The time between each wave of the Celestial Tribulation grew shorter and shorter.

Mu Huaji had just sacrificed her life to block the third wave, and now the fourth wave of the Celestial Tribulation followed close behind, giving the Sakura Ancient Gods no chance to catch their breath.

Using the sliver of time Mu Huaji had bought them, Amaterasu and the other three managed to recover a fraction of their Power of Law.

Faced with the fourth wave of celestial lightning that blotted out the sky, the four of them dared not show the slightest carelessness. They desperately fought back with all their might, barely managing to hold on.

All their concentration was focused on the Celestial Tribulation above, terrified that a single moment of distraction would result in them being blasted to ashes by the celestial lightning.

They completely failed to notice that a tiny, inconspicuous mosquito had appeared beside Mu Huaji’s corpse not far away.

It was the Outer Body Avatar summoned by Chu Sheng.

Chu Sheng’s main body was still lying sprawled out outside the range of the Celestial Tribulation, having dispatched a sliver of his Divine Sense to control this little avatar.

’Bzzzz. It’s been a while since I’ve absorbed the Origin power of an Emperor Realm expert.’

Chu Sheng flapped his wings, landed on Mu Huaji’s neck, and raised his sharp proboscis, which glinted with a dark golden light. Then, he stabbed it viciously inside.

SLUUURP~~

[Ding! Absorbed Top-Grade Emperor Realm Qi Blood! Qi Blood +1,000,000. Estimated digestion time: 1 hour. Upon completion, you will receive an estimated 100,000 Evolution Points.]

[Ding! Absorbed Top-Grade Emperor Realm Soul Power! Soul Power +300,000.]

[Ding! Detected a large amount of Power of the Wood Realm. Currently absorbing...]

...

The system notifications rang out one after another in Chu Sheng’s mind, sounding like music from the heavens.

’As expected of an Ancient God’s avatar that has lived for tens of thousands of years. She’s really packed with goodies!’

’One sip, and my Qi Blood skyrockets by a million!’

’My Soul Power shoots up by 300,000!’

’And after digesting it, I’ll even get another hundred thousand Evolution Points!’

’On top of all that, there’s also the most precious Power of Law!’

’Awesome!’

’This is freaking awesome!’

’Once I’ve completely drained this Emperor’s Body of Mu Huaji, my four-dimensional stats will see another massive boost!’

Chu Sheng had never known the meaning of the word "polite."

’System, use Evolution Points for rapid digestion!’

[Ding! 100,000 Evolution Points consumed. Conversion of 1,000,000 Qi Blood complete.]

’Huh, the conversion ratio actually decreased?’

’Doesn’t that mean I can create an infinite loop!’

...

One gulp after another.

In no time, Chu Sheng’s Qi Blood had increased by over ten million points.

His Mental Power had increased by over three million points.

His Evolution Points had neither increased nor decreased.

At this point, Mu Huaji’s outward appearance was no different from when she had just died.

But if one were to probe her body with Divine Sense...

...they would discover that she had long since become a completely empty shell. Not a single shred of her Origin power remained, and she had utterly lost any possibility of descending into an avatar again.

After sucking Mu Huaji dry, Chu Sheng turned to look at the other three Sakura Ancient Gods and began to chant as if summoning a soul, ’Hurry up and sacrifice another one, hurry up and sacrifice another one...’

It was as if they had heard Chu Sheng’s inner prayer.

By now, the fourth wave of the Celestial Tribulation was more than halfway through.

Amaterasu and the other three had reached their absolute limit, like an oil lamp about to burn out.

If they continued to take it head-on like this, they wouldn’t even last until the next wave; all four of them would die right here and now.

Amaterasu’s icy gaze swept over the other three beside him.

Whoever his gaze fell upon couldn’t help but shiver and subconsciously lower their head, terrified of being chosen as the next sacrifice.

Finally, Amaterasu’s eyes landed on Tengu Tong.

Tengu Tong met Amaterasu’s cold stare, and his body trembled slightly.

