The blood-red tribulation clouds churned like tides, their aura of destruction blanketing the heavens and earth. Even from far away, Li Su could feel his divine sense faintly pricked by that pressure.
Even the deathly aura of the Black Desert seemed to have been stirred, becoming active and dangerous.
A Heavenly Tribulation? It did not seem like one.
The aura of a Heavenly Tribulation was purer and more majestic, yet these blood-red tribulation clouds were filled with brutality, slaughter, and misfortune. They seemed more like... an omen of some demonic creature being born, or an unparalleled vicious weapon coming into existence!
Moreover, that direction roughly overlapped with the northwest direction indicated by his Bedrock Rune, making it impossible for him to ignore.
Go, or not go?
The risk was enormous.
The energy level at the center of those blood-red tribulation clouds far exceeded his imagination. Even True Immortals and Mystic Immortals might perish if caught within it. As a mere Earth Immortal, even a slight brush with it would likely annihilate both his body and soul.
But opportunity often existed alongside danger. Anything capable of causing such a phenomenon was certainly extraordinary.
Perhaps there was a great treasure, perhaps a heaven-shaking inheritance, or perhaps... an opportunity to leave this barren land?
Obtaining the Minor Chiliad Array Analysis had greatly boosted his confidence. Having taken his first steps into the Dao of arrays, he now possessed more means to deal with danger.
After pondering for a long time, Li Su finally decided—he would approach and observe, but never rashly risk his life!
He would conceal himself with an array and spy from afar. If anything went wrong, he would flee immediately.
Having made up his mind, he acted at once.
The radiance of his Mo Xing Bamboo Body completely withdrew. Its roots retracted, and its body even shrank slightly, becoming even less conspicuous.
At the same time, following the concealment array section of the Minor Chiliad Array Analysis, he used his own bamboo branches as a foundation, drawing upon the sparse baleful aura and starlight in the surroundings to set up a simple Obscure Traces Hidden Shadows Array around himself.
Once the array took shape, his aura instantly became even more indistinct, as though he had blended into the surrounding black sand. Without careful inspection, he would be extremely difficult to detect.
After making his preparations, Li Su once more moved his bamboo roots and cautiously headed toward the tribulation clouds.
The closer he got, the heavier that destructive pressure became, and the denser the deathly aura grew. It even began eroding the operation of the Obscure Traces Hidden Shadows Array, forcing him to continuously expend energy to maintain it.
After traveling several hundred li, the sight before him jolted his divine sense.
Black sand filled the sky ahead, forming a massive vortex.
At the center of the vortex, the blood-red tribulation clouds were at their densest. Dark red lightning bolts crashed down like blood dragons, bombarding something at the bottom of the vortex with deafening booms!
Every strike made the earth tremble and space distort!
And beneath that terrifying heavenly might, shadowy figures could actually be seen around the edges of the vortex!
They were not Fierce Beasts, but... cultivators!
Some rode streaks of escape light, some sat atop strange beasts, while others, like him, struggled onward with their physical bodies.
They came in all forms. Some maintained human appearances, while others retained certain traits of the demon race. Yet without exception, all of them radiated formidable auras. At the very least, they were peak Earth Immortals, and there was no shortage of Heavenly Immortal-level beings!
They had clearly also been drawn here by the phenomenon. At present, they all stared tensely at the vortex's center, maintaining wary distances from one another. No one dared to step into the range of the lightning lightly.
Li Su's heart tightened.
There really were other cultivators! And none of them were weak! It seemed that this Primordial World was not inhabited only by Fierce Beasts and solitary spirit creatures cultivating alone.
He concealed himself even more carefully, hiding behind a sand dune as he observed closely.
Those cultivators appeared to belong to different factions, with clear lines separating them.
To the east stood a group whose clothing was relatively uniform, mostly azure or white Daoist robes. Their auras were upright and peaceful, and they mostly relied on magical treasures for protection. They appeared to be members of the orthodox Mystic Gate.
The west was far more chaotic. There were towering men with demon aura surging to the skies, ghost cultivators wreathed in eerie yin aura, and strange figures surrounded by demonic flames. They were clearly members of heterodox sects and even the demonic path.
Scattered lone travelers and small groups were also spread across the north and south, each with a different aura.
All of them stared fervently at the center of the lightning, yet their gazes were also full of apprehension.
