Lu Xuan slowly awoke in the ditation chamber. A dense Innate Spiritual Light flashed across his body, but he imdiately concealed it.
'Qing Ping… Taiyi… an uncertain variable…'
Lu Xuan whispered to himself. Recalling the Three Masters' final words, his expression grew incredibly grave.
'What could this great disaster my Three Masters spoke of be?'
By now, he knew for certain that his three masters were undoubtedly at the Dao Fruit level. It was even highly likely that each of them occupied a Complete Dao Fruit.
'And since this was a "great disaster" that even Grandpa Chu and the Three Masters had to ntion, just how terrifying could it be?'
Shaking his head, Lu Xuan suppressed the turmoil in his heart. He rose calmly and strode out of the ditation chamber.
Outside the door, Zhang Ling, who had been waiting, glanced over and asked softly,
"Xiaoxuan, you..."
Lu Xuan pushed his complicated thoughts to the back of his mind and smiled gently.
"Senior Brother Zhang, I have a solution. But first, I need your consent."
"What is it?" Zhang Ling asked hurriedly.
Lu Xuan thought for a mont before explaining,
"I can probably send you back to the Ancient Spring and Autumn Period. If I do, you'll most likely encounter the future I ntioned… though, of course, that's not a certainty."
"Send back!" Zhang Ling said decisively. He knew his place and didn't ask how his junior brother could cross the expanse of ti. He just stated firmly,
"I was supposed to rise from the Spring and Autumn Period and undergo my tribulations through Reincarnation. If it weren't for those two inexplicable bastards..."
Lu Xuan's face twitched. He suddenly regretted not having given Senior Brother Zhang a couple more slaps back then…
After a mont's thought, he said,
"Alright. I'll first try to absorb this Little World into one of my Acupoints, and then I'll send you back. There shouldn't be any problems."
"Done." Zhang Ling nodded readily without further questions. He took a deep breath and transferred his control over this world, ceding the responsibilities of the "Dao" to Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan's mind buzzed as he instantly received an imnse stream of information. In that sa instant, he gained absolute dominion over the entire Little World.
The mountains and rivers, the birds and beasts, even the countless citizens of the eighteen cities—everything in the Little World fell under his control in an instant, subject to his will!
"So this is..." Lu Xuan was a bit dazed. "Is this what it feels like to be Heaven?"
He could feel it—with a single thought, he could overturn the entire world. With a single thought, he could manipulate the destinies of almost every living being within it. In a sense, he had beco the Heaven of this Peach Blossom Spring!
But then, Lu Xuan sensed sothing was wrong. This Little World seed to be collapsing toward the West, but sothing in that direction was propping the entire world up—or rather, holding it in place…
Though surprised, Lu Xuan didn't have ti to dwell on it. His attention was drawn back to Senior Brother Zhang.
At this mont, having lost his authority as the Celestial Dao, Zhang Ling began to age rapidly, his body showing signs of collapse.
Lu Xuan quickly poured out a torrent of Divine Essence. At the sa ti, he used his supre authority in the Little World to gather the Power of the Origin of Heaven and Earth, halting the frantic drain on Senior Brother Zhang's life force.
"This won't work," he said in a low voice. "Senior Brother, your condition can't be maintained for long… I'll absorb the world now and send you back to Ancient Tis!"
"...Alright." Zhang Ling forced out a single word. He was so old now that he could barely speak, let alone open his eyes!
Not daring to hesitate, Lu Xuan took a deep breath, stabilized Senior Brother Zhang, and then strode into the profoundly mysterious Sanqing Temple nearby.
At this mont, infused with the Thoughts of All Living Beings accumulated over a hundred thousand years, the Sanqing Temple had gained nurous new Profound Mysteries. In the dim, quiet gloom, it even faintly exuded an aura of being Immortal and indestructible.
Lu Xuan sat cross-legged inside, channeling the divine wonders of the Sanqing Temple into himself. Under the simultaneous blessings of the Little World, the Great Virtue, and the Sanqing Temple,
he seed to touch upon a profound state that transcended the Grand Grade.
But Lu Xuan had no ti to comprehend it in detail. Instead, he guided the marvels of the Daoist School, activated the diation of Creation and the Slaughter Two Sword Forms, and randomly chose an Acupoint in his right hand, cleaving open the Chaos Shell on its surface!
HUMMM!!
