Chapter 1393: No Regrets

Somewhere in the Thunder Continent of the Spirit Realm.

Amidst the void, as lightning flashed, Han Li's figure materialized.

His heart stirred, and his immensely powerful divine sense spread out, instantly covering the entire Spirit Realm.

The next moment, with a clap of thunder, his form was once again engulfed by lightning. When the lightning dissipated, his figure vanished as well.

…

Deep within the Boundless Sea, there was an island of modest size, no more than twenty or thirty li across, surrounded by an endless ocean. Howling winds swept across in all directions, stirring up surging waves that raced like ten thousand galloping horses, rising and falling in succession.

Above the small island, a vast expanse of five-colored tribulation clouds floated in the void, exuding an intensely murderous aura. Around these clouds, new tribulation clouds continuously condensed into being under the interweaving of five-colored radiance.

Beneath the layers of tribulation clouds, a graceful woman in a white robe stood facing the wind. It was Yuan Yao.

Her white robe fluttered wildly in the wind. Her ten fingers moved rapidly in front of her, and a hint of solemnity appeared on her strikingly beautiful face.

Surrounding her, seventy-two azure flying swords hovered, each radiating ten thousand beams of sword light. All the sword light converged to form a green lotus several acres in size, shielding her body without a single gap.

Apart from the sword lotus, several other treasures floated beside her.

In the distant sky above the island, several graceful figures stood, gazing from afar at Yuan Yao's situation above the island.

If Han Li were here, he would recognize them at a glance—not only did he know them, but he was very familiar with them. They were his Dao companion, Nangong Wan, as well as Yan Li, Ice Phoenix, Silvermoon, and others.

The cultivation of these women had all reached the Mahayana stage, and their appearances and figures had hardly changed.

Apart from Nangong Wan and the others, there was no one else nearby.

Before long, the five-colored tribulation clouds in the sky had accumulated to several hundred li in size. Suddenly, they began to roll and churn, and a pitch-black hole emerged in the center of each tribulation cloud.

"Yuan Yao, you must hold on!" Yan Li murmured, her hands on both sides already clenched tightly into fists.

Nangong Wan looked up at the thick, colorless tribulation clouds, a trace of worry in her eyes, but she said nothing, her beautiful eyes fixed on Yuan Yao's direction.

Ice Phoenix and Silvermoon also showed signs of concern, but knowing that they must not disturb Yuan Yao at this moment, they could only pray silently in their hearts.

Yuan Yao looked at the tribulation clouds in the sky and frowned slightly, as if realizing something. Her hands moved faster in forming hand seals, causing the azure sword lotus protecting her surroundings to surge with azure light. At the same time, she unhesitatingly activated the other treasures.

Instantly, within the azure sword lotus that originally enveloped her figure, several other treasures emitted lights of different colors, casting a multicolored glow on Yuan Yao's already incomparably beautiful face, adding an extra touch of charm.

At that moment, a loud rumbling sounded from the sky. Countless fire rains fell from the black holes within the tribulation clouds, surging toward Yuan Yao in a overwhelming manner.

The temperature in the surrounding void soared, turning fiery red. The vegetation on the island was instantly scorched, and the ground turned into red-hot lava.

The seawater around the island was largely evaporated, turning into rolling white mist that rose up, forming a sunken pit. Seawater from other places rushed in but was immediately evaporated as well.

Yuan Yao's expression remained relatively calm, though a few crystal beads of sweat had appeared on her delicate nose.

As her jade arms moved, the azure sword lotus around her spun rapidly, and countless azure sword qi surged out, continuously shattering the falling fire rain.

However, the falling fire rain was inexhaustible and showed signs of intensifying.

This ascension tribulation lasted for a full incense stick's time. Yuan Yao still held on, but her pretty face gradually turned pale, and she was drenched in sweat, her white robe clinging to her body.

The azure sword lotus around her was still radiant, but upon closer inspection, one could see that some of the flying swords had begun to show fine cracks, and the cracks were increasing, nearing their limit.

The other treasures were in a similar state, already at the end of their strength.

At that moment, the fire rain falling from the five-colored tribulation clouds suddenly stopped. The scorching heat in the surrounding void quickly dissipated, vanishing without a trace within a few breaths.

Peace was restored between heaven and earth, as if nothing had happened before.

Yan Li, Silvermoon, and the others watching from afar relaxed their expressions. Nangong Wan's face remained calm, but deep in her eyes, there was instead a hint of gravity.

Yuan Yao let out a soft breath and quickly took out a blue pill and swallowed it.

But before she could refine the pill with her cultivation, the five-colored tribulation clouds in the sky converged toward the center, forming a huge five-colored vortex that rumbled as it spun. In the center of the vortex, a pitch-black deep hole formed.

Rumble!

As a bolt of purple lightning flashed within the deep hole, clusters of purple arcs condensed into purple thunderballs the size of millstones. Dazzling purple lightning crackled on their surfaces, extremely terrifying. This was the most fearsome thunder tribulation of the ascension heavenly tribulation.

