Invincible Snake Emperor

Chapter 439: Chapter 435: Suddenly Crossing the Tribulation

The Ape King hadn’t expected that even after restraining his opponent, he still couldn’t stop the slaughter. He was so terrified that he no longer dared to tighten his grip.

His monkey subjects were dying such senseless deaths. ’What in the world is this Snake Spirit? Its methods are so bizarre,’ he thought.

”Still not going to let go?” Tu Xiao’an asked. Despite being choked, he wore the arrogant expression of a victor.

The Ape King had never been so humiliated. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, ”Dispel your Ice Element! My subjects are only Rank One and Two; they don’t deserve this!”

”Don’t you forget, I’m only Rank Two myself. Let me go, and we can talk this out.”

”Are you threatening me?” the Ape King asked, his gaze imperious. ”I am never one to be threatened.”

Tu Xiao’an said calmly, ”Is that so?”

His eyes narrowed menacingly...

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

In the distance, hundreds more ice statues shattered in an instant. A shower of ice rained down, mixed with the severed limbs of monkeys.

”Then die!”

The Ape King’s hand suddenly tightened. A golden light erupted and solidified around Tu Xiao’an’s neck as his Golden Element Ability focused on protecting it.

Tu Xiao’an was inwardly surprised. ’This Monkey King really is hot-headed. He obviously cares about his subjects, yet he refuses to back down. He has a temper like Blazing Fire, proud and untamable.’

’Fine. If you don’t care about them, then why should I?’

The grip on Tu Xiao’an’s neck grew tighter and tighter. He wasn’t afraid of suffocating; at worst, this body would simply disintegrate.

”Shatter...”

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

A vast swathe of ice statues exploded simultaneously, and one by one, the Awakened Spirit Monster Monkeys were annihilated, turning to dust.

Killing Intent erupted from the Ape King like a hurricane. ”I refuse to believe I can’t choke the life out of you, you damn Snake Spirit!”

ZING!

Tu Xiao’an focused his Snake King’s Left Eye, and a beam of light materialized from his gaze and shot out. The Ape King’s face paled in shock. They were too close; it was impossible to dodge. He instinctively turned his head and stumbled back several steps, releasing Tu Xiao’an.

The beam of light struck the Ape King’s right cheek.

The skin on his right cheek vanished, revealing the coarse fur of an Ape beneath. A trickle of crimson blood seeped from the wound.

Suddenly, the Ape King was left with a bizarre, mismatched face—half human, half Ape—giving him a sinister, simian appearance.

Tu Xiao’an was free again, but a system notification pulled him into deep thought...

[Ding... Congratulations, Host, on successfully accumulating one hundred thousand Evolutionary Energy. You have gained the qualifications to ascend and are about to undergo the Tribulation...]

’I’m Crossing the Tribulation already?’

Tu Xiao’an was completely unprepared. He never imagined that he would gather all the necessary Evolutionary Energy so quickly upon arriving at Monkey Mountain.

It was true what they say: plans can’t keep up with reality. Tu Xiao’an’s original goal was to come to Monkey Mountain, devour some Demon Spirits, and rapidly increase his Evolutionary Energy.

But when he arrived, the Demon Spirits were stronger than he’d anticipated. On top of that, the area was teeming with so many Awakened Creatures.

Just by stirring up a little trouble, he’d hit the one-hundred-thousand-point mark.

As Tu Xiao’an stood there dazed, an imperious and terrifying kingly aura washed over him, blanketing everything.

Snapping back to his senses, he saw the half-man, half-Ape King roaring with rage. A golden light shot from his eyes, which now resembled the Eyes of Golden Flame. The Qi exploding from his body made the very air seem to boil. For him, the great Monkey King, to be wounded by a mere Snake Spirit—a spirit who had also slaughtered so many of his subjects—was the ultimate humiliation.

’Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.’

Seeing the Monkey King was about to go berserk, Tu Xiao’an quickly shouted, ”Wait!”

