Chapter 361: Divine Tribulation — The Continent Trembles
The process was perilous beyond words. More than once, Zhongli Wu nearly perished under the torrential blast of destructive energy from the massive three-headed demonic lizard.
But relying on years of combat experience and an extraordinary level of focus, he managed—barely—to lure the beast far enough away.
As the creature bellowed in rage once more, all three heads drawing in energy for another devastating strike, Zhongli Wu's eyes gleamed with fierce determination.
"Seventh Soul Skill: Martial Soul True Body!"
Without hesitation, his form fused completely with the immense shadow behind him.
His speed exploded past mortal limits, nearly shredding the fabric of space.
A fading afterimage remained where he had stood, while his true body shot forward like a bolt of dark lightning, tearing through the skies toward the strange golden tree.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived at its side.
His hand shot out without hesitation, seizing the dual-colored fruit.
But the moment his fingertips brushed its smooth surface, everything went wrong.
The fruit's light flared chaotically, its vast internal energy beginning to spiral out of control, leaking violently into the air.
"This fruit can't remain detached for long!"
The realization struck him instantly. Removing it from the tree would cause its power to dissipate rapidly.
He had no time to think—nor could he afford to care about the furious monster now charging at impossible speed, enraged by the theft.
With a single motion, Zhongli Wu shoved the glowing black-and-purple fruit into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
The instant it reached his core—
Boom!
A black sun and a violet moon seemed to detonate inside him at the same moment.
An indescribable storm of energy surged through his body, tearing, crushing, and reforging his meridians, bones, blood, and soul all at once.
Agony and ecstasy intertwined, nearly obliterating his consciousness.
Behind him, the monstrous lizard's attack descended, its power blotting out the world.
"Eighth Soul Skill: Scythe of Death!"
Zhongli Wu roared hoarsely through the agony, forcing the energy raging inside him to obey.
The phantom behind him solidified completely, a colossal black reaper wielding an enormous scythe that slashed forward, colliding head-on with the monster's destructive breath.
"Boom!"
The resulting explosion rocked the heavens.
Using the violent recoil from the blast and the terrifying burst of power from the fruit within him, Zhongli Wu propelled himself backward like a meteor.
He reached into his robes with trembling hands and pulled out the secret-realm token.
Crack!
He poured every shred of power into crushing it.
Instantly, a silver-white portal of fluctuating energy materialized before him, far more unstable than before.
Without hesitation, he dove headlong into it.
A heartbeat later, the lizard's devastating beam consumed the space he had just occupied, reducing it to swirling void.
When the dust cleared, the creature's furious roar echoed through the realm, shaking the heavens in frustration.
...
In Douluo Continent, within a sealed chamber.
The air rippled as space itself twisted. Zhongli Wu stumbled out of the portal, crashing heavily onto the stone floor.
His skin was cracked open, glowing with streams of black and violet light pouring from every fissure.
He looked like a living core of unstable energy on the verge of detonation.
Fighting through the indescribable pain, he forced himself to sit cross-legged.
He immediately activated the cultivation art he had obtained from the Star Auction Pavilion—Devouring Spirit Scripture.
Power surged through him as he directed the maddened energy, absorbing, refining, and merging the fruit's divine essence into his own.
...
Time passed.
Outside the chamber, Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui stood on guard. The sinister, pulsating power from within made their expressions tense and anxious.
They could feel the energy inside changing—growing stronger, darker, and edging closer toward divinity.
"Buzz… buzz…!"
Suddenly, the entire sky above the Holy Spirit Cult darkened.
Thick, ink-like storm clouds gathered over hundreds of miles, churning like a living tide.
Bolts of silver thunder writhed within, roaring across heaven and earth.
An overwhelming heavenly might locked directly onto the source—Zhongli Wu himself.
"Divine tribulation! He's triggering the tribulation of godhood!"
Ye Xishui's voice trembled with excitement.
Long Xiaoyao's gaze hardened. "Guard him. No one interrupts this—at any cost!"
At the same time, this phenomenon spread across the entire continent, shocking every major power.
At Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, Mu En and Xuan Zi soared into the sky, gazing in horror toward the storm brewing above the Holy Spirit Cult.
"That divine aura… it's coming from the Holy Spirit faction!"
Xuan Zi nearly dropped his wine gourd in disbelief.
Mu En's ancient features grew grave.
"So fast… it seems Zhongli Wu truly gained heaven-defying fortune from that secret-realm token. He's taking the final step!"
Moments later, the alarm bell of the Sea God Pavilion rang out.
All the Elders gathered in solemn silence as the meeting began—its tension so thick one could hardly breathe.
If the Holy Spirit Cult birthed a true god, it would be a disaster without precedent.
Measures had to be decided—immediately.
Elsewhere, atop the peaks of the Body Sect, Du Busi stood alone. His eyes burned as he stared at the storm on the horizon.
He could feel Zhongli Wu's rising power.
But instead of fear, his heart blazed with battle fervor.
"Hmph! Zhongli Wu… I didn't think you'd get there before me!"
He clenched his fists, his blood energy—powered by the ancient witch tribe's blessing—raging through his veins.
"I can feel the boundary too. A hundred levels… I will reach godhood. I won't lose to you!"
Deep within the Star Dou Forest, the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena, slowly opened her eyes, glancing toward the human lands.
Then she closed them again, indifferent.
"A mere fledgling god, born through borrowed power and unstable foundation. Not worth concern."
Beside her, the Golden Dragon King didn't even bother to look up.
To such beings, this thunderstorm of godhood was no more than the rustle of a stronger insect.
The forest's beasts stirred briefly, then returned to calm.
As long as the humans didn't trespass, they didn't care who ascended to divine power.
Meanwhile, within the highest chamber of the Star Auction Pavilion, Jiang Li stood with his hands behind his back, eyes seemingly piercing through the world itself to the storm raging over the Holy Spirit Cult.
A faint flash of intrigue crossed his gaze.
"'The Twin-Polar Abyss Fruit,' from the Dark Demon Abyss? Interesting…"
"This Zhongli Wu truly has heaven's favor. Not only did he survive the Three-Headed Abyss Lizard, he managed to swallow the fruit and keep most of its energy intact."
He brushed his fingers lightly together, the corners of his mouth curling in amusement.
When Zhongli Wu shattered the secret order token, Jiang Li had seen everything that followed.
"How intriguing… a newborn god of evil. Perhaps he'll stir the waters of this continent a bit more—just enough for my next grand 'auction'."
His gaze swept once again over the land below, as if anticipating the chaos to come.
Rumble—!
The thunder in the heavens above the Holy Spirit Cult raged louder and wilder.
Zhongli Wu's ascension stood on the brink.
The balance of the Douluo Continent trembled—
as storm clouds gathered for the dawn of a new god.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997