Thirty-six steps!

The Red Leaf appeared!

Forty-five steps!

The Green Leaf appeared!

Fifty-four steps!

The White Leaf appeared!

The lake remained shrouded by the rosy haze.

By the shore, Tai Yan hung her head, looking somewhat disheartened. "It’s been two months. Brother still hasn't come out. I wonder if he’s even passed the sixth trial yet?"

Muttering softly, Tai Yan anxiously gazed toward the woods several hundred meters away.

Among the trees over there, Lan Ling had reverted to her true form. Countless vines thrashed wildly in the void, and the "God-Devouring Flower" flickered in and out of sight amidst the writhing tendrils.

Two days prior, Lou Ling’s second spiritual tribulation had descended.

Compared to Tai Yan, Nie Kong, and Yu Longyue, who had endured three consecutive tribulations, the time Lan Ling required for her second one was dragging on significantly.

However, Tai Yan and the others were not worried.

According to Gu Xian’s introduction, within the Seven-Colored Divine Realm, the effect of spiritual tribulations was minimized. Furthermore, Lan Ling had managed to fuse some Chaos Divine Power with Nie Kong’s assistance, making the possibility of her failing the tribulation extremely slim.

Thus, the group’s main focus remained fixed on the lake.

Without that thread of spiritual connection between Lan Ling and Nie Kong, they were completely ignorant of Nie Kong’s progress. Now, their greatest hope was for Lan Ling to successfully complete her tribulation immediately.

"Look! Lou Ling is calming down!"

Hulu suddenly shrieked with a crisp sound.

The little creature's eyes were filled with envy. Calculating the cultivation levels of those around Nie Kong, he was the weakest: Tai Yan was a Fifth-Grade Spirit God, Yu Longyue a Fourth-Grade Spirit God, Qing You a Second-Grade Spirit God, and now Lan Ling was about to pass her Second-Grade tribulation—only he remained at the level of a Heavenly Spirit.

"She finally succeeded."

Tai Yan instantly broke into a broad smile. Like a patch of red cloud, she drifted toward the woods, with Yu Longyue, Qing You, and Tai Yan following closely behind.

Amidst the trees, the dense mass of vines gradually settled into tranquility.

After a while, the God-Devouring Flower contracted sharply, reshaping itself into Lan Ling's figure. At this moment, Lan Ling’s beautiful features appeared somewhat pale, yet her brow radiated undisguised joy. Moreover, the aura emanating from within her body had more than doubled compared to before.

A red shadow flashed, and Tai Yan arrived before Lan Ling, anxiously demanding, "Lan Ling, you’re finally done! Quick, check where Brother is now?"

"No rush, no rush."

Seeing her flustered state, Lan Ling let out a soft laugh. She narrowed her eyes, performed a brief sensing, and exclaimed with delight, "He has already exited the sixth trial."

"Wonderful! Only the final trial remains!"

"……………"

Over the lake, Nie Kong sat cross-legged and motionless. The small fireball, only the size of a fist, resting in his palm suddenly dissipated.

"Hoo!"

Nie Kong opened his eyes, letting out a long breath. His gaze flickered down to the bridge surface beneath him. The initial seven-colored bridge had now transformed into a black bridge; the other six colors had vanished entirely.

The seven spiritual leaves represented the divine power within them.

The blue leaf was Water Divine Power, the yellow leaf was Earth Divine Power, the green leaf was Wind Divine Power, the red leaf was Fire Divine Power, the green leaf was Wood Divine Power, and the white leaf was Ice Divine Power.

Nie Kong walked step by step. By now, he had absorbed six types of divine power.

In his estimation, the last spiritual leaf should be a black leaf, and the divine power contained within the black leaf should be Dark Divine Power. However, the opponent condensed from Dark Divine Power would undoubtedly be the most formidable, even stronger than the Eighth-Grade Spirit God formed from Ice Divine Power just moments ago!

