Thousands upon thousands of thunderclouds converged on a single spot. Needless to say, that was where the person ascending to Sainthood was.
In just the time it took an incense stick to burn, countless cultivators followed the trail of thunderclouds toward the center.
Clearly, everyone was curious to know which faction the person about to ascend to Sainthood belonged to.
Apart from the top few factions on the Eastern Wasteland Faction Rankings, which usually showed a dragon's head but never its tail, almost all the other factions had arrived and long since claimed their places.
"Those are people from the Night Moon Palace over there, right?"
"That's right. With so many beauties, you can tell at a glance they're from the Night Moon Palace..."
"They actually brought this many people? There must be over a dozen elders in the Radiant Body Realm alone! No wonder the Night Moon Palace ranks fourth on the Eastern Wasteland Faction Rankings. Their strength really can't be underestimated."
"Who's that old woman at the very front? I don't recognize her at all. I don't think I've ever seen her!"
"You're not a disciple of the Night Moon Palace. Of course you haven't seen her!"
"Enough. Judging by where she's standing, though, she must at least be an ancestor-level figure."
"Those people over there seem to be from Qingyan Mountain Manor!"
"Even the master of Qingyan Mountain Manor came in person."
"With such a grand turnout, could the Tribulation Transcendence be from the Night Moon Palace or Qingyan Mountain Manor?"
Although Sainthood had nothing to do with most cultivators, they still discussed it with great enthusiasm. The various factions competed covertly as well, vying for viewing spots.
"Wait, we've been here a while, haven't we? Why haven't we seen the Tribulation Transcendence yet?" Only after a long while did a cultivator suddenly raise the question.
"..."
Looking up again at the thunderclouds in the sky, they could see that the lightning coiling around them had grown considerably thicker.
Yet the area at the very center beneath that lightning was indeed empty.
The cultivators all grew anxious at once. Ultimately, they had come to watch the spectacle. Although watching the various sects fight and compete was entertaining, the most interesting part was still the ascent to Sainthood!
But the question was, after waiting so long, just who was ascending to Sainthood?
Everyone discussed it, but no one discovered anything. Quite a few powerful cultivators had already swept the surrounding area with their divine sense earlier, without finding anything.
The Falling Cloud Sect had likewise claimed a spot, but compared with the grand turnout of the Night Moon Palace and Qingyan Mountain Manor, they had only brought a few elders and disciples, looking rather shabby indeed.
It was not that the Falling Cloud Sect had no interest in this great upheaval in the Eastern Wasteland. The main reason was that the elders within the sect were either in secluded cultivation or cultivating quietly, and it was inconvenient to disturb any of them.
Besides, with their strength, even without coming in person, they could still sweep this short distance with their divine sense. They could be said to know the affairs of the world without leaving home.
"What's going on with the Night Moon Palace and Qingyan Mountain Manor? Why have even their ancestors come out in person?" Someone from the Falling Cloud Sect soon noticed the anomaly.
As soon as Sect Master Qi Luoyun discovered this, he immediately sent someone to investigate. Within the time it took an incense stick to burn, an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect returned with a face full of worry.
"What's the situation?" Qi Luoyun asked urgently, his heart tightening at the elder's expression.
He knew something had gone wrong!
If there were nothing unusual going on, why would the Night Moon Palace and Qingyan Mountain Manor send out all their Radiant Body experts? Clearly, staying to guard their sects would have been the better choice for them.
"Sect Master, according to the information we just uncovered, three days ago, the ancestor of Qingyan Mountain Manor took the fifty-eighth-generation disciple Luo Qingxu to Hongmeng Mountain. After visiting the Hall Master of the Primordial Hall, Ancestor Qingyan left alone. Luo Qingxu, who had accompanied him, was nowhere to be seen."
"Even earlier, Cui Ranqing, the wife of the Night Moon Palace's master, took her biological daughter Yu Hongyan to Hongmeng Mountain. Likewise, after visiting the Hall Master of the Primordial Hall, Cui Ranqing left alone without taking her daughter!"
"Furthermore, the Night Moon Palace and Qingyan Mountain Manor are both purchasing forging materials at the Spirit Condensation Realm and above at high prices. Spirit Condensation Realm is the minimum. As for higher-grade materials, so long as someone can produce them, they'll buy them no matter the price."
"Buzz..." Qi Luoyun felt his body and mind reel, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
The unusual behavior of the Night Moon Palace and Qingyan Mountain Manor was far too obvious now. Combined with the information the grand elder had brought back, it was not hard to guess what lay behind it.
Presumably, the Night Moon Palace and Qingyan Mountain Manor had made some sort of deal with the Primordial Hall, and that deal definitely involved Sainthood!
Fury welled up in Qi Luoyun. Unable to control himself for a moment, he snapped at the elder, "What do you even do? Something this important, and you only realized it now!"
"If not for today's phenomena in heaven and earth, our Falling Cloud Sect would probably have been kept in the dark for the rest of our lives!"
"Do the disciples responsible for gathering intelligence all have a death wish?"
Yet the elder of the Falling Cloud Sect merely listened silently to Qi Luoyun's low roars, offering no argument. Honestly, even he himself was filled with bitter regret.
This time, the Falling Cloud Sect had learned the news far too late.
"To think the Primordial Hall even has opportunities to ascend to Sainthood." Qi Luoyun clenched his fists.
Once upon a time, the Falling Cloud Sect, the Night Moon Palace, and Qingyan Mountain Manor had been known collectively as the three great factions of the Eastern Wasteland. But after the Eastern Wasteland Faction Rankings were published, those three great factions were immediately separated.
Qingyan Mountain Manor had previously ranked sixth. Now, with the Supreme Sword Sect having met with trouble, it had risen to fifth. The Falling Cloud Sect, meanwhile, had previously ranked seventh and was now sixth.
The master of the Falling Cloud Sect had thought he was already snapping at the heels of the Night Moon Palace and Qingyan Mountain Manor. How could he have imagined that the people from those two sects would actually go straight to the Hall Master of the Primordial Hall!
And their Falling Cloud Sect had missed the opportunity to ascend to Sainthood just like that.
Qi Luoyun clenched his fists until they creaked, his veins throbbing incessantly. If he could, he would have stormed back to the sect right then and slaughtered every disciple responsible for gathering intelligence.
Yet looking up at the imposing thunderclouds filling the sky, Qi Luoyun knew it was too late for anything!
"Pfft..."
At this thought, Qi Luoyun could no longer hold back. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning as white as thin paper.
Just then, lightning descended, and vast thunderbolts plunged straight toward the mountain range at the center!
"Boom... boom... boom..."
Countless droning sounds rang out across the sky. Even the void was partially torn apart by this terrifying power, revealing a pitch-black hollow.
Countless cultivators looked up, their gazes filled with indescribable respect and envy.
The lightning tribulation one had to undergo to ascend to Sainthood!
It was the dream all cultivators pursued throughout their lives!
If they could endure the lightning tribulation, they could ascend to Sainthood and stand at a height beyond the reach of the cultivators of the entire Eastern Wasteland.
Now the Tribulation Transcendence should make a move!
Some cultivators even thought this excitedly. After all, the Tribulation Transcendence remained mysterious even now and had yet to show themselves.