Chapter 534: Tribulation and the Passage

Meng Chuan sat cross-legged deep within the chaotic abyss, carefully sensing his surroundings with the help of his secret treasure, the 'Thunder Domain Seal'. All around him was pitch black, and the Peng Emperor had long since vanished without a trace.

"The Peng Emperor is hiding in the distance; it hasn't left," Meng Chuan murmured, a slight frown on his face. He had attempted to escape before, but as soon as he reached the outer edge of the chaotic abyss, the Peng Emperor suddenly appeared to intercept him. Meng Chuan had barely managed to flee back into the depths of the abyss.

"Using karma, it can pinpoint my location at any time," Meng Chuan thought to himself. "If I try to escape, it will sense it immediately. Once I fall into a formation trap it's set, it'll be over. It wouldn't just be the death of this true body; even my treasures would fall into its hands."

"So be it."

"Unless my strength significantly increases and I can fight it head-on, I should remain hidden deep within the chaotic abyss."

There was a vast difference in their life realms. The Peng Emperor could easily pinpoint Meng Chuan through karma, yet Meng Chuan couldn't sense the Peng Emperor. Patiently hiding was the best approach.

At this moment, in the void outside the Golden Disk of the Chaotic Abyss, the Peng Emperor was indeed hiding, surrounded by a deployed formation.

Within the formation, hidden from external prying eyes, the Peng Emperor was currently undergoing its third physical tribulation.

Wisps of crimson mist emerged from the void, continuously permeating the Peng Emperor's body. The Peng Emperor had transformed back into its Golden-Winged Great Peng form. The crimson mist enveloped the creature, seeping into every feather and altering its physical body.

"Hoooh..." A blood-red glint appeared in the Peng Emperor's eyes, and its breathing grew heavy.

Its golden wings slowly changed, transforming into crimson wings.

*Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.*

From its back, a second pair of wings slowly emerged, grew, and unfurled completely. Then, a third pair of wings began to grow just as slowly, while the crimson hue in the Peng Emperor's eyes deepened further.

"Expel!" the Peng Emperor growled through gritted teeth.

Its body erupted with golden light, which struggled to break free from the crimson, tearing it apart.

The crimson wings gradually shattered, and the crimson color on its body surface also began to crumble. However, as the crimson wings shattered, they simultaneously continued to regrow.

Shattering, regrowing, shattering, regrowing...

This struggle continued for a full seven hours until the crimson color gradually receded and the golden light finally gained the upper hand.

Finally, the golden light completely enveloped its entire body, and it fully reverted to its Golden-Winged Great Peng form.

"I succeeded," the Peng Emperor muttered, looking utterly exhausted as if half its life had been drained. A lingering fear was evident in its eyes. "I can't believe I almost failed this third tribulation. What about the far more terrifying fourth tribulation?"

For those in the Tribulation Realm undergoing tribulations...

The first and second tribulations were relatively easy; most cultivators could endure them if they had accumulated sufficient power.

However, starting from the third tribulation, each one represented a qualitative transformation! Furthermore, the magnitude of improvement and the difficulty became increasingly exaggerated with each subsequent tribulation!

"Unless my strength vastly improves and I have absolute confidence, I absolutely cannot undergo another tribulation." The Peng Emperor was truly terrified. Those seven hours had been more grueling for it than 'seven thousand years'; every moment was a struggle between life and death. After struggling for over seven hours, it finally broke free.

External cultivators only saw the immense power of Tribulation Realm mighty figures, but they had no idea of the torment involved in each 'heavenly tribulation.'

Take Cangyuan Realm, for example.

Due to its short history, aside from Ancestor Cangyuan, only three Soul Tribulation Realm cultivators had ever emerged, none of whom reached the 'Fourth Tribulation Realm.' Often, the most powerful Tribulation Realm mighty figure in an entire galaxy would only be at the Fourth Tribulation Realm level.

That's why when Ancestor Black Dragon was nearing the end of his lifespan, he couldn't even find a suitable Fifth Tribulation Realm cultivator to entrust the 'Heavenly Peak Galaxy' to. For Fifth Tribulation Realm mighty figures... an entire galaxy no longer held much appeal. The Fifth Tribulation Realm mighty figures of the Black Fiend Hall were only interested in 'reaping' its resources, and once they were done, they would simply move on to other galaxies.

While the Peng Emperor had just barely endured its third physical tribulation, struggling between life and death, Meng Chuan remained oblivious, still hidden deep within the chaotic abyss.

