Chapter 55
The sound of rumbling thunder echoed as bolts of lightning lit up the entire sky.
The wind blew, and rain poured over the ocean in a 500-kilometer radius. Within the 50-kilometer radius of the Tribulation Transcendence location, the waves rose to frightening heights.
The Heaven Earth spiritual energy from the surroundings convened over as well. The lightning liquid from the lightning pond in the Tribulation Cloud cascaded down multiple times.
Half of the island below was already destroyed. Fortunately, Li Changshou had chosen desolate locations where there were no living organisms around. As for the organisms living in the ocean, they had already fled.
The lightning waterfall repeatedly descended, and the wind and rain became increasingly violent.
What was originally a cultivator’s Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, which should not affect a large area, had unexpectedly become a situation where Heaven was punishing a tyrant.
The Immortal Ascension Tribulation was one of the many types of Heavenly Tribulation. Its ferocity was considered quite weak, for, during the Primordial Times, Immortal Ascension was nothing significant.
The true, formidable tribulation should occur when a peak Heaven Immortal attained a breakthrough to become a Golden Immortal. If their negative karma was far greater than their merits, the Heavenly Dao would not allow them to gain immortality, and the Immortal Tribulation would descend.
It was a Heavenly Tribulation that could kill Golden Immortals. The Tribulation Cloud would cover thousands of kilometers, and there were different types, unlike the Lightning Tribulation.
Boom!
Rumble—
At the same time, at a place 515 kilometers south-east from the Tribulation Transcendence location.
The young girl called Han Zhi, who was still on the cloud, inquired softly, “Why are we stopping again, Master?”
The old Daoist priest frowned slightly as he used his powerful immortal sense to scrutinize the ocean thousands of kilometers away.
Despite having the strength of a half-step Golden Immortal, he still could not see through that area heavily concealed by the Tribulation Cloud.
The density of the Heavenly Tribulation power there seemed to be a little overabundant.
However, based on how the Tribulation Cloud trembled and shuddered, he could still deduce if Lightning Tribulations were descending.
“There is something amiss about that Heavenly Tribulation. It is already the seventh bolt, and it has yet to disperse!”
The old Daoist priest pinched his fingers together to make a prediction. Then, he suddenly turned his body as he stared at the Tribulation Transcendence location, which was currently further away.
“There seems to be something else other than the Heavenly Tribulation…”
The young girl, Han Zhi, complained, “Master, why are we not heading over to take a look?”
“If we are too close to it and manage to witness an Immortal Ascension Tribulation of this caliber, I am afraid that you might develop a phobia of Heavenly Tribulation.” The old Daoist priest frowned and added, “Let us wait a while more here and see if he can survive the eighth bolt. Logically, he should not be able to…”
Boom! Boom!
The world shook again. The eighth Heavenly Tribulation fell, and one could see the lightning waterfall from thousands of kilometers away!
The Tribulation Cloud was still not dissipating?
“The cultivator was able to survive the eighth bolt? Could he be a reincarnated mighty figure?
“Let’s go, Han Zhi. Let’s head over to take a look!”
The old Daoist priest did not know how many gasps he made. He flew in the direction of where Li Changshou was transcending the tribulation, pulling his disciple along and with the white cloud underneath his feet to provide him with speed.
However, they had just started moving when they saw a silvery-white giant lightning ball tinged in purple forming inside the Tribulation Cloud!
It was as though a mythical lightning bird rose from the ocean, thus becoming the second sun in the sky!
The lightning ball landed with a boom. The Heavenly Tribulation power had reached its maximal, causing the waves to rise like great mountains!
The old Daoist priest continued to advance. Even at the cultivation realm he was in, more than 1,000 kilometers was still considered quite a significant distance for him.
Hu…
Gusts of strong wind suddenly blew over the ocean. They were generated by the spiritual energy around rushing toward the island Li Changshou was on.
The spiritual energy was gathering so quickly that seven-colored rays of lights were formed.
“A storm is brewing, Master!” Han Zhi shouted in shock, “That person survived the tribulation!”
“That’s right! This is a sign of a successful Immortal Ascension when the immortal is absorbing the spiritual energy!” The old Daoist priest looked excited. “Let’s go! This person must be a reincarnation of some mighty figure. Look at the amount of spiritual energy. The man, no, the immortal, will directly ascend to become a Heaven Immortal!
Quickly! Let’s head over and befriend him! If we convince him to join our sect, it will be wonderful!”
Then, following his speech, a violet bolt of lightning flashed in the sky above the Ninth Heaven. It pierced through the Tribulation Cloud and landed on that island!
The old Daoist priest’s eyes widened. His flushed face turned beetroot under the illumination of the divine violet lightning…
What was going on with him today?
When he had thought that the person would fail, the latter had succeeded.
He had just said that the person had managed to survive the tribulation, and another divine bolt of lightning suddenly struck…
He swore that his words did not cause this!
Han Zhi grumbled, “Master, what is that?”
