No matter how Ye Jingyu looked at it before, the mass above was a dense, inky cloud, but now, guided by the Drought Fiend’s direction, he perceived an eye peering out from within that darkness—a pitch-black, enormous eye, fixed directly upon him, staring intently.

"Damn it, what do you mean?" Ye Jingyu instantly grasped the Drought Fiend’s implication. This so-called Heavenly Tribulation was likely some sort of rule-based formation set by beings from a higher plane; anyone reaching a certain level of power was subjected to this trial by these rules.

Failure meant complete annihilation of the soul, yet generally, such rules weren't impossibly stringent. The reason this one was so terrifying now likely stemmed from no one having successfully passed the tribulation for too long, leaving the array unattended from above, causing energy to accumulate ceaselessly.

"Correct, that is where the array core resides. Once that eye is shattered, this Heavenly Tribulation will naturally dissipate into smoke!" The Drought Fiend nodded with absolute certainty.

"But that doesn't seem right. If it's a Heavenly Tribulation, a test, even if no one is managing the formation above, they shouldn't let us see it, right? If that were the case, wouldn't anyone who correctly identifies the core be able to pass the tribulation easily?" Seeing the Drought Fiend nod, Ye Jingyu’s doubts resurfaced.

"Do you think others can see it? Let alone those undergoing the tribulation, no other being can see it. You can perceive it because you possess the Eye of Reincarnation, allowing you to pierce the origin, and the cultivation method you practice exists outside the Three Realms and Five Elements, hence your sight. As for me, I existed before they even devised this Heavenly Tribulation, so naturally, I wasn't accounted for in their plans!" The Drought Fiend explained patiently to Ye Jingyu.

"Oh, so that’s how it is!" Ye Jingyu nodded, pretending to understand.

"Are you not planning to act yet? If you delay any longer, you might lose the chance!" Seeing Ye Jingyu still preoccupied with these thoughts, the Drought Fiend remarked with a slight smile.

Only then did Ye Jingyu notice that Yan Senxu’s body had been thrown back again, lying prone on the ground, violently spewing blood. Water-blue electrical currents danced constantly over him, and long, frozen striations marked many parts of his body.

The colossal iceberg in the sky had been shattered, but it had merely transformed into countless bolts of water-blue lightning that rained down—dense, packed together like a deluge of water. The thinnest bolts were as thick as water vats, while the thickest spanned dozens of zhang, filling the entire sky with lightning.

Medusa had returned to her normal size, radiating waves of silver light across her form to ward off the assault of the thunderous tribulation. He watched as the silver radiance surrounding her grew progressively weaker.

Purple flames ignited on Black Nether Overlord’s body. These towering flames were strikingly visible against the water-blue lightning. Though the area they covered was small, they showed no signs of being extinguished, suggesting he was suffering relatively minor damage.

However, contemplating the lightning storm whose end was nowhere in sight, Ye Jingyu was certain that Black Nether Overlord would eventually find himself struggling. By that time, he suspected that he and his companions would already have been vaporized by the icy lightning.

With so much lightning, even if he absorbed it with all his might, he couldn't process it fast enough; the ultimate outcome would be death by explosive rupture.

Ceasing his deliberations, the Starlight Power surged within him. With the Eastern Emperor Bell hovering over his head, his body shot straight up toward the heavens. Seeing Ye Jingyu launch himself upward once more, both Black Nether Overlord and Medusa were momentarily stunned. What exactly did this fellow intend to do?

Wasn't rushing up there simply courting death? But neither of the Demon Kings had the capacity to worry about Ye Jingyu at the moment; they could only strive to maintain their current precarious states.

The Eastern Emperor Bell blocked the vast majority of the lightning strikes. The tiny fraction that got through was absorbed by Ye Jingyu’s Water Element Aperture, experiencing virtually no resistance. Ye Jingyu ascended above the tribulation clouds and gazed at the single gigantic eye, suddenly feeling how incredibly small he was—as insignificant as an ant on the earth below.

Was this the might of Heaven?

Heaven and Earth are devoid of benevolence, treating all things as straw dogs. Under this heavenly might, must he truly be nothing more than an insect?

No. He was not an insect; he was a man, a living man, a man determined to protect those beside him. If the Heavenly Dao is unjust, then let him be the one to shatter this Heaven!

A thrill unlike any he had ever known erupted from the depths of Ye Jingyu’s heart. In that moment, he felt like someone confined to a dark room for years finally seeing the daylight—an indescribable sensation.

The Tyrant Origin Power surged frantically through his body. Surrounding energies—the lightning, the storm, the ice, and even the dense demonic qi saturating the sky—poured continuously into Ye Jingyu’s form, scouring his meridians. His physical body was being continuously reinforced, and the clarity in his mind allowed him to glimpse another world entirely.

"Shatter for me! Battle Soul Divine Fist!" Ye Jingyu roared, launching a single punch directly at that eye. This was the strongest punch he had ever thrown; the power within him and the surrounding energy accompanied this strike. This was unequivocally the blow of a Venerable-level expert—not close, not infinitely near, but the genuine, unmistakable punch of a true Venerable.

The void began to crackle and fragment. Streaks of black energy continuously spilled forth from the emptiness, which he subsequently absorbed, directing the entirety of the force toward that single eye.

With a soft crack, like something fragile breaking, that massive eye was directly pulverized by Ye Jingyu’s punch.

In that instant, everyone saw a ray of golden sunlight cascade downwards. Indeed, the Demon Realm's sky had never known the sun, yet everyone distinctly felt a golden sun rising from within the dark clouds, radiating golden light.

The light was so dazzling, so blinding, that even Black Nether Overlord couldn't keep his eyes open to look directly at this golden sun.

Only Ye Jingyu’s Eye of Reincarnation flashed with silver runes. Relying on it, he clearly saw what the golden sun was: a golden pearl, the size of a fist, yet containing immeasurable energy.

And the Drought Fiend below gasped out loud...

"Haotian Pearl!"

Haotian Pearl. These three words might still sound foreign to Medusa and Yan Senxu, but Black Nether Overlord’s expression shifted violently...

As for Ye Jingyu, though he didn't understand what tier of magical artifact this was, he knew that in the Primordial Immortal Realm, there once was an Immortal Realm leader named Emperor Haotian, and he supposedly possessed three personal artifacts: the Haotian Pagoda, the Haotian Mirror, and the Haotian Pearl...

To the readers: I'm hungry, going to grab something to eat, will resume writing soon~~