Everyone knew that the final stage of a heavenly tribulation would be the Heart Demon Tribulation, and everyone would try their best to prepare.
But those who had actually gone through it understood one thing.
No matter how cautious or vigilant they had been before, when the Heart Demon Tribulation truly descended, they would still fall into it without awareness, instantly drawn into the illusions of their inner demons.
Compared to the thunderous thunder tribulation, this formless and intangible Heart Demon Tribulation was far more terrifying.
Many cultivators perished at this very final stage, dying without even realizing it, swallowed by their own demons. Generally speaking, the greater one's talent, the more experiences they had accumulated.
The more experiences, the harsher and more difficult their Heart Demon Tribulation would be.
What kind of trial… would Yun Jin face?
The moment the Heart Demon descended, Yun Jin found herself pulled back into a scene from long ago.
She returned to several years in the past, when Ye Danxia was still by her side.
That day…
They had thought it would be just an ordinary trip, but when they returned, they found the Yun family massacred, the entire clan slaughtered, only corpses littering the ground.
Just as she had done back then, Yun Jin rushed forward in madness, one by one cradling the bodies of her loved ones. The despair she had felt in those days once again surged without end.
"Xiao Jin, what do we do now?" Ye Danxia asked with utter hopelessness in her eyes.
Yun Jin wiped her tears, then turned to look at her.
Ye Danxia…
It really had been a while since she had last seen her.
Once this heavenly tribulation was over, she would go visit her.
"Xiao Jin, what's wrong? Why do you seem… strange?" Ye Danxia muttered as she stared at her.
Yun Jin sighed softly. "Even after crying, we still must move forward. Ye Danxia, I'll come see you later."
The scene shattered.
The next moment, she stood at the edge of a cliff, surrounded by hundreds of people forcing her back. That was the very first life-and-death crisis she had faced after binding with the quick-transmigration system.
Yun Jin cast a calm glance at them. Those people had all died by her hands later on anyway. So what was there to fear?
The scene shattered again.
One after another, the deadly crises she had once experienced resurfaced. Other than her initial tears when facing her family's slaughter, Yun Jin afterward was utterly cold and detached.
No matter what scenes appeared, they broke apart the instant she faced them.
Normally, during the Heart Demon Tribulation, cultivators forgot they were undergoing a tribulation at all, completely immersed in the illusions.
But Yun Jin…
From the very beginning, she knew this was only a Heart Demon Tribulation.
The tears at the start were only because she had once more seen her beloved family.
As for all the hardships that followed—
She had long since taken vengeance and settled those debts.
Those people thought they could shake her heart?
Her dao heart was like blade and sword, able to pierce through all illusions.
Not even the Heart Demon Tribulation could sway her in the slightest.
Countless scenes shattered one after another.
Even Ruan Jun, Zhao Wuji, and others appeared briefly within Yun Jin's Heart Demon Tribulation, only to be cut down like passing shadows.
Finally…
All illusions vanished.
Before her eyes now stood Di Xiao, and not far away, Lin Xiao desperately fleeing for his life.
Lin Xiao, who still hoped Yun Jin would die to her tribulation, spat up several more mouthfuls of black blood.
What was happening?!
This tribulation looked so terrifying, yet Yun Jin had shattered it with just a single move?
Even the intangible Heart Demon Tribulation had been passed so easily?
Was Yun Jin truly… unkillable?
Yun Jin, however, had no time to spare for Lin Xiao. She lifted her head and looked to the sky. Above her, the skies had already cleared, bright and cloudless.
She… had succeeded.
Her heavenly tribulation was complete.
In the heavens, ten thousand beams of radiant light suddenly burst forth. All those rays of divine brilliance converged onto Yun Jin, flooding her with boundless and pure power.
Yun Jin sat cross-legged, quietly absorbing it all.
In Di Xiao's eyes, a trace of envy flickered. This was the reward granted by the Heavens for overcoming heavenly tribulation. For ordinary tribulations, the final reward was modest, most cultivators stabilizing only at early Mahayana.
But if one survived a terrifying tribulation like Wan Dao Saint's, the gifts of Heaven could directly push them into mid Mahayana.
Yun Jin's tribulation… could it perhaps… directly propel her to late Mahayana?
Shrouded in the brilliance of ten thousand rays of light, Yun Jin's soul realm and spiritual power steadily advanced.
Early Mahayana.
Not enough.
Mid Mahayana.
Still not enough.
Only when she reached late Mahayana did her ascent gradually halt.
The radiance slowly faded.
Yun Jin's cultivation finally stabilized at late Mahayana.
She had just crossed her heavenly tribulation, and already… she was in late Mahayana.
Di Xiao's lips trembled. For a long moment, he was speechless.
So this was a true… peerless genius?
After stabilizing her cultivation, Yun Jin rose slowly.
Lin Xiao looked at her with terror. He poured every last bit of strength into his escape attempt.
But Yun Jin merely lifted a hand.
Lin Xiao was instantly dragged uncontrollably before her.
"Sect Master Yun, we can still talk this through, I… I…" Lin Xiao begged frantically for his life.
Yun Jin calmly patted his head.
In the next instant…
Lin Xiao's body melted away like ice and snow, leaving only some storage bags and rings clattering to the ground, which Yuan Yuan quickly collected.
In Yun Jin's hand remained only a single black Primordial Soul.
"Sect Master Yun, I still carry many treasures, treasures you might not even know how to use. If you just spare me, I—"
A flame suddenly ignited in Yun Jin's palm.
The fire seared and burned.
Lin Xiao's Primordial Soul, without the strength to resist, was instantly consumed into nothingness.
Di Xiao watched in silence.
Only after Yun Jin finished did he finally speak. "Why kill him outright? You could have kept him to interrogate."
Yun Jin replied coolly, "There was no need. Lin Xiao had too many tricks. Even if I tortured his Primordial Soul, what I got might not have been the truth."
A monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years… only complete annihilation of body and soul could bring peace of mind.
As for his secrets, the things he left behind would surely hold some clues. Yuan Yuan, who had seen countless things, would be able to uncover something. As she said this, Yun Jin glanced down at her palm, a trace of puzzlement crossing her expression.
Something was off.
That was indeed Lin Xiao's Primordial Soul, and she had indeed destroyed it. But having stripped souls before, Yun Jin knew… this one felt wrong.
Incomplete.
She frowned slightly.
Incomplete?
Could Lin Xiao have split his soul beforehand?
The Soul-Splitting Art was rare and dangerous, bringing immense harm to the Primordial Soul. Ordinary people would never dare risk such a method. And Lin Xiao's despair before his death did not seem false. Still… there had to be some trick here.
But even if there was, it hardly mattered. Even if Lin Xiao had split his soul, his three hun and seven po mostly resided in the main body. What he sent out would be, at best, a fragment.
To truly maintain peak condition, he would have needed to reunite all pieces in the end.
But now…
Even if he had a shard of soul left somewhere, he could never return to his peak.
At most…
He could linger in pitiful survival.
To stir the world again as before—impossible.
Besides…
If Lin Xiao had truly split off part of his soul, then surely it was hidden within Qingxiao Pavilion.
Yun Jin even already had a likely guess who the vessel might be.
"Tch. Things were becoming interesting."
"Congratulations, Master, on attaining Mahayana."
Yuan Yuan's mechanical voice rang out.
"Congratulations, Master, on attaining Mahayana."
Di Ying and Zhu Zhu also exclaimed with excitement.
Di Xiao's expression was complicated. "Congratulations."
From this moment forth—
The title of foremost expert of the Human Race…
Had changed hands.