Within the Azure Hidden Grotto-Heaven, ink-black darkness shrouded the land.
Xuan Cheng sat cross-legged within the formation atop the peak, his eyes tightly shut and his aura fluctuating.
His Inner Landscape Dream Realm was pushing outward inch by inch, trying to claim a place in the Present World. Secret delight stirred in his heart. Almost there. Just a little more, and I'll fully achieve Inner Scene Manifestation.
Just then-
BOOM!!!
A thunderclap exploded without warning.
A dazzling white light suddenly flared within the dark, fathomless Great Black Heaven, illuminating every detail of the mountain as clearly as daylight.
Xuan Cheng's eyes flew open. He stared blankly at the Violet-Gold Lightning already striking toward his face.
What the hell? Where did this lightning come from? I'm not undergoing a tribulation! Why is lightning striking me?!
Before he could finish the thought, the heavenly lightning fell.
BOOM!!!
The Violet-Gold Lightning burst apart, and an endless sea of lightning instantly engulfed him. When its radiance subsided slightly, the once-unbroken mountain range had become a barren expanse.
A shimmer of hazy, illusory colors flashed across that barren ground, and Xuan Cheng abruptly stepped out of the Great Dream of the Mortal World. He raised his head, staring up at the thunderclouds in bewildered alarm.
An Armored Woman stood atop the clouds, a longsword hanging at her waist, her bearing bold and imposing. She stared at him with undisguised disgust, as though looking at something filthy. "You demonic scoundrel, what are you skulking around here for? Are you plotting some conspiracy?"
Xuan Cheng froze.
That tone? She's one of those lunatics from the Heaven's Will Sect!
Before he could speak, the woman raised her hand, sending a bolt of lightning crashing straight at his head.
Xuan Cheng's expression darkened. He flashed aside to evade the