Chapter 3053: Nine Ultimate Dao Tribulations |
Primal chaos stretched vast and boundless, while the river of time surged on without end, majestic and awe-inspiring. Standing alone within the void, Lin Xun asked inwardly, “Do the mysteries I now perceive all originate from the power contained within the Precious River Map?”
A familiar will responded instantly, “Yes.”
“Then the Creation Realm tribulation meant for me…will descend here?”
“Yes.”
“And if I overcome it, will I also possess the foundation to transcend the rise and fall of epochs?”
“Yes.”
“How formidable is this tribulation’s might?”
“Within the river of time exist nine supreme cultivation civilizations. The tribulation you must face is born from these nine civilizations and is known as the Nine Ultimate Dao Tribulations. This tribulation is divided into nine levels. The moment you step into the river of time, it shall descend.”
“I understand.”
He now understood that every mystery he perceived stemmed from the will contained within the Precious River Map. He also finally understood that the Creation Realm tribulation awaiting him was utterly unlike that faced by any other cultivator. It was a convergence of tribulations born from nine supreme epochal civilizations.
It was destined to be utterly terrifying. However, for Lin Xun, it carried an irresistible allure. The reason was simple. By overcoming this tribulation and attaining the Creation Realm, he would also obtain the foundation to transcend the cycles of epochs!
Lin Xun drew a deep breath and quietly closed his eyes. Time slipped by, moment by moment. When his mind, cultivation, qi, spirit, and every power had all been refined to their absolute peak, he opened his eyes. Taking a step forward, his figure entered the vast, roaring river of time.
Rumble!
In an instant, colossal waves surged forth, as though ancient epochal civilizations themselves were crashing down in succession. Their boundless might bore down upon him, making him feel utterly small and insignificant.
Had it been anyone else, their consciousness would have been lost in an instant. Lin Xun stood with his hands clasped behind his back, poised atop the surging river. His gaze was clear and his mind serene, like a supreme sovereign overlooking the tides of history, calmly observing the rise and falls of epochs.
Moments later…Boom!
His figure emerged within an unfamiliar epochal civilization. At once, the aura of tribulation descended, and the heavens and earth dimmed. Vast tribulation clouds pressed downward, heavy and oppressive, warping space and time themselves into chaos.
Lin Xun slowly raised his head. A sharp glint of battle intent flashed within his deep, abyss-like eyes.
Boom!
A thunderous roar erupted, like the moment primal chaos first split to give birth to creation itself. The sound shook the cosmos, causing the surrounding void to quake violently. Blinding divine radiance tore through the darkness, one streak after another, bursting forth from the depths of the tribulation clouds.
There were figures resembling supreme deities descending upon the world. There was a divine lotus standing tall, propping up the heavens above and connecting to the netherworld below. From its petals and leaves poured cascades of primal chaos light. Its aura alone was so vast it blotted out the sun.
There was a Cangwu divine tree rooted in the void, its branches like pathways leading to the myriad heavens, each leaf hanging like an entire world. There were bronze-bodied ants, each possessing the strength to hold up the heavens. One after another, supreme rulers who presided over reincarnation descended…
Each radiated a domineering presence beyond imagination, far surpassing the Law Transcendence Realm, their entire bodies surging with vast tribulation-born power steeped in destruction.
At that very moment, a profound realization arose in Lin Xun’s mind…This is the Nine Spirits Supreme Tribulation!
Each of those figures originated from the Immortal Martial Epoch, the previous epoch. Each one was a manifestation of the most powerful existence in the Immortal Martial Epoch!
In other words, this first tribulation represented the supreme tribulation of the Immortal Martial Epoch, specifically targeting those seeking to prove the Creation Realm.
Boom!
Before Lin Xun even had time to gather his thoughts, the nine god-like supreme figures moved simultaneously, launching their assault without the slightest hesitation. The primal chaos lotus swayed, and streams of primal chaos poured down like chains of divine order, lashing forth with devastating force.
The Cangwu tree shook violently. Leaves cascaded from every branch, transforming midair into illusory worlds that stacked layer upon layer as they surged forth to suppress and annihilate.
Elsewhere, peerless sword intent erupted, tearing through the firmament. World-suppressing dao arts swept across the skies, crushing heaven and earth. Thunderous roars resounded like endless thunder, shattering suns and moons, pulverizing mountains and rivers…
In an instant, Lin Xun was completely engulfed by forces so terrifying they defied imagination. This tribulation was no longer just horrifying, it was utterly abnormal, a true taboo. In the blink of an eye, he suffered grievous injuries, his face draining of color as he was left in a wretched state.
One had to know that at his current cultivation, he could already cross an entire major realm and slay intermediate Creation Realm beings. However, in this first tribulation alone, he was being wounded again and again!
However, he quickly steadied himself, unleashing every power he possessed without restraint, fighting alone against all directions and giving everything he had. Forgetting life and death, forgetting time, forgetting everything…only a violent, raging, indomitable fighting spirit remained, boiling and erupting without end.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Lin Xun was completely lost in the slaughter, his body and mind emptied of all thought. He did not realize that through such combat, his dao foundation was being awakened and unleashed in an unprecedented way. No one knew how much time passed…
Boom! One by one, the nine supreme figures collapsed, exploding into nothingness. The entire world seemed to shatter apart, reduced to ruin and emptiness.
Within that void-like expanse, only Lin Xun remained. His body was drenched in blood, yet his terrifying and boundless fighting spirit and battle intent continued to blaze like the most dazzling light in existence, illuminating all the heavens!
