Chapter 3104 - A Strange Scene of Mutual Violence

The Mountain of Tribulations towered into the heavens.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations led them up its slopes. As they climbed, a flood of churning, calamitous power surged from the summit, but it cleared a path before them.

It was as if they were steering a boat upstream. The Monarch of Endless Tribulations let their “boat” go against the current of calamity.

It was strange, and perilous, too. Without the Monarch of Endless Tribulations, Su Yi and the Buddha of Non-Existence would have had to face the current head-on.

But Su Yi could tell that the Buddha of Non-Existence was perfectly calm. He didn’t seem the least bit worried that something would go wrong.

During their ascent, Su Yi found this confusing, but when they reached the top, all suddenly became clear.

The skies around the Mountain of Tribulations were in chaos. Time and space had collapsed, and a dense windstorm of calamitous whirled through the air, forming a natural barrier.

The higher they went, the stronger this calamitous power became. Anyone who dared attempt to fly here would suffer badly for it.

“You still can’t sense your true bodies’ presences?” Su Yi couldn’t help but ask.

Both the Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Buddha of Non-Existence shook their heads.

A moment later, the Buddha of Non-Existence said suddenly, “Has something perhaps happened in the Daoless Domain?”

The Daoless Domain, a place devoid of the Dao. Here, all magics, techniques, and abilities withered. It was the most terrifying, mysterious, unknown place in the Abyss of Endless Tribulations.

The Grand Dao didn’t exist there, not even the Laws of Calamity. When someone drew near, their cultivation base dissipated, and their powers of the Grand Dao vanished, reducing them to ordinary mortals.

But this was different from the scattered mundane realms of the Eternal Heavens Domain.

In mundane kingdoms, cultivators’ cultivation bases were suppressed until they were effectively ordinary mortals, but they recovered their cultivation bases as soon as they left.

But the Daoless Domain didn’t permit the Grand Dao to exist in any form!

“Perhaps.” The Monarch of Endless Tribulations frowned, but he couldn’t say with certainty. He was the ruler of the Abyss of Endless Tribulations, but the Daoless Domain was dangerous for him, too. He’d never once set foot there.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations suddenly turned to look at Su Yi. “Can you sense anything, Fellow Daoist?”

Su Yi looked stunned. “What do you ask?”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations looked at him strangely. “Long, long ago, the previous Destiny’s Chosen, Xiao Jian, visited the Daoless Domain. He’s the only one to have ever left that place alive.”

The Buddha of Non-Existence added, “That was where he acquired the Book of Destiny.”

Su Yi instantly understood. There was a connection between the Daoless Domain and the origins of the Book of Destiny!

He shook his head. “I know nothing about the place, and I don’t sense anything out of the ordinary.”

“That’s fine,” said the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. “All will become clear when we reach the summit. We’ll know what happened to our true bodies then.”

As they spoke, they reached the halfway point of the mountain. They weren’t moving particularly quickly, but they weren’t slow, either.

After the halfway mark, the downpour of calamitous power intensified, like boundless floodwaters bursting through a dam. The tribulation light was so searing and intense that they couldn’t open their eyes.

“Something really isn’t right here. When I’m here to oversee things, the calamitous power is nowhere near this terrifying.” The Monarch of Endless Tribulations frowned, then called out. “Activate!”

A black jade record appeared in his hand. When he held it aloft, a ripple of strange, mystical power emanated from it.

The flood of calamitous power parted on both sides, clearing the road ahead.

Su Yi couldn’t help but glance at the black jade record. It actually forced back the tide of calamity. That treasure isn’t simple.

In truth, with the Monarch of Endless Tribulations leading the party, they hadn’t encountered any serious threats. This was, after all, his territory. He couldn’t have been more familiar with the place.

“The Threelives Buddha is here, Fellow Daoist Su,” the Monarch of Endless Tribulations transmitted suddenly. “He’s at the foot of the mountain. I’m surprised he made it here so smoothly. It seems he has a treasure capable of averting catastrophe and avoiding calamity.”

Su Yi narrowed his eyes and glanced down the path, but the Mountain of Tribulations was so tall and so enveloped in churning floods of calamity that he couldn’t see anything at all. Naturally, that included the Threelives Buddha.

Still, it wasn’t hard for Su Yi to guess that the Threelives Buddha and Hong Ling were traveling together. After all, Hong Ling had the Mirror of Mysteries. It could detect the shifting of tribulations and help them avoid danger.

“When we reach the summit, I’ll have to be fully on guard against the Buddha of Non-Existence. I won’t be able to divert any attention toward ensuring your safety. You’ll have to be careful,” said the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. Then, he fell promptly silent.

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. The situation here was more precarious and complicated than usual, full of unknowns and unpredictable variables.

