CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 294: PITILESS’S IDENTITY, NINE HEAVENS TRIBULATION LIGHTNING

"Phoebe, stop lying to yourself. Give me a chance—give yourself a chance." Owen said, still refusing to give up.

"Hmph. In my eyes, you’re nothing but trash!" Pitiless scoffed, and her attacks grew even fiercer.

"Damn it!" Owen snapped, blocking with all his strength. He shouted."Is that really true? If you weren’t trapped by the love tribulation, why did you tear out your own heart?"

"Shut up. Owen, you will die today!" Pitiless struck with full force, driving Owen back again and again. He could barely defend himself.

A few of the Demon race experts wanted to step in, but in the end they held back.

"The formation is loosening!" Johnnie’s eyes lit up. He felt the Demon-Sealing Heaven-Locking Array could no longer fully suppress his power—enough for him to trigger the heavenly tribulation.

But he didn’t rush. He watched Pitiless and Owen battle in the sky. If they both took heavy damage, he might swoop in and finish them both.

He was overthinking it, though. Owen wasn’t Pitiless’s match at all.

"Owen? Phoebe?" Nearby, Nalorin Sylvia murmured, staring at Pitiless in disbelief.

Johnnie glanced at her and asked."What is it?"

"Master, I think I know who Pitiless is." Nalorin Sylvia said, suddenly clear. She looked at the Demon race group and asked."Pitiless isn’t one of you. Her name is Nalorin Phoebe, isn’t it?"

"Hmph!" the leading Lesser God expert snorted, giving no reply.

"Nalorin Phoebe?" Johnnie was puzzled. "Sylvia, is Pitiless from your Nalorin Family?"

Nalorin Sylvia nodded. "Master, I’m pretty sure. A thousand years ago, our Nalorin Family had a peerless genius named Nalorin Phoebe. She was also the family’s Saintly Lady at the time. But she fell in love with a dragon race expert and was cast out by the family. Later, that dragon expert betrayed her, and the family still refused to take her back. In the end, she fell in a battle—or so we thought. Looks like she didn’t die."

"Is that so?" Johnnie’s interest was piqued.

If Pitiless is from the Nalorin Family, then she put the Passion-Severing Mantra on Sylvia and forced her to sleep with me to get back at the Nalorin Family.

Boom!

With a thunderous blast, Owen was killed on the spot, and his Divine Soul appeared.

"Phoebe, we’ll meet again." he said coldly, giving Pitiless a hard look before turning to flee.

Buzz!

A streak of golden sword light flashed, and a huge pot flew out—the Demon-Refining Pot—both striking at Owen’s Divine Soul.

Pitiless and Johnnie attacked at the same time, trying to destroy Owen’s Divine Soul for good.

"Get out of my way!" With a roar and the cry of a dragon, a golden Celestial Dragon phantom shot out. It shattered the golden sword light and forced the Demon-Refining Pot back.

Even so, Owen’s Divine Soul dimmed a bit.

"Human, next time we meet, you die!" Owen glared at Johnnie and fled without hesitation.

Pitiless’s brows drew together, a hint of pain on her face. She wanted to strike again, but it was too late. She could only watch Owen’s Divine Soul escape.

"Next, it’s your turn." Her cold gaze locked onto Johnnie.

"Lord Pitiless, can you leave this human to us?" a Demon race expert stepped forward and asked respectfully.

"Scram." Pitiless shot him a cold look, killing frost in her eyes.

The man shivered and dared not say more.

"Retreat!" he ordered, leading the Demon race experts away at once.

Weyldon looked unwilling but didn’t dare speak.

Pitiless kept her eyes on Johnnie, face like ice, killing intent surging.

Nalorin Sylvia stepped in front of Johnnie without hesitation. "Senior Phoebe, stop being stubborn." she said.

Pitiless glanced at her and didn’t deny who she was. "I’ll only kill him. The rest of you can leave." she said coldly.

Nalorin Sylvia stayed put and said."Senior, you didn’t kill me. I know you still care about the family. I can feel you haven’t truly entered the Unfeeling Way. Otherwise, Master wouldn’t be your love tribulation..."

"Shut up!" Pitiless cut her off, disdainful. "My path is not wrong. Leave, or die."

She didn’t waste more words. Endless killing intent spread out, covering Johnnie and the others.

Nalorin Sylvia wanted to say more, but Johnnie swept her into the Map of Heaven and Earth.

Whoosh!

Wind howled and dark clouds gathered. The Demon-Sealing Heaven-Locking Array vanished, and Johnnie triggered the heavenly tribulation without hesitation, wrapping Pitiless inside it.

"Hmph. Trying to use the heavenly tribulation to kill me? Can you even withstand it yourself?" Pitiless stared coldly at Johnnie. She tried to stop it, but it was too late.

"Try and see." Johnnie said calmly, though worry flickered in his eyes.

This isn’t the sea, so he can’t cancel out the soul attacks within the tribulation. If his soul gets blasted, he might be wiped out for good.

Cough!

Suddenly, Pitiless spat blood. Her face went paler, and pain and struggle showed in her eyes.

"Huh? You’re injured?" Johnnie was puzzled.

