Chapter 14: Penetrating the Planet

After overcoming the severe tribulations, Qu Yi’s cultivation level officially reached the early stage of tribulation transcendence. Throughout the three waves of tribulation clouds—Qingxiao, Bixiao, and Danxiao—he directly absorbed their energy, unlike other cultivators who relied on their own vital energy to resist them. As a result, his vital energy not only remained unchanged but even increased, becoming stronger.

At this moment, Qu Yi saw nearly 20,000 elders from the seven sects surrounding him, all ready to pounce on him like hungry wolves. He immediately drew his Eight Directions Sword and sneered.

“Qu Yi, you’re already surrounded by our seven sects. Surrender quickly, and we might spare your life,” shouted Lan Wei, the leader of the Lanyang Palace.

All the elders immediately exerted their pressure on Qu Yi, attempting to suppress his spiritual essence and force him to surrender.

Qu Yi shook his hair back, glared coldly at Lan Wei, then glanced at the leaders of the other sects. Smiling, he said, “I truly admire your courage, leaders. Even after losing 7,000 people, you still haven’t given up and have brought so many elders here. But I’m sorry to inform you—that you still can’t catch up to me.”

With that, Qu Yi suddenly vanished as if he had disappeared, appearing right in front of Lan Wei. He thrust his Eight Directions Sword forward with force.

Lan Wei chuckled and suddenly pulled out a red broadsword—a top-tier spiritual weapon called the Spirit Fire Sword. By channeling his vital energy, the Spirit Fire Sword emitted fire-based primal energy, directly blocking the light from Qu Yi’s sword.

The Lanyang Palace was also one of the top ten sects in the cultivation world, so it naturally possessed top-tier spiritual weapons. This time, Qu Yi couldn’t just slaughter them recklessly with his Eight Directions Sword.

“Qu Yi, the leaders of our seven sects, each wielding a top-tier spiritual weapon. Do you think having the Eight Directions Sword gives you the right to act lawlessly? Today, you must die here,” Lan Wei said coldly, blocking Qu Yi’s attack.

The six other leaders—Tai Ming, Qing Xu, Ying Hua, Jin Xiong, Bi Chi, and Cang Huang—also immediately took out their own top-tier spiritual weapons, smiling as they watched Qu Yi.

Meanwhile, the elders of the seven sects cast spells, turning the sky into an ocean of magical energy. The chaotic energies made it impossible for Qu Yi to teleport away from above.

On the ground, the elders tightened their encirclement, closing in on Qu Yi.

Seeing that the leaders of the seven sects all had top-tier spiritual weapons, Qu Yi realized he couldn’t gain an advantage with his Eight Directions Sword. If he tried to kill the other elders, he would surely be ambushed by those leaders. Without any way to dodge, he would have to retreat into his Dimension Sphere—exposing his greatest secret.

Therefore, Qu Yi no longer wanted to deal with the elders of the seven sects.
“Taiyuan Gate, Qingyun Sect, Lanyang Palace, Yingtian Sect, Jinyang Religion, Biyan Peak, Cangyang Valley—you seven sects are truly ruthless. But just because you’ve blocked the skies and the ground, do you think you can trap me, Qu Yi? Haha! Can you really block the ground?” Qu Yi shouted loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking, he actually dived straight into the ground.
“Ah, attack the ground quickly!”
“Don’t let him dive underground!”
Many elders had already guessed Qu Yi’s intention and shouted urgently, but he was already deep underground.
Many spells were cast on the spot where Qu Yi had stood, turning the ground into chaos, but none of them hit Qu Yi, who was now deep within the earth.
The leaders of the seven sects and nearly 20,000 elders stared in shock at the ten-mile-wide crater, watching as Qu Yi disappeared.
“Hmph! All elders, immediately seal off the entire Core Star system! All those at the later stages of the Tribulation—go underground together! Even if it means drilling through the entire planet, we must find Qu Yi!” Tai Ming suddenly shouted.
Indeed, even if Qu Yi had gone underground, he was still on Core Star. As long as the entire planet was sealed off, he wouldn’t be able to escape. Once reminded, all the elders immediately understood.
Soon, the elders of the seven sects, along with those in the early and middle stages of the Tribulation, all flew into the air. Some monitored Core Star from space, while others searched for Qu Yi in the skies.
As for those at the later stages of the Tribulation—numbering around 2,000—they all dived underground to chase after Qu Yi.
These elders at the later stages naturally gathered together by sect. They also hoped to encounter Qu Yi and seize the Eight Directions Sword and the Six Directions Knife, so that their own sects could return to Liupan Star unharmed.
It could be said that among the elders who entered the ground, aside from their common goal of chasing Qu Yi, each also had their own schemes.
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After diving underground, Qu Yi continued to sink deeper. After descending hundreds of kilometers, he entered the Inch Realm Sphere.
“Hehe, Instrument God, I can survive the Three-Nine Heavens Tribulation thanks to you,” said the Instrument God, smiling as he watched himself on the soft chair by the lake.

