"Heavenly Tribulation? Me?"
It must be said, this was a term An Jing found entirely unfamiliar.
Not to mention that Martial Arts typically involved Human Tribulations; the manifestation of Heavenly Tribulations likely also entailed dispatching a Life Holder like himself or another to subdue the Tribulation Crossing cultivator, forcing them to kneel and dragging them back to serve as fertilizer for heaven and earth.
Even with Immortal Path Qi Refinement, aren’t Heavenly Tribulations usually reserved for those around the level of Purple Mansion Golden Core?
Why would someone like me, at most at Half-step Foundation Establishment in Qi Refinement, encounter such a thing? It’s like fishing with a net that catches everything, even the fish fry!
"Different Heavenly Dao rules differ as well."
For this, Subdue Evil actually had an explanation: "Currently, the Martial Artists in the Huai Xu Realm are essentially trees planted by the hands of the Heavenly Dao; harvesting during a great calamity is one thing, but it definitely won’t trouble you personally on normal days. It’s more about internal competition, selecting the best of the best."
"But the Tianyuan Realm and the past Huai Xu are different. Here, the Immortal Path mainly serves as a constraint and a spur. Heavenly Tribulation is essentially a test to confirm whether you truly master your own power, ensuring it doesn’t control you, ensuring that you haven’t taken shortcuts with the help of others, to not be a ’defective product.’"
At this point, Subdue Evil seemed somewhat self-reproachful: "Ah, I really should have thought of this earlier. Originally, many people were reluctant to cultivate particularly high-level scriptures because, aside from the difficulty, the Heavenly Tribulations associated with these high-level scriptures also come very early. Mediocre talents dabbling in them, whether they succeed or not, may not necessarily be able to withstand the Heavenly Tribulations."
—Ha, there are indeed such restrictions. No wonder the ancients didn’t casually distribute ultra-high-level scriptures for universal cultivation of seventh-tier Daoist Secret Scriptures. It seems this is the noble behavior of those with virtue indeed.
An Jing thought for a moment, if everyone would face Heavenly Tribulation just during the Qi Refinement stage, the number of cultivators would be reduced by at least ninety-nine percent, where one in a hundred, or even one in a thousand, is normal, and perhaps one in ten thousand is a norm.
And this is not even one in ten thousand of the entire population, but out of an already scarce number of cultivators, one in ten thousand. Even then, An Jing felt it might be an overestimation.
"But what about the Ancestral Dragon Hall? It seems they have quite a few Heavenly Tribulation events as well."
At this moment, while An Jing was standing up, preparing to leave Chonggang Town to find a place to face his tribulation, he also took out the ’Nine Tribulations Ascension’ Secret Technique given by Jin Yanhua, and began studying it directly—this might seem fortuitous, but it was not merely a coincidence, because if it weren’t for An Jing possessing the Ancestral Dragon seed, he wouldn’t have been curious about the Nine Tribulations related to the Ancestral Dragon Method, and if he hadn’t asked, Jin Yanhua wouldn’t have provided it.
And indeed, in the Tianyuan Realm, it was because of the Ancestral Dragon seed that he faced the Heavenly Tribulation, which was truly ordained by fate, a real method of the Heavenly Dao.
"On the Ancestral Dragon Hall side, they probably mainly cultivate the Demon Spirit Method."
Subdue Evil could confirm now, "The Demon Spirit Method’s proper name is True Spirit Method, originating from the same source as Martial Arts and also closely related to the Immortal Path. It doesn’t especially need the permission of the Heavenly Dao, so some high-level True Spirit cultivators also face Heavenly Tribulations. Your master’s friend happens to be the Dragon King’s daughter, frequent tribulations are normal."
"Moreover, don’t feel that Heavenly Tribulations are necessarily a bad thing. Spring thunder awakens vitality, the Heavenly Dao is obscure and unpredictable, lacking direct means to either help or destroy you, only able to rely on natural means like Heavenly Tribulation to exert influence. I believe, this time it’s likely not punishment or destruction, but a form of trial and assistance."
An Jing also believed this, but anyway, this tribulation must not be crossed within the city.
"An Jing, An Jing, take me with you; I know which places in the wilderness outskirts are safer!"
At this moment, Huo Qing also sensed something amiss. The thunderbolt spiritual energy around An Jing looked akin to the ’pre-tribulation phenomena’ described in ancient texts. With his sharp mind, recalling the natural formations during An Jing’s breakthroughs in cultivation and the reverse flow of spiritual energy, even his toes could guess that An Jing’s inherited method was more than extraordinary—it was among the top-tier Primordial Spirit Inheritance.
