Caught off guard, Ge Yanxia shrieked once again and was sent flying by the cannon shot.

“Oops, sorry.” Lu Yun scratched his head.

She came screaming back from the distant sky, her eyes blazing with fury.

“I grabbed the wrong one,” Lu Yun grumbled and put away the crystal cannon before manifesting a main cannon. “Should’ve been this one.”

Ge Yanxia shuddered violently. She was a primordial dao immortal, which placed her on the same level as a void-ascended dao immortal. Basic weapons of war and crystal cannons posed no threat to her. The main cannons that burned through ten billion crystals per charge, however, could not only cripple her, but kill her.

“That was an accident. If you dare get another thirty meters closer to me, though, I’ll butcher you right where you stand.” He leered at Ge Yanxia and aimed the cannon at her, whereupon she quickly hopped away and put thirty meters between them.

Seeing the crystal cannon put a smile on the Exalted celestial emperor’s face. Although many had bought such weapons from Dusk Province since the auction, very few used them with such a lack of restraint.

The cannons were voracious, insatiable monsters when it came to immortal crystals. Each blast cost billions of crystals; not everyone in the world of immortals was wealthy enough to afford that. Even the six profligates Lu Yun had befriended would only crush people with giant crystal mountains, rather than burn it all.

Things like crystal cannons and weapons of war were great strategic treasures that wouldn’t be used until the eleventh hour. No one would casually fling them around like toys, as was Lu Yun’s style.

In addition to Ge Yanxia, Donglin Taihuang had shifted away from Lu Yun as well, worried that the youth would turn the cannon on him in a fit of pique. The bad blood between them was irreconcilable, and the bounty of a hundred billion crystals Lu Yun had levied on him in Destiny City was still in effect.

Donglin Taihuang was far from Ge Yanxia’s level as the most basic weapons of war would reduce him to ashes from this distance.

……

Lu Yun ignored them and scanned the area within five thousand kilometers with the Spectral Eye.

“As expected, the sea divines have put in a showing.” He saw a dense population of living creatures beneath the Divine Sea. Although something was concealing their life energy, Lu Yun could still see them clearly.

There wasn’t just one, but a whole colony of them. They bore unique life signs, but weren’t particularly powerful. However, Lu Yun could sense the danger latent within them.

Zhao Wushuang was dressed in pristine white robes with a sword upon his back. Chiseled features set into a handsome face, he radiated a unique grace.

What the feck, another girl? Lu Yun frowned. His Spectral Eye saw through all of Zhao Wushuang’s disguises and gave him a glimpse of her true self.

Zhao Wushuang was a girl!

However, her disguise was much inferior compared to Qing Yu’s, as even the current Lu Yun wouldn’t be able to see through Qing Yu’s true self when she disguised herself as Qing Han.

Tribulation clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring the vast, clean blue. Faint shadows in the air around the Divine Sea revealed the presence of immortals who bore the participant ill intent.

Zhao Wushuang was the only “son” of the former Exalted celestial emperor, and a pureblood Exalted Divine. There were many in the world who wouldn’t allow her to overcome her tribulation and ascend to immortality from the void realm.

“My friends from the East Sea, please show this humble one some face.” Lu Yun took a step forward and bowed toward an empty corner of the sky.

“We naturally will since it is your request, Sir Lu,” a voice responded, followed by a small ripple suggesting their departure.

“Friends from the Lin Clan...” Lu Yun bowed again. He repeated his request four times, resulting in the retreats of the Lin Clan, Mo Clan, Unsullied Sea, and South Sea.

Immortals from Exalted Major shared a surprised look. No one had expected the youth to command so much respect that he could persuade five peak factions of the world of immortals to stay their hand. So it would seem that while Lu Yun had made many enemies in the world, he also boasted of many friends.

The Exalted celestial emperor sighed in relief. Thank heavens he hadn’t made an enemy out of Lu Yun last night! Things would be much more troublesome today, otherwise. Although there were still a great number of hidden threats lurking in the area, the departure of five factions lifted an enormous weight from his shoulders.

Rumble!

A dull rumbling sounded from the sky as tribulation clouds gathered at great speed and slowly descended upon all of the Divine Sea. The mounds of thick clouds were a brooding black, but a patch of deep scarlet was found at their center. From that center traveled incessant demonic baying.

“There’s... no hope...” The celestial emperor stared at the crimson tribulation clouds with a despairing expression. “A Diabolical Tribulation of World Refinement… Do the heavens wish to erase the divine race?”

This was the most terrifying of all lightning tribulations, a harbinger of certain death! No one, not even in the era of the human dao, had ever survived such a trial. Failure and death were a foregone conclusion, and there would be nothing left but a wasteland after it ran its course!

The divines who’d stood in wait along the shores scattered in fear when they saw the tribulation clouds.

“We would surely like to help, but this… is beyond us.” Qi Hai shook his head. “Even without sabotage, Zhao Wushuang won’t be able to overcome this tribulation. You should prepare for his funeral, Your Majesty.”

A multiple-time survivor of the era of human dao, Qi Hai had awakened his memories of all his past lives. This kind of ultimate trial was no stranger to him.

“Hehehe, well well well, looks like that brat Lu Yun’s run away. I don’t see him anywhere, but he’s the clever one for doing so,” Donglin Taihuang snickered, his voice dripping with schadenfreude.

The help that the Exalted celestial emperor had recruited this time bore no relationship with Exalted Major—Qi Hai from Destiny City, fur seals from the West Sea, and House Donglin from Aureate Major. Although there wasn’t any bad blood between the three factions and Exalted Major, they still didn’t want the major to rise in power after the only son of its previous celestial emperor overcame his tribulation.

Lu Yun… was purely an accident.

The Exalted celestial emperor blanched, but he still held out hope. That no one had ever survived a Diabolical Tribulation of World Refinement before didn’t mean it couldn’t be done. He hadn’t completely given up on Zhao Wushuang.

……

Zhao Wushuang stood beneath the tribulation clouds, long hair dancing in the wind and white robes flapping around him. His expression remained calm and free of fear. 

Mountainous tribulation clouds brewed in the sky, as if there were countless demons waiting at the end of them. In addition to the endless lightning, faint silhouettes of ancient beasts also lurked about in the clouds.

A hair-raising howl was followed by a lightning strike. 

Kaboom!

Zhao Wushuang’s tribulation had begun.