Immortal Divine Tribulation

Chapter 180: The Gorge of Death

The porcelain bottles, bookshelves, wooden table—even the roof—were spotless, not a speck of dust in sight. 

He was a little surprised. He had been away for so long, so how could the place be this clean? Normally, no one would come here at all.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the small hut. 

Tian Fan frowned. How could anyone be coming here?

“Hurry up! They say the spiritual treasure is about to emerge. We must at least take a look from afar!”

“Hmph, that little prince is something else. That useless one has long been dead, yet he still has us cleaning every single day!” one of the women said disdainfully, full of complaint.

“Enough nonsense. Do it properly! The little prince checks the place every day.”

Though the two maidservants grumbled, they still carefully wiped every item in the room. Hidden in the shadows, Tian Fan was deeply moved. It turned out that in the entire dynasty, it was still that simple, sincere younger brother of his who truly acknowledged his existence.

The two women quickly finished tidying and left, closing the door behind them.

“Big brother, what’s this place?”

Little Dragon poked around the room curiously, while Little Phoenix kept staring at the painting of a white-robed woman, then at its own feathers. This time, the little fellow didn’t say it was pitiful anymore. Now, it truly felt a bit pitiful.

“This is my room. I lived here for twenty years,” Tian Fan said calmly. The two little ones were instantly stunned.

“Bad guy, this is your home? It’s huge!”

Little Phoenix cried out, flapping its wings and flying over. Earlier that day, the little one had flown high above, circling the entire Soaring Dragon Dynasty, nearly making itself dizzy.

“Come on, let’s go.” Tian Fan stored the wall painting into his spatial artifact, then led the two little ones out the door and far away.

Less than two days remained before the Earth Spirit Orb emerged, and the atmosphere in the Soaring Dragon Dynasty grew more tense by the day. Even ordinary maidservants could feel the indescribable pressure in the air.

Tian Fan found a temporary resting place in a nearby town. It was only a shabby thatched hut, but even that had taken considerable effort to secure. Too many people had flocked to the Eastern Region—every inn was overflowing.

It went without saying: these were all cultivators from the Five Great Regions, including not a few peak Cloud Heaven youths and even experts of the Primordial Unity Realm. The ordinary patrols of the Soaring Dragon Dynasty had been completely withdrawn, leaving the floodgates open. After all, no matter how strong the dynasty was, it couldn’t bar the whole world.

Two days passed in a flash. That night, blazing divine radiance rose from the Soaring Dragon Dynasty. Spiritual energy surged, strange phenomena abounded, and in the skies above, vast primordial lands manifested, teeming with prehistoric creatures long thought extinct.

Many powerful cultivators wore expressions of shock as they gazed at the crimson earth in the heavens. They felt the heavy breath of antiquity, as if they had returned to the ancient age.

“It’s time. Let’s go.”

Standing at the window, Tian Fan gazed at the divine radiance and celestial visions filling the skies. His voice was calm. In the next moment, his figure vanished from the hut.

By now, the Soaring Dragon Dynasty was already swarming with people. Cultivators from all five regions had gathered, forming alliances with their friendly forces, preparing to fight for the ancient divine treasure about to surface.

At the forefront yawned a pitch-black cave, three meters wide, from which dense spiritual energy surged forth, nearly congealed. Just inhaling it made one’s vitality soar.

Suddenly, a massive gray light pillar shot up from the depths, piercing the heavens. The energy waves it released swept in all directions, even blotting out the moon. A sacred aura engulfed the world.

Boom…

The ground began to quake violently, cracks splitting open everywhere. Residents of nearby towns fled in panic, thinking it was an earthquake.

“Activate the Guardian Array!”

From the summit of a grand palace came a resonant command. Long Aotian, clad in his Nine-Dragon Emperor Robes, stood with his hands behind his back, his sovereign might on full display.

A golden radiance spread outward from the Soaring Dragon Dynasty, swiftly covering the vast palace grounds. The buildings ceased trembling and gradually stabilized.

“The ancient treasure has appeared. Any cultivator may vie for it according to their ability. But if anyone dares act recklessly in my Soaring Dragon Dynasty or trespass forbidden grounds, don’t blame me, Long, for showing no mercy!”

Tian Fan stood quietly in the void, the breeze lifting his robes. He gazed toward Long Aotian. 

Just like before, his majesty was overwhelming, but now his aura was even stronger—he had already stepped into the Immortal Ascension Realm. Moreover, with the peerless technique Divine Dragon Scripture, he radiated an unmatched dominance, as though he alone reigned supreme over the world.

The gray light pillar dissipated, revealing the cave once more. Cracks spread outward, releasing torrents of spiritual energy. Many felt their pores open wide, some even beginning to cultivate on the spot.

“The ancient divine treasure has surfaced! Grab it!”

Someone shouted, and instantly the crowd surged, rushing toward the cave. Several figures moved especially fast, shining brilliantly—they were at the Cloud Heaven Realm.

A great wave of people poured inside. From above, Tian Fan watched silently, making no move. He knew well this was no blessed ground below.

None of the absolute top experts had gone in. The strongest were only at Cloud Heaven’s peak. Clearly, those in the Primordial Unity Realm and beyond were far too cunning. They knew the depths would be perilous, surely guarded at the very least by deadly formations.

“Ah!”

Sure enough, screams soon echoed up from below, chilling and unending. Hearing them made one’s scalp crawl. Many cultivators froze, horrified, and retreated hastily.

The shrieks continued, like vengeful spirits wailing. It was eerie beyond measure. Those who had been restless stopped, staring fearfully at the cave that still exuded holy radiance.

“Hahaha… Since none of you dare, then let me go first!”

A coarse voice roared as a burly giant strode forward, his face covered with thick beard. Wielding a massive spiked club, he stomped the ground with each step, shaking it as he charged straight in.

Gray mist swirled at the cave’s mouth, with faint spiritual energy drifting outward. The crowd held their breath, staring. But after a long time, no sound came from below. Murmurs of unease began to ripple through the masses.

“Go! Don’t let that brute hog the treasure alone!”

With a shout, another group of bold ones rushed forward, each summoning their treasures, leaping into the cave.

Expressionless, Tian Fan hovered above, watching closely. He knew the Earth Spirit Orb would never be so easily obtained. A heaven-and-earth divine object buried underground for ages—anything near it, even rotted wood, could have become a demon.

Indeed, cries of agony rose again. A jet-black radiance erupted from below, blasting a man back out, his body nearly pulped, leaving only a spiked club clattering beside his remains. A chilling aura poured from the cave.

“No!”

“Run! Ghosts! There are ghosts!”

Panic spread. More screams rang out from the depths. A few scrambled out, hair disheveled, their bodies smeared with black blood and torn flesh, faces twisted in terror as they fled. But before they could escape, a gigantic black hand shot out of the cave, seizing them and dragging them down.

Tian Fan frowned. He had always suspected the depths were dangerous, but he hadn’t expected such malevolent power. Its aura was identical to that of the vicious ghosts from before—exactly the same.

The crowd in the distance gaped, drenched in cold sweat. They could hardly believe their eyes. What had seemed at first a holy land now revealed a monstrous, deathly black hand stretching outward, seething with evil. That place was nothing less than a Gorge of Death.