Chapter 132

A top-tier lightning tribulation descended without any omen; this was no ordinary venerable's tribulation, its contained power terrifying to the extreme, chilling one's heart. Yet what is astonishing is that this heavenly punishment did not strike the one undergoing tribulation, but instead, as if driven by some mysterious force, it took those several venerables as its targets and launched a merciless slaughter.

Qi Tai and Li Haoran, seizing the opportunity, pursued and killed several venerables; those venerables were thrown into disarray by the lightning tribulation, with nobody daring to fight back. After this battle, the two became famous overnight! It can be foreseen that in the days to come, the legend will spread throughout Dong Shenzhou of two grand masters undergoing tribulation, yet besieged by six venerables, ultimately returning victorious.

It seems the Profound Yang Sect truly has deep foundations; not only can it give birth to a monster capable of triggering the forbidden lightning tribulation of transcending, but now someone even masters the means to control the lightning tribulation… If the goddess could become Dao companions with Dongfang Yuan, then our sect's development would proceed much more smoothly." The old woman of the Silver Moon Divine Sect, her eyes deep and turbid, with a faint gleam of essence flashing within, clearly pondering many far-reaching schemes. No matter what, for them this incident is undoubtedly a good thing.

Beside them, the Grand Elder and Second Elder of the Floating Light Sect were still in a dazed state, gazing at the corpses strewn before them and the shattered killing formation above the heavens, their hearts filled with lingering fear. They were immensely fortunate to have heeded the advice of the Silver Moon Divine Sect, decisively leaning toward the Profound Yang Sect and even launching a rear assault on the Four Great Dao Lineages. Otherwise, among the corpses littering this ground would likely be them both, as well as all members of the Floating Light Sect.

Once this matter settles, we will take this as an opportunity to go to the Profound Yang Sect to apologize and offer half of our resources as sincerity." The Grand Elder of the Floating Light Sect lowered his voice, using voice transmission to tell the Second Elder, "Furthermore, we must openly show our submission; from now on in the Canglan Yu, the Floating Light Sect will take the Profound Yang Sect as its leader.

Upon hearing this, the Second Elder's mouth twitched slightly, his face showing difficulty: 'Uncle Grand… these years we have joined forces with the Four Great Dao Lineages, suppressing the Profound Yang Sect considerably; this matter probably won't be so easily resolved, right?'

Upon hearing this, the Grand Elder's eyes flared wide open; he slapped the Second Elder's forehead with a resounding 'pa', scolding him bitterly: 'Are you an idiot? Over these thousands of years, how much suffering has the Profound Yang Sect endured? When several venerables were besieged and slain by the Profound Void Holy Ground, we still tagged along, directly attacking the Profound Yang Sect's mountain gate—yet the result? The venerable Yangtian Ancestor struck alone, and all who fell were our own people! Moreover, every generation of disciples the Profound Yang Sect produces can suppress our people into utter obedience; this generation's youth finally showed some promise, only for a monster capable of triggering the forbidden lightning tribulation of transcending to appear—how can we possibly contend with them? We merely occupied some of their resources, yet from start to finish, it is we who have suffered losses!'

Recalling the past, my senior brother, full of ambition, joined the crowd in storming the Profound Yang Sect's mountain gate, only to be overwhelmingly suppressed by Venerable Yangtian single-handedly against nine, and my senior brother fell in that great battle. Thereafter, the two sides mainly competed among the younger generation. From Lin Wu Ren to Li Haoran, then to Lin Xue and so on, monsters continually emerged from the Profound Yang Sect. Over thousands of years, every clash has seen the Profound Yang Sect hold the upper hand, never suffering a loss. In that initial great battle, although the Profound Yang Sect lost several strong cultivators and some were severely wounded and missing, throughout it was the Floating Light Sect that was bullied. This time, after finally feeling that the venerable Yangtian Ancestor might be unable to continue, everyone mustered courage to jointly plot, only to be harshly slapped by reality, their grand ambitions instantly shattered to pieces.

After careful thought, the Second Elder indeed found what the Grand Elder said to be true: in the struggles of the younger generation, they have constantly been pressed down and beaten by the Profound Yang Sect. Over the past few centuries, both sides' juniors have suffered casualties, but overall the Profound Yang Sect still holds the edge. Nevertheless, he felt a bit reluctant, transmitting weakly: 'Grand Uncle… but… this matter of representing the sect to apologize and make amends, you carry more weight; I am merely a junior.'

Upon hearing this, the Grand Elder slapped him again, glaring and scolding: 'Nonsense, who goes doesn't lose face? If I don't send you this junior, do I have to go myself? Adjust your attitude to be sincere; don't act all high and mighty, or I'll whip you!'

The Second Elder, his hair half-white, covered his forehead; his turbid eyes flashed with tears of grievance. 'Why must I be the one to suffer this embarrassment?' Though inwardly full of discontent, he respectfully replied on the surface: 'Understood, Grand Uncle.'

At that moment, Venerable Yangtian walked toward the flying vessel, entered the cabin, and bowed to the Niepan Jie Ling inside, saying gratefully: 'Thank you, sir, for your assistance; otherwise our Profound Yang Sect would hardly be able to overcome this tribulation.'

