The Heavenly Tribulation grew increasingly fierce. The Qingmu tree swayed precariously, its branches and leaves constantly falling. Under Qing Yun's protection, Lin Bai and the others all wore solemn expressions. Ye Lan clung tightly to Ye Song's shoulders, while elderly figures like Nanrong Cenqing, Zuo Lan, and Xiao Yu, all at the Transcendence Tribulation Stage of the Great Cheng realm, huddled together in pairs. Even at this critical juncture of life and death, they diligently nurtured their feelings, fearing that if they perished, their love might not be recognized when they transformed into butterflies in the afterlife. At this moment, behind Lin Bai stood four puppets: Peach Ancestor, Qiu Liang, Gu Yi, and Wen Ba, supplying him with power. He had stored away his other puppets; in such a potent Heavenly Tribulation, puppets with lower cultivation levels were of little use. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵 Zuo Lan and the others looked at Lin Bai, hesitating to speak. To tell the truth, they wanted to join the Phoenix Seeks Phoenix group. The Qingmu tree was being splintered by the tribulation, while those inside Phoenix Seeks Phoenix remained calm and unruffled. Wasn't it obvious which side was safer? However, with Lin Bai, also a man, still standing his ground, they, as his disciples, found it difficult to voice such a request before their master. 「Outside the Holy Extreme Sect.」 Dozens of Great Cheng experts from the seven righteous sects and five demonic sects watched Lin Bai and his companions on the battered Qingmu tree from afar, peering through gaps in the lightning, poised and ready. "The Qingmu tree can't hold out much longer," Senior Brother Wan of the Poison Sect remarked. "Given the current situation, it will fall in two days at most." A Great Cheng cultivator from the Heavenly Sword Sect, carrying a longsword, looked towards Lin Bai's Support Group, eager and ready to strike at any moment. Most of those sheltered by Phoenix Seeks Phoenix were from the Blood Sect; no one particularly cared about their fate. The cultivators' attention had always been focused on Lin Bai. If Lin Bai were to use Phoenix Seeks Phoenix on himself, their attacks would fall upon the Support Group. Should the individual who descended from the sky within the Phoenix Seeks Phoenix group perish, those protected inside would undoubtedly die. No one wished for Lin Bai to survive the Heavenly Tribulation. Yet, concurrently, no one wanted to provoke him now; a desperate counterattack from Lin Bai, empowered by the Heavenly Tribulation, would mean death for anyone who dared to interfere. "Alliance Hierarch, should we go save the Grand Master?" Silver asked Lin Si Bai. In the presence of Lin Bai's Divided God, the players felt it inappropriate to use Lin Bai's actual name, so they had naturally started calling him "Grand Master." "No need." Lin Bai was focusing all his energy on dealing with the Heavenly Tribulation. His two external Divided Gods were in a near-dormant state, responding only perfunctorily to external stimuli. The thoughts of the two Divided Gods originated from the main body. If the main body perished, the two Divided Gods would be rendered useless. Lin Bai clearly understood which was more critical. It wasn't just Lin Si Bai. After the Heavenly Tribulation had suddenly intensified, Wu Bai, who had possessed Lady of L, also returned from the real world to the game, positioning himself outside the Holy Extreme Sect to guard his main body during the tribulation. Phoenix Seeks Phoenix was Lin Bai's ultimate trump card. When faced with an insurmountable obstacle, he would naturally use it when necessary. At that point, having a Divided God with skills stationed outside to protect him would ensure his own safety. "Alliance Hierarch, the champions from the cooking competitions of all nations have been chosen. Shall we take them outside the Heavenly Tribulation to compete with Lin Bai?" Silver asked again. "There's no need," Lin Si Bai replied. "Everyone outside already knows I am a Divided God that possessed a body for Lin Bai. Gather them, and I will compete with them. I know everything my main body knows. The path to the Holy Extreme Sect is currently blocked by the righteous and demonic sects, and I don't wish to clash with them at this time." The Divided