At that moment, he felt an indescribable transformation taking place throughout his body. His mind, cultivation, spirit, and great dao…seemed to be undergoing an extreme forging and cleansing within a furnace. The sensation of that transformation was so exquisite that he nearly groaned in satisfaction.
Only then did he realize that after experiencing the first level of the Nine Spirits Ultimate Tribulation, his cultivation seemed to have been shattered and reforged, becoming more powerful and solid than ever before!
“Only by fighting to the ultimate state can one be reborn through tribulation. This is the true wonder of this tribulation…”
Realization dawned on Lin Xun.
The power of the Nine Spirits Ultimate Tribulation was utterly abnormal, but precisely because of this, it forced one to unleash every hidden potential, subjecting all the power one possessed to the most fundamental tempering, and thereby achieving the ultimate transformation! In other words, no matter who faced this tribulation, they would be wounded, tempered, and refined as though cast into a raging furnace.
Swoosh! Just as Lin Xun was sensing the changes within himself, the scene before him abruptly shifted, and he found himself standing within an entirely new epochal civilization.
This epoch was known as Wu! The ultimate dao tribulation born of this epoch was called the Divine Wu Supreme Tribulation, a tribulation that targeted a cultivator’s physical body.
Compared to the Nine Spirits Supreme Tribulation, the Divine Wu Supreme Tribulation was even more violent. In a matter of moments, Lin Xun’s body was shattered dozens of times. Blood and flesh flew apart, and bones cracked and splintered. The scene was so brutal it was almost unbearable to behold.
However, each time his body was destroyed, it was rebuilt anew. This was the power of Nirvana, allowing him to endure the most brutal cycles of destruction and rebirth within this tribulation.
From beginning to end, Lin Xun could only endure, clinging to a single thread of clarity, desperately preventing his consciousness from being swallowed by the boundless agony. Otherwise, he would undoubtedly fail the tribulation.
Fortunately, the cycle of destruction and reconstruction lasted only a short while. Though the pain had been unbearable, when this tribulation finally ended, an unprecedented surge of comfort washed over him, as though his body had been reborn. The power now surging from his repeatedly shattered and reforged physique was utterly beyond comparison to what he once possessed!
……
The third tribulation was known as the Grand Martial Supreme Tribulation, originating from the Martial Dao Epoch.
This tribulation tested a cultivator’s fighting will and martial techniques. When it descended, it was as though all the martial gods of the heavens had descended together. Terrifying and tyrannical supreme beings of the martial dao filled the sky.
In this tribulation, Lin Xun was like a lone warrior stranded on a battlefield of annihilation, fighting single-handedly against an army of one hundred thousand, locked in ceaseless slaughter and combat…
By the time the tribulation finally came to an end, his fighting will and combat techniques had been tempered to their absolute limits. Every movement he made radiated an overwhelming might, an aura capable of suppressing the heavens themselves.
……
The fourth tribulation was called the Heavenly Illusion Supreme Tribulation, born from the Illusory Epoch. This tribulation targeted one’s state of mind.
Compared to the others, Lin Xun found this tribulation the easiest to endure. His state of mind had long been tempered to an unprecedented degree, having seen through the truth that ‘When falsehood seems real, real things seem false,’ and ‘knock at the heart and ask for the truth’, and comprehended ‘creating something from nothing’. He had already endured countless inconceivable trials before this…
Even though the power within this tribulation was terrifying enough to easily disrupt the minds of Eternal beings, it failed to stir even the slightest ripple in Lin Xun’s mind.
……
The fifth tribulation was known as the Soul Supreme Tribulation, originating from the Soul Epoch. This tribulation targeted the soul and spirit, making it one of the most terrifying tribulations across all epochs.
While enduring this tribulation, Lin Xun felt as though he was walking the razor’s edge between life and death. In the end, he was left with nothing but a single thread of consciousness clinging to existence.
When the tribulation finally ended, his Spirit Dharma Form was reforged to the utmost limit. His primordial spirit, both inside and out, became thoroughly interwoven with vast and profound law power.
The sixth tribulation was the Demonic Supreme Tribulation, born of the Demonic Epoch. This tribulation was an even more terrifying test of the dao heart. Beneath its crushing pressure, Lin Xun was confronted with relentless moral trials, questions of good and evil, right and wrong, and light and darkness.
If killing one could save ten thousand, should he kill or not? If someone once slaughtered an entire city, but later repented, turned over a new leaf, and went on to save ten cities, how should such a person be judged?
One dilemma after another unfolded within the tribulation, each more brutal than the last, battering Lin Xun’s dao heart and challenging his understanding and judgment of the world.
Fortunately, from the moment he began cultivating in his youth, he had always held onto his own standards of good and evil, right and wrong, and light and darkness. Thus, no matter how fierce the tribulation, his dao heart was never truly shaken.
When he finally emerged from this tribulation, his dao heart had become even clearer and firmer than ever.
……
The seventh tribulation was called the Grand Righteous Confucian Tribulation, born of the Confucian Epoch. From this tribulation onward, the nature and power of the tribulation changed completely. Lin Xun’s dao heart, cultivation, spirit, and dao power were all subjected to devastating assaults.
Because undergoing such a tribulation was nothing less than a direct contention with the great dao itself!
You deem me a heretical demon, I regard you as one who has deviated from the orthodox path. Such a conflict is utterly irreconcilable, like fire and water. It has nothing to do with hatred, but with whose dao stands higher.
It was only then that Lin Xun sensed true danger.