Only such an inherited secret technique would attract a Heavenly Tribulation in the Qi Refinement stage!
This indeed verifies what An Jing said was true, but the coming of thunder tribulation is definitely a big trouble—around Xuanye City is absolutely not feasible, as it would definitely be discovered. No matter how well hidden, it can’t be concealed!
He immediately joined An Jing aboard the Tengshuang White, then showed An Jing the way by inputting a secret map: "It’s a disused safehouse originally used by the Guiyi Army and Iron Hand; it’s been abandoned for a long time now. But there are no Demon Spirits or other wilderness forces around, making it secluded and safe!"
"You are about to cross the Tribulation, go there to do it!"
"Brother, no need for thanks; I’ll treat you to a meal when you’re back!"
An Jing was also very moved at this moment. A good brother like Huo Qing was rare, mainly because he was smart and could understand the situation—of course, this was also because so many unusual incidents happened around An Jing, Huo Qing had long been accustomed: "No need for that, we don’t fuss about these things... When are you going back this time? Why not go back to cross the Tribulation?"
"There’s some trouble back home, I might stay around Xuanye City a bit longer."
An Jing can now stay in Tianyuan Realm for a month at a time, using the energy charges twice meant two months: "Is it okay for us to be so conspicuous?"
He was somewhat worried that flying directly out on the Tengshuang White might be too eye-catching and attract intentional observers.
But Huo Qing was not worried at all: "No problem, you have always been using the Taixu Divine Power for travel, unaware of the outside situation, right? Now you’ll know."
Upon reaching the landing platform above the warehouse, An Jing piloted the Tengshuang White soaring up into the sky.
At this moment, he discovered how bustling and tumultuous the surroundings of Chonggang Town had become.
Every street and alley swarmed with cultivators coming from all directions, while brand new Formation Towers were erected at every key Earth Pulse Node, creating a huge Spiritual Network Array, protecting the entire town.
Inns and hotels were fully booked, and temporary tents filled the inside and outside of the city walls. Dazzling lights even dispelled the fiendish Qi clouds overhead, illuminating the surroundings of Chonggang Town entirely, and the usual cold chill of Tianyuan Realm was driven away completely. The winds from the northern Wilderness couldn’t penetrate the town, dissipated by the heat waves generated by the crowds.
In the suburbs of the city, a sprawling landing field hosted a massive black floating Heavenly Ship, swallowing and disgorging vast amounts of resources: items delivered to Ancient Immortal Ruins and from there to other places. Flanked on both sides by various smaller space shuttles and flying motorcycles like mosquitoes around a behemoth or bees around a hive, they were too numerous to count.
"The exploration of the Ancient Immortal Ruins is already thriving ?"
Seeing this scene, An Jing couldn’t help but feel astonished as he saw the heat waves and residual Spiritual Qi from the gathering of numerous Flying Artifacts forming continuous, almost spell-like shockwaves. If not for the arrays in the town’s Tower Formations neutralizing them, many would have been injured.
Compared to such a spectacle, just driving a flying motorcycle into the Wilderness truly seemed trivial; no one would notice.
"The Ancient Immortal Ruins revealed an ancient giant technological city with many resources and dwellings left by the employees of the Tao Courtyard’s Great Void Heavenly Ship."
As Huo Qing plotted course for the Tengshuang White, he explained: "There are many roaming battle Puppetry, many have died, but with so many cultivators arriving it’s managed to clear a city district as a frontline base. Those precious relics from the Tao Courtyard, even the discarded bricks, are bought up by big corporations, so now they are transported out in carts full of city debris."
Hearing this, thunderclouds flickered around An Jing, and he exclaimed in surprise: "Would big companies really engage in such a loss-making business?"
"Definitely not at a loss." Huo Qing, as the appointed heir of the recycling cabin, was clear on this: "An Jing, you don’t understand, the building materials used in Tao Courtyard’s constructions include many alloys and building materials now lost to us. Even the pathways on the surface are designed to integrate the Formation Base into daily use—a close-to-life design that contemporary big conglomerates cannot develop."
"Moreover, some buildings require entire dismantlement—that is, excavating an entire small building along with its foundation, transporting it directly to the rear for analysis, a challenging task but also one of high research value."
"Not to mention, in the homes of those ancient Tao Courtyard researchers, there are many technical documents they left behind. It’s like a blind box; no one knows what technology might emerge. We, loose cultivators, can’t utilize it, but big companies can decipher many key technologies from mere snippets."
"If so, realizing they can’t trick us with dirt-cheap prices or colluding to push prices down, they naturally have to spend Good Deeds to compete with other companies."