"So, that Ling Fan from before is long dead, and you were reborn into his body. No wonder you changed so drastically, from a useless, pampered son-in-law to an all-powerful peerless expert! You didn't tell me before because you were afraid I couldn't accept it?"
"There were considerations of that nature. Primarily, my identity is too significant. The more people who know, the greater the risk. My enemies are far beyond mere Demon Emperors. In the face of my true adversaries, Demon Emperors aren't even comparable to ants."
Ling Fan smiled and asked, "Are you afraid?"
Xue Yi smiled brightly, "Afraid of what? My husband was the strongest peak existence in the Ten Great Heavenly Realms in his past life, and now he's making a triumphant return. Besides, I possess the Nine Deaths Spirit Phoenix Body. I'm no less than anyone else and won't hold you back! You should ascend to the Central Heavenly Realm first. I'll break through to the Emperor Realm as soon as possible and find you there."
"Good!"
Ling Fan laughed heartily, "Then I'll ascend first, and I'll wait for you in the Central Heavenly Realm!"
"Mm."
Xue Yi left and returned to the Jiuhua Realm.
Ling Fan watched her depart.
With a turn, his face became expressionless, and an overwhelming pressure emanated from him, like an eternal overlord of the cosmos.
He suddenly reached out with his palm, and a massive black hole vortex appeared in his palm, aimed at the White Bone Gate.
Immediately, a river of white bone flames flowed from the White Bone Gate, transforming into blazing white bone fire that bathed Ling Fan. Endless divine powers were refined into his limbs and bones through this simple, brutal method, causing his strength to surge once more.
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
When Ling Fan stood up from that meteor.
The colossal White Bone Gate, hundreds of thousands of feet tall, that stood before him had completely vanished.
In its place.
Was the terrifying, boundless power surging from Ling Fan.
He casually clenched his fist and felt as if he could obliterate a real star at will.
Boom!
At that moment.
Endless tribulation fire was born from nothingness, engulfing the entire starry sky.
Nirvana Tribulation Body.
A sub-quantity tribulation beyond the perfected level.
Once overcome, one could achieve the Emperor Realm through physical cultivation.
This tribulation fire was a thousand, even ten thousand times more terrifying than the tribulation fire generated at the perfected level. A single strand of tribulation fire, as thin as a strand of hair, could incinerate the most powerful Saint King into ashes.
The tribulation fire that filled the entire sea of stars created a scene of world destruction, utterly horrifying.
Looking out from the Jiuhua Realm into the outer domain, the starry sky where Ling Fan was located had completely transformed into an endless sea of fire. Flames blazed across the heavens, and stars were refined into nothingness.
This world-destroying tribulation fire lasted for seven days and seven nights.
The moment the tribulation fire extinguished.
A figure projected across countless spaces.
A terrifying aura, ten times stronger than that of the戟王 Demon Race Demon Emperor, swept through the boundless sea of stars like an unprecedented storm. The starry sky trembled, and the Great Dao wailed, making this figure appear as majestic and towering as a star, his power as vast and boundless as a super sun.
The Jiuhua Realm, being the closest.
Bore the brunt of it.
The billions of beings in the Jiuhua Realm clearly felt the supreme pressure that made their souls tremble.
"This... someone has achieved the Emperor Realm!"
"Such immense power, this is not the strength a newly ascended Emperor should possess..."
"Could it be Young Master Ling? I remember he went to the outer domain to deal with the remnants of the Heavenly Demon Realm."
Zhou Family Ancestral Land.
Undying Holy City.
Guan Sheng Cliff.
...
Jiangnan City, Lan Family Fortress.
A graceful figure stood in the open air, staring blankly at the figure that projected across countless spaces, as majestic as the heavens.
...
"To all my old friends, today I, Ling, have achieved the Emperor Realm through physical cultivation. I will ascend to the Central Heavenly Realm first, and I will wait for you there."
A voice as grand as a celestial bell resounded through the starry sky.
Ling Fan's figure grew infinitely tall, his formidable power tearing through countless voids. Above his head, a truly boundless world appeared, filled with wondrous sights. The leaf of an ancient tree was larger than the entire Wuzhou Continent and Xingzhou Continent combined! A minor mountain range, not even ranking high, stretched for tens of billions, even hundreds of billions of miles, with countless stars floating and sinking between the mountains...
This place exuded an aura of grand epic, grand legend, and grand fortune.
This was the world Ling Fan had once inhabited... the Central Heavenly Realm, the strongest among the Ten Great Heavenly Realms.
The true center of the universe, without a doubt.
Ling Fan paused before this world, his power growing stronger and stronger, reaching an ultimate point of no further advancement. He resonated with the Central Heavenly Realm, and an irresistible pulling force descended from the Central Heavenly Realm. With a thunderous roar that shook all directions, a heavenly gate suddenly opened before Ling Fan.
Ling Fan stood proudly, allowing this pulling force to draw him.
He turned his head and cast a deep glance at the Jiuhua Realm.
Then, he turned and resolutely flew towards that heavenly gate.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The moment Ling Fan flew into the heavenly gate passage.
Rolling heavenly thunder immediately manifested in response to the tribulation. Enormous thunder dragons weaved and soared within the tribulation clouds, countless flashes of lightning flickering, brewing extremely powerful tribulation forces.
This was something all lower realm powerhouses who ascended to the Heavenly Realm had to experience.
Generally speaking.
Lower realm powerhouses relied on the heavenly rules of their small worlds to achieve the Emperor Realm, and these small world rules were insignificant compared to the powerful rules of the Heavenly Realm.
Therefore, all ascending powerhouses had to undergo heavenly tribulations. This was not only a test but also a great benefit, as the process of tribulation baptism allowed their own rules to transform and absorb the power of the tribulation, making them more adaptable to the Heavenly Realm's rules.
Without undergoing heavenly tribulation baptism before entering the Heavenly Realm, even if one could successfully ascend, they would only be considered the weakest Emperor Realm powerhouses in the Heavenly Realm, possibly not even stronger than the powerful Manifested Saints in the Heavenly Realm.
Ling Fan was no stranger to heavenly ascension tribulations.
In fact, in his previous life, he was a Great Heavenly Venerate who surpassed the Heavenly Venerate realm, even transcending the Heavenly Dao, and heavenly tribulations were mere playthings in his hands.
Therefore, he was extremely calm.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The thunder tribulations finally took shape, carrying the immense power of the Heavenly Realm's rules, one after another, descending like thunder dragons.
Ling Fan did not resist these thunder dragons. He allowed them to strike his body, and immediately, his entire being was covered in lightning, as if he were bathing in countless bolts. Crackling sounds emanated from him.
The tribulation lightning, which ordinary ascenders feared like a tiger and had to avoid or dissipate through various means, was unnecessary for Ling Fan.
He had now overcome the Nirvana Tribulation Body sub-quantity tribulation, achieving the Emperor Realm through physical cultivation, and his physical body was far more robust than that of an ordinary Great Emperor.
These heavenly tribulation thunder dragons striking his body were like tickles. As his Nirvana Tribulation Body circulated, they transformed into blazing tribulation fire, which Ling Fan absorbed entirely, making his strength increasingly potent. A portion of the heavenly tribulation lightning's power was also channeled into his own world, replenishing its heavenly rules.
"Great nourishment!"
Ling Fan absorbed with great satisfaction.
However, at this moment.
Suddenly, a cold and indifferent voice, like that of the Heavenly Dao, resounded.
"A dead person, how dare you sneak into the Heavenly Realm!"