Chapter 1
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Chapter 1: Title
"Boom!"
Dark clouds loomed over the rolling green mountains. Thick layers of clouds unleashed rapid heavenly lightning bolts, their violet-black flashes lighting up half the sky above Qinghu Region.
One strike…
Two strikes…
Three strikes…
…
Eighty strikes!
For three days and nights, eighty heavenly lightning bolts rained down. Disciples from major sects across the Nine Realms kept watch by the barrier.
The strike zone held the richest spiritual energy in the Nine Realms. Lingyang Jun’s Purple Mansion Secret Realm currently occupied this area, where all promising cultivators underwent trials. The thunder tribulation’s power engulfed Qinghu Region, visible across a thousand miles as this Tribulation of Becoming an Immortal.
After eighty heavenly strikes, one final bolt could produce the Nine Realms’ first ascension to immortality in nearly a thousand years.
The cultivator’s sect affiliation mattered greatly. Survival after undergoing tribulation wouldn’t just reshuffle the Heavenly Secrets List – it could redefine the hierarchy among all leading sects.
Having an immortal ascendant would cement any sect’s position as the foremost in the Nine Realms.
But after the eightieth strike, the skies abruptly cleared. Two days passed without the final lightning bolt.
Yet the barrier held firm and the thunder tribulation lingered.
Neither lightning nor survivors emerged.
When patience wore thin, a swordswoman moved to charge forward.
A white-haired woman raised an arm to block her path.
The intercepted cultivator gripped her Long Sword, her blue-white robes bearing faint Six-petal flower emblems. Azure cuffs wrapped her wrists. This marked her as Sanqing Realm, as did the mass of disciples behind the white-haired woman.
“Master! Junior Sister’s still inside!” cried Ye Xiao – second disciple of Sanqing Realm’s Leader Fu Qing.
Fu Qing’s hands clenched within her billowing sleeves. “Wait.”
Half an incense stick’s time later, shouts erupted through the crowd:
“Someone’s coming out!”
“The barrier’s broken!”
The voices crescendoed despite the missing eighty-first strike. The shattered barrier meant failed tribulation.
As the hazy barrier dissolved, charred air burst forth with explosive spiritual energy. The energy spread in crushing waves, instantly killing weaker cultivators.
Fu Qing swiftly erected a protective barrier, shielding most Sanqing Realm disciples.
Ongoing energy waves brought widespread screams. Major sect elders shielded their disciples while high-level rogue cultivators fled. Those too slow disintegrated into dust mid-reaction.
When the energy finally subsided, a figure staggered from Qinghu Region. Tattered rags barely covered flesh melted beyond recognition.
Every gaze locked onto the ruined form.
“Who… who is that?” someone whispered.
No one around moved. The person who had emerged was unrecognizable, their spiritual power as weak as roadside weeds. No sect dared to claim them.
“Master…” Ye Xiao turned to Fu Qing, her expression conflicted. She waited for an answer.
Sorrow flashed in Fu Qing’s eyes as she sighed, lips trembling.
“It couldn’t be avoided after all…”
“Whoosh—”
A sword cry pierced through the air. The sword intent surrounding a long sword in the sky rapidly dispersed. Just half a month ago, this sword had shone brilliantly with its owner at the Immortal Sect Competition. Now it appeared dull as scrap metal, its edge entirely gone.
The unrecognizable figure had long collapsed unconscious, the discarded sword lying in mud beside its owner. Both were stained with filth.
Someone recognized them and shouted—
“The Heartless Sword! That’s Xia Wuwei!”
————
Four Hundred Years later, Realm of Canghai.
“What happened next?!” A jade-crowned youth in embroidered robes leaned toward the tea stall’s storyteller.
He’d heard the tale of Half-step Sword Immortal Xia Wuwei countless times, yet always lingered to ask questions whenever it was retold.
“Xia Wuwei’s tribulation killed nearly a thousand cultivators and unleashed the being from the Endless Sea in the Thirteen Ghost Domains. She’s been hiding in Sanqing Realm for four centuries – what ‘next’ could remain? Eighty heavenly lightning strikes would’ve left even a survivor crippled,” a passerby sneered.
The youth glared indignantly, but swallowed his retort upon seeing the golden crane patterns on the speaker’s dark red robes and the spear in her hand.
The blood-red garments marked her as from Liujin Pavilion. The spear could only be Soaring Dragon, seventh among divine artifacts – this was clearly the Pavilion’s young lady Lu Ciyou.
Not yet twenty, Lu Ciyou had reached mid Golden Core cultivation, surpassing all peers. Since Xia Wuwei’s thunder tribulation had killed her brother, she tolerated no praise for the swordswoman.
The youth silently edged closer to his senior brother, clutching the latter’s sleeve.
Lu Ciyou snorted. Her gaze settled on a corner table where a lone figure sat with their back turned.
She strode over, spear vanishing as she swept her robes to sit. “Fellow Immortal, may I join you?”
The figure nodded silently, shifting away.
Lu Ciyou brushed dust from her clothes. She’d grown accustomed to such fear.