Gods were, after all, part of him. Lin Bai wasn't sure if the System would recognize tasks completed by a Divided God on behalf of the main body, but that didn't stop him from trying. If it worked, great. If not, he would simply try again after surviving the Heavenly Tribulation. Previously, while Qing Yun was enduring the Heavenly Tribulation, Lin Bai might have considered diverting some energy to take the chefs through the trials set by the seven righteous and five demonic sects to boost his reputation. But now, he was unwilling to invite any additional complications. Furthermore, the latest task from the Cooking God System rewarded absolute control over ingredients, a reward he doubted would be of much use during the Heavenly Tribulation. Instead of relying on the Cooking God System's reward, he might as well hope that a few more of the Systems in his mind would activate to help him overcome this trial! 「Rich Reach Group headquarters.」 Zhou Geshang reported to the board of directors, "We've found Lady of L. She is Cai Jia, the daughter of a real estate developer in Guanhai City. After Lin Bai possessed her, he used her identity to travel around Guanhai City a few times. However, as the Heavenly Tribulation intensified, her activities ceased. Should we attempt to contact her?" "Which real estate company?" the old chairman inquired. "Liheng Estates," Zhou Geshang answered. "Lady of L is Lin Bai's fan and is likely to resist us," the old chairman stated. "Let's approach her family's business first. Start with her family to draw her into our team. When Lin Bai's Divided God makes an appearance, we can then formally engage with her. Lin Bai has one Divided God controlling the Justice League and another controlling the Supporting Group. Clearly, he has prepared for the potential demise of his main body. In the future, a Divided God might be in overall control. Winning over one of Lin Bai's Divided Gods would only be beneficial to us, with no drawbacks." "Junior Sister Qingyun might not be able to hold on much longer," Xu Longyun said. "I know." Lin Bai watched Qing Yun in the sky intently, a golden card held ready in his hand, prepared to seal her at any moment. He was determined to maximize Qing Yun's value. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Qing Yun persevered for another day and night. On the forty-second day of the Heavenly Tribulation. The bright white lightning suddenly transformed into gold. From the moment it appeared, the Golden Lightning exhibited characteristics distinct from the bright white lightning. As it descended, it felt as if even one's Divine Soul was being suppressed. Accompanying the Golden Lightning was a torrent of Heavenly Fire. This Heavenly Fire was pale blue, erupting from the clouds, burning through the ethereal projection Qing Yun struggled to maintain, and coiling towards the Qingmu tree's main body. The instant the Heavenly Fire ignited the Qingmu tree, Qing Yun suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. The azure projection she sustained abruptly tore open, revealing a large hole. A bolt of Golden Lightning, as thick as a water bucket, pierced through the hole in the projection and, with a CRACK, struck the Qingmu tree's main body. The Qingmu tree, thousands of meters tall, was split down the middle by the Golden Lightning, the crack racing downwards as leaves scattered like rain. Qing Yun, grievously injured, immediately fell unconscious. Her head lolled, and she plummeted from the sky like a falling star. Without her protection, one bolt of Golden Lightning after another slammed into the Qingmu tree. In the blink of an eye, several hundred meters of its height were obliterated. "The Qingmu tree is finished," a Great Cheng cultivator of the Holy Extreme Sect observed, a trace of sorrow in his eyes as he watched the tree being ravaged by both lightning and Heavenly Fire. "The Heavenly Tribulation is too powerful! Throughout history, I've never witnessed anyone undergoing a tribulation where Golden Lightning descended from the tribulation clouds, let alone accompanied by Heavenly Fire." Beside him, a Great Cheng cultivator from Sky Demon Mountain spoke with lingering fear, "Heaven is truly determined to wipe out Lin Bai!" "Having tens of thousands undergo tribulation simultaneously was, in itself, a provocation