The space was instantly torn apart by the pair of claws, creating a spatial rift that was over 10,000 feet in length.
A mountainous figure then emerged from within the rift, followed closely by two streaks of light.
The streaks of light faded to reveal a young daoist priest and a thin yellow-robed man, while the black Qi around the giant figure dissipated to reveal a dark-skinned giant with curved horns on his head and several rows of short bone spikes on his back.
His face was completely identical to that of a normal male human, but the fearsome aura he was giving off struck one with a sense of asphyxiation.
"I'm truly impressed that you were able to tear through space and allow us to enter this place so easily with your physical body alone, Fellow Daoist Immortal," the yellow-robed man said with a smile.
"Haha, it's all thanks to your Nine Illusion Fortune Door loosening the boundaries between realms. Otherwise, there's no way I would've been capable of this," the giant chuckled in response before quickly shrinking down to only around 20 feet tall.
"Hehe, while that's indeed true, it would still be impossible to enter this space had you not possessed the power to tear through boundaries between realms," the yellow-robed man chuckled.
"Alright, that's enough useless chit-chat; I didn't come here to listen to you two praise one another. Let's find the target and get this over with as soon as possible," the young daoist priest said with a cold look in his vertical pupils.
"There's no hurry, Fellow Daoist San Quan. Even once Qing Yuanzi's tribulation begins, it'll take him quite some time to transcend it, so we definitely have enough time to reach him," the yellow-robed man replied in an unhurried manner.
This trio was naturally none other than Huang Yuanzi, the Immortal Heavenly Lord, and Daoist San Quan, all of whom were renowned Grand Ascension Stage beings.
"It looks like you really have plotted a long time to target this Qing Yuanzi; you've even grasped the time and location for his tribulation transcendence," Daoist San Quan remarked.
"Of course. Qing Yuanzi isn't a member of our Chang Yuan Race. Instead, he possessed the body of a close relative of mine, and only then was he able to reach his current cultivation base. I owe that relative a huge favor, and I abandoned my original name for this one so I could constantly remind myself of what Qing Yuanzi did to spur me on in my quest for vengeance," Huang Yuanzi said in a cold voice.
"I didn't think that you would have such a serious vendetta against this Qing Yuanzi. Rest assured, I'll be sure to help you exact your revenge," said the Immortal Heavenly Lord.
"I don't care about your differences with Qing Yuanzi; I just want the reward you promised me. As for whether we'll actually be able to kill Qing Yuanzi, that'll be up to you," Daoist San Quan said in an indifferent voice.
Instead of being enraged to hear this, Huang Yuanzi replied in a confident manner, "Rest assured, Brother San Quan; I invited you to join us primarily for your mastery in the art of formations. With your expertise and my Nine Illusion Fortune Door, the restrictions set up by Qing Yuanzi may as well now exist."
Daoist San Quan's expression eased slightly, and he said, "I certainly hope so. I heard that Qing Yuanzi is also quite adept in the art of formations, and he must've set up some formidable formations in preparation for his tribulation transcendence."
"Haha, I have full confidence in you, Brother San Quan. Let's set off now; out of Qing Yuanzi and myself, only one can leave this space alive," Huang Yuanzi declared before flying away as a streak of light.
The Immortal Heavenly Lord and Daoist San Quan exchanged a glance before following along.
……
Above the platform in the valley, Qing Yuanzi was already hovering at an altitude of just over 100 feet in a seated position with his legs crossed.
There were several tens of azure flying swords flying through the air around him, and his eyes were tightly shut in an expressionless manner.
Down below, all of the surrounding flags were releasing layers of five-colored light, forming countless radiant runes that were hovering above the platform.
All of the formation treasures set up beneath the platform were also buzzing incessantly, while streaks of spiritual Qi were rising up before vanishing into thin air.
As for all of the statues around the platform, they were still maintaining their original poses, as if everything happening on the platform had nothing to do with them.
Meanwhile, Yuan Yao was standing at the foot of a formation flag, looking up at the sky with a nervous expression.
At this moment, red clouds had already filled the entire sky, and gusts of fierce black winds were sweeping through the air, causing the space in their wake to tremor slightly.
The red clouds had formed a dense watertight blanket, and were giving off a scorching aura.
