Chapter 280: The Four Tribulations Arrive Together

"Daoist Friend Xu, over here!"

Wang Daolin's Divine Sense Transmission rang in his ears. Xu Chen looked in the direction of the voice and saw Wang Daolin standing in the air half a mile away, waving at him.

Xu Chen had no time to overthink. His figure flickered several times in succession, and he soon appeared beside Wang Daolin, asking urgently, "How long have you been out? Do you recognize this place?"

Wang Daolin hurriedly replied, "We just came out as well. This place is unfamiliar; it does not seem to be within the territory of the Yelang Ancient Kingdom."

Xu Chen looked at the three tribulation clouds that were constantly expanding and moving, saying, "Since normal tribulation clouds have appeared, it seems we have indeed returned to the Mortal World. For now, we can only wait for my Fourth Senior Brother and the two Daoist Friends, Lu An and Zhong Hui, to finish their tribulations before we discuss a countermeasure together."

Wang Daolin, however, had a grim expression as he said, "I fear it will not be easy for them to survive this Heavenly Tribulation."

Xu Chen was startled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Wang Daolin said, "Because the situation of three Heavenly Tribulations descending simultaneously is something rarely seen since ancient times. Separating does not reduce their power; the three Heavenly Tribulations have a mutual resonance. If one grows stronger, they all grow stronger. As long as one of the three cannot resist and fails the tribulation, the tribulation lightning will target the others who are undergoing their own."

Upon hearing this, Xu Chen's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly asked, "Is it not possible even if they separate by a sufficient distance?"

Wang Daolin shook his head with a bitter smile, "If they could separate by a thousand miles, that would certainly work. But at this moment, it is impossible for the three of them to flee a thousand miles away before the tribulation lightning falls. Furthermore, Daoist Friend Xu, do not forget that Senior Guilingzi has not come out yet."

Xu Chen understood immediately, and his face turned deathly pale.

In reality, everyone had mentally prepared for the fact that they would face Heavenly Tribulation upon coming out. After all, Heavenly Tribulation is inevitable for all realms above Golden Core and Spirit Transformation; it is something that cannot be avoided.

There is no Heavenly Tribulation in Minghuang because the laws of heaven and earth there are completely different.

Before entering Minghuang, Chen Yang, Lu An, and Zhong Hui were all at the Kaiyuan Realm and Zhenyuan Realm. Now, they have all advanced to the Danyuan Realm through special Ghost Cultivation methods. Once they enter the Mortal World and are sensed by the laws of heaven and earth, tribulation lightning will inevitably descend to compensate and restore balance.

This is not a conjecture, but a mature case already established in the Immortal World, as well as a consensus.

Because there have always been people in the Immortal World who fear Heavenly Tribulation, they adopt various methods to hide their strength and realm, trying every possible way to avoid the descent of the Heavenly Tribulation. But no matter how one masks their aura, once sensed by the Heavenly Tribulation, it cannot be avoided. Moreover, the higher a cultivator's cultivation, the greater the power of the Heavenly Tribulation when it descends, and the more miserable the consequences.

Historically, almost all cultivators who did not undergo a normal tribulation died under the Heavenly Tribulation; those who survived were few and far between.

Right now, Chen Yang and the others advanced to the Danyuan Realm by taking shortcuts, so their strength is already insufficient. Furthermore, having been trapped at the Minghuang Boundary for years or even decades, their internal reserves of vital energy are far from enough. Relying on their own strength to resist the Heavenly Tribulation was already fraught with crisis, and with three Heavenly Tribulations descending simultaneously and resonating with each other—three tribulations as one, where if one suffers, all suffer—surviving it is harder than ascending to heaven.

Although Xu Chen had never heard of such a thing, he believed Wang Daolin would not spout nonsense. As one of the top three super-large Immortal Sects in the Shenzhou Xianjie, the Spirit Treasure Temple of Qingcheng Mountain must have records of this.

What's more, Guilingzi has not come out yet.

Once he comes out and triggers the Transformation God Tribulation, let alone a thousand miles, I fear he would not be able to escape the sensing of the tribulation lightning even if he were ten thousand miles away.

With four Heavenly Tribulations mixed together and descending at once, I fear even a Void Breaking True Immortal would have a hard time.

Just as Xu Chen was trembling with fear, a space tremor suddenly occurred in the sky not far away, and a thin, tall figure fell out of thin air from a height of several dozen zhang.

"Senior Guilingzi!"

Xu Chen and Wang Daolin were both shocked; not only was there no trace of joy, but they were even more terrified.

Because almost at the same moment Guilingzi appeared, a greater pressure from heaven and earth descended. A black dot suddenly appeared in the sky ten thousand zhang high, instantly turning into a black hole the size of a millstone. As it expanded rapidly, streaks of cyan tribulation clouds rolled out like dragons and snakes, releasing thunderous sounds that shook the world.

Guilingzi stabilized his figure instantly, but before he could investigate the surroundings or greet Xu Chen and the other, he looked up at the rolling tribulation clouds appearing in the firmament. The joy that had been on his face was suddenly replaced by extreme terror.

"It seems we have indeed returned to the Mortal World, but I did not expect the Heavenly Tribulation to come so quickly. You two Daoist Friends, leave quickly; I fear the power of this tribulation of mine is not small!"

Guilingzi sent a brief Divine Sense Transmission to Xu Chen and Wang Daolin, having no time to say anything else, and took a step, disappearing instantly.

