Chapter Forty-Eight: The Fifth Realm

Chapter 48: The Fifth Layer

The searing pain wracking his body nearly drove Chu Jie to madness.

Within his dantian, the second minor tribulation erupted.

Earlier, he had consumed the Grand Spirit-Gathering Pill, and combined with the fierce battle just now, it had finally triggered the second minor tribulation of his Nine Tribulations Sacred Body.

Chu Jie’s eyes were bloodshot. Even now, agony wracked him. He had to endure it; if he lost himself to the pain, he felt he would become a monster driven solely by slaughter.

With every nine minor tribulations, his Nine Tribulations Sacred Body would face a major one. Each time he survived, his cultivation would soar.

Chu Jie hadn’t expected to provoke the second tribulation so soon, but it was mainly due to the effect of the Grand Spirit-Gathering Pill.

Yet the unbearable agony coursing through his entire being was almost too much.

He roared in fury.

In the crystal cave, the members of the Mad Dog Camp all heard Chu Jie’s voice and were instantly elated.

“Boss isn’t dead! He’s alive!”

“Haha! If Boss lives, we will never be defeated!”

In an instant, the morale of the Mad Dog Camp surged. They picked up crossbows from the ground, and some even took crossbows from Wang Ye’s men.

“We’ll be taking these now,” Chen Long said coldly.

Were it not for the fact that Wang Ye was Duan Kun’s subordinate, the Mad Dog Camp would likely have slaughtered them all by now.

Wang Ye’s face was pale and he said nothing. With their reduced numbers, they were no match for the Mad Dog Camp.

At last, Wang Ye could only grunt his displeasure, but didn’t dare make a move.

Chen Long acted as if he hadn’t noticed, and he and the others quickly familiarized themselves with the crossbows’ operation.

Previously, they’d been unable to attack the airborne Mystic Wind Serpent King, but now that was no longer the case.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the serpent king to emerge from the rock wall.

At this moment, the serpent king had yet to withdraw, still pressing its head against Chu Jie, seemingly frustrated that Chu Jie’s body was too tough to be crushed in a single blow.

It could feel tremendous heat radiating from Chu Jie.

Right now, Chu Jie’s body was blazing like the sun. It was as if a dam had burst, flooding his body with boundless spiritual energy that instantly filled his dantian to capacity.

The Samsara Scroll rapidly unfurled, drawing in vast quantities of spiritual energy. Then, a message entered his mind.

“Nine Suns Heaven-Shattering Claw!”

This martial technique had never existed in the Samsara Scroll before, but after Chu Jie had triggered the second minor tribulation, knowledge of it flooded his mind.

In an instant, Chu Jie understood how to wield the Nine Suns Heaven-Shattering Claw. As expected of a technique from the Samsara Scroll, it was truly extraordinary.

This was an offensive art, and one that attacked from a distance—exactly what Chu Jie needed.

Yet he could sense that the spiritual power within him was still surging, his cultivation skyrocketing.

The Samsara Scroll spun even faster, and Chu Jie felt as if his cultivation was rocketing upward. Not only that, but his body was strengthening, a formidable aura condensing around him.

The serpent king continued to press its head against him, intent on crushing him, oblivious to the changes within Chu Jie.

Behind him, the crystal instantly turned to dust, all its energy pouring into Chu Jie.

He recovered from the pain, feeling his whole body brimming with explosive power as spiritual energy surged through him.

His cultivation had leapt to the fifth layer of the Spirit Convergence Realm—an unbelievable breakthrough. Even with the Grand Spirit-Gathering Pill, such a jump would be impossible without the powers of his Nine Tribulations Body.

The Mystic Wind Serpent King, even in its frenzy, was no longer a threat in his eyes.

Chu Jie gathered spiritual power in his hands.

Earlier, he would have feared being struck by the serpent king; after all, the last impact had wounded him, and a few more might have reduced him to bloody mist.

But now, after the second tribulation, his body had become even tougher and more resilient.

A surge of confidence filled him; he was now certain he could handle the serpent king.

This entire crystal cave would soon be his.

His spiritual power was now several times greater than before, but to his surprise, the Nine Suns Heaven-Shattering Claw consumed far more energy than even the Solar Blaze Fist.

A full fifth of his spiritual energy was drained with each use; even at his current level, he could only unleash it five times before exhaustion.

But Chu Jie was eager to test its power.

Any martial art derived from the Samsara Scroll was bound to be extraordinary.

Scorching light gathered at his hands, and behind him, nine blazing suns appeared. In that instant, the space around him warped from the heat.

