Chapter 1664: Ninth Stage’s First Tribulation: Transcending Mortality

　　The hearts of these big shots were filled with complicated emotions.

　　A moment ago, they were still feeling that this year was a year of prosperity for the world of cultivation with Profound Sages appearing one after another, and now with someone rushing to the Tribulation Transcender Realm.

　　However, in the next moment, the fellow daoist who was rushing to the Tribulation Transcender Realm suddenly died to the first wave of the heavenly tribulation.

　　Had this fellow daoist who was transcending their tribulation come out to play a joke?

　　A joke with their life on the line?

　　In their minds, they were thinking that this fellow daoist might be the first one to ever die to the first wave of the heavenly tribulation, causing them to be written down in history and remembered for thousands of years to come.

　　But after a while, they frowned, feeling that things couldn’t be so simple.

　　[Something feels wrong. Logically speaking, even a Profound Sage who has just ascended to the Eighth Stage should have been able to deal with the first wave of the Ninth Stage heavenly tribulation. This fellow daoist has reached the stage where they can transcend the tribulation, so even if they were to simply lay down and not move, it should be impossible for them to die to the first wave of the heavenly tribulation!]

　　[Unless… the current ‘Wielder of the Will’ decided to interfere with the tribulation.]

　　[With the current ‘Wielder of the Will’ about to be replaced, that fellow daoist might have truly become a target.]

　　[This news must be spread immediately so that the fellow daoists who are planning on transcending the tribulation in the near future are more careful. This is especially so for the fellow daoists who are planning on transcending the Ninth Stage heavenly tribulation. It would be best for them to wait a while!]

　　[I must find out who this fellow daoist that went to transcend the tribulation today is.]

　　As these big shots thought this, they issued commands one after the other.

　　The place where Sage Monarch Melon Eater ascended was near his own immortal cave… If the several big shots wanted to investigate, they should easily be able to do so.

　　If there were no accidents, in at most half an hour, the news that [Sage Monarch Melon Eater had failed to transcend its tribulation, dying to the first wave, and that those who planned to transcend the tribulation of the Ninth Stage would do best to be careful] would spread throughout the world of cultivation… and maybe even the entire universe.

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　Song Shuhang looked at the spinning gold coin with a stifled heart. “I’m dead again.”

　　He sighed quietly.

　　Should he say that he was lucky? Or perhaps unlucky?

　　His Resurrection Gold Coins had just come off cooldown, yet right after they did, he had died to the heavenly tribulation—it was simply a tragedy.

　　However, if he’d been truly unlucky, then he might not have been able to receive Lady Kunna’s help in reducing the Resurrection Gold Coin’s CD, which would have resulted in his true death. As such, looking at it from this perspective, his luck really wasn’t bad.

　　Furthermore… Under the heavenly tribulation, there was an over 99% chance that one’s means of resurrection wouldn’t work, resulting in one’s death.

　　Despite that, he had still been able to enter the resurrection state.

　　It doesn’t really matter, though. What matters is that I didn’t die and can still revive, Song Shuhang comforted himself.

　　His eyes looked at the golden coin.

　　It was that time of the week to test his luck once more.

　　Ten months on heads, 10 years on tails… And if it stood on the side, he’d be resurrected in 10 minutes!

　　Ten minutes would, of course, be the best outcome.

　　But at this time, Song Shuhang felt that he’d still be happy with a resurrection in 10 months.

　　Ten minutes was too short. After the resurrection, he would definitely still be in Sage Monarch Melon Eater’s heavenly tribulation of the Ninth Stage, and he would simply die again once he was resurrected.

　　And at that time, he wouldn’t even have the chance to revive. There wouldn’t be anyone to let his Resurrection Gold Coins’ CD go down in advance.

　　Song Shuhang gritted his teeth, and said, “Wait, Yinzhu is still in the Heavenly Tribulation Space!”

　　He had to revive and quickly head back.

　　Only he could control the ‘Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Combined Magical Treasure’ and the virtuous lamia.

　　He promised Yinzhu that she would become a Spiritual Emperor, and even a True Monarch, a Venerable, and a Profound Sage, all the way to a Tribulation Transcender.

