Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Fang Xiufeng's sword connected with the nine Dao characters. A huge boom echoed out, accompanied by boundless, dazzling light. The sixth tribulation's nine Dao characters instantly collapsed, turning into nothing more than drifting ash.

At the same time, the azure light shining up from Fang Xiufeng grew even more blinding, as if it had been provoked by some catalyst.... As the light grew even brighter, the Dao seed inside of him began to melt.

As it did, a bit of Allheaven Immortal aura appeared, something which Meng Hao was very familiar with. It wasn't the aura of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, but rather, the first stage of an ordinary Allheaven Immortal.

At last, he realized why he'd had such a bad feeling. That bad feeling came from... the Dao seed!

If the Allheaven Immortal within Fang Xiufeng awoke at this time, and the tribulation didn't change, then it wouldn't be a problem. However... if the terrifying nature of the tribulation changed in accord with the explosive rise of an Allheaven Immortal, then Fang Xiufeng's tribulation would become much more difficult!

As the azure light flickered off of Fang Xiufeng, and the Dao seed began to melt, the vortex up above suddenly lurched to a stop, as if it had sensed something. Then, intense rumbling sounds could be heard as the vortex suddenly increase in size, by ten times!

The sight of it caused all the onlooking cultivators on Planet South Heaven to stare in shock. Of course, few of them really understood what was happening. Only select clan Elders had any clue.

Most people had never watched other Dao Stepping Tribulations. However, the Elders who had seen one were astonished as they instantly realized that something different was happening.

Meng Li could also tell that something was amiss, and her face fell.

Back in the blood-colored world, Fang Shoudao's eyes went wide. He looked at the vortex, which was now ten times larger than before, then looked back at Fang Xiufeng, and a bitter expression appeared on his face. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

Fang Yanxu shook his head, and an expression of helplessness appeared.

"These two things are incredible boons, but when put together, they make... a complete catastrophe."

Meng Hao's face was extremely unsightly, and as for Fang Xiufeng, he immediately understood what was happening. His clone hovered there silently in midair, looking up at the vortex. Finally, he chuckled.

"Well, this is fine too. This way, I can truly experience Dao Stepping Tribulation. Since I've decided to transcend tribulation, the only way left is forward...." He began to laugh heartily. However, even as his laughter rang out, an intense rumbling could be heard coming from within the vortex.

The vastly enlarged vortex spun, as... the seventh tribulation arrived.

The seventh tribulation was that of... the copper coins!

Copper coins began to flow out of the vortex. Originally, there should only have been nine, but now, with the vortex having increased in size tenfold, there weren't nine copper coins, there were... ninety!!

Each and every one of the coins looked exactly the same. On one side of each coin could be seen an image of the Eight Trigrams, and on the other side were characters that looked like magical symbols. Furthermore, each and every coin emanated power that could shake Heaven and Earth.

Intense rumbling filled the air as the coins descended!

"Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree Tribulation," Fang Shoudao murmured, "the manifestation of a precious treasure of the Mountains and Seas. This Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree has Heaven-rending, Earth-crushing power!!" Up in midair, Fang Xiufeng's clone threw his head back and laughed. Sword qi billowed up from him as he shot toward the ninety copper coins.

"The tribulation power has increased tenfold, huh? Well, who cares!?" Fang Xiufeng's clone transformed into the image of a sword, rumbling through the air toward the coins.

In the instant that they were about to slam into each other, an archaic voice suddenly spoke out from within the ninety copper coins.

"Mountain Ghost...." it said. Immediately, the rightmost two characters on the backs of the copper coins suddenly began to shine with blinding light.

Gradually, ninety roars could be heard, shaking everything, as ninety images materialized from within the ninety copper coins. They were none other than... Mountain Ghosts!!

Mountain Ghosts were actually Mountain Gods that hadn't been officially appointed, and thus, could not be referred to as Gods. Instead, they were called Ghosts!

Their appearances were ferocious, and they surged with energy and power. When they appeared, they immediately charged toward Fang Xiufeng with indescribable speed.

Rumbling filled the air as fierce fighting unfolded. Merely the first exchange caused Fang Xiufeng's clone to cough up blood, and his body was half destroyed. Even still, his sword hacked through all ninety of the Mountain Ghosts, transforming them into nothing more than ash.

However, the seventh tribulation wasn't over yet. Even as the ninety Mountain Ghosts fell to pieces, the archaic voice once again echoed out.

"Mountain Ghost lightning; slay the Ghosts and subdue the spirits; slaughter Demons and ward off evil; maintain the eternal purity of the Gods...."1

RUMMMBLE! As the voice echoed out, ninety bolts of lightning shot out from the ninety copper coins. These lightning bolts looked completely different than the Tribulation Lightning from the first tribulation. They were filled with an aura of killing, as if they were paramount in Heaven and Earth, and represented the Dao of the Heavens to slaughter everything it considered evil!

Fang Xiufeng's clone threw his head back and roared, causing more sword qi to explode up and slam into the ninety lightning bolts. The clone was shoved backward step by step as he sliced apart one bolt after another, blood spurting out of various wounds. By the time the sixty-third lightning bolt hit him, the clone couldn't hold out any longer and exploded.