But the Ape King wasn’t listening. He thrust out a domineering palm, unleashing a series of thunderous blasts. Tu Xiao’an shot into the air, and with a thought, roared, ”Dispel!”

Hmm?

The Ape King was stunned to see the ice on the ground vanish in an instant. The monkeys who had been frozen were now free, as if nothing had ever happened.

However, they had been badly chilled and began chattering and screeching in distress.

”Do you think that just because you’ve dispelled your Ice Element, I will spare you?”

The Ape King’s Killing Intent seethed. His subjects could not have died in vain. He had to crush this damned Snake Spirit to dust.

’When have I ever suffered such a loss?’

”If you don’t want more of your subjects to die, you should have them disperse immediately. Don’t let them gather here!” Tu Xiao’an was about to begin his ascension by Crossing the Tribulation. He had only unfrozen the monkeys because he didn’t want them to die horribly in the process.

It was truly a gesture of goodwill.

”With me here, don’t even think about harming another one of my subjects!” the Ape King roared, shooting upward, completely misunderstanding Tu Xiao’an’s intention.

A boundless Vengeful Spirit erupted from him, whipping up a violent vortex hundreds of meters wide that threatened to grind his opponent to dust.

A sharp glint flashed in Tu Xiao’an’s eyes. ’He doesn’t know what’s good for him.’ As the Ape King charged, Tu Xiao’an could only focus on dodging.

Tu Xiao’an no longer had any desire to fight. The sudden need to face the Tribulation made him uneasy, yet also faintly excited.

If he successfully crossed the Tribulation and ascended, he could take on a true human form—a body of flesh and blood—and would no longer need to rely on a Transformation Potion to maintain it.

After reaching Rank 3, his power would be far greater, and he could truly act without fear.

”Just die already!”

The Ape King relentlessly pursued Tu Xiao’an, fighting as if it were a battle to the death. To be honest, this Level 33 Super Demon Spirit was truly ferocious; Tu Xiao’an wasn’t confident he could win even if he used every trick up his sleeve.

And that was before considering he was about to face a Tribulation and had no time to spare.

Suddenly, a fierce gale erupted over Monkey Mountain, sweeping across the land. The wind tore the clouds from the sky, scouring them from an area hundreds of miles wide above the valley. At the same time, the sky above the valley began to change, slowly turning a deep, dark red.

A suffocating pressure descended upon the entire valley, and the sky itself seemed on the verge of collapse. Down below, every monkey stared at the heavens with horrified eyes, trembling with fear and dread.

”Get your subjects out of here, now! I, the Snake King, am about to ascend by Crossing the Tribulation! Do you want them to get a taste of Celestial Thunder and Celestial Fire?”

Tu Xiao’an had already felt a premonition. He looked up at the sky and saw that its color had indeed changed.

”What? Ascension by Crossing the Tribulation?” The Ape King abruptly halted his attack. He stared at the dark red sky, his heart roiling with shock.

’That’s right. These are the signs of a Tribulation.’

”You damned Snake Spirit! You actually came to my Monkey Mountain to undergo your Tribulation!”

The Ape King nearly coughed up blood. Normally, a cultivator would choose an optimal, secluded location to face their tribulation, precisely to avoid collateral damage.

The cataclysm brought on by a Tribulation was terrifying; most living creatures caught in it would be annihilated.

But this one... this one came to *his* Monkey Mountain to do it. ’What kind of grudge is this? What have I done to deserve this hatred?’ he thought.

In truth, the Ape King had completely misunderstood Tu Xiao’an, who had no idea himself why the Tribulation was starting now.

Having killed so many of the Ape King’s subjects, and now about to cause a catastrophe by undergoing his Tribulation in their territory, Tu Xiao’an actually felt a little guilty.

That was why, to reduce the slaughter, he had unfrozen the monkeys, urging them to flee for their lives.