Chapter Fifty-Three: Heaven's Tribulation, Please Love Me Again!
Chapter Fifty-Three: Heaven's Tribulation, Please Love Me Again!
So, Master, was it really painful when crossing the tribulation? Was it because you didn't thank the heavens?
Li Changshou pondered these doubts in his heart, feeling the impact of the second tribulation he had just endured, analyzing the process of the Dao's force's impact on him...
It shouldn't be because of gratitude or lack thereof before crossing the tribulation; The Dao is impartial and selfless, and just now, he had merely tried with an attitude of neither merit nor fault, which should not have had much effect.
The reason why the first two tribulations felt quite comfortable was...
The first two heavenly tribulations couldn't cause substantial harm to him. This reasoning is actually not difficult to understand. It's like different guests visiting a brothel and being called out by the same girl with a coquettish tone, "Hey, why just arrived?"
Because of their professional demeanor, the girl's coquettish tone and physical contact are the same, but depending on the degree of the guest's emptiness, their feelings will differ...
It's probably something like this.
As the third tribulation thunder brewed above his head, Li Changshou's heart was filled with many insights. The previous two tribulations seemed to have cracked open a gap in front of him, allowing him to see a mysterious and profound world. "This should be the Dao, or perhaps Heaven, constantly colliding with one's own Dao."
Could this be the opportunity for ascension?
Boom! The sea surface was rippling with layers of ripples from the thunder. In the thunder, several thunderbolts flashed, followed by a mighty thunderbolt crashing down! Li Changshou was in mid-air, pressed down by the thunderbolt by three zhang, but his figure stabilized again, blocking most of the falling thunderbolts, with thunderbolts splitting in various directions above his head and striking towards the sea surface.
Fortunately, the twelve fairy birds' cages were a bit further away, otherwise, several of them would probably have perished by now. This time... The heavenly tribulation had some injuries. Li Changshou looked at the strand of long hair in his hand, still dyed gray after his disguise, feeling slightly relieved. ——His heavenly tribulation was no different from other Qi-refining cultivators' heavenly tribulations.
There was also a charred strand on his Daoist robe. Before crossing the tribulation, he had already cleared all metallic objects on his body. The charred strand on his Daoist robe was caused by the explosion of a decorative jade bead just now.
At this moment, Li Changshou's body was still shimmering with faint arcs of electricity; Strands of immortal aura gathered on his arms and shoulders, and a part of his body, about the size of a fingernail, had begun to transform into an immortal body.
He returned to a height of nine zhang, his whole body's mana and the immortal aura he already had were both invoked, waiting for the fourth heavenly tribulation to arrive.
Above, in the vortex, roars could be heard, and the tribulation clouds kept churning; Various anomalies appeared again in the tribulation clouds, as if dozens of fierce beasts were locked in them, trying to break free and descend to devour Li Changshou.
"Encountering the third time will change, the heavenly tribulation is about to change." Li Changshou gained more insights as he anticipated the next tribulation. The first two tribulations seemed to have cracked open a gap in front of him, revealing a mysterious and profound world.
"This should be the Dao, or perhaps Heaven, constantly colliding with one's own Dao."
Could this be the opportunity for ascension?
Boom! The fifth heavenly tribulation descended, and Li Changshou resisted it with all his heart, his immortal aura growing stronger; A rainbow light appeared on his forehead, a sign that the transformation into an immortal body was accelerating!
And then, the sixth... The seventh...
Viewing from afar. The tribulation clouds kept churning, and ancient fierce beasts appeared on them. The Qiongqi spreading its wings, the Kirin engulfed in gray flames, the Taotie with a big mouth on its belly, the Tawo with long spikes all over its body...
Various creatures, a total of thirty-two fierce beasts, appeared in turn on the tribulation clouds. Each time these fierce beasts collided, they would erupt into a huge thunderbolt, striking down on the figure floating in mid-air below.
Hundreds of miles away, a group of fishermen on the coast looked towards this place from afar, many of them began to pray and worship; Several immortals and Qi-refiners who happened to pass by within a radius of three hundred miles also looked at them from afar, feeling the violent power of the heavenly tribulation.
"Who would cross the tribulation in such a place?" "What a powerful tribulation cloud, covering a radius of ten miles. Could it be the rumored Eight Tribulations of Thunder?"
When encountering someone crossing the tribulation, it's natural to stay far away to avoid being accidentally injured by the heavenly tribulation.
