Liang Xiaoke was furious. To be blasted away in front of Yao Rao—didn't that just humiliate him completely? The shattered arm continuously oozed wisps of dark energy, and as his injury rapidly healed, he shot back up, lunging once more toward the man in black.

Facing Liang Xiaoke’s rapid assault, the man in black slowly raised his right hand. Though the movement appeared languid, his hand was instantly fully elevated, slashing down toward Liang Xiaoke across the void. Liang Xiaoke instantly felt as if the entire expanse of space had been cleaved in two.

Before he could fully recover, the man in black shifted his palm into a fist, sending another invisible wave of energy hurtling toward him, even as the black-clad figure took two deliberate steps upward...

An ever-increasing pressure swept over him. Unwilling to let the moment pass without making an impression on Yao Rao, he continuously erupted with the power of the Nine Nether. He made no move to summon his clones, but instead, a pale golden light erupted from his own fist.

“Get broken for me!” Liang Xiaoke roared, unleashing a punch across the distance. A faint boom echoed, and the oppressive pressure seemed to shatter under the force of the blow.

But by this moment, the man in black had taken his third step, bringing an even mightier wave of might. Space itself seemed severely compressed beneath this pressure, and Liang Xiaoke felt utterly bound, unable to move at all.

When the man in black took his fourth step and swept out a leg, Liang Xiaoke was sent flying once more. However, being a zombie, and now a Flying Night Yaksha, his resilience was formidable. With a single flip, he scrambled back up, stretching out a pair of fleshy wings from his back. His form blurred into a streak of residual light, arriving directly before the man in black.

At this speed, he was nearing the absolute limit. Even the man in black hadn't anticipated such swiftness, and a flash of shock crossed his face. The fifth step was taken, and his hands darted through the air repeatedly, causing Liang Xiaoke to feel two surging streams of fist-force rushing toward him...

“Arms crossed over his chest, his entire body radiating dazzling light—that was the protective power of the Nine Nether. But almost instantly, the protective glow vanished, shattered. Just then, the man in black completed his sixth step, and a streak of golden light flashed out, slamming brutally into Liang Xiaoke’s chest. Poor Liang Xiaoke was once again hurled backward by this single golden beam.

Faintly, the sound of cracking ribs could be heard.

Liang Xiaoke was enraged, incandescently angry. At his current level, at least an Huang-rank master, was he truly to be rendered powerless after returning to the mortal world today? He was about to summon his clones, his Blood Corpse, and the Immortal Slaying Sword to fight the man in black to the death when Ye Jingyu’s voice cut through the air.

“Alright, Big Brother, he’s not an enemy!”

“Damn it, look how he’s beaten me! If he’s not an enemy, then what is he? Don’t meddle, I’m tearing him apart today!” Liang Xiaoke cursed. Although the other man had consecutively knocked him down, suggesting a slight edge in power, if he summoned his clones and Blood Corpse, the man in black wouldn’t last ten moves against him.

Fired up now, the enraged Liang Xiaoke paid no heed to Ye Jingyu, snatching the Immortal Slaying Sword into his hand with a single grab.

“Big Brother, what he just used was the Seven Steps of Inverse Reversal. Do you still want to fight?” Seeing Liang Xiaoke even manifest the Immortal Slaying Sword, Ye Jingyu spoke again.

“Seven Steps of Inverse Reversal? Why does that sound so familiar? Isn't that...” Liang Xiaoke froze, then stared blankly and wide-eyed at the man in black.

“Hehe, Brother Liang, Little Black has been presumptuous just now. Please forgive my offense!” Seeing Liang Xiaoke’s bewildered expression, the man in black said with a slight smile.

“You... you... you are Inverse Reversal Little Black?” Looking at the man in black’s sudden amicable smile, Liang Xiaoke felt his head grow dizzy. Wasn’t that guy just a beast? How had he turned into a man?

“Mmm...” Inverse Reversal Little Black nodded. After years of arduous cultivation within the Map of Mountains and Rivers, coupled with consuming so many spiritual elixirs preserved since the Primordial Era inside the map, his strength had surged spectacularly. He had now reached the Huang realm and could even assume human form.

His combat techniques were unparalleled; even Liang Xiaoke had stumbled into a trap due to a momentary lapse.

“Hahaha! I didn’t expect we’d gain another Profound Immortal (Huang-rank) master! Little Black, when did you reach this level?” Ye Jingyu laughed heartily from the side. Perhaps bringing Little Black along on the journey hadn't been the right move after all. His talent might be lesser than that of Taotie, but his diligence was unmatched, even by Ye Jingyu himself. Only three years had passed outside, but over a century had elapsed within the Map of Mountains and Rivers. Relying on the dense spiritual energy there, reaching the Huang rank shouldn't have been difficult for him.

“Just over a month ago!” Little Black replied.

“And did you feel any summons for a Heavenly Tribulation?” Ye Jingyu continued asking. He knew well that the Map of Mountains and Rivers was a self-contained world with its own lightning tribulations, but those only targeted Tian-rank masters. Advancing from Tian to Huang was akin to a Celestial Immortal ascending to a Profound Immortal—the tribulations inside weren't nearly enough. He had learned from Boundless Sea of Blood that every person reaching the Profound Immortal realm found crossing the Profound Immortal Tribulation immensely difficult. Since Little Black had reached such a level, he should have been able to sense the lightning tribulation.

If he were truly about to undergo the tribulation, with the many powerful artifacts they possessed, passing the Profound Immortal Tribulation smoothly shouldn't be an issue.

To Ye Jingyu’s disappointment, however, Little Black shook his head and stated plainly, “No. I only had that sensation when I advanced to Celestial Immortal, but I already passed that one inside. Now, I feel nothing at all!”

Ye Jingyu frowned. The Profound Immortal Tribulation was a lightning calamity many times more potent than the Celestial Immortal Tribulation. How could there be no sensation?

He was completely unaware that the great powers of the Immortal Realm, in order to facilitate his Ancestor’s grand plan—to ensure the mortal world had more experts to fight the Demon race—had already fundamentally altered the rules of the Heavenly Dao. Forget reaching Profound Immortal; even advancing to Golden Immortal or Absolute Immortal would no longer invite any lightning tribulations. In essence, they could now simply focus on continuously enhancing their power and advancing their realms without the constant fear of being obliterated by lightning.

Of course, the absence of the Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, and Absolute Immortal Tribulations didn't mean they had vanished entirely; they had all been deferred to the final stage: the Immortal Saint Tribulation. By the time anyone reached that level, the ensuing catastrophe they faced would be many times more severe than before. This was all part of a meticulously laid plan by those few supreme beings, a secret Ye Jingyu was in no position to uncover at this time...

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