"Smack, smack!" the flesh sounds filled Pef's bedroom, as he pampered his new wife from behind.

Although not a world-ending beauty like Lady Yuan, since the new wife had attained her Tier 8 Realm, her body had changed subtly, becoming at least a traffic-risk bombshell if she would walk on any mortal street, in this world or any other.

"So good! More!" the woman demanded in a pleading voice.

Pef smiled and prepared to finish the 9th time tonight when the glove shook him alert. 'Intruder, outer perimeter breach.'

He sighed and patted his wife, placing her into a deep sleep.

A second later, he traversed the Defense Formations and arrived behind the intruder, only to recognize the earlier rich Bronze Noble.

"Don't tell me, you want your crystals back." Pef spoke in a disappointed tone.

"That too! But mostly I want the girl, the one with the Bronze essence." the Bronze Realm Noble exclaimed in surprise, before realizing what he said. "A Truth array?"

Pef just smiled, as the Violet portal formed behind the man, already cloaked with an inverted Illusion of Air. His ruler flashed at the Noble's feet, making him dodge backwards a step. A pair of giant eyes opened in the Violet Realm, and a toothy grin emerged, wide enough to cover the whole sky.

"Good catch, Master! Another Bronze prey!" the Taotie exclaimed with praise, just as the White Tiger rose to his feet and shook himself awake. "Looks like a Noble. I hope he tastes good."

Time began to speed up in the Violet Realm, a clear sign that Lady Yue was also helping from the shadows.

"Where is this? You have a Dimensional Realm?" the Bronze Noble asked as he drew out a pair of long sharp horns of some kind.

"Too much talking." Pef added as he signaled Kalima to join the fight when she was ready.

This guy was also a Formation Master, and thus a potential problem. But the Unreal River will dissolve most Formations in seconds.

As he expected, the Bronze Noble began to deploy hundreds of Formations, while also trying to call for help via a jade tablet.

Pef just waited, curious if the Prison Array could actually be breached. After a minute, the Noble stored his tablet and looked around with furious eyes.

"Just let me out! I can pay!"

'His wealth is already ours. What an idiot!' the glove commented in a wry tone.

Suddenly, a powerful river began to flow over the trapped Noble, and his Formations began to pop rapidly. Some lasted even a minute though, making Pef rather glad to have called Kalima for help. On his inner screen, the newly decoded Formations began to increase his own Formation Dao, especially when a stronger defense was broken by the Unreal River.

'Try that Blood Sacrifice Dagger. It wasn't a coincidence you received it.' the glove advised Pef with a curt voice.

'Damn it! We don't know what could happen.' Pef muttered angrily as he vanished for his spot and stabbed the Noble in the back, through his defenses and into the dantian.

The Noble let out a fierce scream and swiped his weapons around, but Pef had simply stepped away from the Violet Realm and emerged back inside in a different place. Here in the Seven Colored Pagoda, he had absolute control over any movement, plus a major advantage from the time dilation.

A Tier 10 may be incredibly fast, but here he would be 1 billion times slower. The Taotie followed with his own attacks, ripping out limbs and organs at his leisure. The White Tiger tried the same thing, but was struck with a lucky shot by the Noble and flew into the Violet boundary, impaled like an insect.

'Silent Monk, can you please take care of the little tiger. He's injured again.' Pef sent towards the old monk while moving the tiger next to the monk, still transfigured by that long horn through his chest.

"One down! I don't think you realize how strong a real Noble is..." the Bronze Realm Noble began to brag, just as a large sword swept by and took his last hand, still holding his second horn.

'Get his necklace, it's an Artifact!' the glove urged Pef as he prepared to strike a lethal blow.

Pef continued the strike as a feint, and grabbed the necklace from the Noble before he even realized what happened.

The next second, the man burst into a shower of blood, that got absorbed by the dagger stuck in his back.

Pef called the dagger back into his hand, and nodded towards the Taotie. "Thanks Master!" the monster grinned happily, then gulped the Noble and began to crunch his bones loudly.

'And now, your reward Soldier!' the glove said in a proud voice, as the Blood Dagger began to glow and increase Pef's cultivation rapidly.

In a minute, he passed through the Tier 10 Realm boundary and kept climbing. Pef glanced up at the forming Tribulation Clouds, looking rather menacing with a red-blood color.

'Remember to wear that necklace! And more Dampening Arrays!' the glove demanded in an excited voice.

