Chapter 55: Senior Brother's South Sea Drift Record

Thunder rumbled across a thousand *li*, lightning cascading like a waterfall to illuminate the mundane sky.

Within a thousand-*li* radius, the sea surface was lashed by fierce winds and rain, and around the tribulation site, the waves soared to frightening heights over a hundred *li*.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth from thousands of *li* converged toward the location where Li Changshou was undergoing his tribulation, transforming into the raw essence of thunder within the tribulation clouds and pouring down repeatedly.

The island below had been nearly half destroyed, but fortunately, Li Changshou had chosen a barren isle with no living creatures for his tribulation.

The sea creatures had fled even earlier.

Thunder waterfalls descended one after another, with the wind and rain growing ever more intense.

What should have been a relatively minor heavenly tribulation for a qi refiner to achieve immortality had unexpectedly escalated to the scale of a great demon being struck by heavenly retribution.

The immortality tribulation was among the milder types of heavenly tribulations, as becoming an immortal in the Great Wilderness was merely an unremarkable event.

The truly formidable tribulations occurred when a heavenly immortal at their peak attempted to break through to golden immortal, and if their karmic burdens far outweighed their merits, the Heavenly Dao would not permit their eternal life, sending down a "longevity tribulation."

That was a tribulation capable of slaying golden immortals, with tribulation clouds often spanning thousands of *li* and involving more than just thunder.

Boom!

Rumble—

At the same time, one thousand three hundred *li* southeast of the tribulation site.

"Master, why have we stopped again?"

On that cloud heading south, the girl named Han Zhi asked softly.

The old Daoist furrowed his brows, using his powerful immortal sense to observe the sea surface a thousand *li* away.

Even with his half-step golden immortal cultivation, he could not penetrate the layers of tribulation clouds;

The heavenly tribulation energy there was unusually dense.

Yet, from the constant trembling and shaking of the clouds, he could infer whether thunder was falling.

"This heavenly tribulation is off. It's already the seventh strike, and the clouds haven't dispersed!"

The old Daoist calculated with his fingers, suddenly turning to face the distant tribulation site.

"It seems besides the tribulation, there's something else..."

Han Zhi asked in confusion, "Master, why don't we go take a look?"

"If we get too close and witness such an immortality tribulation, I'm afraid you'll develop a fear of heavenly tribulations in the future," the old Daoist said with a frown. "Let's not rush. We'll wait here and see if he can withstand the eighth strike. Logically, he shouldn't."

Boom!

Rumble!

The heavens shook again as the eighth tribulation struck, the lightning waterfall visible even from a thousand *li* away!

The clouds still didn't dissipate?

"The one undergoing tribulation actually withstood the eighth strike? Could it be some ancient great power reincarnated?

Hiss—

Let's go, Han Zhi, we'll head over and see!"

The old Daoist gasped for the umpteenth time, pulling his disciple and speeding toward Li Changshou's tribulation site on a swift white cloud.

But shortly after they set off, they saw a massive silver-white thunder sphere tinged with purple forming from the tribulation clouds a thousand *li* away!

It was as if a divine thunder bird had risen from the sea, like a second sun star appearing in the heavens!

The thunder sphere crashed down, reaching the peak of tribulation power, and the sea surface below erupted with waves thousands of layers high!

The old Daoist pressed on, though over a thousand *li* was still a considerable distance for someone of his level.

Whoosh—

Sudden gusts of wind swept across the sea, as spiritual energy from thousands of *li* rushed toward the tribulation site.

The spiritual energy gathered so rapidly that streaks of multicolored light could be seen in the air.

"Master, the wind is picking up!"

Han Zhi shouted in shock, "That person has passed the tribulation!"

"Indeed!

This is the absorption of spiritual energy after successfully overcoming the heavenly tribulation!"

The old Daoist showed a hint of excitement. "This must be the reincarnation of some great figure. Look at the sheer amount of spiritual energy—he might even ascend directly to heavenly immortal!

Quick, let's go make his acquaintance!

If we can bring him into our Jie Jiao sect, it would be a fine thing!"

But as soon as the old Daoist spoke, a bolt of purple lightning suddenly appeared from the nine heavens, piercing through the tribulation clouds and striking the island!

The old Daoist's eyes widened, his ruddy face turning the color of dried eggplant under the purple divine thunder...

What was happening today?

He had doubted the other would succeed, and they did; now, just as he said they had safely passed, another divine thunder fell...

By the teachings of the sect leader, this truly wasn't his fault!

Han Zhi asked in bewilderment, "Master, what is that?"