“Heavenly punishment! A true heavenly punishment.” The old Daoist priest replied solemnly, “The Heavenly Dao felt that he was an abnormality. Even if he transcended the tribulation, he would still be subjected to the heavenly punishment.
“It is over. This person is dead for sure. There is nothing good about the arrival of the heavenly punishment…”
This time, before he could finish speaking, the wind howled violently around them the moment he said that the person was dead for sure. Boundless spiritual energy once again congealed toward the island.
“Eh? This mouth of mine!”
Crack!
The young girl beside extended her hand and covered her master’s mouth. “Stop speaking, Master. Let’s quickly head over to take a look.”
The old Daoist priest shook his head with a smile. He pointed ahead, and the white cloud sped up.
They were 400 kilometers away from the island, which was surrounded by a sea of ganoderma-shaped auspicious clouds.
The Tribulation Cloud in the sky split into various white clouds before swiftly congregating into a funnel shape, in which the tip of the funnel was pointed at the person undergoing the Tribulation Transcendence.
Pure spiritual energy flowed down from the white cloud, concentrating on the human figure, which could be vaguely seen.
A beam of golden light shone from the Ninth Heaven and enveloped that person.
There were many shadows of fairies dancing to the encompassing immortal music inside the light pillar. As they danced, they scattered flower petals around.
A white-haired old man riding a crane even flew over and executed multiple Dao salutes at the human figure below.
These were all Heaven Earth phenomena.
The current Heavenly Tribulation power was already very scant.
By the time the old Daoist priest and his disciple were around 300 kilometers away, the phenomena were still present in the sky. The human figure, which had already completely absorbed the Tribulation Cloud, suddenly turned around and jumped into the ocean…
The old Daoist priest was momentarily stunned. He hastily used his immortal power to send a voice transmission,
“Dao friend!
“We are cultivators from the Golden Turtle Island, and we came specifically to congratulate you!”
Yet, there was a burst of immortal light in the ocean, and the person disappeared.
“Why did he escape, Master?” asked Han Zhi while frowning. “Acting as though we are bad people.”
“Sigh. How would he know if we were good or bad people?”
The old Daoist priest lamented and pinched his fingers together to make a prediction. However, he failed.
‘He evaded the divine prediction?
‘That person should be a reincarnation of some mighty figure without a doubt. Otherwise, they would not have been so cautious.
‘I am quite proficient in the skill of prediction, and yet I failed to find any traces of him.
‘He clearly cultivated in the ancient times and knew the dangers of the cultivation world.’
“Han Zhi, do you still want to head over and take a look? That person had already left.”
“Yes, Master. I want to know just how powerful this Heavenly Tribulation was.”
“Alright.” The old Daoist priest looked at her lovingly, controlled the cloud underneath their feet, and led his disciple.
A moment later, they finally landed on the island. However, the young girl’s face had on a look of… disappointment.
Half of the small island was gone. A square deep hole underneath the ocean water replaced the destroyed side of the island.
“Master, is this how all Immortal Ascension Tribulations are like?”
“Don’t worry,” the old Daoist priest replied with a smile as he stared at the tattered, blood-stained shirt floating on the ocean water. “Your Heavenly Tribulation will certainly not be as powerful, and will at most be 10% of this strength.”
Han Zhi’s mouth twitched. This statement sounded so…
The old Daoist priest pointed at the tattered shirt below, causing it to be engulfed in flames and quickly turned into dust.
“The person was in a hurry to leave and left this item behind.” The old Daoist priest explained with a smile, “It can be considered developing virtuous karma with him, by helping him remove any latent danger. Let’s go, or else another expert will come over to check this place. It would be troublesome to attempt explaining this situation.”
Han Zhi nodded her head slightly. As her master was dragging her towards the south-east, she looked down and stared at the pitch-dark pit at the bottom of the ocean.
…
‘Was the bloodied shirt discovered by someone?’
Li Changshou silently calculated. He used his immortal power, executed the Water Escape with his full strength, and anxiously hurried toward the west.
He had sensed the old Daoist priest and young girl approaching, which was why he had given up on recuperating on the spot, absorbed the last breath of spiritual energy and fled.
That bloodied shirt had been taken from a mortal soldier’s dead body when he had been in the mortal world. Li Chngshou had soaked it with spiritual energy, so it should be able to interfere with those who wanted to pursue him.
He had personally chanted the Expiation Sutra for that soldier, helping the latter swiftly head to the underworld and reincarnate.
“Ahem!”
The water torrent formed using the Water Escape technique vibrated slightly as blood trickled into it. The blood had yet to disperse before it was washed away by the torrent.
At that moment, Li Changshou’s entire body was shining with seven-colored immortal light. However, spiderweb-like cracks covered his body from his chest to his waist.
In truth, his immortal body was not that bad. Worse still was his immortal nascent, which was collapsed unmoving by the dantian…
Everyone would understand that logic, but why… would there be a tenth lightning bolt for a nine-lightning tribulation?
“Cough! Cough!”
Li Changshou could not help but cough twice. Feeling pain all over his body was nothing, but it was difficult to deal with having to repeatedly vomit blood.
