Chapter 3108 - An Arrow at the End of Its Flight

The palace belonged to the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. It had fused with his Eternal Throne.

That was what let the palace withstand the endless downpour of calamitous power raining down from the heavens, and why it could stand tall even as Heavenly Sovereigns fought within its walls.

Here in the palace, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations ruled supreme. Moreover, he saw everything that happened here, down to the finest of details. Nothing could elude his notice.

Yet now, he couldn’t sense any trace of Su Yi whatsoever. He’d been standing in the corner mere moments prior. There shouldn’t have been anywhere for him to run.

He’d practically evaporated into thin air!

“Did you do this?” The Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ eyes flashed like lightning as he looked at the Threelives Buddha. He suspected the monk’s involvement. Perhaps he’d somehow secreted Su Yi away?

The Threelives Buddha frowned. “Do you really think I’m capable of hiding my most troublesome enemy right under your nose?”

Hong Ling drew her finger through the air, and the Mirror of Mysteries lit up, reflecting Su Yi’s figure. He was standing just outside the palace. She whipped around and looked outside. “He’s out there!”

All eyes followed her gaze.

Outside the palace, calamitous power poured down from the heavens, like floodwaters bursting through a dam. Boundless tribulation light churned overhead.

It was indistinct, but they could spot Su Yi holding an umbrella as he stood beneath the downpour. The searing tribulation light had all but enveloped him.

Yet the umbrella formed some sort of invisible power, staving off the flood of calamitous power completely.

“How... how did he do that?” exclaimed Hong Ling.

“That’s the Umbrella of Tribulations, one of the Immortal Realm’s Nine Mysteries of Chaos. It can stave off calamities when opened, and direct them when closed. It’s incomparably wondrous,” said the Threelives Buddha. “If I’m not mistaken, when he escaped the hall earlier, he used another of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos, the Sky-Stealing Hook, to seize an opening and shift positions without us noticing.”

The Sky-Stealing Hook! How wondrous must this treasure have been to have eluded all of their senses?

Meanwhile, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations fixed his gaze on the Umbrella of Tribulations. He could tell at a glance that it was highly suitable to his Dao, and he couldn’t help but feel tempted.

“Endless Tribulations, let’s set aside our differences for now, then settle things once we’ve dealt with Su Yi. What do you say?” the Threelives Buddha said gravely.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations nodded. “Very well.”

Meanwhile, Su Yi suddenly spoke from within the flood of calamitous power outside. “The Monarch of Endless Tribulations is already spent, an arrow at the end of its flight. Moreover, his cultivation base has plummeted. We’ll just have to see whether or not you believe me.”

With that, he turned to leave.

Hong Ling chased after him immediately, or at least, she tried to. Su Yi vanished in a flash, leaving no trace behind.

She immediately activated the Mirror of Mysteries. A rain of light flowed, and a scene appeared on its surface.

In it, Su Yi stood at the foot of the Mountain of Tribulations, holding the Umbrella of Tribulations as he walked further into the Realm of Endless Tribulations.

When Su Yi appeared on screen, he turned his head as if gazing at Hong Ling through the mirror. Then, he whispered, “Break!”

Bang!

The scene reflected on the Mirror of Mysteries shattered, and the mystical, unfathomable taboo treasure shook violently.

Hong Ling’s face paled. When she tried activating the mirror again, she could no longer capture Su Yi’s figure.

“How is this possible? The Mirror of Mysteries is a supreme taboo treasure that touches upon the profundities of destiny itself. Why can’t it locate Su Yi?” Hong Ling’s expression shifted erratically as a possibility occurred to her. Is this the work of the Book of Destiny? Only such a taboo treasure could block the Mirror of Mysteries’ divinations!

Meanwhile, the Threelives Buddha shot out of the palace. When he saw what happened to Hong Ling, he frowned.

“He cannot escape.” The Threelives Buddha turned to face the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. “Can he?”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations said calmly, “He can forget about finding the exit of the Realm of Endless Tribulations as long as I draw breath.”

The Threelives Buddha smiled. “Catching a beetle in a jar, huh? Not bad at all, but...”

“But what?” The Monarch of Endless Tribulations frowned. “Surely you don’t believe Su Yi’s nonsense?”

Hong Ling suddenly recalled what Su Yi had said before he left. According to him, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations was an arrow at the end of its flight, and even his cultivation base had plummeted from its former heights.

The Threelives Buddha approached the palace entrance, then gazed intently at the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. “Fellow Daoist Su and I are old enemies, but I know him, and I know that he isn’t the type to tell lies, nor would he play such a petty little trick.”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations couldn’t help but laugh. “Does that mean you plan to settle things with me first?”

The Harbingers of Tribulations’ eyes blazed with murderous intent. The atmosphere was rife with tension.

After a brief pause, the Threelives Buddha chuckled. “Forget it. Dealing with Su Yi is far more important to me than settling things with you.”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations said approvingly, “You understand the bigger picture and what’s truly important. Moreover, you know when to retreat and when to advance. You’re far superior to your master in this regard.”

He snapped his fingers, and a medallion appeared out of nowhere, hovering in front of the Threelives Buddha.

“With this, you’ll be able to sense the mysteries of the Realm of Endless Tribulations, as if you’ve gained a celestial eye. It will help you find Su Yi.”