"Heavenly punishment, true heavenly punishment," the old Daoist said gravely. "The Heavenly Dao sees him as an anomaly, so even after the tribulation, it sends down punishment.

It's over. He's surely doomed—heavenly punishment isn't something you can just..."

Before the old Daoist could finish, the words "surely doomed" barely left his lips when the surrounding winds surged again, and boundless spiritual energy converged once more on the tribulation site.

"Ah? This mouth of mine!"

Smack!

Han Zhi's small hand quickly covered her master's mouth. "Master, please stop talking. Let's hurry over and see."

The old Daoist chuckled and shook his head, pointing a finger forward to make the white cloud fly even faster.

When they were still eight hundred *li* away from the tribulation site, a canopy of *lingzhi*-shaped auspicious clouds appeared there.

The tribulation clouds in the sky transformed into billowing white clouds, quickly condensing into a funnel shape, with the narrow end pointing to the one who had undergone the tribulation;

Streams of pure spiritual energy flowed from the white clouds into the vaguely visible figure below.

A beam of golden light descended from the nine heavens, enveloping the person.

Within the light beam, ethereal shadows of immortal maidens danced to the music of the immortals, scattering petals everywhere;

White-haired elders arrived on cranes, offering repeated congratulations to the figure below.

These were all heavenly phenomena.

—By now, the power of the tribulation had become quite faint.

When the old Daoist and his companion were about six hundred *li* away, the phenomena had not yet faded. The figure, having absorbed all the tribulation clouds, suddenly turned and leaped into the sea...

The old Daoist was startled and immediately channeled his immortal power to shout, using the thousand-*li* sound transmission:

"Daoist friend!

My disciple and I are qi refiners from Jin'ao Island, here to congratulate you!"

However, a flash of immortal light in the sea, and the person vanished without a trace.

"Master, why did he run away?" Han Zhi frowned. "It's like he thinks we're villains."

"Sigh, how would he know if we're good or bad?"

The old Daoist sighed with emotion, then tried to calculate with his fingers, but found nothing.

"Hiding from heavenly secrets?

He must be the reincarnation of some great figure, otherwise he wouldn't be so cautious.

My divination skills are decent, yet I can't find any trace of him.

Clearly, he's someone who practiced in ancient times and knows the dangers of the world.

Han Zhi, do you still want to go take a look? He's already gone."

"Let's go, Master. I want to see the power of that tribulation for myself."

"Very well," the old Daoist said indulgently, leading his disciple onward by cloud.

A moment later, the two figures finally hovered above the tribulation site, but Han Zhi's pretty face was...

Streaked with black lines.

Only a small half of the tiny island remained. Where the other half had been destroyed, a square pit was visible underwater.

"Master, is this what an immortality tribulation is like?"

"Don't worry," the old Daoist said with a smile, glancing at the bloodstained rag floating on the sea. "Your tribulation won't be this strong—probably just a tenth of it."

Han Zhi's mouth twitch. How was that supposed to be reassuring?

The old Daoist pointed a finger, and flames enveloped the rag below, quickly reducing it to ashes.

"He left in such a hurry and dropped this item," the old Daoist said with a laugh. "Clearing it away for him counts as forming a good karmic tie.

Let's go, or else other experts might show up to watch, and explaining things would be a hassle."

Han Zhi nodded gently, glancing down at the dark pit under the sea, and let her master pull her southeastward.

...

'I wonder if that bloodstained robe I left behind has been discovered.'

Li Changshou pondered in his heart, now fully channeling his immortal power to execute the water escape technique, darting westward as fast as possible.

He had sensed the old Daoist and the girl approaching his tribulation site, so he abandoned healing on the spot, absorbed one last gulp of spiritual energy, and fled.

The bloodstained robe had been taken from a deceased mortal soldier during his time in the secular world. He had soaked it in spiritual energy for a while, which should interfere with anyone trying to track him.

—The soldier had received a proper recitation of deliverance scriptures from him, allowing a swift reincarnation in the underworld.

"Cough!"

The water flow of his escape technique shuddered slightly, releasing traces of blood, but these were quickly carried away by the returning currents.

Li Changshou's body was now radiant with multicolored immortal light, yet from his chest to his abdomen, his immortal form was covered in web-like cracks.

His physical form was still manageable, but his immortal infant was in worse shape—withered and listless in his middle *dantian*, unable to move.

He understood the principles, but why...

Did the nine strikes of tribulation include a tenth?

"Cough! Cough!"

Li Changshou couldn't help but cough again. The intense pain was minor; the real issue was dealing with the constant bleeding.