Niepan Jie Ling waved his hand, his expression calm, and said: 'It's nothing; since it was the young master's order, I will naturally exert my utmost effort. I only wonder how the young master fares now.' As he spoke, a hint of worry appeared on Niepan Jie Ling's face. 'If something happens to the young master, what can I do? I am currently violating the present heavenly regulations; if anyone reports me to the Lightning Dao, I will surely face severe punishment, and then I will be unable to help the young master at all.'

'Senior, please don't be anxious; I will try to find out.' Venerable Yangtian pondered for a moment, planning to have Lin Wu Ren and the others use voice transmission to inquire about the situation inside the forbidden zone.

Upon hearing this, Lin Wu Ren and the others blinked slightly, their faces showing difficulty: 'Grand Ancestor, you really are making things hard for us; the means of voice transmission inside have been blocked, and there are terrifying restrictions. This ancient relic is truly extraordinary.' Everyone expressed their helplessness, though in fact they were deeply worried about the safety of their junior uncle Qin Yu. In their hearts, the junior uncle was a godlike existence; as long as he remained alive, the rise of the Profound Yang Sect was merely a matter of time, and even venerable cultivators could possibly be mass-produced. Of course, this cannot be exaggerated; at most one could employ special means, such as sending some vital essence to help ease injuries, but even that is already heaven-defying. After all, which sect could possess such a heaven-defying blessing, able to make the lightning tribulation actively send vital essence? Yet if the junior uncle were to die, the Profound Yang Sect would likely be flung back overnight to a state before liberation—not to mention unifying the Canglan Yu; merely preserving its foundation and continuing to survive would become a major problem.

'Boom—' Just as Venerable Yangtian was contemplating countermeasures, a rumbling suddenly came from above the heavens, as if the thunder on the horizon were roaring. Everyone looked up and saw a hazy illusory figure slowly emerging. Within the illusory figure were a medicine spirit emanating killing intent from its whole body, a humanoid spirit with wings sprouting from its back, and some familiar faces—such as Dongfang Yuan, Lin Xue, Zhang Wu of the Floating Light Sect, and the two peak Illusory Spirit cultivators. At this moment, the combined forces of the two sides still had twenty or thirty disciples left; the others had been subdued and slain by the Heavenly Feather clan and the Azure Blood clan, their essence blood also devoured.

The scene in the image was extremely solemn; from time to time, surges of regulatory power welled up, exuding a powerful aura of restriction. Even though the observers were viewing it through the illusory figure, Venerable Yangtian and the others could feel the oppressive pressure pressing upon them.

'Dao stage, there actually exist Dao-stage beings within!' someone exclaimed in shock.

'Isn't this supposed to be an ancient relic? How could there be such ancient and powerful living beings?' another person said, his face full of disbelief, unable to believe it.

'Even the legendary Heavenly Feather clan has appeared?' The faces of everyone instantly turned to utter astonishment, becoming extremely grim. In the image, two figures within a trial ground were surrounded by surges of extraordinary regulatory power; even when suppressed to the Illusory Spirit realm, they could still form a marvelous connection with heaven and earth—something these people could never achieve. That sensation was as if they were personally present there.

At that moment, Niepan Jie Ling heard the commotion outside, worried that some heavenly and earthly spirits might discover his manipulation of the lightning tribulation; he hastily donned a black robe, stepped out of the cabin, and came to Venerable Yangtian and the others' side. Gazing at the scene before him, his originally indifferent expression instantly froze in a daze.

'Holy shit!' Niepan Jie Ling couldn't help blurting out a curse, 'Cross-realm projection! Is this kind of means something those few venerables of the Profound Yang Sect could pull off?' A flicker of terror quickly crossed his eyes. He had merely asked Venerable Yangtian to inquire about news, not to have him employ such earth-shattering means! At the very least, this would require a saint-tier treasure to manifest such divine ability! It seems the Profound Yang Sect is far more mysterious and unfathomable than he had imagined.

Niepan Jie Ling set aside the earlier hint of contempt, his heart becoming unusually heavy as he secretly pondered that he ought to cultivate good relations with these people of the Profound Yang Sect; perhaps the Profound Yang Sect hides some ancient inheritance, possessing an unimaginable foundation.

The old woman of the Silver Moon Divine Sect and those below, upon seeing the black-robed figure appear, witnessed a cross-realm projection emerge above the heavens, and they too were utterly shocked.

'This person… is terrifying, utterly unfathomable; at the very least he must be at the half-saint level!' the old woman exclaimed in astonishment, 'Just to glimpse the scene inside this ancient relic, he actually mobilized such divine powers… No matter what, we must maintain good relations with the Profound Yang Sect, whether or not we can become allied by marriage, we must stay on good terms!' A gleam of delighted surprise flashed in the depths of the old woman's eyes; she had already made a decision in her heart. She felt this might be a rare opportunity for the Silver Moon Divine Sect to advance further. Indeed, a sect capable of producing an unparalleled monster must surely have a powerful expert seated in command behind the scenes—perhaps an ancient monster who has returned in this generation.