Chapter 726: Spirit Tribulation Takes Form!
Within the Earth Sovereign's hidden realm, fragments of shattered space hurtled through the void, each carrying terrifying destructive power. Ordinary Ninth Grade Sovereigns would not dare to touch them.
Amid this chaos, Mandala floated in midair, calm and undisturbed. Her black dress remained unruffled as though the spatial turbulence posed no threat to her.
Though the lightning strikes had been unimaginably powerful, Mandala, as an Earth Sovereign, could easily withstand their aftershocks.
She lifted her gaze to the center of the spatial collapse. As she spotted golden light refracted off the spatial fragments, a wave of relief washed over her.
Amid the void, Xiao Ze stood atop his Sovereign Avatar.
"This Spirit Tribulation is truly relentless," Xiao Ze murmured, still catching his breath after withstanding three consecutive strikes.
Though he had blocked them, he remained vigilant. The next three strikes would undoubtedly be even more lethal.
Resolving to prepare further, Xiao Ze resumed summoning wind calamities.
Though he could summon lightning calamities as well, they were far more volatile and difficult to control. Relying on the familiar wind calamities was the safer choice.
Under Xiao Ze's command, his Sovereign Avatar exhaled streams of purple green wind, recreating the destructive storm from before.
He glanced toward the sky, noting the strangely calm spiritual clouds. Unlike earlier, they no longer erupted into violent lightning strikes.
But this eerie calm unsettled him even more it was like the quiet before a devastating storm.
The stillness felt foreboding.
"One hundred winds!" Xiao Ze exclaimed as his Sovereign Avatar exhaled its final gust.
This was his current limit, and he hoped it would be enough to endure at least one or two more tribulations.
But just as he thought this, the spiritual clouds above began to stir.
Brilliant streaks of lightning converged at a single point. Multicolored radiance spread across the sky, distorting space with its dazzling display.
Xiao Ze's gaze shot upward, his breath catching in his throat.
Within the vibrant clouds, a phoenix as radiant as a sunrise emerged. Its shimmering, multicolored eyes locked onto Xiao Ze, and a suffocating pressure descended upon the world.
"The tribulation has taken form!" Mandala gasped, her voice tinged with both shock and concern.
Her expression turned bitter as she muttered to herself, "Xiao Ze, just what is your Sovereign Avatar?"
To force a Spirit Tribulation into taking physical form was an exceedingly rare occurrence, even among top tier Earth Sovereigns.
Xiao Ze's brows furrowed as he observed the stunning phoenix. He had suspected that his tribulation might eventually take form, but he hadn't expected it to happen so early at the seventh strike.
In the Great Thousand World, most Spirit Tribulations remained in the form of lightning. Only the strongest avatars provoked the tribulation into forming physical manifestations, greatly amplifying their destructive power.
For instance, in the original story, Mu Chen's Immortal Golden Body, part of the second stage of the Primordial Immortal Body (a top fifteen Sovereign Avatar), didn't encounter a tribulation taking shape until the ninth and final strike.
"Could my Sovereign Avatar rival the Primordial Avatars?" Xiao Ze thought, disbelief creeping into his mind.
The ten Primordial Avatars were said to have formed at the dawn of the Great Thousand World, possessing ancient, mysterious powers tasked with protecting the realm.
Their unparalleled status placed them among the rarest and most powerful treasures in existence.
However, Xiao Ze quickly dismissed the thought.
His Sovereign Avatar was formed by the Tree of Origin. While he didn't deny its immense potential, it wasn't yet at the level of rivaling an entire world like the Great Thousand World.
"Perhaps it's because my cultivation system is unique compared to this world's," Xiao Ze reasoned, "causing the tribulation to adapt and intensify."
As these thoughts flickered through his mind, the radiant phoenix began its descent. Its every movement left trails of multicolored light, fracturing and twisting space in its wake.
"Whatever the reason, I have to survive this!" Xiao Ze declared.
He directed his destructive storm toward the incoming phoenix.
A piercing cry echoed through the air as the phoenix met the storm. Multicolored flames and purple green winds collided in a dazzling display of destruction.
Unable to contain the storm any longer, Xiao Ze released his hold. The winds spread uncontrollably, obliterating the surrounding landscape.
The once molten rock of the volcanic field crumbled to dust, leaving a crater tens of thousands of feet deep.
Even Mandala, hovering far away, was forced to retreat. The collision's shockwaves turned the area into a chaotic void, its blackness devouring everything.
In the void's center, vibrant flames and corrosive winds continued their fierce battle.
Mandala watched anxiously. The Spirit Tribulation was not something outsiders could interfere with; all she could do was wait and hope.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ze maneuvered his Sovereign Avatar away from the clash.
As he observed the diminishing flames, he allowed himself a moment of relief until the phoenix's body erupted into a brilliant explosion.
Multicolored flames tore through the remnants of the storm, reigniting in a vivid inferno.
From this fire, the phoenix reformed, its radiant body as pristine as ever.
"Rebirth through fire?" Xiao Ze muttered, his expression grim.
Even though this phoenix was a construct of the tribulation, it had inherited the legendary ability of real phoenixes: rebirth through flames.
Without hesitation, Xiao Ze summoned two lightning bolts of purple and green.
They struck the phoenix squarely, tearing gaping wounds into its majestic form.
"I knew it wouldn't be that simple!"
As the phoenix tried to rise again, Xiao Ze unleashed another pair of lightning bolts, blasting its head apart.
This time, the phoenix didn't reform. Its body crumbled into fragments of light, which then flowed into Xiao Ze's Sovereign Avatar.
The infusion brought about an extraordinary transformation, and Xiao Ze could sense his Sovereign Avatar growing stronger, evolving further toward becoming a true Sovereign Manifestation.
He exhaled in relief but kept his gaze fixed on the turbulent spiritual clouds above.
The phoenix might be gone, but what if the next tribulation wasn't a phoenix?
What if it was… a dragon?
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