Chapter Nineteen: The Corpse Wheel of Heavenly Tribulation

Three elders appeared suddenly, their bodies surrounded by shimmering lights and vibrant colors, with visions unfolding behind them. Their three pairs of eyes glowed with divine radiance as they looked down upon the suppressed Heavenly Demon.

“Delusional fool!” the Heavenly Demon roared, raising his hand to form another seal.

However, at that moment, Luo Longyu burst through the demon chains. Kong Yuxuan staggered, and as the demon chains shattered, the demon seal was completely destroyed, causing a backlash of demonic power within him that left Kong Yuxuan suffering a considerable hidden injury.

“Are you alright?” Zhan Wushuang quickly reached out to steady Kong Yuxuan.

Kong Yuxuan’s delicate face showed astonishment. “Such formidable strength—these chains cannot restrain him at all.”

Zhan Wushuang’s gaze was equally grave as he watched the berserk Luo Longyu. The power of the Path of Corpses was indeed as terrifying as the legends foretold. Most crucially, the Path of Corpses was prone to losing control; even if it was some ultimate weapon engineered by man, its instability meant it could at any moment turn against its creators and slaughter all.

Should the Path of Corpses truly be preserved? A great question mark formed in Zhan Wushuang’s heart.

Luo Longyu’s escape threw the outcome of the battle, which had nearly concluded, into turmoil once more. The instant the demon chains broke, the Heavenly Demon shot straight for the sky.

But Luo Longyu seized the Heavenly Demon’s ankle, ascending with him into the heavens, piercing layers of clouds to face the blazing sunlight.

Strangely, Luo Longyu did not fear the sunlight as the legends claimed. Bathed in its fierce rays, he seemed only more frenzied. With a roar, he tore a wing from the Heavenly Demon, then his claws lunged for the demon’s throat.

The Heavenly Demon was shocked and terrified—this corpse fiend, in his eyes, possessed battle strength beyond imagination!

The battle had turned white-hot, the sky echoing with unending thunderous explosions. Even the three elder ancestors of the demon clan, who had arrived later, were awed by Luo Longyu’s overwhelming might.

“Heaven-Slaying Nine Forms!” came Luo Longyu’s hoarse, profound cry from the void. Instantly, the sky’s field shifted, seeming to form a prison. A blood-colored jade coffin manifested above Luo Longyu’s head, its murderous aura surging!

Luo Longyu raised his right hand high, as though summoning boundless world-ending power from the depths of destiny. The stars reversed their course, claws flashed, and the vast lands trembled.

A cracking sound echoed.

Thunder rolled again, but this time, unlike before, it was not summoned by human hands, but condensed from the order of heaven and earth itself. This was the legendary Dao—a law and rule belonging to the universe itself, with all violators subject to annihilation.

“Is… is this the elusive Dao?” Zhan Wushuang gazed upward at the boundless sea of lightning, stunned into numbness. Above the thunderclouds, one could faintly see stars falling, all things withering, grand palaces collapsing—an irresistible will, even gods could not defy!

“Who summoned this? Luo Longyu? But… isn’t the Path of Corpses forbidden by the Dao? How could this… No! This is the Heavenly Tribulation!” Kong Yuxuan, unable to comprehend, suddenly cried out in alarm.

Upon hearing this, Zhan Wushuang shouted urgently to the nearby troops, “Withdraw from Mount Mang immediately! Hurry!”

Although the troops didn’t know exactly what was happening, witnessing the sudden upheaval of heaven and earth, the raging sea of lightning, and the panic of the two captains from Xuan Yi Pavilion, they didn’t ask further. All forces within Mount Mang quickly retreated, establishing defensive lines around the mountain, while distant artillery units stood ready to provide support.

