Chapter 55: Senior Brother's South Sea Drift Journey

Thunder boomed, echoing for a thousand miles, as a waterfall of lightning illuminated the sky. Within a thousand-mile radius, a fierce storm raged over the sea. Closer to the tribulation site, within a hundred miles, the waves swelled to a terrifying height. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth from thousands of miles around converged on Li Changshou's tribulation site, transforming into a 'primordial liquid' of thunder within the tribulation clouds, pouring down repeatedly like a thunder pool.

The island below was already nearly half destroyed. Fortunately, Li Changshou had chosen barren islands with no living creatures when selecting his tribulation sites. The sea creatures, meanwhile, had fled much earlier.

Thunderous downpours continued relentlessly, and the storm grew increasingly fierce. What should have been a relatively localized immortal ascension tribulation for a Qi Refiner had unexpectedly escalated, creating a spectacle akin to a great demon being struck by divine wrath. The Immortal Ascension Tribulation was considered one of the less powerful types of heavenly tribulations, as becoming an immortal in the Primordial Era was, relatively speaking, a minor event. A truly formidable tribulation, however, was the 'Longevity Tribulation,' which descended when a Heavenly Immortal at their peak attempted to break through to the Golden Immortal realm, but had accumulated far too much negative karma relative to their merits, thereby being denied eternal life by the Heavenly Dao. This tribulation was potent enough to strike down Golden Immortals, with its cloud cover often spanning thousands of miles, and it wasn't limited to just lightning.

Boom!Rumbling—

Meanwhile, 1,300 miles southeast of the tribulation site...

"Master, why have we stopped again?" The young girl named Hanzhi softly posed the question from the same cloud traveling south.

The old Daoist priest's brow furrowed slightly as he used his formidable immortal sense to observe the sea surface a thousand miles away. Even with his strength at the Half-Step Golden Immortal realm, the old Daoist still couldn't penetrate the dense layers of tribulation clouds. The power of the heavenly tribulation there was excessively concentrated. However, the continuous trembling and vibrations of the tribulation clouds allowed him to infer whether lightning bolts were striking.

"This heavenly tribulation is unusual. It's already the seventh bolt, and it still hasn't dissipated!" The old Daoist performed a quick divination, then suddenly spun around, staring at the now more distant tribulation site. "It seems there's something else, besides the heavenly tribulation..."

The young girl Hanzhi wondered, "Master, why don't we go and take a look?"

"If we get too close and you witness such an immortal ascension tribulation, I fear you might develop a dread of future tribulations," the old Daoist said with a frown. "Let's not rush. We'll watch from here to see if he can withstand the eighth bolt. Logically, he shouldn't be able to..."

Rumble!

The heavens and earth trembled once more as the eighth heavenly tribulation descended. The waterfall of lightning was clearly visible from a thousand miles away!

The tribulation clouds still hadn't dispersed?

"The person undergoing tribulation can actually withstand the eighth bolt? Could it be the reincarnation of some ancient powerful being? *Gasp* Come, Hanzhi, let's go and see!"

The old Daoist, gasping in surprise for what felt like the umpteenth time, pulled his disciple and rapidly flew towards Li Changshou's tribulation site on a white cloud. However, shortly after they set off, they saw a colossal, silver-white, purplish thunderball forming within the tribulation clouds a thousand miles away! It was as if a divine crow of lightning had risen from the sea, or a second sun had appeared in the heavens! The thunderball plummeted, bringing the heavenly tribulation's power to its peak, and the sea below erupted in colossal, furious waves.

The old Daoist continued to fly forward. A thousand miles was still a considerable distance for someone at his cultivation level.

*Whoosh*

Sudden gusts of wind swept across the sea, as spiritual energy from thousands of miles around surged towards the tribulation site. The spiritual energy converged so rapidly that faint streaks of multicolored light could be seen in the air.

"Master, the wind is picking up!" Hanzhi exclaimed in astonishment, "That person has successfully passed the tribulation!"

"Indeed! This is the absorption of spiritual energy after successfully becoming an immortal!" The old Daoist priest also looked a little excited. "Let's go! This must be the reincarnation of some important figure. Look at the amount of spiritual energy! Perhaps this person—no, this immortal—will ascend directly to the Heavenly Immortal realm! Quickly, let's go over and make their acquaintance! If we can bring them into our Jie Sect, that would be a wonderful achievement!"

However, no sooner had the old Daoist finished speaking than a bolt of purple lightning suddenly appeared from the heavens, piercing through the tribulation clouds and striking the island below! The old Daoist's eyes widened, and his plump, ruddy face was cast in the color of dried eggplant by the purple divine lightning... What was happening to him today? He wasn't optimistic about the person, yet they successfully passed the tribulation. He had just declared the person had smoothly passed the tribulation, and then another divine bolt descended... By the Sect Master, this truly wasn't caused by his words!

The young girl Hanzhi puzzled, "Master, what is this now?"

