Chapter 52: Thank You, Sir Heavenly Tribulation, for Taking Time off Your Busy Schedule to Come Here
The Primordial World was indeed very frightening…
Amid the constant ‘ding-ding’ sound, Ao Yi sat at the bedside of the 100-feet-long extravagant bed. Both his hands were trembling, and the warm, nouris.h.i.+ng tea in his hands continuously spilled outwards. The actual amount of tea he drank was minimal.
He was trembling—his whole body was trembling.
The reason he was trembling was not that he was afraid of his mother, a Turtle Immortal, and a few uncles from the dragon race, who sat before him. He was similarly not concerned about his punishment.
Although he had just hatched from the dragon egg around 11 to 12 years ago, he believed that his mind was quite strong.
Before he had been sent to the North Ocean Golden Turtle Island to find the Jie School, he had suffered the torture of being pierced by an ice pillar for three months. Even then, he had not conceded defeat.
Now, however, the trembling occurred naturally and was not something he could control.
Ao Yi sensed that there was completely no strength in his body, and he developed a phobia. This phobia… was the reason he was trembling!
This phobia came in the shape of a face belonging to an expressionless old human Daoist priest.
‘How could the human race be so cunning?’
Ao Yi trembled even more vigorously when he recalled that hasty battle.
His mother hastily urged a few old dragons to check on him. Yet, the only conclusion they gave was—alcohol overconsumption.
Ao Yi’s developing Adam apple quivered, and he gulped down one mouthful of the nouris.h.i.+ng tea made from dozens of valuable spirit herbs. Suddenly, he spat that mouthful out and hacked violently.
A few maidservants rushed over, but Ao Yi howled abruptly, his eyes filled with terror.
“Don’t come closer! What are you guys trying to do?”
The beautiful, dainty maidservants hastily bowed and begged for forgiveness before quickly retreating.
Breathing heavily, Ao Yi rested his forehead on his palm as the trembles in his body slowly ceased. “Leave me alone. Don’t come any closer…”
“My son.” His elegant and gracious mother shouted in concern, “What is going on with you?”
Ao Yi slowly placed the empty white-jade-glazed cup beside him. His hand trembled, accidentally smas.h.i.+ng the expensive cup onto the jade-stone floor.
He clutched his forehead with both hands and attempted to unravel the phobia he had.
The way to combat fear was to face it directly!
‘Incapacitating agent… A powerful incapacitating agent…’
Ao Yi recalled the four-directional seal coming down on his head, making him feel dizzy, and then he completely lost consciousness…
However, his body and bloodline retained many memories and sensations.
When he was unconscious, he was like a dried fish with its innards removed, all parts of his body inside and out being repeatedly washed with seawater…
Then, he was being coated with a layer of soap powder before being washed thoroughly again…
During this process, seven to eight palms slapped him continuously, and numerous techniques landed on him. It was a process that was exceedingly similar to when a master chef of the Dragon Palace was slapping the meat of the supreme-grade Snowflake Horned Divine Cow to make the meat quality become even more perfect…
When he was unconscious, Ao Yi had the feeling that he was about to be eaten by the demon-like human!
Additionally, every piece of flesh on him was being pan-fried, sliced thinly, deep-fried, and stewed—using all sorts of methods to cook, so that the flavor of the dragon meat would flouris.h.!.+
This food preparation segment was repeated several dozen times and more!
Several dozen times!
That old Daoist priest was not a human, but a terrifying dragon-eating ferocious beast!
No, that was the true side of the human race!
Over the two weeks he was in a coma, Ao Yi repeatedly recalled that experience. When he woke up and saw his mother, he thought that he was still dreaming, and what he had experienced was merely a nightmare he made before he hatched from the dragon egg…
However, this was not a nightmare.
‘Was this how the human race battled with the dragon race?
‘Could this be the reason why the dragon race does not dare to openly engage in a war with the human race?
‘There’s no way the dragon race could win, no way.’
The aura of the old Daoist priest was clearly not strong and should be weaker than Ao Yi. Yet the priest could do this to him…
To him?
Then, he heard two uncles murmuring beside him, “The protection dragon scale was activated. That evil-doer did not kill Nephew Ao Yi but forced him to drink lots of alcohol. Why didn’t that person come to the Dragon Palace to receive a token of grat.i.tude?”
“Perhaps they were afraid that we would go back on our promise. Sigh, but according to the rules, we need to thank them.”
‘Wha… what? The Dragon Palace needs to thank that dragon-eating ferocious human?’
