In the backyard of the Long family residence, Old Master Zhang Pinglu had just been returned by Master Shiming and was being cared for by Qu Meilan.

Zhang Pinglu was injured too severely; he could no longer mobilize his internal energy. Now, he truly resembled an ordinary elderly man, one utterly devoid of any fighting strength.

Previously, Zhang Pinglu’s mood had been poor, tinged with pessimism and despair, but at this very moment, his face was alight with a brilliant smile, a genuine smile radiating from the depths of his heart.

"Be careful, Old Master!"

Qu Meilan rushed forward. She sensed the oppressive atmosphere as well, but she didn't understand its source. She desperately wanted to go out and see, but having to care for Zhang Pinglu kept her confined.

With Qu Meilan’s support, Zhang Pinglu stepped out of the room and into the courtyard.

From here, he could look up and see the mass of dark clouds not far away.

"It’s the Tribulation Cloud! This is the true Tribulation Cloud! My Zhang family is finally going to have a true Fifth-Layer powerhouse! Ancestors of the Medical Saint lineage, did you see? Did you see? If the Zhang family can produce a Fifth-Layer expert, Pinglu can die without regret; I’ll have the face to meet you all then!"

Standing in the courtyard, Zhang Pinglu shouted excitedly. His eyesight was sharper than Zhang Daofeng’s or Zhang Yun’an’s; those two could only recognize it as a Heavenly Tribulation, but they didn't know what kind of Heavenly Tribulation it was.

For all things in the cosmos, a Heavenly Tribulation can manifest when the limits of existence are broken.

Zhang Pinglu was different. He had already reached the Great Perfection stage. Even though he was severely wounded and unable to use his internal energy, his perception of the Great Perfection remained. He could clearly sense a vast, majestic surge of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy slowly gathering beneath that Tribulation Cloud.

He was not unfamiliar with this aura; it contained Zhang Yang’s unique essence.

Only those at the Great Perfection stage could sense an aura like this. Currently, on the Long family plain, only Zhang Pinglu and Master Shiming were at that level. They both confirmed that the Tribulation Cloud was caused by Zhang Yang, and only Zhang Yang could summon such a cloud.

In another bedroom of the Long family residence, after Long Feng helped Master Shiming settle the golden three-eyed beast, they returned here together.

Lying inside was his father, Long Haotian. He had used the Dragon Transformation Art underground to personally execute Long Jiang, but no one could have predicted that Long Jiang would employ the long-lost demonic art, Taotie Devouring, literally swallowing the flesh and blood of two Fourth-Layer experts, Zhao Lei and Du Xugang, to violently boost his cultivation. This forced the Old Master to intervene directly, which inadvertently saved Long Haotian’s life.

The Old Master severed his activation of the Dragon Transformation Art. As it stood, Long Haotian only needed a period of bed rest to recover mobility, aside from extreme weakness and a significant drop in cultivation.

"Master, what exactly is this..."

But by then, the thunderclouds outside the window had already captured the attention of these three. Long Feng looked at Master Shiming, who stood by the window gazing outward, and couldn't help but ask.

"Amitabha, the Tribulation Cloud. It is the Tribulation Cloud...!"

Sighing deeply, Master Shiming’s face nevertheless overflowed with joy. His eyes grew moist again, and two streams of hot tears flowed down his cheeks uncontrollably.

"Tribulation Cloud?"

Long Haotian and Long Feng exchanged glances. They merely felt the dark clouds outside were incredibly oppressive and deeply uncomfortable, but they couldn't discern what they were.

Master Shiming, standing beside the window, did not answer Long Haotian and Long Feng again, but instead murmured to himself, "Amitabha, Benefactor Zhang... is truly a genius favored by Heaven!"

In the quiet chamber, everything happening outside was disconnected from Zhang Yang. He stood there silently, facing the medicinal furnace still emitting warm vapor before him.

Zhang Yang’s eyes were still glazed over; he remained within the environment where the Immortal Peach grew by itself.

The Immortal Peach before him had grown, on the verge of maturity.

A peach that required ten thousand years to mature, absorbing countless waves of spiritual energy. It exuded an alluring fragrance. Even though Zhang Yang knew none of this was real, he couldn't resist reaching out to grasp it.

The instant his palm moved toward the Immortal Peach, it finally reached full ripeness and dropped immediately.

The mature Immortal Peach slipped from Zhang Yang’s hand and vanished.

The Immortal Peach Spirit Tree before Zhang Yang also disappeared completely, and the illusion before his eyes naturally dissolved. Zhang Yang’s eyes regained their brightness, allowing him to see everything clearly once more.

The quiet chamber. The medicinal furnace.

The liquid within the furnace was still being tempered, but a profound smile curved the corner of Zhang Yang's lips. He raised his head, fixing his gaze upward, his sight seemingly penetrating the ceiling of the quiet chamber, reaching directly toward the dark clouds in the sky.

Zhang Yang slowly extended both hands. The medicinal furnace that had been in his grasp now floated eerily in the air, perfectly still.

"Whether born from the core or vanishing as fallen fruit, these are merely illusions. Maturity is your beginning, and it is mine as well!"

With his hands outstretched, Zhang Yang quietly gazed at the medicinal furnace before him, murmuring to himself with a smile.

He looked up again, casting another glance toward the heavens.

