Over several hundred years, the Divine beings of the High Heavens refrained from entangling themselves in the war between the Immortals and the various races who sought to break free from their control in the Lower Heavens. They watched from the sidelines—and, in some cases, even prevented the descent of Higher Order Divine beings who intended to seize control of the Lower Heavens amidst the chaos.
As a result, not only the Human Great Emperor and his allies, but also several other rebellious factions, dared not to take any action against the Divine Punishment Immortal, lest they provoke those Ancient Freaks and bring about their own destruction.
The Human Great Emperor and his allies, who had painstakingly arranged everything for this decisive day, could never have imagined that the aloof Divine Punishment Immortal—who hadn't even reacted when they destroyed the Enforcement Hall in the Lower Heavens—still had such a trump card hidden in her hands.
The Enforcement Hall in the Lower Heavens was a Legacy left behind by the Divine Punishment Immortal when she just ascended from the Lower Heavens to the Middle Heavens, all in order to maintain justice and the rules of the Heavens Above.
However, with time the Enforcement Hall in the Lower Heavens slowly became a gathering site of the Immortals who resided and ruled over the Lower Heavens and a place breeding with conspiracies against all the races, to subdue them and rule over them.
The Human Great Emperor and his allies also took note of this Enforcement Hall before. Then one day, they destroyed it in one clean sweep, obliterating nearly seventeen peerless Immortals in the process. They struck decisively and ruthlessly with all their might as they feared the intervention from the High Heavens, mostly the intervention of the Divine Punishment Immortal, as this was one of her Legacies in this world.
However, nothing happened. Even though the Immortals from the Lower and Middle Heavens were enraged and requested the intervention of the High Heavens to prevent the destruction of the Legacy sites, nothing happened.
The High Heavens didn't interfere, nor did the Divine Punishment Immortal.
He couldn't understand what was wrong with this woman's mindset as even when one of her Legacy sites was thoroughly destroyed and looted by him, she remained silent. And now, just because he teased her a little, she unfolded with fury to the obliterate whole world alongside him.
"Seriously, what is wrong with this woman? Can't she tell I was only provoking her to amplify the Tribulation — not being improper?", the Human Great Emperor lamented.
Thinking it again, he could only find the fault with that bastard Dragon, who told him to take this approach before.
"That bastard was the one who told me to tease her like this to increase the Tribulation's severity so that I can enact my plans accordingly and perfectly, but how come the situation turned into this?"
The Human Great Emperor couldn't help but sigh.
'She'd kept a strand of Chaos Heavenly Lightning hidden as a trump card — and she chose now, of all times, to unleash it, against me, such an inferior character from the Lower Heavens.'
Gazing at the distant heavens in silence, the Young Emperor muttered.
"Should I be happy that I'm about to get obliterated under one of the Ancient Tribulations of the world?"
He shook his head as several thoughts came to his mind one after another.
Looking at the distant horizon, he muttered lightly, "This woman had hidden herself too deeply. Forget about this group of monkey Immortals from the Lower Heavens, I'm quite sure that not even the lofty Immortals from the High Heavens could've guessed she harbored such a terrifying thing related to the world's origin."
In truth, the Human Great Emperor wasn't entirely wrong in his deduction.
The Origin Strand of the Chaos Heavenly Lightning was indeed a calamity in disguise—something that could only be controlled by those with overwhelming strength and an unshakable background. Without both, it was nothing short of a death sentence.
And though the Divine Punishment Immortal stood above all in the Lower Heavens and even the Middle Heavens, she was still, in the grand scheme of things, a mere figure in the shadows of the Ancient Freaks—those terrifying existences still hidden in seclusion, watching the world from beyond.
The Divine Punishment Immortal indeed lacked the unfathomable power and the vast backing required to deter those old monsters from coveting the Origin Strand of the Chaos Heavenly Lightning. No matter where she fled or how well she hid, the moment this matter came to light, those greedy old bastards would surely track her down—and silence her before the secret spread.
