Immortal of the Ages

Outside the courtyard, the demons blotted out the sky.

Inside the pavilion, everything was calm and serene.

"Phew..." Yun Xiao, donned in his Arbiter armor, exhaled a murky breath softly.

"Mid Golden Immortal Realm."

He'd broken through another stage!

After learning the Buddha's Treasure Art, his spirit, celestial power, and vitality merged, broadening his path of immortality.

Within his Dantian, seated atop his sacred wheel, Yun Xiao's spirit oversaw a vast expanse of celestial power, rivaling that of those in the Anima Tribulation Realm.

Having reached the middle of the Golden Immortal stage, Yun Xiao was already among the powerhouses in the Celestial Court. He was no longer a mere Arbiter prodigy.

"He's broken through again?" Gu Suwan, seated nearby, her eyes deep and shadowed, looked at this prodigy. Biting her lip, she said, "Why is cultivation as simple as drinking water for you, while I, striving to summon a single tribulation, have toiled 30 years for a single breakthrough?"

Originally almost an entire realm below her, Cao Shuo had joyously broken through three or four stages in one go, utterly upending Gu Suwan's common sense.

As her sister-in-law, Gu Suwan had competed with Cao Shuo for half a lifetime.

Now, only a few days after Yun Xiao's arrival, Cao Shuo was already leagues ahead of her, leaving her utterly disgraced.

"What cultivation method do you cultivate?" Yun Xiao glanced over at his foster mother.

"The Lightning Duchess True Enlightenment, a Dao Heaven grade cultivation method," Gu Suwan responded, a bit startled.

"Let me see it," Yun Xiao reached out his hand.

"This…" Gu Suwan hesitated, intending to say that this was a secret text of the Thunder Department, and that only Rank 3 Lightning Duchesses were allowed to cultivate it

But then she thought, what was the point now? The Thunder Department was nearly obliterated!

She reached into her Bag of Holding and pulled out a jade slip wrapped in a blue lightning serpent, placing it in Yun Xiao's hand.

Yun Xiao pinched it for a moment, his spirit entering the jade slip.

In a mere breath, he opened his eyes and naturally reached out, tapping Gu Suwan's chest.

"How..." Gu Suwan recoiled, her body trembling slightly as she looked down nervously.

"You've practiced it wrong," Yun Xiao explained. "Change the third section, compress the three lightning spirals into two."

Stunned, Gu Suwan stared at Yun Xiao and asked, "Why?"

Yun Xiao said, "This Lightning Duchess True Enlightenment, grand and sweeping in its intent, suits those of robust physique. But you… in spite of your delicate stature, forcefully cultivated it without any alterations and hit a roadblock. I've adjusted it a bit for you; try practicing it again."

Gu Suwan was stunned on the spot. His words had resolved the puzzle that had confounded her for 30 years.

What was most astonishing was that he had amended the Lightning Duchess True Enlightenment after only a brief moment's study?

"Yes!" Gu Suwan eagerly took the jade slip, observing with her spirit while she sat down to circulate the lightning spirals through her body.

Yue Yin watched silently from the doorway, then parted her lips to say, "Even if you corrected her cultivation method, with those demons looming overhead, an Establishment stage Golden Immortal like her won’t be much help…"

Just as Yue Yin finished her remark, lightning flashed in the sky.

An earth-toned thunderbolt was coalescing, aiming precisely at Gu Suwan!

"Uh..." Yue Yin's pretty face froze, at a loss for words.

The dilemma that had plagued someone for 30 years was solved in a breath and was immediately effective!

What in the world was Yun Xiao?

BOOM! The Earth Pulse Thunder crashed down, startling many.

Yet, Gu Suwan had prepared in this courtyard for this exact moment for the past 30 years. She passed the tribulation with ease.

It was chaotic and restless outside. Inside, it remained eerily calm.

At last, with a rumble, electrical arcs surged from Gu Suwan, scattering around.

Yun Xiao reached out and caught an arc, fashioning it into a small blue flower, which he handed to Pale Revenant beside him, smiling, "For you."

"Thank you," Pale Revenant said, her eyes sparkling as she treasured the tiny lightning flower.

As Gu Suwan's body trembled for the last time, the lightning ceased.

She suddenly opened her eyes, found Yun Xiao, and knelt down, tears of gratitude falling, "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

Yun Xiao couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Foster mother, you must be joking, I'm only 16 years old; I'm not ready to be your senior."

As Yue Yin and Gu Suwan heard this, they were left disheveled by the wind...

Indeed, the wind was picking up!

Yue Yin and Gu Suwan's long hair billowed in the gusts.

The courtyard was no longer tranquil.

Rockeries crumbled, ancient trees caught fire, and the earth cracked open.

Palaces, towers, and long corridors seemed to freeze in the chilly wind before disintegrating into dust, scattering in the breeze...

