Chapter 32: Today, even if I, Qi Yuan, am struck dead by the heavenly tribulation!
At noon, behind the Xiaojiong Peak, on that piece of woodland cleared for years. Daoist Qi Yuan held a whisk in his hand, standing inside the sturdy wooden cage; Several rays of treasure light floated around him, and the brand-new azure silk dao robe he wore was a fine defensive magic treasure, making this old Daoist look several years younger. Facing the tribulation, his expression inevitably became solemn. Strands of obscure and inexplicable aura lingered around Qi Yuan, and from time to time, a petal would float past him and dissipate into the mountain breeze. His two disciples stood on the treetops a hundred feet away; Lan Ling'e nervously watched her master, twirling a strand of green silk in front of her. In these years, Ling'e had grown a bit taller, her slender waist tied with a ribbon, her tasselled skirt accentuating her graceful curves, flawless from both afar and near. Her pretty face had gained a hint of charm compared to two years ago, but still mostly exuded elegance and agility. Not far from Ling'e on the treetop, Li Changshou was still dressed in his usual plain robe, holding a bamboo scroll in his left hand and a carving knife in his right, his spiritual awareness enveloping his master, observing various signs of the approaching tribulation. There was nothing more to advise. Everything that needed to be done had been done, and all that remained was for the master to endure the first heavenly tribulation, followed by his own decision on when to use the 'treasured medicine.' Now, Li Changshou's primary task was to observe and record his master's tribulation process up close. Because the Daoist sect recruited disciples once every two hundred years, and Li Changshou entered the sect just as the wave of disciples becoming immortals from the previous generation was ending. Most of those disciples who, limited by their aptitude and comprehension, were destined to never become immortals had already left the sect to return to their hometowns; in the past century, the sect had been nurturing the new generation of disciples, and there were few immortals among the disciples from the previous generation. This was the sixth time in a hundred years that Li Changshou had observed a Qi Refiner crossing the heavenly tribulation to become an immortal, and it was rare to be able to observe it from such a close distance and record it in detail afterwards. Whoosh— A gust of wind rose in the woods, and Qi Yuan, inside the wooden cage, looked up at the sky, surrounded by flashes of light; But in the blink of an eye, these lights converged into a beam of light and shot up into the sky! Here it comes, the omen before becoming an immortal! Li Changshou, holding a carving knife, began to write quickly on the bamboo scroll, detailing the process. The beam of light lasted for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and the sky above the Xiaojiong Peak changed color! Li Changshou could feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth continuously converging from all directions, hovering above his master's head a hundred feet away, and soon condensed into gray tribulation clouds. At this moment, figures flew out from the protective mountain formation below, flying into the sky and gazing at the Xiaojiong Peak... Under the tribulation clouds, a bright silver thunderbolt appeared, and thin arcs of lightning appeared around Qi Yuan. Li Changshou calculated with his fingers, and soon raised his head to transmit his voice to his master: "Master, according to the area and thickness of the tribulation clouds, there should be the common five thunderbolts of the heavenly tribulation for becoming an immortal." Qi Yuan furrowed his brows slightly. He thought it was only the weakest three-thunder tribulation, but he didn't expect to face five thunderbolts. ——The heavenly tribulation for becoming an immortal consists of only nine, commonly four, five, or six thunderbolts. It is said that depending on the practitioner's aptitude and potential after becoming an immortal, the heavenly dao will send down heavenly tribulations of different power. The more thunderbolts there are, the wider the practitioner's future path to immortality, the deeper their potential, and the greater the difficulty in crossing the heavenly tribulation. After the transmission, Li Changshou lowered his head again to continue writing with his carving knife. Boom— The tribulation clouds began to tremble continuously, and the thunderbolt became more and more apparent. When it reached a certain critical value, it immediately turned into a bright thunderbolt and smashed down on Qi Yuan! When the thunderbolt came out, the whole world lost its color! The wave of Daoist principles, containing the essence of heaven and earth, descended with the thunder tribulation! However, the onlookers, including the Qi Refiners, were surprised to find that the tribulation, which could not be resisted by magic treasures according to reason, was completely 'absorbed' by the wooden cage around Qi Yuan! The wooden cage flashed with lightning everywhere, but Qi Yuan stood within it unscathed, except for his grey-white hair fluttering around, there was no trace of lightning on him! Lan Ling'e immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Senior Brother! The birdcage worked!" Li Changshou also smiled, but before his smile could fully bloom, the tribulation's obscure wave of Dao suddenly appeared, and the birdcage, sparkling with lightning, suddenly exploded... Alright, the heavenly dao indeed does not allow for shortcuts. But it was acceptable; at least it helped the master withstand the first thunderbolt. But following that, Li Changshou noticed a problem — because the master did not directly withstand the heavenly tribulation, there was no spiritual aura around him. The birdcage helped dodge one heavenly tribulation, but correspondingly reduced the benefits to the tribulation crosser. There were gains and