The moment the word “escape” left Yuchi Chunlei’s lips, a bolt of pitch-black lightning clove the heavens, striking down towards the Unfailing Divine Sword with apocalyptic force.

This black tribulation lightning carried an aura of absolute annihilation, as if it intended to erase existence itself.

And it covered everyone—including Supreme Guan Xuelan—within its blast radius.

Yuchi Chunlei’s heart seized in her chest.

Before she could react, a figure flickered into existence beside her. It was Guan Xuelan, but the Supreme’s face was no longer filled with arrogance; instead, it was twisted with panic as she glanced at the black lightning.

“Rebellious disciple, what is happening?!”

“Master!” Yuchi Chunlei was momentarily relieved, but seeing the murderous gloom in her master’s eyes, she dared not delay. “Living spirits undergo tribulations to gain life, to be reborn stronger. But spirit-extinguishing…”

Her voice trembled. “It has no vitality. Only death. Only silence. It is a tribulation akin to Heavenly Punishment!”

Guan Xuelan’s eyelids twitched violently. Even as a Mahayana Paragon, the aura radiating from that black lightning made her Dao heart tremble. It was a primal fear she hadn’t felt in centuries.

Yuchi Chunlei continued, her voice grim, “Ordinary cultivators facing this will suffer total annihilation of body and soul. But if a Mahayana Paragon is targeted…”

“It could prematurely trigger your Ascension to Immortality Great Tribulation!”

The Ascension Tribulation!

Guan Xuelan instinctively took a step back. She wasn’t ready. Her preparations were incomplete, her schemes unripe. Facing the Ascension Tribulation now would be suicide, even for her.

“You incompetent fool,” Guan Xuelan scolded, her suspicion warring with her fear. “You’ve made mistake after mistake today. Do you think this Seat will still trust your words?”

“Master, I am wronged!” Yuchi Chunlei cried out. “It’s not my fault! It was Junior Brother Jiang Xun who didn’t trust me! He dodged! If he hadn’t dodged, the sword might have birthed a spirit…”

“Nonsense! That sword clearly wanted to devour its master! If Jiang Xun had listened to you, he would be a corpse by now!”

“This…” Yuchi Chunlei lowered her head, silenced but still feeling unjustly blamed.

“Useless thing! What do we do now?” Guan Xuelan pressed.

This wasn’t the time for accountability. The black clouds had completely enveloped the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. Just looking at the tribulation lightning made the Mahayana expert’s blood run cold.

“Master, rest assured,” Yuchi Chunlei said quickly, leveraging her expertise. “Although the Spirit-Extinguishing Tribulation is fierce, it targets only the artifact. As long as no one intervenes to help the Unfailing Sword, the lightning will dissipate once the sword is destroyed.”

“However,” she added urgently, “Master, you absolutely must leave the range of the tribulation clouds. Your cultivation level is too high; the heavens might mistake you for a target.”

Guan Xuelan felt a mix of relief and terror. Relief that she didn’t have to fight the lightning; terror that her mere presence might summon her doom.

“Hmph, does this Seat fear a mere weapon tribulation?” Guan Xuelan declared, her voice regaining a shred of haughtiness. “However, to avoid harming the innocent, this Seat will temporarily withdraw. You all listen well: wait for the sword to be destroyed and the clouds to disperse. Do not act rashly!”

With that, Guan Xuelan took a single step and vanished from the Azure Mystic Sacred Land instantly.

The Ascension Tribulation… even a Paragon would run from it!

However, the moment Guan Xuelan fled, the Unfailing Sword—which had been tightly bound by her magic—suddenly flared with life.

Swoosh!

The sword tore through the air, charging straight at Jiang Xun once more.

Jiang Xun’s soul nearly left his body.

Normally, as a Perfected Golden Core and an invincible prodigy, he wouldn’t fear an ownerless sword. But right now, trailing behind that sword was a towering pillar of apocalyptic black lightning!

It was a force that scared off a Mahayana Paragon. How could he, a mere Golden Core, block it?

“Senior Sisters, save me!”

With a desperate scream, Jiang Xun turned and fled toward his group of doting senior sisters, hoping they would shield him.

But…

His senior sisters weren’t blind. They felt the horror of the tribulation lightning. Almost instinctively, they all took two synchronized steps backward, putting distance between themselves and their beloved Junior Brother.

