RUMBLE!

As the first clap of thunder echoed from the Celestial Punishment Thundercloud high in the firmament, an aura of pure yang and unyielding power instantly swept over Lü Yang’s entire body.

CRACK!

With just that sound, Li Hen Heaven let out a sharp crack, as if unable to bear the strain!

As far as the eye could see, the mountains, rivers, sun, and moon within this Little Blessed Land began to crumble. And this was just from the sound of thunder; the actual lightning hadn’t even struck yet!

Seeing this, however, Lü Yang smiled.

’Still too naive...’

Seven Luminaries Heaven had lost its composure after all. Tricked by Lü Yang into thinking he had truly solved the Incense problem, it had immediately played all its cards!

At this moment, Lü Yang observed with his Exquisite Heart. He saw that the two Tribulations that had been brewing within Seven Luminaries Heaven had now both been unleashed. The Celestial Punishment Thundercloud before him was one, fully formed. The other Tribulation, as Lü Yang could clearly see, was at most only half-formed.

However, this second one was formless and intangible, and he couldn’t discern its true nature for the time being.

’...So be it.’

Lü Yang’s mind was calm. After all, this outcome was already quite good for him. Seven Luminaries Heaven had responded hastily, while he was fully prepared.

’Speaking of which, I suppose this counts as a Celestial Thunder Tribulation...’

Lü Yang looked up at the three Abilities swirling around him, a realization dawning in his heart. Once he passed this celestial tribulation, his fourth Ability would surely manifest completely!

"This outsider... He’s a dead man!"

On the other side, the Capital City God and Yan Taizu had stopped fighting upon seeing this. Even though the thunder wasn’t aimed at them, it filled their hearts with dread.

"Celestial punishment has descended. No matter how high his Cultivation is, can he be higher than Heaven itself?"

Celestial punishment!

In the memories of the two Incense Fire Great Gods, no one had ever been able to stand against celestial punishment. They had no doubt that if even a single bolt of lightning were to leak from the current Celestial Punishment Thundercloud and strike the ground, it would instantly shatter the Central State and extinguish all life. This was a truly world-ending catastrophe!

Yet, upon seeing this, Progenitor Tingyou just gave a cold smile.

"Frogs in a well, how could you possibly see the true scenery of the world?"

True, the celestial tribulation Seven Luminaries Heaven had conjured was strong—very strong. But it was only strong within Seven Luminaries Heaven. Just see what would happen if it tried this in some broken-down place.

World-ending? Please.

Forget about the Four Great Forces; Progenitor Tingyou reckoned this thing couldn’t even break through the old Wu Ghost Mountain Gate, back when he was personally overseeing it and it was empowered by the Lay Lines!

At the same time, Lü Yang also smiled.

"...Bring it on!"

Lü Yang looked up at the sky and laughed freely. At this moment, he felt a sense of liberation. After all, he had no path of retreat, and he was already at rock bottom.

The only way to go from here was up!

BOOM!

As everyone watched, the tribulation thundercloud tipped over, and a torrential river of lightning, like the Milky Way itself, surged out and crashed down upon Lü Yang!

In an instant, Li Hen Heaven shattered!

As if smashing rotten wood, the mountains and rivers inside Li Hen Heaven were overturned, the sun and moon hung upside down, the lakes and seas evaporated, and it was devoured inch by inch.

Even so, Lü Yang remained calm.

With a rapid turn of his thoughts, he unhesitatingly threw out the Banner Spirit Mother of Non-Birth and Long Yue.

After all, these two Banner Spirits were nothing like Progenitor Tingyou; he wouldn’t feel any heartache if something happened to them.

Unfortunately, even with two Foundation Establishment Perfection Incense Fire Great Gods taking the hit for him, the celestial punishment was still unstoppable.

’Indeed, a man’s power has its limits...’

Was there still a way to break this stalemate?

At Lü Yang’s thought, the Centome’s panel appeared. On it, the Golden Talent, Divination Lottery, suddenly burst into light.

[Event: Refining Seven Luminaries Heaven]

[Great Evil: Audacity reaching the heavens, a one-in-ten chance of survival.]

[Great Evil: Audacity reaching the heavens, a one-in-ten chance of survival.]

[Great Evil: Audacity reaching the heavens, a one-in-ten chance of survival.]

Seeing the uniform black fortunes, Lü Yang couldn’t help but smile bitterly. ’Three "Great Evils," huh? Do you have that little faith in me? At least give me one auspicious draw...’

Wait, that’s not right.

Lü Yang’s head shot up. He looked around, his Exquisite Heart seeing through the Illusion Barrier, and a realization dawned. ’Of course, this is Heaven and Earth’s third Tribulation!’

A Fate Tribulation!

As its name implied, this Tribulation was different from a human tribulation, which is visible to the naked eye, and also different from a celestial tribulation, which is pure destruction. It came from within, striking directly at Lü Yang’s Fortune. Its effect was remarkably similar to the Divination Lottery; both worked in the unseen world to predetermine the outcome of Lü Yang’s Fate.

’Luckily, it was left half-finished!’

If Seven Luminaries Heaven had been allowed to fully brew this Fate Tribulation, then the Divination Lottery wouldn’t have shown a one-in-ten chance of survival, but certain death.

’From that perspective, a one-in-ten chance of survival is actually pretty good?’

