Desolate Era

by RWX

  If he had top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures, given Immortal Juhua’s power and Dao-heart, he might’ve become a Celestial Immortal.

  “Right. Your chances are now much greater…but you still need to be careful. The Celestial Tribulation…magic treasures are only one part of your power. When iron is being forged, it has to rely on its own innate hardness. The Celestial Tribulation primarily tests one’s personal power,” Immortal Fivecraze said seriously.

  “I understand.” Immortal Diancai nodded.

  Even many disciples of True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would fail during their tribulation. Generally speaking, disciples of True Immortals or Empyrean Gods all had top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and yet many still failed. Clearly, the Celestial Tribulation was different for each person! The more monstrously talented someone was, the more powerful one was, the more ridiculously terrifying the Celestial Tribulation would be.

  ……

  One day after another went by

  Immortal Diancai familiarized himself with the Heavenraker swords, then began to wait quietly. Ji Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound also quietly stood to one side, standing guard for him.

  And finally…

  Whoosh…

  Suddenly, a gentle wind began to blow, rustling Immortal Diancai’s Daoist robes.

  Immortal Diancai opened his eyes. “Senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze, Ji Ning, brother White…stand guard for me. My Celestial Tribulation has begun.”

  Ning and the others could sense that the nearby wind was beginning to slowly grow increasingly fierce. They couldn’t help but nervously look towards the seated Immortal Diancai.

  * * *

  Book 14, Chapter 12 - Celestial Immortal Body

  Whoosh…

  The wild wind that had suddenly arose in this world of death came from every direction. All the winds surged towards Immortal Diancai’s direction, and Ji Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound could all sense how powerful this wind was. However, they were able to resist it by using just a bit of elemental ki.

  The closer the wind moved towards Immortal Diancai, the more powerful it became. The wind gathered from all corners of the world, slowly merging into an azure windblade. By the time this azure windblade actually flew towards Immortal Diancai, it had turned such a deep azure color that it could almost be described as a black windblade.

  Just staring at it caused Ning and the others to feel shocked.

  “Open.”

  The black-robed Immortal Diancai stood there, the five Heavenraker Immortal swords floating around him, swiveling. It was as though five rainbows were swirling around him. Although the terrifyingly powerful black windblades chopped repeatedly towards him, all the strikes were blocked.

  “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai’s sword-arts have already risen to such a level?” Immortal Fivecraze revealed a look of delight. “Ji Ning, I had an idea as to what level your master’s sword-arts had reached…but he is even more powerful than I had expected! Long ago, I came to the conclusion that junior apprentice-brother Diancai had the highest chance amongst us of becoming a Celestial Immortal, and back then his sword-arts were already at an astonishing level. After adventuring for forty years, and after receiving your Dao-repository, his sword-arts…they are not one whit inferior to Immortal Northwalker’s. He truly does have a chance to become a Celestial Immortal!”

  “Right.” Ning was filled with eagerness as well.

  Everything else aside, the ‘Five Elements Sword-Intent’ which his master had just displayed was enough to let Ning know that his master’s sword-arts were most likely on a level comparable to his own. His master truly lived up to his reputation as the peerless genius of the Black-White College with the highest chances of becoming a Celestial Immortal.

  ……

  The savage black windblades hammered repeatedly against the five rainbows of light, causing even the surrounding space to crack and fracture.

  Rumble…

  All of the black windblades suddenly vanished. The world actually turned completely calm and tranquil again…but then yet another series of winds began to appear. The winds stabbed like sharp needles…and a series of needle-like spikes began to appear in midair. The thousands of spikes all gleamed with golden light as they stabbed towards the five Immortal swords which were in the form of five rainbows of light.

  ……

  Savage. Insidious. Soft. Icy. Blazing…

  All sorts of wind came in an unending flow. In fact, a total of twelve types of skywind appeared as well!

  Suddenly, the surrounding area once more turned calm. For a long period of time, no further gusts of wind appeared.

