Abyss Tribulation, Qingyun's Peril

"Abyssal Invasion?!"

A wave of hushed gasps rippled through the hall below.

Even the elders, who had lived for centuries, couldn't help but pale at those four words.

It was a nightmare etched into the very bones of every cultivator on the Heavenly Profound Continent!

Every few hundred years, Spatial Rifts would tear open across the land without warning.

From those rifts would pour the Abyssal Demons!

These demons delighted in devouring human flesh and blood, feasting on living souls—wherever they passed, they left nothing but scorched earth and misery!

"Sect Leader, what's the scale of this invasion?"

The Second Elder asked in a low voice, his fingers gripping the jade table before him tightly.

Li Qingyun sighed and spoke slowly: "The Wasteland Heaven Divine Sect has detected that the energy fluctuations from this Abyssal Rift are thirty percent stronger than the last time."

"According to protocol, our Azure Cloud Sect must dispatch ten Profound Comprehension Realm elders and two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors to the Demon Extermination Holy City for battle."

"At the same time, we must also guard the three small rifts within our sect's territory to prevent demon infiltration."

Hearing this, Bai Ye turned his head to glance at the elder beside him.

That elder's hair and beard were half-white, and he was usually on fairly familiar terms with Bai Ye.

Seeing Bai Ye's questioning look, the elder lowered his voice to explain: "Elder Bai Ye has just joined the Ancestral Hall, so perhaps you don't know the origins of the Demon Extermination Holy City."

"It's a colossal super-city built by the Wasteland Heaven Divine Sect over generations, right beside the largest Abyssal Rift in the Wild Domain. The city walls are constructed from 'Demon-Slaying Stone,' and nine Heaven-grade defensive arrays are laid within—it's the core defensive line of the entire Wild Domain against the demons."

"Every Abyssal Invasion, all major powers send their strong to reinforce it. If the Holy City falls, the entire Wild Domain will suffer."

Bai Ye gave a slight nod, but his heart remained calm.

He was already in the Tribulation Crossing Realm. Even if he faced the Devil Master of the Abyssal Demons, he could hold his own in battle, so naturally he had no need to worry like the other elders.

The council lasted an entire hour, and finally the candidates for the Demon Extermination Holy City were decided.

Two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors would personally lead the team. Among the ten Profound Comprehension Realm elders, Bai Ye—due to his "shallow cultivation"—was assigned to guard the small rifts near the sect, spared from heading to the most dangerous Holy City.

After the meeting, Bai Ye rode his flying sword back to his personal peak, Night Cloud Peak.

This peak sat on the western side of the Azure Cloud Sect's Seventy-two Peaks. It was perpetually shrouded in mist and clouds, and at its summit stood an exquisite bamboo courtyard. Outside the courtyard grew several thousand-year-old ancient pines—a quiet retreat prepared by the sect for inner-sect elders.

He stepped into the bamboo courtyard, waved his hand to set up a Concealment Array, took out the God Transformation Tower, and continued his secluded cultivation.

Compared to sect affairs, improving his cultivation was the top priority.

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.

During these ten years, Bai Yue performed his daily system check-ins without fail.

Sometimes, when luck was on his side, he would receive a "Ninth-grade Thunder Tribulation Pill," which helped him smoothly weather a heavenly tribulation!

Other times, he obtained "Chaos Spiritual Liquid," refining his physical body and divine embryo, adding even more depth to his already profound foundation.

The most precious reward came when he checked in on the very day a tribulation descended—triggering a super reward: a Low-grade Divine Tier Thunder Dao Secret Canon!

With these resources and the mysteries of the Chaos Sword Canon, Bai Ye successfully passed three heavenly tribulations, steadily advancing his cultivation to the third level of the Tribulation Crossing Realm.

His divine embryo grew increasingly solid, and the Divine Realm Power swirling around him became denser and denser. Even without activating the [All Character Secret], he could easily slaughter ordinary Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivators in a single move.

And during these ten years, the Azure Cloud Sect struggled through the flames of the Abyssal Invasion.

At first, the three small rifts within the sect's territory remained relatively calm. Bai Ye occasionally stepped in, using his "Profound Comprehension Realm initial stage" strength to casually slay a few stray demon generals—hiding his true cultivation while helping the sect out of trouble.

