Thunder roared across a thousand li, and lightning cascaded like waterfalls, illuminating the mortal sky.
Across the sea within a thousand li, storms raged, and within a hundred li of the tribulation site, the waves rose to terrifying heights.
Spiritual energy from thousands of li around converged toward Li Changshou's tribulation site, transforming into the "original liquid" of lightning within the tribulation clouds, pouring down again and again.
The island below had been nearly half destroyed. Fortunately, when Li Changshou had chosen his tribulation site, he had selected uninhabited desolate islands with few living creatures...
And the sea creatures had fled even earlier...
Lightning waterfalls fell one after another, and the storm intensified with each passing moment.
This should have been an Ascension Tribulation with limited impact range, yet it had unexpectedly produced the imposing spectacle of a great demon being punished by the heavens.
The Ascension Tribulation was considered one of the weaker categories of heavenly tribulations—after all, ascending to immortality was merely a minor event in the Primordial.
The truly formidable tribulations were the "Longevity Tribulations" that descended when a Heavenly Immortal at the peak attempted to break through to Golden Immortal, if their accumulated karma far exceeded their merit and the Heavenly Way deemed this immortal unworthy of eternal life.
Those tribulations could kill Golden Immortals, with tribulation clouds spanning thousands of li, and they weren't limited to just lightning...
*Boom!*
*Rumble—*
At the same time, one thousand three hundred li southeast of the tribulation site.
"Master, why have we stopped again?"
On that same southbound cloud, the girl named Hanzhi asked softly.
The old Daoist's brow furrowed slightly as he used his powerful immortal sense to observe the sea surface a thousand li away.
Even with his half-step Golden Immortal cultivation, the old Daoist still couldn't penetrate the dense layers of tribulation clouds covering that area...
There, the power of the heavenly tribulation was excessively concentrated.
But based on the continuous trembling and shaking of the tribulation clouds, he could infer whether lightning had fallen.
"This tribulation... something's not right. It's already the seventh strike, yet it hasn't dissipated!"
The old Daoist counted on his fingers, then suddenly turned, staring at the tribulation site even farther away.
"Besides the tribulation itself, there seems to be something else..."
The girl Hanzhi asked in confusion: "Master, why don't we go take a look?"
"If we get too close and witness such an Ascension Tribulation, I'm afraid you'll develop a fear of heavenly tribulations in the future," the old Daoist said with a frown. "Let's not rush. Let's see if he can survive the eighth strike from here. Logically, he shouldn't be able to..."
*BOOM!*
The heavens and earth trembled again. The eighth tribulation bolt had fallen, its lightning waterfall clearly visible even from a thousand li away!
The tribulation clouds still hadn't dissipated?
"The one undergoing tribulation actually survived the eighth strike? Could this be the reincarnation of some ancient powerhouse?"
*Hiss—*
"Come, Hanzhi, let's go take a look together!"
The old Daoist inhaled sharply for what felt like the hundredth time. He grabbed his disciple and flew toward Li Changshou's tribulation site, his white cloud surging forward with incredible speed.
But before they had traveled far, they saw a massive sphere of silver-white lightning tinged with purple condense from the tribulation clouds a thousand li away!
It was as if a divine lightning crow had risen from the sea, as if a second sun had appeared between heaven and earth!
The lightning sphere crashed down with thunderous force. The power of the heavenly tribulation at that location reached its peak, and the sea surface below erupted with a thousand layers of furious waves!
The old Daoist continued flying forward. Even for someone of his level, a thousand li was still a considerable distance.
*Whoosh—*
Suddenly, gusts of wind appeared across the sea surface—spiritual energy from thousands of li around surging toward the tribulation site.
The spiritual energy converged so rapidly that rainbow-colored motes of light were visible in the air.
"Master, the wind is picking up!"
Hanzhi shouted in astonishment. "That person has survived the tribulation!"
"Indeed!
This is the spiritual energy absorption that follows surviving a heavenly tribulation and achieving immortality!"
The old Daoist's expression showed slight excitement. "Quick, this must be the reincarnation of some great figure. Look at the amount of spiritual energy—it's possible this person... no, this immortal will directly ascend to Heavenly Immortal!
Hurry, let's go make his acquaintance!
If we can recruit him into our Jie Sect, that would be a wonderful thing!"
However, the moment the old Daoist finished speaking, a bolt of purple lightning suddenly appeared between heaven and earth, descending from the nine heavens. It pierced straight through the tribulation clouds and struck the island below!
The old Daoist's eyes widened. His rosy, round old face was instantly illuminated by the purple divine lightning, turning it the color of dried eggplant...
What was happening to him today?
He hadn't believed the person would survive, and they did;
He had just declared the person safely through the tribulation, and suddenly another bolt of lightning fell...
With the Sect Master above, this truly wasn't caused by his words!
The girl Hanzhi asked in confusion: "Master, what is this?"