Time flowed on. Meng Chuan had been trapped by the Peng Emperor deep within the chaotic abyss for over three years, though his actual cultivation time there was even longer.

In the World Gap, located between the Cangyuan Realm and the Demon Realm.

King Anhai, sculpted as if from deep azure ice, stood at what was once the edge of the world within the World Gap. He gazed solemnly forward.

"The world's membrane has closed."

King Anhai watched the scene before him.

The world's membrane walls from various directions were completely merging, and now it was the final moment.

As the world's membrane walls from different directions fully merged, completely severing all connection with the 'Outer Domain,' the entire World Gap became perfectly complete. Within the World Gap, there was no longer any trace of the 'world's genesis' scene.

"The World Gap is completely formed."

"Flawless and complete."

"According to my masters, once the World Gap is fully formed, it signifies the closest and most interconnected state between Cangyuan Realm and the Demon Realm," King Anhai said with utmost gravity. "It's also the most dangerous time. We must immediately report this to Yuanchu Mountain."

Yuanchu Mountain, Dongtian Pavilion.

Meng Chuan, Qin Wu, Luo Tang, and Meng An were gathered together.

"Xue Ting has sent word: the World Gap is completely formed," Qin Wu said with extreme solemnity. "Next, I fear there will be significant changes in the world."

Meng Chuan nodded slightly. "I can see that many world passages across the realm have expanded significantly."

With his cultivation realm, he could clearly sense any world passage throughout the entire world.

"Father, if a Demon Saint-level passage is going to appear, it should be soon, right?" Meng An asked.

"Yes."

Meng Chuan nodded. "It should happen within the next few days. If no Demon Saint passage appears in the coming days, it likely never will."

"I hope it doesn't appear," Luo Tang said. "If it doesn't, with only super-large passages, the demons would be slaughtered no matter how many come; they wouldn't stand a chance."

"We must prepare for the worst," Qin Wu said solemnly.

The entire human leadership remained highly vigilant, as the next few days were the most crucial.

After the World Gap was fully formed, a major change occurred in the Cangyuan Realm.

The number of small, medium, large, and super-large world entrances all increased, putting the human Godfiends on high alert.

However, with Meng Chuan's numerous Soul Avatar clones stationed across the realm, and a large number of demon servants under his command—including many Fifth-Heaven Demon King servants—the defensive strength was ample. The demon race did not dare to send their forces through these world entrances to their deaths.

On the morning of the third day after the 'World Gap' was completely formed...

Luo Tang Pass.

This 'super-large pass,' the earliest of the Great Xia Dynasty, was already bustling in the early morning as people hurried about their daily lives.

However, the 'Inner City Pass' remained silent. Ordinary people were forbidden from approaching this area, where the city walls were guarded by Godfiends and demon servants. Furthermore, a formation had been established within the Inner City Pass. As long as 'Venerable Luo Tang' utilized this fixed grand formation, even if Monarch Peacock and Saint Master Qiansi attacked together, they wouldn't be able to shake it in the slightest.

"The world passage has grown larger again," the Godfiends and demon servants observed, watching the massive world entrance.

The world entrance at Luo Tang Pass was a full thirty-nine miles long.

Thirty-nine miles long — it was practically the width of an entire city. The Godfiends and demon servants could clearly see the vast Demon Realm, which, through such an enormous world entrance, appeared almost as one with the Cangyuan Realm.

*Buzz, buzz, buzz.*

The world entrance was slowly trembling and gradually expanding: one zhang, two zhang, three zhang... a very slow expansion.

The Godfiends and demon servants carefully monitored the boundaries of the world entrance, using the human-side land as a reference to precisely determine the extent of its expansion.

Suddenly—

"Boom!"

A low, rumbling sound, like summer thunder, reverberated, causing every Godfiend and demon servant to feel a tremor in their hearts.

The thirty-nine-mile-long world entrance abruptly expanded under the collision and distortion of the two worlds.

It expanded immensely.

The Godfiends and demon servants responsible for monitoring couldn't even see the edges of the gigantic world entrance with their naked eyes. The entrance stretched far, far away, tearing through vast expanses of farmland.

"This... this..." The Godfiends and demon servants were stunned by what they saw.

Luo Tang appeared in mid-air, gazing with utmost solemnity at the incomparably vast world entrance before her.

Meng Chuan's Soul Avatar clone also appeared in mid-air, meticulously observing the world entrance.

"Meng Chuan, is this a Demon Saint-level world entrance?" Luo Tang asked.