Ao Yi stood up unsteadily. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw the image of that old Daoist priest pressing him down onto the seabed, forcing him to be repeatedly washed and cleansed by the ocean water…
Yet, the dragon race, his own family, wanted to express their grat.i.tude to that demonic human?
Was this part of the plan of that old human Daoist priest as well?
Any human cultivator could easily deal with him, a dragon with the Dragon King’s bloodline flowing in his veins?
Ao Yi’s legs weakened. He sat back on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath.
‘The Primordial World is truly… frightening.’
…
At the same time, at the South Ocean, on a coral island near the South Continent.
The expressionless old Daoist priest Li Changshou had transformed into was currently sitting on an indent at the reef. His aura was slightly fluctuating as spiritual energy rose from the ocean water and gathered near him.
His breathing was natural, while the Heaven and Earth were clear and bright, making one forget themselves.
Occasionally, a blue light flickered on Li Changshou’s forehead. A few nine-petal lotus flowers floated beside, circling around him.
The blue light was experiencing its first bloom. Nature sounds and ocean waves emitted from Li Changshou’s body, merging with the sound of the ocean water was.h.i.+ng up the small island.
Suddenly, thunder rumbled. Blue light radiated from his body, head to toe, countless nine-petal lotus flowers bloomed, and he started to give off a light fragrance.
The sea creatures within a one-kilometer radius were attracted by the fragrance and swam over. The lotus flowers flew towards some living organisms that possessed intelligence.
However, Li Changshou opened his eyes without warning, his eyes filled with blue light. The lotus flowers started to crumble. The sea organisms also sensed danger, and they instantly turned tails and escaped afar…
Humanizing living organisms was considered a benevolent act. One could receive merits as a reward from the Heavenly Dao.
On the other hand, if these organisms transformed into demons and wreaked havoc on the human race, one would have to suffer from negative karma. The merits received might not even be enough to offset the negative karma…
The breakthrough was a success.
Li Changshou breathed in deeply and repeatedly inspected his insides. Even if one was nitpicking, his Dao base was still considered very st.u.r.dy.
Was it time for him to face his Immortal Ascension Tribulation?
Li Changshou looked up at the sky, which was cloudless and blue. It seemed that he was still lacking, for this situation differed from the scenario he imagined where he needed to face off a Heavenly Tribulation upon attaining the Ninth Stage of Dao Requital.
After all, he always prepared himself for the worst-case scenarios.
Closing his eyes and focusing, Li Changshou continued to meditate and cultivate. The Qi-Gathering Minor Array created using Spirit Stones gave out regular bursts of spiritual energy that was all absorbed by him.
At various locations in the one-kilometer radius, a few paper dolls hid at the sea bed to survey the area, ready to attract any people trying to sneak an attack on him.
There were not many apparatuses set up on the reef, for they would all be destroyed when the Heavenly Tribulation struck.
Hence, he had set up various arrays at a place further away, all being used for escaping and not for defense.
Those arrays would allow him to swiftly teleport away after completing the Heavenly Tribulation.
This place was the ideal place he had found to complete the Tribulation Transcendence. There were no cultivators around in the 100-kilometer radius. Even if some cultivators happened to fly by, they would be at least 10 kilometers away.
This situation had something to do with how the major mortal cities on land were distributed.
After meditating and cultivating for two weeks, Li Changshou suddenly felt uneasy. A strange abstruse Dao rune appeared beside him.
The Heavenly Tribulation was about to arrive.
Grandmaster Heavenly Dao was very ‘magnanimous’ to appear long after he attained the Ninth Stage of Dao Requital, two weeks after he stabilized his cultivation realm, and right after he solidified his Dao base.
Li Changshou transformed into a fish and utilized the Water Escape’s benefits to circle around and check the 10-kilometer radius, before swimming back to the reef.
‘Come!’ He was prepared.
This feeling was actually quite mysterious.
It felt as though he was about to face the biggest test of his entire life the sleepless night before the day of the test after studying for 12 long bitter years…
“Don’t be impatient. Stay calm and focus.”
Li Changshou silently chanted the Mind Calming-and-Clearing Chant, occasionally taking out the Inaction Sutra, which he held in his hands to closely gain insight from.
The more insights he had, the more ready he would be, and the greater the chance of him surviving the Heavenly Tribulation.
Three days pa.s.sed, and the premonition that the Heavenly Tribulation was about to arrive grew stronger.