However, the tribulation clouds seemed to have eyes; the black hole in the sky flashed along with him, shifting a hundred miles in an instant. The powerful pressure actually forced the thin, tall figure out of the Void.

True Monarch Guilingzi let out a cold snort and once again forcibly tore through the Void to teleport away. The black hole flickered and followed again, and an even greater pressure from heaven and earth descended, as if the entire world had fallen into a ten-thousand-zhang abyss.

Xu Chen only felt his released Divine Sense snapping inch by inch. Apart from the few tribulation clouds visible to the naked eye, his Divine Sense could no longer see anything, and even his Soul felt like it was creaking, as if the space of his Sea of Consciousness was about to collapse.

Wang Daolin's face was deathly pale, and blood began to seep from his ears, eyes, mouth, and nose.

He himself was in the Danyuan Realm and had already passed the Golden Core Tribulation. He did not trigger a Heavenly Tribulation this time, but under the terrifying pressure of three Golden Core Tribulations and one Transformation God Tribulation superimposed, he began to fail to hold on before the tribulation lightning even fell.

"Daoist Friend Xu, there is nowhere to hide now. If this tribulation falls, I fear both of us will be blasted into dust. While the Heavenly Tribulation has not yet fully formed, you must quickly find the way back to Minghuang. Let us go back and hide for now, and return after the Heavenly Tribulation is over!"

Although Wang Daolin was cowardly and afraid of death, his mind was exceptionally clear at this moment, though his pale face and blood-leaking orifices made him look exceptionally ferocious and terrifying.

Xu Chen smiled bitterly, "That would have been a good method, but the Nether Beast skull used for finding the way is currently in the hands of Senior Guilingzi!"

Wang Daolin's emotions collapsed instantly, but he had not yet completely lost his reason. Instead, he grabbed Xu Chen's arm and roared, "Then hurry and find the Teleportation Array here and reactivate the Array, otherwise it will be too late!"

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment and looked around, discovering that the surroundings were a wilderness. However, upon closer inspection, he could still find some ruined walls and pillars like giant stone corridors, and the area covered was incredibly vast; it seemed the entire wilderness was the site of a giant city.

If his guess was correct, this should be the same as that ancient city in Minghuang, a place built and inhabited by the Ancient Human Race in the past.

Since a group of people could be successfully teleported here, there should indeed be a Teleportation Array nearby, but judging by the situation, it was highly likely buried somewhere in the ancient city.

Just as Xu Chen was observing the surroundings, a familiar, intermittent voice suddenly rang in his Sea of Consciousness:

"Daoist Friend Xu, this is not the normal Mortal World, but a closed space no more than a thousand miles across. Perhaps it is a hidden small world. I cannot leave now, and this Heavenly Tribulation will sweep through the entire space. You must quickly find a way to escape..."

Xu Chen's face turned pale instantly, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

He never expected that the place they had struggled so hard to escape back to was not the real Mortal World, but just a closed space.

But now, there was no road to heaven and no door into the earth, and even a True Monarch could not get out, so how could he escape?

"Daoist Friend Xu, hurry and think of a way!" Wang Daolin did not seem to hear the transmission from True Monarch Guilingzi, and at this moment, he was still roaring with blood leaking from his seven orifices and a face full of terror.

Xu Chen took a deep breath and forcibly urged his Divine Sense to search among the ruins of the desolate ancient city. A moment later, he caught a trace of familiar spatial fluctuation. His Clam Shell Phantom appeared behind him, flapping several times in succession, and like lightning, he flickered through the Void, soon appearing on a small hill resembling a giant grave mound several miles away.

This was an earthen hill, several hundred zhang in scale, with some wild grass and thorns growing sparsely on it. But beneath the hill, a faint spatial fluctuation appeared and disappeared intermittently.

Wang Daolin also flew over from the distance and landed on the earthen hill, saying with an anxious face, "Daoist Friend Xu, is the Teleportation Array buried under here?"

Xu Chen nodded slightly and said, "It should be. I feel a trace of spatial fluctuation."

"Daoist Friend Xu, move aside and let me dig out the Teleportation Array!"

Wang Daolin excitedly took out a crimson Magic Treasure, instantly activating it to release a brilliant red light, and swept it across the earthen hill.

One could see the sky full of red whip shadows rolling and whistling past. The red light roared through the soil like a dragon or snake, and the giant earthen mound was instantly like being hit by a flood; mud and stones splashed and tumbled in all directions, soon revealing the solid blue-gray stone base underneath.

"Haha, it really is a Teleportation Array!"

Wang Daolin was overjoyed and urged the Magic Treasure to release an even more blinding red light. Streaks of whip shadows turned into a wall of red waves, sweeping and pushing outward in layers. Soon, a space of several hundred zhang was cleared, and an ancient Teleportation Array resembling a complete altar was revealed.

The altar was covered with complex Ancient Runes and crisscrossing lines.

Around the edge stood a circle of over a hundred dark red stone pillars.

Among these stone pillars, only a few still had faint red rune light flickering, emitting a familiar spatial fluctuation.

"Hahahahaha, Heaven does not wish for my death!"

Wang Daolin was so agitated he completely lost his composure; he put away his Magic Treasure and roared at Xu Chen, "Daoist Friend Xu, quickly activate the Teleportation Array, otherwise it will be too late!"

(End of chapter)