  “Not good.” Immortal Fivecraze was startled. “The final part of the wind tribulation has begun.”

  Ning was nervous and restless as well. He looked anxiously towards his master, standing there in the distance.

  The Celestial Tribulation consisted of four great tribulations; the wind tribulation, the fire tribulation, the thunder tribulation, and the demonheart tribulation. The wind tribulation…it first consisted of ordinary wind, then types of skywind of different power, and then finally the most terrifying of all, the Celestial Immortal Wind. This Celestial Immortal Wind was invisible and formless; it was hard to locate within the Three Realms, and would only appear during the Celestial Tribulation.

  No magic treasures were capable of blocking the Celestial Immortal Wind; it would form directly in front of the tribulant’s body, then surge in through the head. Nothing, not even Daoist robes, would be able to block the penetrating power of this wind in the slightest!

  After surging in through the head, it would naturally disperse and tear through the vital organs.

  What it tested was a person’s Dao-heart. If one’s Dao-heart was weak, then once the Celestial Immortal Wind surged in through the head, their body would most likely instantly melt and transform into dust, allowing only the Goldlotus Primal to survive and flee. More than 99% of Void-level Earth Immortals would be defeated by the Celestial Immortal Wind.

  If one’s Dao-heart was strong and stable enough, then the trial of the Celestial Immortal Wind would actually be a transformatative baptism, allowing the tribulant to slowly begin to develop a Celestial Immortal Body.

  “Master, you have to hold on,” Ning said, extremely worried.

  “Hold on.” Immortal Fivecraze stared at him as well.

  Immortal Diancai stood there by himself, surrounded by those five pitch-black Immortal swords. He opened his eyes, revealing a smile as he looked towards Ning and Immortal Fivecraze. “The wind tribulation is over.”

  “Good.” Immortal Fivecraze laughed loudly, “I just knew that your Dao-heart had to be strong, junior apprentice-brother! The wind tribulation was unable to do anything to you at all. Hurry up and replenish your elemental ki and prepare for the next tribulation, the fire tribulation!”

  Ning let out a sigh of relief as well.

  At least the first tribulation had been overcome.

  In truth, given the Dao-heart which his master normally displayed, Ning should have felt quite confident in him. However, right before they entered this minor world, his master’s emotions had been disturbed, and he had even spoken of reuniting with his deceased junior apprentice-sister. Ning had been very worried about the effects of this former relationship on his master’s heart. Once one’s Dao-heart became even slightly unstable, then one’s body would quickly be transformed into dust.

  The Celestial Tribulation was truly dangerous. One couldn’t make a single error in it; a single error would represent a complete failure!

  ……

  Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and Uncle White kept their divine senses spread as they stood vigilant guard for Immortal Diancai, whom they continued to watch.

  Roughly an hour after the wind tribulation ended.

  Rumbling red clouds suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the skies; it was as though a cloud created from an enormous ball
of flames had appeared.

  “The fire tribulation has arrived.” Ning and Immortal Fivecraze both watched nervously.

  The fire tribulation wasn’t as insidious as the wind tribulation, but it was even more savage and ferocious! The power of those flames…if a Void-level Earth Immortal slipped for a single instant, then his body would instantly be charred into ash.

  The fiery clouds in the skies slowly descended. Instantly, the temperature of the surrounding area began to rise, and the air itself seemed to glow with a blurry red light.

  Crackle crackle crackle…

  The ground itself began to turn soft. It began to transform into lava and began to bubble and froth.

  Immortal Diancai began to levitate into the air. “Go!” Immortal Diancai pointed with his finger, and one of the five Heavenraker swords actually flew out, transforming into a giant serpent of fire that flew through the skies, stabbing straight towards the enormous fiery cloud, slashing through it and causing it to grow chaotic and disordered. However, the Heavenraker sword was quickly knocked flying backwards.