The Threelives Buddha glanced at it. “You plan to borrow my hands, then dispose of me and claim all the spoils for yourself, right?”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations threw back his head and laughed. “It’s nice talking to someone intelligent. It sure saves a lot of time!”

Then, his smile faded, and his eyes flashed like cold lightning. “I have both the home turf advantage and the advantage in numbers. You might well have means of defending yourself, but I dare say with certainty that you don’t want to fight me until you’ve first dealt with Su Yi.”

The Threelives Buddha fell silent. Time slipped by, but in the end, he left without another word. Hong Ling hurried after him.

“Your Excellency, why not stop them from leaving?” asked one of the Harbingers of Tribulations. “This is the Realm of Endless Tribulations. Here, even Heavenly Sovereigns are doomed!”

The other Harbingers were confused, too.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations shook his head. “He’s an excellent weapon. I can use him to kill my enemies, and he might well cut himself in the process, too. We can watch tigers fight from a safe distance for now. No matter who wins, we’ll come out ahead.”

He looked at one of the Harbingers. “Bai Heng, lead a group to keep an eye on that bald donkey.”

“Understood!”

Bai Heng was a tall, thin man with fair skin and black robes. He promptly gathered a small group of Harbingers of Tribulations and dashed off.

“The rest of you, stand guard outside the palace. Don’t disturb me,” said the Monarch of Endless Tribulations, sweeping his gaze over the six that remained. “Bear this in mind: Anyone who trespasses must die, no matter who they are!”

“Understood!” The six remaining Harbingers of Tribulations nodded their assent, then left the palace.

Boom!

The palace door slammed shut. The Monarch of Endless Tribulations was now the only one left in that vast, lamplit room.

He stood in place, expression shifting erratically as he murmured to himself, Impressive, Su Yi! You actually noticed my problem...

But before he’d even finished the sentence, he coughed up blood, staggered on his feet, and collapsed. His face paled, and there was no hiding his weakness and exhaustion any longer. He breathed in ragged gasps, chest heaving and aura waning.

At my peak, I would never have wasted my breath talking to you people. I’d have suppressed you all simply by exerting my will!

A long time passed before he steadied himself, a look of deep bitterness on his face.

Who was he? He was the Monarch of Endless Tribulations, an existence who’d broken the shackles of destiny back in the Primordial Era!

Few on the River of Destiny were any match for him, so few that he could count them on his fingers.

Yet now, it was just as Su Yi said. He was an arrow at the end of its flight, and even his cultivation base had dropped precipitously!

Ol’ Monk, you really did a number on me. I bet that’s enough to ensure you rest in peace...

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations took several deep breaths, gradually calming his turbulent qi.

The Buddha of Non-Existence was one of the Three Buddhas of Spirit Mountain Buddhist Court, an expert who’d long since broken the shackles of destiny and traversed the River of Destiny alone, reaching its Far Shore, where he became a famously accomplished enlightened monk!

The Buddha of Non-Existence and the Monarch of Endless Tribulations had opposed each other since the Primordial Era. Their clash had lasted throughout the ages, so long that it had long since exhausted their cultivation bases.

Moreover, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations had sacrificed his vital source energy to arrange this death trap, activating the Nine True Tribulations Restriction to seal his opponent’s true body, but doing so was an act of mutual destruction.

The bloody spectacle of the two of them frozen mid-combat was the result.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations had paid an enormous price for it. His cultivation base was severely depleted, to the point that it had fallen from its former peak, and his vitality was damaged.

Were that the extent of it, it wouldn’t have mattered. He naturally had means of fixing the damage, especially since he’d smoothly fused with his clone.

But he’d been far too pressed for time earlier.

Su Yi and the Threelives Buddha were powerful foes. Had he failed to kill the Buddha of Non-Existence and seize his Dao Heart and source energies of the Grand Dao, he’d have lost control of the situation.

Thus, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations went all out, using a forbidden, self-destructive technique to destroy the Buddha of Non-Existence quickly.

His cultivation base was already severely depleted, and this made the problem worse, like piling frost on top of snow.

This was no longer a simple matter of a reduced cultivation base. The very foundations of his Dao and his vital source energy were severely damaged.

It was just as Su Yi had said. He was indeed an arrow at the end of its flight. His injuries couldn’t have been any worse.

Thus, even after Su Yi fled, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations made no attempt to give chase, and he endured even in the face of the Threelives Buddha’s provocations.

Wait, how did Su Yi know I was already at my limit? The Monarch of Endless Tribulations frowned. Did the Threelives Buddha see it, too?

He couldn’t wrap his head around it, but then, he was, after all, a terrifying existence who’d once broken the shackles of destiny. Even if the worst came to pass, he was confident that he could handle it.

This was the Realm of Endless Tribulations, his home turf. Here, so long as even a wisp of his soul or a drop of his blood remained, he could live on!

I’ve already acquired the old monk’s Dao Heart and the powers of the Grand Dao. Once I’ve acquired Su Yi’s Book of Destiny, the power of reincarnation, Epoch Spark, and Umbrella of Tribulations... The Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ eyes heated up. Oh, and the Threelives Buddha’s alms bowl and Hong Ling’s mirror, too... all of my sacrifices will have been worth it!