to the heavens. Moreover, there was the Qingmu tree, which had lain dormant for who knows how many tens of thousands of years..." a cultivator from the Valley of Thousand Souls lamented, shaking his head. "Poor Lin Bai. He was a peerless talent of his generation. To think he would fall here... Indeed, one should not be too arrogant," the cultivator from Sky Demon Mountain sighed in dismay. Before his words had fully faded, he witnessed an astonishing sight. A golden card enveloped the falling Qing Yun. Qing Yun vanished, then reappeared. Lin Bai flashed to her side and popped a medicinal pill into her mouth. The Qingmu tree, which had been split in two by the Golden Lightning, was instantly restored to its original state, its severed top regrown. The assembled cultivators were dumbfounded. "This... this... Lin Bai's cards truly have no limits? They can even seal the Qingmu tree? That tree has been growing for hundreds of thousands of years; how could it possibly recover instantly? This... this defies all logic!" a cultivator from the Holy Extreme Sect stammered. "Master." Qing Yun, suddenly restored, looked at Lin Bai standing beside her, feeling the abundant Spiritual Power coursing through her. "I..." "Don't speak. From now on, we fight side by side," Lin Bai said with a smile. He mobilized the Spiritual Power within him, effortlessly creating an umbrella-like canopy above the Qingmu tree, shielding them from the renewed onslaught of lightning. Only after sharing Qing Yun's power did Lin Bai fully comprehend her strength. If the Spiritual Power of a Crossing Tribulation Realm cultivator was a lake, then Qing Yun's was an ocean—vast and boundless. An attack she could casually unleash was potent enough to annihilate a Great Cheng cultivator. "Master, your strength?" Qing Yun looked at Lin Bai in astonishment, a forced smile on her lips. "However strong you are, that is how strong I am now." Lin Bai infused more Spiritual Power into the canopy he had re-established. Personally confronting the Heavenly Tribulation, he finally understood the immense pressure Qing Yun had been under. The Spiritual Power shield he constructed was like a house made of snow, while the incessantly falling lightning was like a series of red-hot branding irons. The two were fundamentally opposed. All he could do was continuously reinforce the snow house before the branding irons burned through it. He was in an incredibly passive position. Qing Yun's sudden fall had made everyone believe disaster was imminent, yet in an instant, Lin Bai had turned the situation around. A wave of admiration washed over the onlookers. Ye Song remarked, "If he can survive this Heavenly Tribulation, Master will truly be the undisputed number one in the world." "Master is already number one," Little White Fox asserted. "It's only because those people are despicable enough to use the Heavenly Tribulation against him. Otherwise, Master would have dealt with them all long ago." "Master, your Spiritual Power, like mine, is wood-elemental. It cannot withstand the burning of the Heavenly Fire," Qing Yun cried out in alarm, watching the Heavenly Fire once again roll down from the clouds. As the Heavenly Fire descended, Lin Bai could clearly feel his Spiritual Power shield melting at an accelerated rate. Lin Bai possessed an exceptionally keen combat instinct. The moment the Heavenly Fire surged downwards, his hand flickered, and the Yin Yang Fan, a reward from the Peerless Divine Doctor System, appeared in his grasp. The Yin Yang Fan increased fire control by ten percent. Lin Bai raised the Yin Yang Fan and swept it towards the Heavenly Fire. A portion of the flames was redirected, but the majority stubbornly continued towards the Qingmu tree. In a short while, a hole was burned through his protective shield. Qing Yun reacted swiftly, managing to block the flames for Lin Bai, but in mere moments, fine beads of sweat covered her face. The Heavenly Fire was a powerful counter to her elemental nature. "Master, what do we do? We can't hold out!" Qing Yun exclaimed anxiously. Lin Bai remained silent for a moment, then quickly retrieved his six-piece blacksmith set. With a wave of the Yin Yang Fan, he diverted a stream of Heavenly Fire into the furnace. Then, placing the Yin Yang Fan on the Anvil, he raised the Blacksmith's Hammer