The finger tigers on his hand sparkled brightly, and without a word, he punched forward.

"Crack!"

The space directly shattered; he faced the Treasure Tower head-on, battling in the air with the Nascent Soul, and for a moment, the treasure light scattered everywhere, the spiritual light dazzling.

The old man in rough linen clothes who spoke first seemed entirely unsurprised.

He glanced at the few who stood motionless, pausing momentarily on Chen Mo, Ying Ying, and Yan Sihuo, his lips subtly curving upward: "My junior brother has already gone; I wonder who among you will resolve me?"

"I will."

Li Ye stepped forward.

A smile played on his face, seemingly shimmering under the sunlight spilling from the Heavenly Dome.

"...You?" The old man in linen clothes was first surprised, then angry: "True Man Lingye, how long have you been in the Golden Core stage?

You're relying on your assumed immortality, taking me as your sharpening stone, aren't you?"

If those others counted as renowned Golden Core cultivators, he could barely accept it, but Li Ye's Golden Core was so recent? Daring to duel him, an early-stage Nascent Soul?

These elite disciples from great sects!

Truly intolerable!

His previously calm Divine Sense now boiled over; the furious killing intent mixed with Spiritual Qi, forming a gale around him, causing his robe to flap fiercely.

Beside Li Ye, spiritual light shone.

Gracefully spread willow branches and Jianmu branches repelled everything.

He raised his head, his gaze still calm: "Do you know what tribulation fire is?"

"Old fool, retribution is relentless."

The old man was stunned.

Then he saw a cluster of brilliant flames rushing toward him.

Everything—the storm formed by spiritual power, the magical treasures shielding him, and even the very space itself trembled and burned into ash within the tribulation fire.

Not good!

Tribulation fire!

Even if a Nascent Soul touched tribulation fire, it would undoubtedly end miserably.

The old man frantically mobilized his mana, though the vast ocean-like Nascent Soul mana seemed to fuel the tribulation fire, making it burn ever more fiercely.

But he keenly noticed that the willow branches and Jianmu branches on Li Ye were also burning.

Indeed, using tribulation fire comes at a price!

Harming others and oneself!

Seeing this, he actually felt somewhat exhilarated.

If... even in death, he could take down True Man Lingye of the Four Seasons Sect, it would be worth it, right?

Thinking this way made him increasingly excited.

He used all his mana to resist the tribulation fire, intending to drag out the time.

Time slowly passed.

His consciousness grew ever fuzzier under the blaze of the tribulation fire.

The surging and boiling tribulation fire now covered an area spanning a thousand li, and even the sun above could not compete with its brilliance.

Yet Li Ye still calmly watched him, his clear eyes reflecting the sight of his torturous combustion, and only then did he realize...

Even among fellow cultivators, despite the difference between Nascent Soul and Golden Core, he could not defeat Li Ye.

Because from the beginning, when he chose to exhaust Li Ye, he had already lost.

"Hahaha!"

The Nascent Soul in rough linen clothes laughed heartily, tears streaming out, flying into ash within the tribulation fire:

"Turns out, I was bound to lose."

He gathered all his mana, then—boom!

A storm of flesh and spiritual power even surpassed the tribulation fire, sweeping the surroundings, as the third senior brother watched and gripped the Palm Leaf Fan but still refrained from advancing.

Because he saw a circle of bronze-colored radiance surrounding Li Ye, slowly stepping to the position where the old man originally stood and dropped a seed of the Demon-Suppressing Tree.

The tribulation fire flowed back into his body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, leaving only tribulation ash encapsulating the old man's remnants, pierced by the roots of the Demon-Suppressing Tree, sprouting and taking root mid-air.

Rapidly growing into a towering tree.

Then.

The radiance around Li Ye dissipated, his aura weakened, and he fell straight downwards.

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