Pef hastily obliged, raising a hundred Preservation Dao Arrays and then wearing a newly made Dragon Suit. It was only 75 percent defense, but it sure beat facing Tribulations with his bare head.

Then four red lightning bolts fell rapidly, and got dispersed by his arrays with nearly no damage.

"Arrays are such a cheat..." Pef observed calmly as the Tribulation Clouds changed color and gained a purple outline.

'You spoke too soon, Soldier. Brace yourself, this will hurt a little!' the glove commented wryly as another set of four lightning bolts fell, exploding a dozen arrays and trickling through the rest to strike Pef with painful currents.

Pef grit his teeth and sat down, trying to circulate his qi and construct more Arrays before the next round of Tribulations fell. He didn't make it in time, and more Arrays exploded as the Tribulation Clouds shifted colors again.

Inside his Dantian, the Icefire flame drew some of the Heavenly Lightning into itself and Ascended, reaching Tier 9 quite easily. Then again, this was a Tier 10 tribulation so it probably made sense.

'Take me out! I want to Ascend too!' the Heart Ruler demanded in a childish tone.

Pef held the Heart Ruler out and used it to block the next three strikes, until he felt the Ruler become far too heavy to hold in a single hand.

'The Blood Dagger next. You will need it again.' the glove demanded with an insidious tone.

'Damn it! It's like being a vampire.' Pef muttered, as he tried to stay alive and sane with all those multiple Tribulations bombarding him.

Luckily he had suffered so much during past two lives that Tribulations were nothing special anymore. Just more pain. He could deal with pain.

Pain was the currency of the world, which sucked but things were as they were. Everything must have a price.

The Blood dagger took 12 Lightning bolts to Ascend, and gain a spirit of its own. 'Master, I promise to help...'

Pef didn't have time to chat with a mass-murdering maniac. He stored the dagger and raised his right hand, while conjuring more and more Arrays.

The Tribulations bolts changed color again and again, going from golden to black and violet, and only ceased as the orange glove Ascended as well.

Pef fell on his back and took a large breath. "Next time, I won't carry all of you. It's getting ridiculous!" he grumbled in a tired voice.

"Your head didn't even explode this time! I think you got stronger Master." The Taotie observed cogently.

Pef felt his head, and indeed, his body was quite intact this time. Even his Dragon Suit was mostly intact, with only a few scales exploded by Tribulation. "Preparation is the mother of success. I had both a full Dragon Suit and plenty of Arrays. Plus this necklace." he noted as he took of the new Artifact and began observing it carefully.

It looked like a flexible white metal collar, with interlocking shapes that could move a little. And inscribed on each irregular shape were millions of tiny runes forming some type of Formation, that Pef couldn't decipher.

'It has to do mostly with mind defense. Far too complex for regular use. Something out there has a powerful mind control Skill.' the glove deduced with his new and more powerful Analyze skill.

'Can it block your presence-erase aura?' Pef asked curious.

'Yes. And far more besides it. This must be something from above.' the glove decided after a minute.

'Didn't block Tribulations though.' Pef noted with a sad tone.

'And you didn't ask the Taotie to eat them either. He must think you enjoy pain.' the glove added as a final insult to injury.

Pef slumped on the floor, almost wanting to cry.

'It's not so bad Pef! Me and your Artifacts couldn't Ascend without your sacrifice. And even the Bamboo seed seems happy.' the Icefire flame said in a more reassuring tone.

Pef turned his attention inward, where the seed had grown and was glowing green. 'What are you doing?' he sent towards the World Tree sapling in his dantian.

'I am becoming. Parasol Tree.' the seed answered after a long minute.

Pef sighed and curled to his side, noting everyone had departed except the Taotie, who didn't have the choice.

"I found a way to make Violet Metal. If you behave, I will take an Avatar with me outside." he spoke in a level voice.

"You're the best, Master! Can you make two rings? I can form more Avatars, they're just useless in here." the Taotie asked as two Spirit badgers appeared at his sides, just as ghostly as his previous Spirit that sacrificed himself during the Omelet Battle.

Pef bit his lips, then stood up. "I can make a ring for everyone that you taught, old badger. It is your restriction for this type of companion ring. You can't bond with a stranger."

The Taotie looked at Pef, then at the imprisoning Formations on the Violet Realm walls.

"I understand now. I can only leave this place if I truly give myself up. No real freedom, ever again!" the monster growled in a long wail.

"Never say never, Taotie. I am barely 37 years old. I have time to learn." Pef offered with a smile, then returned to his bedroom.

The night was not over yet.