The Artifact God opened its eyes and smiled, saying, “Even if I don’t tell you about the tribulation, with your own strength, you can still force your way through it. It’s only because I saw those powerful beings in the tribulation phase around you all wanting to kill you that I gave you a few warnings. I certainly don’t want to see you use your vital energy to endure the tribulation, become weak, and then hide inside the Tiny Realm Ball, exposing it in the process.”

Qu Yi chewed on his lip. The personality of this Artifact God had changed drastically. It had initially offered itself to him so that he could boast a bit, but now it was seriously explaining things.

“Alright, since I need to sense you, those seven sect elders will surely come underground to hunt me. I’ll first strengthen my cultivation and then deal with them properly,” Qu Yi said with a smile.

Just after passing through the Three-Nine Tribulation, although Qu Yi had reached the early stage of tribulation, he still couldn’t use his vital energy smoothly. So he wanted to enter the Tiny Realm Ball to strengthen his cultivation before going out to kill people.

Soon, Qu Yi sat by the lake, channeling his vital energy within. After devouring three rounds of tribulation clouds, his Yuan Ying not only reached its peak but also doubled in size. To put it simply, if someone else’s Yuan Ying was the size of a head, then Qu Yi’s six Yuan Ying were each the size of two heads. As a result, the vital energy in any one of Qu Yi’s Yuan Ying was twice that of other cultivators. In total, the vital energy in his body was equivalent to that of twelve cultivators in the early stage of tribulation.

Three days later, Qu Yi opened his eyes, a smile on his lips.

Suddenly, he disappeared from the Tiny Realm Ball and appeared directly in the underground realm of Core Star One. The area around there had been completely ravaged—those elders from the seven sects in the later stage of tribulation must have turned the entire underground realm upside down.

As soon as Qu Yi emerged, he approached a powerful being in the later stage of tribulation who was moving through the underground realm. The Eight-Directions Sword emitted a stream of light and cut straight into the being’s body.

At this point, Qu Yi’s vital energy was that of someone in the early stage of tribulation. Thus, the energy from the Eight-Directions Sword was equivalent to primordial energy, something that cultivators in the later stage of tribulation could no longer resist.

That powerful being died without even making a sound. Qu Yi immediately took out the being’s Yuan Ying, along with its magical treasures and space ring, then continued to search through the underground realm for the other elders from the seven sects.

With the extremely powerful spiritual sense detection of Qi Shen, Qu Yi didn’t need to use his own. As long as a strong cultivator in the late stage of the Tribulation Phase approached, Qu Yi would immediately enter the Tiny Realm Sphere and wait for that cultivator to come before launching a sneak attack. This plan proved effective—Qu Yi had already successfully attacked ten such cultivators, obtaining ten Yuan Ying from them, along with their magical treasures and space rings. Among these space rings, what surprised Qu Yi the most was the abundance of soul cores. Over the past twenty years, the elders stationed in the Heart Soul Star Region had searched for both Qu Yi and soul beasts whenever they visited different planets, thus amassing many soul cores. Among these were also many soul cores from the middle stage of the Tribulation Phase, covering all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—eliminating the need for Qu Yi to hunt for soul beasts himself. Just after Qu Yi dealt with ten cultivators in the late stage of the Tribulation Phase, the number of such cultivators in that area suddenly increased significantly, as if they were conducting a thorough search. It turned out that the elders who entered that area also had to stay in constant contact with those outside to determine their status. Naturally, when the ten elders in the late stage of the Tribulation Phase died, the elders of the seven sects realized that if they sent individuals to search for Qu Yi, he would kill them one by one. So they sent all their elders into that area to conduct a intensive search. Now, Qu Yi no longer had the chance for sneak attacks. Any attempt to attack would reveal his presence outside the Tiny Realm Sphere and expose his secret. Qu Yi stopped entering the sphere and instead moved through the area, mimicking the aura of other cultivators in the early stage of the Tribulation Phase to launch attacks. A cultivator in the early stage of the Tribulation Phase, wielding a green sword, happened to approach Qu Yi. Qu Yi grinned, suddenly drew out the Eight Directions Sword, and killed him with a single strike. He then took out the cultivator’s Yuan Ying and swallowed it, instantly regaining the True Energy he had spent earlier. “Qu Yi is here!” Suddenly, a message from the spiritual sense of a cultivator in the middle stage of the Tribulation Phase echoed throughout the area. This method of communication could reach anyone within the range of spiritual sense detection, and Qu Yi heard it too. “Haha, you’re right.” Qu Yi immediately grabbed the Eight Directions Sword and swiftly moved through the ground to appear before that cultivator in the middle stage of the Tribulation Phase. With a single swing, the cultivator died instantly. Qu Yi took out his Yuan Ying and also seized the magical treasures and space rings.