In that moment, the remaining twenty-seven lightning bolts shot at high speed through the blood-colored air toward Fang Xiufeng's true self.

Meng Hao's eyes were shot with blood, and his cultivation base exploded with power. Using the Trifecta Dao Formation, he poured energy into Fang Xiufeng, allowing him to create a third clone. As soon as the clone materialized, he shot up toward the twenty-seven lightning bolts and slashed at them with his sword.

A huge boom echoed out as the twenty-seven lightning bolts collapsed. Then he charged onward toward the ninety copper coins, sword qi raging in attack. The ninety copper coins began to fade, and yet they didn't collapse. Instead, they swirled about in the air, merging together into a single copper coin which then vanished into the vortex.

It wasn't that Fang Xiufeng had forced the copper coins into retreat. Instead, the fact that he had been able to endure the ordeal meant that the seventh tribulation was over. Now, the eighth tribulation appeared.

The eighth tribulation was a massive finger that stretched out from the vortex. It emanated a vast pressure, and apparently contained the amassed power of the Mountains and Seas as it launched an attack against Fang Xiufeng.

This was far different from an ordinary Dao Stepping Tribulation. The Dao Stepping Tribulations experienced by Fang Shoudao and Fang Yanxu in the past had been like children's games compared to this!!

"Allheaven Tribulation!!" Fang Shoudao murmured, giving voice to the conclusion he had reached earlier.

When Meng Hao heard those words, his pupils constricted, and his heart filled with anxiety. He looked up at his father's clone, and the enormous finger. The finger struck the clone, and the clone exploded into a haze of blood and gore. Then his father's true form rose to his feet in the middle of the Trifecta Dao Formation. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, he flew up into the air.

"Dad!!" Meng Hao cried, shooting to his feet. His eyes were shot with blood, and he couldn't hold back any longer. He had to directly assist his father in fighting back against the Heavenly Tribulation.

"Hao'er," Fang Shoudao said, moving to block his way, "you're not in the Dao Realm. This is your father's tribulation, and you can't interfere. If you do, you won't be helping him, you'll be harming him!" Then he exchanged a glance with Fang Yanxu, and the two of them nodded.

Decisive gleams appeared in their eyes as they raised their heads and looked up at Fang Xiufeng facing the descending finger. Then, both of them took deep breaths and simultaneously... let out an astonishing roar.

"DAO!!" they bellowed. The sound of it caused colors to flash in the sky and a huge wind to scream. Essence power erupted, and natural laws manifested. Heaven and Earth distorted as they... called upon the Dao to rebuke the Heavens!

As they joined forces, their Essences, their Daos, and their natural laws appeared around Fang Xiufeng, causing his Dao mist to instantly increase by tenfold. As it reached its peak, Fang Xiufeng shot toward the finger and slammed into it. Blood instantly sprayed out of his mouth, as well as out of the mouths of Fang Shoudao and Fang Yanxu.

However, the heavy price they paid caused the finger to tremble and then collapse into pieces. Fang Xiufeng passed through the remnants, approaching so close to the vortex that it seemed possible for him to step into it.

However, it was at this point that the ninth tribulation appeared. There was no physical manifestation to this tribulation. Instead, it was invisible. It was... the Deva Tribulation!

The blight of Deva was an invisible tribulation; anyone who attempted to step into the Dao would have to undergo the three blights of Heaven, Earth and Man!

Heaven blighted the spirit. Earth blighted the body. Man blighted the soul!

Fang Xiufeng trembled. His spirit seemed to be corroding, and he staggered in place, black blood oozing out of his mouth. Then, his body began to wither to the point where he seemed on the verge of becoming a skeleton. Simultaneously, his soul seemed to be under attack, and was rapidly melting.

He roared, and the Dao mist around him seethed as he inhaled a portion of it to restore his injuries. However, it did little to help in his attempt to transcend this tribulation. The tribulation was still there, and if he continued to breathe in the Dao mist and wasted it all, then even if he was able to step into the vortex, he would be unable to truly step into the Dao.

The true purpose of the Dao mist was to be used after stepping into the vortex. Having too little at that time could have very negative consequences.

Meng Hao was trembling, and his heart pounded with nervousness. However, there was nothing he could do. Even though he wanted to charge out into the fight, he didn't dare to, lest he end up harming his father.

It was at this moment, however, that Fang Shoudao and Fang Yanxu both gritted their teeth, then joined their voices to say, "Thou shalt take my soul and be blessed!"

Then they pushed down onto their foreheads, causing a rumbling sound to echo out. Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and their bodies withered even more. However, their souls suddenly rose up from the tops of their heads.

Shockingly, they were using their own souls, minds, and bodies to help Fang Xiufeng! Together, they would overcome the ninth tribulation, the final tribulation!

The coin described here is actually a real coin used in Chinese culture. Check out this picture to see exactly what it looks like. All of the characters are the same, and the Eight Trigrams can be seen on the reverse side. For more information about the Eight Trigrams, you can read RWX's basic primer to the Dao