He had no way of knowing whether the Buddha of Non-Existence would help the Threelives Buddha or not. That was a variable none could predict!

Su Yi could also tell that all of the Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ well-intentioned warnings were an attempt to rope him in.

But Su Yi didn’t mind. The human heart was like a nest of demons, full of schemes and conspiracies, but what really mattered in the end was their strength!

In stark contrast with the Monarch of Endless tribulations and his repeated warnings, the Buddha of Non-Existence said little.

When they reached the summit, the scenery transformed around them.

The peak pierced the cloud cover, the hole like a breach in a dam. From here, they could see the surging flood of tribulation light gathering from all sides, then pouring through the opening and running down the slopes.

And an ancient, mysterious black palace stood on the mountaintop. It looked as if it had been forged out of black metal, and it stood tall and unmoving even as it was bathed in Laws of Calamity.

Stinging tribulation light cleaved into the palace, then scattered like rain.

The palace doors were tightly shut, but there was a ritual ground out front. Su Yi and his companions stood there and looked around.

“Something isn’t right here...” The Monarch of Endless Tribulations frowned at the tightly-shut doors and murmured, “I still can’t sense my true body. Does that mean my true body is already...”

He left the rest unsaid, but the implications were enough to make his companions’ hearts shake.

The Buddha of Non-Existence said gravely, “That shouldn’t be the case. Were our true bodies already dead, our clones would have sensed it by now.”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations inclined his head. “Let’s go. We’ll know more once we’ve entered the palace.”

As he walked over, Su Yi sensed that although both of his companions seemed as calm and composed as before, their qi circulation had shifted. Both had silently tensed.

Like bows strung and ready to fire!

More importantly, they were obviously on guard against each other.

Moreover, Su Yi had noticed something that put him on edge. A wisp of someone’s aura was hovering around him.

And it belonged to the Buddha of Non-Existence!

The wisp was no threat in its own right, but Su Yi knew that the moment the Buddha of Non-Existence wished him dead, he could use the wisp of energy to block his escape. It would prove a killer weapon!

“Don’t misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. I suspect that something will soon go wrong. With me here, I should at least be able to ensure your safety,” said the Buddha of Non-Existence. He said it out loud, too.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations chuckled, then shook his head, but he said nothing.

Su Yi just nodded.

Before long, they’d reached the palace doors.

“You two had best be careful,” said the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. He stretched out his hands and pushed the doors open.

Nothing unexpected happened. The doors opened smoothly.

But the scenery inside made Su Yi’s pupils constrict.

The hall was thoroughly lamplit, illuminating the unsettling, bloody tableau at the center of the room.

The true bodies of the Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Buddha of Non-Existence stood there. The Monarch of Endless Tribulation was wide-eyed with fury, the fingers of his right hand like hooks embedded in the Buddha of Non-Existence’s throat.

The hole in the Buddha’s throat had bled, but the blood had long since dried, staining his robes and forming a puddle on the ground.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ left hand was on his forehead, a barrier protecting his skull.

Except that the Buddha of Non-Existence’s finger had pierced it, boring into his skull right between the eyes.

That wound had bled too, the blood flowing from the Monarch of Endless Tribulation’s face, splashing his lapels, and pooling on the floor.

The two supreme experts were frozen mid-battle, unmoving, as still as clay statues.

When they opened the door, revealing this bloody spectacle, Su Yi couldn’t help but be stunned. Don’t tell me that their ancient duel ended in mutual destruction?

No, that can’t be it. Had they died, why would their bodies remain frozen and upright? It’s like some power is sealing them in place.

That aside, they’re both long-established, Heavenly Sovereign-level experts. They should be able to revive from even a single drop of blood, let alone a mostly intact body.

Unless... something somehow stripped them of their vital source energy!

Just as Su Yi was about to examine them more closely, the Buddha of Non-Existence let out a long sigh. “The Nine True Tribulations Restriction. This...”

Practically simultaneously, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations called out, “Watch out, Fellow Daoist Su!”

Su Yi didn’t even have to think before two terrifying powers enveloped him. One belonged to the Monarch of Endless Tribulations, who’d clamped down on his shoulder as if to pull him away.

The other belonged to the Buddha of Non-Existence, who pressed down on Su Yi’s other shoulder. His lands lit up, clashing with the Monarch of Endless Tribulations at full power.

Su Yi’s body had become their battleground!

An unbelievable scene followed.

Su Yi shattered, his body dissipating into floating afterimages.

The two experts were startled, but they’d already begun their battle, so there was no room for hesitation. Even as Su Yi’s figure vanished, they attacked each other with all their might.

Their terrifying power swept throughout the palace.

Meanwhile, Su Yi reappeared outside, a cold look on his face.