This Human Immortal Is Too Serious

This Heavenly Tribulation, is it determined to put me to death?

This Heaven Palace, does it intend to put me to death?

At this moment, Wu Wang didn't know what was wrong with him. He should have been fully focused, yet his thoughts were incredibly complex.

He began to harbor intense hatred for the Heaven Palace, and revelations kept rising in his heart. He quickly realized this was part of the Heavenly Tribulation, seemingly the rumored inner demon tribulation...

Even the memories sealed deep within his heart were being pried open, presenting one illusion after another before his eyes.

Is this the Heaven Palace?

This is the Heaven Palace.

It imposes rules on all living beings, yet living beings have no influence over it whatsoever.

The tribulation clouds seemed to still be gathering.

But now, the tribulation clouds in Wu Wang's eyes moved as slowly as snails. The gray sky gradually turned pitch black as he slowly closed his eyes.

In the distance, the cultivators were like ants on a hot pan. People constantly asked the Grand Elder whether to take action.

The Grand Elder's face was filled with anger, his fingernails almost digging into his palms, yet he still stopped those who were anxious.

There was once a Transcendent who tried to help his grandson overcome his tribulation, shattering the Immortal Ascension Tribulation with one punch, only to draw another transcendence catastrophe upon them. This time, the transcendence catastrophe targeted the newly ascended 'grandson'.

These are the rules of the Heaven Palace.

The Heaven Palace had no qualms about sealing off the Human race's path to becoming Immortals; their designed Heavenly Punishment was meant to eradicate cultivators of the Yuanxian Realm and the Transcendent Realm.

It was only because Emperor Suiren, with his battered body, had once forcefully attacked the Heaven Palace, compelling it to bow and retreat, and establishing the covenant between humans and gods on Central Mountain, that today's Heavenly Tribulation left some leeway for survival.

How could the Grand Elder not understand?

The power of both the transcendence catastrophe and the Immortal Ascension Tribulation was fixed, not to exceed a certain limit.

And today, it was the Sect Master's Immortal Ascension Tribulation! Precisely the Sect Master's Immortal Ascension Tribulation!

The Heaven Palace had broken the rules, enhancing the intensity of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation without scruples or limits, intending to obliterate the Sect Master...

BOOM—

The Heavenly Tribulation clouds were about to gather again.

The restless crowd had grown somewhat stunned, staring tensely at the figure lying at the edge of the scorched pit.

When Wu Wang shattered the tribulation clouds and fell from the sky, his body had seemed uninjured.

But now, Wu Wangdao's body had started to show small cracks, blood soaking half of it. His eyes were tightly shut, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

An inner demon?

Has the Young Master been trapped by an inner demon?

Lin Suqing's composure suddenly shattered. She covered her mouth and nose to keep herself from crying out loud.

A commotion arose in the distant crowd; it was Lin Qi, who had received the news and rushed over.

He couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at the Heavenly Tribulation clouds circling in the sky. He felt the divine might within them, a power that nearly drove ordinary Yuanxian to despair, and saw Wu Wang lying at the edge of the vast pit.

"Teacher..."

Suddenly, the sound of a flute arose.

Ling Xiaolan had appeared at some point, floating in mid-air.

Her slender legs were together, her long dress fluttering, a fine sweat on her forehead. She tried to send her flute's melody to where the Heavenly Tribulation raged, but the notes were easily crushed by the divine might.

Beside the Thunder Pool, Gods were laughing.

Beneath the Heavenly Tribulation, living beings were angry and trembling.

As for Wu Wang, the one undergoing the tribulation, it seemed as though he was experiencing a long and distant dream.

In the Dream Realm, figures appeared. They wore masks and long robes, continuously leaping and chanting. Then, they transformed into ghastly phantoms, pressing his Primordial Spirit to the ground, binding and restraining him, preventing him from moving, as they awaited the final Heavenly Tribulation.

Wu Wang felt... as if someone was sneering in his ear, repeating the word 'despair' over and over, trying to make his mental state completely collapse, leaving him with no strength to fight back.

Is this the inner demon sent down by the Heaven Palace?

Does the Heaven Palace call this destructive will, imposed upon living beings, 'despair'?

Gods, is your understanding of despair... perhaps a bit shallow...

「...」

"Volunteer Wu Wang, tell us what you believe makes you stronger than others."

"Reporting! I ranked in the top three for physical fitness tests, top five in comprehensive tests, second in multi-type Spaceship control, and first in various subjects in the auxiliary courses!"

"Anything else?"

In a somewhat dim auditorium, a row of stern-faced men and women sat behind a long table, watching the young man seated on a wooden chair ten meters away.

The one asking now was a white-haired elderly man, his voice also very gentle.