"Heavenly punishment, true heavenly punishment," the old Daoist said gravely. "The Heavenly Dao perceives him as an anomaly, and even though he passed the tribulation, it will send down divine retribution. It's over. This person is certainly doomed. Heavenly punishment is not so easily..."

This time, before the old Daoist could finish his sentence—the words "certainly doomed" barely out of his mouth—the strong winds picked up again, and boundless spiritual energy once more converged on the tribulation site.

"Oh dear, my mouth!"

*Slap!*

The young girl beside him quickly reached out a small hand and clapped it over her master's mouth. "Master, please don't say anything more. Let's just go and see."

The old Daoist smiled and shook his head, then pointed a finger forward, causing the white cloud to accelerate even more. They were still 800 miles from the tribulation site, where a ganoderma-shaped auspicious cloud had now appeared. The tribulation clouds in the sky transformed into vast expanses of white clouds, then rapidly condensed into a funnel shape, with the person undergoing tribulation at its narrowest point. Within the white clouds, pure streams of spiritual energy surged downwards, flowing into the figure, who was now vaguely discernible. A beam of golden light shone down from the heavens, encasing the person. Within this pillar of light, ethereal fairy figures danced to celestial music, scattering countless petals. White-haired elders also arrived on cranes, offering repeated congratulations to the figure below.

These were all celestial phenomena. By this point, the power of the heavenly tribulation was very weak.

When the old Daoist and Hanzhi were still over 600 miles away, and the celestial phenomena had not yet dissipated, the figure, who had apparently absorbed all the tribulation clouds, suddenly turned, spun around, and dove into the sea...

The old Daoist was stunned. He quickly channeled his immortal power and shouted, projecting his voice for a thousand miles: "Fellow Daoist! My disciple and I are Qi Refiners from Jin'ao Island, and we've come specifically to congratulate you!"

However, with a flash of immortal light in the seawater, the person vanished without a trace.

"Master, why is he running?" Hanzhi frowned. "It's as if we're villains."

"Alas, how could he know whether we're good or bad?" The old Daoist sighed with emotion, then performed a divination. After a while, he found no results. "Evading heavenly secrets? It must be the reincarnation of some important figure; otherwise, they wouldn't be so cautious. My divination methods are quite proficient, yet I can't find a single trace of them. This clearly indicates they cultivated in ancient times and fully understand the dangers of the world. Hanzhi, do you still want to go look? The person has already left."

"Let's go take a look, Master. Your disciple also wants to see the power of this heavenly tribulation."

"Very well," the old Daoist said, his eyes full of affection, as he led his disciple forward on the cloud.

Moments later, the two figures finally stood above the tribulation site, but the young girl's pretty face was... etched with a look of utter bewilderment. Only a small portion of the island below remained. In the half that was destroyed, a square, deep pit had formed beneath the seawater.

"Master, is this what an immortal ascension tribulation looks like?"

"Don't worry," the old Daoist said with a smile, gazing at the blood-stained, torn robe floating on the sea. "Your heavenly tribulation definitely won't be this powerful, at most it'll be one-tenth of this." Hanzhi's mouth twitched. Those words sounded... rather unsettling. With a flick of the old Daoist's finger, the tattered robe below was instantly engulfed in flames and rapidly burned to ashes.

"This person left in such a hurry, leaving behind this item," the old Daoist chuckled. "Removing a potential hidden danger for them can be considered forming a good karmic bond. Let's go, otherwise, more powerful figures might arrive to watch the spectacle soon, and explaining things would be troublesome."

Hanzhi nodded gently, glancing down at the dark, deep pit beneath the sea before her master pulled her along, continuing their flight southeast.

***

'I wonder if the bloody robe I left behind was discovered.' Li Changshou mused inwardly, while channeling his immortal power to its fullest to perform the Water Escape technique, rapidly fleeing westward. He had detected the old Daoist and the young girl rushing towards his tribulation site, which prompted him to abandon healing on the spot, quickly absorb the last bit of spiritual energy, and make his escape. The bloody robe had been taken from a fallen mortal soldier while Li Changshou was traveling in the secular world. He had imbued it with spiritual energy for a while, hoping it would interfere with anyone attempting to track him. (That soldier, by the way, had received transcendence scriptures personally recited by Li Changshou, ensuring a swift reincarnation in the underworld.)

"Cough!" The current of water formed by his Water Escape technique trembled slightly, spilling faint traces of blood, but before these could spread, they were swiftly carried away by the returning current. Li Changshou was currently shimmering with multicolored immortal light, yet his immortal body, from chest to abdomen, was covered in spiderweb-like cracks. While his immortal body was still somewhat intact, his immortal infant was in a far worse state, lying listless in his middle dantian, utterly unable to move.

He understood the principles, but why... did nine bolts of lightning tribulation have a tenth?

"Cough! Cough!" Li Changshou couldn't help but cough twice more. The intense pain throughout his body was a minor concern; the constant spitting of blood was far more difficult to manage. Throughout history, how many successful tribulation-passers had ended up as miserably as he had?

