Chapter 1550 - Mṛtyu-māra
Only after asking Xiao An did he learn that his Origin Soul had run off to the Asura realm, which made him sigh.
“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d of mine is having a great time in the Asura realm. He probably won’t be returning any time soon.”
He was not worried at all about being killed by “himself”. Instead, he felt saddened by this revelation. Part of the “great time” in the Asura realm should have been his too, while part of his “great time” destroying the Unadorned Ghost Immortal belonged to “him” too. Twice as much great time would lead to even more great times…
So be it. Once we merge together in the future, mine will be his and his will be mine. Why make such a great distinction?
By now, Xiao An had collected the Unadorned Ghost Immortal’s corpse for him, gathering the fragments of his Origin Soul and a great pile of arcane treasures.
Then they visited the dwelling together. After a close investigation, they understood what had happened.
“So the underground veins’ shifted slightly, which is why that old ghost suddenly woke up.”
“The will of the heavens, oh the will of the heavens!” Li Qingshan sighed with a smile. As it seemed, they had defeated fate once again.
“But this is fine too. This place is safer than Unadorned city.” No one would intrude on a Ghost Immortal’s dwelling for no good reason.
Blessings came with curses, and curses came with blessings. All it came down to the person. If they were not strong enough, even good news could turn into bad news. If they conquered nature and faced all the trials and tests there were, bad news could turn into good news.
Having overcome an attempt on her life, the intangible will of the Hungry Ghost realm would be incapable of acc.u.mulating enough coincidences within a short period of time.
This buffer period would be of utmost importance.
Now that Li Qingshan had returned, she was no longer tied down mentally, and she had gained these resources. If she digested them properly, she could definitely face the sixth heavenly tribulation.
By then, the Hungry Ghost realm would no longer have any existences that could threaten her. Even if the intangible will of the heavens sent over more Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals, there would be nothing terrifying about that.
She pursed her lips. She could even make use of that and wait for them to come to her, eating them as they came.
According to Li Qingshan’s vocabulary, it was just like “food delivery”.
Time was pressing. Li Qingshan temporarily bade farewell to Xiao An and returned to the Human realm. In the Xuanming dwelling, he began a new round of secluded cultivation.
Time flew like an arrow. In just a few months, a phoenix’s cry rushed out from the abyss and into the sky. It was like ripping cloth, resounding through the clouds endlessly.
The Phoenix Transformation had climbed to a higher layer!
At that moment, the small world in his body overcame a bottleneck. As it operated and expanded, it reached a new balance.
Li Qingshan stood on the surface of the water. The pitch-black surface reflected his glorious wings, spreading proudly and waiting quietly… for the heavenly tribulation to descend!
The sky suddenly darkened.
The great winds were like the tides, and the dark clouds were like the ocean. The abyss whistled.
Colossal waves rose and fell, like the entire ocean was tossing and turning. A wave the size of a small mountain rushed into the sky, slamming heavily against the great cliff.
Boom!
The startling billow slammed against the sh.o.r.eline, sending rocks flying and collapsing the cliff.
Li Qingshan raised his head and watched. Suddenly, he could understand how the Unadorned Ghost Immortal felt as he watched the mountain crush him to death.
The clouds grew thicker and thicker, weighing heavily on the top of the mountain, like a blanket over the heavens.
The deep, heavy Xuanming dwelling was like a boat in the storm, swaying with the wind and rain.
Cracks covered the entire cliff. Large chunks of rock fell into the ocean, leading to even more vigorous torrents.
The Xuanming formation continued to operate, supporting the entire dwelling, but before the tremendous might of the heavens, it seemed so frail.
The formation core suddenly flashed a few times before rapidly dimming.
The sounds of the fierce winds, the sounds of the pouring rain, the sounds of the raging waves, and the sounds of the crumbling mountain flooded in from all directions.
The only sound that was missing was thunder!
As a result, this rumbling world seemed terrifyingly quiet.
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This was definitely no ordinary sixth heavenly tribulation!
With how mighty the heavens were, how could a measly man stand a chance!
