Chapter 585

Chapter 585: One Unfortunate Soul Meets Another

Yinghuo Immortal Domain.

Above a vast marsh, Dugu Ming sat in lotus position. A gentle breeze rippled the water, reflecting his silhouette beneath the surface. An invisible force surged from within him, permeating the marsh. Before long, fish began floating lifelessly on the water.

Roar!

The marsh stirred violently as savage beasts roared. Inexplicably agitated, they stampeded in all directions. Yet, on their escape paths, even more powerful beasts suddenly emerged. Like big fish devouring small fry, they consumed the weaker creatures entirely.

Boom! Crash!

Approximately a quarter of an hour later, the clear sky for thousands of miles darkened as if stained by black ink. Waves of crimson thunderbolts crashed down, slaughtering numerous beasts. The marsh bubbled furiously, like boiling water.

For tens of thousands of miles in every direction, the land was consumed by the power of divine punishment. Not a blade of grass survived.

Sensing the fall of countless lives, Dugu Ming wore an expression that was neither smile nor frown, neither cry nor laugh. "Blasted Heavens!"

Though enveloped by the divine punishment, he himself remained unharmed.

He had grown stronger.

When Dugu Ming first entered the yang realm, he was only at the level of a Nine Tribulations Dao Lord. But now, mere months later, he had not only stepped into the Dao Sovereign Realm but had also attained the cultivation level of a Two Tribulations Dao Sovereign.

Precisely because of this progress, he could no longer control the source of divine punishment within him. This caused clouds of tribulation to spread outward, drawing divine punishment that descended upon all living beings.

"When will this cursed existence finally end???"

Dugu Ming roared at the sky, no longer suppressing the power of the source of divine punishment. He released his Great Dao World. Unlike others, Dugu Ming possessed only one Great Dao World.

This world was a wasteland of incessant calamities, never free from disaster.

Various Dao principles were constantly shredded and annihilated by the power of disaster and calamity, in an endless, vicious cycle.

He had mastered many Great Dao principles, yet the only power he could truly wield was that of disaster and calamity.

His very descent into the world was itself a catastrophe.

Crackle! Boom!

Endless bolts of Divine Thunder of punishment, like enraged dragons, hammered down. They tore Dugu Ming’s physical body apart, pierced through his Great Dao World, seeking to obliterate him completely.

However, the mass that was the source of divine punishment began to devour the scattered power of divine punishment like a whale gulping water. Dugu Ming’s Great Dao World restored itself, and his physical body reformed.

His aura grew stronger yet again.

Utterly defeated, Dugu Ming collapsed onto the water’s surface, sending countless droplets splashing upward.

Each water droplet seemed frozen in time, suspended mid-air.

Scenes of the past flashed through his mind.

From the moment of his birth, both his parents had passed away one after another.

Relatives closest to him either died, were maimed, or disappeared, leaving him utterly alone.

A hundred sects he encountered had proven as ephemeral as passing clouds.

Having cultivated all this way, how could Dugu Ming not know the truth?

He was fundamentally a calamity!

He had tried to take his own life, but never succeeded.

"I too wish to have friends, companions…" Dugu Ming murmured.

"Senior, is he that person?"

Suddenly.

A soft, somewhat childish voice spoke. Following the sound, Dugu Ming looked up to see a handsome youth and an elegant young maiden standing within the void right above him.

"Junior Dugu Ming pays respects to the Senior." Dugu Ming immediately stood up. The suspended water droplets fell into the pond, sending ripples radiating outward.

"You know me?" Ye Xu asked in surprise.

Dugu Ming nodded. "This junior once glimpsed the Senior from afar."

"The Senior’s unparalleled grace and brilliance, this junior has long committed to memory."

Ye Xu found these words quite pleasing.

"Dare I ask if the Senior came here… for this junior?" Dugu Ming inquired anxiously.

"To introduce you to a friend."

Ye Xu smiled lightly.

Whoosh!

He touched a finger to Xixi’s forehead. The sealed source of disaster instantly shed its shackles. As the seal lifted, it broke free like a savage beast unleashed.

Boom!

Almost instantly, the previously clear azure sky was once again split by lightning. Fearsome heavenly might swept across heaven and earth, roaring thunder like the fury of the heavens.

Xixi’s source of disaster, even while she was mortal, nearly doomed a Great Emperor. Now, having cultivated to the peak of the Three Yuan Proof, her source of disaster had grown continuously. Its power had increased by tens of thousands, if not millions, of times.