As the thunder dissipated, Li Changshou's figure flew back into the air. "This fourth tribulation is quite good, precise in strength, and more insightful for me, without harming my primordial spirit."
This is quite a good tribulation. If the fifth and sixth tribulations are like this, it would be great. But faintly, Li Changshou also felt a bit frustrated. According to this level, and the speed at which the tribulation clouds were dissipating, plus the rules he had summarized earlier and calculated, his heavenly tribulation should undoubtedly be the Eight Tribulations of Thunder.
Although he had known for a long time that his advantage lay in his comprehension, in his active thinking and flexible learning methods, rather than his own aptitude. ——The aptitude at the beginning of cultivation determines today's heavenly tribulation, which is the rule of the Dao. And, his heavenly tribulation did not go awry. But when the heavenly tribulation came, he found that it was somewhat different from the "Nine Extreme Thunder Tribulation" he had worried about for more than sixty years. It's inevitable that there would be a little disappointment. But everything has two sides. With the eight tribulations of thunder, he should be able to pass safely without revealing too much. What's even more rare is the collision between the Dao and his own Dao, which has brought him many benefits and allowed him to steadily see more realms, giving rise to a vast amount of insights. "It's good to ascend a little more."
Boom— The fifth tribulation struck, and Li Changshou resisted with all his might, his immortal aura growing stronger; A rainbow light appeared on his forehead, a sign that the transformation into an immortal body was accelerating!
And then, the sixth... The seventh...
Viewing from afar. The tribulation clouds kept churning, and ancient fierce beasts appeared on them. The Qiongqi spreading its wings, the Kirin engulfed in gray flames, the Taotie with a big mouth on its belly, the Tawo with long spikes all over its body...
Amidst the chaos, a total of thirty-two ferocious beasts appeared one after another above the calamity cloud.
Each collision between these beasts erupted into a massive thunder pillar, cleaving down upon the figure suspended in mid-air below.
Thousands of miles away, an old Daoist returning from visiting friends with his disciple, bound for the Immortal Island in the South Sea, cast a skeptical glance towards the site where Li Changshou was crossing his heavenly tribulation.
The old Daoist calculated with fingers, his eyes gleaming with insight, and muttered with some surprise, "That is... the rumored fourth-ranked heavenly tribulation! The summoning of the thirty-two ferocious beasts, the Eight Extremes and Eight Wildernesses to call forth the Immortal Tribulation!"
Beside him, the graceful young girl asked in confusion, "Master, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," the old Daoist shook his head, sighing. "There's a prodigy of cultivation about to perish under his own tribulation. Let's go, Hanzhi. Such heavenly tribulation... it's purely a matter of one's fate. Sometimes, having outstanding talent isn't necessarily a good thing! Like you, Hanzhi, with your exceptional cultivation aptitude, you'll need to pay attention when facing your tribulation in the future."
With that, the old Daoist led the girl on a cloud towards the depths of the South Sea.
This was the only celestial being throughout Li Changshou's tribulation process who could pose a threat to him; however, this celestial being did not linger, carrying his disciples and a slight sense of regret for the impending demise of the one crossing the tribulation...
Quietly passing by, purely coincidental.
This was actually an affirmation of Li Changshou's preparation for his tribulation, not in vain for him to have put so much effort into finding this tribulation site.
Look at the tribulation site.
Seven consecutive thunder pillars struck down, echoing continuous thunder between heaven and earth, causing anxiety among the creatures in the hundreds of miles of sea.
At this moment, less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn remained until the initial descent of the heavenly tribulation.
The volume of the calamity cloud had already decreased by half, the roar of the ferocious beasts deafening, and the thirty-two thunderous spots on it constantly flickering, brewing the final thunder of this heavenly tribulation!
Below the calamity cloud, Li Changshou furrowed his brows tightly, taking a deep breath, suppressing the trembling of his mana and immortal energy within his body.
Just now, the seventh thunder pillar had a diameter of ten feet.
This time, it should be thicker, stronger!
The robes on Li Changshou were already riddled with more than ten holes, but from his forehead to his neck, they all emitted colorful immortal light.
This immortal light would soon fade after his immortal foundation stabilized.
But...
His own heavenly tribulation...
Unexpectedly...
Isn't that powerful.
As an outstanding heavenly tribulation, it should be the kind that provides enough benefits to the Qi Refiner, enough rigorous training to help them complete the process of sentient beings' sublimation and become true immortals.
