The Ancient God endures three Destructions and seven Tribulations, akin to the Five Decays of Heaven and Man that haunt cultivators. These are fate’s blades suspended above, each strike promising ascension if survived, or utter annihilation if failed.

The first Destruction brings two Tribulations, as does the second. But the third Destruction… it unleashes three Tribulations upon the God!

These Destructions and Tribulations of an Ancient God are far more insidious than a mortal’s Five Decays. According to the memories of Tu Si within Wang Lin’s mind, the more powerful the Ancient God, the slower their Destructions manifest. Though the sixth star is said to mark the Tribulation’s beginning, some Gods do not face their first Destruction until their seventh star shines bright.

A scarce few even endure until their eighth star before their first Destruction arrives. Tu Si, for example, faced his in the eighth star, weathering it with ease and experiencing a surge of divine power. Though he never reached the fabled ninth star, he attained the apex of the eighth, and in a desperate gamble to achieve the legendary ninth, he recklessly pursued the Ink Stream Soul Separation Art. As for the third Destruction’s three Tribulations, their true form remains a mystery, even to Tu Si.

To face one’s first Destruction and its two Tribulations at only the fifth star is unheard of in Tu Si’s memories. Wang Lin could only wryly smile, realizing his premature trial was tied to his incomplete Godhood and his reckless use of Ancient God power within the Land of the Demon Spirit. All this had conspired to make him the first fifth-star God to endure such a trial. A Destruction easily weathered by an eighth-star God was, for Wang Lin, a battle between life and utter oblivion.

The first Destruction, the continuous decay of the body. Back at the Vermillion Bird Sect, Wang Lin’s true form had lost its flesh below the waist, leaving only blackened bones. Now, within the Cloud Sea Starfield, the decay accelerated, consuming everything below his chest.

This was but the beginning, the initial onslaught of the first Destruction. As the flesh relentlessly withered away, leaving naught but bone, the first Destruction would end, and the two Tribulations would descend.

Without aid, certain death awaited. But Wang Lin had acquired Tu Si’s blood essence, granting him a sliver of hope, a chance to fight back.

Deep beneath the grounds of the Returning Origin Sect, within the chamber where his true form lay dormant, a mere skeleton remained, bereft of flesh.

Encasing the bones was a crimson membrane, clinging to the bones like a second skin. A careful eye could detect the faintest currents of blood flowing between this membrane and the bone. As Wang Lin’s Avatar approached, a faint, ethereal light ignited within the hollow sockets of the skull, like a stirring from slumber.

Wordlessly gazing upon his true form, Wang Lin seated himself in meditation, acting as guardian, and poured his will into his true form, sharing in its suffering.

Three days crawled by. During this time, the true form’s torment intensified. The sensation of existing as nothing but bone, yet with consciousness burning bright, threatened to shatter his sanity. And in those three days, the true form’s body expanded tenfold!

Now, a colossal skeleton over ten fathoms in length lay still within the depths. A blood-red light flickered across its surface, the flow of blood beneath accelerating.

Another three days passed, and the bone structure of Wang Lin’s true form had fully extended, reaching over three hundred fathoms. The bones, thicker than any man, held only the thinnest trace of blood, its flow slowing, eventually vanishing altogether.

This blood was none other than Tu Si’s essence, slowly absorbed by the bones over the course of those days. When the last drop was consumed, the first Destruction ended.

In that very instant, the true form’s eyes flared with ethereal light, as if capable of piercing the earth and gazing upon the azure sky above! Simultaneously, a series of cracking sounds echoed through the depths. “Bone… Tribulation… Ten…”

The cracking began at the true form’s right foot. Its immense foot bone shattered, as if crushed piece by piece by some invisible force.

As its foot bone fractured and turned to dust, Wang Lin’s true form trembled with unimaginable agony. Yet the cracking did not cease, but grew more violent.

The sounds reached their crescendo, echoing like thunder in the earth’s belly. Each crack represented a bone in the true form’s body collapsing. The Avatar of Wang Lin, his face ashen, gritted his teeth, enduring the unspeakable pain alongside his true form. His temples throbbed with bulging veins, and beads of sweat poured from his brow like rain.

This was the Bone Tribulation, descending with relentless force. In the face of an Ancient God’s formidable life force, the ability to restore oneself even without flesh, the first Destruction snuffed out that life force!

With the life force gone, the Bone Tribulation descended like a flood, aiming to obliterate the true form’s bones, forever beyond restoration. If every bone were to crumble, only death awaited. The true form’s demise meant the Avatar’s annihilation.

