Chapter 699: Chapter 699: A Familiar Figure
The cultivation on the soul level was the hardest for martial artists. Zen was able to cultivate his body and cinnabar field while attending to the cultivation of the soul at the same time. However, only a few martial artists could cultivate on multiple aspects at the same time as Zen did.
Compared to the ordinary warriors, Letitia's soul was stronger, but still far weaker than Zen's.
If only dozens of nightmares attacked her soul, Letitia could withstand them without question. Now, there were thousands before her eyes. How was she going to manage?
In just a matter of minutes, Letitia's face had turned as pale as paper. She also began to stagger sideways. Evidently, it became a struggle for her to resist.
“I think it's time to give her a hand!”
Seeing Letitia's current situation, Zen's concern grew bigger inside his heart. If a warrior's soul was hurt, it could possibly cause irreversible damage to the warrior.
“Just wait for a while,” Lavender said, discouraging Zen from making any hasty actions. “These nightmares may look like they're just here to attack her, but they also serve as a way to cultivate her. This could do her some good.”
Warriors had to go through a lot of hardships and tests so they could grow, and Lavender clearly understood when exactly to stop so the damage could be avoided.
It was also known to Zen that Letitia must go through this process as well. As that saying went, “Too much caring and overthinking can confuse someone.” Zen cared a little too much about Letitia and couldn't afford to see her get hurt.
Just as the petals were about to crash into Letitia, she suddenly took out a bronze-colored pill and swallowed it. Her face immediately flushed after taking the pill.
Before attempting to make it through the Life and Death Realm, Letitia had repeatedly told herself that her attempt to make the breakthrough could only be successful. There was no room for failure.
Now that the Heavenly Evil Sect had risen from the east and had become the biggest threat, the entire Central Region had fallen into chaos. Moreover, Imogen was facing a life and death crisis. So, she had no other choice but to go overseas to look for opportunities.
The search for her fortune could cause her death. Both Letitia and Imogen knew this. Before she left, Imogen had discussed important matters concerning the Cloud Hall with Letitia.
Upon her departure, she let out a heavy sigh for her worries about herself and Zen.
'If only Zen was still here…'
Ever since Zen had disappeared from Mist's celestial tomb, Letitia had gone to the Chaotic Ocean of Stars to search for him a few times, but to no avail.
However, she firmly believed that Zen didn't die and that he would one day return.
Two years had passed very quickly, but Zen was still nowhere to be found. There was no information about him in the entire Central Region. It was as if he had completely vanished into thin air. Even if Letitia knew in her heart that Zen was out there somewhere, she couldn't help but worry.
Now that Imogen had left the Central Region, Letitia had put all of her bets in one shot, trying to make it through to the Life and Death Realm.
In order to break through the Life and Death Realm, Letitia had made exhaustive preparations. She had almost utilized all the resources in the Cloud Hall and even had to borrow the jade token from the World Commercial Alliance at a great cost.
Normally, the jade token wasn't easily handed to anyone no matter how much he or she offered for it. Not even to someone like Letitia.
That kind of jade token could increase the chance of surviving the life and death crisis by twenty percent. Any cultivator at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm was beguiled by it.
Back when Imogen asked to borrow the token, she was solidly rejected by the World Commercial Alliance.
However, as the Heavenly Evil Sent rose like a comet, the World Commercial Alliance also became anxious. It was clear that only several sects from above the fourth grade in the Central Region could fight against the Heavenly Evil Sect. The ones that had the biggest potential to defeat the Heavenly Evil Sect were the Ethereal Spirit Sect, World Commercial Alliance, and the Cloud Hall.
The competition between those three was undeniably fierce. But as they faced the same nemesis, they had no other choice but work as one in cooperation.
One more Life and Death Realm master was an additional chance for them to defeat Eddie. That was a principle even a child knew. How could the Ancient Tycoon of World Commercial Alliance not understand it? 𝘙ÂꞐɵʙĚŜ
When she finally managed to obtain the jade token, Letitia's confidence to break through the Life and Death Realm grew bigger.
The first and second waves of tribulation were dealt with ease by Letitia. She almost found it hard to believe how it went quite smoothly for her. Normally, after breaking through the Life and Death Realm, the first life and death tribulation wasn't too difficult, and some Life and Death Realm warriors even passed the life and death crisis after just one wave.