Lü Yang shook his head and then merged one of the black fortunes into himself. It didn’t really make a difference, as he was still trapped in a dire situation.

’The Divination Lottery is useless now.’

’What else can break this stalemate?’

’What do I do next? Do I really have to restart? But even if I do, I can’t take Li Hen Heaven back with me. How would I find Seven Luminaries Heaven again?’

’Is restarting my only option?’

Lü Yang activated Sword Heart Clarity. Time seemed to grind to a halt, and all sound vanished. He stood there, thinking in a world of silence.

The next second, a thought struck Lü Yang.

"Progenitor!"

In the blink of an eye, Lü Yang had summoned Progenitor Tingyou back to his side and, without another word, handed over control of Li Hen Heaven to him.

"You take over!"

A person must rely on themself... Lü Yang didn’t actually agree with Minor Metal’s philosophy.

In his view, it didn’t matter whether you relied on yourself or others. What mattered was the result. As long as the outcome was good, the process was irrelevant.

"Alright!"

Progenitor Tingyou reacted instantly, immediately taking control. He unleashed a torrent of Daoist Arts as if they were free, actually managing to block the celestial tribulation’s bombardment!

More importantly, he also drew upon the Seven Luminaries Array for World Stabilization and Truth Preservation that Fortune had laid out around Seven Luminaries Heaven. By siphoning off a portion of its suppressive power, he re-anchored the collapsing Li Hen Heaven. He had single-handedly stabilized a situation that was on the brink of total collapse!

However, this alone was not enough.

The future drawn by the Divination Lottery had already accounted for all of Lü Yang’s current trump cards. No matter how overpowered Progenitor Tingyou was, the most he could do was save Lü Yang’s life.

One-in-ten chance of survival—Progenitor Tingyou was that one chance.

But that was all.

With Progenitor Tingyou at the helm, Lü Yang could survive, but he would no longer be able to refine Seven Luminaries Heaven. And what was the point of that? He might as well just restart!

’To break this stalemate, I have to make a new move.’

A move that went beyond the Divination Lottery’s calculations, a move that escaped the Fate Tribulation sent by Seven Luminaries Heaven... but how? Lü Yang’s thoughts raced at their absolute limit.

Finally, an idea surfaced in his mind.

The next second, he looked at the Myriad-Soul Banner beside him.

His original plan had been to merge Seven Luminaries Heaven into the Myriad-Soul Banner, use the banner to refine it, and thus claim Seven Luminaries Heaven’s Fruit Position Prototype for himself.

But now, the situation had changed.

’The Myriad-Soul Banner was cleansed by the Centome long ago. It has no cause and no effect, so it naturally exists outside of Fate... Perhaps it’s my key to breaking through?’

At this point, he could no longer grow any stronger.

If that was the case, then he had to change his thinking. If he couldn’t get stronger, he would make Seven Luminaries Heaven weaker!

’I’ll use the Fruit Position Prototype within the Myriad-Soul Banner... to counteract it!’

Two Fruit Position Prototypes were bound to be as incompatible as fire and water. It would be a case of ’either you devour me, or I devour you.’ Only when the snipe and the clam grapple can the fisherman profit!

However, this came with enormous risk.

If he failed to seize the right moment and allowed Seven Luminaries Heaven to swallow the Fruit Position Prototype within the Myriad-Soul Banner, it would instead grant Seven Luminaries Heaven a massive boost.

At that point, it would no longer be a one-in-ten chance of survival, but certain death.

Furthermore, because the Fruit Position Prototype would have been devoured, even if he restarted, he would only be able to bring back a Myriad-Soul Banner that had lost its prototype. Its power would drop by more than just a single tier.

It was time for another choice.

Lü Yang had made many decisions up to this point, some right, some wrong. But if he took this step and was wrong, this life would likely come to an end.

For a moment, his many past decisions flashed through his mind, especially the time he had rashly teleported his main body to the Ten Thousand Poison Sect’s mountain gate, leading him to fall into an Immortal Spirit Trap... What if he made the wrong choice? An unspoken pressure weighed down on Lü Yang’s heart, nearly stopping his breath.

It was the same this time.

Seven Luminaries Heaven’s Fate Tribulation had descended. In theory, the outcome was already set. The idea that the Myriad-Soul Banner existed outside of Fate was just his speculation; he could be wrong.

Rashly betting everything might not work... he might even lose it all for nothing.

And yet, despite it all, Lü Yang gritted his teeth.

He might not be a favored son of Heaven like Minor Metal, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, or a Primal Daoist, but compared to them, he had one small advantage:

He had a cheat.

’If I’m wrong... I’ll just restart! If one life isn’t enough, I’ll use two, three, ten!’

In that moment, Lü Yang cast all his worries to the back of his mind.

’I may not have great talent, my strength may be lacking, and my willpower might be flawed, but as long as I have the Centome, I have many chances.’

Lü Yang wasn’t afraid of making a mistake; he was afraid of doing nothing at all.

A man’s power has its limits?

’Now is the time to exhaust those limits!’

Fate is already decided?

"Success depends on human effort!"

At this thought, from the depths of Lü Yang’s Spiritual Space, a clear and resonant sword cry suddenly rang out—straight, unyielding, and indomitable, as if it would never bow.