Chapter 139: Battling Heavenly Tribulation

Jiang Feng stood motionless, his soul seemingly adrift in a sea of torment. Lin Moyi, who had been his anchor in the absence of his father, had given him everything—food, shelter, cultivation resources, and guidance. Lin Rou, though rough around the edges, had been like an older brother to him. Yet, ever since Jiang Feng had stepped into this world of chaos, disaster had followed in his wake like a shadow. The Celestial Shadow Church, led by the relentless Jin Wu at the time, had come knocking at his door. The Lin village had been forced to flee, its people hunted and slaughtered, all because of him.

Thunderclap and Mists Ridge had turned against him after the deaths of their juniors, and once again, the Celestial Shadow Church had played their hand in the final, devastating moment—a moment that had ripped his soul apart.

Lin Moyi's fate was unknown, his life hanging in the balance. Even Uncle Zhen Chen, ever jovial and warm, had not spared Jiang Feng a glance as he carried Lin Moyi's broken body away. The pain in Jiang Feng's heart was a blade that cut deeper than any physical wound. He had few people in his life, and now, he understood why the Celestial Shadow Church was so reviled. From the moment he had inherited his father's legacy—the Dragon Blood-Bone Fruit—the Church had pursued him with a single-minded intent to kill.

"Hahaha, is this happening?" Jiang Feng chuckled, tears streaming down his face. His laughter was hollow, a bitter echo of the despair that gripped him. "So, I've killed, and those near me will be killed too. But weren't they the ones who kept coming after me, time and time again? Weren't they the ones who wanted to kill me? For what was given to me? For daring to walk a so-called forbidden path? Haha! Some sovereign, some heavens, some fate, some karma, some war, some invasion! Fuck that! I will kill you all!" His voice rose to a roar, a primal scream that tore through the air like a blade.

His heart thundered in his chest, each beat a deafening drumroll that heralded a transformation so profound it would be whispered of in awe and dread by the ancients. Within the depths of his inner sanctum, dark, swirling energies coalesced into a blinding brilliance. His Essence Lake, once a vast expanse of power, erupted in an explosion of incandescent light and excruciating pain.

The pressure was unbearable. His bones rattled, his sinews stretched to their limits, yet he endured, fueled by a hatred that burned like wildfire in his heart. Slowly, as if sculpted by the hand of fate itself, the raging torrent of energy that was his 50,000-meter Essence Lake began to condense at a shocking speed. Time seemed to slow to a crawl—40,000 meters, 30,000, 14,000, 3,000. One by one, amid the shattering roar of celestial judgment, five radiant Golden Cores emerged, each one tainted black, pulsating with a suffocating aura.

These cores were not just manifestations of power; they were testaments to the ferocity of his will and the brutal transformation of his spirit to one of a dark lord. Each core glowed with an otherworldly dark light, their energies intertwining in a complex dance of power and dreadful harmony. Above his head, a crown of darkness materialized, its presence as oppressive as the weight of the heavens themselves.

For an instant, the battlefield fell silent. The jagged forms of his enemies, who had been charged with murderous intent, stood miles away, their eyes wide with fear as they sensed the raw power pulsing from Jiang Feng. The hate in his eyes was a force unto itself, a black hole that sucked in all light and hope.

"On this day, I vow to kill every member of the Celestial Shadow Church. All those who oppose me—death. All those who hurt my loved ones—death, death, death!" Jiang Feng's voice echoed across the battlefield, each word a hammer strike that reverberated through the very fabric of reality. The blood-red clouds above churned and darkened, turning pitch black as if the heavens themselves were mourning the carnage to come.

"Come!" Jiang Feng's voice was a challenge, a declaration of war. He looked up at the giant lightning statue, his eyes so black they seemed like voids, sucking in all light and hope. There was no light, no hope—just the void and its emptiness. Inside his veins, Dao threads connected into a complex system, forming new pathways that all led to his five black cores.

Above his head, a massive black gate rose like a titan, its aura shaking the souls of all who beheld it. The Gate of Darkness exuded an oppressive force, compelling those who gazed upon it to bow as if in worship of its divine might. Its tightly shut doors radiated a terrifying aura, so deep and malevolent that it made one's skin crawl.

"It's that gate again," the Little Sword Emperor whispered, his sword hand trembling uncontrollably. The terror of the Gate of Darkness was etched vividly in his mind, so profound that even his incomparable sword heart shuddered in fear.

"It's that gate" Even Shi Yan had to take a step back, the brutality of the Gate Of Darkness caused her mind to collapse. Even Ren Xiangfeng wasn't an exception.

But that wasn't all. Just as everyone took in the dreadful sight of the Gate of Darkness, a massive Golden Crow rippled into being. Its colossal body towered above all, its burning wings spreading outward, blazing like the sun. The moment it appeared, the temperature skyrocketed, setting dozens of trees ablaze. Like the first ray of the morning sun, the Golden Crow illuminated the world, its light piercing through the blood-red skies.

"Tw... two spirit projections?" Gao Yundian's mouth hung open, his eyes bulging in disbelief.

"Impossible" Yunshen, leader of the party from Verdant Sky City blurted as he gazed upon the golden crow.

"This child must die, no matter the cost!" The Varelith's voice was colder than ice, his gaze fixed on Jiang Feng with murderous intent. If not for the fact that Jiang Feng was undergoing tribulation lightning, he would have already struck to kill. Karma had descended, and even the Varelith knew better than to interfere now.

"My lor—" Before Elder Bia could finish his sentence, his heart skipped a beat, and his words caught in his throat.

