"Quickly, activate the Heavenly Pool Formation!"

A highly respected Saint of the Life and Death Realm shouted urgently.

The calamity of destiny is an indiscriminate attack targeting the entire holy land. It must be resisted, otherwise countless people will die under divine retribution.

The other saints also knew the seriousness of the situation, so they returned to their respective sacred islands and activated the Heavenly Pool Array that covered the entire sacred land.

"All Venerables shall work together to resist the tribulation lightning. Those with Emperor or Sect-level cultivation shall set up defensive formations to protect lower-level disciples. They shall not fly unless absolutely necessary."

After sending a telepathic message to the entire island, this Saint of the Life and Death Realm immediately took charge of the Heavenly Pool Grand Array's core on the main island, activating the array with all his might.

Boom boom boom boom boom—

As the array's key points on each island were activated, thick beams of light shot into the sky from the array's key points, forming a defensive barrier covering the entire island area.

Within the barrier, hundreds of Venerable Ones hovered in mid-air, their expressions grim as they gazed at the thunderclouds above, ready for battle.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Not long after the Tianchi Grand Array was activated, the tribulation of destiny finally crashed down, with countless purple-black lightning bolts raining down indiscriminately, striking all parts of the Tianchi Holy Land.

Click—

The islands located on the edge had the weakest defenses, and after a short while, they were blasted into holes by the tribulation lightning.

Seeing this, the Venerable One below had no choice but to bite the bullet and go down into the hole to unleash various defensive magic treasures to resist the tribulation lightning.

However, even though the Venerables had done their utmost to resist, they still could not withstand the power of the tribulation lightning. One magical treasure after another shattered, and one Venerable after another perished.

Fortunately, these Venerable Ones blocked the vast majority of the tribulation lightning, and only a small portion of it struck the island. Although it caused considerable casualties, at least most of those below the Venerable One level survived.

Even islands with sages in charge weren't much better off than those on the outskirts, because the tribulation lightning was much more powerful, especially on the central islands. Each of the tribulation lightning bolts was comparable to a full-force attack from a mid-level sage. Even though they were eventually blocked, they still caused incurable damage to the sages in charge, resulting in a significant loss of lifespan.

Just as the tribulation lightning was coming to an end, Chi Tianhao and his two companions, who had returned from the Yingyue Sect, arrived back at the Tianchi Holy Land.

"This is... a calamity of destiny?!"

Seeing the tragic state of Tianchi Holy Land, Chi Tianhao's expression changed drastically. He immediately used his magic weapon to protect Chi Yue and Chi Yang, and then flashed to the main island to resist the strongest tribulation lightning in the central area.

However, Chi Tianhao's assistance did not alleviate the pressure on the main island. Instead, it attracted the tribulation lightning from several central islands, and countless tribulation lightning bolts bombarded him.

Chi Tianhao gritted his teeth and held on. Even though his cultivation had reached the Life and Death Realm, he was still struggling to withstand the bombardment of so many Saint-level tribulation lightning bolts. His golden Dharma body, as tall as a mountain, was riddled with holes and almost shattered.

Chi Tianhao coughed up blood repeatedly, his body covered in wounds. His already aged face was now filled with an aura of death, clearly indicating that he had been severely injured by the tribulation lightning.

"Is this the backlash caused by the evil consequences of being tainted by the Chaos Holy Body? It's truly excruciating..."

Chi Tianhao felt a deep pain and sorrow in his heart. This was the trouble he had caused, which had brought disaster to the entire Holy Land. Countless people had died because of him. How could he bear such a sin?

It would be better for him to be struck dead by this lightning, so that he would be spared the torment of his conscience.

The moment the thought of suicide crossed Chi Tianhao's mind, a deathly intent filled his eyes. When his golden body was breached, he did not use any sacred artifacts to defend himself, but instead allowed the tribulation lightning to bombard him.

"Chi Tianhao, do you think you can escape your guilt by dying?"

A thunderous roar resounded as the Saint of Life and Death, guarding the main island, arrived before Chi Tianhao. He summoned a defensive artifact to block the tribulation lightning, then slapped Chi Tianhao hard across the face, pointing at him and angrily rebuking, "The sins you've committed are too great to atone for even if you die ten thousand times! You think you can just die and be done with it? There's no such easy way out!"

A look of shame flashed in Chi Tianhao's eyes. What he said was true. Death was too good for him, because the karma he had been entangled in would not disappear with his death. If he did not bear it, the karma would backfire in other ways and bring disaster to his descendants.

In other words, he didn't even have the right to die.

He had to live on, bear the consequences of his actions, linger in agony, suffer the torment of condemnation, and live a life worse than death.

"God, you are so cruel!"

"Our race could have had everything, yet we've fallen to this state. Why are you so cruel to our race?!"

Chi Tianhao roared to the sky, almost frantically rushing into the air, letting out a hysterical howl: "Come on, chop me to death! I want to see if you can kill me!"

Seemingly provoked by Chi Tianhao, the tribulation lightning from other areas converged on the main island, launching a frenzied bombardment on Chi Tianhao.

Chi Tianhao also went mad, desperately battling the tribulation lightning as if he wanted to perish together with it.

Chi Tianhao truly wanted to die. If he was struck dead by the tribulation lightning, it would prove that the backlash had ended, and he would be free.

However, Chi Tianhao ultimately survived the tribulation lightning.

This means that his backlash is not over yet; he must continue to live and endure the torment that is enough to make one's life unbearable.

The thunderclouds dissipated, and the rain stopped, revealing a clear sky.

The Heavenly Pool Holy Land, struck by the tribulation lightning, is now a scene of devastation. Magnificent and beautiful buildings, like celestial palaces and divine palaces, have been reduced to ruins. The mountains, beaches, jungles... all the once breathtaking scenery has become a mess.

The casualties were even more severe. No fewer than a hundred Venerables died under the tribulation lightning, and thousands of those below the Venerable level perished. Although the Saints did not fall, they all suffered injuries to the Great Dao, losing an average of two thousand years of lifespan. For some Saints who already had limited lifespans, this was tantamount to death.

Without a doubt, the Heavenly Pool Holy Land has suffered a great loss of vitality this time. According to the prediction of the Saint of Life and Death who guards the main island, this calamity will set the Heavenly Pool Holy Land back five thousand years!

This doesn't even take into account the loss of 20,000 years of sacred land fortune. If we include that, it's unimaginable. It's possible that it might even regress to the level of the Cangming Sacred Land in the future.

Thinking of this, Chi Kaixiong was heartbroken. What heinous things had Chi Tianhao done to cause the Heavenly Pool Holy Land to suffer such divine retribution?!

"Chi Tianhao, you must give me an explanation!"

Chi Kaixiong glared at Chi Tianhao and roared.

The other saints who had also shortened their lifespans were now filled with hatred for Chi Tianhao. No matter how much they had respected and supported him before, they now wished they could tear him to shreds.

Chi Tianhao has ruined this sacred place!

Chi Tianhao, covered in blood, hovered in the void, his body riddled with wounds from the Great Dao, the pain excruciating.

However, the physical pain is far less than the mental anguish.

He had already sensed the decline in the Holy Land's fortune.

His 20,000 years of good fortune were lost in a single day because of his foolishness!

"I hate it!"