and brought it down. At this moment, Lin Bai disregarded all theories of artifact refining and formations. He relied purely on his instincts to refine the Yin Yang Fan, gambling on his Qi Yun. The Yin Yang Fan offered a ten percent boost to fire control. The six-piece blacksmith set could enhance the quality of magic treasures. If he could succeed a few times and improve the Yin Yang Fan's fire control probability, the Heavenly Fire would cease to be a major threat. As for the risk of ruining it? A mere ten percent fire control was almost negligible. In a life-or-death situation, if it broke, it broke. While Lin Bai was forging, Heavenly Fire continued to pierce the dual-layered protective shield. Qing Yun exerted all her strength to maintain the defense, terrified of disturbing Lin Bai's artifact refining. The Heavenly Tribulation at this stage was more ferocious than the previous forty days combined. If Qing Yun had to face it alone, she would likely have been annihilated in moments, just as before. Noticing more Heavenly Fire descending, Lin Bai gritted his teeth and took out the Eight Diagrams Alchemy Furnace, another reward from the Peerless Divine Doctor System. He guided a stream of Heavenly Fire into it. Spirit Fruits, Temperament Fruits, fruits from the Qingmu tree, Enlightenment Pills, and various Pill Medicines he had stored were all tossed in. Then, steeling himself, he summoned Gu Yi from the Pill and Spirit Sect. He thrust an Enlightenment Pill into Gu Yi's mouth, restoring his memories, and roared, "Control the fire and refine pills!" Gu Yi's eyes blinked as lucidity returned. Memories flooded his mind, and his expression darkened momentarily. However, witnessing Lin Bai's power within the Heavenly Tribulation, he dared not act presumptuously. He obediently began forming hand seals, controlling the endless flames Lin Bai directed into the Eight Diagrams Furnace, not even daring to ask what kind of pills Lin Bai was attempting to refine. It would have been pointless to ask. Lin Bai himself had no idea what he was refining; he was simply keeping the Alchemy Furnace active to consume the Heavenly Fire. The Eight Diagrams Furnace and the Blacksmith's six-piece set were apparently made of some extraordinary material. The Heavenly Fire that could easily incinerate the Qingmu tree caused them no damage whatsoever when channeled inside; instead, it became docile and controllable. "Master, are these all Divine Artifacts?" Qing Yun asked in surprise. "Hmm, you could say that!" Lin Bai replied, hammering away at the Yin Yang Fan, occasionally thrusting it into the furnace for tempering, thoroughly engrossed in his work. About an hour later, a golden light flashed. The Yin Yang Fan's attributes changed: Fire Control increased to 20%. Overjoyed, Lin Bai fanned at the Heavenly Fire again. This time, a larger portion of the Heavenly Fire was diverted, slightly easing the pressure on Qing Yun. Afterward, Lin Bai tossed a large handful of Spirit Fruits and Temperament Fruits onto the Qingmu tree to replenish Qing Yun's energy, casually cast a Spring Breeze Turns Into Rain Technique, then retrieved the Yin Yang Fan, thrust it back into the furnace, and resumed refining. It was fortunate that Lin Bai's Divine Soul was powerful; otherwise, he would never have been able to manage such multitasking. His external Divided Gods, Lin Si Bai and Lin Wu Bai, having lost his direct control, had long since entered a stalled state, unresponsive to anyone who tried to communicate with them. 「Three days and three nights passed.」 Lin Bai and Qing Yun continued to battle the lightning and Heavenly Fire. During any respite, Lin Bai focused on refining the Yin Yang Fan with his six-piece blacksmith set. Perhaps due to growing proficiency, or perhaps because his Qi Yun was sufficiently high, Lin Bai's refining attempts did not fail once. This continued until the Yin Yang Fan's fire control was enhanced to one hundred percent. A new notification popped up from the God of Craftsmen System: [You have independently refined a Divine Artifact. Your craftsmanship has surpassed the divine level! Reward: High-Level Crafting Theory] In the Peerless Divine Doctor System, the name and appearance of the Yin Yang Fan had changed. Plantain Fan: Absolute Fire Control. Can conjure mist to extinguish all flames.