Chapter 182: Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation

Once Wang Zhi and his granddaughter had departed, Wang Longyou and the other clansmen stepped out from the back room.

“That old man, Wang Zhi, has quite a few tricks up his sleeve,” Wang Longyou remarked, his gaze lingering on the door. “I met him once years ago at the Qingyuan Market. Back then, our branches were estranged, and we barely exchanged a word. These people have been rooted in the Qingyuan Sect for generations. Unable to borrow the Clan’s strength, their ties to us withered away.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “It’s a pitiful existence. They are the bottom feeders of the Sect, forever gazing up at a glass ceiling. I don’t know what promises the Sect made to get them this eager, but… well, blood is blood. If we can help them without burning ourselves, we should.”

Wang Hao nodded in agreement. “Wang Wuling has potential. Three Spiritual Roots is decent; if she were born in our main lineage, she would be a core cultivation target. Here, she’s just wasting her youth. Great-Uncle, I’ve been thinking… should we try to bring her back? Let her acknowledge the ancestors and formally rejoin the Clan.”

“The Qingyuan Sect would never agree to it,” Wang Longyou replied, his tone heavy with regret. It pained him to see good talent squandered. The vassal families sent their best to the Sect as tribute, and the children born from their intermarriages often possessed excellent aptitude. Yet, the Sect deliberately suppressed them. Unless a child possessed a heaven-defying Heaven Spiritual Root or Mutated Spiritual Root, they were left to rot.

As discussed before, the Sect feared internal factions. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator rose from these vassal lineages, the scattered families would rally around them. A clique would form. If that clique grew strong enough, it could threaten the Sect’s centralized power.

Wang Hao paced the room, his mind working through the geopolitical calculus. “That depends entirely on the outcome of this war. If True Monarch Du succeeds in condensing his Nascent Soul, we can’t ask for her—they’ll be too powerful. But a Nascent Soul Sect needs fresh blood to expand. Once their hegemony is secure, they might stop suppressing the vassal families out of fear and start integrating them.”

Wang Hao paused, his eyes narrowing. “But if True Monarch Du fails… the Qingyuan Sect will be crippled, even if they aren’t wiped out. At that point, they won’t have the leverage to refuse us.”

“Perhaps,” Wang Longyou murmured noncommittally. “But it’s too early to scheme about that. We’ve had a long journey. Everyone, rest up.”

Wang Hao smiled bitterly and shook his head. He knew his Great-Uncle was right; they were small fish in a violently churning ocean. They couldn’t influence the tides.

True Monarch Du—Du Guangchao.

Aside from the man himself, no one knew exactly when he would attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm or when his Tribulation Transcendence would begin.

The two other Golden Core Patriarchs of the Qingyuan Sect could only estimate the timing based on the fluctuating aura leaking from his secluded cultivation cave. Sensing the critical moment was near, they had issued the mobilization order to the vassal families.

To ensure Du Guangchao’s success, the Qingyuan Sect had emptied its treasury. They hired armies of Rogue Cultivators and bribed the vassal clans with heavy promises. It was an all-in gamble.

If Du Guangchao failed, the backlash would devastate the Sect. Even without an invasion from the Blazing Heaven Sect and the Infinite Palace, the Qingyuan Sect would be drained of vitality.

Tension suffocated the region. Qingyuan Sect disciples were recalled from the field, abandoning peripheral resource points to concentrate their forces at the main mountain and the market. The bustling Qingyuan Market grew silent and oppressive. Everyone knew the storm was coming.

Meanwhile, in the Broken Origin Mountain Range north of Qingyuan Mountain, six Golden Core cultivators from the enemy alliance lay in wait. They, too, were watching the sky, waiting for the first bolt of Tribulation Lightning.

Sha Dingshan’s plan was ruthless: attack exactly when the Tribulation began. This would not only disrupt Du Guangchao’s breakthrough but also shatter the morale of the defenders.

The invading force was lean and lethal. The Blazing Heaven Sect brought half their Foundation Establishment experts, while the Infinite Palace sent dozens. They brought zero Qi Refining disciples. In a clash of this magnitude, cannon fodder would only get in the way.