To overcome this Bone Tribulation, the true form had to reverse the Destruction, rekindle its life force, and fight back, reassembling its shattered bones. These newly formed bones would be far stronger than before, impervious to any magical weapon!

Thus, despite the excruciating torment, Wang Lin persisted, both Avatar and true form enduring together. They endured the agony, endured the relentless shattering of bone. Only when every bone was reduced to dust could resistance bring about true transformation. To resist before then, even if successful, would only result in the partial reassembly of bones, leaving the remaining pieces as weak as before.

Such a scenario would render the Bone Tribulation a wasted opportunity. Yet Wang Lin understood that the later he resisted, the lower his chances of success. As more bones shattered, as the collapse grew more extensive, the greater the difficulty of overcoming the Tribulation.

Among the Ancient Gods, most seventh-star and nearly all eighth-star Gods would choose to wait until every bone was reduced to dust before resisting, transforming Tribulation into fortune.

But thoughts are easy, execution is difficult. Few could truly persevere to that point, often succumbing to fear when only a sliver of bone remained, choosing to resist prematurely. That sliver would become the Ancient God’s sole vulnerability.

If even seventh-star Gods struggled, sixth-star Gods were even less likely to endure until the bitter end. That final moment was a precipice, demanding countless steps forward to succeed. A single step back meant the abyss, annihilation of body and soul.

Wang Lin could not be sure if he could hold on until that final moment. But for the chance to reforge his flesh and bone, to become a complete Ancient God rather than the incomplete version he once was, Wang Lin resolved to fight.

“The Avatar is a Rebel Cultivator, the true form is a Rebel Tribe. My entire existence, Wang Lin, is defined by the word ‘Rebel.’ Rebel against Heaven, rebel against Tribulation, and most of all, rebel against Fate! No mere calamity can halt my path of defiance!” Both Avatar and true form radiated an unwavering resolve.

There were no shouts, no roars, only a gaze that defied the very Heavens, a gaze that unleashed the rebellious spirit within Wang Lin, shaking the foundations of existence!

The cracking continued unabated. The true form’s entire right leg had disintegrated, and even the left, below the knee, had turned to ash. The sounds of bones collapsing echoed from the earth, slowly reaching the surface.

For a month, the entirety of Moro Continent could hear the rumbling from the depths below. The sound, faint at first, grew ever louder, eventually causing the earth itself to tremble.

The mortals of Moro Continent were terrified, clueless as to the cause. They could only prostrate themselves and pray for Heaven’s mercy.

The cultivators of the Returning Origin Sect were deeply concerned, launching an investigation into the cause. The rumbling, to their ears, sounded like a roar, shaking them to their very core.

Li Xiangdong, Lu Yanfei, and the two Elders floated in mid-air, gazing down at the earth. With their cultivation, they could clearly sense the origin of the rumbling.

Li Xiangdong had planned to investigate days ago, but Lu Yanfei had stopped him. Now, however, the rumbling had grown too intense, shaking the very Heavens.

Even more concerning was the chaos that had engulfed the spiritual energy of Moro Continent. As the rumbling intensified, the spiritual energy began to swirl uncontrollably, as if stirred by an invisible force. The earth had become a vortex, desperately drawing in spiritual energy from all around.

What truly frightened them was the situation beyond the confines of Moro Continent. The vast spiritual energy of the starfield surged towards them, so dense that if it were to break through the continent’s defenses, the entire world would shatter. The thought filled them with dread.

The wild beasts of the starfield, hidden among the stardust, also made them uneasy. For some reason, the beasts had begun to gather near Moro Continent, their eyes glowing with a mixture of hunger and hesitation.

Several times they had nearly charged in, but ultimately held back. It was as if something within was drawing them in, while their instincts warned them against it.

Among the beasts were fifth-order and even sixth-order creatures! More terrifying still, Li Xiangdong had even spotted a seventh-order beast, powerful enough to rival a Nirvana Soul cultivator!

“Lu Shimei, whatever your reasons for stopping us before, today, we must investigate. We must learn what has appeared on Moro Continent that can draw the spiritual energy of the starfield and gather those beasts that lurk in the stardust!” Li Xiangdong’s heart quailed as he recalled the seventh-order beast. He turned to Lu Yanfei, his expression grave. The two Elders also looked at her expectantly. Lu Yanfei bit her lip and nodded silently.