losses, following the logic of the heavenly dao. Fortunately, the master did not take out the Immortal-Melting Pill and swallow it at this time, otherwise Li Changshou would have been responsible for killing his own master... A larger thunderbolt began to gather within the tribulation clouds, containing even more power than before. Qi Yuan's expression became even more solemn. He mobilized all his mana to various parts of his body and slowly floated up. The tribulation for becoming an immortal could only be endured! Crack! Hiss— The second heavenly tribulation viciously descended, and the thunderbolt, formed by numerous thunderclaps, instantly engulfed Qi Yuan's figure! Li Changshou and Lan Ling'e both sweated nervously. When they saw their master being pressed to the ground by the thunderbolt almost instantly after enduring it, Ling'e tightly closed her eyes, afraid to look. It wasn't until the sound of discharge disappeared that Ling'e heard her senior brother sigh in relief, and then she dared to open her eyes to look. Qi Yuan, covered in blood, struggled through the second heavenly tribulation... Ironically, the number and quality of the tribulations were determined by his aptitude when he started cultivating; later, due to injuries to his Dao foundation, Qi Yuan could not reach the 'strength' he should have had at the Ninth Stage of the Returning to Dao Realm. Therefore, Qi Yuan looked so wretched in the face of the tribulation, barely enduring even the third tribulation. The thunder tribulation created a large pit on the ground, and Qi Yuan lay at the bottom of the pit, relying on the last bit of mana, slowly floating up, standing under the heavenly tribulation, looking up at the more terrifying, larger thunderbolt... Covered in blood, his eyes still resolute! Destiny, how unfair! But I have no complaints against you. The Great Dao revolves, heaven and earth are orderly, everything is my fate. What does it matter if I die? But there is one thing! I must not lie on the ground and die in disgrace, with my disciples watching by the side, even if they think their master is a useless waste, even if their master cannot provide them with the protection that disciples from other peaks can receive! I, too, must die standing! I must show the spirit of a human Daoist! I must save some face for Changshou and Ling'e, let them know that their master is not lacking in determination! Moreover, I still have the treasured medicine prepared by my eldest disciple at great cost, which can withstand one tribulation! Qi Yuan took out the brocade box, took out the pills inside without hesitation, and swallowed them without hesitation. Come on, heavenly dao! Even if I know this is futile struggling, I still have to try my best, to see the last tribulation! Even if I die under the last tribulation, it shouldn't be too shameful... Inside the thunderclouds, the power of the heavenly tribulation crazily gathered, and the fourth heavenly tribulation was about to descend! "Ah—" Qi Yuan roared angrily, his hair standing on end, his whole person as if—! "Cough!" This old Daoist suddenly coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood, then looked down in astonishment at himself, finding strands of blood light appearing all over his body. What's going on? Why am I starting to dissolve? Oh, Heavenly Master above, what's happening? What did this disciple give me to eat... At the top of his head, the raging thunderbolt suddenly became silent, and the tribulation clouds stopped rotating. This heavenly tribulation, it seemed like it had high hopes for itself, wanting to show off in front of its lover, but suddenly found itself to be like an average middle-aged man among mortals after overexertion, suddenly running out of steam... In the last moment, Qi Yuan turned his head to look at his smiling eldest disciple; His consciousness was quickly dissolved, and his body seemed to melt like a snowman in a furnace, disappearing in an instant! His soul, body, even his clothes, all turned into that puddle of 'blood water', floating in the air... The tribulation clouds trembled, turning into strands of pure spiritual energy, scattered and floating away, and rays of sunlight shone on the Xiaojiong Peak. Everyone watching was bewildered, staring blankly at the place where Qi Yuan had disappeared, and at the puddle of blood water. Suddenly, a murky vapor surged from the ground, and three-colored immortal light descended from the clouds, all pouring into the blood water. From somewhere came the sound of stringed music, beautiful and melodious. The clear and murky qi slowly gathered, and the puddle of blood water gradually revealed a human figure; Then, with crackling sounds, Qi Yuan's figure appeared again in the air, even his tattered clothes were still on him... As the blood light faded away, the old Daoist danced with petals floating around him, stepping on a turbid auspicious cloud under his feet, and a lotus flower bloomed faintly above his head, which then merged into his body. Opening his mouth, Qi Yuan exhaled a breath of clear air, and his aura began to rise slowly. This kind of transformation into an immortal was truly plain. Qi Yuan now understood what had happened, and he turned to look at Li Changshou, his eyes full of helplessness but with a hint of tears twinkling. For the time being, let's not mention the words master and disciple. Qi Yuan's expression was complex as he made a respectful bow to Li Changshou; Li Changshou quickly put away the bamboo scroll, carving knife, paper figure, and pills, returning the bow to his master and remained seated for a long time without daring to get up. A noise came from the wind... "It's Bie Xie! Bie Xie has become a muddled immortal!" "That turned out to be the Immortal-Melting Pill! There are still people who can refine this pill?" "Senior Brother Qi Yuan has chosen this path, not bad, but it's also a way to survive." "Muddled immortals are not much different from most immortals. Most of us are stuck at the True Immortal level."