He straightened, and just then, the serpent king lunged at him with renewed force.

“Beast, die!” Chu Jie shouted.

The Nine Suns Heaven-Shattering Claw! His hand struck out at the serpent king like a golden dragon’s talon, imprinting itself on its body.

At the same moment, the nine blazing suns behind him shot toward the serpent king.

Boom! Boom!

A series of thunderous explosions echoed—the serpent king’s head caved in under Chu Jie’s attack. Wounded and in agony, it recoiled rapidly.

A shout rang out in the cave, “It’s coming out, everyone get ready to fire!”

It was the Mad Dog Camp brothers, lying in wait. The moment the serpent king emerged, they would unleash a volley.

As the serpent king tore free from the rock, its head swaying and jaws gaping in a defiant roar, the camp’s men unleashed a storm of bolts at its eyes.

Perhaps stunned from Chu Jie’s earlier assault, the serpent king failed to dodge in time, and over twenty arrows struck its eyes in a blink.

One of its eyes was blinded completely. With a furious screech, it charged at the Mad Dog Camp.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Chu Jie leapt down from the rock, landing with such force that spiderweb cracks radiated across the ground.

Nine blazing suns floated about him, making him appear like a god of war.

These nine suns were masses of spiritual energy formed by the martial technique, each carrying formidable destructive power.

“Nine Suns Heaven-Shattering Claw!”

Chu Jie unleashed the new art again from a distance. Though it consumed great energy, it was immensely effective; the direct attack thrilled him.

The serpent king, which had been flying toward the camp, halted midair, its body arching in pain.

Then, a golden beam shot from Chu Jie, accompanied by the nine blazing suns, hurtling toward the serpent king.

They struck with tremendous force, the golden talon tearing through the air and raking across the serpent king’s body, ripping away a slab of flesh with its scales. The nine suns followed, plunging into the wound and detonating in a series of explosions.

Half of the serpent king’s body was blown open by Chu Jie’s attack.

The Mad Dog Camp’s men were left stupefied. Moments before, Chu Jie had been on the back foot, but now he had turned the tables, pressing the serpent king to the brink. It was unbelievable.

“Boss, you’re incredible!” The Mad Dog Camp cheered.

They had been in despair after the serpent king’s rampage, but Chu Jie’s breakthrough in the heat of battle had saved them all. Without it, they would have stood no chance and likely perished to a man.

Now gravely wounded, the serpent king emerged from its fury and its first instinct was to flee.

It staggered toward the gaping hole above, but Chu Jie would never let it escape.

Having used the Nine Suns Heaven-Shattering Claw several times, Chu Jie’s spiritual energy was greatly depleted. He decided to finish the serpent king by other means.

His cultivation at the fifth layer now made wielding the Heaven-and-Earth Treasure Wheel effortless, allowing him to unleash even greater power.

Pouring vast amounts of energy into the wheel, a streak of light shot from his hand, darting toward the serpent king with lightning speed.

With both speed and strength greatly enhanced, the wheel pierced the serpent king’s head, boring a bloody hole through and out the other side.

The serpent king’s body stiffened but still did not stop, continuing to fly upward—a testament to its incredible vitality.

Chu Jie was astonished by the wheel’s destructive power, but quickly realized that its energy consumption, at full strength, was even greater than the Nine Suns Heaven-Shattering Claw.

The treasure wheel arced through the air in a perfect curve, circling back to strike again.

This time, it sliced clean through the serpent king’s head.

The serpent king’s body went rigid and, power spent, plummeted from the air. The Mad Dog Camp’s men scattered to avoid being crushed.

Boom!

The massive body crashed to the ground, but still it clung to life, writhing and stirring up clouds of dust.

Chu Jie strode forward, his hand aglow, a blazing sun manifesting.

Solar Blaze Fist!

He slammed his fist into the serpent king’s head. The sun exploded in a burst of light, but the serpent king, though still alive, was clearly finished.

“Tough creature,” Chu Jie muttered, using the treasure wheel to saw at the serpent king’s skull. Though he used little power and thus made slow progress, he soon managed to carve open its skull.

After a while, the serpent king finally expired, its body falling still.

Only then did the Mad Dog Camp’s men dare approach.

“Boss, see if it has a beast core! With a creature this fierce, it just might!” Chen Long exclaimed excitedly.

Beast cores were found only in the highest-level monsters. The finest ones were incredibly valuable—some could even be used in medicine, nourishing the body. They were rare prizes indeed.