We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

"Judging from their appearance... are they Ox-Head and Horse-Face?"

Shen Bailian felt a chill run down his spine. Using his skill [Divine Senses], he easily spotted the two people secretly observing him after focusing his attention.

Do not!
To be precise, they should be two underworld officials.

"What are these two doing here? Could they be a backup plan that Guanyin has prepared just in case?"

During the tribulation, to prevent anyone from having any suicidal thoughts, Shen Bailian's [Divine Senses] were always kept active and never turned off.

Within a radius of several dozen miles, those who were destined to die were already dead. Moreover, because they were within the range of the Heavenly Tribulation, their souls had long been annihilated by the supreme Yang lightning, disappearing into nothingness between heaven and earth.

As for those who didn't die, they all took this opportunity to flee to distant places.

Logically speaking, and this is also the place where Bai Suzhen underwent the Heavenly Tribulation of Transformation into a Dragon. Thunder belongs to Yang, and Heavenly Tribulation is the most severe, making it the nemesis of evil spirits and ghosts.

Without external force, Ox-Head and Horse-Face would never come to this place before the end of the Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.

But those two underworld messengers arrived.

Therefore, after eliminating all unreasonable options, there is only one purpose for these two underworld messengers to come here: that they are driven by external forces to risk being reduced to ashes and come to this place of tribulation.

Although Shen Bailian had already prepared for Guanyin to have a backup plan when he was preparing to replace Fahai and act as the one to face the calamity.

After all, among all the "constants," the single "variable" is simply too eye-catching.

But he never expected that Guanyin would move so quickly.

Shen Bailian just couldn't understand why Guanyin had sent these two underworld messengers, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, here. Was it to collect souls?

But what good is it to steal someone's soul?

Furthermore, even if Ox-Head and Horse-Face were to bewitch him, it's not certain that the Underworld exists in the Earthly Star Universe. After all, in a sense, there is no Underworld in the Earthly Star Universe, and even if there were, it wouldn't be open to humans.

Therefore, the human race of Earthly Origin Star is, to a certain extent, essentially equivalent to having no soul, possessing only the true spirit closest to the origin.

"Never mind, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. There's always a way out. At worst, we'll just have a big battle or commit suicide." After thinking for a long time, Shen Bailian guessed the true purpose of Ox-Head and Horse-Face coming here.

The real reason is that, based on the information he currently has, it's not that he has very little, but rather that he has none. He simply cannot make any effective inferences and can only guess blindly.

Rather than doing that, it's better not to think about anything at all.

Anyway, at this stage, as long as that guy who merged with the Dao doesn't make a move, Shen Bailian has enough confidence in his innate talent. With the level 5 [Close at Hand], he will definitely be able to escape this world.

Since his life will not be in any real danger in the end, why make things difficult for himself?
It's better to enjoy this hard-won tribulation of lightning.

"Eh?" Thinking of this, Shen Bailian suddenly had a flash of inspiration. An extremely bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he murmured softly amidst the lightning tribulation:
"In that case, could I take someone else's tribulation for them? That way, I could not only obtain extremely pure resources for advancement, but also gain a large amount of experience points. When I really couldn't take it anymore, I could just use a yo-yo..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a sudden, intense chill ran through him, rising straight to the top of his head and instantly making him much more alert.

Shen Bailian knew he had let something slip; to be precise, he shouldn't have said it at all, especially while undergoing his tribulation.

This is tantamount to provoking the will of Heaven.

Because heavenly tribulations often contain only a sliver of hope, and are specifically used to punish those intelligent beings who fantasize about ascending to heaven in one step and defying the will of heaven.

If Shen Bailian sets a bad precedent, things will likely get out of control in the future.

Heavenly tribulations will also lose their deterrent effect.

Although there aren't many "fools" like this, it's better to be safe than sorry. If Shen Bailian really did that, then the Heavenly Tribulation would be rendered meaningless.

There is no other way but to ban Shen Bailian.

"Horse-face, look at this person. Isn't he the human that Guanyin asked us to find?" The bull-headed beast's head was covered with short, tangled hair, and its cast iron-like horns were coiled on its forehead. Its crimson eyes seemed to flow like molten lava, and every blood vessel reflected the karmic fire of the underworld.

