Immortal of the Ages

Who would believe that a youth, braving the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation, could summon a force rivaling a grand celestial formation?

The Five Infernos Star Barrier, Sacred Emperor Barrier, and Thunder Immortal Formation… The tribulation cloud summoned by Yun Xiao could at least match the Thunder Immortal Formation.

Even if its explosive power lasted but a moment, that was terrifying enough.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Thunderous roars shook the Heavenly Palace, as a multi-colored brilliance of five elements illuminated the surrounding buildings, now a war-torn ruin.

Onlookers, their faces flickering with lightning, were caught in a turmoil of emotions, deeply shaken.

“What kind of monstrous fiend could provoke such a cataclysmic wrath of the heavens?”

“The heavens seek to destroy Yun Xiao. He is not favored by the Great Dao!”

“He has overcome the Chaos Sovereign; he could well retire victorious now.”

“Heaven, strike him down! Annihilate him! The imperial family shall emerge victorious, winning eternal glory!”

The Constellation Army, along with a portion of the 18 Department Legions and all the top celestial officials of the Celestial Court, anyone who was still alive, all gathered at the edge of the tribulation clouds, waiting for Yun Xiao to be struck down by divine punishment.

“The heavens have eyes; protect our people for thousands of generations!”

As the final surge of the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation gathered strength, the fierce intentions of the celestial officials and Constellation Army reached their peak.

Cold gazes of schadenfreude had already found the youth in white, beneath the crashing thunder.

“That's what he gets for being too gifted. He's reaped his own doom!”

Jian Chi, Zhao Yuanbao, and other young prodigies sneered coldly, their eyes full of jealousy and resentment.

Their seniors, with eyes blazing and murderous intent thick in the air, waited only for the tiger to fall so they might divide and devour him...

“Strike him! Strike him! Strike him!”

Loud, unified roars filled the Heavenly Palace, their voices resonating with the very frequency of the thunder tribulation, as if to echo the collective wish for Yun Xiao’s demise.

“See, you do not truly represent humanity!”

Above, vast thunderclouds loomed. Yun Xiao stood in the midst of the storm, the surrounding palatial buildings crushed under the weight of the clouds, leaving only his lone white figure in a vast expanse of debris.

The youth looked up at those hiding in the distance, eager to strike, their faces as vivid as snarling hyenas.

“It’s time.”

In the midst of this tempest, Yun Xiao closed his eyes.

At that moment, he made two arrangements.

The first was to have Moon Fairy, along with the Great Mother, swiftly return from the Celestial Demon Abyss.

Yun Xiao's second arrangement was to command Yue Yin and Gu Suwan to marshal the forces of the Great Dao Celestial Realm, Free Immortals, Arbiters, and all the rest who had gathered at the Thunder Department. They were to form a united front and advance toward the Heavenly Palace.

Though time was short, news of the crisis had already spread throughout the Great Dao Celestial Realm, rallying countless willing spirits. The forces loyal to Yun Xiao and Divine Dawn now numbered 5,000,000 strong, each soldier possessing the combat power of at least a Rank 9 Arbiter, forming a veritable army of Immortals.

This army, while perhaps not as elite, certainly outnumbered the now greatly diminished forces of the Constellation Army and 18 Department Legions.

"Speed up, or by the time you arrive, there’ll be nothing left but to celebrate victory," Yun Xiao's last message in the flying talisman to Gu Suwan read.

After sending the talisman, he took a deep breath and looked up at the five-colored heavenly thunder, his lips curving into a broad smile.

The five-colored thunder roared across the heavens, while those who wished him dead grew elated.

Yun Xiao scanned the gleeful faces and suddenly, with a narrowing of his eyes and in a low voice, said, "Who told you that this tribulation was meant for me?"

As these words fell, the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation expanded to its utmost limit, the brilliant light swallowing all sight.

At that moment, even the earth seemed to hold its breath.

Still, there were those who dared to mock and revel in another’s presumed misfortune, their eyes devoid of any reverence.

In an instant, Yun Xiao spread his arms wide and gazed up at the five-colored heavenly thunder. On a plane unseen by any other, his Buddha's Treasure Spirit surged upward, plunging into his unique Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation.

While others faced their tribulations one by one, their spirits meekly enduring the punishment of the storm clouds, Yun Xiao faced all five at once. His spirit ascended directly into the clouds, sailing through them as if roaming the vast ocean, mastering the heavens and earth, transforming and strengthening through play and nourishment.