The Acupoint trembled. The thick, heavy shell shattered, revealing a chaotic scene within. Lu Xuan imdiately used diation of Creation to sweep away the chaos!
The next mont, at the behest of his will, the entire Little World instantly shrank, becoming infinitesimally small, and fell into the empty Acupoint in his right hand.
The Sanqing Temple was now exposed to the dim, silent Chaos of Nirvana, but the Daoist School was sturdy and stood firm, unmoving.
Lu Xuan took a deep breath and fully activated the wonders of the entire Daoist School. The Jade Void Glazed Lamp before him flared with brilliant light, and a phantom Primordial Dharma Aspect appeared above his head!
The Primordial Dharma Aspect connected all effects to their causes, stirring the montum of myriad great powers. With Dao Generating One in operation and under the amplification of the Sanqing Temple, Lu Xuan reached out his hand and, for the first ti, truly manipulated Cause and Effect.
Relying on his status as the Heaven of the Peach Blossom Spring, he forcibly intertwined the cause of the Peach Blossom Spring's Existence with the Acupoint in his right hand!
RUMBLE!!
Forcibly manipulating the Cause and Effect of an entire Little World was no easy task, even with the Daoist School's support. Lu Xuan's face turned deathly pale.
However, he succeeded in rging and integrating the Peach Blossom Spring and the Acupoint into one!
Feeling a power far more tumultuous than that in the Acupoint in his left hand, and sensing the endless stream of the Thoughts of All Living Beings pouring into his body and the Sanqing Temple, a smile appeared on Lu Xuan's face.
Imdiately after, he activated the Bronze Fragnt, which was wreathed in shards of ti, closed his eyes, and entered a dream.
Under a pulling force, Lu Xuan passed through the River of Ti and appeared above the small segnt of the river corresponding to the Ancient Spring and Autumn Period.
Then, he opened the Peach Blossom Spring within the Acupoint in his right hand and gave it a gentle shake.
An utterly aged figure tumbled out. Senior Brother Zhang fell straight into the Spring and Autumn Years, decaying in Ancient Tis. His True Spirit erged from the crumbling shell whose lifespan had ended and hurried off toward Reincarnation.
"It's done!"
Lu Xuan chuckled lightly. He didn't return to the Current World, nor did he step into the Spring and Autumn Ancient Tis. Instead, using the Bronze Fragnt, he remained standing above the long river, reached out, and fished out the Five Thousand Words of Dao and De.
His expression turned solemn. He sat cross-legged in the void and gently opened the Five Thousand Words of Dao and De.
[The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao; The na that can be nad is not the eternal na.]
[The Naless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; The nad is the mother of all things...]
Inscribed between the words was a supre Dao Rhy. Just a casual glance at the opening lines made Lu Xuan feel as if he were sinking into the vastness of the Great Dao. He almost beca lost in it, unable to pull himself free!
But soon, relying on his tenacious will, Lu Xuan forced himself not to study the words that manifested the supre principles of the Great Dao and quickly flipped the Tao Te Ching to the end.
'Now is not the ti to read this scripture.'
At the end of the scroll, there was indeed a Cultivation Skill engraved.
[Supre Tribulation Chapter].
The Cultivation Technique from the Supre Dharma Scripture corresponding to the Earth Immortal Level!
Lu Xuan read through the Magic Technique, gradually imrsing himself in its profound wonders. His understanding of cultivation at the Earth Immortal Level grew clearer.
The step of the Heaven Ascending Gate was the Earth Immortal Realm. It had Nine Tribulations. Only by overcoming all Nine Tribulations could one walk through the Celestial Gate and face the Heaven-Facing Palace!
The Nine Tribulations of the Earth Immortal.
The first three tribulations were Physical Tribulation, Greed, and Desire Tribulation.
The middle three were the Red Dust Tribulation, the Karma Tribulation, and the True Self Tribulation.
The final three were the Sword and Spear Calamity, the Pestilence Calamity, and the Famine Calamity.
The first three tribulations hard the physical body, questioning one's greed and desires. The middle three involved the tumultuous Red Dust, the Cause and Effect of the Red Dust, and a questioning of one's true heart!
The final three tribulations were the great calamities of the Earth Immortal Realm—they were tribulations, but also disasters!
The seventh tribulation, the Sword and Spear Calamity: those who suffered this calamity would endure the agony of the Celestial Blade cleaving their body for seven days and fourteen hours every month. This agony afflicted the body, the heart, and the spirit, and was utterly unbearable.
