A destructive white light enveloped everything.
Lü Zhong used the Thunder Escape Technique, trying desperately to escape the blast radius. However, he had barely fled a thousand zhang before the spreading white light overtook him. Then, as if struck by a heavy hammer, he was sent flying.
He was like a duckweed caught in a storm.
The staggering power lingered for several breaths before dissipating.
When Lü Zhong came to his senses, his entire body ached with unprecedented injuries. He stared at the drastically altered landscape, shocked by the power of the Spirit Treasure.
Then he saw the azure sky suddenly become shrouded in thunderclouds. His mood, which had plummeted to rock bottom, was now overcome with elation.
The Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation had arrived!
Sure enough, in the next moment, a Spiritual Light descended from the sky.
The Spiritual Light had a restorative effect, its healing properties far surpassing those of any Pill.
Not far away, Yuu Mingzi, his clothes in tatters, struggled to climb out from the loose soil.
He sensed the astonishing aura of the Thunder Tribulation and saw Lü Zhong’s injuries healing at a rapid pace. How could he not know that the mission he and his eight companions had undertaken was a complete failure? In the end, they had been unable to stop Lü Zhong.
Staring blankly at the scene before him, Yuu Mingzi muttered, "Why? Why didn’t the Profound Robe Grand Venerable make a move, even at the very last moment? He should have appeared here and dealt with Lü Zhong with lightning speed. Could it be... could it be that the Talisman Palace abandoned the pact? No, that’s impossible!"
If the Talisman Palace had broken the pact, then the three from the Talisman Palace in the distance would have died on the spot.
But now, they were perfectly fine.
’That means something must have happened to the Profound Robe Grand Venerable.’
At this thought, Yuu Mingzi’s face turned ashen.
They had failed.
Utterly failed.
’Escape?’
’It would be meaningless.’
After this bloody battle, he was inexplicably convinced that Lü Zhong would succeed in his Crossing Tribulation. Even if he escaped now, he would be found later, and a Nascent Soul was no match for a Divinity Transformation expert.
’Since that’s the case, I might as well just lie here.’
Yuu Mingzi rolled over onto his back and gazed at the thundercloud-filled sky.
He slowly closed his eyes.
...
「In the center of the thunderclouds.」
Lü Zhong was astonished.
’Where is the Heart Demon Tribulation? It’s supposed to be a hundred times more terrifying than the one for Nascent Soul, rumored to strike directly at the darkness in a cultivator’s heart and to have destroyed countless geniuses. Where did it go? Could it be because I cultivate the Little Purple Sky Thunder Skill? It seems so... even Heart Demons are afraid of this thunder.’
’Well... this isn’t so bad, actually.’
Lü Zhong looked up and saw that Spiritual Qi was already gathering above him, even forming a tidal wave that surged madly in his direction. It passed through the brewing thunderclouds, and the incredibly dense Spiritual Qi liquefied, turning into a fine rain of Spiritual Qi!
Each drop of spirit rain contained no less Spiritual Qi than a High-grade spirit stone.
Lü Zhong greedily absorbed it all, not letting a single drop go to waste.
But it still wasn’t enough to cover his needs.
The reason was that a Metamorphosis was already occurring within his body.
His Primordial Spirit and Nascent Soul were merging, transforming into a Yang Spirit. As the two became one, the process frantically absorbed Spiritual Qi, nearly wringing dry all the Spiritual Qi in his limbs and bones.
Seeing this, Lü Zhong didn’t dare to be complacent.
He immediately took out the Ten Thousand Spirits Liquid and tilted his head back, downing one bottle after another. As his absorption speed increased, he finally just waved his hand, threw out all the Ten Thousand Spirits Liquid, and began to drink it all in like a whale swallowing the sea.
As time passed, a terrifying Spiritual Pressure descended upon the world.
A Divinity Transformation Level pressure!
’Is this the Yang Spirit?’
Lü Zhong had already left his physical body.
He was now using the body of his Yang Spirit to curiously observe the world around him.
