Chapter 129: The Descent of Divine Retribution

Within the Southern Mountains, upon the summit of the Cloud Ridge.

On a towering peak, a middle-aged man clad in a black dragon robe knelt before a mountain formation that bloomed like a lotus flower. His expression remained stoic, never flickering for a moment.

"Yun'er, pay your respects... to our ancestor!"

The youth in white silk, initially curious, bowed his head and bent his knees to kneel under the majestic gaze of the man in the dragon robe.

Seeing Tianming kneel, the father continued, "Distant Ancestor, today your descendant has brought your offspring. I pray that your spirit in heaven will bless my son, that he may be the fated one you spoke of. If these actions cause any offense, I beg for your forgiveness!"

Without appearing to care about Tianming’s presence, the father stood up with immense reverence, bowed, and then raised his right hand, two fingers pointed toward the sky. He began to chant in a low, murmuring voice:

"Heaven and Earth, the root of all energy.
Cultivate through myriad kalpas to manifest divine powers.
Within and without the three realms, you alone are supreme.
The divine light resides within, covering and protecting your form.
To see is to behold; to listen is to perceive.
Encompassing the heavens and earth, sheltering the descendants.
Chant this ten thousand times, and the heart shall find light.
All immortals pay homage; only the Heavenly River remains..."

At that very moment!

A brilliant, heaven-piercing beam of light erupted. The sky transformed as clouds gathered, and in a flash, the father shifted his hand seals. With a storm brewing, he wove thousands of ethereal afterimages.

The speed was unimaginable—at times overlapping, at times curling, at times clenching into a fist!

"Damn, that’s incredible!"

Watching from the side, Tianming was struck with awe. Perhaps due to the violent shift in the world's energy, Little Ling, his companion, even darted out from his forehead.

What kind of treasure could trigger such a cataclysmic change in the heavens?

However, there was nothing he could do now. He could only gaze up at his father with adoration, waiting for what was to come.

"Master, according to my observations, this is the Kaiyuan Sun-Shooting Bow, one of the ten great divine artifacts of the Primordial Era. I wonder why it ended up here!" Little Ling licked its paw, feeling a resonance, and turned its gaze toward Tianming.

"The ten great divine artifacts of the Primordial Era? What does that mean?" Tianming asked, nodding secretly but utterly confused.

"It is like this, Master. Legend has it that in the Primordial Era, ten suns orbited a certain planet, causing the living beings to suffer. The Heavenly Emperor, taking pity on the world, used divine stones and star cores to forge this Kaiyuan Sun-Shooting Bow, allowing the creatures of that world to survive."

"But because the bow is extremely strange—ever since it shot down nine of the suns, it has been difficult for ordinary people to control. The weak would go mad, and the strong would lose their souls... Thus, the Heavenly Emperor sealed the Kaiyuan Sun-Shooting Bow in the infinite turbulence of the Primordial Era. Later generations included it among the ten great divine artifacts to commemorate it; it is ranked fifth," Little Ling explained.

Doesn't that mean if I possess this divine artifact, I can walk sideways through this world?

Tianming felt a surge of secret joy, his mind racing with fantasies. Since it was one of the ten great artifacts, it couldn't possibly be weaker than an immortal. He could do whatever he wanted, rule supreme, and command the world.

"..."

Seeing Tianming’s expression, a flicker of disdain flashed in the cat-like eyes of Little Ling.

"By the urgent command of the decree, all laws be natural; the inner world holds the universe, let the divine light appear!"

At the father’s final command, a golden light shot straight into the clouds. Intricate, complex runic rings dyed the black dragon robe gold, quickly condensing into a single, shimmering character:

"RELEASE."

The golden character lasted only a moment before leaping into the ten-thousand-foot valley ahead!

"Rise!" Withdrawing the energy of heaven and earth, the father took a deep breath and turned around. Seeing Tianming still kneeling, he extended a hand and nodded.

After standing up, Tianming walked to the edge of the cliff with anticipation, looking down into the abyss.

"Father... did it really work?"

Clutching his pounding heart, Tianming looked at his father with disbelief and a hint of doubt.

"Wait and see. Yun'er, if there is a massive backlash from heaven and earth later, leave immediately—do not worry about me!" The father shook his head with a bitter smile.

There were too many uncertain factors; even he could not guarantee until the very end whether his son was truly the fated one.

"Why..."

Just as Tianming was about to ask for clarification, the sky above them was suddenly swallowed by endless dark clouds. The world changed color in an instant. A violent, oppressive purple wind, like a raging sea, swept in from the southeast, crushing one mountain peak after another.

Rumble!

Thunder shook the very fabric of the world. Countless bolts of lightning flashed through the layers of dark clouds, and spheres of purple divine lightning, thick as tree trunks, condensed into a massive purple giant. The giant began to take form.

Wielding fists heavy with the might of a billion thunderbolts, it descended upon the father!

"Why, Ancestor? Why treat your own descendant like this? Is heaven truly determined to destroy our Chu family... Yun'er, run!" Looking up at the sky, the father spread his arms, his face showing a mix of grief and uncontrollable rage.

However, as if realizing something, the father suddenly shoved Tianming away from the vast abyss and onto another lotus-shaped peak!

"Father..."

Watching his father grow smaller in the distance, Tianming felt a pang of pain, his eyes wetting with tears before he realized it.

"Run! The future of the Chu family depends on you alone. Do not disappoint me."

After pushing Tianming away and taking one last look at his retreating figure, the father ceased all movement. He closed his eyes and embraced the sky, offering no resistance. He knew that with his own strength, he could never withstand this heavenly tribulation; if that was the case, he might as well accept it in silence.

At this moment, it seemed as if he were the only person left in the world. The silence was absolute. Endless resentment welled up in Tianming's heart.

"Damn it! Is it true... that I can't do anything at all?"

A powerful force restrained him; even if Tianming used all his strength, he could not break free. He knew this was because his father, fearing his impulsiveness, had deliberately restricted him. Tianming had thought his father was only at the tenth level of the Void-Spirit stage, but he hadn't expected that at the final moment, he had transcended life and death to reach the first level of Spirit-Stillness!

With all that power sacrificed, how could he possibly break through?

Although Tianming had no real blood connection to the father, and had previously felt guilty for occupying Chu Yun's body, at this moment, he was moved by the father’s actions like never before—a feeling no kinship could replace.

"NO! I have to save him! Even if I die, so what? I may have sworn to become the strongest in the world, but... what is the strength of one person alone? I will never be a coward who clings to life. Come at me, you pathetic lightning!"