The news of the city collapsing spread rapidly.
Soon, there were reports claiming that two great scattered immortals had fought, causing the city to collapse. At first, these reports contained some truths, but as time went on, the stories became more and more exaggerated. Rumors of scattered immortals transcending their tribulations, engaging in vendettas, and even fighting each other from the void, leaked out and destroyed the city. While the news became more and more exaggerated, people's reverence for the scattered immortals deepened.
The sect that had the scattered immortals in their ranks saw a significant increase in the number of disciples in a short time.
"It's time to start the Worldly Evolvement Tribulation." On a desolate and uninhabited rocky mountain, Ding Yan gazed at the sky.
After leaving the city, Ding Yan spent nearly three days healing his injuries from the escape. Afterwards, he spent another five days finding this uninhabited place, and used the last piece of jade in his hand to set up a simple defensive formation. With this defensive formation in place, even if the scattered immortals from the Divine Transformation Gate come to attack again, Ding Yan would have enough time to escape. However, Ding Yan did not know that the injuries sustained by the middle-aged man with the surname Hua were much more severe than he had imagined. It wasn't just a matter of days; it might take at least half a year to recover from them.
"Although I've been chased for so many days, there have been some small gains. After understanding these things, once I pass the Worldly Evolvement Tribulation, it should be foolproof." As Ding Yan spoke, he opened his right hand.
In his hand, he held a piece of broken stone.
It was an ordinary piece of stone, but it contained the immortal energy left by the middle-aged man with the surname Hua.
With Ding Yan's insight, a piece of stone containing immortal energy was enough for him to deduce many secrets of the scattered immortals' realm. Coupled with the ancient books he read in the Lotus Valley, Ding Yan definitely had a tenfold assurance of overcoming the tribulation!
He squeezed the stone in his hand into powder.
Sitting cross-legged, Ding Yan slowly closed his eyes...
At the same time, Divine Transformation Gate.
The middle-aged man with the surname Hua walked through the pathway he had anticipated, arriving at an ancient hall behind the Divine Transformation Gate's mountain. Stepping into the hall, he saw that it was full of incense burners, with the tablets of the Divine Transformation Gate's ancestors enshrined on top. There were three meditation mats below, and in the middle sat an old man.
The old man's head hung down, devoid of vitality, like a withered piece of dried wood. His white hair covered his face, reaching all the way to the green stone floor. This person was the supreme elder of the Divine Transformation Gate.
The Divine Transformation Gate, with a history of more than 800 years, was once a prominent sect of scattered immortals. At its peak, the sect had over thirty scattered immortals, and even had nine scattered immortals who had transcended their tribulations, with rumors that the sect's founder had experienced two Heavenly Tribulations!
However, all of this had become the past. With the passing of the elder figures of the Divine Transformation Gate, the sect was on the brink of decline. Once a prominent sect, the Divine Transformation Gate had gradually decayed, and even had its main gate taken over. Ultimately, the sect had to move to the edge of the Eastern Domain to survive, but even so, the sect fell into a complete decline, with even the Lotus Valley, a sect less than 200 years old, surpassing them.
"Hua Jiu requests an audience with the supreme elder!" Hua Jiu entered and bowed to the seemingly already deceased old man.
Inside the hall, the incense smoke lingered, and it was extremely silent.
After a while, the old man seemed to wake up from a deep sleep, and his bones emitted crisp sounds as his hanging head gradually lifted.
"You are..."
The old man's gaze appeared somewhat dull, and his voice was unnatural.
Hua Jiu remained silent, knowing that the old man had not fully awakened yet, and his memory was slowly returning.
The Dreaming Art, cultivating in a deep sleep, dreaming a millennium! Without steadfast determination, one could easily be lost forever in the dream, unable to distinguish between reality and the dream. When Hua Jiu became a scattered immortal, he also tried to cultivate the Dreaming Art, but ultimately failed, even losing consciousness in the dream. If it weren't for the help of the supreme elder, he would have long since perished.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the old man's dull eyes gradually gained a glimmer of light. Until finally, a compelling light burst out, and a powerful immortal energy emerged on his decrepit body.
"What happened? Who injured you?" The old man clearly remembered everything now, looking at Hua Jiu, and immediately noticed the injuries in his body.
Hua Jiu smiled bitterly, "It was that old monster from the Dust Gate who injured me."
The elderly man's pupils slightly contracted upon hearing this.
Evidently, he also had a deep fear of the old monster from the Dust Gate.
"Why would he make a move against you? Does he know about the object in my hand?" The old man pondered for a moment before asking.
"It's not that," Hua Jiu shook his head. "I offended him inadvertently, so he attacked me."
The old man frowned.
"Then why have you awakened me? Are you asking me to heal you? Don't you know that the next tribulation for me is imminent? If I fail to break through again, under the heavenly tribulation, I will definitely perish!"
"I know it! But the Divine Transformation Gate is so much in decline, and I am seriously injured. I can hardly deter those who covet the sect. The sect master's whereabouts are unknown, so I had no choice but to awaken you... However, I have some information about the Lotus Valley to tell you."
At the mention of the Lotus Valley, a trace of killing intent flashed in the old man's eyes, but it quickly disappeared, and he asked, "Speak."
"I suspect that the disciple Ding Yan of the Lotus Valley has obtained an ancient relic!" Hua Jiu said sternly.
Upon hearing this, the old man suddenly opened his eyes wide, and a dazzling light flashed in them. Vaguely, it seemed as if there were flickering lightning within.
"And where is he?"
"He managed to escape..." Hua Jiu smiled bitterly.
"Confusion! Could it be that the scattered immortals of the Lotus Valley saved him? Didn't I give you an immortal yuan? When necessary, use it directly! Don't you know the importance of ancient relics?" The old man was furious.
Mentioning the immortal yuan, Hua Jiu's face twitched even more.
"I used the immortal yuan," before the old man could speak, Hua Jiu continued, "But it wasn't the scattered immortals of the Lotus Valley who saved that kid, it was the old monster from the Dusty Gate. The injuries on me were because of that..."
The old man was momentarily stunned, then his face darkened, not saying a word.
"You can go, I know about this matter," he said.
Hua Jiu nodded, his injuries were too severe, he needed to go back to recuperate.
Leaving the main hall, Hua Jiu held his chest, a trace of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, his face even paler. Glancing back at the main hall, Hua Jiu muttered to himself.
"After the Elder Supreme awakens, I can also rest easy and recuperate. As for that kid... now that the Elder Supreme knows this news, he probably won't last much longer!" Thinking of this, Hua Jiu tightened his right hand, a glint of hatred in his eyes.
After returning to Zaihai City, Hua Jiu originally intended to bring back the statue of his son to ask the Elder Supreme for help. However, upon returning to the original spot, he found that the statue had already been shattered, and his son's lifeforce had been completely severed.
"Recover my cultivation as soon as possible!" Thinking of this, Hua Jiu didn't linger, and directly flew back to his own cave, sealing the mountain gate and starting to seclude himself.
...
The day after Hua Jiu secluded himself, Ding Yan, on the nameless stone mountain, slowly opened his eyes, a serene look in them, without a ripple.
In the sky, the thunderclouds silently gathered.
A sense of pressure began to manifest.
The transcendence calamity had begun!