Chapter 255: Still the Original Formula, Still the Familiar Taste

Here it comes!

The most likely template for transcending tribulation had actually given him a small surprise, happening right at this moment.

This was several decades earlier than Li Changshou had anticipated!

As a result, Li Changshou felt a bit worried deep down.

In his observations, Wangqing Shangren's Dao foundation still had room for improvement, but Wangqing Shangren's choice to transcend at this time must have been based on his own considerations...

Transcending tribulation is no trivial matter; no one dares to be reckless.

Wangqing Shangren wouldn't have chosen today for something as absurd as "might as well get it over with early for peace of mind."

Tribulation clouds formed from the four directions of heaven and earth, converging with vast heavenly might.

The sky darkened abruptly, as if a muddy rain were about to fall, causing all living beings within ten thousand li to tremble in fear, with a pervasive aura of slaughter filling the heavens and earth!

Li Changshou stood in the air above Xiaoqiong Peak, like the other Qi refiners in the sect, gazing toward the direction of Potian Peak...

There, a figure slowly rose into the sky, with white hair at the temples fluttering in the wind, hands clasped behind the back, standing proudly to face the heavenly tribulation.

But soon after, Wangqing Shangren's figure shot swiftly toward the barren mountains outside the sect gates.

The tribulation clouds followed like a shadow, resembling a massive kite on a string, moving "slowly" in pursuit of that figure.

As for the scale of these tribulation clouds...

To be honest, it wasn't that large.

Once Wangqing Shangren had flown away, the mountain-protecting array fully activated, becoming even thicker and more seamless.

The first to follow were two Jin Xian elders from the sect: the headmaster Wuyou Daoist and the gatekeeper of the Dao Treasury Hall, an elder from the rare Qilin clan in the world, and Jiu Jiu's warm-hearted senior, Qi Ling Elder.

They trailed far behind, one on the left and one on the right, serving as guardians for Wangqing Shangren, who was about to face the Jin Xian Jie.

The Jin Xian Jie is nothing like the Immortal Ascension Tribulation; even a slight interference could lead to total failure.

Wangqing Shangren had already selected his tribulation site and made some protective arrangements in advance.

Why transcend tribulation outside the sect?

The reason is simple: if done within the sect, first, the many disciples might be so terrified by the heavenly might that they develop inner demons; second, the mountain-protecting array would likely need a complete rebuild, causing massive financial losses to Du Xian Men.

Li Changshou swept his immortal sense over the area and could hear discussions breaking out everywhere.

"Does that mean Du Xian Men will have another Jin Xian?"

"Is this the Jin Xian Jie? Just this level of heavenly might is enough to make one's heart pound..."

"Will he... make it through?"

"That's Wangqing Shangren! A mere heavenly tribulation is nothing to him!"

Li Changshou thought for a moment, then sent a voice transmission to instruct his master and junior sister to stay put on Xiaoqiong Peak.

Afterward, he selected a paper effigy and prepared to fly after them.

As he started to head out, he saw a figure dart from Danding Peak and quickly sent a voice transmission to call out.

"Elder, please take this disciple with you!"

Wan Linjun Elder immediately turned back and pulled Li Changshou along.

The old man didn't ask why Li Changshou wanted to go; he simply said, "The heavenly might of the Jin Xian Jie is overwhelming. If you can't handle it later, retreat immediately."

"Yes, this disciple understands."

With that, Wan Linjun Elder carried Li Changshou on a cloud, leaving the sect gates and chasing ahead.

Not just Wan Linjun Elder—seven or eight supreme elders and other elders also went out, spreading out within a three-hundred-li radius around the barren mountain to stand guard for Wangqing Shangren.

Jiang Lin'er hurried to the site as well. Seeing Li Changshou beside Wan Linjun Elder, she instinctively approached.

"Why did you come out here?" Jiang Lin'er glared at Li Changshou.

"This disciple came to experience the Longevity Tribulation in advance," Li Changshou said with a smile, "to strengthen my own pursuit of the Dao."

"You're thinking that far ahead," Jiang Lin'er murmured softly, wanting to advise more, but considering all the extraordinary things about this young grand-disciple, she swallowed her words.

Then, she focused intently on Wangqing Shangren standing in the air, her heart fluttering with worry.

At that moment, the tribulation clouds covered a thousand li, forcing all living beings in the area to retreat far away.

The heavens were dim and murky, but amid the gloom, bolts of lightning suddenly flashed!

Even hundreds of li from the tribulation site, the heavenly might still made Tian Xian realm experts quake with fear...

Jiang Lin'er soon turned pale, yet she gritted her teeth and held on.

Li Changshou glanced at his grandmaster, deliberately... squeezing out a bit of sweat on his forehead, while silently taking out a jade talisman to observe and take detailed notes.

After all, a good memory is no match for a bad pen.

Rumble!

