"I can't disperse you, so I'll just swallow you!"
Li Qingming, transformed into a massive beast, howled crazily at the sky. Opening his huge mouth wide, he took a fierce inhale, and bands of lightning condensed into clusters, tightly forming into orbs of thunder, which Li Qingming sucked into his mouth.
"Boom!" Divine Thunder ceaselessly struck down. The initially pleasant feeling of lightning entering his body had completely dissipated. Li Qingming's insides were now a mess, with threads of electricity continuously roaming through his viscera. The direct stimulation of the nerves in the innards was far more profound than the pain that came from the nerves on the skin surface.
The no longer howling Li Qingming circulated the Yuqing Skills over and over again, while also invoking the effects of eating Purple Bamboo Shoots hundreds of years ago.
The refreshing Jia Wood Energy moistened Li Qingming's damaged viscera, with streaks of dark Qi rushing through the meridians towards the skin from the capillaries. Fighting their way out through the pores.
Li Qingming was puzzled, "Eh? What is this green Qi? Why would there be such a thing in my body?"
"Crack!" Before he could think further, Li Qingming was fiercely struck by a thick bolt of Divine Thunder from the sky into the bottom of Buzhou Mountain. The tall and erect Buzhou Mountain sank several tens of meters as a result, frightening the Three Pure Ones at the mountain's foot into thinking the sky was falling and they hurriedly brought out their Magic Treasure to protect themselves.
"How refreshing!"
A dark shadow, mixed with a burnt smell, jumped out from the pit. Shaking off the dirt on his head, Li Qingming squinted at the now still dark clouds above and bitterly smiled to himself, "They say don't act tough, as those who do get struck by lightning. Since I crossed over to this world, I've been law-abiding and never overstepped my boundaries. How did I provoke Divine Punishment?"
The fierce winds surged, and the dark clouds in the sky began to change anew.
The Divine Punishment cloud of a li radius began to gather again, its color slowly turning from pitch black to crimson red. Soon, a colossal Eye of Heavenly Punishment formed in the sky.
This Eye of Heavenly Punishment consisted of two parts, with the sclera part pitch black and the iris showing a sinister crimson color. It flickered with hidden thunder light as it opened and closed.
Li Qingming observed the Eye of Heavenly Punishment with absolutely no emotional fluctuations, utterly indifferent. A strange wave emitted from the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, and immediately a deep rumble resounded in his mind: "You are an anomaly. After the three tribulations, the anomaly may pass!"
"Oh, so that's how it is! I thought so, just randomly making statements like 'from now on, I am so-and-so', wouldn't just let the Great Dao overlook an unregistered person!" Li Qingming pondered in his heart. "Three tribulations? One is the tribulation of the heart, one the Heavenly Tribulation, what is the last one?"
"Crack!"
A dazzling red light pierced through Heaven and Earth and violently struck towards Li Qingming. Watching the evil-imbued Heavenly Punishment Thunder, Li Qingming's soul nearly scattered in fright.
He frantically summoned the Qiankun Ruler to hit the Divine Thunder. The Qiankun Ruler barely deflected it a bit before spinning back to Li Qingming's Dantian.
"Roar! I suck!" Following the previous method, Li Qingming sucked in this bolt of Divine Thunder whole into his mouth. But soon, Li Qingming's face twisted severely.
The Divine Thunder entered Li Qingming's body and rampaged like a living creature, violently lurching left and right. Li Qingming's eyes were bloodshot, and he let out soft 'hehe' sounds from his mouth.
The essence of the Bitter Bamboo stored in his body once again overflowed from his muscles and viscera. It quickly enveloped the massive bolt of Divine Thunder, gathering the green Qi into a rectangular shape, methodically extracting strands of lightning from the thunderball, assimilating them into the Jia Wood Green Qi.
Not knowing how much time had passed, Li Qingming released a comfortable sigh of turbid air and inspected his inner condition: "The heart is beating powerfully, no problem! Liver is ruddy, enveloped with a faint green Qi, that's the green Qi from just now. Huh, what's this?" Li Qingming said in surprise at the hint of purple occupying his Dantian, and curiously sent his Primordial Spirit to probe it.
The Primordial Spirit smoothly entered that touch of purple, which turned out to be a segment of bamboo shoot, still surrounded by a layer of lightning.
Li Qingming touched his paw and muttered to himself: "It's normal for this body to grow fur. But growing bamboo in the Dantian, that's indeed a rare tale! Could this be 'Bitter Bamboo'? Never mind, as long as it's not a bad thing, it's alright."
