"East Pole Qing Hua of the East Pole Celestial Court. Greetings to the Great Celestial Venerable and to Saint Lu."
Lu Xuan raised his head and narrowed his eyes. ’The Emperor of the East Pole Celestial Court?’
Beside him, Old Nong chuckled and explained, "Qing Hua oversees all creation and commands the Underworld. You sentenced Emperor Gouchen to eighteen thousand years in the Eighteen Hells. An ordinary Ghost God wouldn’t dare enforce such a penalty, so I summoned him here."
The grievously wounded Emperor Gouchen began to tremble.
Old Nong coughed and added, "East and West are opposites. These two young fellows are mortal enemies."
With a flash of understanding, Lu Xuan lifted Emperor Gouchen and tossed him to the ruler of the East Pole Celestial Court. "Then I’ll have to trouble the Great Emperor to carry out the sentence," he said gravely.
"You are too kind, Saint Lu." Emperor Qing Hua’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "If you find yourself with a mont to spare, I invite you to be a guest at my East Pole Celestial Court."
Lu Xuan fell silent for a mont before giving a slight nod.
"I will."
Emperor Qing Hua did not linger. After bowing once more to Old Nong, he took hold of Gouchen—whose cultivation was sealed—and with a single step, entered the Underworld and vanished.
Lu Xuan stood his ground, surveying the vast West Pole Celestial Palace. The Ancient Tree Branch in his hand was drenched in Emperor’s Blood, as was he, the crimson liquid dripping endlessly from his body.
After that outburst, he felt sowhat dazed.
COUGH, COUGH...
Ignoring the gazes of the Immortals and Buddhas filling the heavens, Old Nong chuckled at his disciple. "Having co this far and done what you’ve done, have you gained any new understanding?"
Lu Xuan nodded, then imdiately shook his head.
Old Nong paid it no mind and simply asked again, "For what purpose did you co to the West Pole Celestial Palace to demand justice?"
Lu Xuan wiped the Emperor’s Blood from his face. His chest rose and fell as he answered softly, "To seek justice for the lands of the Human World, and for all its people."
"And after seeking justice, what will you do?"
Lu Xuan glanced away, his gaze piercing the void toward the other Celestial Courts. Several Immortal Gods flinched away from his stare.
He said, "Henceforth, if any Immortal God dares to casually bring down disaster and incur the wrath of the people, I will hold them responsible."
As he spoke, Lu Xuan’s gaze grew more profound.
"I will watch over the lands of the Human World."
Looks of gravity flickered in the eyes of several Immortal Gods. ’This...!’
Old Nong, on the other hand, smiled gently. With a wave of his hand, he concealed the secrets of heaven, shielding them from the prying eyes of the Immortals and Buddhas. Then, he offered a bit of guidance. "To the mortals, so Immortal Gods are disasters, calamities, and tribulations. To Emperor Gouchen and those like him, what are you?"
Lu Xuan was silent for a mont, then answered, "A disaster, a calamity, a tribulation..."
He trailed off, a sudden realization dawning on him.
’The Ninth Realm of Earth Immortal involves passing through Nine Tribulations.’
’Once the Nine Tribulations have all been endured, what then is the Earth Immortal Extre Realm? If one has passed all tribulations... then perhaps one must beco...’
’...a tribulation incarnate.’
Enlightennt struck him like lightning, parting the mists of confusion from his mind.
Old Nong yawned and spoke languidly. "One who becos a tribulation may enter the Earth Immortal Extre Realm. You, however, are the tribulation for Immortals and Buddhas, the tribulation for the Daluo..."
"Unprecedented in the past, and unlikely ever to be repeated."
"Thus, a supre Dao Foundation shall be established."
At these words, Lu Xuan stood stunned, closing his eyes.
Within his physique, his aura surged violently. In the span of a single breath, his bones and sinews began to hum, his Divine Soul churned, and his Primordial Qi roared!
The Great Dao of Heaven and Earth infused his body once more. He could feel himself undergoing a thorough transformation, a grand evolution at the very foundation of his existence!
At the Nine Tribulation Earth Immortal Realm, by becoming a tribulation of any kind, one could enter the Earth Immortal Extre Realm. The greater the tribulation one embodied, the greater the benefits.
But how great a tribulation could an Earth Immortal possibly beco?
Thus, throughout history, very few have ever reached the Earth Immortal Extre Realm. The most famous among them is a certain "Ancestor of Earth Immortals," who embodied the Life Tribulation and is now one of the Daluo.
But what Lu Xuan embodied was the tribulation for the Immortals and Buddhas.
Feeling the colossal changes within his physique, he glanced aside with a wry smile. "Master, you’ve essentially pushed to stand against all the Immortals and Buddhas in the heavens."
Old Nong’s eyes glead as he chuckled. "But is this not what you sought?"
"It is exactly what I sought."
Lu Xuan nodded with utmost seriousness. Within his body, his aura was still surging, still transforming.
Old Nong chuckled lightly and said, "The fourth scripture I am imparting to you is the ’Supre Celestial Palace Chapter,’ which corresponds to the Heaven-Facing Palace realm. Listen closely."
He began to recite the principles of the Skill, a scripture of profound and arcane mysteries!
Lu Xuan channeled his Primordial Qi, and following the teachings of the "Supre Celestial Palace Chapter," he crossed completely through the Celestial Gate!
The Heaven-Facing Palace realm was achieved.
