"Does the messenger have anything else to convey?"

"Uh, the Dao Alliance's secret message, no non-True Venerable of the Dao Alliance is, is allowed to view it." The corner of his mouth barely lifted into a smile, the messenger whispered.

"Ah, I understand, I understand."

Replying once, Dongfang Qing put away the jade slip and said to Qi Xiu:

"The messenger has traveled a long way, Qi Xiu, take him down and entertain him well."

However, before Dongfang Qing finished speaking, before Qi Xiu could open his mouth to agree, the messenger had already stood up:

"No need, no need, the magic letter has been delivered, I must immediately return to the Dao Alliance to report, goodbye, goodbye."

Without waiting for Dongfang Qing and Qi Xiu to react, he had already transformed into a rainbow light, swiftly rushing out of the hall, disappearing from sight.

"It seems this messenger will certainly be more restrained in his actions in the future." Watching the messenger dash away like a gust of wind, Dongfang Qing chuckled lightly, then once more took out the jade slip, letting a wisp of his energy permeate it.

The jade slip suddenly radiated a brilliant light, streams of light pouring out, forming eight characters in the void above:

The Heavenly Dao Self-Bound!

The Infinite Tribulation Begins!

Seeing the contents of the magic letter appearing in the jade slip, Dongfang Qing suddenly stood up, his eyes gleaming brightly, his aura surging, causing a tumultuous storm within the Sect Master Hall.

"Sect Master, this is..." Although Qi Xiu vaguely guessed the meaning of the magic letter, he hesitated and looked towards Dongfang Qing.

"Someone has manipulated fate, causing the Infinite Tribulation to start prematurely."

Calming his uncontrolled aura, Dongfang Qing sat back down, but his furrowed brows became even more intense.

"Sect Master, what exactly is this Infinite Tribulation?"

Seeing Dongfang Qing's somber expression, Qi Xiu pressed his lips and softly asked, having heard the ominous reputation of the Infinite Tribulation many times over the years.

However, whether it was that fat Daoist Qingya or the vague warnings from the Human Path Merit, none had ever clearly stated what this tribulation entailed.

Now that the Dao Alliance deliberately sent a magic letter to announce the start of the Infinite Tribulation, he decided to voice his long-held question.

Hearing Qi Xiu's inquiry, Dongfang Qing took a deep breath and slowly said:

"The Infinite Tribulation is the greatest calamity of heaven and earth.

Within this world, all beings and things are intertwined, forming numerous causes and effects, continuously accumulating, thus increasing the burden on heaven and earth.

And this Infinite Tribulation serves as a complete purification of heaven, earth, all things, and all heavens.

After this purification, the world will return to balance.

Aside from this, the start of the Calamity serves another specific purpose."

"What purpose?" Qi Xiu's eyes slightly moved.

"To select the new protagonist of Heaven and Earth!"

"Protagonist of Heaven and Earth?" Hearing this, an unexpected thrill surged in Qi Xiu's heart as if an unseen force made itself felt for a brief moment.

But just as quickly as it came, it vanished before he could examine it closely.

"Indeed, besides resetting the world, the Infinite Tribulation will also choose the new protagonist of Heaven and Earth. You know that before the Primordial Era, the protagonist was not our Human Race.

It was the long-lost True Dragon Clan.

Since the Tribulation of the Primordial Era, the True Dragon Clan vanished, and in their stead, our Human Race took the lead, becoming the new protagonist of Heaven and Earth.

This time, with the revival of the Calamity, it signifies the beginning of the new competition for the protagonist of Heaven and Earth."

Dongfang Qing glanced at Qi Xiu, noticing his confused expression, understanding that he did not grasp the importance of the protagonist's position.

"The position of the protagonist of Heaven and Earth holds boundless benefits.

First, only the protagonist can stabilize Tianyuan Main Realm, freely drawing upon the essence of heaven and earth for cultivation.

You haven't been to Outside the Domain, and thus don't know of the barren desolation of the myriad realms.

A Cultivator of Dao might absorb in one day more world essence than a Constant Sand World produces in ten years.

Moreover, the essence outside the Domain is chaotic and impure.

In some small worlds, eight to nine parts of every ten of the essence are useless exhaust.

Thus, cultivation there is arduous and slow, with a hundred years' effort being less than a month's effort for a cultivator in our realm.

Do you know what term many beings Outside the Domain use for our Tianyuan Main Realm?"

Qi Xiu shook his head and said, "I do not know."

"The Immortal Realm!"

