Chapter 333
Secrets of Tribulation
To become a disciple of Liu Bowen, the Imperial Tutor?
It would be a lie to say Zhou Sheng wasn't tempted by this suggestion, since that person was a living deity known to everyone in the Great Xuan!
The founder and first head of the Xuanqiong Division, a remarkable figure who personally severed hundreds of dragon veins and forcibly altered the course of history.
He still remembers the contents of those dungeon murals: an elderly man in his eighties, leaning on a cane and dressed simply, with unprecedented courage and wisdom, ultimately triumphed over fate and severed the dragon vein.
With a single slash, the destiny of the Great Xuan Dynasty for thousands of generations was shattered.
"Thank you, senior. However, I need to inform my master first and ask for his opinion on this matter."
Although Zhou Sheng was somewhat tempted, he did not agree immediately, but instead thought he should go back and ask his master first.
"No rush, no rush, that's how it should be."
The old man from Niushan stroked his beard and smiled, showing no sign of anger.
"Your spirit has just left your body, so don't talk too much about mundane matters. Go and properly experience this world."
With that, he flicked his sleeve, creating a long gust of wind that lifted Zhou Sheng's spirit higher and higher.
"Calm down and listen carefully to the sounds of this world."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng closed his eyes, carefully sensing the difference between his primordial spirit and physical body, gradually immersing himself in the connection with heaven and earth.
In a daze, he sensed various different kinds of "Tao".
Earth, water, wind, fire, clouds, rain, thunder...
Many of the primordial energies of heaven and earth that were imperceptible or obscure when one was in the physical body now seemed to be clearly visible, becoming exceptionally clear.
Zhou Sheng was completely immersed in this profound state of harmony between man and nature, as if countless insights were born in every moment, and he was becoming closer to the world and nature.
After unlocking the sixth level, the primordial spirit leaves the body, achieving oneness with heaven and earth.
Cultivators can draw upon the power of heaven and earth, transforming any technique into something extraordinary and greatly increasing its power. For example, a simple lightning-summoning technique can now summon magnificent heavenly lightning.
At the same time, after the primordial spirit leaves the body, it is as if a certain barrier and bottleneck between man and heaven and earth has been broken, and cultivation is very easy to enter a state of enlightenment. The enlightenment gained in a short moment may take ordinary cultivators several months or even years to catch up.
This is why cultivators who break through the sixth level are called half-immortals.
He has already stepped into the realm of immortals.
Zhou Sheng was now completely immersed in enlightenment, forgetting everything else—the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning…
Each path is like a bottomless treasure trove; even digging out just a corner is enough to bring endless benefits.
Until a rooster crowed, it jolted his spirit awake like a thunderclap.
As soon as he opened his eyes, the sky was already showing a hint of dawn, and the surrounding yang energy was rising. His primordial spirit began to feel a burning pain, as if it were being burned by fire.
A sense of crisis surged within him, and his Dao Heart constantly warned him of the dangers to come.
As soon as the sun rises, all demons and monsters retreat.
If his primordial spirit does not return to its body, it is very likely that when it is exposed to the morning sun, it will turn into burning coals and eventually be burned into nothingness.
Without any hesitation, Zhou Sheng immediately flew towards the physical body.
However, the sun had already begun to rise, its fiery red rays piercing through the clouds and illuminating every corner of the world. His primordial spirit, having flown too high, was still several feet away from his physical body.
In the nick of time, an oil-paper umbrella gently peeked out and shielded Zhou Sheng from the blazing sunlight.
The next moment, his primordial spirit returned to his body.
The feeling of being one with nature had diminished considerably, making him feel somewhat unaccustomed to it. Although his hearing and eyesight were still sharp, he felt as if he had become blind.
But that feeling of insecurity, of being on the verge of collapse at any moment, and of my spirit being scattered, has disappeared, replaced by a sense of security and peace of mind.
Furthermore, with nearly three hundred years of cultivation, a single thought can unleash a golden ocean of magical power that surges into towering waves, flowing through the eight extraordinary meridians and circulating automatically throughout the body.
Even every acupoint in the body seemed to accumulate a lot of magical power like a flood diversion channel, like a small golden sun.
This sense of security and peace of mind finally put his mind at ease, and at the same time, it gave him many insights.
The primordial spirit is the person crossing the river, and the physical body is the boat that crosses the river.
Without the protection of a physical body, it is difficult for the primordial spirit to reach the other shore, unless one can cultivate the primordial spirit to the point where it is not afraid of wind, rain, thunder, lightning, sun, moon, water, or fire.
“Danshan, you cultivated your primordial spirit for a whole night. Senior Niushan had foreseen this calamity and asked me to hold an umbrella for you in advance to ward off the tribulation.”
Yao Tai Feng folded her oil-paper umbrella and smiled sweetly.
"Hehe, kid, you can't learn by being taught, but you can learn by doing. Remember this: before your primordial spirit is strong enough, the thing you must be most careful of is the sun."
The old man of Niushan did not return to his body, but slowly floated down from the sky, calmly enjoying the sunshine. His primordial spirit not only did not tremble in the slightest, but instead radiated an even more brilliant light, as if it could draw some kind of power from the sun.
This shows that his primordial spirit is far stronger than Zhou Sheng's.
"When you can travel through the six realms with your primordial spirit like the old beggar, fearless of wind, rain, water, fire, sun, moon, thunder, and lightning, then you will have achieved the perfection of the six gates."
Zhou Sheng nodded. It was easy to imagine that by then, he would be able to draw upon even more abundant power from heaven and earth, and his understanding of the "Dao" would be even more profound.
"However, I must remind you that if you want to go further in the future and overcome the Heavenly Tribulation, you must not be greedy and try to do too much at once. There are countless ways in the world, but human mental strength is so limited. To use limited mental strength to pursue the infinite ways of heaven is just wishful thinking."
"So what you really need to pursue is the path that is most suitable for you. The core of the first six trials is actually finding your own path, and the key to the next nine tribulations is to pluck that Dao fruit."
"Of course, you've just broken through to the next level, so you have plenty of time to think and explore. There's no rush."
The old man from Niushan spoke eloquently, and everything he said was a golden rule.
"Thank you for your guidance, senior!"
Zhou Sheng knew that the other party truly regarded him as a junior in the sect, and these secrets and insights were usually not easily passed on.
"Now that you possess powerful magic, a formidable weapon, and have reached a higher realm, you are ready in every way. All that awaits is the sound of thunder, and you will be able to soar to new heights and undergo the transformation of a dragon into a snake."
"Once you successfully transcend the tribulation, the destiny of the Fiend Dragon Devouring Immortals will truly take shape, enabling you to subdue demons, slay ghosts and gods, and awe the world. Therefore, before that, many eyes will be watching you, many hands will be secretly blocking you, and even... killing you."
After a pause, the old man from Niushan pointed to the sky, his voice tinged with sarcasm.
"Even the Heavenly Dao does not want to see a second evil dragon appear in this world, which is why you are in danger every three steps and peril every five steps, often encountering life-and-death situations and various powerful enemies. Perhaps this is also the reason why you became a Yin Opera Master."
"After all, it's common knowledge that practitioners of occult arts don't live long..." (End of Chapter)