"Rumble~"
Yang Hong's tribulation, after receiving infusions from sixteen nine-rank spiritual plants, had an effect. A thunderous boom echoed in the sky, faintly penetrating the mountain.
The black despair sandstorm in this area was pushed back slightly by the combined aura of multiple heavenly tribulations.
Then, a butterfly effect occurred. The spiritual energy, disturbed by the black despair, began to calm down, and normal spiritual energy rules gradually resumed.
With the first clap of thunder, it signified that within a small area, the rules of spiritual energy had fundamentally recovered.
It was also this clap of thunder that awakened Yang Hong from his daze.
"The tribulation lightning has still arrived?"
"But it's a bit late!"
Yang Hong slowly calmed down and looked outwards with his divine sense.
"Husband, it's not late.
At least you are still alive, and the three of us are still alive."
Wanwan, holding Yang Hong, saw that his consciousness had recovered and he could speak normally, so she quickly comforted him again.
Yang Hong's previous behavior had terrified her; she had thought he had gone mad.
"Yes~ Husband, it's not late. As long as you are alive, nothing is too late."
Zhu Yuyan, who had been digging with gritted teeth moments ago, dropped her crescent shovel and rushed over. She carefully held Yang Hong's hand, her eyes filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.
She had been digging the tunnel, thinking that if it were finished, it would become the tomb for her entire family of nine.
Fortunately, this tomb seemingly wouldn't be needed for now.
"Don't celebrate too early. This mountain has been weakened by the 'Black Despair' to less than a mile. If the Black Despair doesn't end completely, we will still face certain death."
Yang Hong, having calmed down, quickly assessed the external situation. The Black Despair had not ended.
However, there was good news: within the range of his divine sense, the sky had turned a bright red, indicating signs of the Black Despair ending.
"Wanwan, carry me to the nearest few nine-rank spiritual plants. I still have four infusion opportunities left."
"Okay~"
Since he had confirmed that the heavenly tribulation could dispel the Black Despair, Yang Hong naturally wanted to strike while the iron was hot.
"Eh~"
Upon receiving another infusion, Yang Hong felt that the mana flowing through his body was no longer as painful. Although there was still piercing pain, it was significantly different from before.
"Hmm~ The rules of heaven and earth spiritual energy are recovering?"
After four infusions, Yang Hong felt that the injuries he had sustained from the previous infusions were rapidly healing!
Yang Hong seized the opportunity to circulate the "Clear Wind Breathing Technique."
As expected, the rules of spiritual energy in the world had indeed begun to recover.
Although he still couldn't absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, circulating his own mana to heal injuries would no longer result in significant backlash.
"This is truly good news, but..."
Yang Hong's eyes lit up, and he quickly began to circulate his cultivation technique to recover his injuries. In less than fifteen minutes, he jumped down from Wanwan's embrace.
"Husband, be careful, your injuries are not fully healed."
Ignoring Wanwan's exclamation, he gently pushed away Zhu Yuyan's hand that was about to embrace him. With faltering steps, he walked to Li Xuefeng's corpse.
Li Xuefeng's body was now riddled with holes. Only about a third of her body remained. Even so, she was still positioned diagonally above Yang Hong. Her dying obsession kept her standing, still protecting Yang Hong!
"Rest in peace. I will wait for your return in the mortal world."
Yang Hong gently closed Li Xuefeng's eyes and collected his lover's body into his scale space.
Next, he suppressed his grief and, staggering, walked to Jia Yuanchun's side. This body, whose head had vanished, also stood firm. He collected it into his scale space as well.
He wasn't just saying these words casually; it was a vow, a grand aspiration he intended to fulfill his entire life!
"Rest in peace. I will wait for your return in the mortal world."
Then came Zhou Fengzhi. Her corpse was slightly more intact, but her entire chest and abdomen were riddled with wounds. To protect Yang Hong, she had even actively used her body to block attacks.
"Rest in peace. I will wait for your return in the mortal world."
Finally, Li Lizhi. After her right leg was pierced at the beginning, her mobility was impaired. Later, she was hit by gravel several more times. Seeing her injuries worsen, Li Lizhi decided to use her body to block the gravel, allowing Zhu Yuyan and Song Yuzhi to continue digging.
"Rest in peace. I will wait for your return in the mortal world!"
After collecting the bodies of the four women, he walked back and sat down cross-legged, reorganizing the situation.
"Yuyan, Wanwan, Yuzhi, for now, use these spiritual plants to hold them back. You continue to dig downwards.
We cannot afford to fail at the last hurdle when we are so close to overcoming the Black Despair."
"Husband is right. We mustn't relax. The Black Despair is not over yet."
"Yes~ Keep digging. Sister Yuyan, you should rest for a bit and let me take over."
"Mm~"
Wanwan took the crescent shovel from Zhu Yuyan and, along with Song Yuzhi, began digging with a clanging sound.
Zhu Yuyan walked to Yang Hong's side, ready at any moment to use her body to block any approaching gravel and protect Yang Hong!
Zhu Yuyan's concern was not unfounded. While Yang Hong was healing, four pieces of gravel attacked, but Zhu Yuyan blocked them all with her magic artifact in time.
The recovery of spiritual energy rules also slowed down the power and flight speed of the gravel to some extent, allowing Zhu Yuyan to block them all without much danger.
"Thank you for your hard work, Yuyan. Now you can rest. I'll dig. My strength is greater."
Yang Hong, standing up, looked at Zhu Yuyan, whose right forearm had been pierced yet she still stood resolutely to protect him. He embraced her tenderly, his heart aching.
Then, he dared not hesitate or delay any longer. Taking out a new crescent shovel, he rushed to Wanwan and Song Yuzhi's side.
"You two should also rest for a bit. There might still be tough battles ahead."
"Mm~ Husband, you need to be careful too."
Song Yuzhi did not object, stepping back two steps decisively.
However, Song Yuzhi did not rest. She quietly moved behind Yang Hong and quickly searched through her spatial ring for some defensive magic artifacts, suspending them behind them with her divine sense.
Seeing this scene, Yang Hong felt another pang in his heart, and his movements quickened.
Crack~
With a crisp sound, the crescent shovel penetrated more than three feet into the mountain body. With just four insertions, and then locking on with divine sense, he could excavate the Sword Gall Iron ore, which was three feet deep and about a foot wide.
Now that he could circulate the "Clear Wind Body Forging Technique," Yang Hong's immense strength of 9 million jin could be fully utilized. With the aid of mana, his digging speed increased by hundreds of times!
By the time Yang Hong felt the pain throughout his body again, he had already dug more than twenty li downwards at a slant.
"Yuyan, Wanwan, Yuzhi, hurry in. The Black Despair hasn't completely ended yet."
As soon as he felt the pain in his meridians, Yang Hong became nervous again.
It turned out that more than three hours had passed, and the heavenly tribulation outside had already dissipated.
Clearly, a small-scale heavenly tribulation could not change the power of the "Black Despair." Instead, it was blown away by the "Black Despair."
"Husband, we are truly safe this time. I observed carefully just now; the gravel can no longer reach this depth."
Zhu Yuyan came to Yang Hong's side, her expression considerably more relaxed.
Surviving a disaster was the greatest surprise and fortune.
"That's good. I will continue digging. You all continue to place the ore from this storage bag behind us."
The cautious Yang Hong would not relax.
After speaking, he picked up the crescent shovel and continued digging with a "kaka" sound!