Chapter 821 - 816: The Great Tribulation Begins With Me!
Void Sea of Light, Profound Wall.
Unlike the pyramids of the Celestial Mansion or the vast Star Maps of the Star Palace, the Profound Wall—also a super Outer Realm—was structurally very similar to the Immortal Pivot. Both were Boundless continents. The sun, moon, and stars revolved around the continent, establishing the entire Outer Realm system. However, the Profound Wall had a fundamental difference compared to other Outer Realms: it had no Fruit.
Here, everyone focused on cultivating Magic as their foundation, so they did not cultivate Fruit. In fact, their entire cultivation system vastly differed from other Outer Realms. In the Profound Wall, there were no names for Realms, only classifications of Cultivators.
Newcomers to cultivation were called Qi Refiners. Those with some achievements were called Mages. Depending on their rank, a Mage’s crown and attire would vary. Going a step further beyond the Extreme of a Mage, one became a Celestial Master. Reaching this level, their status was equal to a Perfected Lord of the Immortal Pivot. They were worshipped by the billions of living beings in the Profound Wall, acting as masters of Heaven and overseeing the principles of Heaven and Earth.
Profound Wall, North Desert.
This place was extremely desolate, an endless sea of sand as far as the eye could see. Yet, amidst the sky-filling yellow sand stood a magnificent Immortal Mountain, its form blurring the lines between illusion and reality. Atop the Immortal Mountain, a cluster of blazing flames coiled like a rainbow, yet sped with the ferocity of lightning. Thunderous crackles echoed, illuminating the Immortal Mountain inside and out. This anomaly lasted for a long time before finally dissipating, revealing a figure sitting at the summit, absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed.
Immediately after, the figure spat out a streak of fire, triggering a red gale that swept across the entire North Desert. Sparks filled the sky, creating a breathtakingly dazzling sight.
"It is done!" Seeing this, the man finally smiled. "My years of cultivation have not been in vain. This Heaven-Departing Eternal Brightness Great Immortal Technique has finally reached Perfection."
At this moment, a streak of Flying Light approached. The Flying Light quickly parted, and an aloof Daoist nun stepped out. Holding a Jade Duster, her beautiful eyes instantly locked onto the figure.
"Yuan You, have you succeeded?"
"By a stroke of luck, yes." Hearing this, Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You looked up at the nun and nodded slightly. "All one thousand two hundred Dharma Rings are present. The Celestial Immortal Great Vow has reached Perfection!
"Sui En, how are things on your end?"
Celestial Master Sui En Jiu Ku shook her head, a trace of sorrow surfacing on her breathtakingly cold face. "The mission of that old dragon in the Immortal Pivot has failed."
Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You raised an eyebrow at this.
Celestial Master Sui En Jiu Ku continued to explain, "That mysterious Perfected Lord Cultivating the Dharma Body Dao refuses to emerge and even injured the old dragon. With things like this, hoping to revive the Dao of Arcane Body before the great Tribulation begins is likely impossible now."
"Refuses to emerge?" Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You was somewhat surprised. "Has someone who has reached that level still not perceived the Karma Links? If he does not emerge now, he will never have another chance."
"I don’t understand either," Celestial Master Sui En Jiu Ku shook her head. "But regardless, the Tribulation is imminent. Especially for Grand Celestial Masters like us, we are all deeply entrenched within it."
The two fell silent. After a long while, Celestial Master Sui En Jiu Ku spoke faintly, "Senior Brother, what do you think our chances of winning are in this battle? We already lost once over a hundred thousand years ago..."
"Watch your words!" Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You immediately hushed her with a low shout. "Times have changed. The great defeat an era ago was, fundamentally, because the Demons schemed against our Ancestral Master.
"Even though our Ancestral Master is currently at a disadvantage, the Demons in the Immortal Pivot, having held the upper hand for so long, are no longer united as they once were. This gives us an opportunity. Even if we are slightly outmatched at the Nascent Soul level, our combat advantage at the Golden Core level remains overwhelming."
This was not baseless nonsense. For one, the three Grand Celestial Masters of the Profound Wall would be the equivalent of three Great Perfected Lords in the Immortal Pivot. In the past, this lineup could have swept across the entire Void Sea of Light! Unfortunately, there were many restrictions preventing them from taking action.
The same applied to the Star Palace on the other side; their restrictions were even more severe. However, compared to the completely reclusive Profound Wall, the Star Palace had concocted entities like Star Monarchs to act as their representatives in the Void Sea of Light.
