BOOM!
After a moment, a thunderous crash split the sky.
A jet-black lightning bolt, hundreds of meters thick and brimming with terrifying power, came crashing down from above, slamming hard into Ian Song.
In an instant, he was swallowed up by the lightning's glow.
But standing in the heart of the thunderstorm, Ian remained perfectly calm, not even bothering to take this so-called divine lightning seriously.
Soon, the lightning faded, revealing Ian Song completely unscathed.
"His Majesty's flesh is just too strong—he can actually tank god-thunder head-on!"
A nearby newly-made god—an eighteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal who had just survived his own tribulation using a Divine artifact—couldn't help but marvel aloud.
BOOM!
A second bolt of god-thunder struck immediately after, far stronger than the first.
Ian still took it head-on with his bare body, and of course, it didn't harm him in the slightest.
After tens of thousands of years training in the Divine Temple, Ian hadn't just raised his realm—his Primordial Chaos Body had reached a monstrous level, even tougher than most Divine artifacts.
A quarter hour passed.
By that time, one hundred and eight bolts of god-thunder had already crashed down from the sky, smashing into Ian Song—yet none could harm him in the slightest.
Whether crossing into the Immortal World or facing god-tribulation, anyone who succeeds is sure to gain tremendous benefits.
Thunder may symbolize destruction, but it also holds boundless vitality—and it tempers the body too.
But Ian cultivated the Primordial Chaos Body, so the god-thunder's tempering did nothing for him at all. He grew impatient, knowing the lightning would keep blasting him for at least a full hour.
So, he summoned a massive Divine-grade axe into his hand.
Then, he shot straight into the sky.
"First World-Cleaving Form!"
Screech!
A tooth-aching screech rang out as the million-kilometer-thick Tribulation Cloud was split cleanly in two by Ian's axe.
He kept swinging the colossal Divine-grade axe, and in just a few breaths, the Tribulation Cloud was hacked into countless pieces, which slowly dissipated into nothing.
"His Majesty's way of crossing tribulation is truly breathtaking!"
The onlookers watched in awe, their faces full of emotion.
God Tribulation has three layers.
The first layer is thunder tribulation.
The second layer is fire tribulation.
The third layer is heart-devil tribulation.
Sure enough, as soon as the Tribulation Cloud faded, clusters of purple flames appeared around Ian. These flames were among the most lethal of immortal fires; a typical Ancestral Immortal would be reduced to ashes with just a touch.
The flames multiplied, eventually forming a sea of fire spanning hundreds of mu. As time passed, each flame continued to evolve.
Finally, after a quarter hour, several strands of Divine Fire emerged.
"Come!"
Ian targeted the clusters of Divine Fire, waved his hand, and as they flew toward him, he swallowed them whole. The chaos vortex inside him instantly swept them up, refining them into Chaos Aura.
The chaos vortex within his body had reached a truly terrifying level—not just a few Divine Fires, but even a Divine artifact tossed in would be refined in minutes.
Over the next hour or so, dozens more Divine Fires evolved, and Ian devoured them all.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he deliberately gathered more than ten Divine Fires.
Whether for alchemy or artifact forging, Divine Fire is essential. So he planned to gift these to his master, Ancestor Martin, and his martial uncle, Ancestor Grimm.
The fire tribulation ended.
Heart-devil tribulation arrived.
The so-called heart-devil tribulation is merely a test of the soul. Ian's immortal soul has undergone ten metamorphoses and reached the pinnacle of strength. On top of that, he commands formidable soul-type divine abilities—so why would he fear heart-devils?
Instead of confusing Ian, those Heavenly Devils from beyond were themselves bewitched by him, then one by one refined into pills.
Heart-devils are condensed from potent spiritual power.
Refined into pills, they can help Ancestral Immortals strengthen their immortal souls.
All three tribulations passed.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Ian. His immortal yuan force began to transform autonomously into divine power, and within him, a Divine Domain started to condense.
Once his divine power fully transforms and the Divine Domain is complete, he'll ascend to the God Realm.
After some calculation, Ian estimated that the transformation to divine power would take at most a month, and the Divine Domain a bit longer—but no more than three months.
In other words, he could remain in the Immortal World for no more than three months.
Snowgoose City, Greenmount Courtyard.
Uncle Yule could only shake his head helplessly.
There's an old saying: 'If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old.' Looks like my master was motivated by having such a monstrous disciple—ha!" Ian joked.
Uncle Yule could only smile wryly. "Young master, you really are..."
He kept shaking his head, half amused, half helpless.
"You brat, you show up just to make fun of your master!"
Just then, a voice rang out in exasperation—who else but Ancestor Martin.
"Uncle Yule, this is for you!"
Ian handed Uncle Yule a bottle of pills refined from Heavenly Devils, then flashed away, reappearing inside Ancestor Martin's pill-aura-shrouded residence.
As soon as he saw Ian, Ancestor Martin glared, beard bristling: "You brat finally deign to visit your master!"
"Don't be angry, Master! I've brought you something good!"
As he spoke, Ian placed six jade boxes with sealing formations before Ancestor Martin. Curious, Martin asked, "What's inside?"
"Divine Fire!"
Ian smiled.
"What—Divine Fire!"
Ancestor Martin's face was full of shock, then delight. Suddenly, his gaze landed on Ian, and he tentatively asked, "You've already passed God Tribulation?"
"Yes."
Ian nodded. "Three months at most and I'll ascend to the God Realm. I came here, first, to deliver Divine Fire to you, and second, to say goodbye."
"Ah."
Ancestor Martin let out a soft sigh, an inexplicable sadness rising in his heart.
"By the way, I also have some pills refined from Heavenly Devils. Maybe they'll be useful to you, Master!"
As he spoke, Ian took out several more bottles of pills.
Ancestor Martin waved his hand. "Put them away—I'm an alchemist myself, I don't need these. Leave them for our disciples and grand-disciples!"
"Alright."
Ian nodded.
After staying with Ancestor Martin for half an hour, Ian visited Ancestor Grimm, then paid his respects to Ancestor Qi, gifting six more Divine Fires to Grimm.
After meeting his two masters and martial uncle, Ian returned to the imperial capital.
Three months flashed by in an instant.
Ian placed all his wives except Hannah into the Divine Palace. As for Rain Qin, he let her remain in the Immortal World.
"Husband, when Zane can truly rule the Immortal Kingdom, I'll ascend to the God Realm to find you!"
Hannah spoke with deep emotion.
"Mm! I'll wait for you!"
Ian pulled her into his arms.
"Father, I can't bear to part with you!"
"Father, please don't go!"
All his children looked at Ian with reluctance, some even secretly wiping away tears.
"Train hard and come to the God Realm to reunite with me as soon as you can!"
Ian sighed deeply, then glanced helplessly at the sky, where something seemed to be gathering. He knew the Heavenly Dao was urging him to leave—if he stayed any longer, it would manifest and erase them all.
"There's no time—I have to go!"
Ian waved to Hannah and the others. Twelve beams of light descended from the heavens, enveloping Ian and his eleven subordinates.
Next moment—
The beams shot skyward and vanished in an instant.
(End of the Immortal World arc)