Immortal Divine Tribulation

Chapter 210: The Way of Heaven Is Heartless

At this moment, space and time fell into chaos. 

Countless fragments of rock shot into the sky as the entire Hell Valley split apart, revealing streams of crimson magma flowing below.

The pitch-black mysterious gate hovered silently before Tian Fan. Ancient and unadorned, it emitted neither dazzling divine light nor overwhelming pressure—yet the two enemies facing it turned pale instantly.

It seemed like the only light in the world. Even if heaven and earth dimmed into darkness, it would never lose its color. An illusion rose in their minds: this ordinary-looking gate felt as though it bore billions of stars, like a sacred mountain that compelled one to kneel in worship.

Tian Fan was the most shocked of all. He keenly sensed the two ancient scripts within his body tremble briefly before falling silent again. He studied the gate carefully. 

It stood no more than seven feet tall, forged from some unknown material. Its surface was engraved with insects, fish, birds, beasts, and even imprints of primordial ancestors—vivid and lifelike.

“The Gate of Gods and Demons!”

The two opponents cried out in unison, faces drained of color, bodies shaking violently as if they had encountered the most terrifying thing imaginable.

“No—impossible. Our clan’s records say the Gate of Gods and Demons was shattered long ago. Its fragments fell into the vast starry cosmos and ceased to exist!” said the man shrouded in blue divine light.

“A replica. It’s not real!”

Both of them changed expressions and hurled a streak of dark light forward, piercing the sky. 

The black gate merely trembled slightly. All attacks vanished without a trace. Both men were blasted backward, blood pouring from their seven orifices, bodies riddled with cracks, bones exposed. At that moment, a swath of silvery light burst from the gate, sweeping up Tian Fan and the others. They vanished instantly.

“Damn it!”

Both roared in fury. After all their calculations, they had never anticipated this. The Heaven Sealing Divine Array, fueled by the blood of 111 Primordial Unity experts, should have annihilated them with ease. Yet beneath Hell Valley lay such a heaven-defying divine object—a replica of the Gate of Gods and Demons.

“This won’t do. I must inform our clan’s ancestral lord immediately!” the blue-shrouded man snarled before vanishing.

“Damn it!”

The Divine Son of the Sword Immortal Sect roared, his eyes flashing between blood-red and deathly black before he too disappeared.

Darkness surrounded them. Tian Fan cautiously extended his divine sense and was struck by searing pain in his head, cutting it off instantly. Feeling someone still in his grasp, he exhaled in relief. 

Zi Ying and Long Yuyun were still there—they hadn’t been separated. He carefully pulled them close.

“Where are we?” Zi Ying clutched Tian Fan’s clothes and asked softly.

“I don’t know. We seem to have been pulled into the Gate of Gods and Demons,” Tian Fan replied. Hearing those three words, the three of them—and the dragon—shuddered simultaneously. The name itself carried a strange, unsettling power.

“There’s light over there!”

A faint divine glow spread ahead. When they looked, they saw a hazy scene, as if drifting in a pitch-black starry void of eternal annihilation—no light, no air, nothing at all. A vast sea of chaos churned endlessly. Though it was only an imprinted divine image, it radiated power so terrifying that it made their scalps tingle.

“What is this…?”

Staring at that dark ocean, waves raging, they felt a chill run through their bodies. An absurd thought arose: even a single drop of water there could destroy an entire world.

The waves surged. There was no life, no death—this was a lost realm. Endless lightning tore through the heavens. Heaven and earth shattered again and again, then returned to form, repeating in an endless cycle. Watching it all, they felt as though billions of years had passed.

“There’s light again!”

Suddenly, within the infinite chaos, a faint glimmer appeared, like a flash of lightning. The world gradually calmed. After an unknown span of time, vitality began to emerge. Green spread across the land. Creatures appeared within the chaotic sea, swallowing clouds and spewing mist, shattering skies for tens of thousands of miles. The sight left them stunned—what kind of beings were these, born with such power?

“A gate—there’s a gate in the distance!”

Perched on Zi Ying’s shoulder, the little dragon cried out, pointing with a golden claw toward the depths. There, a dim, mysterious gate appeared, touching the ground below and the heavens above. Endless life force poured from it. The chaotic world slowly clarified. The air grew clean. The crushing pressure of the chaotic sea faded, and new life began to emerge on the land.

Yet this world was still incomparably desolate—far inferior to the present era. Only insects, fish, birds, and beasts existed, fighting brutally for survival. Later, primitive humans appeared—fragile beings unable to contend even with ordinary beasts. From the mysterious gate in the sky, three streams of divine light—gold, silver, and black—spilled forth and drifted into the deepest reaches of the cosmos.

“Cultivators have appeared!”

After an unknowably long time, they saw figures flying through the air above the barren land. Their appearances were indistinct. They scattered tens of thousands of rays of divine light across the world, then vanished without a trace.

Wooong!

Suddenly, the surrounding space trembled. In the vision, a heaven-covering hand descended. Everything vanished.

“What was that?” Long Yuyun’s teeth chattered. 

That giant hand filled them with indescribable dread. 

