Brilliant flas lit up the world.
Duo Bao Child stared blankly at his surroundings. All he could see were blazing torches, and the most ferocious of them was the Profound Iron Sword Master right beside him.
They had been talking just a mont ago.
The two had barely escaped Dragon-Crushing Pass with their lives and were discussing how to sneak into Jiangxi Shitu. Then, a radiant light began to emanate from the Profound Iron Sword Master’s body.
Then, he spontaneously combusted.
There was nothing to be done, no ti to react. Duo Bao Child could only watch as the Profound Iron Sword Master’s eyes, filled with despair, turned into two fireballs. His Mid-phase of Foundation Establishnt cultivation beca fuel for the flas, and in the blink of an eye, the fire erupting from him engulfed several cities.
Heaven and Earth fell silent.
Only the quiet spread of fire remained. The sky was burned crimson by the glow, and standing amidst it all, Duo Bao Child felt as if he were trapped inside a Pill Furnace.
"The Jiangbei Demon... the Stain Sect... What a ’Stain Sect’ indeed!"
In that mont, Duo Bao Child’s forr hatred for the Stain Sect, much like the millions of people and the mountains and rivers beneath the great fire, was all burned away to nothing.
All that remained was an ashen fear.
’A million people! And countless Cultivators! Even if I were to kill them myself, it would take three days and three nights... Yet now, they’ve all been set ablaze by a single fire!’
’Is this even the work of a human?’
The next second, a gentle breeze brushed past Duo Bao Child’s face. It carried the searing heat of the flas, forcing him to squint his eyes reflexively.
’Where did that wind co from?’
Duo Bao Child looked around but found nothing. Then, it dawned on him. "The Foundation Establishnt Realm...?! It’s the Weakening Wind! This fire is about to burn its way into the Foundation Establishnt Realm!"
RUMBLE!
At this thought, Duo Bao Child imdiately escaped into the Foundation Establishnt Realm. Sure enough, his eyes were t with the sight of an endless, raging inferno.
However, within that monstrous blaze, he also saw countless jade towers and pavilions being reforged in the fire, rising from the ground. All sorts of landscapes transford from their initial illusory state, becoming real under the scorching heat, until finally they blazed with light in the Foundation Establishnt Realm, like a sun about to ascend into the sky!
"Rise!"
In an instant, a clear, powerful shout echoed in all directions. Then, he saw the sun-like land of fire actually begin to rise toward the sky of the Foundation Establishnt Realm!
’The Ascension of a Blessed Land!’
"He actually succeeded... Chong Guang has begun his enthronent to seek Gold, to achieve the Ascension of his Blessed Land! Once he ascends to the Fruit and it transforms into a Grotto Heaven, he will be a Perfected Lord!"
"The millennial Tribulation is one step closer!"
「At Dragon-Crushing Pass.」
Perfected Yin Shan’s face was flush with excitent.
"Zhong Xin... It’s really Zhong Xin! Senior Brother’s plans were truly profound. With such thorough preparations and with World Purger Fei Xue as Protector, his enthronent is all but guaranteed!"
At the sa ti, a man in golden robes walked out from beside Perfected Yin Shan. His chiseled face showed a hint of anticipation. It was none other than Great Undertaking, who had previously sent Venerable Weimotuo back to the Pure Land with a single move. Now, however, his body was covered in a network of fine cracks.
His end was near.
After all, with the death of the Perfected Fortune, Great Undertaking, his creation, was like water without a source. Every move he made consud what little remained of his Lifespan.
This was his final gamble.
If it succeeded and Chong Guang was enthroned, he could extend his Lifespan and continue to live freely. If it failed, his soul would return to the void, his consciousness would dissipate, and there would be no chance for even reincarnation.
Even so, Great Undertaking was remarkably calm at this mont.
He still retained the mories of when the Perfected Fortune himself was enthroned, and in his view, Perfected Chong Guang’s preparations were far more thorough.
’A Perfected Lord is acting as Protector, the Pure Land’s attempt to interfere was thwarted, and the Dao Court and Sword Pavilion can only acquiesce. Chong Guang himself has already refined a complete Gold Attribute, and he’s perford a blood sacrifice of the entire Qing Country, using that Marvel as the driving force for his Blessed Land’s Ascension while also avoiding the heavenly punishnt.’
’That’s a Marvel!’
