Chu Sheng summoned the Outer Body Avatars of the Archaic Saint Mosquitoes by consuming Soul Power. This was a higher-level force, an advancement beyond Mental Power, which was why he could create avatars with 100% of his strength!

With his current Soul Power value of over a hundred million, he could summon more than a hundred of them without pause and feel no burden at all.

Therefore, no matter how many the Sakura Ancient Gods killed, Chu Sheng could steadily maintain the number of Archaic Saint Mosquitoes at ten!

Susanoo grew anxious.

His eyes bloodshot, he charged forward again and began frantically hacking at the newly arrived mosquito.

But no matter how fast he killed them, he couldn’t keep up with how fast Chu Sheng summoned them!

The moment he cut one down, Chu Sheng would immediately summon a new one to take its place.

The mosquito corpses on the ground piled higher and higher.

But there were always ten mosquitoes in the air, and the speed at which they absorbed Life Essence didn’t slow in the slightest!

Susanoo fought until he was exhausted and panting, his Power of Law rapidly weakening.

Yet, the Life Essence was still being continuously drained away by Chu Sheng!

Amaterasu Yuan, who was focused on resisting the Celestial Tribulation, finally noticed something was wrong.

He felt that the power within his body wasn’t being replenished; instead, it was rapidly draining away.

He managed to spare a sliver of his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings.

When he saw Susanoo chasing the mosquitoes, killing one only for a new one to appear the very next second, he finally realized how foolish his decision had been.

Having Susanoo hunt the mosquitoes was useless. It only increased the burden on the other four Sakura Ancient Gods as they resisted the Celestial Tribulation, and it inflicted no real harm on Chu Sheng whatsoever!

Even if all five Sakura Ancient Gods went to kill Chu Sheng, it would only slightly slow down his absorption of Life Essence.

’But what about the Celestial Tribulation?’

’The Celestial Tribulation above our heads is the greatest threat!’

’If we go after Chu Sheng, who will fend off the Celestial Tribulation?!’

’We can barely withstand it with our full attention.’

’If we divide our attention to kill the mosquitoes...’

’...we’ll be struck dead by the Celestial Tribulation before we can even kill a few of them.’

RUMBLE!!!

The dark clouds in the sky roiled violently once more. The bolts of lightning in the second wave of the Celestial Tribulation grew more numerous and more powerful.

The Sakura Ancient Gods gradually found themselves unable to hold on, and signs of exhaustion appeared on each of them.

Even the strongest among them, Amaterasu Yuan, was utterly spent and swaying unsteadily, having failed to absorb much Life Essence.

He gritted his teeth and shouted at Susanoo, "Susanoo! Stop worrying about those damned mosquitoes! Get back here right now and help us block this wave of the Celestial Tribulation!"

"F... Fine."

Susanoo looked at the dozen or so corpses of the Archaic Saint Mosquitoes on the ground, then at the ten mosquitoes still in the air, frantically absorbing Life Essence. He was so frustrated he could have died.

But he had no better solution, so he could only turn and rejoin the battle against the Celestial Tribulation.

With the addition of Susanoo, their second-strongest fighter, the burden on the other four Sakura Ancient Gods was immediately lightened.

And without Susanoo’s interference, Chu Sheng’s speed of absorbing Life Essence became even faster.

[Ding! Life Essence +15,000]

[Ding! Life Essence +18,000]

[Ding! Life Essence +20,000]

...

The frequency of the system notifications rose to a new level.

When the amount of Life Essence approached three hundred million, the absorption speed suddenly slowed.

Chu Sheng looked down at the city of Todo below.

The entirety of Todo had already become a giant graveyard.

At that exact moment, the heavenly lightning paused.

The second wave of the Celestial Tribulation was over.

The five Sakura Ancient Gods collapsed in unison, slumping down in the void and gasping heavily for breath.

At this point, forget about going after Chu Sheng; they didn’t even have the energy to lift their heads and glare at him.

Chu Sheng, in contrast, was brimming with energy.

’BUZZ BUZZ, get a move on, my little darlings!’

