her roots. However, the greatest feature of the enlightenment stone was its sturdiness.

　　When Lady Onion heard this, she couldn’t stop tears from streaming down her face. She was feeling extremely sad.

　　She raised her head, looked at the expanding brilliance, and suddenly felt her heart thump. “Why don’t we destroy it now while it hasn’t formed yet?”

　　Song Shuhang said, “It’s useless.”

　　He had thought of the exact thing when he first saw the ‘brilliance’.

　　Also, he’d already tried to deal with it.

　　While he was using the healing technique on Lady Onion, he’d already used the saber controlling technique to shoot out the Tyrant Cuttlefish’s Twin Blades at the fastest speed he could towards that speck of ‘brilliance’, trying to destroy it before it completely took shape.

　　However, before the blades could even reach the ‘brilliance’, they stopped. It felt just like when he had been trying to attack Doudou when they were in the ‘Time Stop’ state.

　　‘Invisible Death’ was invulnerable even when it hadn’t formed yet.

　　All bugs that could provide a way out for people to survive had been eliminated.

　　On the contrary, it was Song Shuhang’s divine sense that received a backlash.

　　He missed the days when he could exploit the heavenly tribulation in the past.

　　“What do we do then?” Lady Onion asked while watching the ‘brilliance’ in the distance getting brighter and bigger.

　　“When the brilliance blooms, everyone who comes into contact with this ‘light’ will be appraised. If it deems you to have failed the appraisal, only death awaits you,” Song Shuhang said. “So pray, Lady Onion.”

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　After two breaths of time, the brilliance in the distance bloomed, containing the power of destroying heaven and the earth.

　　The brilliance spread like flowing water. Its initial speed was not fast, moving only a single meter at a time.

　　Song Shuhang thought it would cover the entire space in an instant with the ‘speed of light’, but from the look of things, it was still different from ‘light’.

　　As the brilliance bloomed, the entire ‘Group Tribulation Transcension Space’ was completely covered and sealed by laws.

　　Song Shuhang could no longer contact the Dragon Network, and the Dragon Network Assistant had crashed.

　　At the same time, Soft Feather, Doudou, and the members of the Nine Provinces Number One Group all recovered from the ‘Time Stop’ state.

　　Meanwhile, Li Yinzhu… continued to hibernate.

　　Soft Feather grabbed the long hair on her body before using the secret sound transmission technique to curiously ask, [What is this? Long blue hair?]

　　Thrice Reckless Mad Saber asked, [Is this Senior Skylark’s hair? Is she here too?]

　　However, when his divine sense spread around, he did not see Skylark.

　　Venerable Yellow Mountain asked, [Shuhang, did you do this?]

　　Song Shuhang nodded, and then said, [It’s here.]

　　The speed at which the brilliance spread got faster and faster. It was like a stream of water at first, but now it was like a roaring ocean wave… And it was still accelerating, looking unstoppable.

　　Song Shuhang had already done everything he could; he had given it his best.

　　Lady Onion transmitted her voice. “Shuhang, if I die, please bury me at the place where I was born.”

　　Song Shuhang nodded slightly, and was about to answer.

　　But then, he saw Lady Onion stepping away from his calf, bringing out her ‘Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber’, and then rushing towards that brilliance. The Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber led the way in front of her, and she followed right behind it.

　　“Aaah!” As Lady Onion rushed out, she let out a sharp cry.

　　Perhaps it was because Lady Onion’s onion sprout had been kicked off, but it appeared that her thinking ability had declined…

　　Still, whether one died earlier or later, they were still dead.

　　Therefore, why not just meet up with the brilliance sooner? Whether or not you lived or died, at least you’d know sooner!

　　When Lady Onion burst out in full force, she did so with considerable speed. With a primordial treasure like the ‘Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber’ leading the way and dragging her along, she had instantly reached the speed of sound.

　　The Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber reached the brilliance first. It was a primordial weapon, a remnant of a Wielder of the Will, so it naturally passed the appraisal of the ‘Invisible Death Tribulation’.

　　Afterward, Lady Onion slammed into the brilliance of the ‘Invisible Death Tribulation’ headfirst.

　　The moment she reached the light, the long ‘Skylark’ hair hanging on her head burned, and then… the expanding brilliance stopped!

　　The brilliance, which had been flowing outward, had been blocked.

　　Skylark’s long hair contained the aura of ‘eternity’. Her hair acted like a dam, blocking the light. The long blue hair began burning, but each and every one of the strands of long hair burned extremely slowly.

　　“Aaah!” Lady Onion felt the top of her head burning, and reached out to pat the blue hair. After doing so, she plunged into the light.

