The Avatar of the Heavenly Dao's timing was locked in very tight.
If Zhang Shou failed to slay the avatar within the next ten minutes, everything would start over from scratch.
Naturally, Zhang Shou didn't want to keep facing it. Its attacks were anything but weak. Even though his Saber Astral Tyrant Body could withstand the damage, it still hurt like hell—he just didn't say so aloud.
Next, the avatar's onslaught grew fiercer and fiercer: a mixed-element colossal dragon, the Myriad Phenomena Great Wave Splitting Palm, a thunderous sun, a sand-and-fire tornado crystal cannon...
Practically every kind of attack was hurled straight at Zhang Shou, battering the Saber Astral Tyrant Body around him until it teetered, looking as if it could collapse at any second.
Yet every time it bordered on crumbling, Zhang Shou gritted his teeth and held on. His defenses flat-out refused to break.
Watching this with their hearts in their throats, Yu Xian couldn't resist asking the others, "Could you guys withstand attacks of this caliber?"
"Probably... not really," Cheng Pi said with a shiver, sounding rather unconfident.
Jin Sheng frowned. "Defense shouldn't be a problem, but my attacks might not be able to finish off the avatar within two strikes. It seems I need to supplement myself with more offensive methods."
"What about you, Niman?" Curious, Yu Xian turned to look at her.
Niman smiled faintly. "No big issue. The first two trials are manageable enough; it all comes down to the third."
"I'm about the same. If each trial is harder than the last, it will depend on the third," Nora said with a slight smile when she saw Yu Xian look her way.
Yu Xian turned to Little Huangquan, who immediately signaled she had no problems.
Though she still had a lifestyle class this time, once supportive lifestyle classes were cultivated to high levels and high tiers, their combat prowess was actually formidable. She might even rank second among them—Nora might not necessarily be her match.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Once the time was up, Zhang Shou immediately erupted with ferocious fighting spirit, slashing out at the Avatar of the Heavenly Dao.
This slash had built up momentum even longer than the last, enduring more violent attacks than before. Everything contributed an unprecedented boost to this single strike.
Beneath the slash, the Avatar of the Heavenly Dao was sliced in two.
Dense cracks began spreading across its body until it shattered with a roar, fragments blasting outward in all directions.
Seeing this, Zhang Shou finally let out a sigh of relief. Exhausted, he turned around and gave everyone a thumbs-up.
Right then, the third trial began.
Zhang Shou looked up and saw Shi Bao slowly solidifying from nothingness. His eyes locked onto Shi Bao, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The third trial: Battle against the Inner Demon.
In all of Zhang Shou's life, his greatest inner demon was Shi Bao. That torrential sea of excrement had drowned him alive. Even though he had died and returned countless times, he had never suffered a death more disgusting than that. Just recollecting it made his entire body squirm, leaving him dry-heaving in revulsion.
That was also why he hadn't continued participating in the tournament back then; his Dao heart had taken a brutal beating.
Everyone present had watched Zhang Shou's match against Shi Bao, and now they all looked at him with concern.
Zhang Shou instinctively gripped his hilt tighter, offering a strained smile. "Good grief. They're actually pulling this trick on me."
He knew very well that the Shi Bao before him wasn't the real one. But he was equally certain that this was most likely an enhanced version—even more disgusting and even more powerful than the real man.
At that moment, Shi Bao raised a hand. A blob of excrement instantly soared into the sky. Before the attack even launched, the stench had already permeated the air.
Truth be told, right at that moment Zhang Shou's arms and legs turned weak. The scenes from that day looped endlessly in his mind. He dropped to his knees on the spot and began dry-heaving.
"The psychological trauma Shi Bao inflicted on Old Zhang is still too immense after all," Yu Xian sighed softly as he watched.
Niman quipped, "Who wouldn't have severe trauma after that?"
"If we're forced to face something like this someday in the future, what should we do?" Cheng Pi asked curiously.
Jin Sheng narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Then don't let yourself fall into such a disadvantage. No matter who it is, don't even think about it."
"Salty Fish has already demonstrated how, hasn't he?" Nora said with a faint smile.
She had watched every one of Yu Xian's matches and naturally knew he had defeated Shi Bao—though the way he had countered Shi Bao's first move had nearly made her vomit.
Even now, Yu Xian's match videos were still trending on the forum, especially the one against Shi Bao, ranking second only to his duel against Shenshang Chai.
The moment when Yu Xian ordered the Eight Hundred Deathsworn to eat shit had been completely obscured by a flood of bullet comments.
Spectators had posted comments like "So tragic," "My sympathies," "Poor guys," and "Don't become Yu Xian's summoned beasts in your next life," loudly denouncing Yu Xian for treating his summons as subhuman.
"True. In fact, all it takes is a shield skill to defend against Shi Bao's attacks. Zhang Shou was just unlucky not to have a shield skill back then," Niman said thoughtfully with a smile.
As long as one had an eggshell-like energy barrier, it could perfectly ward off Shi Bao's sea of excrement—simple and effortless. At most, one would just be grossed out.
At this moment, Shi Bao attacked.
A meteor composed entirely of excrement plummeted from the sky straight toward Zhang Shou on the ground.
Zhang Shou was still on his knees dry-heaving, without even the strength to dodge. The next instant, the excrement meteor slammed into him and burst apart with a crash, leaving Zhang Shou drenched from head to toe.
"Old Zhang, you even dared to eat an Abyss fruit soaked in piss! What the hell are you afraid of?! Shout with me: I love eating shit!!!" Seeing this, Yu Xian knew that if he didn't spur Zhang Shou on, Zhang Shou might truly fail. He drew a deep breath and roared at the top of his lungs.
Zhang Shou froze, staring back at Yu Xian in utter disbelief, before howling back, "Bullshit! I didn't! I never ate an Abyss fruit with piss on it!"
"Then pull yourself together! What's so terrifying about piss and shit? They're nothing more than a bunch of bonded atoms! Conquer your fear! Face your fear! You can do this!" Yu Xian yelled.
Cheng Pi grinned and chimed in, "Quick, shout together: I love eating shit!"
"You're the one who loves eating shit!"
Zhang Shou flipped Cheng Pi the middle finger, but he truly felt much better.
He slowly pushed himself up from the ground. With a slight shudder of his saber astral, the excrement coating him dissolved into particles and dispersed. He looked up at Shi Bao in midair and declared grimly, "Come on, inner demon! Today, I'm chopping you down!"
In truth, while this Shi Bao was indeed an enhanced version, attacks involving feces were ultimately unranked and inferior.
The moment Zhang Shou conquered his inner demon, he had effectively already conquered Shi Bao. A few slashes later, he cut Shi Bao down, and when faced with the subsequent sea of excrement, he annihilated it with a single, straightforward strike.
With that, he successfully shattered the void. The rift carved out by his saber gradually revealed a view of the Tree Universe.
A golden staircase extended all the way from the rift to his feet. The once-golden sky shifted into dazzling colors, as if celebrating his successful ascent through the shattered void.
Chapter 618