"Wait for me!"
Evan Lin gazed at the horizon, watching the arcs of colored lightning rolling within the oppressive black clouds, his entire being seemingly set ablaze.
The so-called Heavenly Tribulation, legend says, exists to limit the power of the strongest beings in a world.
On the Immortal Martial Continent, most people believe that when a cultivator reaches a certain level of strength, they attract the Heavenly Tribulation. If they survive it, they can climb the celestial ladder, open the heavenly gate, and enter the Immortal Realm, achieving eternal life.
But Evan understood that, on a certain level, the Heavenly Tribulation seemed to be controlled by some mysterious force.
At least, from Evan's perspective, he hadn't planned to undergo tribulation and ascend so soon. He still needed a few days to handle some matters on the Immortal Martial Continent.
But unexpectedly, the tribulation arrived without warning. The heavenly gate opened, and as he stepped in with one foot—before being attacked by that dragon—what Evan sensed from the Immortal Realm was nothing like the peaceful aura of immortality.
It was pure, overwhelming pressure from a powerful being.
In other words, the Heavenly Tribulation simply restricts mortals from breaking through a certain threshold. Once you cross that line, the world itself rejects you.
And the energy of the Heavenly Tribulation comes from all kinds of scattered spiritual qi throughout the world.
The entire Heavenly Tribulation feels like a massive, dormant formation of terror.
What activates the formation is someone breaking through the threshold and entering the tribulation stage, and the formation demands an enormous amount of spiritual qi.
Evan stood atop the dragon's head, racing forward, marveling at the dense black clouds ahead. He was amazed that, in a world where spiritual qi had dried up, so much qi could suddenly appear.
"There must be places in this world where spiritual qi still exists, and cultivators remain."
"Damn heavens."
Evan gritted his teeth; now wasn't the time to overthink. He kept urging the fire dragon beneath his feet, speeding toward Coldspire Peak.
A desolate, uninhabited region.
A man sat cross-legged on the ground, with a world of shifting seasons behind him.
He had originally kept his eyes closed, but now, as if sensing something, he suddenly opened them and looked in a certain direction.
"Such terrifying fluctuations. Has this world begun to change already?"
The man's expression grew solemn as he gazed in that direction, his face even more grave.
Soon, one figure after another emerged from the shifting Four Seasons formation behind him.
All of them hovered in midair, each staring in the same direction with stern faces, their expressions full of vigilance.
Prime Lin Family.
This was a terrifying force capable of shaking the entire world—a super family that, in the eyes of ordinary people, was untouchable.
Yet now, countless strong cultivators stood in silence.
They only watched—just watching that direction filled the whole world with an overwhelming, undeniable pressure.
"Is the world about to change?"
"It came a bit earlier than expected."
"Something feels off—this isn't quite right."
Each of the Lin family members who hovered in midair spoke in turn, then fell silent once more.
Blake Lin hurried over, standing on the ground. He glanced at the man guarding the formation, said nothing, and then joined everyone in staring intently in the same direction.
The clouds were moving.
The phoenix was rising.
Every member of the Prime Lin Family grew solemn.
At the same moment, in different places...
Beams of spiritual light shot up, as terrifying beings who had been in seclusion soared skyward.
Every one of them was staring in the same direction.
Some were deep in thought.
Some were hesitating.
Some were already striding rapidly toward the source of the disturbance.
"Something's happening over in Hong Kong."
In Yan Capital, at the Great Wall beacon tower...
There were four people present.
Azure Dragon was brewing wine.
Besides him, the other three stood apart.
Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger.
If anyone recognized the people present, they'd be utterly shocked.
These four were the Four Saints of Hidden Dragon, the strongest beings on China's Divine Martial ranking.
But at this moment, every one of them looked solemn.
"Is the world changing this quickly?"
Azure Dragon gazed at the sky, watching the drifting clouds with a lonely expression.
"Just now, Moonshade sent word—strange phenomena are appearing in every mysterious site. Something big is about to happen."
Someone spoke in a deep, cold voice.
Even as powerful as they were, the changes sweeping across the world sent chills through their hearts. "Could something be emerging?"
Someone asked.
As soon as those words were spoken, the others all frowned.
"If the sky falls, someone will hold it up."
Azure Dragon's voice was cold and lonely as he looked at the clouds, his face calm.
Outside, chaos reigned.
Inside the Great Bronze Sarcophagus...
Phoenix Bai was completely panicking now.
"What on earth did you do?!"
The tribulation was still brewing, not yet descending.
But Phoenix Bai could already keenly sense the terrifying pressure rising all around her.
At the heart of the storm, inside the Great Bronze Sarcophagus, the pressure was far more frightening than anywhere else.
"I already told you—it's the Heavenly Tribulation."
Zhao Liuli looked at her. "Didn't you want to become immortal? The Immortal Gate is right in front of you now."
"Survive this tribulation, and you'll see the celestial ladder and the Immortal Gate."
"Climb the ladder, enter the gate, and you'll become immortal."
Zhao Liuli spoke with utter seriousness.
"You're crazy! Completely insane!"
Phoenix Bai shrieked, her face twisting with rage. "Devour her! Eat her!"
She commanded the Devour-Spirit Grubs to swarm toward Zhao Liuli.
"Once I refine all your cultivation, maybe—maybe I'll really become immortal!"
Phoenix Bai's eyes burned with fervor.
Yet as the Devour-Spirit Grubs rushed forward, Zhao Liuli opened her mouth and gently blew.
A wild wind swept through.
All the Devour-Spirit Grubs were instantly scattered, blown apart and routed.
"How is that possible?!"
Phoenix Bai's face was filled with shock. She screamed in despair, utterly unable to believe what she'd seen.
"They're just a bunch of bugs."
Zhao Liuli sighed softly. She didn't even look at Phoenix Bai, instead gazing quietly into the darkness on the other side.
The Devour-Spirit Grubs, blown away by Zhao Liuli, carried tiny glimmers of light. But as they entered the darkness, they couldn't illuminate it at all.
"Those Devour-Spirit Grubs are my painstaking creation!"
"Today, it's to the death—no matter what!"
Phoenix Bai looked utterly crazed.
She roared, rising into the air.
"I'm at the peak of the Yin-Yang Law realm. If the Devour-Spirit Grubs can't deal with you, I'll destroy you myself!"
As soon as Phoenix Bai finished speaking...