The Mind Clearing Chant lost its effectiveness, and he could no longer calm his mind to gain further insights. The air within a 300-meters radius became oppressed, making the other living organisms to subconsciously avoid the area.
His master’s Heavenly Tribulation that arrived last time was bashful and slow to come. Thus, Li Changshou wondered if his Heavenly Tribulation would be gentle, wild, or ferocious.
Li Changshou guessed that his Heavenly Tribulation would have seven or eight Heavenly Lightnings.
Therefore, he relaxed and did not force himself to calm down. Rather, he attempted to thoroughly experience the uneasiness and anxiety he was feeling.
This was a reaction all living organisms would feel when sensing Heaven’s power—it had nothing to do with how high or low one’s Dao Realm was.
The Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation was also known as the Dao Completion Tribulation. Since a long time ago, Li Changshou had been contemplating why it involved ‘Dao Completion’.
Today, he obtained his answer.
Qi Refinement, Soul Formation, Void Return, and Dao Requital were all part of the process in the learning and imitation of nature for cultivators. Through this process, they could realize their Dao, which would become the foundation of their path to becoming immortals.
The Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation was the test implemented by the Heavenly Dao to the cultivators’ Dao. It was to see if their Dao was qualified to become immortal.
At the same time, the Heavenly Tribulation was a tribulation to help cultivators leave their mortality so that they could attain greater heights using their own Dao.
Born as humans, ascended to become immortals.
The terms ‘Dao’ and ‘Dao Realm’ should not be lumped together. Li Changshou felt that one should not give their own Dao a name of its own.
It was just like how human nature could be st.u.r.dy, anxious, bashful, or panicky.
The Dao was natural.
“I am natural.”
Li Changshou closed his eyes and smiled. There was a sudden gust of wind that whirled towards the sky.
Thunder rumbled and the wind and clouds transformed suddenly. Several thousand feet above in the sky, gray Tribulation Clouds swarmed over, covering the nearby area of around a one-kilometer radius.
Sometimes mountain ranges seemed to appear above the clouds. Other times they looked like paG.o.das, an army troop, or a cl.u.s.ter of drums and gongs.
Many strange images appeared by the Tribulation Cloud. Below the Tribulation Cloud, however, the air started to churn. From afar, it looked as though a waterspout was forming.
Halfway through the formation of this waterspout, lightning flashed within, and thunder rumbled!
Li Changshou slowly stood up from the reef and patted his clothes. He pointed the air casually, and 12 Faraday Cages surrounded him. Various pills hidden in his sleeves were ready for consumption.
His Dao Body shone with blue light. His essence soul had completed its condensation.
After breathing out a mouthful of impure gas, Li Changshou looked up, and then he respectfully did a Dao salute, choosing to do the most proper ancient salute.
Then he announced, “Dao Sect’s disciple wishes to inform the Heaven today: I sincerely accept the Dao Completion Tribulation that the Heaven is about to gift me. I wish to establish my own Dao and become a worry-free immortal.
“Should the Heavenly Tribulation come and I cannot withstand it, resulting in my death, it is because my Dao is not qualified to share its lifespan with the Heaven and Earth. I will have no grievances if this occurs.
“The Heavenly Dao is righteous.
“Thank you, Heavenly Dao, for the concern and gifting me the Immortal Ascension opportunity!”
Boom—
The Tribulation Cloud seemed to reply and not have heard him at the same time, for the strength of the Heavenly Tribulation remained the same.
A number of large lightning spots flickered within the Tribulation Cloud vortex. Some electric arcs appeared around Li Changshou.
Slowly, he levitated from the ground. The 12 Faraday Cages split up equidistant on the ocean surface, in preparation for later.
When he flew to 90 feet above the ground, three silvery-white lightning spots flared, and silver electric snakes burst forth!
These thunder and lightning spots gathered and formed numerous thunders the size of a bowl, striking at Li Changshou. He did not sense any danger, but he still activated his Dharma powers and spread them over his body.
His Dao Body emitted faint light before the lightning completely engulfed him!
‘The power of the first lightning bolt is equivalent to the third thunder of Master’s Tribulation Transcendence?’
His Heavenly Tribulation should, indeed, not be underestimated.
Li Changshou blocked all lightning that fell on him. He looked up at the sky and waited calmly.
The aftereffects of being ‘struck’ by the lightning… were itchy and numbing. Some Immortal Qi was condensing in his body, and even his essence soul was submerged in the lightning.
Unexpectedly, it was quite comfortable.