Outside South Heaven Gate, amidst the thunderous roar, a violent cloud vortex slowly opened up a massive rift, leading toward an unknown, deep crimson realm.
Lightning still swept back and forth across the sky, while the shield of the South Heaven Gate Grand Formation trembled incessantly amid all this chaos.
A tremendous suction force surged forth, like a black hole, drawing all loose objects outside South Heaven Gate in as if they were mere dust. Monkey’s entire body was slowly pulled away from the shield he had clung to so tightly.
Suspended in midair, he gritted his teeth and revealed a ferocious expression. In the next instant, he erupted in a hoarse, desperate roar and broke free from the overwhelming suction with all his strength.
Strands of glowing light, like drifting white veils, floated out from the rift and began to coil around Monkey.
A fragment of stone brushed against the glowing light and instantly split in two.
"What in the world is this?"
Two blue beams shot out from the rift, howling as they chased after Monkey.
Dodging frantically, Monkey watched as the two beams grazed the shield of the South Heaven Gate Grand Formation.
At the core of the formation, one of the immortal civil officers guarding the array suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and tumbled from his floating meditation cushion.
"What’s happening?" Everyone’s face was stricken with terror.
Several Heavenly Generals rushed in and quickly moved the fallen immortal officer aside.
"The true Heavenly Tribulation has arrived!" General Lee pointed at a Heavenly General beside him and barked, "Quick! Take over!"
The Heavenly General, panic-stricken, leapt onto the meditation cushion, but stared blankly at the tangled mess of mystic charms before him.
"Haven’t you guarded the formation before?"
"I have, yes... but... but..."
The gravely wounded immortal officer trembled as he spoke, "Now, the entire formation is nothing like it was before... Just do your best..."
As he finished, another mouthful of blood spilled from his lips, his complexion now deathly pale.
General Lee glanced at the immortal officer, then ignored him, his gaze darting among the tangled mystic charms.
At this moment, he had no time to care about the fate of a single immortal officer. If South Heaven Gate fell, the dead would be far more than just one or two immortals.
Steeling himself for a moment, General Lee leapt forward, pulling the Heavenly General off the meditation cushion and taking command himself.
The shield, which had just slightly dimmed, once again flared with brilliant red light.
Meanwhile, all Monkey could do was keep dodging.
This was a war with no enemy; his opponent was a pure force, whose sole mission was to erase him from this world.
The drifting white glow, as ethereal as a veil, would bind him tightly the moment it touched, even cutting into his flesh. The blue beams ignited blazing blue flames wherever they passed—fire from beyond the heavens, able to burn anything. If he touched the blue light directly, he would be reduced to ashes in an instant.
As for the ever-present, power-laden lightning, Monkey had no time to worry about it now.
Amidst this feast of power, he could only flee for his life, constantly trying to lure the attacks toward the shield, using the blue beams to weaken the formation.
The greatest catastrophe since the dawn of creation had begun—even inside South Heaven Gate, the abnormality was clear to all.
From the vantage of the Moon Tree, one could see the massive floating stone supporting South Heaven Gate trembling. Countless motes of dust drifted from its walls, as if heralding an avalanche.
All the Daoist disciples, Skyward Legionnaires, and various immortals watched from afar, eyes wide, holding their breath.
Never before had such a vision unfolded. Even if the legendary, indestructible South Heaven Gate were to shatter in the next breath, none would find it strange—the world itself seemed poised on the brink of transformation.
"This must be the strongest Heavenly Tribulation in history," Lord Skygate whispered.
"Indeed. It's the tribulation triggered on the eve of a Traveler’s Path breakthrough toward Heaven’s Way–level cultivation..." Lord Genesis gave a slow, rueful smile. "Had it erupted within these halls, the entire Heavenly Court might have been wiped away."
Within the High Sky Throne Hall, silence reigned as if death had fallen.
All the immortals, including the Jade Emperor, waited in stillness. For them, there was nothing left to do but wait.
The thunder's ceaseless roar—was it the funeral bell for Heaven, or the demon monkey’s final lament? None could say, for fate itself hung in the balance.
...
As nearly every gaze was drawn to South Heaven Gate, the Western Sea Dragon King arrived in a rush at the Ninth Heaven torture prison, only to be blocked by Heavenly soldiers.
A Heavenly General stationed outside spoke coldly, "Old Dragon King, you cannot simply barge into Heaven’s torture prison."
Trembling, the Western Sea Dragon King stared at the pitch-black entrance and asked, "My son... Has my son come here?"
"The Third Dragon Prince is inside. He may enter, but you may not, Old Dragon King."
At these words, the Western Sea Dragon King felt as if struck by lightning, collapsing to the ground in despair.
Behind him, the other three Dragon Kings arrived in haste.
Princess Tina Ao stepped forward, bowed formally, and said, "I am Ao Tingxin, Fourth Princess of the East Sea. I request an audience with the warden. Would the Divine General please deliver my message?"
...
