The Dominant Family

Deep within the calamity clouds, a pool of thunder, thick and viscous like tribute wine, churned and roiled.

Around it, the patterns of the Great Dao flickered faintly, profound and mysterious.

Strangely, before entering the Thunder Pool's vicinity, the sound of the heavenly tribulation was deafening, shaking the heavens and earth.

Yet, upon stepping within the pool's range, that terrifying roar vanished completely, replaced by an eerie silence.

It truly embodied the saying: The greatest form has no shape; the greatest sound is silent.

At that moment, the Prison Demon Sword, suspended high in the void, saw the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Pool and, like Gu Qingfeng seeing family, could not be restrained. It plunged headlong into the pool.

The Thunder Pool, brimming with terrifying tribulation lightning, manifested illusions of various divine beasts and strange phenomena, attacking the Prison Demon Sword, yet it was all in vain.

Every single tribulation lightning illusion shattered the instant it made contact with the sword.

Swish!

The Prison Demon Sword successfully entered the Thunder Pool.

Immediately after, a horrifying scene unfolded. The terrifying Thunder Pool visibly began to recede at a rapid pace, as if being drained dry.

As the pool diminished, an indescribable, heart-palpitating aura began to emanate from the Prison Demon Sword.

This aura was profoundly mysterious, utterly different from the imposing pressure of a powerful expert. It lacked that overwhelming, mountain-toppling force, yet it gave one the illusion of facing the very source of the Great Dao.

"Just what kind of 'family' is this? Truly terrifying!" Gu Qingfeng drew a sharp breath of cold air.

While shocked, his anticipation grew even stronger.

After roughly the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Thunder Pool completely dissipated, leaving only the Prison Demon Sword behind, flashing incessantly in the void.

A deep, black-hole-like luster pulsed rhythmically, expanding and contracting like a beating heart, as if something was about to break free from its shell.

"Heh heh heh... Come forth! Family!"

Gu Qingfeng watched the Prison Demon Sword with wild joy, resembling a great villain from a TV drama about to release a demon king.

Soon, the Prison Demon Sword responded.

Crack!

A fine crack appeared on the sword's body. This seemed to be a signal, as more and more cracks rapidly spread until finally...

Bang!

The Prison Demon Sword violently exploded, erupting into a mass of bizarre, supremely sinister black light!

"It's coming, it's coming, it's finally here!" Gu Qingfeng grew even more excited.

As the black light faded, a swaying black lotus appeared in the void.

The black lotus took root in the void, existing between substance and illusion, ethereal and indistinct, standing there quietly.

"A black lotus?" Gu Qingfeng frowned slightly. This family member didn't look fierce enough.

He still preferred the kind with green faces and fangs, eight arms sprouting from their backs, and eyes covering their bodies—they seemed more familiar.

"Might I ask, how should I address you, family?"

The black lotus did not answer, but in the next moment, a black radiance emanated and spread from it, quickly reaching and touching Gu Qingfeng's body.

Boom!

Gu Qingfeng felt his soul tremble, as if information was being transmitted to him.

Suddenly, he witnessed natural and man-made disasters, endless slaughter, rivers of blood, and widespread suffering among the people. He saw tribulation lightning destroying worlds, karmic flames burning, and fierce winds howling.

All kinds of calamitous forces—natural disasters, earthly disasters, floods, fires... every kind of ominous misfortune—were displayed one by one.

Only at this moment did Gu Qingfeng understand what the black lotus before him was.

Originally, he thought the Prison Demon Sword imprisoned a lightning-attribute family member, hence its ability to absorb tribulation lightning. But now, he realized he was completely wrong.

What damn lightning attribute? It wasn't even fit to hold the black lotus's shoes.

This black lotus was named the [Calamity Black Lotus].

It was formed from the calamity origin of the Eternal True Realm, representing all calamities and disasters in the world.

For example, the tribulations that Immortals must undergo, the "Quantity Tribulations," are manifestations of the Calamity Black Lotus's power. This was also why it could absorb the heavenly tribulation to break free.

Simply put, if the Eternal True Realm were compared to a human body, then calamities were like cancer cells within it—proliferating infinitely, generated ceaselessly.

Because the beings of the Eternal True Realm were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, with killing and disaster occurring constantly, the power of calamity grew boundlessly. Those Quantity Tribulations were essentially making all beings share the burden of calamity power, preventing it from accumulating to the point of eventually destroying the world.

The purpose of calamity is destruction.

The law of worlds is birth, destruction, rebirth, and destruction again, an endless cycle.

But the Eternal True Realm was an exception. It existed eternally. Over endless eons, calamity power accumulated more and more. Even distributing it among the Immortals through Quantity Tribulations was futile. Eventually, it coalesced into the Calamity Origin—this very black lotus.

After the black lotus was born and developed its own consciousness, it was no longer controlled by the Eternal True Realm. Its goal was to destroy the world. Naturally, the Eternal True Realm would not allow this, so the black lotus was finished.

It was stripped of most of its power, sealed away, and cast out of the Eternal True Realm.

Of course, as the origin of calamity, even after losing the majority of its calamity power, it could not be destroyed, for nothing in existence can truly annihilate calamity itself. This was the reason it was exiled from the Eternal True Realm.

Since it couldn't be killed, the solution was simply "out of sight, out of mind."

"Heh heh heh..." Upon learning the true nature of the Calamity Black Lotus, Gu Qingfeng was instantly overjoyed, his delight evident on his brows, utterly unable to contain himself.

"Now THIS is what you call family! What the hell is the Star Extreme Immortal King? And what trash is the Heavy Light Immortal King?"

Truly, without comparison, there's no sense of injury.

After all that effort and struggle, the Star Extreme Immortal King was still seriously injured and not healed, and the Heavy Light Immortal King's whereabouts were completely unknown.

But look at this Calamity Black Lotus. No effort was needed at all; it even helped earn a lot of money, then just appeared, and it's so incredibly awesome.

At that moment, a wild and arrogant voice transmitted from the Calamity Black Lotus.

"Billions of years! A full billion years! This venerable one is finally free! Hahaha...

Kid, thank you for helping this venerable one break free. As repayment, this venerable one will use your body as a vessel to evade the pursuit of the Eternal True Realm, and borrow your hands to destroy the world, step by step!!"

Gu Qingfeng scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Well... isn't that too polite? This makes me, the Emperor, feel a bit embarrassed. After all, you've been imprisoned for endless ages, just freed, and haven't even had a chance to properly see the outside world. How about we take it slow?

"Kid, you need not fear. Merging with this venerable one is your supreme glory!"

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

"Reconsider?" The black lotus let out an arrogant laugh. "Just obediently become this venerable one's vessel!"

As it spoke, the black lotus appeared before Gu Qingfeng as if teleporting. From its base, countless tiny, slippery black rootlets extended, worming their way into his nostrils and mouth like maggots.

In an instant, the black lotus completely invaded Gu Qingfeng's mind.

Ding!

Host receives attack from the Calamity Black Lotus.

Calamity Origin +1,000,000+1,000,000+1,000,000+......