The ticking of instruments echoed from the corner. The young man seated there fell silent for a moment, then said:

"Reporting, I have no attachments left. I don't need to provide for parents in their old age! If someone must be sent to their death right now, I want to volunteer for that opportunity!"

A middle-aged man with a receding hairline furrowed his brows deeply.

"Young comrade, your thinking is problematic. How can you say 'sent to their death'? This is a great scientific exploration, the most cutting-edge space exploration project in the world right now. It is..."

"Alright, so we're not allowed to speak the truth now, is that it?"

The old man took off his glasses, leaned back in his chair with a long sigh, and said softly, "This decision is our last hope. This suspected Wormhole is relentlessly approaching our home. It defies the physical laws we understand, possessing almost no mass, yet it can affect the curvature of space within a certain range.

"According to our calculations, once it crosses the Kirkwood Gap, Earth's orbit will inevitably be affected.

"There's not much we can do now. Time is pressing, resources are limited, and we have no choice but to advance manned exploration by several major steps...

"We're placing our hopes on absurd and unrealistic fantasies, treating it as a vessel of an alien civilization, hoping to make contact.

"Young man, can you understand all this? We..."

"Please rest assured, Organization!"

Wu Wang stood ramrod straight, his blue-and-white spacesuit rubbing with a SWOOSH.

"I guarantee the mission will be completed and my duty resolutely fulfilled!"

「The scene shifts.」

A few familiar teammates crowded around his bed.

"Well done, Wu Wang! You snagged the one chance our team had!"

"Give me a group photo."

"Why? What do you want a group photo for?"

"For a sense of ceremony. Before entering the Wormhole's range, I'll kiss your photo, bro. Anyway, the cabin images transmitted back by the Spaceship won't be too clear, and they won't know who I'm kissing."

"Get lost! Isn't that disgusting? Fine, give me *your* photo, and I'll go in your stead! How about I just eat your photo then? You really want a photo, huh? Seriously though, I'll get you some private shots from the medical support team. Those young ladies are all, well, let's just say they're hot!"

"Stop messing around! Aren't we here to cheer him on?"

"Look, I'm the mission's chief alternate. You can change your mind anytime before rocket ignition."

"I fought hard for this opportunity! All of you, step aside. My comprehensive performance is top-tier; I'm prime talent here."

Then the guys, gritting their teeth, playfully 'pummeled' him on the single bed.

The scene faded like a shooting star, and several images flashed by rapidly.

Thrilling orbital Spaceship dockings, a long journey commencing amid the profound starry sky, solar sails unfolding slowly, inching forward in the vastness of space.

Inside the Flying Shuttle, his range of movement was very limited. He had to find ways to sustain himself through the long voyage in this confined space.

In the gaps between several backup system control panels, an encouraging phrase was written in different languages: "Bravery is the pinnacle of human virtue."

But that path was truly long.

The vastness of space was not as constrained as textbook models depicted; planets were like mere fibers on a dark curtain.

The contact countdown on the panel seemed like a death knell.

Wu Wang knew clearly that as he neared the Wormhole, the change in spatial curvature would be a fatal blow. With the structural integrity of this Spaceship and his protective suit, he didn't know how long they would hold.

Possibly a few seconds, a few minutes at most.

Before the Spaceship exploded, it would be completely deformed. He would become nothing but an ugly mass of carbon-based sludge, then be shredded to pieces at the edge of the Wormhole.

This was the inevitable conclusion.

A long journey through space—from Earth's orbit to Saturn's.

The chance of survival was zero—the Spaceship wasn't loaded with fuel for a return trip.

Wu Wang forced himself to maintain a stable mindset, making brief reports every few days.

Unknown, bewildered, not knowing to whom to pray before the black curtain of the universe. To ensure enough fuel for acceleration and shorten the exploration cycle, he had to go alone. After turning off communications, he repeatedly conversed with himself:

"Afraid of death?"

"Yes, but I'm more afraid of dying without purpose."

"Desperate?"

"I must complete my mission. My life and personal feelings are unimportant."

It was like imposing seals upon himself, layer upon layer.

Then, in the darkness of the universe, he searched for his endpoint, anticipating the collision.

With the Spaceship's course set, all he needed to do was wait.

That journey had exhausted all his mental and physical energy.

The flickering contact countdown eventually seemed like a deep red pulse in his vision, throbbing incessantly.

Many times, wrapped in thermal foil, he curled up in the cramped rest pod, his hands trembling inadvertently as he held liquid food.

He often gazed out the small porthole, waiting for lifeless Mars, the asteroid belt where few collisions occurred, and Jupiter's terrifying storm eye.

Then, he passed them one by one.

Hundreds of emotional breakdowns, hundreds of times returning to the cockpit to check data, adjust energy distribution, maintain the daily flight log, and communicate with Blue Star.