  Instantly, the fiery cloud began to drop at an even faster pace. Soon, it completely enveloped Immortal Diancai within it.

  Hiss hiss hiss…

  The temperature had risen to a terrifying level, and even the lava within the region had been completely incinerated and transformed into nothingness. Even the stones in the distant region where Ning and the others were watching had been transformed into lava. From this, one could tell how terrifying the temperature was.

  Rumble…whoosh…crackle…

  Streaks of skyfire could vaguely be seen blazing from within the fiery cloud. There was golden skyfire, black skyfire, green skyfire, and even skyfire that seemed to flash like the stars…

  “The various types of skyfire have descended.” Ning and Immortal Fivecraze both watched nervously.

  Boom!

  Suddenly…

  The entire fiery cloud began to converge and coalesce around a single central point. Suddenly, a human-shaped figure appeared from within it, protected by five Immortal swords. The fiery cloud had transformed into a blazing light that was completely insubstantial. The light passed through the blocking Immortal swords, flying straight into the human-shaped figure’s body.

  For a moment, the entire world turned silent. The surrounding temperature began to drop at a rapid pace. Immortal Diancai, however, emanated a fiery light as he hovered there in the skies. Ning stared at his master; his master was emanating so much fiery light, he seemed to be made out of flames himself.

  “The final type of fire within the fire tribulation…the Celestial Immortal Fire,” Immortal Fivecraze said worriedly.

  A Celestial Immortal Body had to be tempered by wind, fire, and lightning. Only afterwards could the Celestial Immortal Body be forged. Then, after undergoing the trial of the demonheart tribulation, the Celestial Immortal’s Dao-heart would be formed.

  Only after all tribulations were passed would one become a carefree, unbound Celestial Immortal!

  “He overcame it.” The distant Ning revealed a look of joy on his face. He saw that the distant Immortal Diancai’s body was beginning to slowly turn a duller color as he slowly returned to normal.

  Immortal Diancai landed. He immediately sat down in the lotus position, quietly adjusting his energy levels and recovering his elemental ki.

  “The fire tribulation is over. Next comes the most dangerous tribulation, the thunder tribulation!” Immortal Fivecraze murmured softly.

  “Right. The thunder tribulation.” Ning’s heart clenched as well.

  Of the four great tribulations, the final demonheart tribulation was the strangest tribulation. But the thunder tribulation was the most terrifying one!

  The thunder tribulation was the most brutal one of all. Layers of lightning bolts would descend, continuously rising in power. Even past figures like Immortal Juhua and Immortal Northwalker had eventually been destroyed by the power of the continuous, unending thunderbolts, resulting in their Goldlotus Primals being damaged and them fleeing to become Loose Immortals. The thunder tribulation was an absolute nightmare! The vast majority of peerless geniuses would end up perishing in the face of this tribulation. There were absolutely no tricks that could be used to block the thunderbolts; each time a bolt descended, you had to block it head-on. If you couldn’t? You’d be finished!

  Simple as that!

  “I wonder how many bolts of thunder will fall.” Immortal Fivecraze was worried.

  “Master has an extremely high level in sword-arts. His talent is very high, and he has five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords. I imagine there will be quite a few,” Ning said worriedly as well.

  The thunder tribulation…some Earth Immortals might only encounter nine bolts of thunder. Others, however, might meet with eighteen, twenty-seven, or thirty-six bolts…and according to the stories, the highest number possible was eighty-one bolts!

  The power of the skythunder would be linked to many factors; in fact, it was also linked to karmic merit. Still, generally speaking, Ki Refiners would never suffer the legendary ‘eighty-one bolt skythunder tribulation!’ Generally speaking, only Fiendgod Body Refiners would encounter it while undergoing their tribulation. Many monstrously powerful Void-level Fiendgod Body Refiners would be hammered to death by the consecutive lightning bolts!

  Ning knew very well that although he had already trained in the third stage of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], if he were to encounter the eighty-one bolts of lightning, he would definitely be crushed into nothingness by the power of those bolts!