Since the ancient times, how many cultivators, who had passed their Tribulation Transcendence successfully, would end up in such a wretched state?
He stopped inside the water and checked his jade fragment and the trinkets he had previously removed from his body.
He started to become dizzy, and his body began to sway in the water.
Li Changshou naturally knew that the last violet divine lightning was actually the heavenly punishment for obscuring the divine prediction…
That heavenly punishment had caused the severe injuries he sustained.
Fortunately, Li Changshou had reacted swiftly. In the instant he had sensed that the heavenly punishment was about to arrive, he had taken out the few defense Dharma treasures he owned…
One could not block the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation using Dharma treasures, but it was possible for heavenly punishments to a small extent.
These Dharma treasures were not of extremely good quality, so they had helped Li Changshou to dampen some power from the heavenly punishment. This had allowed him to escape.
When the violet divine bolt of lightning had landed, Li Changshou had felt relieved.
He did not owe the Heavenly Dao any karma.
“Pew!”
Blood spurted, but Li Changshou used his hand to stop the blood flow.
His Primordial Spirit and immortal nascent were too severely injured, and he would need to find a place to silently recuperate. If he did not do so, the cultivation realm he had attained after frantically absorbing spiritual energy from the Tribulation Transcendence would drop…
He had gained countless insights when he had been transcending the tribulation. These would form the foundation of his continual ascension and would need to be absorbed quickly.
Li Changshou extended his immortal sense and madly searched the ocean. After a short while, he smiled and dashed southwards toward the recesses of the ocean.
Moments later, deep roars could be heard. A 200-feet-long monster fish left the domain it had lived in for the past hundreds of years, and swiftly swam westwards.
There was a lump on its back, flashing with immortal light, and one white jade lotus flower would occasionally appear.
Li Changshou, who was hidden inside the monster fish, completely concealed his aura.
Despite having severe injuries, he did not forget to circulate the Turtle Breathing Mantra.
The monster fish did not know what was wrong with itself, to continuously want to swim toward the west while remaining hundreds of kilometers away from the coast…
Li Changshou originally planned to recuperate inside the monster fish. However, a few days later, his injuries were almost healed. Both his immortal body and nascent could gradually self-heal.
He relaxed, and the insights flowed to him, forcibly pulling Li Changshou’s consciousness into the abstruse immortal realm…
This was known as the door of perception, and it was a mysterious realm.
Li Changshou was lost inside a strange realm. He could sense the changes in his environment and control the rough direction of where the monster fish was swimming. Yet, he could not wake up.
He did not sense the passing of time while he was lost in this esoteric Dao Realm.
However, a bit of his immortal sense continued to drift around the monster fish, so as to provide him with timely warnings.
The monster fish continued to swim westwards, and five months passed. One day, two huge metal spikes reached into the ocean and pierced through the fish.
Li Changshou was alarmed. However, as he did not sense any danger, he did not leave that abstruse Dao Realm. He waited quietly at the back of the fish and continued to experience and understand that Dao Realm.
In actual fact, he was unable to leave even if he wanted to…
The monster fish, with Li Changshou inside, was dragged by two boats onto the coast and then into a relatively large village by a group of strong and fit young people who wore primitive clothes.
With a rough scan of the outside with his immortal sense, Li Changshou discovered that the majority of the people there were mortals, with only a few of them capable of completing Qi Refinement and Soul Formation.
He sensed his body sliding out of the fish the moment it was sliced open.
Then, a dramatic scene played out.
These fishermen treated Li Changshou as the Sea God and started prostrating and dancing in celebration around him. They even started a celebration banquet that lasted for several days, while putting him on a pedestal…
After all, when he slid out from the fish, his body shone with immortal light and was completely dirt-free. He looked very heroic.
Li Changshou remained in this state for the next two months, while these fishermen treated him as their god.
A young girl around 13 years old was selected to be the maidservant to guard by Li Changshou’s side day and night.
Another two weeks passed before Li Changshou finally managed to absorb all insights and break free from that abstruse realm. While he closed his eyes and checked his insides for a while, morning arrived. The young girl in the adjacent room woke up.
Upon hearing the light footsteps, Li Changshou opened his eyes and stood up, prepared to thank the young girl before quickly leaving this place.
Li Changshou spoke the moment the young girl lifted her leg and was about to cross the threshold.
“Thank you, mi—”
The door curtain opened, and an arm as thick as Li Changshou’s thigh reached inside.
Li Changshou blinked.
Did he sense wrongly? It was a young man and not a young lady?
He immediately changed the address. “Thank you, mister, for saving me!”
“Eh?”
A figure entered the room. First was a beautiful face, then a short fit body and 3,000 flowy black hair strands…
The young girl spoke in a hoarse voice. “Hey! Why did you wake up, Sir Immortal?”
‘Immortal?’
Li Changshou took note of this detail and started to feel wary.
According to how the fishermen before that had been addressing him, shouldn’t he be called Sea God instead?