"Stay here and do not leave. I need to go out for a moment."
Upon learning that Xu Yi was the one undergoing tribulation, the Black Fur Ape leader couldn't sit still. Xu Yi's identity was special, and she shared a unique connection with the Monkey King. The Black Fur Ape leader could not stand by and watch Xu Yi fall into danger.
"Leader! I'll go with you!" the Black Fur Ape King shouted.
The Black Fur Ape leader glared at it. "What are you going to do? Stay put!" With that, the Black Fur Ape leader vanished from the Black Fur Ape King's sight in a few leaps. The Black Fur Ape King, anxious, slammed a paw onto a tree, showering the ground with leaves.
Meanwhile, most of the demonic beasts within the defensive array had lost consciousness. The pressure from the heavenly tribulation reached deep into their souls. Outside the formation, bolts of lightning roamed, vast and all-encompassing. Xu Yi's figure had long been submerged in the sea of thunder.
The Black Fur Ape leader felt a jolt of numbness and couldn't help but tremble after just a glance. Was this truly the tribulation lightning of the Tribulation Transcension stage? The Black Fur Ape leader stopped at a distance, its heart pounding. If Xu Yi were to die in Shenzhou, it would likely cause great trouble. The Black Fur Ape leader's expression grew troubled. Now, they could only leave it to fate.
Based on the Black Fur Ape leader's experience, tribulation periods were usually not too long. After the lightning tribulation, there were only two outcomes: success, or annihilation by the lightning. It expected to know the result soon. However, it did not expect to wait a day and a night. The thunderclouds in the sky lingered, and the lightning within the dense forest remained exceptionally active, showing no signs of weakening.
The Black Fur Ape leader went from shock to calm, and then to gradual numbness. Although the scene was peculiar, it was an excellent sign, indicating that Xu Yi was still alive. Just as the Black Fur Ape leader thought the lightning would continue for some time, the ominous thunderclouds suddenly dispersed.
A golden beam of light pierced through the clouds, illuminating the mountain forest. The Black Fur Ape leader's dark fur was instantly dappled with golden light. The Black Fur Ape leader looked up. "The sky has cleared." It was time.
The purple lightning seemed to have met its nemesis upon the appearance of the golden light, rapidly dissipating. As the warm golden light bathed the entire mountain forest, the lightning had completely vanished, leaving only scorched earth. Upon the scorched earth stood a dark figure, its appearance and aura indiscernible.
The Black Fur Ape leader held its breath and slowly approached the figure. Step by step. Its massive paws pressed into the thick scorched earth, leaving deep footprints.
"Xu Yi, Xu Yi," the Black Fur Ape leader whispered, calling her name softly as it drew closer, hoping for a response. However, the shadowy figure remained motionless. The Black Fur Ape leader's heart sank, and its steps involuntarily quickened.
Just then, a rift silently opened behind the Black Fur Ape leader. Several white shadows shot towards the Black Fur Ape leader with lightning speed. As the white shadows were about to collide with the Black Fur Ape leader, it turned and unleashed its fists, striking so fast that not even a blur could be seen.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
In the span of a single breath, the white shadows had clashed with the Black Fur Ape leader several times. Simultaneously, the Eight-tailed White Fox slowly emerged from the rift, a smug glint in its narrow, fox-like eyes. It, the Eight-tailed White Fox, had returned. It was unwilling to be manipulated by Xu Yi and injured by the lightning tribulation, but that didn't mean it would let Xu Yi off the hook.
Demonic beasts in the Mahayana stage possessed the ability to tear space and teleport at will. Xu Yi was undergoing tribulation, and it had chosen to evade its might. But once the lightning tribulation ended, Xu Yi would no longer possess any means to threaten it. Wouldn't Xu Yi then be at its mercy? What pleased the Eight-tailed White Fox even more was that besides Xu Yi, another target of its was present. It was a perfect opportunity to deal with them both.
Fearing that lingering would invite complications, the Eight-tailed White Fox decided to cease holding back, its demonic energy surging. Its eight white tails instantly transformed into hundreds, all lashing out at the Black Fur Ape leader. Even fists are no match for many hands, let alone so many troublesome fox tails.
The Black Fur Ape leader, caught off guard, was struck in the chest by a white tail, sending it flying back several miles, kicking up a cloud of scorched dust. Black smoke billowed everywhere. The Black Fur Ape leader dug its legs deep into the ground to barely halt its momentum. It stared fixedly in the direction of the Eight-tailed White Fox before spitting out a large mouthful of clotted blood. The Eight-tailed White Fox had personally ambushed it here. This was an unforeseen development for the Black Fur Ape leader.
However, it quickly reconsidered. Monkey King Mountain was a thorn in the Eight-tailed White Fox's side. The latter had never abandoned its plan to attack Monkey King Mountain, so its presence here was understandable. It only wondered if Xu Yi's appearance was also part of its plan.
As this thought crossed its mind, the Black Fur Ape leader's expression shifted drastically. *Not good! Xu Yi is still there!* It slammed its fists into the ground, using the recoil to pull itself out of the earth and immediately rushed towards Xu Yi's location. But it was too late.
The Eight-tailed White Fox's original plan was to first repel the Black Fur Ape leader, and then finish Xu Yi off completely. Therefore, after sending the Black Fur Ape leader flying, its white tails immediately lashed out at Xu Yi. A sinister smile spread across the Eight-tailed White Fox's lips. Xu Yi was doomed.
Just as it waited to see Xu Yi's neck snapped, the shadowy figure, which had remained still, suddenly moved. A layer of black ash fell from her body. Then, the Eight-tailed White Fox saw a pair of eyes. What kind of eyes were they? Calm, indifferent, with a faint trace of madness discernible. The Eight-tailed White Fox's heart trembled, and a strong sense of foreboding suddenly surged within it.
Then, before it could figure out why, a stone glowing with purple light rolled out from Xu Yi's body, stopping a short distance from her feet. Subsequently, the long-accumulated lightning power erupted with a roar. A pillar of purple lightning, with an irresistible force, repelled all the attacking white tails and struck directly towards the Eight-tailed White Fox's face.
"I've been waiting for you, Eight-tailed White Fox," Xu Yi's hoarse voice echoed faintly.
"Xu Yi! You lied... Ah!" The Eight-tailed White Fox couldn't even utter a complete threat before being blasted away by the lightning power. A shower of white fur instantly drifted through the air.
Xu Yi stared at the falling fox fur in the sky, managing a difficult smile. In the end, she was still more cunning. Xu Yi never underestimated any enemy. Especially an enemy so powerful that she couldn't confront it head-on. Xu Yi didn't believe the Eight-tailed White Fox was a fool that would willingly endure the lightning tribulation. Its avoidance of combat was also within Xu Yi's expectations.
Therefore, while undergoing tribulation, Xu Yi not only used her innate magical treasure but also took out a treasure she had refined with the most satisfaction: the Pixiu Stone. The Pixiu Stone already contained a bolt of lightning. Coincidentally, as Xu Yi was undergoing tribulation, she used the Pixiu Stone to absorb several more bolts of lightning, only stopping when she felt the Pixiu Stone had reached its limit.
The Pixiu Stone eased Xu Yi's tribulation pressure, coupled with the miraculous Training Ruler, Xu Yi's tribulation this time was considered perilous but without major incident. As for why she didn't respond when she heard the Black Fur Ape leader's voice later, it was a gamble. She gambled that the Eight-tailed White Fox would return. The facts proved that she had gambled correctly again.