　　“Either I live or I die,” Lady Onion shouted heroically. At this moment, she had an unprecedented look on her face, one that showed she was not afraid of death.

　　The light swept across Lady Onion’s body.

　　And Lady Onion… came out unscathed.

　　She passed the appraisal.

　　“I… survived?” Lady Onion sat on the ground, her legs having gone soft.

　　Song Shuhang’s divine sense ‘witnessed’ the entire process which took place after Lady Onion crashed into the brilliance.

　　Perhaps she really does have the qualifications to become a ‘Wielder of the Will’? At this moment, even Song Shuhang began to believe this.

　　Lady Onion stood up beyond the light curtain while waving to Song Shuhang, and happily yelled, “Hahaha, Shuhang! Shuhang, look! I survived!”

　　She didn’t die.

　　At this time, the several strands of Skylark’s long hair which were originally hanging on Lady Onion’s head had burned out.

　　The brilliance rushed outward like a wave once again, even speeding up slightly.

　　Song Shuhang quickly picked up the strands of Skylark’s hair which fell on the ground, and then poured some ‘spiritual energy’ into them before throwing them like a javelin. Those strands of hair shot out towards the light curtain ahead of them. He was trying to delay the brilliance reaching them as much as possible.

　　Song Shuhang said, [Soft Feather, Doudou, and Seniors, everyone should have at least two strands of Senior Skylark’s hair.]

　　Northern River’s Loose Cultivator asked, [What’s going on?]

　　Song Shuhang replied, [The brilliance in front of us is the final tribulation. It is the brilliance of ‘Invisible Death’. Once one makes contact with it, they’ll be appraised. And if you don’t pass the appraisal, your life and existence are wiped out. For some reason, Senior Skylark’s long hair is able to delay its advance for a short time.]

　　[Final tribulation? Did I miss something? Didn’t this heavenly tribulation just begin?] Fairy Lychee was dumbfounded.

　　Thrice Reckless Mad Saber said, [What’s the point of blocking it for a while? We might as well be like that little monster onion and rush into the light curtain.]

　　Immortal Master Copper Trigram said, [Just now, before Lady Onion crashed into the light curtain, the strands of Skylark’s hair that were hanging on her head burned first. Perhaps Fellow Daoist Skylark’s hair has the function of shielding the person wearing it?]

　　Thrice Reckless Mad Saber said, [So that’s the case. If there was such a function, then you should’ve said so earlier, Shuhang.]

　　“…” Song Shuhang.

　　No, I really hadn’t thought that much into it.

　　Song Shuhang said, [Besides that, I still have three Resurrection Gold Coins in my hand. If you are not confident about going through this tribulation, you can hold onto a Resurrection Gold Coin, and before the tribulation reaches you, I can kill you and have you enter a state of resurrection. This Resurrection Gold Coin can be used by cultivators below the Sixth Stage.]

　　[You were actually able to think of such a terrifying method?] Thrice Reckless Mad Saber looked at Song Shuhang in surprise. This kind of idea really did not match the image of the good old Song Shuhang.

　　Song Shuhang said, [In fact, I have used this method several times, and it has worked quite well.]

　　[It’s too late…] Venerable Yellow Mountain said. [I can sense that the entire space has come under the suppression of various principles. Under the suppression of these laws, this resurrection technique of yours might prove ineffective. It would be best to avoid trying to use such a method.]

　　Thrice Reckless Mad Saber said, [Then, what should we do next? Should we do what that Lady Onion did just now? Put Senior Skylark’s hair on our heads, and then rush into that brilliance?]

　　[I will go first. I have my ‘Eight Arms of the Buddha’ technique, so I can try it from afar. If the situation goes south, I can immediately cancel my technique.] The primordial soul of True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple floated forward a certain distance.

　　Holding two strands of ‘Skylark’s long hair’ in his hands, he used the ‘Eight Arms of the Buddha’ technique.

　　Afterward, he quickly walked to the side of the brilliance.

　　Deprived of his five senses, True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple could only scan the surroundings with the help of his divine sense. But when one’s divine sense came in contact with that light, it would sting very painfully.

　　When he arrived at the edge of the brilliance, True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple grasped Skylark’s long hair with his eight-armed Buddha, and made it cautiously approach the light.

　　The long hair burned instantly.

　　At the same time, the arms of True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple’s Buddha cracked and turned into ashes in an instant.

　　There was no time to react.

　　The ‘cracks’ spread along the technique to True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple’s primordial soul.

　　True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple deactivated his technique, and retreated rapidly.

　　But the ‘cracks’ were like a poison that shot towards True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple in the form of a mass of ashes.

　　It’s over. True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple felt shivers.

　　At this moment, Lady Onion shouted, “Be careful!”