Dao revealed the names that are unknown to the people of the Tianyuan Main Realm but are widely known outside the domain. Dongfang Qing looked at Qi Xiu, who was stunned, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"Now you know why those Outer Realm Evil Gods flock to our Tianyuan Main Realm, trying every means to infiltrate, right?

Compared to the outside domain, our Tianyuan Main Realm is the ultimate holy land, a dwelling place for immortal gods.

Besides that, there is another benefit to being the main character of heaven and earth.

That is, the race of the main character of heaven and earth is naturally in harmony with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, the most suitable form for cultivation.

Why do those devil demons and external aliens always think of transforming into human forms after attaining enlightenment?

Because the human form is the most suitable state for cultivation.

Qi Xiu, you have also seen many Outer Realm Evil Gods. How do you think their cultivation methods compare to beings of the Primordial Spirit Realm?"

Hearing Dongfang Qing's question, Qi Xiu pondered for a moment before replying:

"Although they are also at the Primordial Spirit Realm, their cultivation methods are far inferior to the True Venerable of our race."

This was not Qi Xiu exaggerating the Human Clan's True Venerable but rather stating a fact. Compared to the arts of enlightenment and the profound Primordial Spirit True Honor, the Outer Realm Evil Gods, although reaching the Primordial Spirit level in terms of power.

But whether in methods or cultivation, they are far inferior to the Human Clan's True Venerable.

This is evident from how it took fifteen Spirits of Night Travel to surround and attack Dongfang Qing.

Human Clan's True Venerable of the same level can basically crush the Outer Realm Evil Gods.

"In the heavens outside, the paths of dao are scattered and obscure, making enlightenment and cultivation elusive and hard to comprehend.

But in our Tianyuan Main Realm, the paths of dao flourish and compete.

The Primordial Spirit Realm formed in such an environment cannot even be compared."

"So, Sect Master, you mean that the so-called Infinite Tribulation implies that all the outer heavens will come to invade our Tianyuan Main Realm, to invade our Tianyuan Human Race?

But with the suppression of the Heavenly Dao Will, even Outer Realm Evil Gods also..."

In mid-sentence, a spiritual light flashed in Qi Xiu's mind, recalling the eight characters in the Dao Alliance's Magic Letter.

"Heavenly Dao... Self-bound... Could it be..."

"That's right."

Seeing Qi Xiu had already guessed, Dongfang Qing nodded slowly:

"After the Infinite Great Tribulation begins, the Heavenly Dao Will of the Tianyuan Main Realm will bind and hide itself, causing the most solid and steadfast barrier to disappear.

Without the suppression of the Heavenly Dao Will, all heavens outside the domain, the alien races can step into our Tianyuan Main Realm at any time to seize this Immortal Realm Holy Land they have long coveted!"

Even though mentally prepared, hearing the horror of this Infinite Tribulation still left Qi Xiu stunned, remaining silent for a long while before speaking softly:

"Then... can it be fended off?"

"Fend off?"

Raising his head slightly, with a hint of helplessness at the corner of his eyes, Dongfang Qing sighed softly:

"All heavens attacking, myriad races invading, who dares to say they can fend off, except for the True Dragon Clan of old.

Fortunately, the Infinite Tribulation has just begun.

The concealment of the Heavenly Dao Will does not happen suddenly but will gradually weaken.

We still have some time."

After speaking, Dongfang Qing's gaze seemed to penetrate the obstruction of the Sect Master Hall, looking into the unknown void.

A tall and imposing middle-aged man with a dignified face was sitting cross-legged in an unknown chaos. Around him, the void churned, and earth, water, wind, and fire gathered.

The four primordial forces of heaven and earth enveloped the man like an iron furnace, continuously tempering and refining his body.

This process was extremely dangerous.

One slight mishap would result in the collapse of the body and the dispersal of the soul.

This man was none other than Dongfang Xiong, who was undergoing tribulation.

Having pushed forward to overcome the heavenly tribulation and heart tribulation, he was again blocked by the sixth unsuccessful attempt at the body tribulation.

However, this time, without Dongfang Qing's protection.

If he fails, the earth, water, wind, and fire within Dongfang Xiong will instantly tear him to pieces, leading to his death and the disappearance of his dao.

And just as Dongfang Qing was watching to see if his brother could survive this body tribulation refining.

Dongfang Xiong, with eyes tightly closed, suddenly let out a muffled groan, and with this sound, a chaotic and turbulent qi burst forth from his body.

...