Chapter 438 - 433: The Celestial Tribulation from Ancient Mythology

Chapter 438: Chapter 433: The Celestial Tribulation from Ancient Mythology

"I have fought in thirteen battles, large and small, completed over twenty Sect missions, and accumulated one hundred thousand contribution points. I have come to exchange them for one Core Formation Spiritual Object!"

As if he hadn’t heard, Bai Zichen repeated himself.

"Can’t you understand what I’m saying? When the Seven Absolutes Poison acts up, its seven toxins will follow your True Essence into your Dantian Qi Sea. No medicine can help you. You will wail in agony, your insides torn to shreds, as your organs rot away from the inside out."

The Core Formation Elder’s face was a blur, but his voice was stern and carried an undeniable authority.

"The Sect cannot possibly trade a precious Clear Spirit Jade Marrow to you. Go exchange your points for two Life-Extending Elixirs instead. You’ll live for at least another thirty... fifty years. That’s enough time to start a Clan and leave behind a bloodline. The Sect has vacant Spirit Veins you can choose from. Passing on your legacy through a Clan is another way to achieve longevity."

"I do not seek a next life, nor do I hope for descendants. I only wish to step into Core Formation myself and see the view from the mountaintop."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Bai Zichen’s face, but the purple light on his wrist pulsed, and his mind cleared.

"Even if I die on the spot, I will have no regrets."

"A Core Formation Spiritual Object is far too precious to let you waste it. Give up on this idea!"

The Core Formation Elder flicked his sleeve, a trace of pity showing on his face.

"My contribution points are sufficient, and I am first in line. For the Elder to refuse my exchange for the Core Formation Spiritual Object goes against the rules set by the Sect’s Ancestors."

Bai Zichen’s expression was as firm as a rock, showing no sign of wavering.

"Even if I have to kneel outside the Ancestor Hall, I have only one request: to exchange for a Core Formation Spiritual Object. My heart will not change!"

"Fine. It is not so difficult to maintain a firm Dao Heart and cultivate relentlessly when your path is not yet severed. What’s truly precious is that you knew your path was at its end, yet for decades you never slacked off, performing what others saw as pointless effort. I thought you might be able to defy the heavens and change your fate, but who knew you’d be afflicted with the Seven Absolutes Poison while fighting someone. The heavens give a man hope, only to destroy it with their own hands... The will of Heaven has always been high and difficult to question!"

The Core Formation Elder stepped out from the shadows. His face resembled Bai Jiu’an, his eyes and brow were like Liang Yu’s, and his disposition was like Ge Cang’s.

"Since your mind is made up, how could this old man begrudge you a drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow? Take it... Before you consume it, go and settle your affairs."

"Thank you, Elder."

Bai Zichen accepted the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, his face betraying no joy or sorrow.

He returned to his Cave Mansion and consumed the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow. A strange phenomenon appeared in the sky as countless beams of Sword Light shot toward him, like a hundred birds returning to the forest.

Entrusting his Divine Sense to it, he formed his Golden Core and stirred up a Spiritual Energy Vortex.

The next moment, heaven and earth shattered like a mirror from all directions, falling into the void.

...

’What a realistic Heart Demon Illusion Realm. Even the Illusion Realm Technique was real and could be cultivated, without a single flaw.’

As expected of something born from one’s own heart, a tribulation formed by the world itself. It was beyond what any Magic, Divine Technique, or Illusion Technique could compare to.

Bai Zichen had lived a real life within it, and he could recall every fragment with perfect clarity.

If his Dao Heart had wavered, if he had retreated and chosen to find a Dao Companion to start a clan, he would have truly been lost in the Heart Demon Illusion Realm for decades.

There wouldn’t have been any other punishment, but in the midst of his Celestial Tribulation, he would have been unable to react to the next wave of Celestial Thunder. There would be no other outcome than his body and soul being extinguished.

No wonder even Ge Cang had said the Heart Demon was perilous. It wasn’t something you could easily overcome just by being stronger.

The Demon Extermination Purple Light on his wrist had already vanished. Thankfully, he had this Secret Technique, allowing him to pass the first trial shaken but unharmed.

