Immortal Divine Tribulation

Chapter 208: The Heaven-Guarding Clan

A total of one hundred and eight individuals, this was not a group of ordinary practitioners, nor were they the cabbages and radishes sold by the roadside. These were one hundred and eight powerful beings from the Primordial Unity Realm, figures capable of looking down upon the entire world; their combined strength could move any superpower to act. Yet now, this group of martial arts masters had been annihilated by a mere small cultivator at the initial stage of Primordial Unity, who managed to slay ninety-nine of them. 

In Hell Valley, shattered bones and corpses lay strewn about, blood flowed like water all over the ground, and a heavy stench filled the air.

In the distance, Zi Ying found it hard to look on; after all, she was still too kind-hearted. If it had been her in that situation, she definitely would not have resorted to killing. 

As she often said, throughout her life she had never harmed even an ant. Thus when she met her demise back then, Tian Fan’s rage was enough to scorch across all heavens—such an innocent and kind girl being harmed was something that heaven itself could hardly tolerate.

At this moment, Tian Fan’s body swayed as he slowly rose from the ground. Relying on his physique comparable to that of a deity and his cultivation at the initial stage of Primordial Unity against one hundred and eight opponents at his level—or even those stronger than him—he had destroyed ninety-nine among them. Perhaps only he possessed such strength under heaven.

“The sky is darkening; my time is limited! You all come at me together!” Tian Fan spoke with indifference as he gazed at the nine remaining foes before him. He stepped forward unsteadily but with an overwhelming aura that commanded respect; it made all nine take a step back in fear as they stared at this man who seemed like a demon.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you want to kill me? Why aren’t you making your move?” His words were calm yet sounded like calls from vengeful spirits in their ears—a tone steeped in death.

“Since you won’t attack first, then I shall!” 

A blazing golden light pierced through the clouds. Although he currently had less than twenty percent of his divine power left, he remained formidable nonetheless. With each step on his divine cloud stride leaving behind a phantom image in place, he drew forth his Yin-Yang Sword with a ringing sound; its terrifying cry shook one’s very soul.

Puff…

His speed was akin to lightning as he thrust the Yin-Yang Sword into the chest of one person before him; cries echoed out as they failed to react in time due to how close they were—the sword penetrated cleanly through and obliterated their heart’s pulse.

The remaining eight retreated explosively with horror plastered across their faces; some even trembled in their calves. 

Another one fell! Another initial-stage Primordial Unity cultivator lay dead! 

They never imagined that they would find themselves so close to death despite their lofty status.

Boom! 

A terrifying wave of divine power surged forth as all eight moved simultaneously with fierce expressions on their faces; their immense might caused even the heavens above them to tremble. 

Observing this scene made Tian Fan’s expression grow grave; his right hand trembled slightly as he raised his Yin-Yang Sword forward—the blade tip glimmering coldly—pointing directly at those last eight foes.

However, in the next moment, shock froze on his face as he witnessed those eight experts from Primordial Unity glowing brightly before unexpectedly… turning tail and fleeing faster than rabbits—transforming into eight streaks of lightning darting away into the distance!

Behind them, Zi Ying gasped with wide eyes filled with disbelief; even her little companion perched upon her shoulder stared back with round sparkling eyes. 

Who could have imagined such a scene? The esteemed Eight Great Masters from Primordial Unity included three peak existences among them—and yet here they were fleeing! If word spread across Divine Martial Continent about this event, jaws would surely drop everywhere!

“Ahem…” Tian Fan coughed up blood—though he’d wiped out more than half these masters during battle—the price paid had been unimaginable. At this moment he relied solely on willpower to hold up his body; now that his taut nerves relaxed just slightly—even someone with his physique struggled under these circumstances—as he toppled backward straight onto the ground.

“Little Tian Tian!”

Zi Ying exclaimed, instantly appearing in the center of the battlefield to support Tian Fan, watching as his pure white clothing was stained blood red and blood continued to flow from his mouth. Feeling a pang in her heart, tears welled up in her large eyes. 

“Don’t cry, Zi Ying! If those old men from your family find out, they’ll skin me alive!” At that moment, Tian Fan truly lacked any strength; he felt his eyelids trembling slightly and his face was pale beyond measure. He weakly spoke these words, which immediately made Zi Ying laugh despite herself as she scolded him playfully, “What time is it? You’re still joking around!” 

“I’ll heal you.” A faint purple light emanated from Zi Ying and surged towards Tian Fan. It must be said that she possessed an astonishing innate talent for cultivation; although she had only recently entered the Returning Immortal realm, her power was already formidable enough to instill fear. 

At this moment, the purple divine energy flowed into Tian Fan’s body like a warm current spreading throughout him. He suddenly experienced a strange illusion that Zi Ying seemed on the verge of advancing to mid-stage Returning Immortal; he couldn’t help but shiver at such an overwhelming potential that could look down upon all realms.

The purple divine radiance coursed through Tian Fan’s body before giving way to a faint green glow as the strongest Wood Spirit Power awakened within him like spring rain nourishing the earth. His injuries rapidly healed, improving significantly in just moments. 

“This guy never helps me during battles!” Tian Fan murmured. Within the Five Spirit Orb, it seemed that the Wood Spirit Orb had developed an independent consciousness capable of discerning external matters; previously it had transformed into a small tree without being noticed by anyone. Had he not kindly rescued that little squirrel back then, he might still be searching endlessly for it.