But his heavenly tribulation seemed to have deviated in intensity.
It's too gentle.
At this moment, only the head above his neck had transformed into an immortal body; this was the result of Li Changshou only using mana, physical body, and primordial spirit to resist, without using various means he had prepared to withstand.
"It's okay, there's still the eighth heavenly thunder."
Li Changshou comforted himself like this, but deep down, he already had a bad premonition.
Above, the thunder spots continued to flash, thunder continued to gather, the power of the heavenly tribulation surged madly, as if it had to tear Li Changshou apart in the final thunderbolt.
In his heart, Li Changshou envisioned scenes of himself suppressing his realm time and time again, accumulating insights with every breakthrough, treating every minor breakthrough as a major step in life, enduring hardship and cultivating for hundreds of years, cautiously advancing as if walking on thin ice...
The Dao body, as solid as a magic weapon;
The primordial spirit, flawless and perfect.
Finally, his efforts, his struggles, his desperate suppression with his life, had brought him today's rewards.
Thirty-two thunder spots erupted simultaneously, countless silver serpents and electric pythons danced in the air, converging into a huge thunder pillar with a diameter of three yards in the vortex, carrying brilliant radiance, fiercely smashing towards Li Changshou below!
In the world, there was a flash of lightning!
On the edge of the mundane world, above the South China Sea, a purifying thunderous world!
At this moment, Li Changshou's mood rarely fluctuated, opening his arms to welcome the sublimation of his life!
Surging emotions!
Just because he had already felt it, the lofty ambition to stand tall between heaven and earth in the future!
Starting from today on the path to immortality, seeking stability amidst the vicissitudes of time tomorrow!
Bang—
The heavenly tribulation instantly engulfed Li Changshou, instantly melting the coral reefs below, and the sea surface was filled with electric light!
After a while, the lightning scattered, and the sound of immortal music echoed between heaven and earth, a small, lingzhi-shaped celebratory cloud rose above the sea, holding up Li Changshou's figure.
A beam of immortal light fell from the calamity cloud, enveloping Li Changshou, and the excitement in his heart was hard to conceal.
Becoming immortal!
Attaining Dao!
This is the path of immortality, this!
Wait a minute, something's not right!
Li Changshou looked down and his gaze suddenly became somewhat... dazed...
His body, above the abdomen, had already turned into an immortal body, emitting colorful immortal light, but his hands, a pair of forearms, from below the chest-abdomen line, all the way to the feet, were still the same.
It was just adding strands of immortal qi on the original Dao body...
Like a defective statue, half of the material was exquisite colored jade, and the other half was rotten soil and mud!
The primordial spirit inside the body also occasionally flowed with colorful immortal power, sometimes...
Just like before!
He should have realized that something was wrong with Li Changshou's situation here. The immortal music stopped, the celebratory cloud disappeared, and all the strange phenomena disappeared;
But the white calamity cloud, which had turned into white, was still dissipating rapidly...
Li Changshou quickly came to his senses.
What's going on?
I haven't seen this situation in ancient books either!
Is the heavenly tribulation over, but the amount of heavenly tribulation power is not enough?
Did I lay the foundation too solidly, and the eight thunder tribulations couldn't break through, so they couldn't transform my Dao body into an immortal body?
Damn it...
What should I do now?
Amputate actively? Let the upper body ascend?
The lower body is also important!
Moreover, the primordial spirit is also in a half-baked state and cannot transform into an immortal infant. I can't just cut off the primordial spirit!
How do you even cut off the primordial spirit? It's not like practicing the Expelling Evil Sword Technique, where you can discard things if you don't want them!
Li Changshou looked up at the remaining calamity cloud in the sky, his mind racing, his face showing signs of anxiety.
At this point, he couldn't care less about anything else; he had to resolve this awkward situation right now...
He didn't want to be a half-baked immortal!
The door to the immortal realm had already been opened, he had successfully passed through the heavenly tribulation, but because he had built his foundation 'too sturdy,' he got stuck!
Raising his hand, Li Changshou took two steps forward and shouted hastily at the remaining calamity cloud in the sky:
"Wait!"
The cloud of calamity hesitated for a moment, but then dispersed even faster, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Li Changshou: ...
Did it... run away?
Before he could even complain, suddenly, there was a muffled sound of 'boom,' and his primordial spirit and Daoist body both trembled lightly.
An indescribable pressure descended from the sky, locking onto him!