Above the Great Dao

Chapter 1691 - 774: Tribulation Wave

Kuang Shimou died in response to the Tribulation, yet the people of Qiutang World were not much affected, and still lived as they did in days past, only somewhat astonished by the burning of the Great Dao Phenomenon.

Wars between different nations still raged, slaughter turning rivers to blood; quite a few cultivators continued to offer sacrifices to Heaven Above, yet the Incense Fire Qi drifted aimlessly, no one knew where it went. — This time, their sacrifices could no longer draw the attention of Heaven Above, and no Divine Power descended to aid them.

Thus some began to speculate that Heaven Above was dead.

A sense of unease slowly spread among the cultivators.

Chen Shi stood within the Holy Land, overlooking one scene after another of the Mortal World.

High above, he could watch the joys and sorrows, partings and reunions of all beings, while he himself remained detached, untroubled by the dust of the red world. No doubt Kuang Shimou had once stood here as well, gazing down upon the multitude.

"The Opening Tribulation is a Tribulation born to target the Immortal Dao; so long as one cultivates the Immortal Dao, one will inevitably meet the Tribulation. Ordinary humans and cultivators, because they are not yet Immortals, instead suffer no calamity or Tribulation. Thus the mortals and cultivators here have not been struck by it."

After this event, Chen Shi gradually gained a clear understanding of the Opening Tribulation.

So-called Opening Tribulation is the Tribulation of opening up the Earth Immortal Realm.

The Three Pure Ones opened up the Earth Immortal Realm, erasing the Outer Dao, establishing the Immortal Dao as the Heaven and Earth Great Dao; thus this calamity arose.

All Immortals of Unity must undergo this Tribulation.

If they can pass through, they live; if they cannot, they die.

Chen Shi turned to look back at Qianyuan Palace, frowning slightly. Kuang Shimou’s strength had not been low; he himself was at the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm, and his Divine Cultivation was extremely profound. Although he could not compare to King Li, he could already stand shoulder to shoulder with most Heavenly Gods.

An existence such as this died without a sound.

Within Qianyuan Palace there were no traces of any resistance.

Clearly, while Kuang Shimou was cultivating, he had not even sensed the arrival of the calamity before being ignited by the Tribulation fire and burned to ash!

After he was set alight by the Tribulation fire, he likely never realized he was burning; the ashes of his face still preserved a smile, until they were burned clean away.

The two Immortal Children outside the gate were the same. They guarded the palace gate, seemingly dozing, yet beneath their skin, they had already been burned down to nothing!

They did not struggle, did not cry out, did not resist.

They did not know they were within a Tribulation!

Chen Shi exhaled a cloud of turbid air. Based on his understanding of the Opening Tribulation, in former Opening Tribulations of the Earth Immortal Realm, Immortals with lower cultivation, such as Heavenly Immortals, found it rather easy to withstand the calamity; instead it was those Golden Immortals, Taiyi Golden Immortals, and Daluo Golden Immortals for whom facing the Opening Tribulation was incomparably perilous.

Yet now, these two Immortal Children whose cultivation was not high had clearly not sensed any sign of the Tribulation’s approach.

This showed that the Opening Tribulation had, without anyone noticing, become different from what it was before.

Chen Shi, in sympathy with Heaven and Earth, likewise sensed no omen that his own Tribulation was near, and silently thought: "This time’s Opening Tribulation is likely far more dangerous than usual. If one cannot sense the Tribulation, one will not know to resist. One will only die as silently as Kuang Shimou. When the Opening Tribulation descended, I was also here—why was I not struck?"

Was it the effect of the Primordial Talisman?

Or was it that he had cultivated the Outer Dao and thus evaded the Tribulation?

Or perhaps the deaths of Kuang Shimou and the others were merely ripples stirred up before the true arrival of the Opening Tribulation, and the real Tribulation had yet to come?

"After Kuang Shimou’s death, Qiutang World will be exposed in the Dark Sea. With only the cultivators here, can they withstand the invasion of the Sea Demons of the Dark Sea?"

Chen Shi observed for a time; the cultivators in Qiutang World did not have very high cultivation, and few had cultivated to the level of Harmonization. To deal with the Sea Demons of the Dark Sea would likely be difficult.

"Kuang Shimou met his Tribulation, his Dao Realm shattered, but your crimes are not enough for death."

After a brief consideration, he left behind within Qianyuan Palace a rather fine Cultivation Technique, sufficient for one to cultivate to Golden Immortal, and outside the gates he set up various seals and prohibitions, to test the wisdom, Daoist Practice, and state of mind of those who would come.

He raised his hand and pressed lightly; the entire Qiutang Holy Land trembled faintly, left its original site, and descended toward Qiutang World.

Before long, this Holy Land settled amidst a mountain range.

"Cultivators will come here, and by using their wisdom, break through the prohibitions I have laid, enter the palace, and receive the inheritance. One who passes my trial will possess a pure heart; after obtaining the inheritance, he will surely guard Qiutang World from harassment by the Sea Demons of the Dark Sea."

Chen Shi departed, silently saying, "This branch of the Human Clan will thus be able to survive in the Dark Sea."

Not long after, some cultivators found this place and discovered this Holy Land.

They called upon Heaven Above and received no response, so they cautiously entered the Holy Land.

They discovered Qianyuan Palace and attempted to enter this Heavenly Cave Mansion to obtain an Immortal’s inheritance, but they met the prohibitions Chen Shi left behind, suffered heavy casualties, and had no choice but to retreat.

In the many years that followed, no one knows how many cultivators came here, attempting to break the prohibitions, but either they failed to do so, or their hearts were lacking, and they died before Qianyuan Palace.

Later still, sea Demons invaded; the cultivators resisted the Demons, and many stories worthy of song and tears were born.

Without Kuang Shimou’s protection, the Dark Sea Outer Dao also eroded the Heaven and Earth Great Dao of Qiutang World. Across the continent, many strange beings gradually appeared; Evil Spirits and Disasters ran rampant, and the people’s livelihood grew ever more difficult.

Relying only on the strength of cultivators, they could merely hold perilous locations in a few regions and protect the populace, allowing this branch of the Human Clan to cling to life.

Until one day, a young man of peerless talent and flawless disposition finally unraveled the Immortal Palace’s prohibitions, entered Qianyuan Palace, and obtained the inheritance left by Chen Shi.

He comprehended an incomparably formidable Immortal Daoist Skill and made it known to the world, so that the people living in Qiutang World at last possessed the power to protect themselves in the face of Evil Spirits and Disasters.

And that would be more than a hundred years later.

Not long after Chen Shi left Qiutang Realm, he traveled in the Dark Sea for more than ten days and found another world.