And yet, she still chose to act.
Sacrificing her cultivation, she forcefully invoked the Chaos Heavenly Tribulation. In doing so, she compelled even the Human Great Emperor—and all others present—to retreat, watching on with grave apprehension.
Although the Human Great Emperor was momentarily stunned, it wasn't that he was entirely out of options.
After all, they had long prepared for this very day. Every move had been calculated, every trap meticulously laid. It had all led to this moment—where he would be captured by those from the Immortal Council and brought before the Divine Punishment Immortal, to finally face judgment for defying and standing against the heavens.
In other words, this was nothing but a trap set by the Human Great Emperor and his allies in their war against the Immortals.
Although they knew they stood no chance against the Divine Punishment Immortal, it wasn't that they couldn't escape her clutches. After all, she was only responsible for punishing those already caught by the Immortals—and even that, only in accordance with the rules handed down from Heavens Above.
Would she truly dare to descend in her True Form once she realized she had been deceived? That she and the Immortals—those lapdogs of the higher Divine Beings—might have been manipulated into playing a different role entirely?
After all, without assistance from certain Immortals—willing or otherwise—it would have been nearly impossible to plot and scheme against this aloof, Divine Executioner from the Heavens Above.
And as for those Immortals who had aided them? They were either on their side, bound by an Ancient Contract… or already exterminated, erased completely, leaving not even a trace behind.
Yet despite all these careful preparations, the Human Great Emperor was caught off guard the moment the Divine Punishment Immortal began invoking the Chaos Heavenly Tribulation with all her might.
Whether this woman lived or not meant little to him before. But now, in this escalating crisis, it had become clear—he would be the first one to die, even if that vengeful woman followed after.
"This situation has really become quite troublesome," he muttered.
"I only meant to provoke her a little—just enough to raise the intensity of the Heavenly Tribulation, so I could use those objects unnoticed amidst the descending chaos. But now... I'm not even sure if they'll work properly under the Chaos Heavenly Tribulation."
As his gaze turned upward, it was clear—the first bolt of Chaos Heavenly Lightning would strike within seconds.
Steeling himself, the Human Great Emperor grew calm and resolute. With a single thought, two glowing objects emerged from the depths of his submerged consciousness and entered the outer world.
Palm-sized, radiant, and not immediately awe-inspiring, these weren't divine weapons, nor earth-shattering artifacts—at least not to the untrained eye.
But the moment he began to channel his power into them, golden light burst forth, exuding vast Immortal might, illuminating the heavens and earth.
Even the Immortals—and the Divine Punishment Immortal, who was still in the midst of steering the Chaos Heavenly Tribulation in his direction—were momentarily stunned.
Those lofty and arrogant Immortals, who had believed they'd already secured an unquestionable victory by capturing the Crusading Leader of the Human Race, now found themselves shaken. The contemptuous words and scornful gaze of the Human Great Emperor from before suddenly took on new weight.
While the stunned Immortals struggled to process this turn of events, the Divine Punishment Immortal's expression finally shifted. Her gaze locked on the two orbs, spinning and glowing with unbearable light around the chained Emperor on the Atonement Platform.
"This aura... The Great Void Traversing Bead?! How could this man have obtained it? And the other one... I don't know what it is, but the danger it emanates... It makes me feel threatened even in this Lower Heaven... What is this...?"
Even she, the Immortal chosen by the heavens to invoke the ultimate judgment, was shaken.
She had invoked the Chaos Heavenly Tribulation, using the strand of the Chaos Heavenly Lightning that she had hidden from everyone else from the moment she got her hands on it—following the Final Edict of the "Unspeakable One".
She knew it would cost her dearly, perhaps even her life. Yet she had never considered retreat.
But now, with not one, but two Divine Treasures appearing in this man's hands, she hesitated. For a moment she found her resolution getting weaker and couldn't think of a solution.