There was no time to marvel at the wonder of the Heart Demon Tribulation. The tribulation clouds gathered overhead, just a few wispy clusters, a far cry from what Ge Cang had faced during his Tribulation Crossing.

’Could my luck be this good? Did I get the easiest Ice-Fire Shocking Spirit Tribulation or the Five-Fire Divine Thunder Tribulation?’

Bai Zichen had consulted all the records on Celestial Tribulations that the Qingfeng Sect had been able to collect.

When Ge Cang underwent his Tribulation Crossing, the tribulation clouds were thick and stretched for a hundred miles, like an apocalyptic scene.

Moreover, purple lightning gathered within the tribulation clouds, evolving into Yin and Yang and splitting into the Five Elements.

He had faced the Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation, which ranked among the top of the dozens of common Celestial Tribulations in the Cultivation Realm. Its might was far greater than what Bai Zichen was seeing now.

His good mood didn’t last long. The light-colored tribulation clouds began to change again as specks of starlight appeared.

In broad daylight, if one focused their vision, they could discover countless stars hidden behind the tribulation clouds. The sun and moon rose and set, celestial bodies orbited—it was endlessly profound.

And the starlight was ancient, seeming to come from an extremely distant place, perhaps not even from within the same space.

In the blink of an eye, the peak of Flame Mountain was enveloped by the starlight tribulation clouds. Space itself seemed to shift, as if he had been transported into the void.

The Observatory Hall beneath him and the surrounding volcanic craters all vanished. The starlight streaked about, disorienting his senses.

’What kind of Celestial Tribulation is this? There seems to be no record of it in the archives. This starlight contains the power of annihilation... Even though it hasn’t struck yet, I can feel the extreme danger from every single ray.’

Bai Zichen’s heart sank. It seemed to be the complete opposite of what he had hoped for; this was not an easy Celestial Tribulation to overcome.

Instead, it was an unrecorded type of Celestial Tribulation, incredibly perilous and even more mysterious than the Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation.

The type of Celestial Thunder Tribulation was not directly related to a cultivator’s strength. There had been Core Formation True Men who could fight against Nascent Soul cultivators, yet they encountered the Three Flames Nine Spirits Tribulation—known as the shame of all tribulations—and passed it with ease in the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

There were also unremarkable True Men who reached Core Formation Perfection through sheer luck, only to face the Fengdu True Fire Tribulation, which had a near-zero survival rate. They were reduced to nothing but dust before the third wave of fire and thunder.

That was why after refining the Acquired Thunder God Pearl, he hadn’t been overly worried about the Celestial Thunder Tribulation.

In the Cultivation Realm, all methods of resisting Celestial Thunder fell into two categories.

Enduring it with one’s own body, or clashing with it using Magical Treasures.

His Five Crystal Glaze Body gave him a physical strength comparable to a Nascent Soul Level Body Refining Cultivator, and he also had a Tribulation Crossing Secret Treasure on hand.

He didn’t even need to deliberately collect cannon fodder Magical Treasures to save True Essence in the initial waves; his many Tier Three Flying Swords were more than enough.

He never expected to face an unforeseen type of Celestial Tribulation, which immediately cast a shadow over his heart.

The first bolt of Celestial Thunder to strike was an unremarkable ray of starlight, but he didn’t dare underestimate it. He summoned a Thunder Sound Sword to meet it.

Using a Tier Three Flying Sword as cannon fodder was something that would make everyone’s jaws drop in the Cultivation Realm.

If it weren’t for the fact that his Wood Element Flying Swords weren’t afraid of damage, and that he had the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box as his trump card, he would never dare to be so extravagant.

The moment the Sword Light collided with the starlight, the Thunder Sound Sword was enveloped. When it reappeared an instant later, it had been reduced to a section of Thunder Sound Bamboo and several Spiritual Materials, which fell to the ground.

This bizarre starlight Celestial Tribulation had actually reverted the Thunder Sound Sword directly back to its raw Spiritual Materials.

’How could such a Celestial Tribulation possibly exist in this world?’ a wave of fear washed over him.

’If I were to endure this with my physical body, would my Cultivation Technique regress, or would I revert to my youth?’

