Chapter 1375 : A Lord's Desperate Stand

In that life-or-death instant, Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison [a powerful lord of the Celestial Prison Clan] jolted awake. He desperately tried to twist his body away.

Alas, it was already too late. A blindingly brilliant blade of condensed energy descended. Though it did not pierce his brow, it cleaved through nearly half of his torso.

"Aaaargh—!"

From the initial ambush to Eldrin Chen's follow-up strikes, mere moments had passed, yet Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison had already suffered grievous, near-crippling wounds.

He reacted swiftly, summoning his ultimate defensive treasure, the 'Prison Flame Divine Fire Shield' [a shield imbued with divine prison flames], to protect himself. A radiant curtain of violet protective energy cascaded down, enveloping his form.

But by this point, Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison was severely wounded. Within him, the corrosive energies of Primordial Chaos Energy [the fundamental, disordered energy of creation] and the invasive power of Primordial One Limitless Rule [a supreme law of boundless authority] continued their relentless erosion.

Forced to expend immense effort suppressing the raging Primordial One [the supreme, unified origin] energies and the invasive Rule Power [power derived from a fundamental cosmic law] within his body, Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison could not muster his full combat prowess. He was left with barely sixty to seventy percent of his true strength.

"Slay them all—!"

Simultaneously, Exquisite Jiang, Sun Consort, Verdant Consort, Heaven Wind Path Master, Ancient Ruins Nether Lord, and the two Earth Immortal [a powerful immortal realm cultivator] combatants from the Verdant Stream Ancient Sect [an ancient sect] sprang into action.

They did not join the assault on Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison. Instead, they unleashed a merciless slaughter upon the other Celestial Prison Clan [a powerful clan associated with celestial prisons] immortals and spirits.

This battle was nothing short of a one-sided slaughter. Any one of the seven Earth Immortal [a cultivator who has ascended to the terrestrial immortal realm] combatants present could have handled these dozens of Heavenly Fiend Race [a race of powerful, often malevolent celestial beings] Immortal [a being who has achieved immortality through cultivation] on their own, let alone all seven joining forces.

It was not long before they had slaughtered every last one of the dozens of Celestial Prison Clan [a powerful clan associated with celestial prisons] immortals. Their gazes then turned towards Eldrin Chen and Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison.

Seeing that Eldrin Chen held an overwhelming advantage, they did not step in to assist. Instead, they positioned themselves at the four cardinal directions, forming an impenetrable blockade to seal off any possible escape route for the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison.

The Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison was indeed Extraordinary, a force to be reckoned with. Yet, even at the peak of his power, he would have been no match for Eldrin Chen, let alone now, grievously wounded from the ambush.

Desperation clawed at him, a frantic desire to flee. But the very fabric of space around him was locked down by the Polarity Void Mirror [a mystical artifact capable of sealing and manipulating space], and the seven Earth Immortal combatants barred all retreat. He was trapped, with nowhere to run.

"I curse this fate!"

The Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison swept his gaze across the encircling foes. Seeing himself cornered in a dead end, a look of utter despair etched itself upon his features.

He stared at Eldrin Chen, his heart drowning in hopelessness. "Had I known it would come to this," he thought with bitter regret, "I should have fought you to the death back in the Returning Abyss Sea Region."

"Today, I will make sure we both perish!"

With those final words, the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison surged toward the core of the grand formation, intent on detonating the boundless Great Tribulation [a cataclysmic heavenly trial faced by cultivators] energy contained within it.

Witnessing this, everyone's expressions shifted dramatically. An object condensed from such Great Tribulation [a cataclysmic event of immense destructive power] energy was bound to be violently unstable. Should it erupt, even an Earth Immortal Patriarch would likely find it difficult to withstand.

They immediately wanted to intervene, yet halted in the very next instant.

For they saw a Primordial One Giant Hand [a divine technique manifesting a colossal hand of primordial energy], vast enough to blot out the sky, descend to suppress the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison, firmly pinning him within its grasp. No matter how the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison struggled and thrashed, he could not break free.

Given the current might of the Primordial One Energy Grasping Hand, even a Late Stage Earth Immortal [a cultivator at the advanced stage of the Earth Immortal realm] would find it hard to escape once seized, unless they possessed extraordinary means. How then could the severely wounded Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison hope to do so?

"Did you truly believe you could drag me down with you?"

Eldrin Chen murmured softly. The Primordial One Giant Hand began to radiate Primordial One Primordial Solar Flame [a supreme flame of pure yang energy, born from primordial chaos], which continuously incinerated the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison.

The Primordial Solar Heavenly Flame [a legendary realm of pure solar fire] was the ultimate bane of the Celestial Prison Clan, and the power of the Primordial One Primordial Solar Flame surpassed even that.

The Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison desperately channeled his Prison Flame Divine Fire Shield [a defensive magical treasure forged from prison flame and divine fire] to resist, but it held for only a brief moment before shattering.

Without his protective treasure, the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison ultimately could not withstand the Primordial One Primordial Solar Flame. He was instantly reduced to a cloud of dissipating Crimson Flame Fiendish Energy [a malevolent energy born from crimson demonic flames].

"Let none of it go to waste."