’Among all the resources one can use to break through to the Perfected Lord realm, a Marvel is considered Top-Grade. If not for the fact that taking one inevitably invites heavenly punishnt, countless people would be fighting over it.’
’And with the power of a Marvel, the Ascension of a Blessed Land is almost effortless.’
’At the sa ti, he used the thod of Seizing Power to reverse the Dao Court’s rules in the Qing Country, unseating the Emperor and destroying its Order. This has undoubtedly attracted the favor of the Fruit!’
Thinking this, Great Undertaking looked up at the sky.
Not the sky of the Current World, but the sky of the Foundation Establishnt Realm. There, a Golden Cup Light was slowly brightening—the manifested image of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire!
At that mont, Great Undertaking reached his conclusion:
"The odds of success... are a perfect ten out of ten!"
That’s right. In his view, the probability of Chong Guang’s breakthrough was a perfect ten out of ten. There were no flaws, and theoretically, no possibility of failure.
「anwhile, within the Foundation Establishnt Realm.」
Perfected Chong Guang stood with his hands behind his back. His entire Spiritual Essence, his one Innate Ability, his four Talent Skills, and his Perfection-level Abilities were all channeled into the Dongyang Blessed Land behind him.
The radiance of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire drew ever closer.
At this mont, Perfected Chong Guang felt a great sense of relief, as if he were slowly rising from the depths of the ocean to finally breathe fresh air.
After a short while, everything changed.
His vision was filled with a vast Void. This was the "sky" of the Foundation Establishnt Realm, and also where the Fruits resided. Every lineage had its own description of this place.
In the North and South of the River, the Ascension Dao describes it as, "A sea of light pervades the dharma-dhātu; the void is clear, and the heart of heaven shines bright."
In the Pure Land in the West, the Monks describe this region as, "Neither born nor dying, the clouds scatter to reveal a pure sky over the mountains; neither coming nor going, wisdom returns to samādhi, a solitary moon wheel."
In the Dao Court in the East, the description changes again to, "From the gradual thod to the sudden thod, from the conditioned to the unconditioned, from the non-empty to the truly empty."
Yet, all these descriptions were ultimately referred to by a much simpler term:
The Sea of Suffering.
’Above the Foundation Establishnt Realm lies the Sea of Suffering!’
’All beings of the mortal world churn within the Sea of Suffering!’
’The Fruits are the ships upon this sea. Only by becoming a Perfected Lord can one achieve the Ascension of a Blessed Land, rise from the Sea of Suffering, and take command of one of those ships!’
So where did the Sea of Suffering co from?
Before long, Perfected Chong Guang felt nurous connections form. In a daze, he could almost see the many Cultivators who practiced cultivation techniques related to the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire.
The Qi Refiners were aningless.
What was useful to him were the Cultivators who had established a Dao Foundation. As he was enthroned, the Fruit, now with a master aboard its "ship," grew considerably heavier.
In an instant, it sent out countless ripples.
These ripples were insignificant in the Sea of Suffering, but when they fell upon the Foundation Establishnt Realm below, they transford into a great wind powerful enough to extinguish souls and corrode the flesh.
The Weakening Wind!
And every Foundation-Stage Cultivator who had built a Dao Foundation related to the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire was, by enduring the Weakening Wind, using their own Dao Foundation and their life’s worth of Cultivation to hold up the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire. Why were there three great tribulations of wind, fire, and lightning in the Foundation Establishnt Realm? It was because of the Fruits and Grotto Heavens above!
"So that’s how it is..."
A look of understanding dawned in Perfected Chong Guang’s eyes. This was a secret only a Perfected Lord could see and experience; without becoming one, you could never grasp it.
’But it makes sense when you think about it.’
’Foundation-Stage Cultivators are the "people," and Perfected Lords are the "lords." In all the world, where is there a "lord" who doesn’t levy exorbitant taxes on the "people"?’
This was also one of the reasons why Perfected Lords controlled the number of Foundation-Stage Cultivators!
If the taxes were too heavy and the number of people grew too large, they would rebel. But if the people were too few, the taxes collected would be insufficient, which would also affect the monarch’s state.
"The mortal world truly is a great Sea of Suffering..."
Thinking this, Perfected Chong Guang couldn’t help but sigh. But soon, that sigh turned into thrilled excitent, because he was about to reach the shore!
But just then—
"...Hm?"
As he drew closer and closer to the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire, he suddenly realized it was different from what he had expected, and he froze in place.
"This is... but how is this possible...?"
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