The Eight-tailed White Fox paused after speaking, seeing a peculiar emotion in Xu Yi's eyes.
It was an unfamiliar feeling, one it couldn't immediately describe.
Before it could receive Xu Yi's reply, its expression drastically changed.
An aura akin to a rampaging beast erupted from Xu Yi.
Xu Yi's aura ascended rapidly.
Late stage Integration, peak late stage Integration, Grand Perfection…
Rumble—
The heavens and earth shifted color, thunder roared.
A startled scream came from behind the Eight-tailed White Fox.
“Tribulation! It’s a thunder tribulation!”
The Eight-tailed White Fox looked at the rapidly gathering thunderclouds above and then at Xu Yi, who was smirking. A flash of lightning struck its mind.
It finally understood everything.
Xu Yi had seen through its plan all along, turning the tables by using itself as bait to lure it in.
It thought it was the one playing chess, but it turned out to be merely a piece on the board.
The Eight-tailed White Fox was uncharacteristically furious. It considered itself wise, yet here it was, being manipulated.
However, it forcefully suppressed its anger beneath the thunder.
The thunder tribulation had begun. It could not attack Xu Yi any further, lest it be seen as provocation by the Heavenly Dao, which would then descend a thunder punishment.
At this critical juncture, it dared not sustain any injuries.
It could only wait.
Wait for the thunder tribulation to end, then settle the score with Xu Yi.
But it never considered if Xu Yi had gone to such lengths to summon the thunder tribulation merely to stall for time.
Of course not.
Ba Tian Zhenren had perished nearly a thousand years ago. The spiritual energy she bestowed upon Xu Yi could at most support her to the Integration Grand Perfection, but not further.
However, Xu Yi possessed far more than just this one trump card.
She had unsealed a long-dormant seal within her body and, using the medicinal effects of the Great Reversion Pill, forcefully broke through to the Tribulation Crossing stage, thus attracting the thunder tribulation.
Xu Yi’s gaze met the Eight-tailed White Fox’s. She then smiled faintly.
Staring at the Eight-tailed White Fox, she said silently, "I am here to fulfill my promise."
The Eight-tailed White Fox's expression shifted slightly. Without hesitation, it tore through space and vanished without a trace.
Its decisiveness left Xu Yi and the other demon beasts stunned.
The Eight-tailed White Fox had just… run away?
Xu Yi was greatly astonished. She had expected the Eight-tailed White Fox to at least engage her for a while before fleeing when it realized it couldn't resolve the thunder tribulation.
Xu Yi thought for a moment and roughly understood the Eight-tailed White Fox’s intentions.
The Eight-tailed White Fox was a highly self-centered great demon. Everything it did was for its own benefit.
Therefore, when risk loomed, its first thought was to avoid it.
It wanted to kill Xu Yi because it believed doing so would come at no cost.
If killing Xu Yi meant risking injury, it would readily abandon the idea.
Just as it had chosen to do now.
Xu Yi wiped the blood from her lips, a hint of disdain in her smile.
In that moment, she no longer feared the Eight-tailed White Fox.
A demon beast that was hesitant and timid, Xu Yi didn't believe it could succeed.
Especially when its opponent was herself.
Xu Yi staggered to her feet and walked, step by step, in the direction the Eight-tailed White Fox had stood.
After a moment’s hesitation, the Eight-tailed White Fox’s subordinates let out strange cries and, like their leader, fled in panic.
Xu Yi ignored those demon beasts; killing them was not her objective.
With the Eight-tailed White Fox gone, she now had to face the thunder tribulation alone.
Countless cultivators had died under thunder tribulations, and even many renowned prodigies had met the same fate.
Xu Yi had taken a shortcut in advancing her cultivation, so she dared not be careless.
The sky was gloomy, filled with thunderclouds. Lightning occasionally streaked across the sky, casting a bright hue upon the mountains and forests.
The demon beasts within the defensive formation buried their heads deeply into the dry earth, trembling. A primal fear enveloped them.
Demon beasts also needed to undergo thunder tribulations to advance further.
And the process of a demon beast’s advancement was even more arduous than that of humans, with countless demon beasts perishing under the thunder tribulation.
Boom!
Lightning that roamed among the clouds descended with a roar.
Xu Yi raised her head, held her Admonishment Ruler high, and poured out all her spiritual energy.
Red flames surged from the Admonishment Ruler, clashing fiercely with the descending lightning.
Xu Yi’s mortal eyes could only see blinding white light, but the Star Power within her, at some unknown point, began to circulate.
And then she saw.
She saw the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire engulf the lightning.
The thunder tribulation from the Heavenly Dao was no match for the flames from the divine beast Vermilion Bird.
When the white light dissipated, Xu Yi still stood in place, holding the Admonishment Ruler. The lightning that had been raging moments before had vanished.
Boom, boom, boom!
Thunder roared!
As if the Heavenly Dao was enraged!
The assembled demon beasts had almost collapsed to the ground, lacking the strength even to open their eyes.
Xu Yi saw dense lightning shuttling through the thunder.
Her scalp tingled.
It seemed she had truly angered the Heavenly Dao.
Xu Yi quickly squeezed the Admonishment Ruler in her hand and whispered, “Brother, my life depends entirely on you. You must help me.”
The Admonishment Ruler vibrated gently, as if making a promise.
Boom!
The long-brewing thunder descended with a roar.
Xu Yi’s figure was instantly engulfed in the boundless lightning.
Thunder echoed between heaven and earth, affecting even Monkey King Mountain.
Both the monkey demons who had lived on Monkey King Mountain for a long time and the demon beasts temporarily residing there were startled by the thunder. They fell to the ground, trembling and filled with unease.
Could it be that the Eight-tailed White Fox was attacking Monkey King Mountain?
Many demon beasts had the same thought, their pupils trembling.
The black-furred ape, King Kong, was also startled by the thunder, leaping high into the air.
As it landed, it immediately shrank its neck and asked its boss, “Boss, is that stinky fox attacking?”
The leader of the black-furred apes glared at it. “Look at you, so pathetic. It’s the Eight-tailed White Fox, but it sounds more like it’s undergoing tribulation.”
“Tribulation? Then, does that mean another Great Perfection Great Demon has been born?”
King Kong the black-furred ape first breathed a sigh of relief, then realized something was wrong.
If that were the case, wouldn’t the Eight-tailed White Fox’s faction grow even stronger?
King Kong the black-furred ape cursed viciously, “Then I hope the divine lightning strikes and kills that demon beast undergoing tribulation!”
The familiar words from the leader of the black-furred apes left its mouth agape once more.
“Not a demon, but a human.”
“Human? How can it be human? How can there be a human!”
The Divine Continent was the territory of the demon race. Very few cultivators would come here without reason.
Having lived in the Divine Continent for so long, it had only seen a few humans.
Thinking of this, it couldn’t help but freeze, staring blankly at its boss, “Someone who can undergo tribulation here, it couldn’t be…”
“If I’m not mistaken, it should be Xu Yi,” the leader of the black-furred apes said gravely.
“Is it really her?” King Kong the black-furred ape muttered to itself, then exclaimed in surprise, “Why did she come here? And why choose to undergo tribulation in the territory of the Divine Continent?”
Whether demon beasts or cultivators, they generally chose a safe and quiet place to undergo their thunder tribulations.
The Divine Continent was not a good place for cultivators.
The leader of the black-furred apes pondered for a moment, then its eyes flashed. “So that’s why the Eight-tailed White Fox came for her.”
The leader of the black-furred apes finally understood what was going on with those restless demon beasts.