With a thought from Chu Sheng, the ten Outer Body Avatars split into five pairs and charged toward the five collapsed Sakura Ancient Gods.

The Sakura Ancient Gods had intended to use the lull between the second and third waves of the Celestial Tribulation to get some much-needed rest.

But they never expected that Chu Sheng would give them no chance to catch their breath.

They had no choice but to force their exhausted bodies to move, once again mustering what little Power of Law they had left to tangle with Chu Sheng’s Outer Body Avatars.

Emperor Realm Middle Stage versus Emperor Realm Early Stage.

The difference in strength was plain to see.

Chu Sheng had no chance of winning.

In just a short while, all ten Archaic Saint Mosquitoes were dead.

Just as the Sakura Ancient Gods were about to breathe a sigh of relief...

The dark clouds in the sky above suddenly began to roil violently again.

A terrifying pressure, even greater than the first two waves combined, poured down from the clouds.

The third wave of the Celestial Tribulation... had arrived!

The already-exhausted Sakura Ancient Gods looked up at the apocalyptic scene in the sky, their eyes gradually filling with despair.

Amaterasu Yuan glared fiercely at Chu Sheng and roared through gritted teeth, "You dead mosquito, just you wait for this god! Once I get out of here, I’ll be sure to slice you into a thousand pieces!"

Chu Sheng raised an ’international’ front leg at him and mocked him via soul transmission, ’Is your mouth the only hard thing on you? Everything else seems pretty soft. This Lord Mosquito would love to see how you plan on surviving this Celestial Tribulation!’

"Hmph!"

Amaterasu Yuan snorted coldly and ignored Chu Sheng.

His gaze turned to the weakest, Mu Huaji, his eyes icy.

"Mu Huaji, for the great cause of our master’s descent upon Blue Star, it is time for you to make a sacrifice."

Hearing this, Mu Huaji’s eyes flew wide open. Her voice trembled as she said, "N-No... Please don’t... I just barely managed to revive..."

Before Mu Huaji could finish, Amaterasu Yuan cut her off coldly, "To sacrifice yourself for our master is your glory. After our master descends upon Blue Star, he will surely resurrect you again."

Mu Huaji looked at Amaterasu Yuan’s unquestionable gaze, then at the indifferent expressions of the other three Ancient Gods.

A wretched, despairing smile appeared on her face.

In the end, she could only nod slowly.

Forced by Amaterasu Yuan, Mu Huaji trembled as she flew into the sky, positioning herself above the other Sakura Ancient Gods.

Immediately after, a powerful force from the Law of Wood washed out from her body.

Countless Sakura petals poured from her body, dancing and weaving through the air.

In no time at all, a vast and incredibly sturdy Power formed above the Sakura Ancient Gods, woven from countless Sakura petals.

As the Sakura Power fully formed, the light in Mu Huaji’s eyes rapidly dimmed.

A moment later, Mu Huaji’s aura vanished completely.

’She’s dead?!’

Chu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then he understood Amaterasu Yuan’s plan.

’He used his comrade’s life and her entire Power of Law to block the Celestial Tribulation.’

’Do you really think that’s enough to stop the Celestial Tribulation?’

’You’re seriously underestimating the Celestial Tribulation that I, Lord Mosquito, have drawn here!!!’

Just as Chu Sheng expected.

Mu Huaji’s sacrifice only blocked the third wave of the Celestial Tribulation.

When the final bolt of lightning from the third wave of the Celestial Tribulation struck, the Sakura Power instantly collapsed.

"Useless!"

Watching the dissipating Sakura petals, Amaterasu Yuan felt not a shred of grief. Instead, he cursed angrily.

That Mu Huaji, after giving her life, had only managed to block a single wave of the Celestial Tribulation was completely beyond his expectations.

But what Amaterasu Yuan couldn’t have possibly imagined was...

...that Mu Huaji’s corpse was already being coveted.

A tiny, inconspicuous mosquito quietly flew up beside Mu Huaji’s corpse.

Then, it raised its incredibly sharp proboscis, which glinted with a dark golden light, aimed for Mu Huaji’s neck, and plunged it deep...