Barely seconds after the withdrawal, the lightning sea poured down without warning. The three elder ancestors of the demon clan dared not remain within the Heavenly Tribulation, for the Path of Corpses’ tribulation was unlike any other, ruthless and merciless. The Path of Corpses defied life and death, forbidden by the Dao, far more terrifying than any ascension or cultivation tribulation.

The Heavenly Demon knew this well. As the lightning sea covered the sky, he launched a fierce assault on Luo Longyu, trying to break free. But Luo Longyu, as if forged from steel, refused to let go, enduring horrifying wounds from the demon's attacks. Then the lightning sea descended, appearing from afar like a celestial river flooding the world—a sight both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

The first bolt of tribulation thunder engulfed both Luo Longyu and the Heavenly Demon. Luo Longyu’s chest was pierced by divine thunder, as if suspended by lightning in midair.

The Heavenly Demon suffered even more, for he was never meant to exist. His resurrection by sacrificial forbidden arts was a deception of the Dao. Luo Longyu’s tribulation had locked onto everything in that region that was not meant to be.

A bolt struck the Heavenly Demon, instantly pulverizing half his body. Despite his pitiful state, Luo Longyu’s parched lips curled into a cold, sinister smile, even as countless bolts rained upon him.

“I am the Heavenly Demon, equal to Heaven itself… ah!” Even with only half his body remaining, the Heavenly Demon cursed the heavens, but his shouts only drew even fiercer tribulation thunder.

Luo Longyu had no time for anything else. The divine thunder struck him again and again, and through the blurred lightning sea, Luo Longyu seemed to glimpse ancient godly peaks and celestial palaces hovering beyond the sky.

Just then, a warship appeared at the edge of the heavens, having emerged from the interstellar void. A beam of light enveloped the dying Heavenly Demon, whisking him away, after which the warship vanished swiftly.

Seeing the Heavenly Demon rescued, Luo Longyu went nearly mad, roaring as he tried to escape the lightning sea, only to be struck down by another bolt, crashing to earth.

The thunderbolts pursued him relentlessly, seeming intent on reducing Luo Longyu to ashes.

From afar, Zhan Wushuang and the others watched Mount Mang being swallowed by the raging sea of lightning. Their faces were pale. Though cultivators themselves, none had ever faced a tribulation before. Witnessing Luo Longyu’s ordeal, they realized what trials awaited them in the future.

“Will… will Luo Longyu survive?” Qu Feng asked quietly.

Kong Yuxuan shook his head in a daze, then looked up at the three demon elders in the sky, calling out, “Elders, please help Luo Longyu! He is our last hope against the Void Clan!”

The three elders remained silent for a long moment, then replied, “Princess, it’s not that we refuse to help, but the tribulation is upon him alone—no one else can intervene. Moreover, this child follows the Path of Corpses, and none of us has ever witnessed a tribulation of this scale.” One elder sighed, “Well, after the descendants of Xuanyuan, all we can do is tell him how to survive the tribulation. Whether he succeeds depends on his own fate.” With that, the elder closed his eyes, formed mysterious seals, and sent his divine sense into the lightning sea, avoiding heaven’s awareness to reach Luo Longyu.

Luo Longyu was still muddled, but an elder’s figure appeared in his mind. “Young one, do not resist the tribulation. The harder you fight, the stronger it becomes. Follow heaven’s will, walk the path laid out for you by the Dao.”

“Hmph, the Dao? The Dao wishes to destroy me!” Luo Longyu’s mind was still not clear—he was still in a frenzy. Though some consciousness lingered, murderous intent overwhelmed him, making him deaf to any advice. Besides, in Luo Longyu’s heart, the entire Xuan Yi Pavilion was inseparable from the theft of his mother’s corpse. He could never listen to them, even though these three elders were not part of Xuan Yi Pavilion. To Luo Longyu, they were little different.

With a furious roar, Luo Longyu forcibly rejected the elder’s divine sense, causing the elder to shudder and curse repeatedly, “Ungrateful wretch, ungrateful wretch!”

