The Ascension Tribulation

The master's trust in them was so evident that it was clear in his eyes, the calamity of the Primordial Yellow Realm did not pose a threat to their lives.

Arriving at this conclusion, Mo Tianxiao's anxiety over his master's impending ascension eased slightly.

After giving all his instructions, the entire Primordial Yellow Realm enjoyed a brief period of peace. All wars and conflicts seemed to have reached a common agreement. During this time, every cultivator in the Primordial Yellow Realm was in harmony.

Time quickly arrived at the day agreed upon by the many quasi-emperor-level powerhouses. Feng Chenfeng and Guixu Jin, two grandmasters of the demon race, arrived at the Demon Sect first, followed by many other demons.

Senior Turtle, Senior Sun, and even Huang Xiaoyao, Ao Dalong (Ao Big Dragon), and others also came to witness the ascension. Of course, they all came in the form of spiritual power clones, not their true bodies.

Mo Tianxiao, representing the leadership of the Demon Sect, received all the elders and friends from the demon race.

After a brief exchange, the group set out for the border between the Central Divine Land and the Demon Prefecture.

Many disciples had long ago condensed their spiritual power clones to come along. Even those who could not yet form clones found ways to use special magical artifacts, asking their senior brothers and sisters to bring them to the scene for a live broadcast.

After all, an ascension event like this might only occur once in a lifetime. They had to witness it in person; if they happened to gain sudden enlightenment, it might even boost their cultivation.

"Elder An, aren't you going to try?" Mo Tianxiao looked curiously at the spiritual clone of An Shouchang beside him.

Elder An Shouchang of the Sutra Library smiled faintly, his form slightly stooped even as a clone. "Young man Tianxiao, how did you know I've already reached that realm?"

As the overseer of the Sutra Library, An Shouchang had always been mysterious. Even among the many elders, few knew his true cultivation level.

Hearing Mo Tianxiao's words, he seemed a little surprised.

To this, Mo Tianxiao chuckled and said, "Probably because I've come into contact with so many quasi-emperor powerhouses that I've grown familiar with their aura."

"Hahaha, well then, take another look—what realm am I in?"

"Huh?"

Mo Tianxiao paused. He couldn't tell from the spiritual clone alone, but he had a trick up his sleeve.

Activating his Appraisal Eye, he scanned An Shouchang's spiritual clone. Mo Tianxiao stiffened. "How can this be?"

"Tianxiao, you're indeed different from others. You can sense it, can't you?"

Mo Tianxiao remained silent.

An Shouchang continued, "It's not just me. Any quasi-emperor in the Primordial Yellow Realm who doesn't wish to be disturbed by this ascension tribulation must sever their own foundational cultivation, dropping their realm to the peak of Saint King."

"People like us know we cannot survive the ascension tribulation, so we must resort to this to persist in the Primordial Yellow Realm. Once the tribulation passes, we can restore our quasi-emperor realms, but our foundations will be damaged, forever unable to seek higher realms."

Hearing this, Mo Tianxiao understood completely.

Not everyone could break through the bottleneck of the Emperor realm. Achieving the quasi-emperor realm already proved that one's talent far exceeded the ordinary. As for why they failed to reach the Emperor realm—in Mo Tianxiao's eyes, it was merely a lack of luck.

"People who pursue the Great Dao, yet in the end fear death. How ridiculous," An Shouchang said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Elder An, we are merely pursuers of the Great Dao, not gods or immortals. It is only natural to fear death. Even the elders preparing to undergo the ascension tribulation—I believe they, too, do not want to die. It is precisely because they do not wish to die that they strive recklessly toward the Great Dao."

Mo Tianxiao sighed. If one could keep growing stronger, who would be willing to wait for death?

As for An Shouchang's decision, Mo Tianxiao was pleasantly surprised. Having one more quasi-emperor powerhouse guarding the Demon Sect brought greater hope for the coming calamities.

"Hahaha, Tianxiao, you'll surely go further than this old man," An Shouchang said with a laugh. "Come, let's witness the ascension tribulation ahead of time. It will do you good. The last time I saw an ascension tribulation was hundreds of thousands of years ago. I'm too old—I can barely remember."

With that, An Shouchang flew off first.

Mo Tianxiao followed.

Before long, the many spiritual clones arrived at the border between the Central Divine Land and the Demon Prefecture. Besides the cultivators from the Demon Prefecture and Central Divine Land, even those from the Eastern Domain, Western Domain, and the demon race had arrived via spiritual clones.

A thousand miles away, spiritual clones gathered densely, from great saints down to foundation-building cultivators. Those who could make it in person had exhausted every means to be here.

At the junction of the two prefectures, several figures hovered in midair, each separated by several miles.

Yue Liuli of the Demon Sect, Su Muyao of Yao Chi Heavenly Palace, Daoist Qingwei of the Supreme Dao Sect, Feng Chenfeng of the Ten Thousand Mountains, Guixu Jin of the Chaotic Star Sea, the Abbot of Great Thunderclap Temple, and Zhou Wang of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In addition, there were three scattered quasi-emperor powerhouses.

A total of ten quasi-emperors ascending at once—even in the entire history of the Primordial Yellow Realm, this was an extremely rare era.

After all, only those who had some confidence in themselves dared to set foot here. Their cultivation could advance no further, and the only way to progress was ascension.

"Ten of them?" Mo Tianxiao gazed at the ten figures, his expression grave.

According to records in the Sutra Library, even a single ascendant triggered a significant calamity. Having ten of them at once—no one knew what would happen.

But such was reality. The ten quasi-emperors present could not sever their foundations and ascend one by one, for they could not guarantee they would still have hope of reaching the Emperor realm after doing so.

"Fellow cultivators, let this old Daoist test the ascension tribulation for you first," Daoist Qingwei said, seeing the others hesitate.

He lightly flicked his whisk, floated upward, and unleashed a flood of majestic saintly essence towering into the sky. The terrifying pressure made even the thousands of spiritual clones a thousand miles away turn their heads.

"So this is the might of a quasi-emperor?! I never thought I'd be so lucky as to witness so many great beings ascending in my lifetime!"

Above, countless clouds spiraled into a vortex. The sky over thousands of miles darkened instantly, with thunder rumbling like the arrival of doomsday.

Even though everyone was merely a spiritual clone, standing far away, they could still feel the overwhelming pressure emanating from the sky. If even a single wisp of divine thunder at the edge of that power struck them—even a Saint-level expert—they would likely bleed out on the spot.

Fortunately, there were no real bodies here—just clones watching the show.

Boom!

A thunderclap shook the entire Primordial Yellow Realm. Rolling heavenly thunder took shape—some as beasts, some as human figures—seeming to bear life as they lined up to strike Daoist Qingwei.

In an instant, he was engulfed by the terrifying celestial thunder.

Of course, since he dared to be the first to face the ascension tribulation, Daoist Qingwei was thoroughly prepared. With a flick of his whisk and a flip of his hand, he produced a yin-yang octagonal mirror, slightly larger than a palm.

In the next instant, a massive Taiji Bagua Array spread rapidly above his head. At the same time, his hands formed seals, a beam of light shot out from his body, and a faint aura of the Dao rules wrapped around the mirror. With layer upon layer of defense, he temporarily held back the shape-shifting tribulation outside the formation.