Chapter 230 "Yinruo, you go in and protect too..." (10,000 words)
On the peak of Jiuhua Mountain, the sky dome was shrouded in thick clouds, muffled thunder echoing through, with occasional lightning streaking across the distant sky, bright and heavy.
Above Lingshan, the Dragon Venerate Saint Buddha looked expressionlessly at the surging thunder tribulation gathering, snorted coldly, and then stepped into the courtyard.
An old monk walked out from the side room, holding a Zen stick in his left hand, its light flowing: "We will begin after he crosses the tribulation."
The Dragon Venerate Saint Buddha glanced at the place where the Fire Phoenix Boat rested, nodded in acknowledgment.
He then asked: "Fan Zhouxing..."
"He is still the Buddha's son," the old monk said calmly, "still..."
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Under the endless dark clouds, Lu Jin'an stood on the ring, his robes fluttering in the wind, his gaze calm as he watched the impending thunder tribulation.
He had long been able to cross the tribulation, but later came to make a round at the Buddhist Sect, hence once again suppressing his realm.
But as of today, he could suppress it no longer.
Not only because he had compressed the spiritual power within to the limit, but also because he had absorbed considerable yin energy from his master.
Thus, during the casting duel with Fan Zhouxing, like a volcanic eruption, he could no longer suppress the raging spiritual power within, so after a swift conclusive battle, he faced the first realm's spiritual power tribulation head-on.
He looked toward Fan Zhouxing, who was not far away crouching and picking up scattered Buddha beads, with a somewhat tightly gripped hand holding a Buddha bead.
This was given to him by Fan Zhouxing in their final clash just now.
Lu Jin'an did not know the purpose of this Buddha bead, for Fan Zhouxing did not say either.
Picking up the last Buddha bead, Fan Zhouxing looked at Lu Jin'an, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and bowed: "Thank you, Saint Heir, for your mercy."
Lu Jin'an withdrew his gaze as the thunder tribulation in the sky struck down with a boom.
At the moment he was struck by the tribulation lightning imbued with Dao essence, Lu Jin'an, in his daze, felt his soul unprecedentedly ethereal and tranquil.
A strange sensation as if the soul and the flesh body were about to separate swept over, then the flesh body surged with various desires and impulses.
He quickly realized this was the 'Desire Dust' hidden in each realm's thunder tribulation of the Nine Tribulations.
In short, it was a test for cultivators to comprehend the Dao essence.
The body is the shackle of the soul, bearing the Five Desires and Six Dusts; the Five Desires are wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep; the Six Dusts are form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharma.
These things all affect one's understanding of the Dao, causing mental distractions and inability to focus.
And to cross the tribulation to become an immortal, one must first comprehend the Dao essence, and to truly focus on comprehending Dao essence, one must transcend these things that affect cultivators in the thunder tribulation.
Lu Jin'an calmed his mind, having never thought he needed to abandon these things, after all, he never believed becoming an immortal was about a process of absolute desire and dustlessness.
Otherwise, everyone might as well cultivate the Heartless Path.
But clearly, becoming an immortal has nothing to do with whether one cultivates the Heartless Path, so the so-called 'Desire Dust' is merely a hurdle on the path to immortality.
Lu Jin'an, when it comes down to it, likes these things of the Five Desires and Six Dusts, especially food, sex, and sleep, which he particularly enjoys.
However, though he likes them, he would not indulge in them at this stage.
Because if he dies, he would not be able to do anything.
Therefore, until all kinds of threats are gone, his primary goal is progress, becoming an immortal.
He doesn't care about the Five Desires and Six Dusts that the heavenly tribulation triggered in his body; what he cares about is the Spirit Sea crumbling under the thunder tribulation.
The Shattered Sea restructures, forming a Dao Yunn Spirit Sea amidst the thunder tribulation, further purifying the spiritual power, letting it carry a trace of Natural Tao whilst moving freely, which is the spiritual power tribulation.
This is closely tied to the attribute of a cultivator's spiritual power; whatever attribute the spiritual power is, such is the natural spiritual qi Dao essence.
Due to the "Great Freedom Visualization Technique," when the heavenly tribulation began, not only did the thunder strike down, but spiritual energy between heaven and earth surged into him like a rainbow, enveloping his entire body.
Lu Jin'an sat cross-legged, keeping his mind steady amidst the thunder tribulation, operating the "Great Freedom Visualization Technique," always attentive to the fracturing Spirit Sea.
Restructuring the Spirit Sea under the thunder tribulation is no easy task, and if unable to withstand it, not to mention death, the shattering of the Spirit Sea alone could make a cultivator lose all hope.
Thunder tribulation differs from ordinary thunder in that the power of laws it contains is extraordinary; Lu Jin'an treated it as a form of Body Refining, comprehending the Dao essence concealed within the thunder tribulation and the spiritual energy.
The thunder tribulation in the sky dome and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth were like waves, each stronger than the last, surging endlessly.
"Indeed it's Saint Lu, the intensity of the thunder tribulation is truly great."
"After all, in this era, he opened five Dao Palaces, an ordinary thunder tribulation probably couldn't even break through his body, let alone shatter the Spirit Sea."
"Indeed... the greater the intensity of the thunder tribulation, the stronger the cultivator; has there ever been a more intense thunder tribulation than Saint Lu's?"
"Though thunder tribulation can be compared, ultimately, the strange phenomenon of spiritual energy clouds formed after the Ninety-nine Thunder Tribulations is the true standard for measuring talent and strength."
"It's uncertain how large the spiritual energy cloud phenomenon Saint Lu can ultimately form."
"Thinking too far ahead, it's better to take the opportunity to understand the thunder tribulation, such an open viewing of a tribulation is rare indeed."
Crossing tribulation is a major, private event for cultivators, and the reason for privacy is not because the tribulation is lengthy, nor is it to prevent revealing the strength level, but to guard against outsiders intervening and causing failure.
Therefore, late-stage Harmonization Realm practitioners generally cross their tribulation in seclusion in a safe place, with limited opportunities to be seen.
But clearly, now no one dares to make a move on Lu Jin'an during his tribulation, because the Wandao Sect's Immortals Xu Shu and Bai Shu'e already led nearly a hundred Tribulation Crossing Realm practitioners to guard around.