She had been suppressing Owen the whole time—she shouldn’t be hurt. Maybe it was from fighting the dragon race or that unknown sea beast earlier?

"Die!" Pitiless forced herself forward with a roar and slashed at Johnnie.

Rumble...

Thunder rolled, and a wave of heavenly tribulation fell, covering them both.

This was a tribulation aimed at Core God experts. Its power was no joke.

Crack!

A purple pillar tore the sky and crashed down.

Boom!

The ground shook. Johnnie was sent flying, his body and soul feeling like they were being ripped apart. Even with his recent boost in strength, facing a Core God-level tribulation wasn’t easy—especially with soul attacks mixed in.

[Ding, your physique improves. Body toughness +1, lightning comprehension +1]

...

System prompts flashed. The Eight DesolationsBody-Tempering Art ran on its own, absorbing and refining the tribulation’s power, raising Johnnie’s strength.

"You really don’t know how to live." Pitiless cursed. Her injuries worsened, but she still struck at Johnnie without mercy, determined to kill him.

Johnnie didn’t dare slack off. He activated Vajra Indestructibility; golden light covered him and his defense shot up. He summoned the Seven Sword and the Void Sword, doing everything he could to block Pitiless’s attacks.

Boom, boom...

Explosions thundered one after another as terrifying energy surged.

Johnnie had no way to fight back, but Pitiless seemed a lot weaker now. For the moment, she couldn’t finish him.

This heavenly tribulation might kill her!

Johnnie’s eyes lit up. He could feel Pitiless’s strength had dropped a lot—she couldn’t withstand a Core God-level heavenly tribulation.

Rumble...

Thunder rolled. Dark clouds churned, a terrifying pressure spread out. The second wave of the heavenly tribulation slowly formed.

Crack!

Another huge pillar of light tore the sky and slammed down.

"Damn it, do you really have a death wish?" Pitiless cursed. Ice and snow power gathered around her as she did her best to block this second tribulation.

Rumble!

Purple light flashed and wrecked everything nearby. Trees turned to dust, mountains shattered—it was world-ending.

Cough!

Johnnie spat blood. His face went pale, and his soul took a heavy hit.

A bad feeling rose in him. His body was far tougher than his soul.

Here, he couldn’t weaken the soul attacks inside the tribulation. His body might still be standing when his soul got wiped out—true death.

[Ding, your physique improves. Body toughness +1, lightning comprehension +1]

...

System prompts kept flashing. Johnnie’s body and soul were both healing, but his body was recovering faster. That was not a good thing.

By now, Pitiless was badly hurt too. She looked up at the boiling tribulation clouds, her face very grave.

Rumble...

The third heavenly tribulation fell again.

Boom!

A dazzling purple pillar lit up the world and blasted a deep crater in the ground.

Johnnie and Pitiless were caught in it and smashed into the earth.

Pitiless’s white dress was soaked red, her aura wildly unstable. She might not be able to stop the next strike.

Johnnie was in even worse shape. His head rang, and his soul felt like it was being torn apart without end.

If the heavenly tribulation killed Pitiless, her Divine Soul would still be there, so she wouldn’t truly die.

But his soul couldn’t endure it. He was as good as dead.

"Die!" Pitiless suddenly shouted. She spat a mouthful of blood, and the ice-blue longsword in her hand turned red—seductive and eerie—as she slashed at Johnnie.

Not good!

Johnnie’s face darkened. He was badly hurt and had no strength to block. Worst of all, his soul was heavily wounded, and Pitiless had soul attack methods. He couldn’t stop her now.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed as the sword pierced straight through his throat.

[Ding, you were killed. You failed the heavenly tribulation. Revival ring triggered. You revive on the spot]

System prompts flashed.

Johnnie revived where he stood, face pale, and coughed up blood again.

With his death, the tribulation attempt failed, and the clouds in the sky quickly scattered.

"Not dead?" Johnnie was puzzled. Pitiless’s last strike hadn’t carried soul damage.

Gasp...

A sharp whinny echoed. A unicorn carried Pitiless, shot Johnnie a glare, spread the wings on its back, and sped away.

Johnnie couldn’t stop her and looked even more confused.

He was certain she’d had the power to erase his soul just now.

"Was she saving me?" His brows knit tighter, doubt deepening.

He definitely couldn’t survive the next heavenly tribulation. Only by killing him would the tribulation disperse.

Could Pitiless really have feelings for him?

He still found that hard to believe.

But if she did have feelings, she should have killed him to pass her love tribulation.

[Ding, your physique improves. Body toughness +1, lightning comprehension +1]

...

System prompts kept coming. The tribulation clouds faded, but the power of the heavenly tribulation still lingered all around.

[Ding, you have grasped the power of Nine Heavens Tribulation Lightning]

Another prompt popped up. Johnnie gained a whole new understanding of the lightning element.

Nine Heavens Tribulation Lightning? What’s that?

He checked.

[Nine Heavens Tribulation Lightning: Immortal art; special, cannot be upgraded. Your physical hits have a 10% chance to trigger Nine Heavens Tribulation Lightning, dealing devastating damage to the target. Damage to evil beings is increased tenfold.]