It was a world he had never seen before.
Everything in the world seemed to be made of lines.
Yuu Mingzi, for example, was just a tangled mess of lines, scattered and unconverged, dim and without light.
Lü Zhong now had a feeling that if he were to sever just one of those lines, Yuu Mingzi would perish instantly. There would be no need to break through his Protective Gang Qi or bypass his Magical Treasures.
A single, light cut would be all it took to easily steal his life.
’What about me?’
Lü Zhong couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like. He quickly looked down, but he wasn’t the tangled ball of lines he expected. Instead, he was a hazy, luminous figure radiating a starlight-blue glow.
’Is this the result of a thousand years of arduous cultivation?’
’Is this the "Yang Spirit"?’
Perhaps because it was newly born.
The Yang Spirit was like a glimmering spark, flickering and unsteady.
He then looked back at his original body.
It was a glowing ball of lines.
He had a premonition that even if he cut its lines, the ball of light would not perish.
’How interesting!’
Lü Zhong gave a faint smile. He didn’t try to probe the secrets of the lines, but instead returned to his body.
Sensing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi again, he found that it finally opened its arms to him. Although he could only draw a fraction of it, it was enough to make his withered meridians swell. It transformed into streams of pure Magical Power that, under the operation of his Cultivation Body, gathered in his empty Dantian.
His Magical Power was recovering bit by bit.
Next was the final moment.
...
「Meanwhile.」
An Ascension Tribulation was already entering its final stages.
Cangmingzi fell powerlessly from the sky.
He had used the Guiding Jade Tree to successfully trigger the Ascension Tribulation, but in the end, he had not endured it. His Yang Spirit had now completely collapsed, and he could only watch as the Ascension Gate that had appeared began to close, bit by bit.
But just then, a black hand reached out from within the gate.
"This is impossible!"
"No, impossible!"
"No, no, no!"
Cangmingzi’s eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before him.
He recognized the owner of this hand.
It was the ninth master of the Celestial Origin Immortal Palace, the Ascender, Anmingzi.
His once-tranquil state of mind completely shattered in this instant. It became like a stormy sea, surging and churning, before cracking like glass—a symbol of his worldview crumbling.
Cangmingzi had never imagined that the ultimate goal he had strived for his entire life...
...would end like this!
He let out a bitter laugh, and suddenly his heart felt calmer than ever before. Finally, he took out an ingot of Gold Essence and, using all his remaining strength, carved a line of words on it:
"Darkness lies ahead. Do not ascend!"
...
「The Red Earth Land.」
The former Red Sun Mountain Range had already vanished in the Thunder Tribulation.
In its place was a Thunder Land. The aura of the Tribulation Thunder permeated the area and would not dissipate for a thousand generations, proof that someone had once crossed the Nine-Nine Celestial Tribulation here.
In the center of the Thunder Land, Lü Zhong sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
The Nine-Nine Celestial Tribulation lived up to its name. The eighty-one bolts of Tribulation Thunder had descended one after another, striking Lü Zhong relentlessly. There were several times he thought he was doomed, and he didn’t know how he managed to persevere.
Regardless, he had finally succeeded in reaching Divinity Transformation.
To think that all those years ago, he was just a Loose Cultivator.
Now, a thousand years later, he had ascended to the pinnacle of the Cultivation Realm.
Those who could be considered his equals could be counted on two hands.
His fate was now in his own hands.
’It feels like a dream...’
Even now, Lü Zhong still found it a little hard to believe.
’I actually succeeded in reaching Divinity Transformation?’
But the facts were right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to believe.
After a great effort to calm himself, Lü Zhong began to inspect the changes before and after his Divinity Transformation.
Thanks to the formation of his Yang Spirit, his lifespan had undergone a qualitative change. In theory, protected by this "shell," his Divine Soul could now live as long as heaven and earth. In other words, his lifespan was now infinite.
Of course, this was only theoretical Longevity.
Lü Zhong had a faint premonition that things were not so simple.