"Is this guy even human?!"
The elders of the Wu Family watched in astonishment as Mu Jinyu used the terrifying thunder tribulation, which nearly reached world-ending might, for body refining cultivation. They were all shocked into silence, murmuring in panic.
Each of them asked themselves, if it were them bearing such a thunder tribulation to break through to the Merging Paths Stage, their remains would likely be scattered ashes by now.
"Sizzle!"
After a long, long time.
In the torturous wait of the Wu Family elders, as if a million years had passed, the third thunder tribulation finally dissipated slowly.
At this moment, Mu Jinyu sat cross-legged in the void, exuding a pressure no longer of the peak ninth layer of the Fanxu Realm, but of the False Merged Path Realm, just a thin line away from true Merging Paths Stage.
Mu Jinyu temporarily ignored the Wu Family members below, turning inward to his Dantian, observing his originally near-solidified True Yuan, now refined by the thunder tribulation, expelling the few impurities it had, now more akin to the shape of a Danwan.
Within Mu Jinyu's Dantian, under the billowing spiritual energy, floated an egg-sized, perfectly round, emerald green Danwan.
This was Mu Jinyu's Fruit of the Way.
A golden core merged from all his life's cultivation.
Next, if he could successfully pass the remaining thunder tribulations and prevent the golden core from shattering, further refining away the impurities within it, he could formally step onto the Merging Paths Stage.
"Go!"
"Quickly, go!"
While Mu Jinyu was in deep thought, the Wu Family elders below snapped out of their shock, realizing that the golden protective shield enveloping the entire Wu Family Ancestral Home had been shattered into fragments by the heavenly tribulation. No longer did Mu Jinyu's position remain the only safe path.
Thus, they all shouted, urging the Wu Family members to escape this place through the skies.
Damn it, if the first three thunder tribulations had already smashed the protective light shield that could withstand ten waves of attacks from early to middle Merging Paths Stage powerhouses, if they stayed any longer, wouldn't they all become tribulation ashes?
Mu Jinyu opened his eyes, seeing thousands of people, like flies, scurrying around in an attempt to flee the Wu Family Ancestral Home. With a cold gaze, he was just about to take action when suddenly he sensed something, and his expression shifted slightly. He withdrew his hand, calmly sitting back in the void.
"Whoosh!!"
Suddenly, a bizarre sinister wind blew down from the heavens. The Wu Family members, just out of the fragmented protective light shield and ready to continue their escape out of the entire Wu Family City, froze in mid-air.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
A fierce gale arose, and in an instant, over a hundred people were reduced to dust under this sinister wind, dispersing with the breeze.
This included the several dozen Wu Family elders who had first escaped the light shield.
"Boom!"
The already fragmented and shaky golden light shield finally couldn't hold up any longer and shattered with a boom.
"This isn't an ordinary thunder tribulation; it's the Black Sun Gale from the Great Wind-Fire Catastrophe!"
At this moment, the strongest elder of the Wu Family endured the pain of his fragmented form and issued one last, unwilling reminder, causing all the fleeing Wu Family members below to halt.
Having spoken his last warning, he finally couldn't hold on any longer and exploded into dust, dispersing with the wind.
"Black Sun Gale?!"
Hearing the elder's reminder, the young members of the Wu Family who had been eager to flee the Wu Family Ancestral Home all turned pale, as if nailed to the ground, forcibly stopping their escape.
They were the core members of the Wu Family in the Central Domain and naturally knew many cultivation secrets. The average person thought that the tribulation for Merging Paths only involved thunder tribulations. But they understood that only an ordinary Merging Paths heavenly tribulation consisted solely of thunder tribulations; true Heaven's Pride individuals were not killed by ordinary thunder tribulations and faced various more terrifying calamities aimed at obliterating those undergoing the tribulations.
Among these was the terrifying Great Wind-Fire Catastrophe.
The Great Wind-Fire Catastrophe consisted of two dreadful calamities: the Black Sun Gale and the Pure Karma Fire Calamity.
The Black Sun Gale is said to be a bizarre demon wind born from chaotic void currents, and anyone caught in it faces bodily destruction, soul scattered far and wide.
Almost no one can withstand it.
And the Pure Karma Fire Calamity is even more terrifying, said to be the Red Lotus Karma Fire from the Nine Serenities, lighting up all of the tribulation bearer's life's sins, burning away guilt and transgression!
How could a person, in their lifetime, not have committed various misdeeds?
Even mortals have done plenty of bad deeds, let alone cultivators who fight life and death over disagreements?
Which cultivator reaching the Merging Paths Stage hasn't taken at least a hundred lives?
This does not even count the ferocious beasts and ordinary animals killed.
Now, they were facing the tribulation for Merging Paths, encountering such a Great Wind-Fire Catastrophe, with their sins ignited, who could withstand it?
But if someone truly got through the Pure Karma Fire Calamity, burning all their sins clean, they would have no more resentment or malice entangling them, and their future path of cultivation would be much smoother.
Therefore, the Great Wind-Fire Catastrophe is a horrifying heavenly tribulation that all cultivators want to transcend but dare not face.
Now, this heavenly tribulation that only existed in legend was happening right before their eyes, and the young members of the Wu Family were so terrified they were paralyzed on the ground.
Who would dare take this opportunity to flee the Wu Family?
Staying under Mu Jinyu was indeed safer than recklessly running away.
After all, the main target of the heavenly tribulation was Mu Jinyu, and they were just the collateral damage.
"Whoosh!!"
Sure enough.
When the young members of the Wu Family stopped imagining escaping the Wu Family Ancestral Home, the gloomy sky above finally stopped its random howling, forming black hurricanes that viciously aimed at Mu Jinyu!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Mu Jinyu sat cross-legged in the void, and under the gale of the black hurricanes, his bronze skin was not only unharmed but as the disaster raged on, his whole body began to shimmer with a resplendent light, making him appear even more solemn and dignified, untouchable.
"Whoosh..."
The Black Sun Gale could do nothing to Mu Jinyu and soon ended.
"Boom!"
A sudden explosion resounded.
Mu Jinyu's entire body suddenly ignited in raging flames, turning him into a fiery figure in moments.
The even more terrifying Pure Karma Fire Calamity appeared!
"Kill!"
"Give me back my life!"
"Die!!"
"Hehehe..."
At this time, the young members of the Wu Family under the Wu Family Ancestral Home, holding their breath, not daring to exhale, saw Mu Jinyu enshrouded in roaring flames, with tendrils of black shadows entwining his being.
Upon closer inspection, the bizarre shadows bore countless grim and ferocious faces.
They were all beings, both human and beast, who had died at Mu Jinyu's hands...
After dying by Mu Jinyu's hand, they unwillingly left behind a thread of resentment and murder intent entwined with his spirit.
Usually, these spirits lay dormant, unable to trouble Mu Jinyu.
But now, sensing that Mu Jinyu was experiencing great adversity,
they seized the opportunity as Mu Jinyu underwent the Pure Karma Fire Calamity, all rushing out to create chaos, hoping to make Mu Jinyu perish in the karma fire and join their ranks.