Muffled thunder rolled like a massive chariot racing through the clouds, as if ancient immortal kings had returned to patrol the world!

"Fugu'er..."

Jiang Lin'er murmured softly.

Wan Linjun Elder looked at her curiously, and Li Changshou explained via voice transmission, causing Wan Elder to nod in sudden realization.

Wan Linjun Elder then extended his immortal sense, directing most of his attention in the opposite direction, fully focused on guarding Wangqing Shangren.

Soon after, the Jiu Zi—Jiu Xian arrived together.

They reached where Li Changshou and Jiang Lin'er were, enduring the heavenly might as they watched their master...

"Don't disturb Master," Jiu Yiyi cautioned. "Don't affect his state of mind. We'll just watch from here."

The other eight disciples all agreed.

However, Jiu Wu and Jiu Jiu both turned to look at Li Changshou, who was hiding behind Wan Linjun Elder, sitting on a cloud and holding a jade talisman...

"Changshou, what are you doing here?" Jiu Wu asked hurriedly. "The tribulation will strike soon—don't get hurt!"

"It's fine," Wan Linjun Elder said calmly, making Jiu Wu instinctively shrink his already short neck and fall silent.

Jiu Jiu strolled around on the cloud with her hands behind her back, leaning over Li Changshou's shoulder with half her head, a strand of her hair brushing against his neck...

"Let me see what you're writing," she said.

"Some records about the Jin Xian Jie," Li Changshou replied with a smile. "The sect lacks documentation on this. If I can compile it, it might serve as a reference for future generations."

Jiu Jiu blinked and sat down beside him. "It's rare to see you with such dedication."

Li Changshou just smiled and continued writing on the jade talisman.

Even with Jiu Jiu's light robes like snow and her frosty elegance, he had no mood to appreciate it, carefully sensing the heavenly phenomena of the approaching Jin Xian Jie.

Great tribulations also follow the Great Dao, containing profound truths.

At that moment, Li Changshou felt invigorated, not tired at all, not wanting to miss any detail.

After waiting so long, the day had finally come—hoping for wealth and prosperity as Fugu'er becomes a Jin Xian!

Meanwhile,

In the northwest of Dongsheng Shenzhou, in an unremarkable mountain range,

A black leopard that had just formed its demon core stood on a cliff, gazing at the gloomy sky to the southeast.

It's actually a Jin Xian Jie—the seventeenth-ranked one among Jin Xian Jie, the Eight Wastelands and Eight Tribulations Heart Devil Tribulation!

The black leopard blinked.

'Hmm? How would I know all this?

Still, this Jin Xian Jie's power isn't insignificant; the one transcending it will likely struggle to pass.

Uh, why do I know these things?'

The black leopard pondered in confusion...

At the tribulation site, after the clouds gathered for a while,

A massive vortex appeared in the tribulation clouds, quickly contracting and covering the thousand-li expanse, reducing its area by a third.

A moment later, dense lightning patterns emerged in the vortex directly below, with thick tribulation energy manifesting, and the world fell into dead silence.

The wind stopped, all sounds ceased, and spiritual energy from thousands of li converged here, like stagnant dead water.

Without warning, a deep blue lightning pillar struck fiercely, engulfing Wangqing Shangren's figure!

Li Changshou wrote frantically, while everyone around stared wide-eyed, trying to see the figure within the lightning...

After a short while, the lightning pillar dissipated.

Wangqing Shangren still stood in the air, his long hair slightly singed and his robe torn in a few places, but he was unharmed, with his immortal power not greatly depleted.

Beneath him, the barren mountain's peak had been leveled, with streams of lava flowing down like bleeding earth.

Li Changshou paused his writing and waited quietly. Soon, he noted in his mind: "After the first lightning tribulation, it gives the transcender some time to recover."

As soon as he stopped, another lightning pillar appeared, now deep blue and a third smaller in size, but its power had increased far more than that.

Wangqing Shangren stood firm like a rock, splitting the lightning pillar in half, though it slowly pressed him downward.

Jiu Jiu held her breath, instinctively grabbing Li Changshou's sleeve...

"The first five should be fine," Li Changshou transmitted, and Jiu Jiu nodded slowly, her eyes full of concern.

For cultivators like them, who left home young to train under their master, the master-disciple bond is the deepest.

Li Changshou keenly noticed that after the second lightning tribulation, the interval was slightly longer before the third struck...

And after the third, the interval grew a bit more before the fourth gathered and fell.

Li Changshou recorded all these details and roughly calculated the times—it seemed to increase by about twenty percent each time.

But after the fifth heavenly tribulation passed, Wangqing Shangren, who was standing quietly in the air preparing for the sixth, suddenly trembled all over, furrowed his brow, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Mas—!"

Jiu Luer cried out half the word before Jiu Qi pulled her back.

