When he was speaking with the twins, learning every detail about tribulations he could, he learned something interesting: the heavens decided the complexity of your tribulation based on the energy cultivation of the one triggering it. This meant that even if the power of his tribulation scaled to a dao formation expert times the nine of them here, it would be created with saint level energy and comprehension.
The reason Dyon found this point to be worth risking his life over was because his undead body was restricted by only two things: his stamina and comprehension.
He could be restricted in two ways: running out of energy to sustain his life, or encountering an attack that transcended or matched his comprehension of death. This comprehension could be in regard to type of energy or level of will. For example, Dyon's death intent was of the ninth level, this meant that he could survive celestial energy laced attacks below a certain threshold, but he would die to enigmatic energy laced attacks if fatal. This same concept was true of intent level wills versus dao level wills.
The good news was that Dyon's death will was a supreme law, meaning that it was resistant even to normal dao wills and weaker enigmatic energy laced attacks. However, there was, obviously, a limit to everything.
Knowing this, it was also obvious that he was able to survive Head Void snapping his neck because it was a purely physical attack without enigmatic energy or will qi.
If this tribulation was restricted to saint energy as a saint tribulation should be, then Dyon had a chance to survive as long as he grasped it.
"You fool!" The Elders of the Void Clan raged along with Head Void, completely unable to get a hold of their own emotions.
Dyon was no longer paying attention to their temper tantrum. Instead, he immediately slipped into his first phase selfless state.
Isla floated around in his Mind's Eye curiously, her job finished. Although Dyon had taken damage to his soul, he had something others did not: The Soul Tome.
When Dyon burned his soul, his wives had tried to use the soul tome in order to heal him. However, they mistakenly assumed that since there was no progress that the soul tome wouldn't work in such severe cases, but this wasn't true.
If given enough time, the soul tome could have healed Dyon's soul, it's just that it would have take a few decades to even a few centuries. The burning of a soul as talented as Dyon's simply took too long to heal, even with the soul tome.
However, the damage Head Void had done to his soul was negligible in comparison to that. Plus, given the amplification abilities of his white flames and Dyon felt like he was in tip-top shape. That said… he didn't relax even a bit.
The skies above their heads trembled with a fierce might as the world darkened. What once was a bright afternoon day became as somber as a moonless night.
Dark gold clouds began to roll overhead as though the heavens were snorting at them in disdain. These fools dared to challenge its authority? To ask for help during a tribulation was a massive taboo.
In response, the clouds rolled even fiercer, its dark gold body rumbling with added intensity.
Dyon's hand flashed as the Dragon King appeared and wrapped around his wrist. A small golden flash made its presence known soon after, hovering around Dyon in the shape of a soft cornered triangle. The Half-Step Emperor Scale had once more made an appearance, flickering with royal blue light of Dyon's runic flames with only the slightest hint of rose-bronze flakes.
The momentum of Dyon's concentration and aura snapped the attention of the kitsune away from the accumulating tribulation. His shirt burst apart, allowing the grace of his winged tattoos to shine a beacon under the darkened day.
In the face of a tribulation many cowered under, Dyon had no intention of dying.
'Who is this boy?' Head Void's eyes sharpened as he witnessed Dyon's demeanor. Never did he think he'd ever be focused on such a thing when his very life was hanging in the balance.
Dyon's breath slowed, his every inhale and exhale sounding like the low growl of a sleeping dragon…
It was then that it descended from the skies. Nine distinct weapons… sharper than anything Dyon had ever seen before.
His very first challenge already touched upon the legendary energy tribulation.
The weapons slowly broke through the dark gold clouds as the ocean below roared. What was left of the Elvin Island had completely disappeared under the assault of tsunami walls several kilometers high. Had Dyon not been in the sky, he too would have been caught up in the destruction.
Nine pristine silhouettes, reaching the pinnacle of perfection appeared and hovered, vibrating with a blinding light.
The sword. The saber. The staff. The spear. The bow. The halberd. The glaive. The axe. And the knife.
Head Void trembled. "This tribulation… We're doomed…"
It was only now that Head Void understood that Dyon's tribulation wasn't simply difficult because they were there. If that was the case, Dyon would have evoked a relatively benign tribulation like that Three-Nine-Lightning-Tribulation or maybe the Six-Nine-Lightning-Tribulation. Those two appeared the most frequently and were fitting for a normal saint tribulation.
The only difference this time would be the power of the lightning strikes. But, for a tribulation of this caliber to appear… It only meant a single thing: Dyon's talent was overwhelming enough to force a tribulation that hadn't appeared since ancient times to do so.
Head Void shakily turned toward Dyon. "Y-you're an inheritor of the War God's will and yet you still did this?! Do you have a death wish?!"
No matter how much Head Void yelled and berated Dyon, Dyon himself didn't hear a single word. His body had entered a state of absolute tranquility. Completely oblivious of the plight of the kitsune and completely uncaring.
He realized one thing about this tribulation. The weapons themselves reached such a level of perfection that he couldn't match. Normally, his weapon's pagoda could replicate any weapon in existence, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find the perfect match for these weapons. Even the Dragon King seemed incapable of perfectly replicating them.
They carried an unmatched essence. All weapons were descended from these nine, and their Presence showed it.
In truth, Dyon was extremely lucky to receive this trial during his sainthood breakthrough. If he had received it during his attempt to enter the dao formation realm, his death would be all but certain. This is because these nine weapons would be allowed to enter the pinnacle of the mortal realm at that point…
Yet, this opportunity and blessing from the heavens was squandered by Dyon evoking the tribulation in the presence of a dao formation expert. What should have been a unique challenge, but otherworldly opportunity, had become a struggle of life and death.
However… Dyon remained calm.
'It's not that I can't perfectly replicate the form of the weapons… It's that their Presence is not allowing me to… If I meet any one of these weapons with a tangible weapon of my own, no matter what grade it is, it will bow down and shatter… I must forge the weapon I use for this trial with my own will…'
A deep rumbling erupted from Dyon's chest as he retracted the Dragon King from its weapon form. Soon, four beautiful golden pairs of wings bloomed from his back before they were all instantly covered by a fearsome black armor. Head Void was so distracted by the coming danger that he didn't even notice the familiarity of Dyon's gold wings.