Tian Fan had never felt such fear—cold sweat soaked his body. Even the little dragon was trembling.

“The Way of Heaven is Heartless…”

Those four words echoed through the boundless void, ancient beyond measure, as if crossing billions of eras. When they caught them, it felt as though their souls were about to shatter.

Boom!

Darkness split apart. The spatial passage seemed to reach its end. 

A faint glow appeared ahead as a white tunnel of light formed. They were hurled out. The black gate floated in the sky behind them, slowly sinking before shrinking into a tiny black dot and vanishing from sight.

“Oh! We’re saved!” the little dragon cried excitedly.

Tian Fan, holding one person in each hand, let out a long breath. Everyone was safe. Only then did they have the presence of mind to examine their surroundings. One look was enough to leave them all frozen in terror, faces contorted in disbelief.

“What is this? Where have we come?” Long Yuyun asked, trembling, cold sweat streaming down his face.

“By the gods… we didn’t end up in the Dark Abyss, did we? Why is it so bright here?” The little dragon clung to Zi Ying’s hair, its golden claw gripping tightly.

“I’m scared,” Zi Ying said, hiding behind Tian Fan.

Ahead stretched an endless expanse of scattered bones—pure white like jade—forming a massive mountain of skeletons hundreds of miles wide. Pale mist drifted above it, heavy with sorrow and desolation. Standing here, they felt those emotions seep into their hearts, bringing tears to their eyes.

Tian Fan stood rooted in place, pupils dilated. Then he began walking forward step by step, as if possessed, unable to hear Zi Ying calling out to him.

“Why…?” He advanced slowly, murmuring to himself, his entire body shaking.

Wooong!

A faint golden divine light rose from his body. A cluster of golden radiance emerged, hovering above his head, moving in sync with his steps.

“That is—? Little Tian Tian, what’s wrong with you?” Zi Ying cried out in alarm when she saw the ancient divine script above his head.

At this moment, Tian Fan sensed nothing of the outside world. Even the manifestation of the ancient script escaped his awareness. His eyes held only the endless mountain of bones before him. His body trembled violently. He bit his lip hard, fists clenched, veins bulging.

“The Way of Heaven is Heartless! Why? Why is this happening?!”

Tian Fan roared. Veins bulged across his forehead. His face twisted in grief and fury as his black hair whipped wildly. He collapsed to his knees, facing the boundless bone mountain. A killing intent surged from him like a tidal wave, shattering the surrounding void. In that instant, he wanted to kill, to wail in agony, to destroy heaven and earth.

Woooong…

As if sensing him, a faint silver light appeared ahead, drifting out from the bone mountain. Countless streams of spiritual energy converged there. 

A white figure slowly materialized in the void.

“She’s so beautiful…” Zi Ying gasped. Even she felt utterly outshone.

It was a woman in white, seemingly in her early twenties. Words failed to describe her peerless beauty. “Toppling nations” sounded laughable; “shaming moon and flowers” felt vulgar. She seemed to dwell above the Nine Heavens, untouched by mortal dust.

Seeing her, sensing her aura, Tian Fan’s body shook violently. He bit his lip until it bled, crimson spilling freely. For reasons he couldn’t understand, an overwhelming grief surged within him—stronger even than when Zi Ying’s life had once hung by a thread.

“This is—!” Long Yuyun cried out. 

The little dragon’s eyes widened in shock. They realized this woman was identical to the one in the painting that once hung in Tian Fan’s room—only far more beautiful. With her appearance, even the world itself seemed to lose color.

“You… have grown up…” Her voice was incomparably gentle as she stood quietly before Tian Fan.

“Princess… Miss… wuu…”

A woman in white rushed down from the sky faster than light, tears streaming. She tried to embrace the figure—only to pass straight through her.

Seeing this, Tian Fan’s heart clenched violently. With his current cultivation, how could he not see it? The woman before him, the one who made his heart tremble, was nothing more than a soul projection.

“Little Fox… I never thought we’d meet again…” The woman spoke softly, her voice a mere transmission of intent, yet it sounded like the most beautiful melody in heaven and earth, tinged with sorrow.

“Wuu… Bai Hu missed you so much… a million years… Bai Hu has been so lonely…” The woman in white sobbed, staring at the faint soul, her beautiful face streaked with tears.

The soul projection glanced at her with concern, then turned back to Tian Fan. Though only a soul, the gentleness in her eyes felt capable of melting hearts.

The newly arrived woman in white seemed to understand something. She stepped back and stood silently to the side, tears still falling, looking at Tian Fan kneeling on the ground.

“Tian… Fan…”

The soul spoke his name. As she did, her form wavered violently, on the verge of dispersing. At that moment, the ancient divine script above Tian Fan’s head drifted forward, hovering above her, releasing threads of golden light. Her figure gradually stabilized.

“Father… thank you…”

The white soul raised her head slightly, then walked forward slowly, her eyes filled with boundless tenderness. 

Tian Fan stared at her. Each step she took made his heart pound violently. His tears burst free like a breached dam. His bitten lips bled freely. His fingernails dug deep into his palms, fresh blood flowing unceasingly.