259: An era without saints?! (58)

Time flowed by.

Gu Yun became the final synonym for this withering Small World, and also its only hope.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in this realm grew increasingly exhausted, and the Dao decayed, as if it had entered its twilight years.

Any young generation with some talent was, under the arrangements of their respective Families, sealed within divine sources, waiting for that legendary Golden Great Age which no one knew when would arrive.

The immortal Ancient Saint Clans did not emerge.

The longevity clans kept their mountain gates tightly closed.

Even those Venerables and God Emperors who had once stirred up the winds and clouds chose to slumber, no longer manifesting in the world, in order to save every bit of their Origin.

This was an era of deathly silence.

The Gu Family was the same.

Except for one person.

Gu Yun.

A hundred years passed in a flash.

His primordial dao fruit had only progressed by one hundred and fifty zhang.

It was not that his talent was insufficient, but that the "nutrients" this realm could provide him were truly too scarce.

At the same time, that battle-obsessed member of the Gu Family whom he held high hopes for, Gu Zhan, had reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly God Realm, possessing combat power comparable to a God Emperor, just one step away from the position of a Venerable.

Another thirty years passed.

Deep within the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace, Gu Yun personally took action, using a wisp of his own primordial chaos violet qi as a guide to help Gu Zhan ignite the Venerable divine fire.

Boom!

Above the Gu Family ancestral grounds, the sky changed abruptly.

Thick tribulation clouds gathered from all directions, shrouding an area of one hundred thousand li.

The Heavenly Dao Tribulation had descended.

In Central Province, and even across the Five Domains, countless Divine Thoughts that had been silent for hundreds of years were awakened at this moment.

Their gazes crossed the Void Realm and landed on that mountain range of the Gu Family covered by the tribulation clouds.

"Someone is about to become a Venerable."

"It is that battle-obsessed one from the Gu Family. It is said he possesses a 'Primordial Chaos War Body' comparable to a Saint body. I wonder if he can survive this tribulation."

"Difficult, too difficult. In this withering Small World, the Heavenly Dao does not permit it. In the last thousand years, have there been few Prodigies who fell under the Venerable tribulation?"

Beneath the tribulation clouds, Gu Zhan let out a long roar.

His Battle Intent was high; he punched out and actually shattered the first bolt of tribulation lightning that descended.

The start was as unstoppable as splitting bamboo.

It should have been like this.

However, just after the third bolt of tribulation lightning fell, the tribulation clouds above the firmament suddenly became more violent and deeper.

The suppression force from the Heavenly Dao suddenly increased by more than ten times.

Crack!

Gu Zhan's Protective Aura shattered instantly, and on his arms, his sturdy war body actually developed a crack.

"Pfft!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his figure staggering, nearly falling from the sky.

"What is going on? How could the power of the Heavenly Dao Tribulation suddenly become so terrifying?"

"Something is wrong; this has already exceeded the scope of an ordinary Venerable tribulation!"

Those ancient existences who were watching all let out sounds of shock and doubt.

They could feel that within that heavenly might, there was a... resentment.

A resentment aimed at the Gu Family, or rather, aimed at a certain person.

At the peak of the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace.

Gu Yun stood atop it, watching Gu Zhan, who was struggling desperately amidst the tribulation lightning with his Physical Body constantly cracking, his brows furrowed tightly.

He remembered that he had twice Punished Heaven.

"Is it because of me..."

"The Heavenly Dao holds a grudge against me, so it pours its anger onto him?"

This thought flashed through Gu Yun's mind.

Boom!

Another gray tribulation lightning bolt far exceeding the previous ones descended.

Gu Zhan could no longer hold on; half of his body was charred black, his dao foundation trembled, and it was on the verge of collapsing.

He was about to fall.

From all corners of the Five Domains, sighs echoed.

"What a pity. Such a war body; if it were in the Golden Great Age, he would surely be able to attain the Dao and become a Saint."