Sha Dingshan was ambitious, but not delusional. He coveted the Qingyuan Sect’s Grade 4 Spirit Mountain, but he knew that wiping out a thousand-year-old sect in a single stroke was unrealistic. His goal was to maim them. He would strip away their external territories, slaughter their vassals, and leave them trapped on their mountain. A Grade 4 mountain alone couldn’t support a sect’s entire population. Once the resources ran dry, he would grind them into dust over the coming decades.

Two months passed in a haze of anxiety. Rumors flew through the Qingyuan Market, each more hysterical than the last.

Yet, those who remained were steadfast. They were either mercenaries who had taken the coin or opportunists who had picked a side. In the cultivation world, standing with the weak was dangerous, but wavering in the middle was fatal. Once a choice was made, one had to see it through.

One afternoon, Wang Hao was meditating in his quarters when a terrifying Pressure descended from the heavens.

His eyes snapped open. He rushed out of the room, looking toward the peak.

Centered on the Qingyuan Sect’s main gate, the sky within a radius of hundreds of miles was convulsing.

A sudden gale tore through the stillness, screaming as it whipped up dust and debris. Above the mountain, clouds didn’t just gather—they collapsed inward, heavy and solid as lead, looking as though they would crush the earth flat.

Moments ago, the sun had been high and bright. Now, an abyssal darkness swallowed the world. Within the roiling black ocean of clouds, electric serpents danced, their thunderous roars audible from tens of thousands of miles away.

Wang Longyou and Li Derong rushed over, their faces pale. “What is happening? Is True Monarch Du… is he starting?”

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators stared up at the apocalyptic display, feeling insignificant. This power was beyond their comprehension. Only the birth of a Nascent Soul entity could trigger such celestial wrath.

“Gather the clansmen!” Wang Longyou barked, snapping out of his daze. “Stay together! Do not wander! The event has begun!”

Inside the Great Hall of the Qingyuan Sect.

The two remaining Golden Core Patriarchs stood before the assembled elite disciples.

True Monarch Baili’s voice boomed through the hall. “As you have witnessed, the Heavenly Tribulation has arrived. I can confirm that this is indeed True Monarch Du’s Nascent Soul Tribulation! If he succeeds, the Qingyuan Sect becomes a Nascent Soul Sect! I need not explain the glory and benefits that await us all!”

He paused, his gaze sharp as a blade sweeping across the crowd. “Therefore, I demand your absolute dedication. Act as Dharma Protectors for True Monarch Du! Keep the enemy at bay! Let no one disturb him!”

“We shall give our all!” the disciples roared in unison.

Seeing the morale high, True Monarch Baili nodded. “Good. Follow me. All personnel must immediately evacuate the Tribulation Zone to avoid contaminating the lightning!”

The range of a Nascent Soul Tribulation was massive, enveloping almost the entire main peak.

It was a cardinal rule of cultivation: never approach someone undergoing a Tribulation. The heavens viewed intruders as accomplices trying to help the cultivator “cheat” the test. In response, the Tribulation would scale up its power to kill everyone involved—often exceeding the limits of what even the person breaking through could withstand. Even a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator would be vaporized if they merely grazed the edge of a Nascent Soul lightning bolt.

This mechanic made sabotage tricky. The Blazing Heaven Sect couldn’t simply charge into the lightning to disturb Du Guangchao. If they entered the zone, the lightning would lock onto them, too. It would be a suicide mission.

Under True Monarch Baili’s command, the Qingyuan Sect turned into a fortress. Patrols swept every inch of the perimeter.

The cultivators in the market were conscripted and moved to the front lines. The Wang and Li families were stationed at the outer periphery of Qingyuan Mountain.

From this vantage point, the sheer scale of the event was terrifying. Wang Hao stood transfixed, staring at the colossal vortex of doom swirling above the peak. This was not the power of a Golden Core. This was the might of the Heavens.

He felt a complicated mix of emotions.

He was fortunate. To witness a Nascent Soul Tribulation firsthand was a rare opportunity to gain enlightenment and experience.

He was unfortunate. Because he was now standing directly in the blast radius of the coming war.