"The battles between Masters of Dao are not something Lower Cultivators like us can fathom," Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You said. "Therefore, we just need to do our part—invade the Immortal Pivot, exterminate the Perfected Lords, abolish the Pocket World Technique, and ultimately allow the Great Dao to return to its origin.
"Do not overthink it."
Meeting Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You’s gaze, Celestial Master Sui En Jiu Ku composed her expression and returned to her usual calmness. "Senior Brother is absolutely right. I will take my leave now."
After seeing off Celestial Master Sui En Jiu Ku, Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You planned to resume his Meditation and regulate his breath, striving to refine another usable Magic in preparation for the great Tribulation.
However, at this moment...
RUMBLE!
In an instant, the previously composed Celestial Master Chongying Yuan You abruptly stood up, his face filled with horror. "What’s going on? What happened?"
Without a moment’s delay, he cast a spell to inspect the changes in the Profound Wall. He discovered that, accompanying the earth-shattering boom from moments ago, the entire Profound Wall—along with the Void Sea of Light and the infinite Outer Realms beyond it—was undergoing inexplicable shifts, as though a pebble had been dropped into a still pond.
Ripples cascaded outward, wave after continuous wave.
A second later, his whole body trembled violently, his pupils shrinking. "The Tribulation... The Tribulation that was supposed to have a buffer of over ten years has inexplicably been brought forward!?"
Why would this happen?
Besides the Profound Wall, these exact same anomalies were occurring in the Star Palace, the Immortal Pivot, and all the Great and Small Boundary Heavens that had given birth to a Fruit.
***
Immortal Pivot, Overseas Skyline.
Ang Xiao paced with his hands behind his back, slowly walking toward the Netherworld. Behind him, the figures of Celestial Python and True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde appeared one after another.
However, compared to before, these two Perfected Lords—who were now attached to Ang Xiao’s Grotto Heaven—had all seven of their facial orifices filled with the mist transformed from the Veil of the Trees. They were practically drooling. Unable to react to the outside world or resist Ang Xiao’s decisions, they could only blindly follow him down this dark path.
"Netherworld... I’m back again."
Ang Xiao’s expression was filled with emotion. Compared to his past state of Five Elements Perfection, he now not only had only Three Elements left but had also acquired two burdens. Lü Yang’s figure flashed through his mind, causing the corner of Ang Xiao’s eye to twitch. Thinking about it still made him a bit angry!
Ang Xiao thought, "Forget it, I won’t hold a grudge against a dead man. At least he ended up more miserable than I did. Having Cultivated the Dharma Body Dao, his hopes of advancement were shattered entirely. I, on the other hand, at least still have a chance to fight for it."
Thinking of this, Ang Xiao instantly felt much better. He glanced around, his gaze piercing through the Immortal Pivot, seemingly perceiving the anomalies in the Profound Wall, the Star Palace, and even the entire Void Sea of Light.
This was within his expectations. After all, what he was about to do was far too shocking, and it happened to fall right at the critical juncture of the Millennial Tribulation. Under the resonance of the karmic links, the turbulence across the Void Sea of Light was only natural. Yet, no matter how much turmoil arose, nothing would change his decision.
"The Millennial Tribulation was supposed to start twelve years from now," Ang Xiao muttered. "Normally, this would be a massive war between the Immortal Pivot and the other Outer Realms. The many Perfected Lords would fight to the death while the Masters of Dao sat on the Other Shore, watching the victor emerge.
"But that is simply too boring.
"The Masters of Dao avoiding the Tribulation? What a joke... Since it is a Tribulation, and a great one at that, how can it stop at the Perfected Lords? It’s only fitting to invite the Masters of Dao to join in!"
With those words, Ang Xiao suddenly stomped his foot.
BOOM!
In an instant, the Netherworld responded. Boundless darkness poured out from the Skyline, transforming into countless threads that rapidly spread across the entire Immortal Pivot!
"The Millennial Tribulation, twelve years from now?
"By then, the various Constants will already be set in stone. What would be the point of fighting to the bitter end? Since we must fight for a sliver of survival, we naturally have to shatter the Constants!
"If there must be a great Tribulation, let it begin with me!"
At this moment, Ang Xiao’s voice resounded throughout the Immortal Pivot, echoing thunderously across the entire Void Sea of Light!