　　“Senior White, please bless me.” Song Shuhang hoped for the gold coin to stand on its side. “Please stand for me!”

　　The Resurrection Gold Coin spun quickly.

　　Then, with a ding, it fell on the ground.

　　Tails.

　　Song Shuhang’s face suddenly paled.

　　Tails… this meant 10 years.

　　Today, he was indeed rather unfortunate.

　　It’s over, she’s dead.

　　Ten years later, Little Yinzhu will be dead.

　　I knew I should’ve left a Resurrection Gold Coin for Little Yinzhu.

　　I have so many Resurrection Gold Coins on me, I should’ve given one to Little Yinzhu, Chu Chu, Little Cai, and Lady Onion!

　　Just as Song Shuhang was feeling despair, his ‘magical power top-up device’ suddenly appeared in the Resurrection Gold Coin space.

　　From the magical power top-up device, a rune flashed.

　　In the next moment, the Resurrection Gold Coin burst apart.

　　Then, the resurrection process unfolded.

　　Without even having to wait for 10 minutes, Song Shuhang entered a state of rapid resurrection.

　　“Is this the mark that Lady Kunna left on my device?” Song Shuhang woke up.

　　Was it this mark that reduced the CD time of the Resurrection Gold Coin?

　　Before he was able to process what was happening, his consciousness had returned to the tribulation-transcension space.

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　Sage Monarch Melon Eater’s Heavenly Tribulation Realm.

　　Naked, Song Shuhang got up from the ground.

　　Above his head was a Dragon Scale Shield, floating silently.

　　“Is Little Yinzhu alright?” Song Shuhang quickly turned his head and looked at where Li Yinzhu had been.

　　There, the virtuous lamia was slightly bent over, protecting Little Yinzhu in her arms. On top of her head, the Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Combined Magical Treasure automatically utilized its [Impregnable Holy City] mode, displaying an unbreakable defense.

　　Above it, there was a Dragon Scale Shield floating; it had been thrown by Sage Monarch Melon Eater earlier.

　　Seeing that Little Yinzhu was okay, Song Shuhang heaved a sigh of relief, bent down, and picked up the ‘magical bracelet’ that Senior White had given him.

　　Sage Monarch Melon Eater’s voice sounded in the distance. “You aren’t dead?”

　　Song Shuhang turned his head, and bitterly said, “I died once, but with good luck, my resurrection magical treasure was activated, and my life was saved. But now, after this resurrection, it has gone on cooldown for seven days.”

　　Sage Monarch Melon Eater said, “Being able to revive after being slain by the heavenly tribulation is already a matter of great fortune.”

　　Moreover, this was the Ninth Stage heavenly tribulation.

　　Of the cultivators who died under a heavenly tribulation of this level, 99.999% of them would be gone forever.

　　Across Sage Monarch Melon Eater’s entire long life, it had never heard of anyone coming back to life after dying to the Ninth Stage heavenly tribulation.

　　Sage Monarch Melon Eater said, “Sure enough, those who accumulate virtue can’t have bad luck.”

　　“Rumble~”

　　In the sky, tribulation lightning boomed, and tribulation fire blazed, while hurricanes and ice crystals condensed. It was a real doomsday scene.

　　“Shuhang, why did you appear in my ‘Heavenly Tribulation Realm’?” Sage Monarch Melon Eater raised its head and looked at the heavenly tribulation.

　　Fortunately, Song Shuhang was only ascending to the Sixth Stage, and the silver-haired girl was only at the level of ascending from the Fourth to the Fifth Stage, which made it so that the overall increase in the tribulation wasn’t big. Sage Monarch Melon Eater felt that it would still be able to resist it.

　　“I received a prompt—[Sage Monarch Melon Eater is trying to share his joy with you. Would you like to accept? Yes/No.] After that, because I was rather drunk, I didn’t even get to make a choice and was drawn in here.” Song Shuhang looked up at the sky, really wanting to die.

　　Needless to say, all of this had to be his QR code Golden Core Composition’s fault.

　　However… It was only a Fifth Stage ‘Golden Core Composition’, so why was it able to directly bring him into Sage Monarch Melon Eater’s Ninth Stage Tribulation?