As for Letitia, she had to face two brooding waves which were both far more difficult to pass than normal. She never thought there could be a third wave after those menacing two.
The third wave of life and death tribulation was an attack on her soul.
Through the perspective of an outsider looking at her, it seemed that the flower petals colliding against her weren't as harmful, but to Letitia, it was pure agony.
Every time a petal hit her body, a delusive nightmare appeared in her mind. It tarnished her soul, bringing about a gut-wrenching pain all over her body.
'This… Why is the third wave of life and death tribulation so difficult to overcome?' Letitia thought as she struggled. Confusion and pain were evident on her face.
Regardless of the circumstance, her warrior spirit was not inferior to that of any male martial artist. Since she had chosen to break through to the Life and Death Realm, there was no turning back. She had to accept all the trials that came with it and make it through.
Unfortunately, the pain she was experiencing was not something any ordinary person could endure. Bit by bit, her soul was being destroyed.
Physical pain, in time, could go away. In some conditions, it could numb a person to the point of passing out if it was already too extreme, which was one of the many ways one's body protected itself. It was a defense mechanism.
On the contrary, the pain inflicted on one's soul was unavoidable. That kind of pain could come in with subtlety but had the complete ability to also cause so much unbearable suffering.
In that certain moment of desperation, Letitia had swallowed a Soul-boosting Pill. It was refined from the brain of a shadow beast and could increase soul power by at least one fold over a period of time. That precious pill gave amazing effects to any warrior who swallowed it. As a treasure of the Cloud Hall, the Soul-boosting Pill had been kept in the Cloud Hall for hundreds of years. Now, it was Letitia who had the opportunity to take it for her sake.
Ever since Letitia took over as the leader of the Cloud Hall, she was able to utilize a lot of its resources. When Zen was at the Martial Arts Contest, Letitia had used the magical eye of the Angel of Death to block Eddie's punch.
Sure she made some selfish use of those resources, but Letitia brought even greater benefits into the Cloud Hall. It had become a fifth-grade sect and through the help of Zen, it possessed an indestructible sect-protecting array.
Breaking through to the Life and Death Realm meant that Letitia could also possibly lead the Cloud Hall to become a sixth-grade sect someday and even turn it into the first sacred place in the Central Region.
And so, she swallowed the whole Soul-boosting Pill without second thoughts.
Just as the pill's magic was absorbed by all the fibers in her body, a strong medicinal power surged into her. In an instant, she felt her soul become much stronger, and her perception of her surroundings also became much sharper.
However, Letitia didn't want to waste any of her soul power just to sense her surroundings. If she did so, she might've been able to find that Zen was already standing inside her Ice Palace.
Slacking in the face of the life and death crisis was not on Letitia's list. Focusing all of her attention on fighting those petals, she had already forgotten about what was happening outside.
After Letitia swallowed the Soul-boosting Pill, the corrosive effect of the flower petals on her became weaker. She was on the verge of collapsing earlier that time, but with the help of the pill, her eyes lit up, and she lived through the attack of the flower petals.
During that certain moment, Letitia had already endured over a hundred nightmare attacks.
All of a sudden, the petals in front of her began to fall one by one, coming at her endlessly. She started to wonder whether or not she could really make it.
The flush that once appeared on Letitia's face had been replaced by paleness in just a matter of five minutes.
'I'm still unable to surpass this?' Letitia thought to herself. A trace of sadness was painted all over her face. She could already feel that the effects of the pill were starting to fade away while the petals continued to rain down on her in a consistent force and speed.
Of course, Letitia didn't fully comprehend how difficult it was to overcome the nightmare tribulation. She could only blame her strength for not being able to move forward successfully. 'I'm not strong enough for this, ' she mentally scolded herself.
As the nightmares continued to charge into her, Letitia gradually grew weaker. She felt as if her head was set in flames and could blow to smithereens at any given minute.
'Will I fail?' Letitia thought once more, being really hard on herself at that point.
Sadness rested on her face. She knew exactly what could happen if she failed. It wasn't the depletion of their lifespan that killed most Life and Death Realm warriors in the Central Region, but the life and death crisis they went through. Death was just lurking around Letitia.
Suddenly, Letitia began to fall into a state of trance. Her surroundings grew dimmer. Struggling to blink her eyes for clarity, Letitia was almost certain that a familiar figure was before her.