Shortly thereafter, crimson light flashed within the clouds, and scorching balls of light began to take shape, then came falling out of the sky like a torrential storm.
At the same time, Qing Yuanzi opened his eyes, then raised an arm before sweeping a finger upward.
A streak of azure sword Qi that was over 10,000 feet in length immediately appeared, then transformed into an azure light barrier at his behest to encompass the entire platform.
The balls of dazzling red light struck the azure light barrier before instantly exploding, sending countless sparks in all directions, but none of it was able to infiltrate through the sword barrier.
However, these red balls of light were clearly only the beginning of the heavenly tribulation.
After a storm of tens of thousands of balls of light, a thunderclap rang out up above, and bolts of purplish-golden lightning appeared before also raining from above.
At the same time, the fierce black winds swept down from the heavens as well.
Before the wind had even fallen upon the sword barrier, it released countless semi-transparent wind blade, filling virtually the entire sky.
However, not only was Qing Yuanzi not alarmed to see this, he willingly rose to the challenge as scintillating azure light erupted from his body, and at the same time, he pointed his fingers upward in rapid succession.
All of a sudden, all of the azure light within the sword barrier converged to reform a streak of sword Qi that was over 10,000 feet in length, which then transformed into a massive azure wyrm.
The wyrm danced through the sky in a ferocious display, releasing streaks of sword Qi that kept all of the purple lightning and wind blades at bay.
Yuan Yao was naturally ecstatic to see this.
Right at this moment, bright red light appeared up above, and all of the red clouds dissipated to reveal a river of lava.
In the next instant, the river of lava reared up before plunging down from the heavens, igniting the entire sky.
Yuan Yao's smile immediately stiffened upon seeing this, but Qing Yuanzi remained unfazed as he made a hand seal, upon which the runes that had surged out of the formation flags rose up into the air at his behest before forming a five-colored rune formation.
Tens of thousands of translucent five-colored threads then shot forth out of the formation, piercing through the descending waterfall of lava and completely eradicating it.
At the same time, Qing Yuanzi laid a hand onto the top of his own head, upon which a miniature azure figure emerged, then rubbed its hands together before raising them to release countless streaks of azure sword Qi, each of which was more powerful than the preceding one.
Qing Yuanzi knew that the heavenly tribulation was only just beginning to display its fearsome might.
……
10 days later, the entire sky within a radius of thousands of kilometers around the valley was enshrouded in a dense blanket of dark clouds, and occasional flashes of five-colored light would appear alongside rumbling booms.
It was clear that the heavenly tribulation had reached its most fearsome point.
Atop a small mountain thousands of kilometers away stood three humanoid figures on the branches of a massive tree, appraising the valley from afar.
These three were none other than Huang Yuanzi, Daoist San Quan, and the Immortal Heavenly Lord, and they had arrived two days ago.
They were currently awaiting a good opportunity to strike, and the Immortal Heavenly Lord mused, "I didn't think that this Qing Yuanzi's major heavenly tribulation would be this fearsome; I don't think I would've even lasted this long had I been in his shoes."
"Indeed, even I would most likely fail to transcend this tribulation. Looks like this Qing Yuanzi's resounding reputation is certainly well deserved," Daoist San Quan agreed with a grim expression."So what if Qing Yuanzi's powers are far superior to the three of us individually? He may not even be able to transcend this tribulation, and even if he does, he'll definitely be severely weakened, and there's no way he'll be able to survive against the three of us," Huang Yuanzi chuckled coldly.
The Immortal Heavenly Lord nodded in agreement. "That's true. No matter how powerful he is, his days are numbered."
"It looks like this heavenly tribulation will last at least five or six more days; shouldn't we begin preparing to remove these restrictions around the valley? Otherwise, there's a very good chance that Qing Yuanzi will go into hiding as soon as his tribulation concludes," Daoist San Quan said in a cold voice.
"You're right, it's about time we made a move. In Qing Yuanzi's current state, he won't be able to do anything even if he notices that we're removing his restrictions; the most he can do is deploy some backup measures he may have set up in advance," Huang Yuanzi said.
"Backup measures? Haha, let's see what he's prepared. The more resources he uses up now, the easier it'll be for us to land the final blow on him," the Immortal Heavenly Lord chuckled.
