novelraw Chapter 1263 - 1262 - Tribulation Rebirth
Chapter 1263 - 1262 - Tribulation Rebirth
He had seen him! After being left in the shadow, quite literally, of the being that was taking so much, he had seemed smaller than Lind expected.
Unlike any other Fiend, he was not impossibly beautiful unlike in the vision he had seen in the past. Was that a petty revenge for Heaven and Earth?
He did not know but while he had felt the power of Divine Realm cultivators before, their true power made him feel like nothing.
He had been distracted by focusing on his weavings that he never felt a thing when the spirit world was invaded. Likely, the Great One had done that on purpose as well, but then the little girl sacrificed herself to save him!
He was suddenly across the world and looking back to see her forcibly aged!
The Fiend Qi had the effect of consuming all life. The effect on spirits was the same. He had thought they were truly immortal but instead, he saw her fall apart before his very eyes!
Rage filled him and he let his full draconic power explode. He was not thinking. He only wanted to sink his teeth into the monster's throat!
Yet, the very instant he got close, pain wracked his body. Pain unlike anything he had ever felt flowed over him and he realized his grave mistake.
The Great One was a Divine Realm so of course he came from the Divine Lands! A soul exposed directly to the purity of that place while alive would manifest a body!
He had tried to avoid the very issue but it was too late and far more potent than before.
He felt heavier and before he knew it, the Great One had left after making a threat against his family! Worse, Lind understood why he left and that time was no longer on his side!
In fact, time was moving forward at a normal pace but he could not evade what was coming.
Tribulation!
The Gold Tier tribulation was building but its power felt far more terrifying compared to what he expected. He realized the Rakathi Wastes had left him with a lack of understanding of what was about to happen.
He had faced his tribulations in extreme circumstances and perhaps Heaven had taken pity on him at those times.
Now, there was no pity. He was a dragon, progenitor, True Lord, and a Radiant Tier soul. His body would face tribulations that broke other cultivators with ease. He was also going to face them in succession!
Power built up and lightning slammed into him but it was a tribulation. It felt more like it was fusing his soul to his new flesh. The pain was receding but he knew that was temporary.
It was simply the necessary step for him to face what was to come.
Gravity weighed on him again. Blood flowed in veins and lungs took in air. He never realized how novel it was to feel alive. A soul was alive but the sensation of life was so much more visceral than before!
His senses also felt so limited. The fusion had made such that the body could withstand his soul by restricting his abilities. He had not considered such an approach.
He only just had time to appreciate being in flesh once more when an all too familiar feeling came from above. Black clouds filled the golden sky and the spirits scattered. His emerald eyes shimmered as he realized he would be facing the peak of each tribulation trial.
He was a Radiant Tier and had advanced far more in fields none had before. Compared to when he started, he had far more going on inside him.
"Oh boy." Those 2 words were the last he spoke as the first lightning bolt struck. It was pure power and his current body barely withstood it! He had not prepared and had no time to do so but his draconic regeneration kicked in to repair the damage.
He quickly examined his new dantian and was shocked to find 18 fonts! The iron core at the center was a pure emerald color unlike anything he had previously held too!
The 18 streams of elements were pure as well. What the hell kind of body had been made?!
He ignored his questions as he faced the next bolt of lightning. The 2nd bolt was at least 3 times as powerful as the first. His body felt pain but the power was easily quelled by his soul. He realized his soul could guide the tribulation power far better than his body could.
He quickly changed his mindset and the following bolts were not nearly as terrifying, but empowering to his body. He improved its power and refined it far better than he had ever dreamed.
The Diamond Tier and Sky Realm tribulations were equally helpful. They shook the skies and the Sky Realm in particular had so many profession and elemental additions that it seemed to stretch forever.
His body was far more resilient than ever before but he became grim as compared to all other tribulations, the next ones would not be so kind.
Law tribulations would not be easy and he had far more than the first time he came through. Further, time was not on his side.
World and Sky Realm tribulations were measured in days but Immortal tribulations could be measured in months. He had no time for that! The longer he took, the more time the Great One could enact his plans!