Seeing this, Exquisite Jiang immediately retrieved a treasure vase and collected all of this Fiendish Energy [a potent, malevolent form of spiritual energy, often a byproduct of great slaughter or demonic cultivation].

Eldrin Chen stored away the Infernal Prison War Halberd and the Prison Flame Divine Fire Shield. Observing the scene, he smiled and said, "This Crimson Flame Fiendish Energy is excellent. From now on, we will not lack the Fiendish Energy needed to refine the Solar Fire Returning Abyss Sword."

The Fiendish Energy transformed from the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison was the Blazing Fiend Energy, one of the world's primal Fiendish Energies. It was supremely suited for refining fire-attribute supreme treasures of the Slaughter type and was the optimal choice for refining the Solar Fire Returning Abyss Sword.

The quantity of Fiendish Energy before them was immense, sufficient at the very least to refine the Solar Fire Returning Abyss Sword up to the grade of a High-Grade World-Opening Treasure.

With this thought, both of them revealed smiles of satisfaction.

The others present did not fully comprehend the power of the Primordial Unity Condensing Malignance Art. They merely assumed the pair intended to use the Fiendish Energy to temper their sword, perhaps possessing a special method.

This was a matter of personal privacy, and they deemed it improper to inquire further.

Seeing the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison utterly vanquished, the Sun Consort smiled and said, "With the Blaze Lord of Heaven's Prison eliminated by us this time, the Heavenly Fiend Race has lost another powerful arm. We have removed a formidable enemy in advance."

Eldrin Chen nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "Let me see what exactly the Celestial Prison Clan's scheme entails."

With those words, Eldrin Chen took a single step forward, arriving before the grand formation itself.

Witnessing this, the group immediately stepped into the grand formation. Yet, the moment they crossed its threshold, a faint ripple of astonishment stirred within each of their hearts.

Before their eyes, at the very core of the formation, countless streams of Great Tribulation essence [the profound and destructive energy of a heavenly tribulation] converged and poured inward, ceaselessly nourishing a single, pure-white exotic flower.

"The Tribulation Crossing Flower,"

Ancient Ruins Nether Lord exclaimed suddenly, his voice tinged with unmistakable excitement.

The so-called Tribulation Crossing Flower is a supremely rare blossom of staggering, immortal-defying value. This flower is born from absorbing boundless Great Tribulation essence, nurtured into existence as a peerless-grade World-Opening Immortal Herb [a legendary herb of the highest order, said to possess world-creating properties].

Legend holds it possesses the wondrous ability to aid in transcending tribulations. Even a powerhouse at the Earth Immortal level [an immortal whose power is anchored to and draws from the earth], upon consuming this flower, would gain benefits equivalent to having weathered an additional tribulation.

This is truly astonishing. An Earth Immortal Great Perfection [an Earth Immortal who has reached the pinnacle of their realm] who has survived three Path Tribulations [cosmic trials that test a cultivator's comprehension of their chosen Dao Path], after consuming this blossom, would find their foundational strength greatly enhanced, as if they had successfully endured one more Path Tribulation.

With a foundation equivalent to having withstood four Path Tribulations, the success rate of cultivating a single Primordial Unity Path Fruit [the ultimate fruit of Dao comprehension, representing the unity of one's cultivated path] would become almost a foregone conclusion.

Understanding the immense preciousness of this flower, Eldrin Chen drew a deep breath and spoke, "It is said the Celestial Prison Clan Patriarch has already weathered five Path Tribulations, his combat prowess rivaling that of a six-tribulation Half-Step Celestial Immortal [a cultivator on the very cusp of ascending to true Celestial Immortality]."

"If he were to consume this Tribulation Crossing Flower, wouldn't it be equivalent to granting him the foundational strength of a Seven Tribulations Half-Step Celestial Immortal?"

Upon hearing this, the hearts of the Immortals present stirred with a flicker of surprise.

Unlike the Earth Immortal realm, breaking through to the Celestial Immortal Realm is immensely difficult. To ascend to the state of a Celestial Immortal Great Power, one must cultivate at least two Primordial Unity Foundation.

Those who have cultivated two Primordial Unity Foundation possess a foundation at least comparable to a Seven Tribulations Half-Step Celestial Immortal.

Therefore, generally speaking, a Half-Step Celestial Immortal with a Seven Tribulations foundation is considered a prerequisite for breaking through to become a Celestial Immortal Great Power.

Not counting the two Grotto-Heaven, there are over thirty Half-Step Celestial Immortal in the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea. Among them, those with a foundation rivaling Seven Tribulations are but a handful, such as the Divine Lord of Ye Ruins and the Lord of Western Abyss Dragon Palace.

These few are all seeds of the Celestial Immortal realm, each possessing roughly a forty percent chance of breaking through to the Celestial Immortal Realm. They are considered the pinnacle powerhouses among Half-Step Celestial Immortal.

If the Celestial Prison Clan Patriarch were to step into the Seven Tribulations realm, his foundation would be sufficient to rival the Divine Lord of Ye Ruins and the Lord of Western Abyss Dragon Palace, granting him a significant possibility of breaking through to the Celestial Immortal Realm.

"Using the aura of the Great Tribulation to nurture a Tribulation Crossing Flower... the Celestial Prison Clan Patriarch truly has a cunning plan."