"Huh? What's going on?" At that moment, the Southern Border Immortal Gu Masters who had taken up positions tens of thousands of li away from Yitian Mountain all raised their heads, gazing up at the sky.
Even the mortal Gu Masters on Yitian Mountain itself felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of alarm.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble…
From the highest reaches of the heavens, a faint, rolling thunder echoed down.
After a few breaths, that distant rumble swelled from a whisper into a roar, as though hundreds of drummers were beating their war drums far away.
Ever since arriving at Yitian Mountain, Fang Yuan had been racing against time — burying himself in training, eagerly converting battle intent into Gu worms. But with the disturbance overhead growing ever louder, he had no choice but to set aside his work for the moment and lift his gaze skyward.
He saw that at an immense altitude, a chain of white points of light had suddenly flared to life.
There were vast numbers of them, densely packed, hurtling toward Yitian Mountain in a magnificent, torrential cascade.
"That's the Thousand Pearls Light Tribulation!" one Immortal Gu Master cried out in alarm.
"No — the Thousand Pearls Light Tribulation should only produce a thousand or so light pearls. But the tribulation before us contains at least a hundred thousand!"
"How can a tribulation just appear out of nowhere?" Many of the Immortal Gu Masters were baffled.
"Could someone be undergoing tribulation?" Most of them immediately directed their gaze toward Yitian Mountain.
Fang Yuan's heart lurched. He raised his guard to the highest level.
Moments later, waves of detection pressure, dense as a physical force, swept across his entire body, and cold sweat trickled down his back.
Although he possessed the Meeting Like Old Acquaintance technique, its core Immortal Gu was only of the Sixth Transformation grade. It could fool Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu Masters, but against the probing of Seventh or Eighth Transformation cultivators, the risk of being exposed was considerable.
Fang Yuan held his breath. In the end, the result brought him a measure of relief.
He had not been discovered.
"They actually couldn't find anyone?" The Immortal Gu Masters were astonished.
They had searched the area around Yitian Mountain thoroughly and found not a single Fifth Transformation mortal Gu Master undergoing tribulation.
Just as they were about to continue searching and deploy even more powerful detection methods, the Thousand Pearls Light Tribulation descended upon the assembled immortals.
"As a precaution, we cannot let the heavenly tribulation affect Yitian Mountain!"
"Agreed. Let's join forces and block it."
Some of the Immortal Gu Masters privately wondered whether this tribulation was somehow connected to the impending emergence of the Jinghong Chaos Arena.
The Southern Border Immortal Gu Masters quickly reached a consensus.
Per the terms of their wager, should any threat appear, all the participating immortals were obligated to resist together and protect their shared interests.
The Thousand Pearls Light Tribulation was formidable in number, but the Southern Border immortals had overwhelming manpower. Among them were four Eighth Transformation cultivators, nine at the Seventh Transformation, and over a dozen at the Sixth Transformation.
The immortals struck in concert and swiftly annihilated the tribulation — not a single light pearl touched the ground.
Some among them even went further, deploying techniques to draw thick layers of clouds across the sky above Yitian Mountain, shielding the mortal Gu Masters below from witnessing the spectacle.
"Heh heh heh." Peng Shilong, the Eighth Transformation wandering immortal, stroked his beard and chuckled. "Whoever it is that chose this precise moment to undergo tribulation and ascend to immortality — that takes some nerve."
"Find this person! Every immortal here is an elite of the Southern Border. Surely none of us is so incompetent as to fail locating a mere mortal undergoing tribulation?" Ye Qingtang, the Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu Master, let out a cold laugh. Being used as a human shield — made into someone else's tribulation tool — left this aloof immortal thoroughly displeased.
"A mortal undergoing tribulation, hmm? Whose descendant is it? Just come forward and say so now, so we don't make things ugly when we find them." Wang Kai, the Immortal Gu Master, offered a frigid smile.
The immortals exchanged glances for a moment, but no one stepped forward.
Ren Haiyang, the Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Master, darkened and barked, "Don't be so foolish! Still trying to hide it at this point — do you take us all for idiots?"
"Watch out — another calamity is descending!" Suddenly, one of the immortals called out a warning.
The high sky had gone dim and lifeless, as though a giant had taken a brush and smeared a thick swath of dark indigo across it.
The temperature plummeted. Biting cold radiated outward in every direction.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless shards of frost, sharp as blades, whirled downward in a torrential cascade.
Ye Qingtang's voice grew heavy as he said in a low tone, "It's the Mysterious Yin Flying Frost."
"Who on earth is undergoing tribulation to draw forth one of the Ten Great Calamities?!"
"Something's wrong — even for one of the Ten Great Calamities, the scale of this tribulation is far too large. It far exceeds what's normal."
"Here it comes!"
"Block it!"
Rumble! Bolts of lightning lanced through the air, flames roared and churned, and every last streak of frost was neutralized.
The Mysterious Yin Flying Frost was no trivial matter — it was ranked among the Ten Great Calamities for a reason.
After this calamity passed, many of the Immortal Gu Masters had sustained injuries. One among them, the elder known as Gua Lao, was severely wounded, and the thought of retreat began to stir in his mind.
"This doesn't make sense! Could this be happening because of the Jinghong Chaos Arena's imminent emergence? Is Heaven sending down these calamities to stop it? No — I don't have a single Immortal Gu on me. I can't just stand here and take these hits like a fool. Better to get out of here first!"
With that thought, Gua Lao transformed into a streak of brilliant light and shot outward.
"Now there's someone who can run!" Ye Qingtang sneered, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, suspended in the air with an air of lofty indifference. The Mysterious Yin Flying Frost was powerful, but it was far from enough to trouble him.
Yet more and more of the Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu Masters began to follow Gua Lao's example.
Most of them were bottom-tier immortals who possessed no Immortal Gu and were already bearing injuries.
But the next instant, Gua Lao's figure suddenly reappeared — right in the very center of the crowd of immortals.
He froze. How had he ended up back here?
In rapid succession, more Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu Masters were teleported back as well, materializing around Gua Lao.
"It's a trap! Someone has set up an enormous Space Path Gu formation around the perimeter!" Someone among the immortals quickly grasped the situation and cried out in alarm.