The Shenrong Clan, within the Black Rock Mountain Range.
The Black Rock Mountain Range stretched for nearly a million miles. It even contained plains and lakes, along with countless cities built across the region.
The Shenrong Clan had stood in the Great Xia World for billions of years, and had lived and multiplied in the Black Rock Mountain Range for just as long. Countless cities sprawled across hundreds or even thousands of miles, housing vast numbers of mortals. A single city could hold over ten million people.
Underground, beside lakes, across plains, halfway up mountains...
One city after another, one outpost after another.
The entire Black Rock Mountain Range was the Shenrong Clan's absolute stronghold, its ancestral lands.
"Immortal Pingshan! Immortal!" A young man clad in armor hurried toward a palace. It was vast and imposing, and magnificently ornate.
Inside, a black-haired, middle-aged man sat casually before a long table, leafing through the thick books laid out upon it.
He was Shenrong Pingshan, a Void Return Immortal renowned even among the many Return-to-Void Earth Immortals of the Shenrong Clan.
"What is it?" Shenrong Pingshan stopped what he was doing and looked up at the young man.
"Word just came from the ancestral hall. Young Master Chong's Life Tablet..." The young man hesitated, as though struggling to speak. Everyone knew that Immortal Pingshan, this Return-to-Void Earth Immortal, might seem easygoing and carefree, but he valued his family above all. If he had to be the one to deliver this news...
"Hmm?" Shenrong Pingshan furrowed his brow. "What happened to Chong'er's Life Tablet? Could it be..."
Shenrong Pingshan thought of that possibility. His normally calm expression suddenly trembled.
"Reporting to you, Immortal, Young Master Chong's Life Tablet... shattered just a moment ago, a little over an incense stick's time!" the armored young man said respectfully.
"Shattered..." Shenrong Pingshan froze, grief filling his eyes.
Once a member of the Shenrong Clan reached the Myriad Phenomena level, a Life Tablet was left in the ancestral hall. If it shattered, that meant the person who had left it behind had perished completely.
In an instant, Shenrong Pingshan's eyes turned red. This mighty Return-to-Void Earth Immortal seemed to have lost all his strength.
Cultivators already struggled to have children, and the higher their cultivation, the harder it became. Yet he, a Return-to-Void Earth Immortal of the Shenrong Clan, had only two children. His youngest had perished on Qianqiu Island in the North Dark Sea six or seven years ago.
And now... his only remaining child had perished far from home.
Shenrong Pingshan abruptly looked at the reports on the table before him, his expression turning grim.
A long while passed.
"You may leave," Shenrong Pingshan said, looking at the young man and giving a slight nod.
"My condolences, Immortal!" The armored young man bowed respectfully, then turned and withdrew.
"Chong'er..." Shenrong Pingshan's eyes were bloodshot, and a bone-deep killing intent burned within them. "Shui'er is dead. And now Chong'er is dead too."
Shenrong Pingshan looked down at the book on the table. On the open page was a portrait of a handsome young man in black robes.
"Ruoshui, I've failed you! Our children..." Tears shimmered faintly in Shenrong Pingshan's eyes.
"Chong'er had reached the late Wanxiang stage in God-Devil Body Refining, and the early Wanxiang stage on the Qi Refining Path. That man named Lei Zhan was only at the Purple Mansion level, according to Tianbao Mountain's investigation. Even if he was hiding his cultivation, he could only be at the Myriad Phenomena level..."
"Damn it!"
Killing intent surged within Shenrong Pingshan's chest, but moments later he buried that blazing fury deep within himself.
"Immortal Juhua has lived for millions of years and still hasn't died... He even once killed a Celestial Immortal ancestor. His strength is unfathomable. If I seek revenge now, I certainly won't be a match for Immortal Juhua," Shenrong Pingshan murmured.
"I've been an Earth Immortal for only ten thousand years. If I overcome the Heavenly Tribulation one day... then it'll be time to settle old scores and new debts alike."
The Heavenly Tribulation was an unprecedented calamity. Those who overcame it became Celestial Immortals, free and unfettered. The lucky failures could become Loose Immortals; the less fortunate would have their souls scattered on the spot.
He would face the Heavenly Tribulation.
If he succeeded, he would become a Celestial Immortal and earn the support of his clan. His status would be entirely different from what it was now. Then, the time would come to settle the score.
If he failed, he wouldn't stubbornly resist to the bitter end. At that point, nothing would matter anymore. What did a man with no family left have to fear from clinging to a wretched, lingering life?
"I will overcome the Heavenly Tribulation!" Determination gleamed in Shenrong Pingshan's blood-red eyes. "I, Shenrong Pingshan, will make you master and disciple pay for my son's death!"
Great Xia Imperial Capital.
Within a sprawling manor, every hall and pavilion radiated stately grandeur.