"Your Merit is already sufficient; thus, the three tribulations have passed. From now on, Primordial is without worries!" The heavy rumble resounded in his ears once again.
A golden light shot out from the Eye of Divine Punishment and enveloped Li Qingming.
"Phew! Finally it's over! So it turns out good deeds can counter the third Divine Punishment tribulation! Looks like I need to plan a few more good deeds in the future!" Li Qingming let the golden light wash over him, his face glowing with delight.
Bathing in the golden light, Li Qingming distinctly felt his muscles continuously contracting and his bones growing and elongating. The sensation of muscles moving was truly blissful.
When the golden light dissipated, it revealed the inside figure, Li Qingming:
Long hair draped over his shoulders casually in the breeze, his sword-like eyebrows thrusting into the sky, his eyes gentle with a dark red lightning symbol in the brow center, giving off a profoundness that belied his age.
At one meter eighty-five, he wore a black and white Daoist robe with an embroidery of a robust and vibrant Green Bamboo on it, and Brocade Cloud Boots on his feet, exuding an ethereal and detached aura.
Casting a Water Mirror Technique with a raise of his hand, Li Qingming sized himself up and down, saying, "My cultivation has reached the Daluo True Immortal stage. The appearance is somewhat more handsome than in my previous life, not bad!!"
Summoning the Qiankun Treasure and Green Bamboo, Li Qingming gently stroked them.
The Qiankun Map and Qiankun Ruler were battered in the rage of the Divine Punishment Thunder, already in tatters. However, the Great Dao is just and rewarded Li Qingming for successfully overcoming the Divine Punishment with golden light. Whether it was Li Qingming's body or the three treasures that had exerted effort in this battle, all were restored by the Great Dao golden light to flawless perfection.
With the golden light's repair, the Qiankun Treasure not only recovered to its peak state but also acquired the potential to progress towards being an Innate Treasure.
In contrast, Green Bamboo seemed to fall short by much; although it was repaired by the golden light, it was, after all, not an Innate Item. Only the surface cracks were mended, but the green glow had faded significantly. Even though Green Bamboo wasn't particularly effective and was rather single-purpose, it was the first Magic Treasure that Li Qingming had personally refined, and his attachment to it was naturally deep-seated and hard to part with.
"With an opportunity, I will certainly restore you to your original state and have you classed among the Innate!" Li Qingming caressed the chilly bamboo body of Green Bamboo and said silently to himself.
After some time spent stabilizing the foundation and his word-carved Magic Treasure, on this day, Li Qingming looked up at the towering Mount Buzhou and continued forward with strides, filled with a sense of joy!
The scenery around him constantly changed, and Li Qingming kept moving with a determination that reflected a hero 's resolve of no return.
The awe of Pangu creating the world, what an incredible might! With hands propping up the heavens and feet stamping on the earth, what a presence that was! The ever-more robust pressure of Pangu nearly suffocated Li Qingming. Every step forward seemed tremendously difficult, as if he was carrying an entire mountain on his back, but Li Qingming still stood tall. It seemed only this way could he truly understand Pangu's unyielding will, his fighting spirit against the Heavenly Dao, and stubbornness!
Not knowing how many years he had climbed, on this day, just like usual, Li Qingming set out on his journey right after his meditation. To tell the truth, he didn't even know how far he had ascended, only feeling the heavens seeming within reach, while the earth seemed endlessly deep. Following the upward direction, Li Qingming stepped out, and suddenly, a bright clearing opened before his eyes:
It was a spacious and vast platform, circular in shape, with ancient cauldrons placed all around, each cauldron emanating a radiant light reaching straight for the sky. At the center of the platform was a colossal light column, reaching to the Cangqiong and touching the bottom of Buzhou, a majestic sight. The immense pressure that filled the platform was the sort that seemed capable of destroying the heavens and earth, causing Li Qingming's heart to race with fear.
"Is this the peak of Mount Buzhou? It's said that the Pan Gu God, exhausted by his efforts, turned his head and limbs into the five sacred mountains, and his spine became the pivotal supporter of heaven and earth, Mount Buzhou... This residual pressure is indeed terrifying!" Li Qingming looked around, filled with emotion.
"Big brother! Qingmingzi has been on the mountain for over ten thousand years. Why has he not returned?" Tongtian greatly missed his playfully mischievous disciple-nephew.
"Hmm," Laozi silently gave Tongtian a glance and did not speak.
