Chapter 571 3: Breaking Through to the Tribulation Realm (Part 2)

Several months went by.

Within the Water Mansion, Ascendant Feng Yan sat cross-legged in the void, like a flawless Jade Beauty. Her body was enveloped in Profound Light, and she was silent in deep meditation.

「On this day.」

Suddenly, a deep, resonant Daoist tone echoed from the void.

Feng Yan opened her beautiful eyes and looked toward the great hall where Fang Cheng was in seclusion. A flicker of admiration crossed her face.

Then, she saw an immense Dharma Aspect that seemed to blot out the sky suddenly burst from the Water Mansion and the depths of the sea, stretching across the entire expanse of the heavens.

This Dharma Aspect was a Giant Kun formed from coalescing Demonic Light. It was wreathed by the Nine Nether Prison, with countless demonic monstrosities circling it. A sound like the roar of a tsunami thundered between the sea and the sky.

With a flicker of her form, Feng Yan instantly traversed the void and appeared above the ocean.

Just then, a crimson sun leaped from the surface of the sea, spreading brilliant golden light across the sky, which shone in splendid contrast to the vast and mighty Netherworld Giant Kun Dharma Aspect.

Then, a voice was heard chanting from high in the heavens: "With a flick of my sword, I shatter the stars. With a wave of my sleeve, I roll up yin and yang. I cleave apart the locks of chaos. My Dao is the guiding principle of the heavens."

With every word Fang Cheng uttered, his Magical Power surged dramatically. As the final word, "heavens," left his lips, his aura of power violently shattered its fetters, and he stepped into a new realm.

Tribulation Realm!

Feng Yan looked up and saw a young Daoist sitting cross-legged upon the clouds. He wore wide robes with long, flowing sleeves, and his bearing was exceptionally handsome and graceful.

High in the sky behind him, an Immortal Gate stood wide open. Pure Spiritual Qi from another World Heaven poured down in an overwhelming torrent.

In the vast sky beneath him, a ten-thousand-foot-long Netherworld Giant Kun was shrouded in endless Demonic Light, devouring the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism.

Compared to before, the Netherworld Giant Kun seemed to have shed its illusory form and manifested a corporeal body.

Its body and demeanor were far more lifelike, and it already seemed to be made of flesh and blood.

The solidification of a Dharma Aspect was one of the hallmarks of the Tribulation Realm.

Upon entering this realm, the Dharma Aspect becomes a Cultivator's conduit to perceive the Celestial Dao, granting them all sorts of incredible powers. It becomes akin to a Celestial Dao Incarnation, capable of suppressing ordinary Dharma Cultivators with its aura alone.

At this moment, Fang Cheng could clearly feel that his Netherworld Giant Kun was devouring and refining Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at ten times its previous rate.

His Qi Sea had also expanded by more than tenfold, becoming deep, vast, and boundless. It was as if a Grotto Heaven had opened within his body, capable of holding an infinite amount of Magical Power.

His physical body had also undergone a new transformation.

His body, once as hard as profound iron, now emanated a faint Profound Light, giving it an ethereal quality that seemed to shift between reality and illusion.

With this advancement to the Tribulation Realm, the formidable physical body he had cultivated through the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique had been baptized by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, taking it to an even higher level.

Moreover, the Netherworld Dharma Body that Fang Cheng previously cultivated had also advanced to the Tribulation Realm level. His powerful physical body could now turn intangible at will and wield heaven-shaking power, making it both unpredictable and tyrannical.

Fang Cheng sat cross-legged in the void, a natural joy welling up in his heart as he silently consolidated his new level of Cultivation.

After stepping into the Tribulation Realm, a sudden understanding naturally dawned on him, revealing the mysteries of this new stage.

The greatest difference between the Tribulation Realm and the Dharma Realm was the ability to comprehend the profound principles of the Celestial Dao through one's Dharma Aspect and refine the Celestial Dao Spiritual Mechanism. As a result, one's understanding of Cultivation Techniques, Divine Techniques, and the myriad arts of cultivation grew closer to the Dao itself.

It was a process of returning to the origin. One's understanding of any inherited Secret Technique would grow ever closer to, and eventually converge with, the original creator's own enlightenment regarding the Celestial Dao.

Only then could the full power of these Divine Secret Skills be unleashed.

For a Tribulation Realm Cultivator, every action, every moment of cultivation, and even every stray thought would resonate with the Celestial Dao Spiritual Mechanism.

As this resonance deepened, it would inevitably attract a response from the workings of the Celestial Dao, which would then send down a thunder tribulation.

