East Sea, Three Immortal Isles.
The tribulation gradually came to an end. The clouds dispersed, and the countless rays of spiritual light slowly faded.
Three graceful figures of peerless beauty emerged from the rosy glow.
Yun Xiao was cool and dignified, with a serene air; Qiong Xiao was bright and spirited, lively and energetic; Bi Xiao was charming and innocent, utterly carefree.
The three sisters exchanged glances, about to celebrate, when all their hearts jolted at once.
Where the rosy glow had faded, besides the three of them, another figure had appeared out of thin air—a young man.
He stood tall and straight, clad in a dark robe patterned with purple thunder. A faint pattern of lightning swirled between his brows. His features were refined, and his bearing composed.
"Who are you?"
Bi Xiao looked at Lei Xiao and asked, her face full of confusion.
Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao also looked Lei Xiao up and down. The three sisters had transformed at the same time today, yet after their transformation, this stranger had inexplicably appeared.
The Three Immortal Isles were protected by an Innate Great Array. The array was still intact, so by all rights, no outsider could have entered. And with Lei Xiao's cultivation, he couldn't possibly have broken through the Innate Great Array.
"Who am I?"
Lei Xiao was bewildered at first, but in the next moment, countless memories flooded his mind.
Some of these memories came from Blue Star in a later age, while others were inherited memories from the Purple Firmament Origin Divine Thunder. As these memories surfaced, Lei Xiao instantly understood his situation.
He had actually transmigrated into the Primordial World of myth and legend.
"Greetings, my three sisters. I'm your little brother, Lei Xiao." As he spoke, Lei Xiao bowed to the Three Xiao.
He had only managed to transform by chance, with the help of the Three Xiao's power. Part of his fate was linked to theirs. Calling himself their little brother was a bit of a stretch, but it wasn't entirely wrong.
At that moment, Lei Xiao's plan was to cling tightly to the Three Xiao. After transforming, he was only an early-stage Mystic Immortal, and he had cultivation without much else to show for it.
The Primordial World was incomparably dangerous. If he didn't find himself a powerful backer, he might die through one careless misstep.
"Little brother?"
Bi Xiao looked at Yun Xiao, puzzled. "Big Sister, is he really our little brother?"
Rumble—
Before Yun Xiao could reply, the entire Three Xiao Isles began to shake violently.
"What's going on? Didn't the tribulation end already?" Qiong Xiao's expression changed.
"It's not the tribulation. Someone's attacking the Innate Great Array protecting the Three Immortal Isles." Yun Xiao turned her gaze from Lei Xiao toward the outside of the island, her expression grave.
"Why are they attacking the Innate Great Array?" Bi Xiao asked in confusion.
Watching Bi Xiao look like a curious little child, Lei Xiao shook his head slightly and explained, "They probably learned there was an Innate Great Array here when we went through our tribulations and transformed. Innate Great Arrays are usually created to protect Innate Spiritual Treasures. They must think there's one on the Three Immortal Isles, so they're attacking the array."
"Someone wants to steal our treasure?"
Bi Xiao's eyes widened. Her cheeks puffed up. "But we don't have any Innate Spiritual Treasures!"
Before she had even finished speaking, a thunderous boom came from beyond the island.
The entire Three Immortal Isles shuddered violently. A crack appeared in the glowing barrier of the Innate Great Array surrounding the islands. Through it, a sea of dark figures could be seen standing over the East Sea.
Three of them stood at the front, each radiating a powerful aura.
The one in the middle wore dark-scaled armor. He was broad-backed and burly, with a pair of coral-like horns atop his head. Bloodlust roiled around him like ink.
Two figures stood to either side. One wore a green robe, had a sinister face, and held a black banner. The other was gaunt, with sunken eyes. His hands were hidden in his sleeves, though cold light glimmered faintly within.
The horned brute looked through the crack in the array at the four on the island. His voice boomed like thunder, sending waves rolling across the sea. "Hand over the Innate Spiritual Treasure on the island, and I'll spare your lives! Otherwise..."
A huge black hammer appeared in his hand, and he swung it down.
"Boom—!"
The earth-shaking impact made the barrier of the Innate Great Array outside the Three Immortal Isles shudder violently. The pale golden light was instantly driven inward, and countless cracks spread wildly across it like a spiderweb.
"Oh, no—"
The Three Xiao immediately joined forces. Their magic power surged into the core of the Innate Great Array. The unsteady golden barrier suddenly blazed with light, countless intricate runes flowing across its surface as they forcibly halted the spreading cracks.
The horned brute's hammer strike was completely neutralized by the seemingly flimsy barrier, leaving only ripples that spread across the sea.
"Hm?"
A flicker of surprise crossed the horned brute's eyes, then gave way to even greater greed. "You've only just transformed, yet you're already early-stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortals. Your innate origins must be powerful. If I devour the innate origins of all three of you, my cultivation is sure to advance further.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, stop holding back. Attack together and break this turtle shell!"
"Understood!"
The man in green and the gaunt elder answered in unison. Three powerful auras erupted at once, pressing down on the Three Immortal Isles like three enormous mountains.
The man in green tossed his black banner into the air. In an instant, the wind howled with eerie force, and countless black threads surged from the banner, winding around the barrier of the Innate Great Array like venomous snakes.
Every thread made a harsh sizzling sound as soon as it touched the barrier. They were actually corroding the array's innate runes.
The gaunt elder stopped holding back as well. He thrust out the hands hidden in his sleeves—but they weren't hands at all. They were two translucent bone blades, their edges gleaming with a ghostly blue light. He brought one down, and the cold gathered into a solid blade of ice. His attack alternated with the horned brute's hammer, striking the same point on the array.
The Three Immortal Isles shook violently. Rocks tumbled down the mountains, and spiritual springs flowed backward.
Yun Xiao and her sisters paled, but remained firmly at the array's heart, pouring their magic power into it without pause.
"They've only just come through their tribulation and haven't recovered yet. If this goes on, they're bound to lose."
Lei Xiao's gaze swept over the Three Xiao, his brows tightly furrowed.
From their conversation, it was clear that none of the three outsiders were good people. Once they broke through the Innate Great Array, they would certainly dispose of a little nobody like him without a second thought.
"It seems I have no choice but to use the Purple Firmament Origin Divine Thunder inside me. I'll suffer a backlash, but there's no other way." A resolute glint flashed in Lei Xiao's eyes.
As the thought crossed his mind, the thunder mark between Lei Xiao's brows seemed to come alive. It rose and fell as if breathing, each pulse drawing on the sleeping mass of Purple Firmament Origin Divine Thunder within him.
The process was even slower and more difficult than Lei Xiao had imagined.
Time passed second by second. In the blink of an eye, fifteen minutes had gone by.
Outside.
"Big Brother, this Innate Great Array is too powerful. We won't be able to break through it anytime soon. If this goes on, I'm afraid we'll attract other powerful figures," the gaunt elder said.
The horned brute's expression darkened. Though he was virtually the strongest within a radius of a million li with his late-stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, there were plenty of beings stronger than him beyond that range.
"Everyone, attack together! I refuse to believe this Innate Great Array has no weak point. Once we find it, focus all our attacks there," the horned brute ordered.
"Yes—"
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