"Heavenly Punishment—true Heavenly Punishment," the old Daoist said gravely. "The Heavenly Way has deemed him an anomaly. Even after surviving the tribulation, it still descends punishment.
It's over—this person is certainly dead. Heavenly Punishment isn't something that can be..."
Before the old Daoist could finish his sentence, the words "certainly dead" had barely left his lips when the surrounding winds rose again, and boundless spiritual energy surged once more toward the tribulation site.
"Sigh! This mouth of mine!"
*Slap—*
The girl's small hand reached over, quickly covering her master's mouth. "Master, stop talking! Let's go see what's happening!"
The old Daoist smiled and shook his head, pointing forward with his finger. The white cloud accelerated.
When they were still eight hundred li from the tribulation site, a lingzhi-shaped auspicious cloud appeared there.
The tribulation clouds in the sky transformed into white clouds, then quickly condensed into a funnel shape. At the very tip of the funnel was the person who had undergone tribulation.
Streams of pure spiritual energy within the white clouds surged downward, converging into the vaguely visible figure below.
A beam of golden light descended from the nine heavens, enveloping the figure.
Within this pillar of light, illusory figures of celestial maidens danced to heavenly music, scattering flower petals;
White-haired elders arrived on cranes, offering congratulations to the figure below.
These were all heavenly phenomena.
—At this moment, the power of the heavenly tribulation had become extremely thin.
By the time the old Daoist and his disciple were six hundred li away, the celestial phenomena had yet to dissipate. The figure, having absorbed all the remaining tribulation clouds, suddenly turned and leaped into the sea...
The old Daoist was stunned. He immediately channeled his immortal power and shouted, using a thousand-li voice transmission:
"Fellow Daoist!
My disciple and I are cultivators from Golden Turtle Island. We've come specifically to congratulate you!"
However, with a flash of immortal light beneath the waves, the person had vanished without a trace.
"Master, why is he running away?" Hanzhi frowned. "As if we were villains."
"Sigh, how would he know whether we're good or bad?"
The old Daoist's expression turned contemplative. He then counted on his fingers to divine, but after a while, found nothing.
"Hiding his tracks from divination?
He must be the reincarnation of some great figure—otherwise, he wouldn't be this cautious.
My divination techniques are considered somewhat accomplished, yet I can't find a single trace of him.
He clearly practiced in ancient times, well aware of the world's dangers.
Hanzhi, do you still want to go see? He's already gone."
"Let's go anyway, Master. I want to see how powerful this tribulation was."
"Very well," the old Daoist said, his eyes filled with doting affection as he carried his disciple forward on the cloud.
A quarter of an hour later, the two figures finally stood above the tribulation site. But the girl's pretty face...
Was covered in black lines.
Below, the small island had only half remaining. On the destroyed half, beneath the seawater, a square-shaped deep pit had appeared.
"Master, is this what an Ascension Tribulation looks like?"
"Rest assured," the old Daoist said with a smile, his eyes fixed on the bloodstained torn robe floating on the sea surface. "Your tribulation will absolutely not be this powerful—it will be at most one-tenth of this."
Hanzhi's mouth twitched. Why did that sound...
The old Daoist pointed with his finger, and the torn robe below was instantly enveloped in flames, quickly burning to ash.
"He left in a hurry and dropped this item," the old Daoist smiled. "Clearing away some potential trouble for him counts as building good karma.
Let's go, otherwise other experts will arrive to watch the spectacle, and explaining will be troublesome."
Hanzhi nodded slightly, glanced down at the dark pit beneath the sea surface, and let her master pull her along as they flew southeast once more.
......
*'I wonder if the bloody robe was found by anyone.'*
Li Changshou calculated in his mind. Using the immortal power within his body, he executed the Water Escape at full speed, fleeing westward.
He had detected the old Daoist and girl heading toward his tribulation site, which was why he had abandoned healing on the spot, absorbed one final breath of spiritual energy, and fled immediately.
That bloody robe had been stripped from a dead mortal soldier during his time in the mortal world. Soaking it in spiritual energy for a period should be enough to confuse anyone trying to track him down.
—That soldier had received his personally recited salvation scripture and had been reincarnated quite swiftly.
*Cough!*
The water current forming his Water Escape trembled slightly, and a trickle of blood seeped out—but before it could spread, the returning current carried it away again.
At this moment, Li Changshou's entire body shimmered with seven-colored immortal light, but from his chest to his abdomen, his immortal body bore web-like cracks.
Actually, his immortal body was still passable. His immortal infant was in far worse condition—slumped weakly in the middle dantian, unable to move even slightly...
He understood the theory, but why...
Did nine tribulation strikes become ten?
*Cough! Cough!*
Li Changshou couldn't help but cough twice more. The excruciating pain throughout his body was a minor issue—constant blood spitting was far too troublesome to deal with.
