Above the sky, the Heavenly Tribulation had arrived. Endless winds and clouds stirred up a storm of sand, forming a vast vortex that spun wildly.
A devouring power spread outward. The tribulation condensed further, lightning flashing, thunder roaring, the might of Heavenly Dao poured into it, erupting with a terrifying force from the void.
The onlookers were shaken with fear, none daring to approach.
“This is no ordinary tribulation,” someone muttered. “Even a Grand Emperor’s Particle World wouldn’t normally summon one. Something unusual must be within.”
“With so many great powers gathering here, they must know something we don’t.”
The scattered cultivators and minor sects on the outskirts whispered among themselves.
But it was clear, this was not their stage.
Xu Zimo frowned slightly. The power of this tribulation reminded him of the one he had drawn when forging the True God Sword.
Yet unlike the Primordial Heartlands, the Nine Heavens allowed one to feel tribulation more vividly.
Its might seemed to have risen several levels.
“Shouldn’t we step back? What if we get caught in it?” some of the Blade-Axe Sect members debated.
“I’m in no rush,” Xu Zimo shook his head. “The Dao Courts will surely have a solution.”
Even as he spoke, the vision above the Particle World became clearer.
Countless armored soldiers clashed in the void.
Behind them floated a palanquin, hazy and indistinct, but one could faintly sense a sovereign leading his army to war, his overwhelming aura suppressing the heavens.
The entrance to the Particle World manifested as a massive stone gate.
As the vision unfolded, the gate slowly creaked open.
A heavy rumbling shook the sky.
With the gate opening, the Heavenly Tribulation above grew ever more violent, ready to strike at any moment.
“Heaven itself seeks to destroy this Particle World!” someone cried out.
At last, as the gate swung wide, the Particle World fully revealed itself, just as a devastating tribulation thunderbolt crashed down from above.
Boom! Like heavenly thunder from the Ninth Heaven.
The roar split eardrums, violet lightning annihilating everything as it surged from the void.
If it struck, the Particle World would surely be razed to dust.
But the great sects had clearly anticipated this.
Five figures shot into the sky, meeting the tribulation head-on.
Each radiated immortal aura, the weakest at the Zenith Immortal Realm.
“Vast Mountain Cauldron!” one shouted, raising a massive cauldron high.
His upper body bare, muscles bulging, and on his back, etched into his flesh, the image of a dragon.
“The Vast Mountain Cauldron, ranked seventy-eighth on the Grand Thousand Treasures!”
The cauldron expanded, three legs firmly planted, enveloping the void.
The Vast Mountain Cauldron was a supreme defensive artifact.
Its ranking was low only because it had no offensive power, otherwise, with its unmatched defense paired with attack, it could easily rank in the top thirty.
…
The five cultivators stood beneath the cauldron, pouring endless spiritforce into it.
A constant humming filled the air.
When the tribulation struck, the blast shook the sky apart.
Bolts of thunder rained down, crackling like the tearing of the world.
Yet the cauldron exuded a cyan mist, wrapping around the lightning and restraining it.
Two forces collided in fierce opposition.
The immortals’ vast aura braced against the crushing pressure.
Still, the cauldron slowly sank under the tribulation’s weight.
“Hold it!” one of them roared.
Immortal essence flared stronger, true lives revealed, profound meanings fused, visions filling the heavens.
Just as the Vast Mountain Cauldron was about to be pressed down upon the Particle World’s gate a figure stepped through the air from afar.
So fast, no one even saw his face, only a blur of white robes.
In his hand, a long sword gleamed.
The sword light split the heavens, carving a scar across the void.
Boom!
The clouds shattered. The tribulation, enraged by provocation, redirected itself toward the man in white.
“Give me the cauldron,” the white-robed man said calmly.
With one hand, he lifted it and strode away.
The Heavenly Tribulation that was about to strike the Particle World followed him instead.
Far off, the tribulation finally descended.
The earth trembled violently. Cracks split open, racing toward the valley under the people’s feet, then stretching farther still.
Dust billowed. At the cracked core, the white-robed man emerged, sword now sheathed.
“It’s the Sword Immortal!” someone cried.
“Many thanks for your aid, Lord Jiang.”
“Sword Immortal Jiang Yun?” Xu Zimo turned to a Blade-Axe Sect disciple and asked.
“So, you do know someone after all,” the man laughed. “You didn’t know the Bright Emperor, nor the Dao Courts, I thought you knew nothing.”
“An old acquaintance,” Xu Zimo smiled faintly.
Sword Immortal Jiang Yun.
Back on the Primordial Heartlands, Xu Zimo had once seen his lingering soul in his Particle World.
He had even helped return Jiang Yun’s legacy to his family.
Jiang Yun had long suppressed the Blood Rune Space out of gratitude to the Holy Progenitor.
Xu Zimo didn’t know how to face him now.
By his guess, the Holy Progenitor was the founder of the Heavenly Court.
That figure was mysterious, renowned not only in the Nine Heavens, but even across the Primordial Heartlands and the oldest Legendary Era.
If Jiang Yun served him… then they were destined to be enemies.
…
The Sword Immortal, robed in white like falling snow, stepped to the forefront of the Particle World.
On his back was a sword case, crafted for the purpose, holding thirteen blades of varying length.
Wooden, stone, iron, and others made of materials Xu Zimo could not recognize.
“The Particle World opens. None below God Meridian Realm may enter,” Jiang Yun said coldly.
His words spread across the valley like a tidal wave.
The crowd erupted.
They had waited here so long, for the chance to enter, to seize a stroke of fortune, even just a scrap.
“This is too domineering,” someone grumbled. “The Sword Immortal has always had a good reputation. Why would he say such a thing?”
Jiang Yun seemed to sense their thoughts.
“I do not forbid you,” he said calmly. “I merely warn you, this Particle World is perilous. Take my advice and leave. If you insist on entering, I won’t stop you. But bear the consequences yourselves.”
His words sparked even more debate.
Some wavered. Others shouted, unwilling to turn back.