"I wonder how much time has passed. I hope Tai Yan and the others aren't too anxious. Just one more trial to go; I need to hurry across!" A thought flashed, and Nie Kong moved his feet, confidence swelling in his chest. "I am already at the peak of a Seventh-Grade Spirit God. After this seventh trial, I will surely be called an Eighth-Grade Spirit God!"

Thump! Thump…

Footsteps echoed continuously.

Fifty-five steps! Fifty-six steps… Sixty steps, sixty-two steps, sixty-three steps!

"Hoo!"

It felt as if a gentle breeze brushed past, lifting a black spiritual leaf. The black energy under his feet immediately surged upward, engulfing Nie Kong completely in an instant.

In that moment, Nie Kong experienced an illusion, as if he had returned to the moment he fought the Dark Night Divine Venerable at the edge of the Divine Sky Realm’s continental fragment belt.

Surrounding him was only boundless, endless darkness.

Yet, unlike the Dark Night Divine Venerable's "Dream Shadow Space," this black leaf realm lacked the endless nightmare phantoms; instead, the oppressive feeling it imparted to Nie Kong was even more intense. Being immersed in this black-leaf space, a suffocating sense of oblivion continuously welled up within his heart, making one feel utterly hopeless and wishing only for immediate cessation of existence.

With a thought, Nie Kong mobilized his Chaos Divine Power, causing it to blaze externally.

Magnificent flames rapidly spiraled around him, bringing Nie Kong considerable comfort. However, this faint light was utterly insufficient—a mere drop in the ocean—to dispel the darkness of this space. His eyes became almost useless, so Nie Kong simply closed them and extended his spiritual sense outward in all directions.

"Eighth-Grade Spirit God!"

A thought stirred in Nie Kong’s mind.

As expected, within this space, although he could not see the existence of the black spiritual leaf, he clearly sensed the aura of an Eighth-Grade Spirit God.

This Eighth-Grade Spirit God must have been condensed from Dark Divine Power.

Its aura was even stronger than that of the Ice-elemental Eighth-Grade Spirit God encountered in the white-leaf space, reaching the peak of the Eighth-Grade, infinitely close to a Ninth-Grade Spirit God. However, the Spirit God’s aura was extremely elusive and bizarre; it seemed omnipresent, leaving its trace in every inch of the surrounding space.

Even with Nie Kong’s sensory capabilities, he could not pinpoint the opponent's exact location.

"The opponent in this final trial is indeed the strongest," Nie Kong observed, his expression solemn. Then, he heard a sharp tearing sound, "Chii," as a tendril of inky-black energy tore through the "Chaos Heavenly Fire" shielding his body, slamming heavily into his back.

Ignoring the faint stinging pain in his back and the few wisps of black light that penetrated his body, Nie Kong willed it, and layers of "War God Star Seals" manifested, pressing down sequentially against the dark energy attack.

Nine-Fold Overlap Seal!

However, the scorching radiance exploding from the War God Star Seals was instantly swallowed by the darkness, like a massive stone thrown into the vast ocean—the resulting disturbance was almost negligible.

Conversely, those few wisps of black light rapidly spread within Nie Kong’s body. The previously dissipated sense of oblivion surged out once more, instantly multiplying a hundredfold, inducing utter despair, making one long to die immediately. Nie Kong startled, wrapping his Chaos Divine Power around the intrusive darkness from all directions. After a dozen seconds, he managed to refine that speck of dark energy.

"It’s actually extremely condensed Death Qi!"

Nie Kong felt a strange sensation. When he cultivated the mutated Wood Spiritual Power before it transformed into the Primal Power of Nature, he was already capable of absorbing Death Qi. He never expected to be nearly harmed by Death Qi today.

Of course, this Death Qi was not the element freely wandering in the world; it was power derived from pure Dark Divine Power. Although both were classified as Death Qi, these two types of power were separated by a vast gulf—the former was like crude iron, while the latter was like fine steel forged through a hundred processes.

"No matter what, its essence is Death Qi. Since it’s Death Qi, it’s manageable," Nie Kong thought swiftly, a faint smile unintentionally appearing on his face.