At the center of the manor stood a colossal palace, its entire structure gleaming white as jade. Countless beautiful maids moved about its grounds.
Every one of these maids was peerlessly alluring. Some wore so little that their naked bodies showed through their gauzy robes. Others looked like elegant married women, while still others were bright-eyed young girls...
Upon the throne at the highest point of the palace sat a bewitchingly handsome young man. Dressed in ornate robes embroidered with a four-clawed golden dragon, he watched the countless stunning women below with casual indifference. But his mind was elsewhere, not on the dancing and music.
"Xia Yi," the young man said calmly.
"Second Prince, your subordinate is here!" The burly man in golden armor, who had been waiting outside the hall for orders, strode in. His eyes were clear, and he kept them straight ahead. Clearly, he was already well accustomed to the scene inside.
"Has Shenrong Pingshan of the Shenrong Clan left the Black Rock Mountain Range?" The Second Prince looked at the burly man in golden armor below. He, too, had been keeping a close watch on the news about Immortal Juhua.
Ever since he was young, the Second Prince—born to privilege—had wanted to become Immortal Juhua's disciple, but had failed. He had long since put the matter behind him. After all, Immortal Juhua had lived for millions of years without taking a disciple. It was understandable that he hadn't accepted the Second Prince.
But this time, news that Immortal Juhua was openly taking on disciples had spread across most of the Great Xia World. The story of how he himself had once failed to become Immortal Juhua's disciple had become a private joke among the young nobles and ladies of the Imperial Capital.
Although more than ten thousand years had passed, and he had become a Return-to-Void Earth Immortal, the Second Prince had been raised in luxury from the cradle. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
Naturally, he had even come to resent Immortal Juhua.
"Shenrong Pingshan, the Return-to-Void Earth Immortal, has not left the Black Rock Mountain Range," the burly man in golden armor replied respectfully.
"He hasn't left? He's certainly patient! Doesn't Shenrong Pingshan care deeply about the child his deceased Dao companion left behind?" The Second Prince shook his head and laughed. "If he's not making a move, then let's keep watching for now!"
A moment later, the Second Prince seemed to think of something. "What about Shaoyan Jingyu? With his vengeful nature, why has he been so quiet? Back then, if Immortal Juhua hadn't wanted to avoid making things too difficult with the Shaoyan Clan, he would have killed him."
"Last month, Shaoyan Jingyu purchased a great deal of rare materials at Tianbao Mountain. Most of them were treasures used to forge Immortal-Grade Magic Treasures." The burly man in golden armor hesitated briefly. "He's probably... preparing to forge a powerful treasure."
The Second Prince's strange eyes flicked toward the burly man, who kept his head bowed. "Immortal Jingyu has accumulated power at the Earth Immortal level for nearly a hundred thousand years. I suppose he's waited long enough."
"This really is a marvelous show!" A trace of delighted amusement shone in the Second Prince's eyes. He could spend a great deal to make Immortal Juhua suffer, but personally taking the stage was nowhere near as enjoyable as sitting in the audience and watching the show.
Ordinary cultivators could hardly uncover the schemes and plans of the various factions. Lei Zhan, still in the North Dark Sea, knew nothing about them at all.
Lei Zhan knew which three great powers had been buying information about him and his master for years, and even who specifically was involved. But even knowing that, all he could do was endure it passively.
Even someone as powerful as Immortal Juhua wouldn't dare claim he could storm the strongholds the Shaoyan Clan and Shenrong Clan had built over countless years and escape unscathed. Lei Zhan, who was still weak, had even less chance.
Aboard the Dragon-Head Warship, Lei Zhan sat cross-legged on the deck, quietly cultivating. He was only refining Essence Liquid and adding it to the lake in his Purple Mansion, so even as the ship flew onward, he could stop at any time.
After all, the nearly three thousand jin of Essence Liquid he had obtained from killing Shenrong Chong was more than enough to help him advance another step toward the peak of the Purple Mansion stage.
The Purple Mansion stage was a process of accumulating large amounts of elemental energy in the lake within one's Purple Mansion, until that "lake" became an "ocean."
Refining three thousand jin of Essence Liquid would greatly expand the lake in Lei Zhan's body.
After a long while, Lei Zhan slowly opened his eyes. The bottle of Essence Liquid was completely empty.
"Three thousand jin of Essence Liquid... That saved me several years of cultivation." Lei Zhan put away the bottle before him, satisfied.
"Next, I'll keep killing the Demon Race!"
The ending of the previous chapter really did feel a little too much like resources had been handed over on a silver platter. But almost all his sons were dead, so he should be taking action. I made a few changes.
The Qi Refining Path is about to break through to the Myriad Phenomena level and return to the Water Mansion. The pace will pick up considerably from here.
Thanks to Beijin Han for the paid-reading tip.