"Fellow Daoists," an elderly Heavenly Immortal leading the righteous cultivators in the east spoke at that moment. His voice carried through the wind and thunder. "This strange treasure radiates baleful aura to the heavens and has triggered such a blood tribulation. It is likely no benevolent object. It should be taken by our Mystic Gate, purified with force, lest it poison the Primordial World and bring about a great calamity."
"Pah! Old Daoist Qing Xuan, what lofty-sounding nonsense!"
A scale-covered Demon King in the west sneered viciously. "Heavenly treasures belong to the virtuous!
"This treasure is clearly fated with me and should belong to me! Your Mystic Gate is always putting on a false show of benevolence and righteousness!"
"Heh heh heh... Well said! Treasures belong to the capable! Let each rely on their own methods!" A ghost cultivator shrouded in black mist echoed sinisterly.
Seeing the two sides at daggers drawn, the atmosphere immediately grew tense.
Li Su watched coldly from the sidelines. So they were here to fight over a treasure.
But what exactly was it, to stir up such a commotion?
He cautiously extended his divine sense toward the vortex's center, but the moment it drew near, it was torn apart by the violent power of the lightning and its destructive intent. There was no way to investigate it at all.
Just as the various factions confronted one another and argued without end—
Another change occurred!
The blood-red lightning at the vortex's center suddenly froze. Immediately afterward, all the tribulation clouds crazily contracted inward, as though something were devouring them!
In the blink of an eye, the blood clouds filling the sky vanished without a trace. All that remained was a massive, bottomless sand pit, and at its bottom, a faint yet incomparably pure blood-red light quietly floated, radiating energy fluctuations that made hearts tremble!
The tribulation clouds had dispersed! The strange treasure had appeared!
"Attack!" someone shouted, and the cultivators from every faction, who had long been unable to restrain themselves, moved in an instant!
Streaks of escape light, demon winds, and demonic clouds shot toward the blood-red light at the bottom of the sand pit like arrows loosed from a bow!
A great battle erupted instantly!
The sounds of magical treasures colliding, divine abilities exploding, furious roars, and anguished screams instantly rang throughout this deathly Black Desert!
The Mystic Gate cultivators advanced in formation, Buddhist light and Daoist arts flashing. The demons, heterodox cultivators, and demonic path practitioners each displayed their abilities, their methods ruthless and sinister.
In their struggle for that strange treasure, everyone instantly fought with bloodshot eyes!
Li Su held his breath, hiding tightly behind the sand dune and not daring to make the slightest movement. In a melee of this level, entering it would make him nothing more than cannon fodder.
However, as he focused intently on the chaotic battle ahead, a faint streak of escape light, almost blending into the Black Desert in the far distance behind him, was flying crookedly in this direction. It was not moving quickly, and it seemed... somewhat panicked?
Li Su's divine sense keenly caught that streak of escape light.
Its aura was not strong, roughly at the Earth Immortal level, and its escape light was scattered and unstable. It had clearly either been injured or exhausted too much energy.
Another person drawn here by the phenomenon? Or... someone fleeing disaster?
That streak of escape light seemed to have noticed the earth-shaking battle ahead and the terrifying energy fluctuations. It abruptly stopped and hovered in midair, seeming somewhat hesitant to move forward.
Then the escape light turned and actually descended toward the area of sand dunes where Li Su was hiding, as though its owner also wanted to find somewhere to temporarily take shelter.
The light faded, revealing a young girl in a damaged azure dress. Her face was pale, and a trace of blood still lingered at the corner of her lips.
She looked quite young and had a petite figure, but a pair of fluffy white rabbit ears grew from her head. They were standing upright nervously as she warily surveyed her surroundings. She was clearly a spirit creature cultivated from a Rabbit Demon.
After landing, she swiftly took out a small array flag and planted it in the sand, setting up a simple concealment array. Then she sat down cross-legged, attempting to regulate her breath and heal her injuries.
By sheer coincidence, the hiding place she chose was less than a hundred zhang away from Li Su.
Li Su: "..." Rabbit Demon girl: "???"
Their divine senses—or rather, their gazes—collided unintentionally in midair.
The air instantly froze.
The Rabbit Demon girl suddenly widened her eyes, staring in terror at the strange bamboo plant not far away that had "suddenly" appeared, its entire body pitch-black and glittering with starlight. She nearly screamed!
She had not noticed that there was anyone else here—any other plant!
Li Su's heart also tightened.
I've been discovered!
Before you continue