Now, suddenly, someone asked in his ear, "Desperate? Are you desperate?"

Have I ever been desperate?

"Hongyan is about to enter the Wormhole's gravitational field. Repeat, Hongyan is about to enter the Wormhole's gravitational field."

By then, the distance was so great that the communication delay already exceeded seventy minutes.

The message he received was actually from seventy minutes prior, a reminder sent in advance by Blue Star.

"Hongyan received. Repeat, Hongyan received."

This message would also reach Blue Star seventy minutes later.

Soon, the Spaceship began to tremble. The solar sails automatically disengaged, and the hull showed slight distortions.

Wu Wang felt as if he were sinking into the deep sea, his body being torn and compressed. He forced himself not to gasp, reducing the violent activity of his lungs.

"Hongyan estimates it cannot approach the target celestial body. Repeat... Hongyan estimates it cannot approach the target celestial body."

Radio waves, by their nature, couldn't provide an immediate response.

His purpose in coming here was to collect intuitive, abstract information that machines could not.

Amid faint CRACKLING sounds, intricate and dense lines spiderwebbed across the porthole.

"Hongyan's hull is cracked. Repeat, Hongyan's hull is cracked."

Speaking had become incredibly difficult. His blood vessels felt as if they were constantly rupturing, and his retinas were rapidly hemorrhaging.

There were no splendid visuals ahead, no gravitational lensing effects, just the dark void of the universe and faintly luminous Stars.

"Hongyan will accelerate... Repeat, Hongyan is starting to accelerate..."

Fine cuts appeared on his fingers, droplets of fresh blood squeezed from them.

His consciousness was blurring; breathing became extremely difficult.

The chair was almost crushing him into a lump. Space warped from nearly flat to curved, and both the Spaceship and he were being subdued by it.

Lights seemed to flicker before his eyes.

He could no longer feel if he was still holding the handle of the Zhong.

"Hongyan... cannot approach the target celestial body... Repeat... Hongyan cannot approach."

"Pressure tolerance nearing its limit."

"Hongyan, advancing five... May my motherland... on this planet... be ever prosperous..."

Drowsiness, a deathlike stupor;

Until he faintly heard a synthetic female voice announce:

BEEP. "Detecting unknown Void Zone."

BEEP. "Detecting Wormhole beginning to collapse."

Collapse?

The thought had just arisen when an extended silence followed—the end of his past life.

「…」

「Then,」

Now, someone asked in his ear, "About to be annihilated by the Divine Power of the Heaven Palace, do you feel despair?"

Wu Wang suddenly wanted to laugh.

They were trying to pin him down, to make him give up resisting, give up struggling, give up this second life he was living.

His Primordial Spirit suddenly opened its eyes, beholding the ghastly phantoms before it—the remnants of mask-wearing Divine Spirits!

His Primordial Spirit ignored the phantoms' tugging, slowly got up, and struggled to its feet.

He felt the wild Spiritual Energy converging overhead;

He felt the Divine Power of Heavenly Punishment about to demolish his body and soul.

He felt everything he could feel.

WHOOSH!

Wu Wang's Primordial Spirit was suddenly enveloped in flames.

Around his supine body, fiery orbs materialized from nowhere, orbiting him ceaselessly before quickly shrinking and merging into a Star Sea.

That was his Dao;

The Stars' Original Dao, utterly different from the Star God's Dao!

I crossed the Stars to come here,

passing through long darkness and solitude,

experiencing the vastness and coldness of the universe,

revering the insignificance of life and the grandeur of nature.

But I cannot accept

you proclaiming yourselves great while demeaning me as insignificant.

My life should not be arbitrarily stripped away by so-called Divine Power.

I was born in loneliness, but I will not end in loneliness again.

Stars forged my body; my heart embraces Heaven and Earth.

The Heaven Palace destroys my divine spirit; my will shall shatter Divine Skills!

I, Wu Wang, a Human Immortal, am determined... this journey will not have been in vain!

HUM—

Wu Wang's body suddenly erupted with beams of light, and his figure, once supine at the pit's edge, swiftly floated upward.

A shockwave emanated from around him!

He flipped over and stood straight in the air, his eyes filled with silvery-white Divine Light, more Stars gathering beneath his feet.

In an instant, the Stars shone brilliantly!

His hair turned silver-white, and the scorch marks and blood scabs on his body cracked and peeled away.

The Dao Soldier Sword floated around him, spinning rapidly, but the Golden Dragon Armor had long since faded from sight.

Beside the Thunder Pool of the Heaven Palace, the Head Manager furrowed his brows while the Young Master's eyes shone with marvel.

Above the Thunder Pool, a minor God turned pale. He suddenly let out a great shout, throwing his short halberd into the Divine Light!

