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Three blazing suns hung in the sky alongside a fourth that resembled a dying ember, while ominous clouds loomed overhead—a scene that seemed plucked from a dream.

The crowd watched as the Divine Armament Peak bore scorched lightning scars, yet a figure wielding a hammer stood unharmed, enveloped in a mysterious radiance. Still, everyone held their breath, sensing this was only the beginning.

"If this is the tribulation for a quasi-Dao artifact, why is Little Mo joining in?" Shangguan Wencang massaged his temples, suddenly feeling his guilt-free consumption of that life-extending elixir was well justified.

Being Li Mo's sect master was like serving a prison sentence—how many years had it shaved off his lifespan?

Du Wufeng pondered briefly before shaking his head. "There are precedents of weapon masters undergoing tribulation alongside their arms to achieve unity between man and blade. But I suspect his reasons go beyond that..."

"I'm familiar with mooching meals, but mooching tribulations? What kind of madness is this?" Qian Bufan muttered under his breath.

Only Zhong Qin, the Southern Guardian King, remained fixated on the fourth sun, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"His Majesty's time... is running out."

A sudden howling gale erupted, searing winds laced with dark flames swirling like a flesh-stripping vortex, its oppressive aura tightening the skin of onlookers.

"Windfire Tribulation!" Shang Qinqing was the first to recognize this heavenly trial.

Yet Li Mo, standing atop the Divine Armament Peak, remained unmoved. A crystalline glow enveloped him, unwavering against the wailing tempest.

After reaching the Fourth Realm, the duration of his Indestructible Vajra Body—empowered by the Eight-Nine Arcane Art—had long surpassed its former fleeting moments. The mountain-leveling winds and flames were now mere noise to him.

Eight-Nine Arcane Art: Indestructible Vajra!

His hammer, like its master, would never wear down.

Having endured the demonic winds, the hammer vibrated twice, like a triumphant child.

Weapons often mirrored their wielders' temperaments—so it was only natural for the hammer to have mastered the essence of brawling.

"There's more?"

The Qingyuan Sect elders, lingering between their inner and outer worlds, steadied their minds to witness this display of nature's might.

The Inner Realm was where one's personal cosmos mirrored the greater universe.

Every thunderclap and raindrop carried celestial grace—this was rare cultivation insight they couldn't afford to miss.

"The Arcane Art has progressed further."

Li Mo braced himself as an ethereal river materialized in the void. This waterless torrent surged with primordial antiquity, its origin and destination unknowable.

Its waves seemed not of liquid, but of time itself.

"No shortcuts here."

Assessing himself, Li Mo realized none of his usual defenses would avail.

Yet understanding the tribulation's purpose, he laughed freely and stood firm, letting the illusory river of time wash over him.

This wasn't the true River of Time—it couldn't reverse or advance years—but its localized assault on his hammer-linked Inner Realm was terrifying nonetheless.

Instantly, his vitality waned. His body, once rivaling mystical steel, dulled as crushing despair engulfed him.

Stars shifted in his Inner Realm; oceans turned to deserts.

His inner landscape dimmed with him—the rising sun faltered toward twilight, flickering like a candle in the wind.

"A quasi-Dao weapon's tribulation is horrifying. This transcends cultivation realms." Qin Yuzhi's head throbbed, recalling visions from when she'd glimpsed the Eighth Realm's threshold. Buried memories resurfaced.

Suddenly remembering something, she turned to Shang Qinqing. "Doesn't Little Bing's Inner Realm involve time? She might have solutions—why isn't she here?"

Shang Qinqing shook her head, equally puzzled.

Yet she trusted Ying Bing's absence was deliberate.

As his Inner Realm guttered like dying embers, Li Mo's hair whitened instantly. Few could fathom the agony of aging decades in moments—but he'd already grown old once in the Phoenix Domain.

His expression never faltered; he clung to nothing.

The candle's final spark refused extinction. Each time it neared disappearance, it flared brighter—stubbornly piercing the darkness.

This resurgence grew mightier with each cycle, soon surpassing even the Arcane Art's previous zenith!

Li Mo's hair darkened anew. His eyes, like his hammer's gleam, never wavered.

Having walked through time, he remained a youth!

"It should be over now." Du Wufeng finally exhaled.

Eyeing the hammer, he discreetly wiped drool, anticipating closer inspection.

Unscathed by windfire, untouched by time.

Given years, the "quasi" prefix before "Dao artifact" would surely vanish.

"Time couldn't erode Li Mo's Inner Realm?"

Others sighed in relief but grew more intrigued.

Time was the blade that felled countless Palm Mystic Realm experts who failed to transcend.

How could a Fourth Realm cultivator—relying solely on his Inner Realm—defy this?

Congratulatory voices rose as the crowd assumed safety.

"Good thing I exchanged for the Eight-Nine Arcane Art's second volume..."

Yet Li Mo, sensing his breakthrough into the Art's second tier, kept his gaze locked on the four suns.

The fourth felt familiar—like the Blood God yet not.

Whatever secrets it held, Li Mo knew one thing:

This wasn't over!

"Hmm?"

The Qingyuan Sect members also sensed abnormality.

Following the unease, they saw the fourth sun morph into a glaring eye—radiating authority and bone-chilling fury.

Dark clouds twisted into mountainous shapes by invisible hands, writhing with rainbow lightning serpents of pure annihilation.

Even sixth-realm experts with manifested Dharma Bodies felt their scalps prickle at the sight.

Unavoidable. Unopposable.

"What tribulation is this?"

Frightened voices asked, but none could answer.

No records described such heavenly punishment.

Before Qingyuan's gates...

Ying Bing tilted her face skyward, as if locking eyes with some distant presence. Her soft voice carried steel:

"This tribulation defies the Heavenly Dao."

Invisible chains materialized, lashing the thunderous mountain and draining its power.

"It's weakening..."

Li Mo sensed the once-suffocating pressure now bearable.

Brute force would spell defeat here!

Exhaling sharply, his Inner Realm materialized behind him as his body expanded.

His hammer grew in tandem, mirroring his Heaven-Earth Manifestation technique.

Li Mo raised his hammer skyward—as if to cleave creation itself.

"SMASH IT!"

Air seemed to vanish. The last thing witnesses saw was hammer meeting storm-mountain.

The collision froze momentarily before the cloud-mass hurtled backward like a cannonball, detonating midair into mist.

BOOM—

The fourth sun had vanished without trace.

Three sunbeams pierced the remnants, painting the scattered clouds in molten gold.