"Sect Master!"
The cultivators of the Myriad Mountain Sect cried out excitedly upon seeing the old man.
"You are the Sect Master of the Myriad Mountain Sect?" Zhang Fan's gaze also fell upon the elder, but his question caused everyone to pause slightly. What did he mean by that?
"I am indeed the Sect Master of the Myriad Mountain Sect, Dong Ji." The old man had white hair cascading over his shoulders, his face was gaunt, and his figure slightly stooped. Yet, his eyes were filled with a divine radiance. He stared at Zhang Fan, a benevolent smile gracing his lips, and asked, "May I know what guidance young friend has?"
"I am entrusted by an old friend to deliver an item to the Myriad Mountain Sect." After speaking, Zhang Fan took out the remnant soul jade talisman from the Half-Moon Immortal and tossed it towards Dong Ji Zhenxian.
"Old friend?" Dong Ji Zhenxian caught the jade talisman and held it in his hand, his eyes closed. His primordial spirit force probed within. After a long while, when he opened his eyes again, they were filled with icy coldness.
"You old dog Ju Que, this was indeed all the work of your Giant Spirit Hall!"
"You old thief Dong Ji, what do you mean by that?" A flicker of confusion flashed in Ju Que Zhenxian's eyes as he asked.
"A hundred years ago, Half-Moon Immortal."
Ju Que Zhenxian immediately understood. He had not expected that the deceased genius of the Myriad Mountain Sect would leave behind a jade talisman. This was somewhat surprising to him.
If it were a hundred years ago, his Giant Spirit Hall would still have concealed such matters, but now, there was nothing to hide.
"Since you already know, I naturally won't deny it. But so what? Can you still fight me to the death?" Ju Que Zhenxian was without fear, a cold smile on his face. The conflict between the two sides had intensified over the past century, and their masks had long been torn off.
Dong Ji Zhenxian cast a cold glance at Ju Que Zhenxian. Despite his unwillingness, he ultimately suppressed the rage in his heart. After composing himself, he turned his gaze to Zhang Fan and said, "Thank you, young friend, for your help with the Half-Moon matter. Would you be willing to visit my Myriad Mountain Sect as a guest?"
Before Zhang Fan could speak, Ju Que Zhenxian interjected, "Dong Ji, this child has killed a core disciple of my Giant Spirit Hall. Are you just going to take him away with a few casual words?"
"I don't care who he killed. All I know is that he has shown kindness to my Myriad Mountain Sect. If you intend to forcefully attack him, then you must ask if I agree." Dong Ji Zhenxian replied resolutely.
"Kindness?"
As the two argued, Zhang Fan sensed an unusual aura. Dark clouds rolled in the sky, and the rules of heaven and earth became extremely chaotic at that moment. An oppressive aura enveloped the entire space.
"Who is about to undergo tribulation?"
"Is this the Nascent Soul Tribulation?"
Many people felt it, and the aura of this heavenly tribulation made Qin Yun and others, who were Nascent Soul Zhenxian, tremble with alarm.
Zhang Fan's expression changed. He released everyone from the Golden Light Immortal Mansion, including Nan Zun, who had been cultivating on the third level of the Immortal Mansion.
"Master, I have succeeded in my cultivation and cannot suppress the heavenly tribulation any longer. I need to undergo the Nascent Soul Tribulation immediately," Nan Zun said to Zhang Fan after emerging.
Although Nan Zun had been in seclusion, he could sense the external situation and knew that now was not the best time to undergo tribulation. However, as he re-integrated his divine soul with the rules completely, his divine soul's aura could no longer be suppressed, and undergoing the Nascent Soul Tribulation was inevitable.
"Go, I'll handle everything here." Zhang Fan nodded, genuinely surprised. He had not expected his third disciple to break through in just a year and a half.
He knew that Nan Zun's foundation was too profound. Even after shattering his primordial spirit and cultivating anew, his solid foundation allowed him to advance rapidly in the Half-step Nascent Soul stage. He only needed to cultivate soul techniques to quickly integrate his divine soul with the rules.
"He is Nan Zun? How did he become this brat's disciple?" Ju Que Zhenxian and Qin Yun exchanged glances, seeing confusion and shock in each other's eyes.
They naturally knew of Nan Zun. Although the Wu Shan Star Domain was a frontier star domain, it had indeed produced some remarkable figures in its history, such as Zi Wu Zhenxian, and Nan Zun was someone they would take seriously.
Therefore, when Qin Yun sent Qin Hao to the Wu Shan Star Domain, he had solemnly warned him that while other forces in the Wu Shan Star Domain could be disregarded, the Cang Hai Hall should not be easily provoked.
What he hadn't expected was that Qin Hao had been obedient and hadn't provoked the Cang Hai Hall, but he had provoked an even more formidable existence—Nan Zun's master. This sudden turn of events made both Ju Que Zhenxian and Qin Yun realize the situation had become rather thorny.
The Nascent Soul Tribulation, also known as the Tenth Dimension Nascent Soul Tribulation, was a tribulation one had to overcome to achieve a complete divine soul and condense an indestructible primordial spirit.
"It seems we cannot accomplish anything today," Ju Que Zhenxian thought to himself. The sudden appearance of Nan Zun had significantly altered the dynamics between the two factions. Although Nan Zun had not yet passed the Nascent Soul Tribulation, anyone with a modicum of understanding about him knew that the Nascent Soul Tribulation was merely a formality for him. There had never been a case of failure for cultivators who had cultivated a primordial spirit at the Nascent Soul stage.
As for disrupting his tribulation?
Ju Que Zhenxian and Qin Yun dared not even consider it. If their cultivation were to be drawn into the heavenly tribulation, its might would increase dozens of times, and even a peak Primordial Spirit stage cultivator would perish beneath it.
Exchanging one life for another, given a choice, no Nascent Soul cultivator would do such a thing.
As for cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, they lacked even the qualification to interfere. A casual palm strike from Nan Zun would be enough to kill them, requiring little of his focus.
Above the sky, tribulation clouds churned, and dark lightning, like thunder dragons, weaved through the clouds. Under everyone's gaze, it descended with a roar, directly towards Nan Zun.
Nan Zun stood alone in the void. Even facing the imposing might of the Nascent Soul Tribulation, his posture remained upright. Facing the world-ending power of the heavenly tribulation, Nan Zun roared and clashed with it, unleashing the power he had suppressed for years.
The more than nine hundred thousand Dao rules made Qin Yun and Ju Que's expressions subtly change. Qin Yun was considered a rare genius in the Giant Spirit Hall's history, but even he had not managed to cultivate the Sword Dao rules to ninety thousand at the Nascent Soul stage.
"This Nan Zun lives up to his name. His talent might not be top-tier, but he has still crossed this threshold. I fear that after he breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage and consolidates his power, his strength will be comparable to mine," Qin Yun praised, but his eyes still held a trace of unwillingness.
"The situation today is very unfavorable for my Giant Spirit Hall. We must plan carefully for how to proceed," Ju Que Zhenxian said to Qin Yun.
Qin Yun nodded and glanced at Zhang Fan standing in the distance. His gaze gradually shifted from icy coldness to indifference. Zhang Fan felt Qin Yun's gaze and turned his head, his expression gentle, offering a slight smile.
As the tribulation lightning continued to fall, Nan Zun's aura became increasingly robust and solidified. The Nascent Soul Tribulation was a process of ascending to the Nascent Soul stage amidst the tribulation lightning.
...