Chapter 698: Chapter 698: The Nightmare Tribulation

The Ice Palace's continuous shaking caused all the ice pillars to collapse and shatter into thousands of palm-sized crystals.

The crystals converged above Letitia's head and released a cold light.

A small ice phoenix burst forth from the jade card and devoured this cold light, rapidly transforming itself into a huge, magnificent creature.

“Aroo!”

The ice phoenix screeched before charging headfirst towards the rolling red clouds.

Swish!

The red clouds swirled with ominous-looking flames and made the entire Cloud Hall unbearably hot and sweltering.

The moment the ice phoenix entered the clouds, it began to rapidly melt and evaporate.

However, as it melted, the thousands of crystals that had come from the Ice Palace continuously replenished its cold energy and kept it in flight.

As the ice phoenix roamed the fiery clouds, the scorching heat within Cloud Hall began to dissipate.

Lavender smiled faintly. “Her preparations were more thorough than I expected. The second wave of Heavenly Tribulation is more violent than the first one, but she is able to resolve it more efficiently!”

Zen couldn't help but agree. “It seems that the Life and Death Tribulation is less horrible than I've expected! I'm sure I'll be able to withstand them in the future,” he said confidently.

Lavender couldn't help but laugh. “Don't be so sure! When it's your turn to undergo the Small Heavenly Tribulation, its magnitude would probably be ten times stronger than this!”

It was only a passing remark, but she couldn't help but notice the way Zen stared at her blankly. “What? You don't believe me?”

Zen shook his head. “I would never doubt you.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

she asked.

Zen shrugged. “I just didn't expect you to let out such a pretty smile.”

Lavender had always been expressionless. Ever since Zen had obtained her as his sword spirit, she had never so much as cracked a smile and always remained poker-faced.

When she began to talk in the Tower of Sin, the aura she emanated was incredibly domineering. Anyone who stood in front of her would fall short of breath, while those with a weaker aura would be unable to even raise their heads.

However, Zen had been a witness to her rare, flustered state. Back in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, he had seen just how she and another Demon Night queen abused each other to the point that her ears turned crimson.

Today, he saw her smile and felt a lot closer to this sword spirit of his.

Lavender glared viciously at him. It was lucky that she was a sword spirit, or Zen would've noticed her blush.

As they conversed, the sky changed its color once again.

Lavender suddenly raised her head in shock. “My goodness!” she exclaimed. “Impossible! The third wave is actually the Nightmare Tribulation!”

Lavender had remained calm and relaxed throughout Letitia's tribulations since the first two weren't necessarily that difficult in her eyes. However, her expression suddenly changed the moment she saw the third wave. ℟ＡΝ𝘰ΒΕS̈

“What's Nightmare Tribulation?” Zen asked with a frown.

“There are many kinds of Heavenly Tribulations,” Lavender told him. "Letitia's first wave was just an ordinary Thunder Dragon Tribulation. It's very common and just a tad bit more difficult than the ordinary thunder tribulation. The second one was the Fire Cloud Tribulation. It was more difficult than the first, but Letitia's ice-system cultivation technique was able to effectively neutralize it.

But the Nightmare Tribulation is a different story.“ Lavender's face fell as she continued, ”Just what kind of fate does Letitia have? How in the world did she end up attracting the Nightmare Tribulation?"

Her words made Zen anxious. “What's so scary about it?”

“I don't know about humans but according to the Demon Night statistics, the Nightmare Tribulation has only occurred around a thousand times,” she told him.

It sounded like a fairly big number but a martial artist had to undergo three to eight tribulations once they stepped into the Life and Death Realm.

The Upper World had no shortage of warriors at the Life and Death Realm and every year, the number of those who underwent tribulations was unfathomable. However, since the beginning of time, there were only one thousand recorded instances of the Nightmare Tribulation.

“How many have survived the Nightmare Tribulation?”

Zen asked.

Lavender looked at him with a grim expression. “One.”

Her reply made Zen gasp in surprise. She continued further, “That warrior had reached the Soul Sea Realm and encountered the Nightmare Tribulation during the Big Heavenly Tribulation. His cultivation level was high, so the power of the tribulation was a hundred times stronger than it is now. He survived and managed to become a Supreme Lord.” Of the thousand Nightmare Tribulations, only one had been able to survive. The success rate was just too low!

At that moment, dark green petals began to fall from the sky, floating and spiraling towards Letitia.

“Didn't you tell me that I have a way of breaking Heavenly Tribulations?” Zen asked.

“Yes,” Lavender confirmed. “However, if Letitia can successfully pass the Heavenly Tribulations, then there would be no need to use that thing.”

“Are you talking about the Heavenly Fragment?” Zen asked.

Lavender merely answered with a nod.

“How do I use it?” He wanted to take the fragment out and use it right then and there, so he could help share Letitia's burden of taking on the Heavenly Tribulations.

However, Lavender shook her head. “Let's wait first. Heavenly Tribulations are inevitable disasters for martial artists, but they are also cultivation methods. If Letitia can't withstand it, then you can help her.”

“Is the Heavenly Fragment really used to block Heavenly Tribulations?”

he asked.

It was a matter of utmost importance and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

“Using the Heavenly Fragment to block Heavenly Tribulations is like using a razor to cut a cement block,” Lavender said. “Besides, the fragment you obtained isn't a fragment of the heaven today.”

“The heaven today? What does that mean?” He had never heard of such a concept.

“The current heaven is the sky right above us,” Lavender told him calmly. “Your fragment was left behind by the previous heaven.”

Zen was stunned by this new information. “There are different heavens?”

Just then, the flower petals reached Letitia, and the conversation about the different heavens was immediately pushed to the back of his mind.

Letitia's face was full of caution. She had felt the power of the Life and Death Tribulation and knew that this one wasn't going to be as easy as the first two. Gently stretching her hands, she waited as the huge ice phoenix let out a huge screech and charged straight towards her.

In the blink of an eye, Letitia and the ice phoenix became one as the latter melded and transformed itself into armor that covered her entire body.

This was Letitia's complete form. She immediately flew to the sky and faced the petals head-on.

“The petals don't look scary at all,” Zen murmured. He couldn't feel any sort of power from the petals, unlike the past two Heavenly Tribulations. They simply felt like ordinary flowers that filled the sky and floated down like gentle rain.

Lavender, on the other hand, was quick to dispel his thoughts. “Every petal is a nightmare. The reason why the Nightmare Tribulation is so difficult is that it's not aimed at a warrior's body but at his soul.”

The petals looked normal, and a gentle touch from Letitia was enough to have one shatter into a million pieces. However, each time a petal broke, it quickly turned into a nightmare that attacked Letitia's mind.

A few dozen of them were alright, but pretty soon, Letitia had smashed through hundreds of them and was finally feeling the tribulation's effects. Her face had gotten extremely pale, and every time a petal touched her, her entire body trembled.