Chapter Sixty-Eight: Gathering of Nascent Souls and the Furious Tribulation Thunder-Infinite Immortal(His given name was Qi, and his courtesy name was Fangyuan.)

“Hmph, you dare to follow me into the place? In the Demon Lord’s Secret Realm, saturated with intense demonic energy, how much of your strength can you truly wield? It’s the perfect place for me to deal with you once and for all. Ha ha ha ha! White girl, my demon lair will be your final resting place.” The old zombie’s words were ceaseless, but his figure never paused, soaring upward at the fastest speed into the heavens.

Shui Wuyuebai’s expression remained calm, her gaze unflinching, as she continued the pursuit.

There’s a saying: ‘Looking at the mountain, a horse dies in the run.’ It’s a mortal proverb, yet at this moment, it fits the cultivators as well. The great vortex appeared close to the ground, but that was merely a trick of perspective caused by its immense size. The old zombie flew for nearly two hours and still hadn’t reached the vortex, while the surrounding fierce winds could already shred Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Another two hours passed, and finally, the great vortex loomed before him. Within the range of his spiritual sense, he felt the presence of other Nascent Soul elders—both demon cultivators and immortals, some from sects, some rogue cultivators, some familiar, others strangers. In total, within his spiritual sense alone, there were more than ten Nascent Soul elders, and one could imagine how many more gathered outside his range.

This grand move by the Demon Sect had drawn nearly eighty percent of the Nascent Soul elders from the Southern Domain. The Demon Lord’s name was unrivaled since the battle at Mount Tongxian years ago. Only five survived after facing him in combat, and those five joined forces for a final battle at Mount Tongxian, never to be heard from again.

Many years later, rumors spread that the Demon Lord killed all five, ascended to the Spirit Realm from Mount Tongxian, and left his legacy and treasures in the Demon Lord’s Secret Realm, waiting for a worthy inheritor.

The method to unlock the Demon Lord’s Secret Realm also spread mysteriously—find the nine formation nodes, activate them with mortal resentment and spiritual veins, and when all nine resonate, the secret realm opens.

Many demon cultivators had tried to unlock it, but it was tantamount to making an enemy of the entire Southern Domain’s cultivators, and none had ever succeeded. The closest was a mid-Integration stage cultivator, claiming descent from the Demon Lord, who led the powerful True Demon Sect and managed to activate seven nodes. In the end, seven early-Integration stage immortals joined forces and killed him on the spot.

These seven Integration stage immortals became the founders of the seven great sects of the Southern Domain. Only these sects had the heritage to produce Integration masters. Among rogue cultivators, only three Integration masters were ever recorded, but that’s another story.

Back to the present, the Nascent Soul elders gathered beneath the great vortex did not make a move against each other, yet none dared to be the first to touch the vortex, resulting in a tense stalemate.

This deadlock changed after a quarter hour. Someone noticed that black clouds began to gather below the Nine Heavens, not the usual clouds of resentment, but true thunderclouds, sparkling with flashes of lightning.

If it were ordinary clouds, the Nascent Soul elders wouldn’t pay attention. But these thunderclouds covered an area nearly equal to the great vortex above. The aura of the impending tribulation gradually emerged, and the faces of the Nascent Soul elders changed dramatically. Whether demon or immortal cultivator, they all harbored a deep-seated fear of tribulation lightning.

For it represents Heaven’s punishment and test for those who defy fate. A single misstep, and one’s soul is obliterated, body reduced to ashes. Judging from the scene below, not one Nascent Soul elder could confidently claim to withstand even a single bolt.

The pressure of the thunderclouds below surged upward, its destructive aura chilling the hearts of all present. Abandoning caution, they rushed into the Demon Lord’s Secret Realm, unwilling to face the tribulation head-on.

The tribulation lightning seemed angered by their actions, or perhaps had an unresolved grudge with the great vortex. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning in the cloud swelled, growing monstrous and fierce, stabbing toward the pitch-black vortex as if vowing not to relent until it pierced through.

But the vortex seemed prepared. Before the tribulation lightning could touch it, it shrouded itself, letting the bolt miss its mark. Frustrated, the lightning circled nearby, unable to find a target, and finally turned its wrath toward the unlucky ones below.

These unlucky ones were, naturally, the demon sect disciples stained by karma from slaughtering mortals.

Most dispatched to kill mortals were the weakest in the Demon Sect, or troublemakers. From the near-instant killing of two Foundation Establishment disciples and the chaotic battle at Qiqi Mountain, it was obvious Demon Sect’s Foundation disciples were far weaker than those from Qiqi Sect’s branch.

On the ground, the Demon Sect disciples’ fervor was abruptly crushed when a massive bolt struck, leaving only a few hundred out of the original thousands. The rest were obliterated, their souls scattered.

When the second bolt struck, panic finally dawned. Screams erupted as they scattered, and the clever ones noticed that the Core Formation cultivators and elite Foundation disciples had vanished.

Only then did they realize they’d been abandoned. Knowing the truth was useless; the tribulation lightning kept striking. None escaped alive; all turned to dust and entered the cycle of reincarnation.

This scene played out in nine locations across the Southern Domain. Any group that slaughtered over a hundred mortals, none survived, not even Core Formation cultivators.

The loss of these disciples barely dented the Demon Sect’s overall strength, reducing it from its peak by merely ten percent.

After venting its wrath, the tribulation cloud gradually dissipated, save for the first bolt that rushed to the Nine Heavens. It lingered in the sky, and only as the clouds vanished did it unwillingly slash through space, descending upon Qiqi Mountain.

Night fell for the third time. After the clouds of resentment and the tribulation clouds that covered much of the Southern Domain, the sun had set; true night had come.

It was only a single night without the lantern-bright moon, yet Qi felt a strange, long-lost sense of nostalgia.

Within Qiqi Mountain, a gentle, cold breeze stirred, rustling dense leaves and shaking loose a speck of insignificant dust. Suddenly, a semi-transparent screen appeared out of nowhere.

The screen floated along with the dust, and a numerical value on its surface slowly decreased. Streams of pure spiritual energy flowed out from the screen, absorbed by the barely visible speck of dust.

Naturally, this was Qi’s backup plan. When he feigned self-destruction, he actually used the explosion’s shockwave to scatter his prepared regenerative cell clusters. As long as a single cluster survived, he could summon the Qi Codex to replenish spiritual energy and restore himself to peak form.

(First Monday’s member clicks reached double digits; if this week’s member clicks reach three hundred, another chapter will be added. Recently started outlining another novel—writing both in parallel if possible, though it’s still in the planning stage and will take time to be born. It won’t affect this one; updates will remain stable. I’ve never missed a day; let’s see how long this streak lasts.)