Southern Borderlands, Empty City.
The sky, originally clear for thousands of miles, was now shrouded in dense dark clouds, plunging an area of ten miles into sudden darkness, as if black clouds were pressing down from above.
At the edge of the land, an old man and a young boy, both carrying swords on their backs, were walking forward. Their steps were unhurried, yet their speed was astonishing, almost dragging a residual shadow across the ground.
“Buzz—”
Suddenly, a worn-out compass hanging at the waist of the young boy in green robes trembled, emitting a buzzing sound.
“Master, the compass is reacting, there must be a demon nearby!”
The boy’s expression tightened, his voice rising slightly, for he had never seen the demon-seeking compass act like this before, producing a metallic trembling sound!
“I’m not blind, I can see!”
The old man in grey robes rolled his eyes, halting his steps and looking up at the distant sky, where dark clouds roiled and lightning snakes writhed.
“What’s this… such strange weather, the surroundings are clear and bright, so why is that patch of sky covered in dark clouds?”
The boy in green followed his master’s gaze, only to stand stunned, his mouth agape.
“Look at you, so useless!”
“A Foundation Establishment cultivator with no common sense, you’re embarrassing your master!”
The old man in grey grumbled, then rubbed his wrinkled face before saying gravely, “That’s a celestial phenomenon, a great demon is about to undergo a lightning tribulation!”
“What?!”
“A demon undergoing a tribulation?”
The boy in green was shocked.
As the disciple of the old cultivator, he had naturally heard his master mention demon tribulations before, knowing that when a demon was about to step into the Demon King realm and condense a demon core, it would trigger a backlash of heavenly lightning, hence called a lightning tribulation!
He had once asked his master why human cultivators forming their cores didn’t need to face lightning tribulations, to which the old cultivator smiled and said, “Because the fate of this world lies with the human race, so humans are sheltered by the heavens. Unless their cultivation becomes so powerful that the heavens cannot tolerate it, human cultivators do not need to face tribulations.”
“Since the collapse of the Two Mountains, the fate of the Hundred Thousand Mountains has begun to tilt toward the demons!
Although Mount Daoxuan overlooks the Southern Borderlands, keeping those great demons from truly entering to wreak havoc on humans, the momentum lies with the demons. If a demon successfully undergoes a tribulation and becomes a king in these Southern Borderlands, the fate might completely reverse!
At that time, the wager will be broken, and even Mount Daoxuan will be helpless…
Without the threat of Mount Daoxuan, once great demons cross the border, the Southern Borderlands will no longer have safe havens!
By then, the humans of the Southern Borderlands will be reduced to mere fodder for the demons…”
The old cultivator muttered, his expression growing increasingly grave, until he finally took a deep breath and declared in a low voice, “No!
As the sole heir of the Heavenly Fate Sect, I cannot sit by and watch the human race suffer!
This demon must be eliminated!
It must not ruin the human race’s thousand-year plan!”
The old cultivator grew more agitated as he spoke, but soon calmed down, turning to his startled disciple and saying gravely, “Chen’er, do you remember the creed of our Heavenly Fate Sect?”
“I remember!”
The boy in green nodded, then proclaimed loudly, “To scheme for the fate of the heavens, to bring blessings to all under heaven!”
“Good!”
The old cultivator ruffled his disciple’s hair, then flipped his hand, producing a golden token inscribed with the words “Heavenly Fate.”
“Though our Heavenly Fate Sect now consists only of you and me, master and disciple, the cultivators of the world will still show some respect to our sect.”
The old cultivator gazed at the Heavenly Fate Token, lost in thought for a moment, before handing it to his disciple and saying gravely, “Since this demon is undergoing a Demon King tribulation, it must be no ordinary demon. This journey may well be more perilous than not!
But as members of the Heavenly Fate lineage, we must prevent demons from dominating the Southern Borderlands and committing evil, so this demon must be slain!
Chen’er, take this Heavenly Fate Token to the Book and Sword Market we visited last time. As the Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Fate Sect, seek help from the cultivators there, and ensure this demon is killed before it succeeds in its tribulation!”