Jiang Xun froze, a flash of resentment flickering in his eyes.

“Junior Brother, don’t panic! Just keep running!” Yuchi Chunlei shouted from a distance. “Don’t let the sword catch you, and absolutely do not attack it! If you attack, the tribulation will lock onto you!”

It would have been better if she hadn’t spoken. The moment she did, Jiang Xun locked onto her.

He turned and sprinted toward Yuchi Chunlei.

“Hey, hey, hey! Junior Brother, what are you doing?!”

“Senior Sister, you are knowledgeable and experienced! Save me!”

“The only way is to wait for the sword to be destroyed! Run somewhere else! Don’t chase me!”

“Senior Sister, the lightning has blocked my retreat! I have no choice! I can only run this way!”

He pursued; she fled.

This absurd scene played out in the sky, terrifying the other senior sisters. despite their formidable cultivation, none dared to intervene for fear of drawing the black lightning’s aggro.

“It’s all Second Senior Sister’s fault!” Lu Qingyao cursed from the sidelines. “If she hadn’t forged that broken sword, how would we be in this mess? How could Junior Brother be chased like a dog?”

“Stupid! Utterly stupid!”

She dumped all the blame on Yuchi Chunlei. But her cursing came to an abrupt halt.

Her pupils dilated in horror.

She saw Yuchi Chunlei frantically flying toward her.

“Junior Sister! Help!” Yuchi Chunlei screamed as she ran. “You are talented and clever! You have many methods! Help us! That sword is too fast!”

Lu Qingyao felt her scalp go numb.

Behind Yuchi Chunlei was Jiang Xun. Behind Jiang Xun was the Unfailing Sword. And behind the sword… was the annihilation of all things!

“Don’t come over here!”

“Don’t come over here!!!”

Lu Qingyao stumbled back, panicking. She quickly summoned her mount, a majestic Seven-Colored Divine Deer, and leaped onto its back. “Deer, run! Fast! Run!”

But the divine beast, usually full of vigor, sensed the heavenly might above. Its legs turned to jelly, and it collapsed to the ground, shivering uncontrollably.

In that split second of delay, Yuchi Chunlei caught up and grabbed the deer’s tail. Jiang Xun, in turn, grabbed Yuchi Chunlei.

Lu Qingyao looked back at the pitch-black lightning closing in. Desperation took over. She couldn’t care about consequences anymore.

She produced three long silver needles and ruthlessly stabbed them into the Seven-Colored Divine Deer’s skull.

Roar!

The deer’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot and frenzied. This was a forbidden beast-taming technique—it destroyed the beast’s mind to unleash a burst of fearless, adrenaline-fueled power. The deer was ruined, but Lu Qingyao didn’t care.

The effect was immediate. The paralyzed deer let out a manic cry, scrambled to its feet, and bolted forward with terrifying speed, actually managing to pull away from the Unfailing Sword.

But the sword seemed insulted. It hummed, accelerating once again, doggedly pursuing Jiang Xun.

It chased; they fled!

The spectacle was magnificent, leaving the disciples below—who were preparing to start the celebratory feast—utterly bewildered.

But their confusion lasted only a second.

Because the next moment, the disaster descended upon them.

“Martial Uncle, have mercy!”

“Martial Uncle, stop! Stop!”

“Don’t come this way! Run! Martial Uncle, save me!!!”

The Seven-Colored Divine Deer had lost its mind. It didn’t know where to go; it simply charged forward at full speed. And in its frenzy, it instinctively ran toward areas with high vitality signatures—crowds of people.

Coincidentally, today was the Azure Mystic Sacred Land’s grand feast. All the disciples were gathered in the main plazas, laughing and celebrating.

The deer plowed through them.

Along the path, countless disciples were trampled into meat paste by the divine beast. Those lucky enough to survive the stampede were immediately vaporized by the arcs of black lightning trailing behind the sword.

A road of blood and ash rapidly carved its way through the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

This calamity was even more terrifying than the previous loss of control of the Sect Protection Array.

Last time, the Supreme Guan Xuelan was there to mitigate the damage.

But this time? The Supreme had fled.

Azure Mystic was about to become a purgatory.