“If you dare, Heaven, destroy me now!” Luo Longyu was wild and defiant, forcibly gathering the Heaven-Slaying Nine Forms as he charged into the lightning sea.

The blood jade coffin erupted, sweeping across the heavens. Everyone present nearly trembled in terror. The three elders shook their heads, lamenting, “It’s over, it’s over. There is no turning back now. This corpse… this Luo Longyu is too arrogant, not even Heaven is in his eyes. How could he ever serve Xuan Yi Pavilion? The Path of Corpses truly must not be awakened.”

The Heaven-Slaying Nine Forms withstood the divine thunder, but only for an instant. In the next moment, the thunder surged, nearly tearing Luo Longyu apart. Even with his powerful corpse body, he was riddled with wounds, holes pierced through him, and his skull showed signs of fracturing—he was truly at the end of his strength.

A great explosion sounded.

The Heaven-Slaying Nine Forms shattered completely, countless thunderbolts roasting the air, all striking Luo Longyu. He felt himself plunged into endless darkness, his consciousness rapidly fading.

“Is this the end…?” The thought flickered in Luo Longyu’s mind as he felt himself falling, strength draining away…

Just as Luo Longyu was about to succumb to sleep, a soft hand gently supported him from behind. Fragrant winds swept around. Luo Longyu slowly opened his eyes to see an exquisitely beautiful woman at his side, cradling him in her arms, her face radiant with loving affection.

“Mother…” Luo Longyu called out in his heart, but he could not utter a sound. His injuries were too severe—his body was charred, his head misshapen, ready to shatter at any moment.

“Child, you always charge ahead blindly. You still haven’t grasped the true meaning of the Path of Corpses. How could you suppress the tribulation alone? Life is hard, do not lose yourself. I knew you would stray from the essence of the Path of Corpses, so I left a restriction within you. When your life is threatened, it will activate. But I never thought it would be used against the tribulation. Honestly…”

“Longyu, follow my guidance: open your hundred meridians, merge with the lightning, let it break through your blocked corpse channels, activate the Corpse Wheel. Without the Corpse Wheel, the Path of Corpses is just mindless undead. The Corpse Wheel is its true symbol. How far you go depends on its strength. The ancestral weapon can only be borne by the Corpse Wheel. I can do little for you. This tribulation cannot claim your life—do not give in to despair.”

As his mother vanished, Luo Longyu cried out, reaching for her but grasping nothing. Coming to his senses, he saw the world shrouded in burnt scent and lightning, so bright his eyes could not open.

Luo Longyu obeyed his mother’s advice, lying still and withdrawing the Heaven-Slaying Nine Forms. His corpse seals spun in his eyes, quickly becoming two vortices, drawing all the lightning towards them like black holes, greedily swallowing the torrent.

The lightning entered Luo Longyu’s body, coursing through his great meridians. The wild power nearly tore him apart, but he forcefully suppressed it. Blood-colored crystals formed within him, guiding the lightning as if leading it by the nose.

Thunder kept striking Luo Longyu’s occiput, the pain inhuman. His skull cracked, lightning continued, and after hundreds of strikes, his occiput finally split open. Blood-colored crystals surged from the wound, coalescing behind him into a crimson circle, resembling two wings, their tips joined, sharp protrusions like flames, slowly rotating.

The Corpse Wheel was formed! According to his mother, this was only the most basic Corpse Wheel. To go further, it must become much stronger!

The Corpse Wheel rotated slowly, masking all of Luo Longyu’s aura. The tribulation lost its target, and the lightning absorbed into Luo Longyu was released by the Corpse Wheel, shooting into the sky. Lightning met lightning, and the radiance engulfed all of Mount Mang, flattening everything like a nuclear explosion.

The main peak of Mount Mang became a huge ravine, and Luo Longyu, his body scorched and shriveled, lay amidst the burnt earth like a withered tree, all vitality extinguished.