But as the invasion intensified, the battle at the Demon Extermination Holy City grew increasingly brutal. The two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors sent by the Azure Cloud Sect sent back repeated pleas for reinforcements, forcing the sect to dispatch more Profound Comprehension Realm experts time and again.

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After ten years of war, the Abyssal Invasion finally subsided, but the Azure Cloud Sect paid a grievous price.

Twenty-one Primordial Core Realm disciples had fallen, many of them talented young disciples!

Three Profound Comprehension Realm elders had died in battle, all of them veterans who had followed the sect for decades!

Even the two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors sent to the Demon Extermination Holy City, during the final sealing of the rift, exhausted their strength to cover the retreat of other cultivators and perished!

When the news reached the Azure Cloud Sect, grief swept through the entire sect.

On the square before the Ancestral Hall, the spirit tablets of the fallen disciples were laid out in rows. White banners flapped in the wind, and even the mist among the mountains seemed tinged with sorrow.

Bai Ye stood atop Night Cloud Peak, gazing down at the memorial hall below, and sighed softly in his heart.

Though he wasn't close to these disciples, he still felt the cruelty of war.

If his own strength hadn't been sufficient, he might have become one of those spirit tablets himself.

But misfortune did not stop there.

A year later, the Azure Cloud Sect's last Nascent Soul Old Ancestor—

that young-looking old ancestor Bai Ye had once seen—secluded himself in the Forbidden Zone of the Main Peak to break through to a higher realm.

Who would have thought that during his breakthrough, he would be devoured by inner demons. With his lifespan already nearly exhausted, he sat down in meditation and passed away on the spot within the Forbidden Zone.

The news spread, and the entire Azure Cloud Sect was plunged into utter panic.

The Nascent Soul Realm was the cornerstone that kept the sect standing in Azure State.

Previously, with a single Nascent Soul Old Ancestor holding the line, even if the sect's power waned, other enemies dared not provoke it lightly.

Now that the Nascent Soul Realm was completely vacant, those old foes who had lain dormant for years would surely start stirring.

"Someone must break through to Nascent Soul and stabilize the sect!"

Amid the hopes of the entire sect, Sect Master Li Qingyun resolutely decided to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.

He was already at the peak of the Mystic Connection stage, stuck at that level for decades with ample accumulated foundation, and aided by a treasured "Earth Nascent Pill" from the sect's reserves—he was the one with the greatest hope of success.

But heaven did not grant his wish.

On the day of the Nascent Soul breakthrough, a shocking surge of Spiritual Energy erupted from the Forbidden Zone on the Main Peak, followed by a dull, explosive roar!

Li Qingyun's breakthrough failed, Spiritual Energy rebounded, and he fell on the spot!

Having lost three Nascent Soul cultivators and one Sect Master in succession, the sky over Azure Cloud Sect had utterly collapsed!

Meanwhile, Bai Ye had been diligently secluded in the God Transformation Tower, focusing on breaking through his own realm, unaware of the earth-shattering changes that had occurred in the outside world over the past year.

A few days later, the surviving Grand Elder, leaning on his walking staff, stood in the square before the Ancestral Hall, his voice hoarse as torn silk: "From this day forth, Azure Cloud Sect seals its mountain. Non-sect disciples are strictly forbidden entry."

"Sect disciples, unless on urgent business, are not permitted to leave the mountain. Only when the sect produces another Nascent Soul cultivator may the sealing order be lifted!"

As his words fell, the Mountain Protecting Array at the Mountain Gate roared to life, a pale blue light curtain enveloping all Seventy-two Peaks of Azure Cloud Sect, cutting off this thousand-year sect from the outside world entirely.

The disciples in the square hung their heads in dejection; the elders' faces were ashen and defeated. What was once a lively Azure Cloud Sect was now nothing but a dead, decaying silence.

The Grand Elder stood before the gates of the Ancestral Hall, gazing at the light curtain shrouding the peaks, a flicker of deep thought and gravity passing through his eyes.

He knew that Azure Cloud Sect's ordeal had only just begun.

Those hostile forces would not let slip this moment of the sect's greatest weakness!