Brother Yi, have you seen them

In the distant past, the Heavenly Tribulation for ascension was quite gentle, at most summoning nine ordinary heavenly thunderbolts. If one couldn’t withstand it, the number might even be reduced as a sign of the upper realm’s mercy.

One could say that as long as one’s Dao foundation was solid, ascending to immortality was practically a given. Thus, countless great cultivators flocked to the opportunity, and even some Nascent Soul stage cultivators with flawed foundations dared to take the gamble. With luck, they succeeded, and even if they failed, they could still reincarnate or become loose immortals.

In other words, the Heavenly Tribulation back then was a joke—so lenient that even the most mediocre could pass.

But now, things are different!

The Heavenly Tribulation has grown increasingly ruthless. It doesn’t matter how strong you are, even if you far surpass the ancient cultivators—capable of matching five or six of those mediocrities from the past—it means nothing!

A single thunderbolt shatters your dreams of ascension, leaving you screaming, "I’m still at the Nascent Soul stage!"

This is the harsh reality faced by the twenty-eight peak Nascent Soul cultivators—no, wait, those who broke into the Tribulation Transcendence stage—on the Purple Star Continent.

There was no helping it. The Heavenly Tribulation had become absurdly brutal. Even though all twenty-eight of them broke through simultaneously, greatly dispersing the pressure each had to endure, the might of the Violet Heavenly Thunder was still overwhelming!

Utterly unyielding, annihilating everything.

There was no chance to reincarnate or become a loose immortal—the moment their souls left their bodies, they would be melted by the scorching, yang-infused thunderforce!

Under such extreme pressure, even the slightest flaws, usually unnoticeable, were magnified infinitely. Though all of them had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and stepped into Tribulation Transcendence, there were still vast differences among them!

Take, for example, Xuanxuzi, the grand elder of the Taixu Holy Land. With an unshakable Dao foundation and profound cultivation, he remained composed under the tribulation’s pressure, calmly maneuvering to position the others in front of him.

Then there was Zhang Kuang, the sect master of the Extreme Dao Artifact Sect. True to his name, he had the arrogance to match!

Don’t be fooled by how Chen Yi casually shattered one of his arms—his body refinement had reached perfection, making him nigh-indestructible. In the age of ascension, even an immortal who had transcended the tribulation would struggle to harm him!

And let’s not forget Ao Burang, the Black Dragon King, whose blood boiled with the power of a true dragon, or the White Tiger Monarch, the ruler of all demons—both were beings capable of slaying true immortals in the age of ascension!

Beyond these top-tier powerhouses, the remaining peak Nascent Soul old-timers were slightly inferior.

Not that they were weak—anyone who could stand out on the talent-rich Purple Star Continent was formidable—but in this era, they simply weren’t as exceptional.

This was the best of times, an age overflowing with talent, where even the most elite geniuses of the ascension era would barely meet the threshold to stand among them.

Yet it was also the worst of times, with the Heavenly Tribulation suppressing all, making ascension impossible and forcing them to remain stagnant at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

And the most frustrating part? A monster even more monstrous than the tribulation itself was forcing them forward.

O Heaven, why must you be so cruel to us?

When the Heavenly Tribulation bared its fangs, all distinctions of right and wrong ceased to matter.

Thus, by the time Chen Yi’s immortal avatar arrived at the scene, not a single hair remained.

"Tsk, still too weak. Not a single one escaped..."

Chen Yi sighed faintly, raising a hand to summon twenty-eight pre-prepared tombstones.

But just then, a faint ripple emerged from the cosmic void.

"Brother Yi, is that you?"

Chen Yi’s brows arched as he turned his gaze toward the void.

There, five weakened souls pulsed faintly, cautiously peeking out with half an eye.

Seeing this, the tension in Chen Yi’s expression eased, and his heavy heart lightened slightly.

At least not all of them were gone. Though they had all been forced to become loose immortals, their soul realms remained intact, still useful for aiding the Purple Star Heavenly Dao in its calculations. This saved him the trouble of rounding up late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators as substitutes!

Crushing the tombstones meant for these five souls into dust, Chen Yi finally spoke in a measured tone:

"It’s me. Come out, you’re safe now."

Hearing his familiar voice, the five souls could no longer hold back, rushing forward in a frenzy.

"Brother Yi, quick, I need—"

Xuanxuzi, leading the charge, was about to demand immortal essence stones to rebuild his ideal body when he caught sight of Chen Yi’s inexplicably curling lips.

In that instant, his soul shuddered.

Before he could react, a jade-white hand materialized out of nowhere, seizing all five weakened souls and rendering them unconscious in an instant!

......

After a long period of recovery, the Purple Star Heavenly Dao finally awakened.

Immediately taking over the burden of maintaining the world’s operations from Chen Yi, it pushed its functions to the limit, beginning to settle its own bad debts.

"Ah, this is wonderful. The core driver of the Little Shooting Star Heavenly Dao is truly excellent, hehe... Huh?"

"Wait, where are all my precious peak Nascent Soul darlings?"

"Brother Yi, have you seen them?"

Faced with the Heavenly Dao’s inquiry, Chen Yi calmly opened his palm.

"Here."

Staring at the five peacefully slumbering souls in his hand, the Purple Star Heavenly Dao fell into deep thought.

Are you telling me that out of the twenty-eight beloved children I’ve nurtured over millennia, only these five remain?

And they’re not even whole anymore?

Brother Yi, what in the heavens did you do?!

"Brother Yi, you must be joking, right? You promised me you wouldn’t touch them..."

Too afraid to throw a tantrum, the Heavenly Dao could only sulk in silence, utterly aggrieved.

Chen Yi remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly: "They volunteered. To help you reopen the path to immortality, they chose to stop suppressing their cultivation."

With a wave of his hand, he replayed the scene of the old Nascent Soul cultivators declaring their noble sacrifice.

Purple Star Heavenly Dao: "......"

It certainly looks convincing, but why are they trembling?

Are you sure they weren’t coerced?

Ah, my poor little ones...

Sigh... Whatever.

What’s gone is gone. At least Brother Yi bothered to lie to me. Sure, raising another batch of such outstanding children will be tough, but with enough time, it’s doable.

Besides, Brother Yi did bring me that excellent core driver from the Shooting Star Heavenly Dao, greatly enhancing my capabilities. A little sacrifice is to be expected.

And forcing them to break through was for my own good—he knew I’d hesitate, so he acted while I was rebooting...

He really...

The Purple Star Heavenly Dao quickly consoled itself, brightening once more. "Brother Yi, I feel incredibly smooth now. The accumulated flaws can no hinder me. Shall we try again? This time, I’m 98% confident I can reconstruct the secondary immortal Dao laws!"

98%?

That is indeed high.

But anything less than 100% might as well be failure.

The previous failures had left the Heavenly Dao severely weakened—this time, there was no room for recklessness!

After a moment of consideration, Chen Yi shook his head. "Not yet. First, refine these five souls into loose immortals under the Heavenly Dao’s jurisdiction. That should raise the success rate by another 1%. Then we’ll discuss the rest."

After a moment of hesitation, Ziwei Tiandao cautiously asked, "Brother Yi, is this truly the right thing to do? Once we refine them into Heavenly Dao Dispersed Immortals, they will be bound to me forever, forever severed from the higher realms. Shouldn’t we at least ask for their consent first...?"