Chapter 126: The Arrival of the Celestial Tribulation

The turbulent sea roared beneath his feet, and as far as the eye could see, the water and sky merged into one. Compared to the Northern Sea, the Southern Sea was incomparable; the number of spiritual veins alone was double, and the aquatic species thriving within were as numerous as the sands.

Faced with this Southern Sea vista, Qingxu felt no inclination to appreciate it. Several days had passed since he left White Dragon Island, yet he still could not fully calm his mind. Deep within, he harbored profound fear and resentment toward the White Dragon Daoist. Qingxu was not a magnanimous person; in some respects, he could even be categorized as a petty man or a hypocrite. Having been used by the White Dragon Daoist to seize the Primordial Ice Spirit, he nursed a bitter grudge. Had his cultivation been sufficient, he would have ground the White Dragon Daoist into dust instantly.

The Ren-Gui Haze Gauze, once stripped of its Chaos Dao patterns, had been thoroughly refined by Qingxu (previously, it had always lacked that final touch, though Qingxu remained unsure if the hidden Chaos Dao patterns were the cause). It was now truly his own spiritual treasure. However, his mind was not on this formidable acquired spiritual treasure; he was vexed by what to do with the Primordial Spirit of the Ice Ancestor.

Having been burned once, Qingxu’s suspicions were piqued. Faced with a massive benefit in his hands, he dared not act rashly. While he knew that by absorbing the Primordial Spirit of the Ice Ancestor, both his Dao body and magical power would reach the Quasi-Saint level—making him a top-tier powerhouse in the Primordial World, even without the corresponding Dao realm, and at the very least, peerless against Golden Immortals—he hesitated. In the current Primordial World, there were only six Hunyuan Sages, and the known Quasi-Saints numbered no more than twenty, perhaps a hundred at most.

"I cannot let my true self consume this Primordial Spirit of the Ice Ancestor. Let the Xuanhuang avatar do it instead! I can take this opportunity to cultivate the Divine Kingdom plane." After careful deliberation, Qingxu decided to let his current Xuanhuang Divine avatar consume the spirit to enhance his cultivation and divine body. It was the only way; if trouble arose later, he could endure the pain of sacrificing the avatar, as it would not affect his true self.

Qingxu had only created the Xuanhuang avatar to safeguard his true self. Though the Ice Ancestor’s spirit might harbor hidden risks, he could not resist such a massive benefit, so he used it to strengthen the avatar.

Setting aside thoughts of the Ice Ancestor, his mind drifted back to the Chaos Dao patterns. What incredible power did these entities—one of only three in existence since the dawn of time—truly possess? The glimpse he saw during the Battle of the Northern Abyss was enough to shock him. A peak Quasi-Saint like the Ice Ancestor had been captured in one strike without the slightest resistance, and the patterns had even torn through the void, whisking them from the Northern Abyss to the Southern Sea’s White Dragon Island, escaping right under the noses of other Quasi-Saints and Golden Immortals. It was nothing short of terrifying.

"Sigh!" After a long, melancholic sigh, his expression suddenly shifted.

"The Celestial Immortal Tribulation?" he exclaimed, his brows furrowing as his expression turned grave.

For those treading the path of cultivation, once one breaks through from Earth Immortal to Celestial Immortal, the rules of the world trigger a Heavenly Tribulation. Those who survive it walk free and unconstrained; those who fail, if lucky, might become Scattered Immortals, but if unlucky, they face total annihilation of body and soul. The Heavenly Tribulation is an unavoidable process for cultivators; even the protection of beings with boundless magical powers can only delay it, never prevent it.

"How depressing. My avatar is in the Southern Sea; it won't be back in time to help my true self!" Qingxu sighed sorrowfully. He felt his luck was wretched. He had barely escaped the retaliation of the Northern Sea Dragon King Ao Bei, fled the imprisonment of the Ice Ancestor, and put distance between himself and the White Dragon Daoist, only for the Celestial Immortal Tribulation to strike. And not just one, but two at once! Normally, with his Golden Immortal avatar, the tribulation wouldn't be a major issue, but the timing was disastrous.