Days could be acceptable but normal tribulations could not be tolerated.
[I know you listen. I know you are more than a system. You safeguard the lives against the terrifying power cultivators gather. You could have prevented that but for some reason you did not. I can't wait. I can't let that being have his way. Either send me back as I am or let me face the worst you can give.] He sent out his thoughts to the core of the world.
The spirits reacted to his thoughts a bit but said nothing. The old woman could only look on grimly but the clouds paused. Pressure shifted before a change came to them. The colors shifted and he felt the power of something beyond Laws gathering!
It seemed his plea was heard. A twinge of fear filled him as he looked at the spirits before bowing to them.
[Thank you all, for everything.] He turned to the black clouds but it was not a lightning bolt that built up. It was something far more powerful. Beams of light of pure elemental power struck him directly and lit every nerve on fire.
The pain was horrific but it was nothing compared to what came next. His mind exploded with knowledge that changed everything! He thought he understood what he had been asking for.
He had been wanting to compress the Sliver, Shard, Crystal, and Radiant Tier tribulations into 1 but instead there was a more dangerous method.
Dao. The power of Dao could be the crucible to expedite what he wanted but it was also something far beyond his ability to regulate!
Compared to any lightning, he suddenly understood the depth of his arrogance. He thought he could short circuit things by appealing to Heaven and Earth but he was reminded that while he had some leeway, it was not a shortcut by any means.
He would simply face a more terrifying trial by fire that satisfied his request while adhering to the needs of the rules Heaven and Earth enforced. The power flowing into him was far beyond anything he imagined possible to endure!
Blood began to flow from his newly formed eyes, nose, and ears. His skin burned as it cracked. His meridians distorted as unchecked Qi stormed throughout his body.
It had become stronger thanks to his previous actions but it was not even close to enough. He collapsed under the strain but did not give up. He focused his soul and all his knowledge to funnel the power where it was needed to reforge the body into something more powerful.
He started with his dantian as if that collapsed, all else would fail. Originally, his crystal had become the flame of his harmony. It held the 18 centers of elemental power but it had been flawed.
He had yet to even understand Celestial Qi and what it could fully do. He had yet to fully grasp the imperfection in his body that had to be remedied.
He had made adjustments but it was only the best he could do with what he had. He had made choices to incorporate the elements but it was based on incomplete knowledge. Now, he knew far better.
His crystal had to be more. He saw the path of cultivation as a path of not just refinement of the body and soul but of exploring the greater world! He had his enemy but that was not the sole reason for his existence.
He had started for a much humbler reason. He wanted to understand.
His sliver and shard grew until a crystal formed. His body screamed in pain as he worried it would breakdown before he was done but his soul flexed enough to protect it. It cost him.
It was a very vicious cost. Memories. Memories of his time in the spirit world. Memories he had made since becoming only a soul. He had no choice but to survive what was happening. His soul was not built of just his personality.
It was everything. It was the very foundation of his existence. He had to let part of it go to survive.
What he would keep would only be known when it was over but his crystal solidified into a new shape. He was always proud of being an elixir master, a Forger, and a weaver, but there was something he was more proud of.
He was proud of being a husband, a son, and a father. He was proud of his family. He was proud of being a part of them. He had strained that relationship but they did not let him go.
Yet, nothing could cover it all or represent him all. He could only be himself. In that moment, his crystal took the shape of a man with dragon scales. His body was laced with all the elements and Laws he understood in that very moment as the pain finally eased.
It was the shape of what he had to become. A master of all the elements and the foundation between them. At its heart, an emerald flame flickered like a sun. He was now unified in body and soul completely once more!
A vortex began to form as he slowly opened his eyes. His memories were disjointed but he saw an old woman in white smiling at him. He felt warmed by her smile but sad that someone was missing.
He suddenly recalled a bright smile in a cherubic face. Tears fell as he was swallowed by the vortex. Yet that face was still imprinted on him. A face that belonged in a golden sky with silver clouds.
A little girl laughing as she waved goodbye to him flashed in his mind. It was so clear he could not dismiss it and he wept as he fell. Wherever he was going, he would never forget her. Not ever.