His bronze-colored skin was covered in cracks, and his nostrils spewed out a foul-smelling mist. Foul-smelling saliva dripped from between his wide-open fangs. A hundred-pound iron yoke was shackled around his thick neck, and his muscular arms carried a three-pronged steel fork. Black iron chains were wrapped around his waist and abdomen, and the ghostly fire dripping from the blades made the stone bricks of the Yellow Springs Road sizzle.

Her appearance is completely different from the delicate and pretty look she has in movies and TV dramas.

As for the horse-faced demon on the side, it was equally impressive.

His long, narrow face was covered with silver mane, his ear tips stood up straight, piercing through the mist, his gray-white eyes were like the cold pools deep in an ice cave, his pupils stood upright like blades, his high cheekbones were cracked with fine scales, and whenever he let out a strange laugh, the cracks would seep out phosphorescent green light, his bony claws gripped the Soul-Sealing Rope, and his bluish-black veins snaked beneath his pale skin.

His thin body was wrapped in a tattered black robe, the hem of which was stained with the waters of the River Styx. The copper bells tied to his ankles made a soul-stirring tremor with each step. Two rows of bone spikes protruded from his back, piercing through the fabric. The skull lantern hanging from the end swayed in the cold wind, making the vermilion talisman between his eyebrows flicker.

Even ordinary martial artists, upon seeing the faces of these two underworld officials, would be extremely likely to lose their composure instantly, no exaggeration.

For the two underworld messengers, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, a moment's lapse in concentration was enough to extract their souls from their bodies.

For most cultivators, the soul, detached from the physical body, is their greatest weakness.

"Nonsense." Horse-face's voice was extremely shrill, like the croaking of a brothel madam in ancient times—extremely harsh and unpleasant to hear.

"Such a huge variable is right in front of you, and you're still asking me if this person is the one we're looking for?"

"You're right." The bull's voice was like rolling thunder, shaking people's hearts. He ignored the horse's mockery and acted with cold violence.

Although it was their first time working together, Niu Tou inherited the character of Lao Niu, being honest and kind-hearted, and didn't take Ma Mian's foul mouth to heart at all.

"This kid is still undergoing his tribulation, so there's nothing we can do about him for now." Horse-face and Ox-headed Demoness were hiding in the void, using their racial talents to jump out of the Three Realms and Five Elements, secretly observing Shen Bailian's every move.

"you're right."

"This kid's spirit and energy are simply too powerful." Horse-face's eyes were empty, seeing through the surface of the world, and he saw the extremely vast and pure aura emanating from Shen Bailian, and he was speechless with amazement:
"No wonder Guanyin Bodhisattva asked Yama to send the two of us to capture his soul. If we want to bring this kid's soul to the underworld, we still have to rely on the old method: wait until he falls asleep, then emerge and intimidate his soul..."

"Yes, you're right."

"Besides saying you're right, what else can you say?" "Everything you say is right."

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Horse-Face suddenly rubbed his forehead, utterly despairing. He felt that this time, Ox-Head's personality was far too kind.

Despite his excessive sarcasm, the other party didn't react at all.

Right now, Horse-Face (a deity) desperately wants to find another Ox-Head to be his partner, at least to be verbally abused rather than subjected to passive-aggressive behavior.

But Ma Mian also knew that this was almost impossible.

Judging from the bull's kind nature, he's clearly not the kind of person who likes to cause trouble or look for problems, so it's unlikely he'd step down so quickly.

He might step down faster than this new bull-headed ruler, and He is certainly aware of this.

Moreover, the appearance of this year's Minotaur is truly intimidating.

Yes, Ox-Head and Horse-Face are not two fixed and unchanging underworld officials, but just a title for their positions, nothing more, just like a foreman, department head, or project manager on a construction site.

Therefore, there is naturally a certain selection mechanism for the candidates to serve as the two underworld officials, Ox-Head and Horse-Face.

Due to the special nature of their positions, Ox-Head and Horse-Face are basically above all spirits, except for Yama and the reclusive big shots hidden in the underworld.

Furthermore, as long as they are not dismissed from their posts, they will basically enjoy the status of a true god, transcend the Three Realms, be outside the Five Elements, and have no need to worry about the five signs of decay in the heavens and humans, thus enjoying the Dao fruit of immortality.