He didn’t beg for his life like Mu Huaji. He simply let out a deep sigh and said, "I understand."

His strength was on par with the Rain Maiden’s, somewhat stronger than Mu Huaji, but inferior to Amaterasu and Susanoo.

As for why Amaterasu chose him instead of the Rain Maiden, perhaps only the two of them knew the real reason.

However, Tengu Tong had his own calculations.

’Judging by the current intensity of the Celestial Tribulation, if any of the five of us are to survive, it will undoubtedly be Amaterasu.’

’If I sacrifice myself now, I’ll be doing Amaterasu a favor.’

’When the master descends in the future, I can be resurrected, and Amaterasu can put in a good word for me in front of him.’

But Tengu Tong would never have dreamed that Mu Huaji had already been sucked completely dry by a mosquito, without a single trace of her Divine Soul Origin left. She had utterly lost any chance of resurrection.

And he himself had also been silently targeted by that same inconspicuous mosquito.

"Sigh..."

Tengu Tong let out one last sigh and hesitated no longer.

He took a sudden step forward, activating his Power of Earth Law with all his might.

A heavy, earth-yellow light erupted from his body, coalescing above the heads of Amaterasu and the other two into a massive, indestructible city wall towering tens of thousands of feet high.

RUMBLE!!!

Countless bolts of celestial lightning came crashing down, smashing violently against the earth-yellow city wall.

The wall shook violently, and in moments, it was covered in a dense web of cracks.

Fortunately, the wall ultimately held, blocking all the remaining attacks of the fourth wave of the Celestial Tribulation.

And Tengu Tong, of course, followed in Mu Huaji’s footsteps, becoming a corpse that floated in the air.

Chu Sheng quietly approached Tengu Tong’s corpse but didn’t immediately start his meal.

With Tengu Tong’s earthen wall protecting them, Amaterasu and the other two were temporarily out of mortal danger, so their attention wouldn’t be completely focused on the tribulation.

’If I make a move now, there’s a high chance they’ll spot me.’

But Chu Sheng wasn’t in a hurry at all.

’This is only the fourth wave of the Celestial Tribulation. There are still five whole waves to go.’

’There’s no way Tengu Tong’s Law of Earth can hold out for that long.’

Just as Chu Sheng predicted.

After barely withstanding the remainder of the fourth wave, Tengu Tong’s Domain Power then tanked the majority of the fifth wave of the Celestial Tribulation.

Finally, with a crisp cracking sound, the earth-yellow city wall completely crumbled, dissipating into thin air.

’As expected of the Law of Earth. It’s much tougher than Mu Huaji was.’

Amaterasu and the other two gritted their teeth and used every last bit of their strength to endure the few remaining bolts of celestial lightning from the fifth wave.

But they paid a terrible price. Each one of them was severely injured, their auras weakened to the extreme.

Moreover, the interval between the tribulation waves was getting shorter and shorter.

The fifth wave had just ended when the sixth wave arrived on its heels.

The dark clouds in the sky had already turned a deep purple.

The roiling celestial lightning within had also changed from its previous purple to a terrifying black, exuding an aura that promised to annihilate everything.

"Susanoo," Amaterasu said in a grave voice, looking at the man whose strength was second only to his own.

Susanoo’s body stiffened abruptly.

He of course understood what Amaterasu meant, but he truly couldn’t figure out why it had to be him.

He pointed to the Rain Maiden, who had been silent the entire time, and asked in confusion, "Her strength is far inferior to mine. There’s no use in keeping her around. Why should I be the one to sacrifice myself first?"

Amaterasu gave him a cold glance. "What’s the difference between being sacrificed a little sooner and a little later?"

Susanoo was stunned. He looked at Amaterasu’s unquestionable gaze and could only sigh in resignation. "Fine."

The moment the word left his lips, he shot up into the sky.

A terrifying Power of Destruction erupted madly from his body, colliding head-on with the black celestial lightning falling from the sky.