“Alright!” After half an hour passed, Tian Fan stood up; his injuries were completely healed and nearly ninety percent of his divine power had returned. 

“Brother will give you some fruit!” Little Dragon said as it perched on Zi Ying’s shoulder and offered a crystal-clear red fruit. 

“Hehe, good boy! Keep it for yourself,” Tian Fan chuckled while patting its head. This was a Dragon Yang Fruit—a rare treasure that was hard to find anywhere in the world because it grew in extremely hot places; even experts within the Immortal Ascension Realm found it difficult to harvest one. This particular fruit had been given by someone from Immortal Island of No Return long ago and filled an entire spatial bag—considered mere snacks by two little divine beasts.

The two walked deeper inside where the air grew colder as if they were stepping into hell itself; dark red earthen walls surrounded them with damp ground beneath their feet emitting creaking sounds with every step they took. Upon reaching their destination within this deep place, both felt a sense of oppression they couldn’t quite articulate.

“What is this?” Suddenly startled, Tian Fan’s pupils dilated when he spotted an elderly corpse lying on the ground—pierced through the heart—with an expression of disbelief frozen on its face from a fatal sword strike. Even Zi Ying and Little Dragon gasped at this sight: this person was one of those eight who had fled earlier—at mid-stage Primordial Unity—but now lay here quietly as life slipped away.

As they moved forward again, they soon came across several more corpses—exactly eight in total—all belonging to those fleeing individuals who now lay dead here instead of escaping successfully. Amongst them were three peak Primordial Unity cultivators whose faces bore expressions of unwillingness and resentment; their eyes wide open yet lifeless.

“Their blood has all been drained…” Tian Fan remarked with deeply furrowed brows.

The two pressed onwards since neither time nor energy allowed them to ponder further details; at present underlining everything was only one thought for Tian Fan: rescuing Long Yuyun and leaving this place behind due to an instinctual unease creeping over him since entering here.

“Hehe! You finally arrived without disappointing me!”

A sinister laugh echoed in the sky, and ahead appeared a figure clad in golden robes—the Divine Son of the Sword Immortal Sect. However, his aura was unstable; at times it surpassed the Primordial Unity Realm, while at others it barely reached the peak of Yun Tian. In his grip was a man dressed in white—Long Yuyun.

“Brother, hurry and leave! They have a plot!” Long Yuyun cried out frantically, urging Tian Fan to escape and not to worry about him.

“It’s alright, brother. No matter what happens, I will get you out. We are brothers!” Seeing his anxious expression, Tian Fan replied with a smile before fixing his gaze on the Divine Son of the Sword Immortal Sect and said: “I have come; let him go!”

“Sure, here you go!” Unexpectedly, the figure in black directly tossed Long Yuyun away. Even Zi Ying was somewhat surprised by this turn of events. But then he revealed a sinister smile as a pitch-black magic staff appeared in his hand.

“Poof…” Observing this action made Tian Fan’s expression change instantly. He executed the Divine Cloud Step and appeared mid-air in an instant to pull Long Yuyun behind him just as a streak of dark light shot forth, piercing through his shoulder.

“Brother…” Little Dragon exclaimed. No one knew better than it how powerful Tian Fan’s physique was; yet now he had been pierced by an inconspicuous pitch-black magic staff.

“Brother, are you alright?” Once freed from his restraints, Long Yuyun shouted immediately upon seeing that black staff protruding from Tian Fan’s body; he trembled slightly.

“Don’t worry; I’m fine!” Tian Fan smiled at him and with a ‘poof’ pulled out the magic staff lodged in his shoulder along with a spray of blood. The material of that black staff was unknown—it felt heavy to hold and lacked any special aura—but it easily penetrated his god-like flesh, startling him greatly. It was the first time since entering the Primordial Unity Realm that he had suffered physical harm.

“Let’s go! Quick!” Long Yuyun urged anxiously as he grabbed Tian Fan trying to flee outward; several people around them showed puzzled expressions not understanding why he was so desperate.

“Since you’re here already, can you still leave?” A cold voice emerged from ahead causing even space itself to tremble momentarily. 

A blue figure appeared enveloped entirely in blue light; even Zi Ying’s Heavenly Eye could not penetrate it.

Upon this person’s arrival, Tian Fan’s eyes widened instantly—this aura was too familiar to him; it resembled that which lingered beneath the Dark Abyss and within the underground palace of Dragon Teng Dynasty. Golden light flickered in his eyes for reasons unknown—he felt an innate hostility towards this kind of aura.

Seeing this person appear caused an indescribable unease to surface in Long Yuyun’s eyes while Zi Ying stood tense as if facing a formidable enemy; her little dragon growled lowly above their heads sensing some threat approaching them.

“Who are you?!” Tian Fan demanded while locking onto this figure with golden divine light clashing against dark demonic radiance flashing within his gaze. He felt intense unease—this individual was undeniably terrifying far beyond anything associated with Primordial Unity Realm.

“The passage of time is extensive; it seems those from your world have forgotten!” As if recalling something important, his tone suddenly turned cold and arrogant as two orbs brighter than suns emitted piercing light through endless time and space—a horrific aura emanated from him like no other.

“I am one from the Heaven-Guarding Clan!” As if responding to this presence above them came a thunderous roar echoing across the heavens followed by red lightning striking down relentlessly shattering infinite voids wherein numerous spatial black holes began manifesting—this realm dimmed instantaneously.