Li Changshou frowned and sensed it, quickly detecting wisps of gray mist swirling around Wangqing Shangren, and he whispered,

"It's the heart tribulation."

"What's a heart tribulation?" Jiu Jiu asked hurriedly.

"A test of the Dao heart," Wan Linjun Elder explained calmly. "If the Dao heart isn't complete, it's extremely hard to endure."

Fortunately, after forming a Dao companion bond with Jiang Lin'er, Wangqing Shangren's Dao heart had few flaws left.

Though wounded by the heart tribulation, he quickly recovered, lifting his head to stare at the tribulation clouds!

With a long howl, his aura surged again!

The sixth heavenly tribulation fell in response, cutting off his howl and pressing him straight toward the half-shattered barren mountain.

Mysteriously, clusters of vibrant, multicolored flames appeared on the mountain.

Along with the lightning, countless visible gusts of blade-like wind shot toward Wangqing Shangren.

Lightning, wind, heart, fire!

The Jin Xian Jie was now in full force. The barren mountain exploded in an instant, and Wangqing Shangren was pinned to its ruins, battered by tribulation energy from all sides!

Li Changshou: ...

So, when facing a heavenly tribulation, it's best to first thank the Heavenly Dao and avoid any howling, laughing, or cursing.

The sixth heavenly tribulation lasted for about the time it takes to burn half an incense stick...

Indeed, the lightning pillar output, the gusts slashed, and the heavenly fire refined, all for half an incense stick.

After the sixth tribulation ended, the heart demons still rampaged, continuously assaulting the transcender's Dao heart...

By the way, how many tribulations does Wangqing Shangren's Jin Xian Jie have?

Li Changshou estimated it should be eight; if nine, Wangqing Shangren might not make it through today.

Judging from how slowly he got up after the sixth, his injuries, and the fluctuations in his aura...

The eighth one would be touch-and-go.

Li Changshou glanced at the Nine-Turn Golden Pill he had on his paper effigy.

He had received the Dao of pill refining from Laojun, so while he couldn't make Nine-Turn Golden Pills now, he might in the future.

If Wangqing Shangren couldn't hold on later, he'd offer this pill.

It would be a loss, but...

Later, he could complain to his master, saying he used his life-saving Nine-Turn Golden Pill for the sake of having another Jin Xian expert in Ren Jiao, and he'd probably get it back.

Plus, he could gain favor with Wangqing Shangren as a backup plan...

But that's not important right now!

After the seventh lightning tribulation fell, Li Changshou stood up, hesitating slightly.

Wangqing Shangren was now like a charred figure; whether he could survive the final one was a fifty-fifty chance, three parts life and seven parts death.

With a Nine-Turn Golden Pill, it could boost the odds by about sixty percent—that's the pill's miraculous effect.

Without it, it'd be pure gambling.

For his own tribulation, he could only use one; the pill's energy lingers, so taking two in a short time wouldn't help.

The other was meant for Ling E, but her Immortal Ascension Tribulation is at least twenty or thirty years away, and the Jin Xian Jie even further...

Li Changshou clutched the porcelain bottle, ready to act.

But just then, Wangqing Shangren suddenly raised his hand, took two pills glowing with iridescent light, and swallowed them. His injuries quickly stabilized, and his aura rose steadily!

Li Changshou: ...

Saved again.

After all, any cultivator reaching the Jin Xian Jie would have their own trump cards for transcending.

The eighth heavenly tribulation was a thunderball, containing the combined power of the previous seven, manifesting as gusts, heavenly fire, profound ice, and lightning, enveloping Wangqing Shangren and tossing him around...

Jiang Lin'er and Wangqing Shangren's nine disciples had their hearts in their throats.

But Li Changshou had already seen the outcome and began writing notes, summarizing it all.

Overall, this tribulation was fairly standard; among Jin Xian Jie, it probably wouldn't rank too high. If survived, the resulting Jin Xian Dao fruit would have a relatively lower strength ceiling.

Estimating his own situation...

Most likely, from the fourth tribulation, wind and fire forms would appear.

It should be nine lightning tribulations, or possibly more.

Nine is the ultimate number, and longevity transcends the bounds of life and death, so there might be a tenth or eleventh...

It seems he needs to sever his Dao realm two or three more times and prepare his third and fourth tribulation plans as soon as possible.

"Hmm?"

As Li Changshou focused on summarizing, his divine sense stirred slightly.

Diverting a thread of his mind to the source of the disturbance—an inconspicuous Sea God Temple—he descended his divine sense onto the statue and looked toward the temple gates.

There stood a young man in fine robes, smiling elegantly, though his handsome features carried a hint of...

Wicked arrogance.

Jin Chan Zi?

Li Changshou felt a spark of amusement. He had just unexpectedly found his second senior brother, and now his "master" had shown up!

As a Sea God, was he fated with the Journey to the West calamity?

Or perhaps, he himself was some immortal from the Journey...