A massive beam of blue flames erupted into the sky, sending terrifying heat waves soaring upward. A colossal blue vortex took shape, its maw like that of a primordial beast. The vortex was so vast it sucked in hundreds of meters of red cloud the moment it appeared. Within that vortex, Caelestis Fernax sat, its body surrounded by a blazing furnace that rumbled incessantly, shaking the very sky. The more the furnace rumbled, the more the red clouds evaporated.

"Thre—" The word seemed to lodge in everyone's throat, unfinished. Never before had they seen or heard of three spirit projections. Before their minds could process what was happening, a black dragon bolted into the sky. Its wings spread wide, covering the heavens like a Kunpeng, its four towering horns crackling with profound black lightning that spread across its muscular body.

The dragon was a beast of pure power, its arms and legs so thick they seemed capable of shattering the sky. Four massive beings now towered above Jiang Feng's head—the Golden Crow, the Skyforge Flame, the Aetherion Dragon, and the Gate of Darkness. Out of Jiang Feng's five black Golden Cores, four radiated the darkest energies, each powering one of the four beings above him.

"I fear neither man nor the sky. Bow down to your sovereign!" Jiang Feng took a step forward, his voice a thunderous command. Like a beam of dark light, he shot toward the sky, the four beings soaring alongside him. The Celestial Dagger flew out, expanding dozens of meters in an instant, its patterns lighting up with an otherworldly glow.

RAAARRR!!!!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The giant lightning statue roared as it lifted its bolt of lightning, causing the clouds to explode. Below, the ground burst open under the overwhelming pressure, causing rocks and broken trees to shatter and float skyward.

"Run!!!"

Everyone turned tail and fled. Even Nascent Soul experts retreated in haste. General Jin Kael and Lord Varelith flew further back, their faces pale, to get involved in heavenly might was to seek one's death. The younger generation was swiftly whisked away by their elders, for to stay was to die. The space within a thousand meters seemed to collapse in on itself, the ground caving in, the air exploding. The giant roared, the hand holding the bolt of lightning doubling in size. The clouds twisted into a swirling vortex around the bolt, and with all its might, the statue hurled the bolt of lightning toward Jiang Feng.

BOOM!!

Sonic booms reverberated as everything within a thousand meters exploded, lightning filling the entire space, locking down the area entirely. Jiang Feng spat out a mouthful of blood before the lightning even reached him. His robes disintegrated, his bones cracked under the pressure, and his meridians tore in multiple places. Even his Golden Cores groaned under the strain, threatening to shatter. His flesh broke, but his dark eyes never faltered.

"Hahahaha!"

Jiang Feng laughed madly, the sound echoing across the battlefield. He ignored the devastation of his body, for this was the most terrifying tribulation he had ever faced and he knew better than anyone else that he couldn't stop the destruction of his fleshly body. Pressing his hands together, his aura spiked, madness clouded his dark eyes as he prepared to meet the heavens' wrath head-on.

Facing the incoming bolt of lightning, Jiang Feng stood firm, his silhouette etched against the storm-ridden sky. His chest heaved with each labored breath, but his eyes burned with unyielding resolve. With a roar that seemed to shake the very heavens, he thrust his finger forward, his voice a thunderous command that echoed across the expanse. "Solar Annihilation Wing, Starfire Cataclysm!"

From the depths of his being, the Golden Crow, Saloris Infernum, erupted. The spirit projection of the sun flame blazed forth, its radiant form a living inferno of golden fire. Its wings, vast and luminous, stretched across the horizon, casting an otherworldly glow that turned the darkened sky into a canvas of molten gold. The air around Jiang Feng trembled as his golden cores resonated with power, the space around him quaking like an earthquake suspended in the heavens.

The Golden Crow's wings expanded further, their fiery expanse swallowing the sky. With a furious beat, they unleashed a cataclysmic wave of solar energy, a force so immense it didn't merely burn—it disintegrated everything in its path. The crimson clouds that had loomed ominously moments before were swept away, replaced by a blinding radiance. Above the Golden Crow, a colossal sun began to form, its brilliance so overwhelming that it inspired both awe and terror in equal measure. The sight was transcendent, a moment where the mortal world seemed to touch the divine.

BOOM!!

The Golden Crow hurled the massive sun forward, its wings slicing through the air like celestial swords heralding the end of days. The bolt of lightning, a jagged spear of divine wrath, collided with the sun in a cataclysmic explosion. The sky erupted in a storm of golden flames, raining down like a fiery apocalypse. Jiang Feng staggered mind air, blood spilling from his lips, his vision blurring as the backlash of the collision tore through him. Yet, he held his ground, his will unbroken even as the Golden Crow's wings clashed with the remnants of the lightning, filling the Obsidian Woodlands with a chaotic dance of gold and silver light.

"Ahhhh!!"

Thousands of miles away, the younger generation screamed in terror, their voices swallowed by the deafening roar of the explosion. Some clutched their heads, their minds reeling from the sheer force of the clash. Even the older generation, seasoned and hardened by countless battles, felt their hearts quake, their minds teetering on the edge of collapse. The power Jiang Feng had unleashed was beyond comprehension, a testament to the depths of his strength and the price he was willing to pay for survival.

As the bolt of lightning shattered, so too did the Golden Crow. Jiang Feng's face paled, his body trembling as one of his dark golden cores dimmed, its light flickering like a dying star. Yet, he did not falter. The dark crown atop his head, still forming, pulsed with an eerie, illusionary light. It was a symbol of his destiny, a promise of the power he would inherit once it fully materialized. He could feel the weight of the Dark World pressing down on him, its legacy coursing through his veins.