The only slight comfort was that both the Good and Evil Heavenly Tribulations were of the four-nine level. "Celestial Tribulations are divided into three tiers: lower four-nine, middle six-nine, and upper nine-nine. With my true self’s spiritual treasures and the constitution of a low-grade innate spiritual treasure, the four-nine tribulation should be manageable. Even if both trigger simultaneously, I should survive," he calculated. Still, he did not pin all his hopes on his true self; he had to hurry back. Without further delay, he moved, transforming into a streak of divine light, heading straight for Wanqiu in the Eastern Sea.

...

Back in Wanqiu, Qingxu’s true self wore a solemn face. Sensing the imminent Good and Evil four-nine Celestial Tribulations, he lacked absolute confidence in surviving them. He had created the Xuanhuang avatar to ensure his path through the tribulations would be foolproof, but now, the distant water could not quench the immediate thirst.

Messages from the void indicated the tribulation was arriving. He dared not delay, fleeing Wanqiu to find a desolate, rocky mountain range near the Eastern Sea coast. Wanqiu was a place where humanity thrived; he dared not face the tribulation there, lest he cause massive destruction or collateral damage, incurring a heavy karmic debt that the Heavenly Dao would surely record.

During this time, while the avatar was busy, the true self had not been idle. He had successfully pushed his cultivation from the late Earth Immortal stage to the peak threshold and had refined several spiritual treasures, focusing particularly on defense.

The desolate, lifeless rocky mountains, stretching for a thousand miles, bordered the Eastern Sea. Gazing out, the raging waves surged in thousand-fold layers, the sea and sky blending into one, broadening his mind.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A hurricane roared without warning, a heavy, grim, and murderous atmosphere sweeping across the rocky mountains. Two masses of dark clouds, each about a hundred miles wide, gathered in the sky—black as ink. Within them, streaks of thunder and searing flames moved in a chaotic yet mysteriously profound pattern, causing the clouds to churn incessantly. The most bizarre aspect was that one cloud radiated the golden light of merit, while the other flickered with the dark, ominous colors of karma. They were clearly defined and irreconcilable, immediately clashing upon birth.

"Mutual destruction? Is there such a good thing? My luck couldn't possibly be this strong, could it? But if they destroy each other or leave both sides crippled, I can sit back and reap the rewards!" Watching the Good and Evil tribulations "fighting" above his head, Qingxu nearly burst with joy. He had been worried about facing two four-nine tribulations, but now he could rest easy. Because Good and Evil were incompatible, the two tribulations began to consume one another, and since their power was roughly equal, the outcome was predictable.

He donned his Innate Yin-Yang Dao Robe, placed the Xuanhuang Bowl upon his head, and draped himself in the Heaven-One Xuan Water Cloak. Still unsatisfied, he employed the Secret Techniques of the Jade Void, shielding himself with the light of the Golden Lotus Lamp of the Celebration Clouds. He was truly armed to the teeth.

High in the sky, the gale winds raged, but above the rocky mountains, the two clouds clashed like dueling masters looking for openings. As he watched the Good and Evil tribulations erode each other, Qingxu beamed with delight.

Because of the Chan Sect’s luck and his involvement in the Northern Abyss dispute, Qingxu possessed a massive amount of acquired merit and karma. Coincidentally, as his tribulation arrived, it triggered both. Normally, one cannot possess both merit and karma; people usually face either a Merit Tribulation or a Karmic Tribulation. The former offers a glimmer of hope, while the latter is a death sentence.

Facing both simultaneously was likely a first since the dawn of time. Even the three thousand Primordial Demon Gods of the Chaos era could not coexist with both. It was only because Qingxu had accidentally cultivated the Innate Great Causality Art that he could hold both within himself. Such profound fortune was truly unprecedented.

As the two tribulations fought, he sat back, reaping the rewards while urging his Xuanhuang avatar to hurry. "Celestial Immortal realm?" he mused. Once he passed this, he would break through. He realized that without walking the path, one could never understand the bitterness and hardship involved. It had taken him over a hundred years of cautious, day-and-night breathing to reach this threshold.

The Celestial Immortal stage was a watershed. It was a world of difference from the Earth Immortal stage; the latter was strictly among the mortal ranks, whereas the former had entered the Immortal Gate, capable of ascending to the Celestial Palaces and roaming the vast universe.