BUZZ! In an instant, everything around Yun Xiao vanished, except for the ground and the three women.

The Cao Immortal Manor had disappeared!

In its place, a dark red wind whirled, and behind the gusts, countless crimson eyes glinted.

A tremendous demonic aura surged!

Every direction—front, back, left, right, above, and even below—was filled with demons!

They lurked in the dark, chilly wind, their mouths agape, crimson tongues extended, with eerie stares fixed on the young man in Arbiter armor.

At that moment, he was like a white lotus blooming amidst a swamp of poison mist.

Demons, numbering 3,000 strong, surrounded him and sealed off every escape route.

In the distance, countless Arbiters could only watch with heavy hearts as the demons ravaged the heart of the Thunder Department, their emotions a mixture of tears, sorrow, worry, and humiliation.

The wind howled, growing fiercer and more mournful.

The cries of agony and the overshadowing grievances swept through every street of the Thunder Department, piercing every heart, plunging the world into sorrow.

The dark red wind, carrying the pain-filled gazes, converged above the Cao Immortal Manor.

The cries fell like a torrential rain, eroding the earth and emitting dark red plumes of smoke!

"Ooooohhh..." The heart-wrenching, omnipresent wail of the wind slowly materialized into a woman in a red robe.

Gaunt and pale, she seemed ready to dissipate with the wind. Her eyes, dry of tears, were hollow sockets filled with desolate despair as she stared at the young man in white.

"A resentment demon." Yun Xiao observed her calmly.

BOOM! The ground shook violently as the earth of the Thunder Department split open, revealing an abyss. From this chasm, a green leech, covered in suction cups, emerged, opening its largest mouth at the forefront, aiming directly at Yun Xiao!

It was another demon at the Anima Tribulation Realm!

The green leech, wind demon, and 3,000 surrounding demons watched Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao stood silent. To his left and right, and behind him, Yue Yin, Gu Suwan, and Pale Revenant faced off coldly against the menacing demons.

In the heavy silence, malicious intent swelled—but yet, they made no move.

The entire Thunder Department had fallen into a vicious stillness...

Suddenly, a thunderclap exploded out of nowhere.

"How dare these demons wreak havoc in the sacred land of the Thunder Department of the Celestial Court? All troops, heed my command—exterminate them!"

The Great Dao Celestial Army's forces, composed of a hundred Great Horned Immortals and a thousand celestial generals, soared up from the east.

In an instant, a brilliant golden light matched the demonic forces in strength!

The thunderous roar of the Flame Virtue General resonated across the Thunder Department, echoing through the skies.

Hearing this, the Thunder Department Arbiters, who had been in despair not knowing the truth, wept with relief.

"It's the Great Dao Celestial Army!"

"They've stepped forward!"

"Save the Thunder Department, save Lu Yao! Quickly!"

The ordinary Arbiters, even those tormented by the Great Horned Immortals during the day, could never have imagined that these representatives of the Celestial Court's justice would turn out to be enemies...

Revived, the Arbiters cheered for the Great Dao Celestial Army, praying for Yun Xiao.

"Charge!!"

As they had hoped, the dazzling Great Dao Celestial Army advanced toward the Cao Immortal Manor.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Before the two forces even clashed directly, the celestial light and the demonic miasma collided, creating a vast barrier that shrouded everything happening inside.

Unable to see, the people could only pray.

"Lu Yao must survive..."

BOOM! The earth trembled, the air roared.

Chaos reigned!

The sounds of battle cries from heaven and demonic roars mingled together!

CRASH! Behind Yun Xiao, the demons parted, forming a pathway.

The hundred Great Horned Immortals and thousand celestial generals charged through, standing shoulder to shoulder with the demons near Yun Xiao.

BUZZ! Leading them, Zhu Shenlu and Yu Shiling marched side by side, both clad in imposing armor, their eyes cold and deadly.

Their arrival met the gaze of Wind Fiend and Greenchild.

Zhu Shenlu looked down at Yun Xiao with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Supreme Generals, good evening," Yun Xiao said, hands behind his back, smiling slightly upward.

Zhu Shenlu also smiled briefly, then his face contorted into a snarl, and he bellowed, "Kill him!!!"

BOOM! Two people and two demons, all four peak powerhouses at the level of Rank 2 Heavenly Officers, charged at Yun Xiao simultaneously!

Behind them, more than 30 Anima Tribulation Realm demons and celestial generals followed.

The rest, nearly 4,000 generals and demons, most of them of at least the Celestial Expanse Realm, formed a vast net. Their objective was simple and brutal—annihilate and obliterate!

After killing Yun Xiao, they planned to destroy everything in the Thunder Department, to shake the foundation of the Great Dao Celestial Realm, and to intimidate all foes under the banner of Naraka.

JustLivingJL's Thoughts