Chapter 153: Fu Xuan Has Lost His Mind

"Thunder Seal!"

Xu Zhong pushed the power within his body to its absolute limits.

His Golden Core and Dao Tree expanded, and tribulation fate surged forth.

Since his Golden Core was already exposed anyway, there was no harm in revealing it fully now.

This was the first time he had completely unleashed the Golden Core Dao Tree, though he had no idea what fraction of its true power he was actually wielding.

The Golden Core Dao Tree swallowed and exhaled tribulation fate while greedily absorbing the primordial breath of the external world.

The primordial breath originated from the Source of the Dao, and the Golden Core Dao Tree itself was a spiritual plant from that very Source—a branch of the World Tree.

Yet, having absorbed the primordial breath, the Golden Core Dao Tree seemed to transform into the likeness of the World Tree itself.

In this instant, a blinding aura of lightning flickered around Xu Zhong, vast and boundless, extending infinitely as it pressed forward alongside his advancing steps.

An qi practitioner ahead of him suddenly sensed the tribulation fate intensifying behind his back and whipped his head around.

The moment he turned, the Thunder Seal smashed down and instantly killed him.

Divine radiance flashed densely, carrying the tribulation aura of the White Tiger Divine Palace to ignite him on the spot.

Xu Zhong continued forward. The blood rushing through his veins was rapidly being replaced by lightning radiance, and his heart thudded like rolling thunder, shaking people's eardrums with a deafening hum.

Behind him, a sky of heavenly thunder seemed to manifest, with various calamities endlessly flashing.

At this moment, he looked like the Thunder Ancestor holding the authority of lightning itself.

And indeed, that was the truth.

The consciousness of the Thunder Ancestor was awakening within his body once more.

"I said—"

Before the Thunder Ancestor could finish speaking, his consciousness was blasted into fragments by the heavenly replica of the Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Pagoda, though his immortal essence remained intact.

"You talk way too much!" Xu Zhong's human soul dismissed it with utter disdain.

The master of the Divine Pivot Azure Firmament Thunder Pagoda was continually torn to shreds under the pagoda's terrifying suppression.

Meanwhile, protruding dragon horns tore through the flesh of Xu Zhong's forehead, and his legs vanished, replaced by a sweeping dragon tail.

At this moment, he had transformed into the Thunder Ancestor: human-bodied with a dragon's tail.

"Is this because of the primordial breath leaking from the Gate of Xuanpin?" Xu Zhong felt the changes in his body with a sense of astonishment.

He realized his cultivation realm seemed to have been wiped clean.

His power now depended entirely on the tribulation fate within the White Tiger Divine Palace.

The stronger the tribulation fate, the greater his power!

"Is this the innate power of the Thunder Ancestor?" he wondered suspiciously.

Yet, he was still far weaker than the true Thunder Ancestor.

"This guy is bizarre!" An qi practitioner stared at Xu Zhong and the thunder tribulation sky behind him, filled with a mix of shock and dread. Feeling the weight of the tribulation fate pressing down upon him, his expression changed drastically. Trapped within the tribulation with no way out, he shouted, "Take him down first!"

Within his body, his Golden Core and the spirit in his Niwan Palace flashed with spiritual light simultaneously, and chanting scriptures resonated from inside him. The scriptures transformed into auspicious visions of dragons, phoenixes, qilin, and more, manifesting vividly around his body.

The emergence of these visions caused the colors of heaven and earth to shift, harmonizing yin and yang. He intended to use this profound technique to erase the tribulation fate clinging to him.

"You are trapped within the tribulation, but I am the master of it," Xu Zhong smiled faintly.

Profound void divine lightning erupted from his body, shooting straight into the qi practitioner.

Turning force into tribulation!

In that instant, all of the qi practitioner's power was stripped away, and his Golden Core and soul withered into nothingness in the blink of an eye.

He no longer cared whether he had taken on the form of the Thunder Ancestor; his only concern was whether he could survive this ordeal.

Xu Zhong raised his hand.

In an instant, the tribulation fate binding the numerous qi practitioners present was manipulated by Xu Zhong.

It was as if delicate threads were coiled between his fingers, and he could ignite them with a mere flick.

Boom!