The most terrifying thing was…

Dugu Ming was also a jinx.

The auras of the two unlucky souls intertwined instantly the moment Ye Xu broke the seal, causing the power of the heavenly punishment to surge violently. It was super doubled.

Bang!

Dugu Ming’s source of divine punishment was also provoked. The two jinxes stared wide-eyed at each other.

"You’re the biggest jinx?"

"You’re the celestial calamity star too?"

Xixi and Dugu Ming spoke in unison.

Both were overjoyed.

Like recognizing like, they saw their own tears reflected in each other’s eyes.

BOOM!

The aura of the heavenly punishment instantly blanketed millions of miles. Crushing heavenly might tore through the void, completely shattering the cosmic rules of the Yinghuo Immortal Domain.

"Going to rain?"

"We better get home to take in the laundry, quick!"

In the Yinghuo Immortal Domain, every commoner and cultivator stared at the terrifying scene in the heavens, faces pale with fear.

"Have you all lost your minds?"

One cultivator yelled angrily, "This is heavenly punishment!"

He knelt down to beg, murmuring spells under his breath.

More people followed his example.

"What is happening?"

In the Canglan Immortal Domain, Mu Fanyin and Taotie gazed remotely at the horrific heavenly tribulation over Yinghuo Immortal Domain, their eyes narrowing. Taotie solemnly spoke, "I’ve never seen such a terrifying heavenly punishment before."

He had no doubt: even if he were at its center, survival would be nearly impossible.

"Master, we beg for your intervention," Taotie said.

Mu Fanyin glanced at him, her expression blank.

"Heavenly punishment?"

At that moment.

Within the Huangting Immortal Domain, two cultivators were equally stunned by the heavenly punishment spectacle. They looked exquisitely perfect, as if crafted by heaven, with extraordinary, ethereal demeanors.

"Haotian has sent no heavenly punishment to the world in recent years. What caused this sudden descent?" Shen You’s face showed confusion.

"We must consult the Ancestor,"

Shen Le replied.

"Shall we investigate?" Shen You suggested.

"No need."

Shen Le said, "Our duty is to reach Canglan Immortal Domain and uncover the secrets of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Even if every other living being perishes, we must accomplish our mission."

"They’re merely two celestial calamity stars; nothing to startle about."

A voice penetrated their Purple Palaces.

"You two head for Heaven’s Secret Pavilion first. I will join you shortly."

"Yes."

The pair flew toward the Canglan Immortal Domain.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A few breaths later.

The heavenly punishment’s power reached its zenith.

Instantly, Tribulation Thunders spanning tens of millions of miles fell relentlessly upon the vast Yinghuo Immortal Domain, shattering the void. Chaotic energy surged and fused with the thunders, amplifying the destruction.

It resembled the end of the world.

Countless souls despaired.

"This power can surely kill a Celestial Lord and threaten a Great Celestial Lord. But to menace a Dao Ancestor? Far from sufficient,"

Ye Xu thought.

If no one suppressed that source of disaster when these two ill-fated souls first met, it could annihilate an entire immortal domain at minimum.

One must know:

this was only because Xixi’s strength remained too weak.

Had she possessed the cultivation of a Two Tribulations Dao Sovereign, their combined source of disaster eruption would doom even a Great Celestial Lord.

"The source of disaster truly is invaluable."

Xixi’s source power would not pale beside Dugu Ming’s.

"How, then, did she end up in the lower realm?"

Ye Xu suddenly pondered a long-overlooked question.

He once assumed Xixi’s source of disaster was simply bad fortune within the Pangu universe.

After all, she hailed from the lower realm.

But witnessing her now, she rivaled Dugu Ming fully.

This proved her background was no simple matter.

Why did her body contain the source of disaster from the Hongmeng Dao Realm?

"Senior!"

Xixi and Dugu Ming snapped awake abruptly.

That cataclysmic display, like a world’s end, left them helpless.

They had no choice but to place their hopes onto Ye Xu.

"Stay calm."

Ye Xu’s gaze shifted; if he hesitated longer, the Yinghuo Immortal Domain would truly vanish.

Whoosh!

Ye Xu extended a hand and brushed the void softly, as if turning a page. The sky seemed to curl and flip at his gesture.

As he withdrew, every trace of Tribulation Thunder, scorching fire, thunderclouds, and chaos vanished from heaven and earth.

It was as if a fresh sky had taken its place.