Most astonishing of all, the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation seemed like an old friend to his spirit. When old friends met, they didn't just hug and share in each other's joy, they also vented in each other’s frustrations!

As Yun Xiao's spirit merged with this ocean of colorless spiritual thunder, the Five Thunders Spirit Tribulation came alive, imbued with life, its fury increasing tenfold in a moment.

BOOM! The colossal face of the Creator Immortal, formed from the five-colored tribulation clouds, appeared above, its thunderous eyes glaring down in righteous fury at the celestial officials and Constellation Army below.

This visage of thunder had once been the nightmare of the Thunder Department.

Even those in the Constellation Army who had never seen it had surely heard of it.

The moment the colossal five-colored thunderous face appeared, their smiles froze, and the laughter across the Heavenly Palace ceased abruptly.

Everything under heaven fell deathly silent.

BOOM! The massive face suddenly opened its gaping maw, unleashing a multicolored spiritual thunderbolt composed of all five thunders—Earth Pulse, Volcanic, Moonwater, Wood Spirit, and Gold Origin! This pillar of thunder struck the densest part of the Constellation Army.

This column of five-colored thunder was far more formidable than most tribulations faced by Immortals in the Anima Tribulation Realm, magnified a thousandfold in scale!

Yet, among these hundreds of thousands in the Constellation Army, there were hardly any left in the Anima Tribulation Realm. Most of them hadn't even formed golden spirit bodies. Even reaching the Celestial Expanse Realm allowed one to become a Rank 4 Heavenly Officer!

"Like crowding around for a spectacle? I'll grant you all an early tribulation!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The pillar of five-colored spiritual thunder blasted through the ranks of the Constellation Army without stirring up any dust or debris, yet it elicited screams of agony!

One by one, these weak and fragile spirits, even the ones merely grazed by the edge of the thunder, were instantly obliterated.

ZAP ZAP ZAP!

Where the lightning flashed, bodies fell rigidly, eyes wide open, mostly still wearing their mocking smiles.

"Run!"

Screams of terror and trembling cries rose as the entire Heavenly Palace plunged into chaos again.

The celestial officials, Constellation Army, and 18 Department Legions scrambled in panic, their eyes rolling back, brains bursting, tumbling and crawling in their rush to escape.

It was total pandemonium! In the confusion, they even crashed into each other, smashing their heads to pulp.

Such was the extent of the sudden terror.

"How can this be! How can this be..." Jian Chi, pale as death, also fled for his life.

"This is a tribulation from the heavens, how can a man wield such a divine punishment as a weapon against his enemies?"

"It's unreasonable! Utterly unreasonable!"

It was a belief held hard by all.

To command a grand celestial formation was one thing; to wield tribulation clouds as a weapon was another entirely.

Tribulation clouds, manifestations of the celestial order and the world's laws, were meant to test the cultivator, not to be used against others!

The cries of injustice echoed the sheer desperation and mental anguish faced by those witnessing this monstrosity.

Yet, as unreasonable as it was, it was happening—continuously.

The colossal face of five-colored thunder in the sky, utterly impassive, belched forth column after column of five-colored spiritual thunder, bombarding the entire Heavenly Court. Anyone within the Sacred Emperor Barrier couldn't escape Yun Xiao and the soul-annihilating power.

THUD! THUD! THUD! The ranks of the Constellation Army and 18 Department Legions, their faces pale in their flight, met premature tribulations and vanished in smoke.

Each sweep of the five-colored thunder left thousands like electrified fish in a lake—eyes rolling back, bodies stiffening, rolling on the ground, motionless.

And that five-colored thunderous face, relentless, engulfed the whole Heavenly Palace in bursts of five-colored lightning.

Screams, roars, pleas, and wails could not overpower the thunder's bombardment. Under this heavenly judgment, whether imperial or noble, all were equal if caught slow-footed.

Following the Great Mother's rampage, a new inferno of slaughter emerged on the Heavenly Court—more devastating in this second half. A brief intermission had inflated the egos of the celestial officials and Constellation Army, only to be obliterated by Yun Xiao.

This deathly hell, far more spectacular than the first half, was marked by the stunning beauty of the five-colored thunder without the spray of blood and corpses. The spirits of all the imperials and nobles passed on peacefully.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The bombing continued, the screams continued!

Where the thunder struck, swathes fell dead.

It seemed the only safe place in the whole Heavenly Palace was under the sanguine protective dome of the Taiwei Imperial Palace.

"Back to the palace!"

JustLivingJL's Thoughts