"Bitter Bamboo was an Innate Root, a youth, ignorant, swallowed it by mistake. The White Tiger blocked the way, as an escaped bear roamed the Bamboo Island. The Three Pure Ones treading waves sought in the South, and by acknowledging what the True Immortal taught, perfecting cultivation could be wrought. It took a thousand years of arduous practice before leaving the island, traveling north, the path of Mount Buzhou is long and fraught. Scale Armor blocked the way, making it hard to proceed, Qiankun deceitful, scrambled away in time of need. Climbing Buzhou, Divine Punishment descended, ten thousand years of heartache culminated in Transformation. Atop Mount Buzhou, a name was inherited, the Daoist known as Li Qingming!"
A slender young man wearing a Yin Yang Taoist robe muttered a nonsense rhyming verse, riding the clouds down from Mount Buzhou.
"Disciple Li Qingming pays respects to Master Uncle, Master, and Master Uncle!" The young Daoist bowed deeply and said.
"Ha ha ha! Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!" Primordial Venerable projected his Primordial Spirit, closely examining Li Qingming's Cultivation. After a long while, he burst into hearty laughter!
"Not bad, not bad!" Laozi also stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly.
The most exaggerated was Tongtian; naturally cheerful and easy-going, he stretched out his fan-like hand and kept patting Li Qingming's shoulder, saying, "Ha ha ha, good lad! Just ten thousand years unseen, not only have you achieved Transformation, but your Cultivation has even reached the Middle Stage of Daluo True Immortal. Truly worthy of being the first among The Three Pure Ones' disciples!"
Li Qingming, his shoulder aching from the pats, couldn't help but smile bitterly and think to himself sarcastically: "Now there's only me under The Three Pure Ones, so of course, I am the first person among your disciples!"
"Enough, third brother!" Laozi spoke at this time, "I have calculated that to the northeast of this mountain there is yet a fortune for us to find. We must go there to seek it before continuing forward!"
The crowd said, "Good!"
Laozi led the way on his Green Bull, with Primordial silent and reserved, while Tongtian and Li Qingming chatted animatedly.
On the eastern side of Mount Buzhou, close to other mountain ranges, on a hillside, there was a flat area, vast and even, with cliffs almost going straight down.
In that recess, there was a lake, with mists swirling above and a pervasive, dense aura. A breeze passed by and under the sunshine, a ripple shimmered on the lake surface.
At the junction of the lake and the cliff, there was a lush green vine hanging vertically from the cliff, emitting a faint green glow.
The surrounding spiritual energy swarmed to the vine like bees. Seven uniquely colored, adorable and small gourds were crystallized on the vine. Holding those gourds in hand, whimsically playing with them, would certainly make them irresistible to let go or throw away lightly.
The seven gourds were arranged from top to bottom in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black, and as the vine absorbed the Spiritual Energy, they gradually swelled and grew larger. It seemed that once the vine stopped absorbing Spiritual Energy, the Seven-Colored Gourd would ripen and fall, becoming a Spiritual Treasure on its own.
Before the bursting vine now stood three individuals.
One was a middle-aged man with red hair, whose face appeared kind, with squinted eyes that occasionally flashed sharply.
One was a young man dressed in a golden robe, with a robe embroidered with a Three-legged Golden Crow looking up to the sky, wearing a Purple Gold crown and hanging a small bell around his waist, revealing an imposing aura between his brows.
One was a beautiful woman in a green robe, with suggestive curved eyebrows, eyes conveying a mix of reproach and joy, a pertly cute nose, and naturally rosy cherry lips, her complexion like frosted cream, her cheeks blushing like crimson clouds. Within the rippling water light, an enchanting beauty seemed to shimmer into existence.
The Three Pure Ones, accompanied by Li Qingming, stood in front of the vine and said no words, only nodding politely to the three individuals. A simple meeting by chance, no need to ask of origins.
However, in Li Qingming's heart, he had almost accurately guessed the identities of the three. The red-haired one was likely the luckless Red Cloud, the young man in the golden robe must be Taiyi, and as for the woman in the green robe, she was probably Nuwa.
Li Qingming's heart was filled with boundless curiosity: "Observing the stories about Primordial from later generations, wasn't this Innate Gourd discovered on Mount Buzhou after Hongjun's preaching? How come it's about to appear now; could it be because of my interference?"
The vine in front of everyone suddenly inhaled vigorously, and the gourds on the vine no longer changed in size. The seven gourds were colorful and crystal clear, revealing their interiors.
With several soft "pop" sounds, the gourds ripened and detached from the vine!