Tianyi could only watch helplessly as Emperor Soulfish's hand neared him. He tried to struggle, explode, unleash his cosmic giant, mantle, anything! But, no, he could do nothing.
"I finally captured you," Emperor Soulfish said. His voice sounded plain yet pleasant, giving people a good impression, but Tianyi only felt shivers crawling up his spine.
"Yi'er!"
From above, Mengfei disengaged from her battle with the Cloud Goddess and flew toward Emperor Soulfish. With killing intent brimming in her eyes, Mengfei brought out the Kunlun Mirror, and Tianyi felt his shift. The next thing he knew, he was standing behind Mengfei.
Off in the distance, Sect Master Xia, who saw Mengfei's action, couldn't help but sigh. Since the start of the war, Mengfei had never revealed the Kunlun Mirror in order to wait for the best chance to utilize it, but she had wasted the chance to save Tianyi.
'Perhaps I should not have invited Tianyi to this operation. Grand Elder Xi cares too much for him,' Sect Master Xia thought as he sighed again.
"Stay behind me," Mengfei said as she pointed her crystalline sword at Emperor Soulfish.
Instantly, nine translucent sword tips appeared from all sides and struck toward Emperor Soulfish. However, before the sword tips could hit Emperor Soulfish, wisps of cloud appeared and protected him.
Mengfei turned her head towards the Cloud Goddess slowly descending down.
"If you want to kill him, then you'll have to go through me first," The Cloud Goddess said.
Mengfei didn't say another word and attacked the Cloud Goddess. The Kunlun Mirror shone brightly and captured the Cloud Goddess in its reflection. She seemed to have been frozen in time, unaware of the world around her, and not even a lock of her hair moved despite the billowing wind.
Just as Mengfei's sword reached the Cloud Goddess's neck, the Cloud Goddess regained her movement. Her body transformed into white clouds, and Mengfei's sword sliced through harmlessly.
Tianyi couldn't even see what had happened. All he knew was that one moment, his mother had been in front of him, and the next, she was in the distance, slicing through a human-shaped cloud. He knew that he couldn't participate in such a battle, so he turned around to fight the other Anti-Heaven Alliance members.
But the moment he did so, a sense of danger erupted in his heart. He whipped his head to see Emperor Soulfish flying towards him. 'Why are you so fixated on me?!'
No longer being burdened by the Jadelight Emperor War Formation, black gas leaked continuously from Tianyi's body, and he formed the Chaos Refining Formation. Unlike previous times, he didn't trap his foe within but used it as a barrier.
Tianyi held his breath and waited for Emperor Soulfish's next move. His face paled when Emperor Soulfish blasted a hole into the Chaos Refining Formation and charged in. He immediately unleashed all his spacetime techniques onto the immortal emperor, but it did nothing to slow him. Tianyi teleported himself to the edge of the Chaos Refining Formation and exited it.
He clapped his hand together and used the Chaos Refining Formation as fuel for the Planetary Purgatory, but that still didn't stop Emperor Soulfish. Left with no choice, Tianyi detonated the Chaos Refining Formation. It would have been best if he could compress it for greater explosive power, but the immortal emperor would have escaped the next second.
Tianyi didn't wait to see the results. He didn't think such an attack could kill Emperor Soulfish. Hell, he didn't even have confidence that it slowed him down, so he turned and fled.
Or, he would have liked to, but he felt his body freeze up in a familiar sensation.
"Soulfish, die!"
Emperor Soulfish quickly moved out of the way and dodged Mengfei's sword swing, but he wasn't fast enough as Mengfei severed the arm that he reached toward Tianyi with.
But, Tianyi couldn't be happy as his eyes widened. "Mother, watch out!"
Mengfei flew in front of Tianyi protectively as a spiraling cloud twister struck her back. Her face paled, and she spat out a mouthful of blood, dousing Tianyi's face in it.
"Mother?!"
Mengfei turned around and wiped the blood off with her sleeve. "I'm alright. Don't worry about me, Yi'er."
Tianyi realized for the first time that he had grown taller than Mengfei. That back he had always watched had never seen so fragile in his eyes. He clenched his fists until his nails pierced his palm.
He couldn't even escape. Both the Cloud Goddess and Emperor Soulfish were now targeting him, forcing Mengfei to go on the defensive. Had it not been for Mengfei, that cloud twister would have struck him.