Throughout history, how many who had successfully completed their tribulation ended up as miserable as him?
He paused in the seawater, checking the "fire" character broken jade on his person, along with several other small "trinkets" he had removed earlier.
His vision blurred slightly, and his body began swaying in the water.
Li Changshou knew perfectly well that the final purple divine lightning was Heavenly Punishment—a penalty imposed by the Heavenly Way for his previous deception of heavenly calculations...
And most of his current severe injuries had been caused by this very Heavenly Punishment.
But fortunately, Li Changshou had reacted swiftly. The moment he sensed the Heavenly Way about to descend punishment, he had taken out the few defensive treasures he possessed.
The Ascension Tribulation could not be blocked by treasure artifacts, but Heavenly Punishment could be partially resisted by them.
Although these treasures were of mediocre quality, they had at least cushioned some of the Heavenly Punishment's force, giving Li Changshou the chance to escape...
After the purple divine lightning fell, Li Changshou finally felt somewhat at peace.
He did not owe the Heavenly Way any karmic debt.
*Pfft!*
A surge of blood rushed upward, but Li Changshou pressed it down with his hand.
His primordial spirit and immortal infant were too severely injured. He needed to find a place to rest in quiet meditation; otherwise, the breakthrough he had achieved by suddenly absorbing spiritual energy after his tribulation might regress...
Countless insights from the tribulation still lingered in his mind. These were the foundation for his continued "ascension," and he needed to assimilate them as quickly as possible.
Li Changshou spread his immortal sense, frantically searching the vast ocean, and soon revealed a trace of a smile as he dove into the deep sea to the south.
Before long, deep within the ocean came a series of low growls. A monstrous fish over twenty zhang long left the waters it had inhabited for hundreds of years, swimming rapidly westward.
On the raised ridge of the fish's back, immortal light occasionally glimmered, and from time to time a white jade lotus drifted out...
But inside the monstrous fish, Li Changshou's presence was completely undetectable.
Even while severely injured, Li Changshou never forgot to maintain the Turtle Breath Technique.
Li Changshou had originally intended to heal within this fish's body, but after several days, his injuries had stabilized. His immortal body and immortal infant could both slowly recover on their own.
Once his mind relaxed, those insights came flooding in, forcibly pulling his consciousness into that wondrous state of the immortal realm...
This gate was called the Myriad Mysteries, this realm was named the Profound.
Li Changshou sank into a wondrous state. He could sense the changes in his surroundings and the general direction the fish was swimming, yet he could not awaken on his own.
Swimming through that profound Dao realm, he felt no passage of time whatsoever;
But a wisp of divine sense always hovered around the fish, serving as an early warning.
The fish continued westward, and three to five months gradually passed. One day, two massive iron spears pierced down from the surface, impaling the fish through its chest and belly.
Li Changshou was startled, but sensing no danger, he did not leave that wondrous Dao state;
He remained quietly on the fish's back, continuing to comprehend and understand that realm.
Then, Li Changshou followed the fish as it was dragged back to shore by two large ships, and was carried by a group of relatively primitive-looking, powerfully built men and women to a sizeable settlement.
He managed to send a wisp of immortal sense outward and discovered that the vast majority here were mortals, with only a few possessing Qi Refining or Spirit Transformation cultivation levels.
The fish was butchered, and Li Changshou felt himself slide out from the fish's back.
Then, a dramatic scene unfolded.
These fishermen in their remote location mistook Li Changshou for a Sea God. They knelt and bowed around him, performed prayer dances, and held days of celebration, enshrining him...
—When he had slid from the fish's back, immortal light shimmered around him, his body spotless, his appearance quite, ahem, heroic.
For the next two months, Li Changshou remained in this wondrous state, worshipped by these fishermen in their settlement;
A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl was selected as his attendant, watching over him day and night.
Another half month later, Li Changshou finally assimilated all those insights and broke free from the wondrous state. Seeing it was the middle of the night, he closed his eyes to meditate and looked inward for a while, waiting until the girl from the next room woke in the morning...
Hearing light footsteps, Li Changshou opened his eyes and stood, preparing to thank this girl before departing.
The girl tiptoed toward the door, and Li Changshou had already spoken:
"Thank you, miss—"
The door curtain was lifted, and an arm as thick as Li Changshou's thigh reached through.
Li Changshou blinked instantly.
Had his senses been wrong? Was it not a girl but a boy?
He immediately changed his words: "Thank you, strong warrior, for your rescue!"
"Hmm?"
A burly figure emerged from behind the curtain—first a pretty face, then that iron-tower-like compact body, and those three thousand strands of silky black hair cascading down...
A rough voice came from this girl's mouth:
"Agh! Immortal, you're awake!"
*Immortal?*
Li Changshou keenly caught this detail, and a hint of wariness rose in his heart.
According to how those fishermen had addressed him before, shouldn't they have called him Sea God?