Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 555: Chapter 337: Success

Within Mount Longevity, Earth Aura gradually stirred, and the Prime Spirit converged.

Inside Wuzhuang Temple, myriad trees burgeoned, their natural creation limitless.

Longevity Eternal, Everlasting Green!

Everlasting Green, Longevity Eternal!

Both formations, each of the Sixth Order, gathered the Earth Aura of Mount Longevity and cultivated the Spiritual Roots of Wuzhuang Temple. When these two overlapped and pushed to the absolute limit, they formed the Sixth Order Ultimate Formation, second only to the Seventh Rank Immortal Array. This formation mainly governed the principle of natural creation and growth, enabling the maximal mobilization of the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit to condense that transcendental and extraordinary Immortal Spirit Mechanism.

A touch of Immortal Spirit Mechanism, Integration ascends to Mahayana!

Xu Yang sat in the temple, and with the assistance of the “Longevity Eternal Evergreen Limitless” Great Array, he refined his Integration-completed mana to the extreme, reaching the final limit, and eventually achieved a rebirth, crafting an Immortal Spirit Mechanism.

Immortal Spirit refined, Mahayana attained, Heaven and Earth moved, Tribulation soon arrived!

Mahayana Heaven Tribulation!

In the World of Dao and Law, the legacy of the Ancient Immortals traditionally does not include the concept of “Heavenly Tribulation.” Only the “Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations” apply to Immortals. For those below the Immortals, regardless of the realm, whether it be Integration or Mahayana, a breakthrough is just a breakthrough, an elevation just an elevation, without any encounter with Heavenly Tribulation.

However, the situation in the Earth Immortal Realm is different. The Tao lineage of the Earth Immortal Realm contains not only the legacy of Ancient Immortals from the World of Dao and Law but also the Cultivation Techniques of the native Cultivators of this realm as well as those developed after the Ancient Immortals vanished, groping for their own path. The fusion of these three formed the current Tao lineage of the Earth Immortal Realm.

Therefore, the Cultivators of the Earth Immortal Realm are not purely of the Daoist Immortal legacy. Their cultivation does not have the strict requirement of “moral character,” and when the time comes for a breakthrough, they will attract the perilous Heavenly Tribulation.

The former is an issue with the method of cultivation, while the latter is a cosmic cause.

The Heavenly Dao of this Earth Immortal Realm, similar to the present Cultivation World, sets the test of “Heavenly Tribulation” for cultivators.

The Heavenly Tribulation is perilous. Even within the Earth Immortal Realm, a vast number of Cultivators perish under the Heavenly Tribulation due to shallow foundations and weak strength.

Thus, in the Earth Immortal Realm, Disaster Avoidance and Catastrophe Evasion Skills are extremely popular. Take, for instance, the previously mentioned Heavenly Gang 36 Transformations and Earth Sha 72 Transformations; these are well-known Tribulation-evasion Skills. Achieving completeness in cultivation grants one the Heavenly Gang Earth Sha 108 Dharma Bodies, equivalent to 108 lives, which can take one’s place in confronting death through Tribulation.

In these hundred years, Xu Yang has actively collected Cultivation Techniques, but time has been too short, and the results limited. He did not manage to obtain such Great Divine Skills.

But that does not matter. With his strength, even without any Tribulation-evasion Skills, he can withstand the Heavenly Tribulation. He had not even thought about using such skills.

The Heavenly Tribulation, being both a peril and an opportunity, and now, as the Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation Skill seeks to evolve to the Seventh Tier, facing many bottlenecks, can aptly use this opportunity to undergo “Asking Heaven Tribulation” and see if he can advance this skill into the Seventh Tier.

So…

“Boom boom boom!”

Outside of Mount Longevity, onlookers from afar could only see catastrophic clouds sprawling to darken the heavens, accompanied by flashes of lightning and deafening thunder, enough to terrify gods and spook ghosts.

“Hmm!?”

True Person Ziyang stroked his long beard, focusing his gaze intently, and finally said solemnly, “The 99 Heaven Tribulations!”

“The ultimate number ninety-nine, the absolute Tribulation!”

Peony Fairy, standing beside him, also showed a grave expression but soon relaxed, and chuckled lightly, “Elder brother indeed possesses a shocking aptitude!”

Pure Jun Sword Lord also nodded, “With Zhen Yuan’s abilities, even the 99 Heaven Tribulations hold no suspense, but ninety-nine is just the tier of Heavenly Tribulation, not the type. With Zhen Yuan’s stature, I wonder what kind of Heavenly Tribulation he will attract?”

“This…”

“Boom!!!”

Before they could finish their sentence, thunder roared, revealing a destructive aura.

“This is…!?”

Everyone’s pupils shrank, and their faces showed terror, even the Mahayanas changed color.

The thunder roared, the aura of destruction becoming more apparent, and within the vast clouds of tribulation, a hint of purple began to show through.

“Destruction God Thunder!”

“Eye of Divine Punishment Tribulation!”

Seeing this, even the Mahayanas could not help but cry out in shock.

Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-Carrying Arhat also changed complexion, their hearts filled with alarm, “The Eye of Divine Punishment Tribulation, is his talent truly that terrifying?”