Countless purple thunderballs, like a violent storm, descended upon Yuan Yao in a overwhelming manner. Although they did not cause a drastic change in temperature between heaven and earth, their momentum was far more formidable than the fire rain tribulation just now.

Yuan Yao gritted her teeth and rapidly formed hand seals in front of her, channeling the last remnants of her magic power into the sword lotus and the several treasures around her.

The azure sword lotus blazed with light, its scope expanding nearly twofold, and countless azure sword qi interwove into sword dragons that surged to meet the sky-filling thunderballs.

Those treasures burst into brilliant light and, together with the azure sword lotus, soared into the sky.

A violent, dense series of explosions rang out as the two sides clashed, bursting apart like hot oil meeting cold water.

The power of the violet thunderballs far surpassed that of the azure sword lotus and the treasures; the lightning merely paused for an instant before smashing through the sword lotus and treasures with irresistible force, descending mercilessly upon the defenseless Yuan Yao.

By now, Yuan Yao's magic power was nearly depleted. Though she still had some tricks left, they were nothing compared to her previous spiritual treasures. A bitter smile appeared on her exquisite face.

"Brother Han, it seems we truly have no chance to meet again in this life..." she murmured to herself, and simply gave up resistance, closing her eyes.

"Yuan Yao, don't give up!" Yan Li couldn't help but shout, her voice tinged with tears.

Nangong Wan let out a soft sigh, closed her eyes, and a teardrop slid down the corner of her eye.

Ice Phoenix and Silvermoon were equally anxious and wished to help Yuan Yao, but they were utterly powerless to intervene in a heavenly tribulation of this magnitude, unable even to approach.

Countless violet thunderballs rolled down, engulfing Yuan Yao's body, and the earth-shaking roar drowned out Yan Li's heart-wrenching cry from afar.

Within the rolling thunderlight, the protective light around Yuan Yao's body was instantly shattered, and the terrifying lightning force seemed about to tear her body apart.

Just then, the void above her head stirred, and a golden ancient mirror materialized with a spin, its surface emitting beams of golden light that instantly formed a golden shield over a man's height, enveloping Yuan Yao's body.

The sky-filling violet thunderballs struck the golden shield, whose surface rippled with golden light; it trembled slightly but stood firm around Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao heard only a continuous roar in her ears, but the heavenly thunder did not fall. She opened her eyes and, seeing her surroundings, her almond eyes widened in disbelief.

"How... how is this possible..." she murmured to herself.

She could not believe that anyone in this world could shake the might of the heavenly tribulation.

The void above the nearby sea surface rippled, and a blurry figure emerged—Han Li, who had finally arrived.

"Huh, I made it just in time..." Han Li stared intently at Yuan Yao under the tribulation clouds, his expression relaxing slightly.

The tribulation clouds in the sky seemed to sense someone interfering with the heavenly tribulation and suddenly swelled tenfold, as if enraged.

Immediately, a far greater pressure of heavenly tribulation burst forth. Nangong Wan and the other women, struck by this pressure, all rolled their eyes and fell unconscious, plunging toward the sea below.

Seeing this, Han Li quickly flicked his finger.

A soft golden light appeared beneath the women, catching them and sending them to a safe place in the distance.

No sooner had he done this than the five-colored tribulation clouds churned violently, and countless violet thunderballs, many times larger than before, rolled down, striking the golden ancient mirror fiercely. The light barrier formed by the mirror immediately began to waver.

"Hmph!"

Han Li snorted coldly and formed a hand seal. Spiritual light flickered on the mirror's surface, and the golden light barrier instantly became solid again. No matter how fiercely the thunderballs fell, they could no longer shake it in the slightest.

Yuan Yao stared blankly as the awe-inspiring thunderballs exploded continuously extremely close to her, then dissipated. She felt as if it were all an unreal dream.

A full quarter of an hour passed before the cascading violet thunderballs finally subsided.

The five-colored tribulation clouds let out a muffled sound, then burst apart and dissipated.

A flash of purple light flickered in the void above the clouds, and a long white crack appeared.

With a hum, a white beam of light shone down from the crack, enveloping Yuan Yao's body.

"How... how is this... I actually survived the heavenly tribulation..." Yuan Yao finally came to her senses, murmuring with a face full of ecstasy.

Then, remembering something, she cast her beautiful eyes around and soon landed on Han Li in the distance.

"Thank you, honored immortal, for your assistance. May I ask if you would reveal your true form? This humble woman will surely remember it forever." Yuan Yao said respectfully.

Han Li smiled faintly but did not reveal his true form.

At that moment, a tremendous pulling force descended from the white beam. Yuan Yao's body was carried upward by the light and vanished with a flash.

Han Li let out a light breath, then looked at the small bottle in his hand, frowning.

The small bottle was now nearly transparent and could not last much longer.

His expression suddenly shifted. He formed a hand seal to activate the bottle, and with a flash of golden light, he returned to the temporal passage, turning into a phantom flying toward the depths of time.

Moments later, he formed a hand seal and waved. A white light flashed before his eyes, and he had left the temporal passage, appearing above another turbid sea area.