Within the pitch-black prison, the fire in the brazier crackled and hissed.
Aiden Ao followed the Heavenly General, walking slowly until he reached the outer edge of the torture chamber, where he halted.
His heart lurched, breath catching in his throat—a hand clenched tightly on his sword hilt.
Through the iron bars, he saw Belle Whitebone with her head bowed, coughing softly as fresh blood trickled from her lips. She looked on the verge of death.
Her long white dress was stained deep red, riddled with countless wounds.
"Third Dragon Prince, you’d best not draw your sword," the Heavenly General warned. "Even if you did, in this crisis, His Majesty would never order your death. Instead, we would be punished for failing to restrain you. But—would adding an escape charge truly help her?" The General watched Aiden Ao’s pallid face, his own hand tight on his sword hilt, sweat beading at his brow.
Only when Aiden Ao released his grip on the sword did the General relax slightly.
(Irrelevant system line removed.)
"You... you actually tortured her?"
The Heavenly General folded his arms. "Yes, because she refused to speak the truth. I’ve already gone as easy on her as I could."
As he spoke, the General discreetly pointed to another cell, where three demons lay twisted and broken—limbs missing, faces unrecognizable.
Aiden Ao’s breathing grew heavier. He whispered, "I want to ransom her now."
"How could a high-level Heavenly criminal be ransomed so easily?"
Aiden Ao slowly turned, eyes blazing as he stared down the General. "Don’t think I’m ignorant of Heaven’s games. Name your price in Gold Essence. If you won’t deal, I’ll find someone who will. If you lose out, you’ll gain nothing—and might even be charged yourself."
The General gave a bitter laugh. "You jest, Third Dragon Prince. Times have changed. If I fail my orders, I’ll face eternal punishment."
After a brief pause, the General continued, "But in truth, you’re the only one who can save her now, Third Dragon Prince. Everyone knows you brought her through South Heaven Gate. Since that’s the case, why not answer Heaven’s questions yourself and spare her further torment?"
"What questions?"
"She herself is insignificant—her cultivation is shallow, her strength lacking. There’s no way she could have opened South Heaven Gate alone. What interests us is her accomplices in Heaven. Can you offer any useful clues, Third Dragon Prince?"
Aiden Ao’s brow twitched ever so slightly.
The General lowered his voice, speaking as if it were nothing. "Especially this—she’s a demon, yet she holds a Dragon Palace token and trades elixirs with earth-immortals... If we can resolve this mystery, there’ll be no need to trouble her further, don’t you agree, Third Dragon Prince?"
...
From South Heaven Gate’s mutation, crimson radiance blossomed into a seven-hued glory. Thunder crashed in endless waves, rolling across the earth—so deafening it swallowed all other sound. The Three Realms trembled as if shaken by the hand of destiny.
Across the Four Great Continents, every living soul gazed upward in awe, spellbound by the spectacle. Even Blossom Mountain, ravaged by war, paused to witness the heavens’ wrath.
"The light has turned seven-colored—does that mean the Heavenly Tribulation has truly descended?" Shortbeak asked softly.
"You could say that," Skylar Loft replied, his gaze fixed on the distant chaos of the battlefield. "But it’s only just begun."
"When does a Heavenly Tribulation end?"
"When its trigger endures every wave, or when the trigger dies—body and soul annihilated."
Nine-Headed Wyrm slowly turned his head. "So as long as the tribulation continues, it means the Great Sage is still alive?"
"Yes." Skylar Loft nodded in silence.
"You hear that?" Nine-Headed Wyrm raised his fist and roared, "If the tribulation still rages, the Great Sage is still fighting! Do you want him to return and find Blossom Mountain reduced to ashes?"
"No!" Thousands of demon officers, even those aboard nearby warships, drew their weapons in unison.
In the next instant, they sliced open their palms and smeared their own blood across their blades.
Skylar Loft waved his hand, scattering crystalline Daoist light that fused with their blood-stained weapons.
Under Nine-Headed Wyrm’s lead, they charged the monk legions once more.
"In truth, Buddhist cultivators weren’t meant to be this strong," Skylar Loft said, raising his brow as he stood beside Shortbeak. "But your Great Sage destroyed the Hall of Life and Death, and that changed everything. Without the root of lethal baleful qi, Daoist body-cultivators still die if their forms are destroyed in battle, but Buddhists are different... The body is only their shell—they cultivate soul and spirit, and can exist without flesh. To fight such foes, you must forge weapons that wound both body and soul."
With Nine-Headed Wyrm’s demon troops joining the charge, the front stabilized and the battle turned into a grinding deadlock.
The monks could no longer shrug off the demon army’s blades as if they were nothing.
A monk quietly approached Right-Dharma Radiance Tathāgata, palms pressed together. "Venerable one, should we escalate...?"
"No need," Right-Dharma Radiance Tathāgata replied, slowly raising his head to gaze west. "This battle is meant to buy ten thousand years of peace. There are still others yet to enter the field—let us wait."