“Boom boom boom!”

Amid the alarm, the purple light intensified, and the thunder became more ferocious.

Suddenly, the gates of Mount Longevity opened, and a heavenly cloud emerged from Wuzhuang Temple, with five-colored radiance shining up to the vault of the sky.

Atop the auspicious cloud, a figure sat cross-legged, donning the Supreme Purity Fish-Tail Crown, and draped in a Five-Colored Rainbow Robe, holding a horsetail whisk imbued with Taoist magic and looking ethereal upon the celestial cloud.

“Elder brother!”

“Daoist friend!”

“Senior Zhen Yuan!”

“Indeed extraordinary!”

“He has obtained the stature of a True Immortal!”

After a long wait, the central figure finally appeared, and the crowd stirred with excitement, the atmosphere growing tense.

And further away from Mount Longevity, in an even more distant place, several powerful presences caused ripples, each with a predatory stance.

“Zhen Yuan!”

“Humph!”

“The ultimate ninety-nine, the Divine Punishment Tribulation! If you can overcome it, then what’s there for me to step back from?”

“This person is known for holding grudges. After succeeding in the Tribulation, he will undoubtedly settle scores with us, especially those who encircled his mountain gate previously, he will surely come knocking on our mountains as well. If we do not strike first, we will end up passively bearing the blows.”

“How to strike first? Ziyang old Taoist, the Pur Jun boy, and even that beast with its feathers are ruthless characters. Only that cheap wench from the Hundred Flowers Valley seems somewhat easier to bully, yet she still has more than enough ability to tie up one of us. With so many protecting him, what can we do?”

“And there are those two baldies from Buddhism who came for the matter of the Golden-Furred Lion. Those bald monks are the epitome of hypocrisy. If we make a move at this time, they might even jump out to cause us trouble.”

“Let’s just wait and see. He may not even overcome this Divine Punishment Tribulation!”

Several divine thoughts intersected, then fell silent.

Looking back at the scene…Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Boom boom boom!”

The sky thundered, the brewing destruction neared its threshold, ready to unleash its punishing strike.

At this moment, the auspicious cloud rose, turning into a five-colored rainbow, and Xu Yang sat upon the cloud with a sweep of his horsetail whisk revealing behind him the energies of Yin and Yang, morphing into black and white fish swirling apart.

The Qi of Yin and Yang, fish chasing each other’s tails, and amidst the twisting, a vibrant five-color brilliance burst forth, embodying the image of the Qi of Yin and Yang giving rise to the Five Elements.

Wuji gave birth to Tai Chi, from which the two instruments came into being; the Five Elements and Four Laws self-evolve within heaven and earth—such is the reasoning behind the Great Dao.

Now that the Five Elements have appeared, where are Heaven and Earth?

“Boom!”

The interplay of black and white twisted and revealed a kaleidoscope of colors. Qiankun, the universe’s very boundary of space and time, suddenly shattered. Amidst the boundless shock, a complex of palaces and a series of temples appeared, manifesting as an immortal city constructed of white jade.

“Is this…”

“A Magical Treasure?”

“Divine Power?”

“Formation?”

Witnessing this scene, everyone furrowed their brows, including several Mahayana cultivators, who found it difficult to discern the secrets within.

While a Cultivator cannot borrow external forces during Tribulation Crossing, they can employ external objects, including their own Magical Treasures, Supernatural Secret Techniques, and even Formations, all of which can serve as means of crossing the tribulation.

Theoretically, as long as you are willing to pay the price and do not fear death or injury, you could even hunker down within a Mountain Gate Array you personally set up to withstand the thunder of tribulation.

This is also a common means of Tribulation Crossing for Array Masters. Furthermore, there are Elixir Skills, Artifact Skills, Talisman Skills, and even the method of using a bonded Spirit Beast to resist the Heavenly Punishment. In short, as long as the object is associated with your life essence, it can be used without greatly increasing the power of the Heavenly Tribulation.

But what about this white jade Immortal City now…

Is it a Magical Treasure, a Supernatural Secret Technique, or perhaps an Immortal Spiritual Formation?

Nobody could tell for sure, after all, this “Great Immortal Zhen Yuan” dabbled in too many fields. No matter what method he employed, it was within the bounds of expectation.

Though its intricacies were unknown, the sight was extraordinary nonetheless. The city of white jade and the palace of immortals stood as if they were a world unto themselves, facing the punishment of thunder directly.

Xu Yang, riding the clouds, sat in front, like an Earth Deity Immortal displaying his own Cave Heaven Blessed Land.

“This…”

Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat were somewhat astounded as well: “It somewhat resembles our Buddhism’s Buddha Kingdom in the palm, and the Sumeru World Method—is it possible that this is the legendary Cave Heaven Blessed Land Technique?”

“Boom!”

In the midst of their astonishment, thunder roared again. The sky full of storm clouds gathered, and a magnificent purple light shone forth, vaguely condensing into an eye, a tightly closed amethyst pupil.

The Eye of Divine Punishment!

The amethyst pupil, tightly shut, facing the Cultivator and the white jade Immortal City, twitched and struggled to lift its eyelids, exerting untold effort to pry them apart just a sliver.