"This is the sorrow of a withering Small World."

"The Heavenly Dao is ruthless, harvesting everything."

Listening to those sighs, watching the Battle Intent in Gu Zhan's eyes gradually extinguishing.

Gu Yun's eyes burned with rage.

He would not let Gu Zhan, this Clan Brother who was loyal to him and even willing to trade his life for his, be harvested by this ruthless Heavenly Dao just like that, without rhyme or reason.

He flew up, facing the churning tribulation clouds above the firmament.

This was his third time Punishing Heaven.

However, this time, he clearly felt that the Heavenly Dao had changed.

It was much stronger than the previous two times.

A will filled with greed and devouring came from the depths of the tribulation clouds.

In Gu Yun's mind, the scene from the Heavenly Dao Ruins flashed suddenly.

Those fearless Dao-Devouring Beasts that lived by devouring the "Dao".

He understood something in an instant.

"So that's how it is..."

"All these years, the experts who fell under the Heavenly Tribulation, their dao fruits, their Divine Souls, their unwillingness and resentment, have all become your nutrients?"

Gu Yun smiled.

That laughter was filled with killing intent.

"What a Heavenly Dao, what a cage for herding all living beings."

"Today, I will break this cage of yours!"

At this moment, at this moment when he saw his most loyal follower about to be "sacrificed."

At this moment when he had seen through the most cruel truth of this "withering Small World."

Gu Yun understood that today he must attain Epiphany; without it, he could not protect Gu Zhan.

"My karma, why should others repay it?"

"Today, I, Gu Yun, shall attain Epiphany here!"

His Dao Heart reached Perfection at this moment.

His entire aura underwent an earth-shaking change.

The bearing of a Saint!

Within his Dantian and Qi Sea, that purple-gold primordial dao fruit grew rapidly at the moment of Epiphany!

One thousand zhang!

One thousand five hundred zhang!

Two thousand zhang!

A powerful pressure, far exceeding a Heavenly Venerable and even surpassing an ordinary Saint, erupted from his body.

He raised his hand, pointing his fingers like a sword, aiming at those layers of gray "Heavenly Dao shackles" binding Gu Zhan.

He slashed down with a light sword stroke.

"Break."

Swish!

A soft sound.

Those Heavenly Dao shackles, which seemed impossible to break free from and sufficient to grind down any Venerable, actually crumbled inch by inch and vanished into smoke under that seemingly casual sword light.

The pressure on Gu Zhan's body vanished suddenly.

He stared blankly at that figure in white, looking at the two-thousand-zhang-tall primordial dao fruit behind him, radiating supreme pressure, his eyes filled with shock and fanaticism.

The tribulation clouds filling the sky seemed to feel fear as well, and began to slowly dissipate.

"Want to leave?"

Gu Yun sneered.

He swung his sword again.

This time, it was aimed at the tribulation clouds that were about to disperse.

"Are you worthy of being called Heaven?"

"Get down here!"

The sword light rose, and the firmament cracked.

The tribulation clouds filling the sky were actually slashed down from the firmament by this sword, turning into the purest ownerless energy, all of which surged into Gu Zhan's body.

Gu Zhan's dao foundation was reshaped at this moment.

The position of a Venerable, achieved!

On this day, the Five Domains shook.

Cloud Venerable, at the Gu Family ancestral grounds, attained Epiphany in a single moment, slashed the Heavenly Tribulation with his sword, and helped a clansman become a Venerable.

Older generation experts asserted that Gu Yun already possessed the Heaven-Defying bearing to become a Saint; perhaps he could truly break the shackles of this withering Small World.

However, Gu Yun, as the person involved, knew better than anyone.

The Heavenly Dao had become stronger.

That sword strike just now, while seemingly overbearing, had actually consumed a great deal of his mental energy.

Whether he could become a Saint was still an unknown.

But he was fearless.

The path was one he had chosen himself.

He had no resentment, and no regrets.