Lingyang Jun’s Purple Mansion Secret Realm opened every century, rumored this time to contain millennium-old Hanyu Stone – supreme material for crafting artifacts.
Though the realm hadn’t yet manifested deep in Canghai’s forests, disciples from major sects and opportunistic rogue cultivators already gathered nearby.
Bored by the wait, Lu Ciyou studied her neighbor. The black-robed figure showed only a pale, pointed chin – likely female, but cultivators often blurred such distinctions. The Hehuan Sect’s male disciples famously rivaled women in beauty, aided by appearance-enhancing pills.
“Fellow Immortal, your name?”
“Xia Shi.”
Xia.
Lu Ciyou’s expression darkened. That cursed surname always reminded her of Xia Wuwei.
Lu Ciyou narrowed her eyes at the long bundle beside the woman. That had to be a sword. Among the Nine Realms, most sword cultivators came from either Sanqing Realm or Taiyi Sect.
"Fellow Immortal Xia, which sect trained you?"
The Taiyi Sect she could tolerate. But if this person came from Sanqing Realm… Lu Ciyou swore she’d beat her up once they entered the secret realm.
The woman hesitated before answering. "…Rogue cultivator."
Lu Ciyou hummed, not bothering to hide her disappointment.
The tea shack suddenly buzzed with energy moments later. Dozens of cultivators stood to watch green-robed figures approach. Their flowing outer garments fluttered like banners, revealing glimpses of Six-petal flower insignias on belted sleeves.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Typical big sect behavior."
"Sanqing Realm’s here? Lingyang Secret Realm will be interesting this year."
"Who’s leading them? Never seen her before. Since when does Sanqing let juniors lead expeditions?"
"That’s Yan Li! Sect Leader Ye Xiao’s disciple – the Heavenly Spirit Body prodigy."
"Another Heavenly Spirit? That sect never lacks talent."
Lu Ciyou snorted loud enough to silence nearby voices.
Not that she blamed the gossipers. Her own Heavenly Spirit Body outshone Yan Li’s by leagues.
Conversations died as cultivators remembered whose territory they occupied.
Yan Li moved with the calm of someone nearing Golden Core breakthrough. Her group settled near Lu Ciyou’s table, drawing curious stares. Observers held their breath – Sanqing’s star disciple sitting across from Liujin Pavilion’s heir? This wouldn’t end well.
Everyone knew the two factions hated each other. The young lady particularly enjoyed beating up Sanqing cultivators on sight.
Lu Ciyou’s eye twitched as her fingers whitened around Soaring Dragon’s shaft. "Scram," she said through a joyless smile.
Sparks danced in the noble’s glare, her spear tip drifting upward.
Yan Li calmly studied the black-clad figure beside the furious noble. Under that unrelenting gaze, Xia Shi abruptly stood and vanished into the woods.
"See?" Lu Ciyou leaned on her weapon with a humorless chuckle. "You’re unbearable."
The Sanqing disciple finally looked away. Her master’s warning echoed clearly – don’t indulge the pampered noble’s tantrums.
"You igno—"
"THE REALM OPENS!"
A jade arch materialized above them, cultivators already streaming through its shimmering surface. Lu Ciyou sprang up, spear gleaming. "Stay out of my way in there."
Yan Li’s group followed wordlessly.
They all entered through the same gate but emerged in random locations – fate’s dice determining who’d cross paths.
Xia Shi trudged through the soft fallen leaves beneath ancient trees towering into the endless sky, distant beastly roars echoing around her. Her luck was terrible.
She vaulted onto a high branch and peered down. Two adult Black Gold Bears covered in sealing runes raged below, their massive paws clawing deep trenches in the earth. The treasure they guarded had already been stolen.
As Xia Shi turned to leave, movement caught her eye – a black-red figure ambling toward the bears. The enraged creatures sniffed violently, seeking the thief’s trail.
After brief hesitation, Xia Shi darted through the trees. Just as the bears detected Lu Ciyou’s scent, she yanked the girl into nearby bushes.
"Who—" Lu Ciyou’s protest died against Xia Shi’s palm. The rogue cultivator pressed a finger to her lips, gesturing toward the searching bears. Recognizing the tea stall stranger, Lu Ciyou slapped the hand away angrily.
A stone clattered against their hiding place. The bears whirled, charging with terrifying speed. Xia Shi glimpsed two figures in the grass before grabbing Lu Ciyou. They fled through the canopy as the noblewoman shouted, "Why run? Let’s kill them!"
Xia Shi kept running. Lu Ciyou spun back defiantly, silver spear gleaming. The Liujin Pavilion’s young lady wouldn’t be humiliated by low-tier beasts! Her Soaring Dragon spear quivered eagerly.
Moments later –
Xia Shi scooped up the unconscious noblewoman and ducked into a cave. As blood-scented bears charged, she sealed the entrance with swirling Tai Chi patterns, containing all traces.
When the frustrated beasts finally left, Xia Shi placed a vitality pill by Lu Ciyou and slipped away. The Hanyu Stone awaited.