However, at the same time, these two positions also have a fatal flaw, which is that they are easy to offend people.

Because at crucial moments, Ox-Head and Horse-Face must play a pivotal role. For example, when it comes to difficult tasks or tasks that offend powerful deities, the two of them must personally take action. Sometimes, they might even be used as pawns by others.

For example, the two Ox-Headed and Horse-Face demons from the previous generation transformed the stone monkey on Flower Fruit Mountain from a "variable" in the universe into a "constant".

After the stone monkey became the Victorious Fighting Buddha, the ox-headed and horse-faced figures were replaced.

However, even if Ox-Head and Horse-Face knew that Guanyin was using them as pawns, so what? In the underworld, the two could be considered generals.

However, within the Three Realms, the two of them were merely ants, utterly powerless against Guanyin, a veteran deity with the highest rank of Da Luo.

Life is like XX; if you can't resist it, you can only submit to it.

"Hey, Horse-face, have you noticed something?" Ox-head suddenly said in a deep voice, as if he had discovered something: "Why do I suddenly have a feeling that we might have been discovered by that 'variable'?"

"Haha~"

"What are you talking about?" Horse-face sneered twice, speaking with considerable pride, his tone filled with contempt for ordinary martial artists.

"He's just a mortal. Even if he's a Celestial Realm martial artist, what can he do? Over the years, haven't you seen enough Celestial Realm martial artists? Just based on his divine talent, he couldn't possibly have discovered the two of us."

As one of the few divine positions in the underworld, and an extremely important one at that, as well as holding the status of righteous gods, Ox-Head and Horse-Face naturally come with certain benefits, namely, divine talents.

In layman's terms, it means "just passing by".

A divine talent that does not enhance combat power but provides top-notch skills in concealment, escape, and self-preservation. Once activated, it allows one to instantly disappear into the boundary between the inner and outer worlds, that is, between reality and illusion.

Only those who have transcended the Three Realms and are not within the Five Elements, such as the Primordial Golden Immortals, or those with the relevant abilities and methods, can identify the two.

There is no other way.

“You’re right.” Ox-Head pondered briefly, then thought that Horse-Face was right too. Shen Bailian was just a mortal martial artist. Even if he reached the Celestial Realm, so what?

There is a difference between immortals and mortals! Even if you add nines after 0.9, it will always be less than one, and can never become one.

"You..." Upon hearing Bull Head's reply again, Horse Face's forehead veins bulged, and an unnamed fire suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart, especially when he saw Bull Head's innocent look, this unnamed fire burned even more fiercely.

However, he had nowhere to vent this nameless anger.

"Nowhere to vent? Isn't this a ready-made solution?" Just as Horse-Face was feeling troubled, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly thought of their mission objective.

He certainly wouldn't dare to vent his anger on those immortals and gods who had attained the status of true gods.

However, if this person were Shen Bailian, then He would be fearless. After all, there are differences even among the true gods, let alone the various variables whose strength fluctuates.
Moreover, he was the weakest warrior in terms of soul power. This "variable" was ridiculously weak. Sending two underworld messengers with divine authority to deal with such a warrior was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

……

[Congratulations! Your Five Elements Breathing Technique skill has been upgraded. Experience points +1]

Congratulations! Your character level experience has increased by 1.

【…】

Congratulations! Your skill "Iron Body" has been upgraded. Experience points +1

【…】

With the roar of thunder, the Second Nine Heavenly Tribulation has ended, and the Third Nine Heavenly Tribulation has begun. Compared to the former, its power has increased significantly.

Shen Bailian was bathed in the lightning tribulation. The violent lightning power flowed through every inch of his muscles, bones and flesh, and his whole body trembled with pain.

His face turned bright red from the rush of blood and qi, and the veins on his forehead bulged as if they were about to jump out at any moment.

His muscles twitched wildly, his body like fingernails that had been forcibly ripped off, then doused with a basin of salt water and alcohol, and finally pierced by millions of steel needles at the same time.

This was a pain that went deep into his bones, so painful that his muscles were practically dancing.

It could be said that Shen Bailian hadn't experienced such pain in a long time, especially after the [Iron Body] skill advanced to [Steel Body], a pain he had never felt before. (End of Chapter)