He had no time to think further. The tribulation clouds roiled, and the second wave of Celestial Thunder immediately followed. Three stars flared, each transforming into a ray of starlight that shot toward him.

No matter how much it pained him, he couldn’t worry about it now.

Tier Three Flying Swords were merely external objects. Even if they were all destroyed, he would have the chance to refine more in the future.

But if he failed to overcome the Celestial Tribulation, then titles like "the most talented in the Sword Dao since the Near Ancient period" or "the only one in the history of the Northern Domain Cultivation Realm with the potential for Divinity Transformation" would all become a joke to future generations.

No matter how unrivaled your combat strength was in the Core Formation Realm, if you couldn’t even pass the step of Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul, you were in no way qualified to be on the same level as a Nascent Soul True Monarch—even if your true combat power could already match that of Early-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators.

The ultimate goal of Cultivation was, after all, the pursuit of the Longevity Path. Living longer was the only truth that mattered.

The Nascent Soul Celestial Tribulation, which he had originally thought he could pass smoothly, now presented a real threat of death.

Three Thunder Sound Swords crashed into the starlight without hesitation, but no matter how divine your Swordsmanship or how exquisite your techniques, they were utterly useless before this starlight.

Once the starlight shone upon them, even the most profound Sword Light would collapse, sent back to its state before Sword Refinement by some inexplicable power.

’Stars fall from the heavens, seas turn to mulberry fields, a single tribulation lasts a hundred years... I remember now! This is the Future Star Constellation Tribulation from the mythological records!’

He had only endured two waves of Celestial Thunder, but he had already lost four Thunder Sound Swords. At this rate, no amount of flying swords would be enough.

Bai Zichen, who had been rummaging through his storage bag for any usable cannon fodder Magical Treasures, suddenly froze as a passage of text flashed through his mind.

’I remember now why I had a strange sense of familiarity with this Celestial Thunder, even though it’s not mentioned in any of the books about Celestial Tribulations... In the last two pages of one of those books, there were records of several unverified tribulations. It said they were the worldly trials that the Innate Divine People of Ancient Times had to endure when they stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm.’

’The Ancient Divine People were innately powerful; they would reach the equivalent of the Nascent Soul Realm just by growing into adulthood, so the Celestial Tribulations they faced were extraordinary. The descriptions in the records were like something out of a myth, and no one took them as historical fact.’

’But now it seems that one of the ancient Celestial Tribulations recorded there, the Future Star Constellation Tribulation, is almost identical to what I’m facing right now!’

Bai Zichen felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He had read it back then as a mere myth and put it out of his mind. Who could have known that it was real, and that it would fall to him?

’Could it be related to the Time Path? Is that what triggered this kind of Celestial Tribulation?’

From Ancient Times to the present, over hundreds of thousands of years, there had been countless brilliant and talented cultivators. Many of them possessed strength in the Core Formation Stage that was no less than Bai Zichen’s, and there were also those Sword Dao geniuses who earned the title of Sword Immortal. Not a single one of them had ever encountered such a Celestial Tribulation.

After thinking it over and over, the only thing that could make him special was that his path of the Great Dao was different, involving the Time True Intent.

’But my Pill Discussion can only barely be considered a branch of the Time Path. I haven’t truly comprehended the Power of Time... Is even that enough to provoke such a terrifying Celestial Tribulation?’

All sorts of thoughts raced through Bai Zichen’s mind, but his hands moved without pause.

Magical Treasures flew out from his storage bag one by one. Many of them had only been through a simple refinement; not only were they not Heart and Spirit Linked, he couldn’t even control them normally.

But at a time like this, he couldn’t afford to be picky. He just needed something to resist the starlight Celestial Thunder.

Unfortunately, these Magical Treasures failed to have the desired effect against the third wave of Celestial Thunder. Several of them combined couldn’t even dissipate a single ray of starlight.

The power of annihilation contained within the starlight simply disintegrated these Magical Treasures on contact.

Only a single Dragon Pattern Treasure Cauldron managed to shatter one ray of starlight before breaking apart into a small mountain of scattered ores.

He had to sacrifice another Formless Sword, a White Bone Cold Light Sword, and all of his cannon fodder Magical Treasures from the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box just to barely block the third wave of Celestial Thunder.