“Boom!!!”

The upright pupil pulled a horizontal line, opening a narrow slit of vision, indifferent and cold, disregarding all life!

The Heavenly Dao, uncompassionate, views all beings as straw dogs, supremely fair and impartial, selfless to the core.

With the opening of such a Heavenly Eye, the swathes of thunder were instantly suppressed; the ninety-nine tribulations and the hundred and eighth layers of thunder all merged into the Eye of Divine Punishment, transforming into a mysterious purple Divine Thunder of Destruction that shot towards the white jade Immortal City.

“Boom!”

With the full force of Divine Punishment, the Divine Thunder of Destruction roared forth and the void exploded, revealing endless marvelous phenomena.

There was the light of black and white, the Qi of yin and yang, merging into the homogeneity of Chaos Yuan.

There were the lights of green, red, and yellow, joining with black and white, constructing the attributes of the Five Elements.

There were winds and fires of the earth, the united power of the Four Laws replaying the creation of heaven and earth.

A spectrum of light, the flashing of electricity, the rumble of thunder.

The sky collapses, the earth splits, stars fall and suns fail.

The universe goes dark, sand whirls, and rocks fly.

Golden snakes dance wildly, dragons rise and the seas roar.

…

The white jade Immortal City stood unyielding amidst it all, unmovable.

Xu Yang sat upon the clouds, his eyes firmly closed, undergoing the examination by thunder and forging of demons, once again questioning the heavens.

Since reaching the Return to Void Realm, the Heart Demon had become an additional test within the Heavenly Tribulation. It was not only the body that had to endure the pummeling of thunder, but the heart and spirit also had to withstand the trial of the Heart Demon. If one could not pass even a single thought, and became mired in it, then even if the body survived the thunder, the Primordial Spirit would perish during the Tribulation.

Xu Yang’s three great incarnations all ascended in the worlds of Dao and Law and Divine Martial, where the idea of Heavenly Tribulation did not exist. As for his present original self, he had just advanced to Deity Transformation and likewise had not been tested by the Heart Demon.

But it was of no concern. The test of the Heart Demon was about one’s Dao heart and Primordial Spirit. From the tale of Zhuanzhou dreaming of becoming a butterfly through many lifetimes of Cultivation and tens of thousands of years of tempering, Xu Yang’s Dao heart had long become unshakeable.

Without waiting for the Heart Demon to wreak havoc and conjure illusions, a brilliant Heart Sword emerged, cutting through all chaotic and scattered thoughts.

He was emotional, but as Supreme Forgetting Emotion, impassive and unmovable, what could the Heart Demon do to him?

With one slash of the sword, he passed the trial.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw the clouds disperse and the rain cease; everything and all things turned to illusion and vanished, as if a bizarre and magnificent dream had unfolded.

In response, the Mana within his body, along with the Immortal Spirit Mechanism, underwent a profound change, a complete Rebirth from head to toe, sky flipping and earth overturning, transforming into a higher level of immortal power.

Beyond this, there were numerous insights: Elixir Skills, Talisman, Artifact Skills, Formation, Heavenly Mechanics Methods.

Many methods, all difficulties and bottlenecks, at this moment became suddenly clear. As a reward for Crossing the Tribulation, they evolved his being.

As previously stated, with his foundational potentiality, there was no suspense in crossing the Mahayana Heaven Tribulation. The only question was the Creation within it—how much he would gain and to what extent he would benefit.

Thus passed an indeterminate amount of time.

“Hoo!!!”

Xu Yang opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air, ultimately digesting the Creation from the Heavenly Tribulation and the mysteries of asking heaven.

Asking Heaven Tribulation proved to be a Wonderful Skill; in an instant, it unraveled numerous riddles. Although it did not advance the Heavenly Craft Method to the Seventh Rank as beautifully as originally envisioned, it did loosen the bottleneck, allowing all practices to approach a breakthrough and trend toward ascension to the Seventh Rank.

With this development, given another thousand years of accumulation and ten thousand years of transformation, even if the key Heavenly Craft Method could not be pushed into the Seventh Rank, he could still elevate all other major methods and become an Immortal Alchemist, Immortal Talisman Master, Immortal Tool Master, and even an Immortal Formation Master rarely seen even within the Earth Immortal Realm.

With a tremendous harvest and a heart filled with contentment, he couldn’t help but sing…

“Should I become the Green Emperor in years to come, I shall thank the peach blossoms by allowing them to bloom together!”

With those words of poetry, the twin fish chasing each other’s tails, the exchange of Yin and Yang Qi, and the majestic white jade Immortal City that stood firm, all began to converge, transforming into a breathtaking sight that vanished into the void.

In the end, above the firmament, there remained only a spread of Five-colored Auspicious Clouds and a single Mahayana True Immortal.

Standing atop the clouds, Xu Yang swept his horsetail whisk, declaring loudly to heaven and earth, “Today, Wuzhuang opens the Longevity Mountain Gate wide and initiates a grand gathering of Pill Origin. There will be teaching of scriptures and discussing of Dao; those with destiny may come forth!”