Outside the quiet chamber, the dark clouds in the sky had turned completely black. They covered half the expanse above the Long family plain. Those standing beneath the black clouds with lower cultivation dared not move.

Even those internal energy masters at the Second or Third Layer watched the sky with trembling fear.

The clouds gave them a feeling of utter irresistibility. Beneath this ominous darkness, they felt their own insignificance.

Even the Fourth-Layer experts wore expressions of dread. The pressure brought by the unformed Tribulation Cloud was immense; once fully materialized, the pressure on the person undergoing the trial would be unimaginable.

At this moment, Zhang Daofeng’s heart felt a fresh wave of worry.

Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Yun’an had already left the quiet chamber; the immense external pressure compelled them to retreat. Staying inside would mean the sheer pressure alone could crush them, causing them to vomit blood and perish. This was the source of Zhang Daofeng’s concern—the pressure was simply too colossal.

Outside the Long family plain, Qiao Yihong and Yan Yefei were continuously organizing the retreat of the Long family disciples. The pressure surrounding the quiet chamber was too great for ordinary disciples to bear. They retreated further out, but not too far, as witnessing a true Tribulation firsthand would greatly aid their future cultivation—no matter how insignificant.

Let alone them, even Zhang Pinglu and the deceased Old Ghost Long had never seen someone undergo a Tribulation.

The prerequisite for a Tribulation was excessively strict; unless one broke through to the Fifth Layer, a Tribulation Cloud would never be summoned.

Inside the quiet chamber, Zhang Yang’s expression was exceptionally tranquil.

As soon as the external Tribulation Cloud appeared, he knew instantly. However, he couldn't bear to leave the environment where the Immortal Peach grew on its own. The growth process of that peach was like a grand gateway to Zhang Yang, a door that unlocked everything.

It was precisely the opening of this great door that attracted the Tribulation Clouds.

The medicinal furnace slowly floated and finally settled gently onto a nearby table.

Glancing back at the furnace, Zhang Yang suddenly waved his right hand. A massive, visible plume of milky-white spiritual energy directly enveloped the furnace, obscuring its contents entirely from external view.

"The Immortal Peach Elixir, I will certainly succeed in formulating it!"

Clenching his fist, Zhang Yang’s figure instantly shimmered. The Zhang Yang inside the quiet chamber had appeared outside.

"The Grand Elder is out!"

From a distant watchtower, a Long family disciple suddenly cried out. This tower had been rebuilt after the destruction of the city gate and served as a lookout; it was the tallest structure on the entire Long family plain.

In a bedroom within the Long family palace, Long Haotian suddenly displayed an expression of intense agony, as if he couldn't breathe. At that moment, Master Shiming frowned slightly and softly chanted, "Amitabha."

A golden light seemed to envelop the bedroom, and only then did Long Haotian's pained expression ease as he gasped for breath.

Master Shiming narrowed his eyes. He, who usually smiled like the Maitreya Buddha, now wore an expression that was indescribably grave and solemn.

"It’s Yangyang, he is about to undergo the Tribulation, he is undergoing the Tribulation—can he succeed?"

Zhang Yun’an’s hand clenched unnaturally around the thick wooden railing before him. Fortunately, he didn't apply his full strength, or that thick railing would have certainly snapped under his grip.

"Believe in Yangyang, Yangyang can definitely do it! I believe Yangyang can do it!"

Zhang Daofeng unconsciously clenched his fists, grinding his teeth. Although he spoke words of faith in Zhang Yang, his entire body was rigid; he was extremely nervous, as if it were he, not his grandson Zhang Yang, who was facing the Tribulation.

On the other side, Zhang Pinglu sat quietly. Qu Meilan beside him had long since gone pale, but she managed to stand firm and remain by the Old Master’s side.

"Old Master, Master, can Master succeed?"

Qu Meilan’s face was ashen. From the Old Master's words, she understood that Zhang Yang was now facing the Heavenly Tribulation to break through to the Fifth Layer, but she couldn't believe if Zhang Yang would succeed—after all, in the thousands of years of China’s history, how many people had succeeded in crossing the Tribulation?

"Don't worry, Yangyang will certainly succeed in crossing the Tribulation."

Zhang Pinglu’s face still held that brilliant smile, and his statement was exceptionally resolute.

The Old Master was different from Zhang Daofeng, Zhang Yun’an, and Qu Meilan. He possessed absolute confidence in Zhang Yang. He knew Zhang Yang’s strength best; among all the Great Perfection experts in the current world, perhaps very few could match him.

And the Fifth-Layer Tribulation was not as terrifying as the legends suggested. At least many previous Fifth-Layer powerhouses had successfully crossed it; he believed Zhang Yang would also succeed.

The heavenly Tribulation Cloud continued to churn, rolling more violently the moment Zhang Yang appeared.

This mass of dark cloud seemed to possess its own sentience, knowing that the person below was its opponent this time, the target it was meant to eradicate. Its appearance and mission existed solely for the man beneath it.

"Rumble!"

The sky burst with a roar. The dense dark clouds compressed and gathered further. The area directly above Zhang Yang was completely obscured by the clouds; the moonlight outside could no longer penetrate.

Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Yun’an climbed onto the Long family's watchtower to get a clearer view. With their superior vision from this height, they could naturally still see Zhang Yang beneath the churning Tribulation Cloud. (To be continued) No Pop-up Novel Network