Endless bolts of lightning erupted from Xu Zhong's body.

This was no ordinary heavenly tribulation, but the Yin-Yang Thunder Tribulation.

The Yin-Yang Thunder Tribulation crashed down violently.

The Exterior-realm qi practitioner who sensed the tribulation fate was startled out of his wits.

The moment he raised his head, the lightning radiance had already pierced through his eyes and surged straight into his Niwan Palace.

This was Yin lightning—Yin lightning specifically designed to shatter the soul.

Meanwhile, the Yang lightning struck his physical body directly.

"Bastard!" the Exterior-realm qi practitioner cursed furiously.

The next instant, his expression twisted in horror.

His physical body was battered and ruined by the Yang lightning, and his Niwan Palace was riddled like a sieve by the Yin lightning.

A split second later, his flesh shattered and his soul was obliterated, leaving only a wisp of undying spiritual light drifting away toward the nine heavens.

Fortunately, his Exterior body was not nearby, so he could still attempt to escape relying on this undying spiritual light.

However, no sooner had his undying spiritual light flown out of the White Tiger Divine Palace than a destructive gale blew in from beyond the realms, directly shattering his remaining soul and leaving not even a speck of tribulation ash behind.

"How can this be?" The other qi practitioners present found it almost impossible to believe.

An Exterior-realm qi practitioner had been so effortlessly executed by Xu Zhong; their own prospects could hardly be any better.

"Everyone, attack together! Kill him first, then we can talk about the rest!"

Yet none of the qi practitioners fighting over the True Transmission fragments answered the call to move.

No one was foolish. No matter how strong Xu Zhong was, he could only kill them one by one, and it didn't necessarily mean death would reach them.

Besides, Xu Zhong was only one person, and the most he could claim was a single True Transmission fragment.

Letting him have a single fragment was a small price to pay!

If they failed to seize a True Transmission fragment themselves, however, death was certain.

While the qi practitioners farther away remained indifferent, those close to him were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

They didn't know which True Transmission fragment Xu Zhong was targeting, nor did they know whether they should flee.

"This piece is mine!" Xu Zhong pointed toward the fragment with the fewest contenders.

The other qi practitioners breathed a sigh of relief. Without a moment to mourn, those competing for that particular fragment immediately rushed toward the remaining ones.

Xu Zhong strode forward with the unstoppable momentum of a dragon and a tiger, walking unhindered right up to the designated True Transmission fragment.

"Dammit!" A qi practitioner swallowed his resentment and suddenly turned back. "I refuse to accept this!"

A heavy aura of death emanated from between his brows, thick as an abyss, as he raised a bronze mirror that surged with golden radiance and the dual energies of Yin and Yang.

"Taste my Yin-Yang Life and Death Curse and be struck down instantly!"

The Yin-Yang energies surged out of the bronze mirror, transforming into Yin-Yang Golden Flood-Dragon Scissors, while the abyssal aura of death between his brows manifested as seven characters for "Death."

These characters of "Death" flew forward, every single one striking directly into Xu Zhong's body.

Two of the "Death" characters landed on his Golden Core.

The ultimate word of death struck true.

In an instant, the "Death" characters inside Xu Zhong inverted his vitality, and everything within him was swallowed by the aura of death.

The qi practitioner felt a surge of elation. "His Dao techniques are formidable, but his physical body is utterly weak!"

This was the gap between Xu Zhong and the Thunder Ancestor.

The Thunder Ancestor's physical body matched his realm, possessing the power of a Creator.

Xu Zhong's physical body, however, was merely at the Preservation Realm; how could it possibly match such a terrifying load of power?

"Damn it, blast him to pieces!" Hearing this, the other qi practitioners turned back and unleashed their spells simultaneously.

These spells targeted both his physical body and his Niwan Palace.

Instantly, a foul aura of death, dark gloom, malice, and demonic energy welled up inside Xu Zhong.

These defiling energies churned within his body, rotting his flesh into yellowish-green pus that seeped across his entire frame, while all manner of bizarre, crawling insects infested his body, gnawing frantically at his flesh.

As for his Niwan Palace, all sorts of strange spiritual lights erupted, making his human soul dizzy, nauseous, and utterly disoriented.

