Chapter 761: Reality and Illusion
At this moment, all the Lin Family members were also wide-eyed, shocked to the extreme.
The power of this Heavenly Tribulation definitely equaled the strike of a Nascent Soul. Even if it's mostly shattered, there's still quite a residual force.
Relying solely on one's body to withstand it, a single mistake could lead to serious injury or failure.
Even the Qiu Xue Sword and Flaming Sword were somewhat puzzled at this moment.
After all, the most terrifying part of a Heavenly Tribulation is the aspect that follows.
There are still three more aspects to come; if injured now, the remaining aspects will be much harder.
Of course, they were unaware that Lin Shiming had no other choice at the moment.
Because his Heart Demon Tribulation had not yet come, if he didn't elevate his physical body to the Nascent Soul realm now, his time to undergo the Heart Demon Tribulation would be pitifully short.
He could only gamble.
Boom!
With a deafening, sky-shattering crash.
Lin Shiming's body collided with the Heavenly Tribulation.
A terrifying ripple of Spirit Light spread out in all directions.
Pain!
The ultimate pain!
This was Lin Shiming's strongest sensation at the moment. The terror of the Heavenly Tribulation exceeded his imagination, as countless lightning-attribute Spiritual Power surged into his body.
Intensely stimulating the countless Starlight Cave Heavens within him.
These Cave Heavens were originally only half-filled.
Now, besides Spiritual Power, they began absorbing the heavenly power from the lightning.
Lin Shiming only felt his Cave Heavens growing even stronger, and simultaneously, his physical body seemed to be transforming!
"This is the state!" Lin Shiming's eyes revealed wild joy.
He then raised his hand and took out another drop of Thousand Year Spiritual Milk.
As the Spiritual Milk entered his body, his True Yuan surged once more like clouds.
The strength of the Thousand Year Spiritual Milk lies in being able to restore a Nascent Soul Cultivator's True Yuan with a drop.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much Spiritual Milk.
Just then, the clouds in the sky rolled.
The third Heavenly Tribulation fell once more.
Lin Shiming continued to use his physical body for defense every time he used the Taiyi Grass Sword.
By the sixth Heavenly Tribulation, all his Cave Heavens were fully charged and completely interconnected.
His physical body's strength had reached the rare level of Nascent Soul.
As a Nascent Soul cultivator of Body Cultivation, Lin Shiming felt as if, even if he stood there and let the others strike him, he wouldn't die.
This feeling of immense strength also filled him with unmatched confidence.
Just then, the seventh Heavenly Tribulation began in the sky.
Lin Shiming suddenly felt his vision change.
His heart involuntarily trembled as he knew the Heart Demon Tribulation had arrived.
But he was unsure of how his Heart Demon Tribulation would manifest.
...
Beneath a mottled shade of trees, Lin Shiming looked up and saw bright sunshine.
He suddenly realized he had returned to Fangmu Mountain once more.
The freshness of the forest air surprised him, but what shocked him more was the complete absence of Spiritual Energy within him as he recited familiar incantations with no Spirit Light appearing, not to mention any spell being cast.
"Ming, why are you still sleeping here? Have you finished chopping the wood?" A burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes suddenly spoke from afar.
Upon hearing this, Lin Shiming was stupefied. Wasn't this his father, Lin Houyuan?
"Father, how come you're here?"
"Of course, chopping wood to earn dowry money for you. The matchmaker arranged it a few days ago: the daughter of old Liu from Dongshan Village. Although she's a bit plain, she's virtuous and capable!" Lin Houyuan carried a large bundle of wood on his back, bending forward due to the heavy and tightly packed load.
As he approached, Lin Houyuan saw no wood behind Lin Shiming, whose sleepy look distinctly indicated daydreaming.
"Why aren't you making an effort?" Lin Houyuan threw the wood hard onto the ground.
Lin Shiming also noticed his father's deeply tanned face, a vivid testament to the sun's exposure.
"There are no cultivators in this world, your years of dreaming have not awakened you?"
"I see you've completely lost it!"
Lin Houyuan drew out a wooden stick, swinging it towards Lin Shiming's body.
"Father, Father!" Lin Shiming felt heart-piercing pain.
He shouted.
He wanted to perform spells, but it was fruitless. He realized it was the Heart Demon Tribulation, so he let Lin Houyuan strike his head.
In his mind, striking the head should help him wake up.
Yet with the excruciating pain, he fainted.
Upon waking again, he was in a simple hut, lying on a straw bed made from piled dried grass, with a piece of burlap as bedding.
Beside the bed stood a table, plainly furnished with only an oil lamp on it.
The lamp's faint glow illuminated the room.
Next to the bed, a dark-skinned woman in a plain robe was washing Lin Shiming's face with water.
Upon seeing Lin Shiming awaken, she began speaking repeatedly:
"Why are you so stubborn, Ming'er? Your father means well. Why would you be reckless enough to hit wood?" The woman caressed Lin Shiming's forehead with deep concern.
There, swollen red lumps throbbed, with blood flowing steadily.
Having cleaned the wounds, she applied a large swath of sticky herbs.
Finally, the bleeding stopped.
"Who are you?" Lin Shiming asked.
"I'm your mother! Husband, come quickly, Ming'er seems to have lost his memory!" The woman spoke this repeatedly.
Outside, Lin Houyuan hurriedly rushed in.
"Father!" Lin Shiming called once more.
But Lin Houyuan glared fiercely.
"That's how he deserves it, an entire day, not a stick of wood chopped!" Seeing Lin Shiming unharmed, Lin Houyuan picked up the axe once more.
"I'll go chop now, you should sleep!"
"It's so dark out now, wait until tomorrow!" urged the worried woman.
"I must! Without the dowry, the engagement will fall through!" Lin Houyuan insisted, opening the door to slip into the night.
Lin Shiming was instantly confused.
For some time, Lin Shiming wandered in the village.
He marked time on the bed and inquired among the villagers.
But the world seemed bereft of cultivator information, and he couldn't find a way out of this illusion.
At this moment, he hesitated.
Were his dreams of Immortal Cultivation merely fantasies, while the village woodcutter life was truly him?
He sought knowledge about himself from the villagers; everything felt real.
In contrast, the Cultivation World seemed increasingly unclear.
His memory weakened; many things were forgotten.
Yet his father and mother remained vividly real.
At this moment, he was truly unable to distinguish.
He glanced at a fanciful book about cultivators.
The book's closing annotation dismissed its contents as pure imagination without real documentation.
Seeing these oversized characters, Lin Shiming felt a haze in his mind.
Suddenly, his mental state began to shift.
He no longer held on firmly.
Meanwhile, outside.
Three formations were destroyed entirely, and the seventh Heavenly Tribulation had fallen, with Lin Shiming's body curled in agony at its center, feeling the pinnacle of pain!