  “I hope he has less than 36 bolts,” Immortal Fivecraze whispered.

  “Right.” Ning nodded gently as well.

  Ki Refiners were innately weaker than Fiendgod Body Refiners when it came to withstanding skythunder. Generally speaking, it would be very hard for them to succeed if there were more than 36 bolts.

  ……

  Another hour passed.

  Two enormous stormclouds suddenly appeared out of nowhere from within the calm skies. These two stormclouds converged rapidly from different directions, completely blotting out the sun as they drew close to each other. Instantly, electric streaks of lightning began to crackle between the two massive clouds. The awe-inspiring power from within them caused Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound to all feel trepidation.

  Slowly, the two massive stormclouds began to merge, and as they combined to form a single supermassive stormcloud, the supermassive stormcloud began to rotate. Soon, it the thunder tribulation stormcloud had transformed into a vortex of lightning and clouds.

  “What an enormous thunder tribulation cloud.” Immortal Fivecraze’s face suddenly changed.

  “What’s wrong?” Ning asked, worried.

  “When I faced my tribulation, it was this thunder tribulation which defeated me. But…the thunder tribulation cloud I faced wasn’t this big,” Immortal Fivecraze said worriedly.

  “What?! How many bolts of thunder were you up against during your thunder tribulation?” Ning asked.

  “I don’t know. However, the twenty-fifth bolt of skythunder shattered my magic treasures and blew apart my body. I thus chose to give up and flee,” Immortal Fivecraze said. “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai will definitely face far more bolts of skythunder than I did.”

  Just as his words came out…

  BOOM!

  Ning could hear a thunderous noise in his ears as an absolutely dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly streaked down from the lightning-cloud vortex in the skies, slamming directly downwards towards Immortal Diancai.

  * * *

  Book 14, Chapter 13 - My Master

  Immortal Diancai stood there on the ground. His head raised, he stared at the lightning-cloud vortex, those five pitch-black Heavenraker swords swirling around him. When that first bolt of skythunder fell down from the skies…

  “Go!” Immortal Diancai pointed. Instantly, one of the five Heavenraker swords shot out. It seemed to
have transformed into an enormous mountain peak, carrying incomparable weight and power behind it as it went forth to welcome the bolt of lightning.

  BOOM!

  An enormous collision sound. The Heavenraker Immortal sword, as stable as a mountain, just trembled for a moment, whereas the bolt of skythunder was completely dispersed.

  “The first bolt of skythunder is the weakest; even the most ordinary of Void-level Earth Immortals can withstand it. Given junior apprentice-brother Diancai’s power and the fact that he has five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords…he will probably only begin to find it taxing when he reaches the twenty-seventh bolt of skythunder,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

  “Mm.” Ning nodded in agreement. Immortal Fivecraze had been defeated by the twenty-fifth bolt; if he had top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords back then, he probably would’ve been able to make it past the twenty-seventh as well.

  Skythunder…every nine bolts represented a different level of power.

  The first nine bolts were weak. Eighteen bolts were stronger. But twenty-seven bolts, thirty-six bolts…every nine bolts represented an increase in lethality. The legendary eighty-one bolts of skythunder…even the thought of them was enough to terrify.

  BOOM! BOOM!

  Skythunder exploded forth with wild fury. One bolt after another came crashing down. Immortal Diancai was able to use a single one of his top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords to block all of the first eighteen bolts, causing a hint of joy to appear on his face. Although he knew in theory how powerful theses swords were, only now did he truly understand how tremendously helpful these top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords were during the terrifying thunder tribulation!

  BOOM! The nineteenth bolt of thunder was more savage than the last, and it came down even faster. It seemed to carry annihilating power within it; it was clearly on a higher level of power than the previous bolts.

  That single Heavenraker sword once more flew up to greet it, still as stable and weighty as a mountain.