From the perspective of the Celestial Dao, this was an attempt to assimilate the Cultivator into itself.

For the Tribulation Realm Cultivator, however, they had to resist the celestial tribulations by any means necessary. Only after successfully passing all Nine Celestial Tribulations would their own Dao be perfected. They could then exist parallel to the Celestial Dao, at which point they would be "expelled" by the world's tribulations and ascend to a higher realm.

If they could not withstand the celestial tribulations, their only option was to seal their own Cultivation and live in a stupor, hiding from their fated doom.

Refraining from action and cultivation was one thing, but if one could not even let their thoughts wander, it was no different from being trapped in one's own prison.

Therefore, to evade the celestial tribulations, many Tribulation Realm Cultivators had no choice but to traverse the Outer Void, journeying through the myriad heavens to find ways to increase their chances of survival.

Just as Fang Cheng was immersed in the wondrous joy of comprehending the Celestial Dao, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the sky. They expanded with incredible speed, a crushing black mass that soon covered the land for a thousand li.

Arcs of tri-colored lightning—gold, silver, and azure—leapt ceaselessly within the clouds, accompanied by a muffled rumbling that grew and faded unpredictably.

In the distance, where sea met sky, hazy white hurricanes howled and swirled, kicking up monstrous waves.

Deafening thunderclaps echoed from high in the firmament, making the myriad creatures in the sea feel as if a great catastrophe was upon them. All of them frantically fled into the distance.

Even Fang Cheng felt a slight tremor of apprehension.

'Just as Ascendant Feng Yan said. The moment I broke through to the Tribulation Realm, I drew a celestial tribulation.'

Fang Cheng looked up at the sky, his expression calm. He was not surprised.

The foundation of his Cultivation was simply too profound. Coupled with the insights into various Divine Power Techniques granted by the Creation Golden Talisman, his understanding was already close to the Dao itself.

That was why he had drawn a celestial tribulation the moment he advanced.

An ordinary Tribulation Realm Cultivator, by contrast, would often not face their first celestial tribulation for a hundred, or even several hundred, years after their breakthrough.

At this moment, arcs of lightning like the branches of a withered tree spread wantonly across the firmament, covering more than half the sky.

Meanwhile, orbs of lightning the size of pavilions rolled and tumbled through the dark clouds with a deep RUMBLING.

These two forms of lightning filled the entire sky in a dense, terrifying display. The sheer power of it was enough to make one's blood run cold.

Even stranger, a lofty and bizarre demonic will seemed to be brewing within the boundless lightning.

Ascendant Feng Yan watched the celestial tribulation in the sky, her brow furrowing slightly.

The celestial tribulation Fang Cheng had drawn was many times more powerful than any she had encountered in the Jade Flower Realm.

'No wonder the Tribulation Realm Cultivators of this world have it so hard...'

She sighed softly, her expression growing solemn. She stood ready to intervene at any moment to ensure Fang Cheng's safety.

After Fang Cheng had rescued her, she had promised to protect him through his first three celestial tribulations to resolve their karmic bond.

'I never thought this day would come so soon.'

She then saw Fang Cheng calmly rise to his feet. He strode upward and, with a single flash, walked directly into the endless sea of lightning.

RUMBLE!

With an earth-shattering crack, the endless arcs of lightning converged and struck down with ferocious might.

Fang Cheng suddenly felt a binding force envelop him, causing his body to dip slightly. He took a deep breath, let out a great roar, and threw a devastating punch.

The punch flew out as if to overturn heaven and earth. Within a ten-thousand-foot radius, wild gales howled and Spiritual Qi surged like a tide, spinning violently. In its path, the terrifying Thunder Light was torn open, leaving a massive hole.

The clouds parted, and daylight burst through.

Before the sea of lightning could even descend, he had shattered it with a single punch!

A look of shock appeared on Ascendant Feng Yan's beautiful face. She had never expected a single punch from Fang Cheng to possess such power.

But before Fang Cheng could relax, the sea of black clouds converged once more!

Bolts of lightning, even more powerful than before, struck down in quick succession.

It was as if the heavens themselves were enraged!

Fang Cheng frowned, sensing the power within the celestial tribulation. It was roughly equivalent to a full-powered strike from an ordinary, newly-ascended Tribulation Realm Cultivator in the Extreme Jade Heaven.

Furthermore, this celestial tribulation contained a power of destruction and assimilation. It seemed as if this world intended to utterly obliterate him, forcing the spiritual essence of his many years of cultivation to return to the Celestial Dao Origin.

In an instant, Fang Cheng was completely submerged by the endless Thunder Light.

...