How many throughout history had succeeded in tribulation only to end up as battered as he was?

He paused in the sea to check the "fire" character jade fragment on him, along with a few other small items he had acquired earlier.

His vision blurred, and his body swayed in the water.

Li Changshou knew that the final purple divine thunder was heavenly punishment, a retribution from the Heavenly Dao for his previous obfuscation of heavenly secrets.

His severe injuries were mostly from that strike.

Fortunately, Li Changshou had reacted quickly. The moment he sensed the heavenly punishment descending, he used the few defensive treasures he had.

One couldn't use treasures to block a heavenly tribulation, but they could mitigate heavenly punishment slightly.

Though these treasures were of poor quality, they had buffered some of the force, giving him a chance to escape.

After the purple divine thunder fell, Li Changshou felt at peace.

He no longer owed any karmic debt to the Heavenly Dao.

"Pah!"

A surge of blood rose, which Li Changshou forcibly suppressed with his hand.

His immortal infant was too gravely injured; he needed a place to recuperate, or the realm he had broken through by absorbing spiritual energy post-tribulation might regress.

He still had countless insights from the tribulation, the foundation for his future "ascension," which he needed to assimilate quickly.

Li Changshou extended his immortal sense, scanning the vast sea frantically, and soon smiled faintly, speeding toward the southern depths.

Before long, deep in the sea came low roars as a massive fish over twenty *zhang* long left its centuries-old habitat and swam rapidly westward.

On the hump of the fish's back, immortal light flickered gently, occasionally revealing a white jade lotus flower.

Yet, Li Changshou inside the fish emitted no aura at all.

Even in his wounded state, Li Changshou continued to circulate the Turtle Breath Technique;

The fish had no idea what was happening to it, only that it desperately wanted to swim westward while maintaining a fixed distance of several hundred *li* from the coast.

Li Changshou had intended to heal inside the fish, but after a few days, his injuries stabilized, and both his immortal form and infant began to recover slowly on their own.

As his mind relaxed, those insights flooded in, forcibly drawing Li Changshou's consciousness into a profound immortal realm.

This gate was called Myriad Wonders, this state known as Profound Mystery.

Li Changshou entered a wondrous state where he could sense changes in his surroundings and control the fish's general direction, but he couldn't awaken.

Wandering in that profound Dao realm, he was oblivious to the passage of time;

Yet, a trace of his divine sense lingered around the fish, ready to alert him.

The fish swam steadily westward, and after three or five months, one day two massive iron harpoons plunged from the sea surface, piercing straight through the fish's chest and abdomen.

Li Changshou was startled but, sensing no immediate danger, remained in that profound state;

He stayed quietly on the fish's back, continuing to comprehend the realm.

It wasn't that he didn't want to leave—he simply couldn't.

Later, Li Changshou was dragged ashore with the fish by two large ships and taken by a group of sturdy, primitively dressed men and women to a sizable village.

He spared a wisp of immortal sense to scan outside and found that most were mortals, with only a few at the Qi Refining or Spirit Transformation stages.

The fish was dissected, and Li Changshou felt himself slide out from its back.

Then, the dramatic scene unfolded.

These remote fishermen mistook Li Changshou for a sea god. They knelt around him, performed ritual dances, held a celebration that lasted days and nights, and enshrined him.

—When he emerged from the fish's back, immortal light shone around him, his body untainted by any filth, and his appearance strikingly heroic.

For the next two months, Li Changshou remained in that profound state, venerated by the fishermen in the village;

A twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl was selected as his attendant, staying by his side day and night.

Half a month later, Li Changshou finally assimilated all the insights and broke free from the profound state. He closed his eyes for internal reflection, and as dawn broke, the girl awoke from the next room.

Hearing the light footsteps, Li Changshou opened his eyes and sat up, ready to thank her and leave quickly.

As the girl tiptoed toward the entrance, Li Changshou called out:

"Thank you, mis—"

The door curtain was lifted, and a thick arm, as sturdy as Li Changshou's thigh, reached in.

Li Changshou blinked in surprise.

Had his perception been wrong? Was it a boy, not a girl?

He quickly corrected himself: "Thank you, brave one, for your aid!"

"Huh?"

A burly figure poked in from behind the curtain—first a pretty face, then a stocky, tower-like body, and flowing cascades of black hair.

A rough voice boomed from the girl's mouth:

"Oh! You're awake, Immortal!"

Immortal?

Li Changshou caught that detail sharply, a hint of wariness rising in his heart.

Based on how the fishermen had addressed him before, shouldn't it be "sea god"?