"Yi'er, quickly enter the Seamless Immortal Realm!" Mengfei shouted, causing Tianyi's eyes to widen. "If you become an immortal monarch, you would be able to fend off Emperor Soulfish long enough for Mother to get rid of the Cloud Goddess."
Tianyi's widened eyes narrowed as he unclenched his hand. He stared at Mengfei's back.
"What are you doing, Yi'er!" Mengfei shouted. "You know how important this operation is to the sect! Are you really willing to watch the sect embark on the road to desolation because of your pride!?"
The Immortal Confining Sword appeared in Tianyi's hand, and to Mengfei's shock, he threw it at her. "With two divine artifacts, you should be able to defend both of them, Mother. Just ignore me, and go."
Mengfei caught the Immortal Confining Sword and stared at Tianyi with an emotion that he had never seen in her eyes, disappointment. Tianyi felt his heart throb, but he ignored it and flew off.
With the boost of the Immortal Confining Sword, Mengfei gained the upper hand again against the two of them, even as they targeted Tianyi. But she could not defeat either of them, and after a few moments, the Tripartite Alliance's experts and war formations had arrived, instantly reversing the battle into the rebel's favor.
Sect Master Xia's eyes turned dispirited at the situation. He wanted to believe that they still had a chance, but his logical mind prevented him from that. So, he ordered a retreat to cut their losses before it became even worse.
Thankfully, the Buzhou Immortal Sect only lost twenty to thirty percent of their forces due to Mengfei suppressing the Cloud Goddess and Emperor Soulfish. However, seeing the defeated expression on everyone's faces, Sect Master Xia's face couldn't help but reflect their expressions.
The Buzhou Immortal Sect had paid a high price for this chance. The forces sent to assault the strategic locations likely would have more casualties than them. He turned his eyes towards Tianyi, reflecting the same disappointment Mengfei had.
Unlike Mengfei's disappointment, Tianyi didn't feel anything.
"Little Xi, why didn't you ascend to the Seamless Immortal Realm like Grand Elder Xi asked?" Sect Master Xia questioned, a trace of anger that he didn't even know he was showing appeared.
"Sect Master, I gave the Immortal Confining Sword to my mother, isn't that enough? If she couldn't defeat them with two divine artifacts, what makes it that me becoming an immortal monarch will?"
"Because she wouldn't have to protect!" Sect Master Xia roared upon seeing him not show one hint of remorse. "The sect raised you for all these years and even gifted so many resources. Is this how you repay the sect?'
"This is my chosen immortal path. If you really force me to ascend to the Seamless Immortal Realm, you are sowing irrevocable hatred between you and me," Tianyi said.
"What a good Xi Tianyi. What a good son you have, Grand Elder Xi," Head Elder Brightwing of the Assignment Hall said as he sent Mengfei a mocking gaze. "For your selfishness, you ignored the plight of the whole sect, such a good disciple our sect has!"
"Who knows, maybe the two rebels will give Elder Xi commendations for his act of charity to them," Huang Feihong, Head Elder of the War Hall, said.
Tianyi closed his eyes and said nothing. His act infuriated the other elders and caused them to spittle him with abuse. Not even Mengfei stepped up to speak for him.
Finally, Tianyi opened his eyes and gazed peacefully at the hurling insults. "Are you done?"
Tianyi's question infuriated the elders even more, but he continued on as if not seeing it. "I find it funny that you people are judging me like this. When has the result of the battle ever hinged on me, a newly ascended immortal?"
He turned and looked at Sect Master Xia. "With all these years you knew Mother and me, you should have known she would protect. Since you knew, why did you include me knowing that I was a liable weakness?"
"You!" Sect Master Xia pointed his finger at Tianyi before waving his sleeve. "Unreasonable! Instead of finding fault within yourself, you blame others? It seems that you are too self-centered."
Tianyi gave a slight smile. "Sect Master, should you say that to yourself too?"
Sect Master Xia sent a withering glare toward Tianyi. "Elder Xi broke the sect's law and damaged the sect's interest for selfish reasons. He will be imprisoned in the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Abyss until he ascends to the Seamless Immortal Realm!"
Tianyi watched on calmly as Head Elder Huang Feihong shackled his wrists. He turned and glanced at Mengfei, who had shifted her face with an anguished expression.