Qu Yi’s spiritual sense also detected that hundreds of experts at the Tribulation stage were approaching. “Heh, it seems we’ve been discovered,” Qu Yi said with self-mockery, then quickly moved through the underground passages. With the Eight Directions Sword clearing the way, no hard rock layer could stop him, allowing him to move swiftly underground. “Qu Yi, we’ve found you,” the hundreds of Tribulation-stage experts followed his path, chasing after him relentlessly. As they pursued him, they used communication tokens to keep track of their positions, ensuring all of them were informed immediately. The experts at the Tribulation stage quickly started moving along their own routes to block Qu Yi’s path. Inside Core One Star, nearly twenty thousand pathways were rapidly forming, creating numerous tunnels underground. Of course, Qu Yi didn’t move in a straight line; he kept changing directions, leading the hundred Tribulation-stage experts through winding paths. Suddenly, an expert in the later stages of the Tribulation phase blocked his path, shocking Qu Yi! “How dare you block my way! I’ll kill you!” Qu Yi snarled, swallowing an Intermediate Tribulation stage Yuan Ying to restore his energy. He rushed straight at the expert in the later stages of the Tribulation phase. “Qu Yi, it seems you’re about to fall into my hands,” the expert said coldly, waiting for him to come closer. As Qu Yi approached, the expert immediately used his magical weapon to cast powerful spells, shattering all the rocks underground into dust and creating an open space. The surging energy enveloped Qu Yi, preventing him from teleporting. Still wielding the Eight Directions Sword, Qu Yi flew straight at the expert. “Hmph, I know you have the Eight Directions Sword, so I won’t give you a chance to attack. I’ll keep casting powerful spells, forcing you to defend only while I look for an opportunity to kill you,” the expert thought, then unleashed more intense spells. Unfortunately, to his disappointment, Qu Yi didn’t use the Eight Directions Sword for defense but instead swung it, creating a streak of light. As the expert was about to die, he saw a pentagram-shaped magical weapon appear on Qu Yi’s body.

“A defensive battle suit…” The late-stage Tribulation cultivator cried out in frustration before dying.
Yes, Qu Yi used divine formula cards to defend against the spells of this late-stage Tribulation cultivator, while he himself continued to attack with his Eight Directions Sword.
Qu Yi quickly flew over, extracted the Yuan Ying of this late-stage Tribulation cultivator, took away his magical treasures and space ring, and then immediately moved through the area. All of this happened in the blink of an eye, without slowing down Qu Yi’s speed at all.
“Ah, Elder Wei Dan is dead,” one of the hundred Tribulation-stage strongmen chasing Qu Yi shouted after seeing the corpse of the late-stage Tribulation cultivator.
It turned out that an elder from the Jin Yang Sect had died. All these hundred Tribulation-stage strongmen felt fear—given such circumstances, Qu Yi had managed to kill a late-stage Tribulation cultivator with just one attack, meaning their own strength was no match for his.
The hundred Tribulation-stage strongmen continued to chase behind, but they dared not get too close.
In the area of Core Star One, Qu Yi traveled for a month, almost covering the entire region. It seemed that both Qu Yi and the elders of the seven sects had explored every part of Core Star One.
At some point, the massive Core Star One suddenly began to collapse, with endless lands falling like a starry waterfall into the cosmos.
The planet had been shattered by their traversal.