　　She rushed towards True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple, wielding the Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber, and slashing at the mass of ashes.

　　When the saber slashed down, the screech of a phoenix resounded.

　　That mass of ashes was destroyed.

　　True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple’s life had been saved.

　　[Thanks.] The True Monarch transmitted to Lady Onion.

　　He owed this little monster onion his life.

　　Lady Onion yelled, “Retreat, the speed of the light has increased.”

　　It wasn’t only its propulsion speed that had increased, but its speed of burning Skylark’s long hair had also increased.

　　True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple quickly retreated. [This is bad, Skylark’s long hair cannot protect us.]

　　Lady Onion also returned to Song Shuhang’s side.

　　Song Shuhang said, [Thank you, Lady Onion.]

　　“You’re welcome.” Lady Onion’s body transformed. She took on her human form, dragging the Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber behind her. As her strength had improved, even if she’d had her onion sprouts kicked off just now, she still kept her head after taking on her human form.

　　At this moment…

　　The ‘Invisible Death Tribulation’ surged in large waves, breaking through the blockades of Skylark’s hair.

　　The speed of the brilliance had skyrocketed again.

　　In an instant, it rushed in front of everyone.

　　At the same time, the suppression by the laws in the tribulation space had been strengthened to the extreme.

　　Song Shuhang and the others could feel their ‘divine sense’ weaken.

　　Even their divine sense was blocked eventually.

　　Everyone had fallen into complete darkness.

　　What can I do? Thoughts flooded Song Shuhang’s mind.

　　The brilliance is rushing over… Senior True Monarch Ancient Lake Temple definitely isn’t able to hold his own.

　　So many primordial souls of the members of Nine Provinces Number One Group are present.

　　And there’s still Soft Feather, Doudou, and Li Yinzhu.

　　The power of destroying heaven and earth, the Invisible Death, the burning of Skylark’s hair, and things that contained the eternity attribute… Many thoughts quickly flashed through Song Shuhang’s mind.

　　“The pseudo-eternity mode… the smoky form!” Song Shuhang roared—at this moment, no one could hear him except Lady Onion.

　　Song Shuhang turned his body into smoke, and burst out with all his strength.

　　His five senses were sealed, and even his divine sense was suppressed. He couldn’t clearly see where the seniors of the ‘Nine Provinces Number One Group’ and Soft Feather were. He could only rely on his guts as he spread his ‘smoky form’ outward.

　　He wished to envelop everyone.

　　Song Shuhang was unclear about whether this method would be effective or not.

　　But he could only do his best.

　　“Don’t die, I can’t let any of you die!” Song Shuhang kept saying.

　　This was the first time that he felt so weak against the heavenly tribulation.

　　The brilliance rushed towards them, and enveloped Song Shuhang’s smoky body.

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　Lady Onion raised her head and looked at Song Shuhang, who was spreading his smoky form outward as much as he could, while listening to his loud screams.

　　The screams were filled with unwillingness and anxiety, as if he was about to cry.

　　This was the first time Lady Onion had seen Song Shuhang like this.

　　Song Shuhang had not shown such emotions even when he’d first transcended the ‘Eighth Stage heavenly tribulation’.

　　Lady Onion softly said, “Sure enough, a person’s face is shaped by their mind. Song Shuhang, who has the heart and mind of a middle-aged uncle, has gotten the face of one as well now.”

　　She forcefully inserted the Nine Virtues Phoenix Saber into the ground.

　　Then, the middle finger and thumb of her hands touched each other, forming a seal.

　　Lady Onion loudly said, “If everyone is fortunate enough to get through this heavenly tribulation, I not only want freedom, but to also enjoy the benefits I have now, Shuhang!”

　　Song Shuhang could no longer hear her words.

　　“I have to hold on! I must endure all the way!” Song Shuhang’s screams kept on ringing.

　　Lady Onion took a deep breath.

　　In the next moment, hundreds of green onion sprouts grew out from under her feet.

　　This was the natural ability that she awakened after her strength increased. This was an entanglement-like skill that most plant-type spirits possessed. It could be used to restrain enemies.

　　Lady Onion said, “Since I have passed the ‘appraisal’, if I wrap everyone up with my body, it should prove to be somewhat effective, right?”

　　The green onion sprouts born from under her feet rolled upwards, engulfing every member of the Nine Provinces Number One Group—as well as Doudou, Soft Feather, and Li Yinzhu in the distance.

　　“I’ve tried my best. I just don’t know if it’s of any use…” Lady Onion said.

　　All around, the scattered strands of Skylark’s hair all burned up… It seemed as if there was a kind of will that came out of these hairs, which then went on to protect all the fellow daoists.