On the way back, he endured the insults hurled his way and even the disappointed gazes of numerous elders, but he was unmoved. It didn't take long for them to return, and upon return, he was personally escorted by Mengfei, Sect Master Xia, and the two head elders to the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Abyss.
When he entered the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Abyss, he didn't feel anything, not even a slight hallucination, despite not carrying a token protecting him from the formation. After entering his cell, Tianyi sat in a lotus position as he watched his jailers.
"Little Xi, you really shouldn't have been so selfish. When you know your mistakes, then you'll be released," Sect Master Xia said before leaving.
Mengfei couldn't even bear to look at him one last time and also walked away. Tianyi said nothing even as he saw the four receding figures.
Tianyi tested his shackles a bit and discovered that he couldn't utilize his qi at all, but he didn't panic. Instead, he closed his eyes and began to meditate.
After an uncertain amount of time, Tianyi heard someone call it to him.
"Xi Longyi!?"
He opened his eyes and saw that the cell opposite him contained Lei Jingye. Lei Jingye's appearance was in tatters with messy hair, bloodshot eyes, and rags for clothes, but his eyes revealed a hint of excitement as he released a bark of laughter. "Haha, I knew the Buzhou Immortal Sect dogs weren't anything good. How does it feel to be locked with me?!"
Tianyi's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything. Instead, Tianyi began to meditate. His consciousness entered his Three Pure True Self Visualization space, and after a moment of observation, his lips curled into a smile.
'Just as I thought.'
Inside his Three Pure True Self Visualization space, endless amounts of tribulation essence not sourced from him filled the space. Tianyi began to absorb the Heavenly Dao's tribulation essence, but unlike the first time, he discovered that it wasn't as easy.
Still, Tianyi didn't give up as he tried to combat the tribulation essence filling his Three Pure True Self Visualization space. He didn't know how long it took, but he eventually discovered a method by fighting fire with fire.
In medicine, one method used to cure poison was to infect the victim with a stronger poison. The stronger poison would swallow the original poison, and the doctor simply needed to cure the stronger poison with the prepared antidote. Tianyi's method wasn't exactly the same, but similar enough.
He began to control his own tribulation essence into his Three Pure True Self Visualization space and drive out the Heavenly Dao's tribulation essence. However, this just resulted in a stalemate after he drove out all the Heavenly Dao's tribulation essence. The Heavenly Dao's tribulation essence constantly tried to penetrate his mind, and Tianyi couldn't relax at all.
'Figures it wouldn't be so simple.' Tianyi thought. He had harbored some hope that driving out all the foreign tribulation essence would allow him to escape this Inner Devil Tribulation, but he was wrong. 'Think, there's got to be some method to escape! Even if the Heavenly Dao wants to kill me, it shouldn't be able to trap me forever since the rules do not allow it to do so. Think!'
Tianyi continued to battle the Inner Devil Tribulation. Sometimes, the Heavenly Dao's tribulation essence would find a hole in his defense and slip back into him, but he would eventually drive it out, and then the two forces would enter a stalemate. But the number of times the foreign tribulation essence broke Tianyi's defenses began to decrease and decrease.
As his mental defenses became stronger, Tianyi discovered that the world around him felt incredibly fake. During the few times he had the spare consciousness to observe the outside world, he saw the progression of time.
The Buzhou Immortal Sect fell under the combined forces of the rebel faction, and Tianyi was even brought out of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Abyss to be given to Emperor Soulfish, but Tianyi cared not. The only thing that made his defense falter was when he heard Mengfei had died, but he quickly drove out the invading tribulation essence and focused on breaking the Inner Devil Tribulation.
Tianyi didn't know how much time passed, but he eventually grew disinterested in the false world and focused wholeheartedly on defeating the Inner Devil Tribulation. Suddenly, he saw a strand of gold in his mind.
He found his vision shifted and saw a young man of around eighteen or nineteen kowtowing in front of him. The man wore a forest green robe and had a healthy tan complexion with lithe muscles, but most eye-catching were his two pupils, which seemed to be a miniature sun.
"Great Vast Heaven God, please protect me as I leave the Starry Sky Immortal Grotto to find my father's killer and avenge him. I, Jinshu, will be forever grateful."
"Alright, when we meet again, you can be my second disciple."
Jinshu snapped his head up, and that was the last thing Tianyi saw as he grasped an opening in the Inner Devil Tribulation and escaped the false reality.