　　It didn’t make any sense, theoretically speaking.

　　It was just a Golden Core Composition, so it shouldn’t have such a powerful ability.

　　There should be a deeper connection between them.

　　There had to be a deeper ‘connection’ between him and Sage Monarch Melon Eater that allowed him to be directly drawn into this Heavenly Tribulation Realm.

　　Was it the Virtuous Network? Or…

　　Song Shuhang thought of a terrifying possibility.

　　He had once eaten Sage Monarch Melon Eater’s whale body.

　　Perhaps it was because of this plus the connection they had due to the Virtuous Network and the QR code Golden Core Composition’s friend function that he was brought into this tribulation space.

　　Moreover, there were signs that the golden-eyed Lady Kunna’s actions had also played a hand.

　　“…” Sage Monarch Melon Eater.

　　This inexplicable situation left it speechless.

　　“The next wave of the tribulation is coming, right?” Song Shuhang asked. He took out a cloth similar to the one the Almighty Merchant had from his magical bracelet and put it on. Then, he took a few steps and went to Little Yinzhu’s side.

　　“It will be coming soon,” Sage Monarch Melon Eater said. “The heavenly tribulation is ruthless. Even I am uncertain of whether I’ll be able to transcend this tribulation. Moreover, in the later stages, I may not be able to worry about you. So, you… need to be careful.”

　　Song Shuhang smiled bitterly, and said, “Senior Melon Eater, you can concentrate on fighting the tribulation. We won’t disturb you.”

　　Interfering with others’ tribulation had always been a taboo in the world of cultivation.

　　Song Shuhang was already very grateful for Sage Monarch Melon Eater not blaming them for what happened. Not to mention, Sage Monarch Melon Eater had even given them two of its Dragon Scale Shields to protect him and Li Yinzhu.

　　“Take care of yourself and hold on.” Sage Monarch Melon Eater sighed—it already believed that this was the end for Song Shuhang in its heart.

　　Song Shuhang was only at the Fifth Stage Realm, and at most possessed Sixth Stage combat power.

　　How long could he possibly last against a tribulation of the Ninth Stage?

　　“Fwoo~”

　　There was an explosion in the sky.

　　The genuine first wave of the tribulation descended.

　　A thunderstorm filled the sky, while the ground exploded and collapsed.

　　“Seals unlocked.” Song Shuhang brought out the ‘Tyrannical Song Sage Seal’ and the ‘Tyrannical Scholar Demonic Seal’, unlocking all the seals on the Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Combined Magical Treasure in one go, allowing it to explode with an Eighth-Stage-level defensive power in one go.

　　After two breaths of time, the two Dragon Scale Shields that Sage Monarch Melon Eater had sent over were destroyed, and completely lost their defensive effect.

　　Then, tribulation lightning directly blasted on the Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Combined Magical Treasure.

　　This was tribulation lightning that neared the Ninth Stage in power.

　　And it wasn’t just a single bolt, as bolts came raining down.

　　The power in Song Shuhang’s eight golden cores was fully unleashed; they continuously provided spiritual energy for the magical treasure. The ghost spirit’s spare energy was also extracted in one go to supply the ‘Impregnable Holy City’.

　　The virtuous lamia put on the ‘flat imperial hat’.

　　The power of virtue in the flat imperial hat had only recovered a little.

　　But now, they had no choice.

　　She activated the flat imperial hat immediately, and entered the Virtuous Empress Mode.

　　She then stretched out her hand and laid it on the ‘Impregnable Holy City’, blessing the holy city with her strength.

　　After about 10 breaths of time.

　　The thunderstorm ended.

　　Song Shuhang weakly said, “Are you alright?”

　　The virtuous lamia nodded as she cancelled the Virtuous Empress Mode… The light of virtue in the flat imperial hat had also been exhausted.

　　“Don’t relax, that thunderstorm just now was merely an appetizer. The real Ninth Stage First Tribulation starts now.” In the distance, Sage Monarch Melon Eater’s voice sounded.

　　Immediately afterward, Song Shuhang felt weak.

　　He felt as if his life was being squeezed out continuously.

　　Ninth Stage’s First Tribulation: Transcending Mortality!