The instant he entered the Heaven-Facing Palace, the instant he reached the True Immortal Realm, the blessings and fortune that ca with being the "Tribulation of Immortals and Buddhas," combined with the Virtue, Dao Rhy, and other benefits accumulated from preaching the Dao in the Human World for one hundred sixty-three years, all burst forth with a ROAR!
Even the Gouchen Emperor’s Blood covering his body, at a re thought from Old Nong, began to fuse into his physique!
Lu Xuan let out a low roar as his cultivation level skyrocketed!!
Ninth Grade True Immortal, Eighth Grade True Immortal, Seventh Grade True Immortal...
His terrifyingly vast reserves of power sent Lu Xuan’s cultivation soaring to the heavens!
Third Grade True Immortal... Second Grade True Immortal...
First Grade True Immortal, achieved!
But it wasn’t over. The Gouchen Emperor’s Blood continued to tirelessly reforge Lu Xuan’s body, suffusing him with the aura of iron, blood, and weapons of war!
His status as Human Saint resonated, and the Ancient Tree Branch in his hand underwent another massive transformation. It evolved beyond its original state as a Supre Treasure of the Immortal Level. Bathed in the glow of the mottled Emperor’s Blood,
the Ancient Tree Branch began to reflect all that was and was not in the current space. It reflected all the Celestial Realms, all worlds, and all ages, becoming a Supre Treasure of the Celestial Realms!
Ti passed, bit by bit. An unknown amount of ti went by.
Lu Xuan opened his eyes, which now shimred with divine light. Heaven and earth humd in resonance.
"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!" Old Nong clapped his hands and laughed heartily.
Lu Xuan hurriedly perford a grand bow of respect. He now understood the aning behind his master’s actions. He had been made into the "Tribulation of Immortals and Buddhas" while still in the Earth Immortal Realm. Although the full effects were not yet apparent,
Lu Xuan had a premonition that this tribulation he now embodied would one day unleash boundless Profound Mysteries!
Old Nong let out three great laughs, each one shaking the Thirty-Three Celestial Realms so violently that the Immortals and Buddhas were left in utter shock!
After his three great laughs, Old Nong caught his breath, his eyes gleaming as he said, "Xiaoxuan, what you have accomplished here has reached a zenith. Your actions have drawn the attention of the other Dao Fruits. Once you return to the Current World, do not co back for so ti."
Lu Xuan’s expression turned solemn as he listened quietly.
Old Nong continued, "The Current World is unique; even the Dao Fruits cannot cast their gazes there, nor can they interfere... The next ti you return to the Ancient Tis, try to assu a different identity, a different face. I will help conceal your presence, allowing you to temporarily evade the notice of the other Dao Fruits."
Lu Xuan was taken aback. Just as he was about to say sothing, Old Nong raised a hand to stop him. "Let Zhao Zheng return to the Qin Kingdom. As for Little Jianxue, I will take her to Douluo Palace to stay by my side for a while... In the True Immortal Realm, everything before the Grand Grade is about accumulation. Your accumulation is sufficient. Reaching the Grand Grade, however, is about the ’weight’ you carry in heaven and earth. Do you understand?"
Lu Xuan took a deep breath and replied in a low voice, "I understand."
Old Nong nodded slightly and said with another smile, "Good. The next ti you co, I will take you to et your eldest senior brother... Right, I have observed that the River of Ti is about to see a rising tide. The Current World in which you reside may face a great upheaval. Be careful, be careful, and be careful."
As he spoke, he gave a gentle push, and a Small Pagoda landed before Lu Xuan, blooming with a divine, seventy-two-colored radiance.
"Rember, do not use the Qing Ping Sword your third martial uncle gave you lightly. You cannot control it. A single strike could cause All Realms to collapse and the stream of ti to wither."
"And with the Current World about to change, take this pagoda. It is called the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda. It can protect you. When suspended above your head, it grants Innate Invincibility."
Lu Xuan took the Small Pagoda in a daze. When he looked up, intending to bow, he found that Old Nong had already vanished without a trace.
"Go back now, go back," his master’s cheerful voice echoed.
The concealing veil vanished, and the gazes of countless Immortals and Buddhas fell upon him once more. Lu Xuan felt a wave of dizziness, and his vision abruptly went dark.
The gazes of the Immortals and Buddhas filling the heavens fell upon a scene empty of all but the pools of flowing Emperor’s Blood.
「Above the River of Ti」
Caressing the Small Pagoda and feeling the imnse power of his First Grade True Immortal Realm, Lu Xuan looked down upon the era of the Ancient Spring and Autumn and let out a long sigh.
’Next ti, I’ll have to use a different identity... Supre Emperor Profound Yellow?’
He frowned, his gaze shifting along the river to the segnt corresponding to the Great Qin, and an idea took root in his mind.
Lu Xuan smiled and stretched, putting away his Supre Daoist Robe and Supre Daoist Crown. His elderly appearance reverted to its true form, and he was once again a young man.
However, having experienced two hundred years of life, he was a youth in appearance only. His eyes held the weight of ages.
The young man glanced back at the Spring and Autumn Years one last ti, a wistful look on his face. Then he smiled and murmured to himself,
"Hmm, I wonder what kind of person Little Jianxue will beco, staying by Master’s side."
"Two hundred years..."
"By the next ti I return, Xiaozheng should have unified the country, right?"
He sighed softly, a look of loneliness crossing his features. Releasing the restraints on himself, he allowed the pulling force to carry him downstream along the River of Ti.
"A great dream of two hundred years... I ca an Earth Immortal, but I return a True Immortal."
"It’s ti to go back."
"The lands of the Spring and Autumn Period... I have lit their path."
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