Chapter 2101 - 2097: The First Wave of Attacks

Li Zhaojun did a rough calculation in her mind, then nodded and said, "Although Senior Sister Dantai and Tian Ya won’t be coming for now, the number of people is basically enough. I’ve already spoken with Sang Yuan—so long as she can send people over, actually we can use even more... But how devout these people truly are toward Ye Fan has become a big problem. I hope these people are single‑hearted toward Ye Fan!"

"Sister, I’m afraid there’s no way to guarantee that. Who can be sure what attitude these people really have toward Ye Fan?" Min Shang said doubtfully.

Li Zhaojun shook her head and said, "Since we’re using these people, we have to consider whether they’re truly devout toward Ye Fan. This is what they call ’don’t doubt the people you use, don’t use the people you doubt.’ If we even want to suspect their intentions, then we might as well not use them at all... What do you think?"

Min Shang looked at Li Zhaojun with a firm gaze and said, "If Sister feels there’s no problem, then there definitely won’t be a problem. I hope everything unfolds as you say. I have nothing else to add!"

Li Zhaojun nodded with a smile. At this moment she shifted more of her attention to the Array she was about to construct. She said, "We’ve tried to handle an Array before, but it’s very hard to achieve. With just you and me, it’s actually not enough. Within the whole Array, there are nine key nodes. If these nine formation eyes can’t be controlled, then the entire Array will slip out of our grasp. I hope you understand... Right now we must trust every single person. Only like this can we succeed in the end. I also hope Ye Fan can win on the front line against the Heavenly Tribulation. We will definitely be of help to Ye Fan... That is our greatest responsibility!"

...

...

Inside a hotel in Hua Hai City, Li Zhaojun and Min Shang were already making their final efforts to shape the Array.

At this moment, within the Pan Gu Secret Realm, Ye Fan and Lan Jing had just returned, and the Secret Realm was suffering increasingly frequent attacks from the Heavenly Tribulation.

Beams of white light were constantly striking the ground. The sheer number was overwhelming—every second, roughly several thousand strikes came down. Ye Fan had no way to protect the entire Pan Gu Secret Realm all at once.

"Ye Fan, what can we do?" Lan Jing asked, looking at the devastated earth.

Ye Fan and Lan Jing were flying through the sky, only to see yawning craters already gouged into the ground below. Volcanoes and seawater had begun to spread. Ye Fan shook his head slightly and said, "In the end, the Heavenly Tribulation harms all living beings. Right now we can only wait for the stronger wave of attacks from the Tribulation to arrive. If this kind of scattered bombardment continues, then the final outcome can only be that we watch humanity gradually perish, and we’re powerless to stop it."

At the same time, in the distance up in the air, Cultivators were being knocked down by the white light. Anyone struck by the white light—even a Cultivator in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage—could not escape the calamity before them. For humanity, this was almost fatal.

Lan Jing looked very anxious, but she simply had no idea what she should do. Ye Fan gave her no further guidance for the moment.

Just then, Lan Jing sensed that there seemed to be a much stronger attack in the air coming toward her and Ye Fan. She pointed in that direction, but as soon as she raised her hand, that strike was already upon the two of them. She tried to block it, but was apparently powerless. In the end, that force was erased into nothingness by Ye Fan.

"Ye Fan, are you alright?" When Lan Jing saw it up close, she realized that this force was somewhat different from those bands of white light: this one seemed formed from multicolored radiance. That meant the power attacking her and Ye Fan was clearly stronger than the ordinary ones.

Ye Fan shook his head and said, "I didn’t expect that even you and I would be attacked so directly, as if someone were deliberately doing this. Could it be that someone wants to seize this chance to kill us?"

Lan Jing asked curiously, "Ye Fan, do you think this isn’t an attack from the Heavenly Tribulation?"

"Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t really matter. What we can do is to wipe out the greatest single wave of the Tribulation’s power. The Heavenly Tribulation has existed since ancient times. Relying only on these fragmented attacks can’t truly annihilate humanity, especially when it comes to ancient cultivators like Pan Gu and Fu Xi. I can feel that the Tribulation is still brewing an even greater strike. Right now this is only the first wave."

As soon as Ye Fan finished speaking, the white light in the sky seemed to vanish for the time being.

It was like a brief pause in the middle of a violent storm, like entering the eye of the storm and experiencing a short‑lived calm. This was a terrifying kind of respite; no one knew what was hidden behind that radiance.

"Ye Fan, is it over?" Lan Jing asked.

Ye Fan shook his head. He took Lan Jing back to Sky City. At this moment, a large number of Cultivators were gathered above Sky City. These people wanted to leave the Pan Gu Secret Realm, but for them, all passages from the Secret Realm to the outside world had already closed. They couldn’t get out, and the Heavenly Tribulation had already slaughtered quite a few Cultivators within the Pan Gu Secret Realm. They were afraid of being the next round of victims, and were all seeking shelter.

"Are we going down?" Lan Jing asked again.

"Let’s wait and see," Ye Fan said. "I’ll have Sang Yuan come to meet us. It looks like the first round of the Tribulation’s attacks has already come to an end, but the next wave should arrive very soon!"

Just as Ye Fan was speaking, Sang Yuan heard that he had come and hurriedly put down what she was doing, flying up toward the high sky. When she saw Ye Fan and Lan Jing, she greeted them respectfully, yet with worry, and said, "Young Master, the Heavenly Tribulation’s attacks on the Pan Gu Secret Realm have already caused one‑tenth of the realm to be completely destroyed. A lot of those places were human gathering areas. Does Young Master plan to find a way to resolve this calamity?"

"Right now all the attacks are just scattered strikes. The area they cover is far too vast. I alone simply can’t protect the entire Pan Gu Secret Realm. For now we can only move the humans together. I’ve already reminded you of this long ago—only after humanity is brought together can I provide more specific protection. Here’s what we’ll do: hurry and lead people, taking advantage of the pause after the first wave of the Tribulation to gather the surviving humans toward Sky City... and don’t let those Cultivators slack off, either. This is no longer just about them. If they want to protect themselves, they must first protect all living beings in the Pan Gu Secret Realm!" Ye Fan said.

Sang Yuan looked troubled and said, "Nowadays everyone is only seeking to save themselves. What you’re asking, Young Master, may be hard to achieve. Those Cultivators all know that only around Sky City can they receive your protection, so how would they be willing to leave?"

Ye Fan shook his head and said, "If everyone is still that selfish now, then the final outcome won’t change. The only path left will be annihilation."