The instant the two Divine Punishment Department cultivators cried out and crushed their communication Jade Tablets to report the matter, the Nine-Rayed Star Tribulation Seal hanging high in the sky suddenly underwent a bizarre transformation.
The originally blazing, dazzling nine-rayed starlight neither abruptly scattered nor unleashed any lingering might. Instead, it gradually dimmed and blurred.
Layers of brilliant golden-white radiance faded away, finally condensing into an utterly inconspicuous black speck of light that floated silently above the Cangming Sea.
The flow of spiritual energy between heaven and earth abruptly froze for half a breath.
The two cultivators standing guard over the Tribulation Transcendence stiffened from head to toe, their limbs turning icy as they were utterly petrified on the spot.
Having cultivated for centuries and overseen Tribulation Transcendence monitoring throughout the world, they understood better than anyone what the Nine-Rayed Star signified.
Changes in the starlight's color corresponded to a cultivator's breakthrough in realm, while its brightness and dimness reflected the level of power. Only pure black was a taboo omen recorded solely in ancient texts, never once seen in the world.
Black represented a complete surpassing of the Tribulation Heaven Mirror's limits of perception.
It meant that the being born from the Tribulation Transcendence that had just ended had already broken free from the realm-bound shackles of ordinary cultivators.
"It's that... ultimate annotation for the Tribulation Heaven Realm." One man's throat tightened, his voice shattering beyond recognition.
No one had verified it, and no one had seen it. Only a few scant strokes on surviving pages of the Divine Punishment Department's Ancient Secret Scroll mentioned it—when tribulation ended in blackening, an emperor might descend upon the world.
Without the slightest hesitation, their faces drained of color as they practically scrambled and crawled away.
In the blink of an eye,