Within the tribulation clouds, lightning patterns shimmered and, in an instant, dispersed, leaving only forty-nine patches of lightning, each a hundred yards in diameter, unleashing boundless thunder!

The thunder coalesced into a violet-red Thunder Dragon that roared, head bowed, before Wu Wang!

In that instant!

Heaven and Earth quaked, and the figure of a barefoot old man in a straw cloak appeared.

Shen Nong had reached the edge of the Heavenly Tribulation!

High in the sky, the starlight, about to unleash the power of the Stars, had also reached its peak concentration. Cang Xue stood in the Starry Sky Temple, her eyes tightly shut.

"Myriad Stars!"

Wu Wang raised his arms and cried out, his voice resounding with power!

The Great Dao trembled for him; Heaven and Earth thundered in response!

Endless starlight surged forth, pouring into his body, igniting the thirty percent of the Evil God's Divine Power that he had completely absorbed in his sleep!

His newly transformed Primordial Spirit was inundated with starlight.

ROAR—

Azure Dragon Roar!

A hundred-yard-long Golden Dragon enveloped Wu Wang's form!

It bore five claws, its face ferocious, long whiskers fluttering downwards, its raised head bristling with rage.

The Thunder Dragon swooped towards him, while the Golden Dragon swung its body and surged into the sky.

The two dragons collided. The Thunder Dragon recoiled, unleashing boundless electric light and causing severe fluctuations in Heaven and Earth, sending out wave after wave of ripples!

Such a scene resembled a Heavenly Immortal fighting desperately to the death;

But its force seemed capable of shattering Heaven and Earth!

Ultimately, the Thunder Dragon, formed from condensed Divine Power, unleashed a brief burst before losing momentum. The Golden Dragon shattered its head with one swipe of its claw, roaring at the residual Divine Power of the Heaven Palace, its dragon cry echoing unceasingly!

After a short while, the Golden Dragon dissipated.

Wu Wang's figure drifted down from the sky like a falling leaf, swaying and tumbling.

Hundreds of streaks of Liu Guang flashed, all converging towards Wu Wang's falling point, large and small hands reaching out to catch his body.

News of the Golden Dragon Crossing Tribulation began to spread throughout the Human Domain.

「...」

"Divine Power?"

The Head Manager murmured softly, staring at the fading phantom above the Thunder Pool, "Why does he have Divine Power in him?"

The Young Master said, "The corpse of Longzhi has never been recovered."

"Are you saying the Human Domain has mastered how to plunder Divine Power?"

The Head Manager's voice trembled slightly.

"The Human race can use our Divine Power?"

In mid-sentence, he suddenly looked towards the Thunder Pool, Divine Light flickering in his palm.

The Young Master frowned and said, "Wu Wangzi has already withstood the Heavenly Tribulation. How can you strike him again? This is the divine pact between His Majesty and Emperor Suiren, a promise that must be kept."

The Head Manager said coldly, "This child must not be spared. If he isn't killed today, he will likely become a great threat to the Heaven Palace in the future! This is entirely different from those Transcendents; he can absorb Divine Power!"

The Young Master said, "It seems you fear Wu Wangzi?"

The Head Manager replied indifferently, "I simply prefer to prevent future troubles."

"If one lacks the magnanimity to govern all spirits, why initiate the governance of all spirits?"

"Say no more..."

"Ah."

A soft sigh suddenly drifted from the Thunder Pool, interrupting the argument between the two powerful Gods by its edge.

The phantom above the Thunder Pool had, at some point, transformed into an old man.

He wore a straw cloak, his expression serene, his figure semi-transparent. He stood quietly above the Thunder Pool, his eyes like ancient, tranquil wells.

The Human Emperor, Shen Nong.

"Heaven Palace."

Shen Nong slowly uttered these two words, a faintly mocking smile on his lips.

At his words, the jade platform at the edge of the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Pool suddenly developed cracks!

Shen Nong thrust a palm forward. The Head Manager's right sleeve billowed as he immediately met the attack with his own palm!

The Heaven Palace trembled; the sea of clouds churned!

Creatures across the land panicked, looking up at the suddenly collapsing corner of the Heaven Palace, feeling the fluctuations of the Great Dao emanating from within.

The sky filled with flaming meteorites.

In the ruins of that corner, the Head Manager stood with his right hand clasped behind his back, his arm trembling uncontrollably. He coldly watched the spot where Shen Nong's phantom had vanished.

"Repair the Thunder Pool! Don't give the Human Domain an opportunity!"

The Young Master, standing quietly nearby, didn't even glance in that direction. Her delicate hands opened, catching all the "meteorites" falling towards the land below and dragging them back to the ruined area.

The consciousness sleeping deep within the Heaven Palace was not awakened.