“Master, stop talking, it sounds like you’re giving your last words.”
The boy in green frowned, clearly displeased with his master’s tone.
“You… rebellious disciple!”
The old cultivator glared, exasperated.
“Master, you’re so old, why get involved in matters concerning the fate of races? Wouldn’t it be better to let the great cultivators of Mount Daoxuan handle it?
Even if, worst case, those great cultivators of Mount Daoxuan refuse to intervene, why must you take it upon yourself?” the boy in green urged, frowning.
As his disciple, he knew full well how dangerous this was.
“You little brat, are you defying me?”
“You just recited our sect’s creed, and now you’re playing dumb?
The disciples of our Heavenly Fate Sect cultivate to bring blessings to all humans.
Now that the demon race is about to break the balance, how can we, Heavenly Fate cultivators, stand idly by?!” the old cultivator fumed, glaring and blowing his beard.
“But… but it could mean death!”
The boy in green gritted his teeth, his face darkening, his eyes reddening.
“Silly child, who in this world can escape death?”
“Our Heavenly Fate Sect cultivates to bring blessings to the human race. How could we watch the people of the world suffer?
If I can die for this cause, I believe it would be worthwhile!”
The old cultivator spoke slowly, his weathered face full of smiles, as if he had long made peace with life and death.
“The affairs of the world should be handled by the world itself, why must we sacrifice ourselves?!”
The boy gritted his teeth, but these words were only shouted in his heart, not dared spoken aloud.
“Remember, our Heavenly Fate lineage never fears death! As long as the human race’s fate prospers, what does it matter if our Heavenly Fate Sect perishes?!”
The old cultivator laughed heartily, then said no more, stepping forward and vanishing from the spot.
“Master!!”
“You must live!”
“Live until I return!!”
The boy in green looked toward the direction his master had gone, his eyes red and teary, shouting a few times before turning and leaving without hesitation.
Inside the empty city, Mo Fan seemed to sense something, withdrawing his gaze from the sky and turning to look into the distance.
There, a thin, hunched figure approached slowly, each step covering over ten zhang, an astonishing sword intent bursting from their body, making them seem like a sharp sword!
A human powerhouse!
Mo Fan’s expression grew serious. He had considered that others might come to interfere with Bai Yaoyao’s tribulation, but he hadn’t expected the first to arrive would be a human cultivator.
In his impression, human cultivators had long since migrated with the human populace, and those with great cultivation had left the Southern Borderlands even earlier.
Yet, unexpectedly, such a powerhouse remained here!
Feeling the powerful sword intent from the figure, Mo Fan knew this would be troublesome, likely a fearsome existence comparable to a Demon King!
At that moment, a strand of hair on Mo Fan’s head glowed faintly, but soon returned to normal.
Deep in the Southern Borderlands, a middle-aged monk performing charitable deeds paused, as if sensing something, and turned to look at the western horizon, murmuring, “The winds and clouds are shifting, thunderclouds are rolling, a great demon is about to undergo a tribulation!”
“Such audacity! To dare undergo a tribulation in the Southern Borderlands and step into the Demon King realm! Is this to break the human race’s fate?!”
The middle-aged monk suddenly roared, startling the refugees begging for rice in front of him, who couldn’t understand why the monk had suddenly gone mad.
“Are you going to do something about it?”
The monk looked up at the sky, a strange smile appearing on his face.
Yet no one answered him.
“Fine! If you won’t act, this poor monk will!”
The monk chanted a Buddhist phrase, then waved his hand, taking the rice sack in front of him, and said to the shocked refugees, “Today’s charity ends here!”
With that, he turned to a large yellow dog lying at his feet and said, “Lion Protector, let’s go subdue a demon!”
“Roar!”
The dog let out a deafening roar, then transformed with a shake, turning into a massive golden lion.
The monk stepped forward, sitting cross-legged on the lion’s head, and the lion, with wind beneath its feet, soared off the ground, riding the clouds and mist!
This scene left the refugees gasping in awe, many immediately kneeling and chanting words of worship for divine beings.