He paused in the seawater, checking the shattered jade inscribed with the character 'fire' on his person, along with a few other small 'trinkets' he had prepared earlier. His vision was somewhat blurred, and his body began to sway in the seawater. Li Changshou naturally knew that the final purple divine lightning bolt was heavenly punishment, a retribution from the Heavenly Dao for his previous efforts to conceal heavenly secrets. The severe injuries he currently sustained were almost entirely a result of this divine retribution. Fortunately, Li Changshou reacted swiftly. The moment he sensed the Heavenly Dao about to unleash its punishment, he immediately deployed the few defensive magical treasures he possessed. While the Immortal Ascension Tribulation itself couldn't be fully blocked by magical treasures, heavenly punishment could be partially mitigated. Although these magical treasures weren't of the highest quality, they managed to absorb a fraction of the heavenly punishment's power, allowing Li Changshou a chance to escape.

After the purple divine lightning struck, Li Changshou felt a sense of relief. He hadn't incurred any karmic debt with the Heavenly Dao.

"Pfft!" A mouthful of fresh blood surged up, and Li Changshou clamped his hand tightly over his mouth to suppress it. His primordial spirit and immortal infant were severely injured, requiring immediate rest and recuperation. Otherwise, the cultivation realm he had just broken through by frantically absorbing spiritual energy after his tribulation might regress. He still held countless insights gained during his tribulation, which were crucial for his continued 'ascension' and needed to be assimilated as quickly as possible.

Li Changshou's immortal sense spread out, frantically searching the vast ocean. Soon, a faint smile appeared on his face as he rapidly fled towards the deep sea to the south. Before long, low roars echoed from the deep sea. A strange fish, over twenty *zhang* long, left the waters where it had lived for centuries and rapidly swam westward. A faint immortal light shimmered from the hump on the strange fish's back, occasionally releasing a white jade lotus. However, Li Changshou, concealed within the strange fish, showed no trace of his aura. Even while severely injured, Li Changshou did not forget to circulate his Turtle Breath Technique. The strange fish, unaware of what was happening to it, continued to swim westward, maintaining a constant distance of several hundred miles from the coastline.

Li Changshou had initially planned to heal inside the strange fish, but a few days later, his injuries had stabilized, and both his immortal body and immortal infant could slowly recover on their own. As his mind relaxed, the accumulated insights flooded in, forcibly drawing Li Changshou's consciousness into a profound immortal realm. This realm was known as the Gate of All Wonders, this state, the Profoundest Mystery. Li Changshou entered a peculiar state where he could perceive environmental changes around him and even guide the strange fish's general direction, yet he couldn't awaken himself. As he immersed himself in this mysterious Dao realm, he completely lost track of time. However, a wisp of his divine sense continuously hovered around the strange fish, capable of issuing timely warnings.

The strange fish swam ceaselessly westward for three to five months until one day, two enormous iron spikes suddenly descended from the surface, piercing through the great fish's chest and abdomen. Li Changshou was momentarily 'startled,' but feeling no danger, he remained immersed in the profound Dao realm. He simply remained still on the fish's back, continuing to comprehend and absorb the insights of that Dao realm. (In truth, he couldn't exit it even if he wanted to.)

Subsequently, Li Changshou, still inside the strange fish, was dragged back to shore by two large ships. A group of strong, primitively dressed young men and women then hauled the fish into a sizable village. He managed to release a wisp of his immortal sense to scan his surroundings, discovering that most inhabitants were mortals, with only a few possessing Qi Refinement or Spirit Transformation abilities. As the strange fish was dissected, Li Changshou felt himself slide from its back. Then, a dramatic scene unfolded. This community of remote fishermen mistook Li Changshou for a sea god. They knelt around him, performed celebratory dances, and even held a several-day-long festival, all while reverently enshrining him. (When he had emerged from the fish, immortal light had shimmered around him, his body had been perfectly clean, and his appearance remarkably imposing.)

For the next two months, Li Changshou remained in this profound state, worshipped by the fishermen in their village. A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl was chosen as his attendant, guarding him day and night. Half a month later, Li Changshou finally assimilated all the insights and broke free from the profound state. He closed his eyes to meditate and inspect his inner self for a while. It was already early morning when the young girl woke up in the adjacent room. Hearing light footsteps, Li Changshou opened his eyes and rose, preparing to thank the girl and then swiftly depart.

The girl was tiptoeing towards the entrance, and Li Changshou had already begun to speak: "Thank you, young l—"

The door curtain was pulled aside, and an arm as thick as Li Changshou's thigh reached in. Li Changshou blinked. Was his perception mistaken? Not a girl, but a boy? He quickly corrected himself: "Thank you for your heroic rescue, brave one!"

"Hmm?" A sturdy figure emerged from behind the curtain: first, a pretty face, followed by a short, tower-like physique, and then three thousand strands of flowing dark hair cascading down... Then, a rough voice emanated from the girl: "Oh! Immortal, you're awake!"

"Immortal?" Li Changshou keenly picked up on this detail, and a faint sense of vigilance rose within him. Based on how the fishermen had addressed him earlier, shouldn't they have called him a sea god?