Can I? Li Qingshan questioned himself.
If he used the thought processes of the spirit turtle, his cultivation was nowhere near consolidated enough. He had progressed far too quickly, which led to an unstable foundation.
And, it was very easy to invoke the wrath of heaven, where the heavens triumphed over humanity!
c.l.i.tter clatter! Loose rock fell like rain inside the dwelling.
Crack! A colossal stalact.i.te snapped off, falling towards Li Qingshan.
With a boom, it fell into the water, producing a great wave. Li Qingshan was nowhere to be seen.
“All these matters, coming too suddenly!” Li Qingshan recited proudly, riding the waves. “The world spins and time presses!”
His daemon qi rushed into the air, stirring up the winds and clouds, contending against the heavens!
“Ten millennia is too long. All I can do is seize every moment!”
A flash of lightning turned the surroundings like daytime, completely illuminated the abyss.
Boom!
An extremely deep rumble rang out. It was better described as the beat of a drum than thunder.
With lightning as the sticks and the heavens as the drum, it struck away!
The hollow mountain that held on arduously immediately collapsed, like it had collapsed inwards. It swallowed Li Qingshan immediately, making him fall towards the abyss.
Li Qingshan’s organs were in agony and his bones were close to shattering. Blood swelled up in his throat, dyeing his lips red.
Never had he faced such terrifying might from the heavens, basically like it was swatting flies. Most sorrowfully, he was that pitiful fly.
Listening to the anger of the heavens, he licked his lips. His blood surged.
His wings extended to the limit, and he clenched his fist firmly, throwing a punch up!
A single person burst out from the rubble, overlooking the ocean and facing the heavens.
The colossal waves gathered like mountains, like giant hands that wanted to drag him into the depths, yet also trying to hoist him up into the air.
“The four seas surge and the clouds and waters rage. The five continents tremor and the wind and thunder roars!”
He grinned and laughed aloud, spreading his arms towards the sky.
“Come!”
So what if I’m a fly? So what if I’m an ant? This is the life I want. This is me, Li Qingshan!
The sky full of wind and lightning shot towards him, condensing into a colossal axe of lightning that cleaved down right over him!
There was not even a single bolt of regular lightning. Right from the beginning, it was an armament of tribulation lightning.
The heavy air, the terrifying forces, and the invisible laws restrained him from all directions. It formed an air-tight barrier, like it was trying to suffocate him.
Without any regard, he just threw a punch.
Boom! s.p.a.ce shook, becoming riddled with countless cracks. It knocked the axe of lightning away.
At this moment, a colossal, black figure appeared in the depths of the ocean. It gave off a disgusting stench.
Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes. That was a drowned corpse, having swelled up and rotted due to floating in the water for too long, now bloated. Its pale-white skin was bulging with green veins, and its belly seemed like it was about to burst.
At a closer glance, the corpse’s appearance had become unclear due to the rot, but it did bear some resemblance to Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan shuddered inside as great terror overcame him. That was his appearance upon death. As a matter of fact, there was nothing solemn or stirring about it. It was just disgustingly ugly.
At this moment, armaments of tribulation lightning condensed. Blades, spear, swords, halberds, axes, battle axes, hook swords, forks… all the weapons that could be imagined appeared, all hanging in the sky, pointing towards him.
Meanwhile, he seemed to be caught in a nightmare, staring at the corpse blankly.
Suddenly, the corpse stood up with a roar. It moved with unimaginable agility, leaping into his body!
His body began to bloat, and his life force rapidly receded. His body gave off a foul stench and began to totter. The world spun around him.
He powered the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression as hard as he could, suppressing this thought. He suddenly realised. Mṛtyu-māra!
The māra of death, mṛtyu-māra, was the most terrifying demon beneath devaputra-māra. Normally, the sixth heavenly tribulation only came with kleśa-māra. Just what kind of sin did he commit to deserve a mṛtyu-māra?
This made no sense at all. A mṛtyu-māra was something for stopping Human Immortals from becoming True Immortals!