Moreover, while enduring the calamity, one's mind could falter under the imnse pain, making one vulnerable to inner demons!
The eighth tribulation, the Pestilence Calamity: those who suffered this calamity would be plagued by a hundred illnesses. While enduring this suffering, not only would one experience agony no less than that of the Sword and Spear Calamity, but one's Essence, Qi, and Spirit would also plumt. This would happen once a year, and each bout would last for seven months!
The ninth tribulation, the Famine Calamity.
This calamity occurred once every ten years, and each ti it lasted for seven years, seven months, and seven days. When afflicted, one would suffer the agony of the Sword and Spear Calamity, the weakness of the Pestilence Calamity, and would even be unable to absorb Primordial Qi!
In other words, while suffering this calamity, it was fine if one avoided combat. But once a fight began, one's Primordial Qi could not be replenished after being consud. They would only grow weaker and weaker until they were inferior even to a one-tribulation Earth Immortal. And each ti, this state would last for seven years, seven months, and seven days!
As Lu Xuan comprehended all this about the Earth Immortal Realm, he was secretly alard. 'No wonder Nine Tribulation Earth Immortals are rarely seen. After experiencing such great calamities, they probably have no choice but to find a remote mountain forest and live in seclusion…'
'Otherwise, if they were found by an enemy while undergoing the calamity and had no one to protect them, they would most likely perish, their Dao dissipating completely!'
While lost in thought, Lu Xuan committed the Supre Tribulation Chapter to mory. As he contemplated its various Profound Mysteries, he returned the Tao Te Ching to the Spring and Autumn Years.
Then, he activated the Bronze Fragnt and awoke from the dream. He was still in the Sanqing Temple, which was now slowly drifting in the Great Chaos.
Lu Xuan was in no hurry to return to the Current World. After briefly sensing the smoothly operating Peach Blossom Spring in the Acupoint of his right hand,
he focused his mind on the Supre Tribulation Chapter. Following its Dharma and principles, he circulated his Primordial Qi, spirit, True Spirit, and more.
His Essence, Qi, and Spirit resonated. And since the Physical Tribulation had long been shattered by that drop of Buddha Blood, he naturally stepped into the second tribulation, becoming a Two-Tribulation Earth Immortal.
Before he could even get excited about the explosive increase in his power, an overwhelming Greed flooded his mind!
Greed! Greed! Greed!
In that instant, the greed in his heart was endless—greed for desire, greed for power, greed for influence!
Under the impact of this terrifying greed, Lu Xuan's spirit, soul, and more beca unstable, showing signs of shattering. The desire to refine all the living beings in the Peach Blossom Spring to strengthen himself even surfaced!
But this greed was imdiately suppressed by Lu Xuan's incredibly resilient mind. As he silently endured the assault of the Greed tribulation, his thoughts raced.
A mont later, Lu Xuan's eyes lit up.
He took a deep breath, guarded his mind, and entered the state of Supre Forgetting Emotions.
When he closed and opened his eyes again, not a trace of greed remained, only a heart of pure ice.
Under the state of Supre Forgetting Emotions, the Greed Tribulation shattered with a crash.
A torrent of power surged from an unknown place, tempering Lu Xuan's Essence, Qi, and Spirit, transforming into droplets of a mysterious substance that filled his entire body!
He had beco a Three Tribulation Earth Immortal!
The third tribulation: the Desire Tribulation.
The Desire Tribulation had only just descended upon him when, in an instant, just like the Greed Tribulation, it was reduced to nothingness by the Supre Forgetting Emotions.
The Desire Tribulation was over. He had beco a Four-Tribulation Earth Immortal!
The fourth tribulation: the Red Dust Tribulation.
The so-called Red Dust Tribulation was ant to knock a person from a state of purity, plunging them into the boundless Red Dust to face myriad inner demons…
But under the Supre Forgetting Emotions, how could there be any impurity?
The fourth tribulation was broken.
He had beco a Five-Tribulation Earth Immortal!
In the ti it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had broken through four tribulations in a row. In less than a day, he had beco an Immortal who had undergone five tribulations!
Lu Xuan exhaled, feeling the tremors of Cause and Effect and the encroaching Fifth Cause and Effect Tribulation. He smiled and rose calmly to his feet.
"Ti to go back to the Current World." He stretched, and as his near-Innate physical body trembled, the void around him collapsed in silence.
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