Xu Zhong whipped his head around.

Because his soul was compromised, the threads of tribulation fate he perceived with his naked eyes became distorted, slipping beyond his control.

"Since you are all so eager, then go and die!" Xu Zhong reached straight into his Dantian and pulled out the Golden Core Dao Tree.

In his hand, the Golden Core Dao Tree seemed to transform into a blade.

With a single slash, all the gathered tribulation fate was instantly ignited.

Rumble!

Sounds echoed endlessly one after another. Bolts of lightning plummeted from the skies, and in an instant, the thunderclouds looming over every single qi practitioner materialized fully. Torrents of myriad bolts of lightning poured down from the glowing thunderclouds like a torrential rainstorm.

The entire White Tiger Divine Palace was flooded with lightning.

At this moment, every single qi practitioner was dragged into undergoing a tribulation together—even Fu Xuan was no exception.

Lightning poured down in cascades. The qi practitioners who had attacked Xu Zhong first were naturally the first to have their tribulation fate ignited, and thus they were the first to face the descending calamity.

What fell first was not a standard heavenly tribulation, but the Yin-Yang Thunder Tribulation.

In an instant, those qi practitioners were blasted by the lightning into utter annihilation, body and soul erased completely, leaving nothing behind.

Following the Yin-Yang Thunder Tribulation came the Hundun Thunder Tribulation.

Hundun, the chaotic primeval blend of Yin and Yang, was the fused product of the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth elemental lightning tribulations.

Distinguishing neither Yin nor Yang...

It crashed down overwhelmingly, connecting heaven and earth with supreme lightning.

Instantly, even more qi practitioners were blasted to death.

At this very moment, Xu Zhong firmly grasped the True Transmission fragment.

The fragment rested in his palm.

The tassels formed by the True Transmission fragment drifted around his fingertips, shifting ceaselessly. Streams of primordial breath poured out from it, purging all the foul, dark energies within his body as well as the chaotic spiritual lights in his Niwan Palace.

Though the primordial breath inside him was devoured by the Golden Core Dao Tree, a tiny fraction of it fed back into him.

A myriad of visions erupted within Xu Zhong's body.

Having devoured a massive amount of primordial breath, his human soul abruptly opened its eyes, reached out, and swallowed one of the seven earthly souls that had been suppressing it from below.

In an instant, Xu Zhong successfully fused with his first earthly soul.

Then came the second, and the third.

By the time all the primordial breath within the tassels had been refined, Xu Zhong had fused all seven earthly souls with his human soul.

He had now integrated a crucial part of his true spirit.

He was even capable of leaving his Niwan Palace for brief periods, though such a soul would dissolve upon seeing light, burn upon touching fire, and melt upon meeting water...

Only by harvesting the heavenly and earthly souls could one achieve a true, complete divine soul.

"So there really was a trace of primordial breath hidden within the tassels. No wonder Fu Xuan was so obsessed with them," Xu Zhong murmured, slowly opening his eyes as greed flickered in his heart. "If I were to claim all the True Transmission fragments for myself, I might instantly condense a complete divine soul and step into the Exterior realm, or perhaps even touch upon the realm of Equalizing All Things."

He gathered his qi and guarded his core, holding fast to his original intent.

Yet the very next moment, an exceptionally sharp sword glare slashed forward, cleaving open the thunder tribulation sky hovering directly above and around him.

Had it not been for this very thunder tribulation sky blocking the blow, he likely would have been killed instantly.

Xu Zhong hurriedly looked up.

He saw Fu Xuan, his hair and beard flying wildly, his entire body radiating an evil glow. The sword in his hand had turned pitch-black, spitting out sword radiances that transformed into demonic light, while the sword qi churning around him had mutated into sheer demonic energy.

"Has he gone mad?" Xu Zhong's heart skipped a beat.

Acting completely deranged, Fu Xuan swung his sword wildly, hacking at every qi practitioner in sight. Anyone caught in his sword glare was instantly cut down, including several qi practitioners who possessed True Transmission fragments.

The remaining qi practitioners scrambled away in a panic, dodging frantically in every direction.

Though Xu Zhong didn't fully understand what was happening, Fu Xuan was already striding directly toward him.