novelraw Chapter 1559 - 1558 - Tribulation of Judgment
Chapter 1559 - 1558 - Tribulation of Judgment
Divine Ascension took many forms as many cultivators walked many paths. All paths lead to Dao but which Dao and how they are understood varied wildly. Immortals spent millions of years refining and testing their Laws until they finally grasp the edge of the Dao.
The Sovereign Tiers learned how to wield horrifying levels of power but that was what it took to ascend to that height.
Simply understanding the world around them was no longer enough. It would require going beyond and seeking the truth behind the Laws. The Law of Gravity was but a single facet of the Dao of Force for instance.
The Law of Gravity could include attraction, repulsion, and so forth, yet there was so much more beyond it. Once touching the Dao of Force, an Immortal would understand how much more they had to grasp to advance.
The long life of Immortals were not just there to live but to be put to use! Even so, it was far harder to truly grasp Dao to the point they could trigger a Divine Ascension.
There were exceptions to those rules, of course. Some fortunate encounters, Inheritances, or other factors could allow a cultivator to leap frog ahead by millions of years. Talents, physiques, and other internal factors could speed up comprehension far beyond their peers.
Lastly, a monumental feat could trigger special tribulations. It meant that Heaven and Earth deemed one worthy to attempt it. Some could be stopped without penalty but most were unstoppable.
The Tribulation of Judgement was feared by all universally. It was the most dangerous and the most powerful of Divine Ascension Tribulations one could face.
Most tribulations would start with lightning and transform depending on the Dao grasped, but the Tribulation of Judgement was not so kind.
Lind was blasted by pure power right from the start. Blood flew from all his orifices as pain wracked his body but he quickly put his dantian to work! The power flowed in him and he knew more was to come.
It was not testing him, but trying to kill him outright! He had invoked his Authority to summon it, a right a True Lord could exert, but it also meant it would pull no punches. It did not matter that he was a Divine Progenitor either as the Tribulation of Judgment cared not what he was.
Live to prove he was worthy, or die and be consigned to oblivion. The name of the tribulation was not without reason, however. Heaven and Earth were literally judging his worthiness in all aspects of his existence, starting with his ability to endure.
By invoking via his Authority, he had to prove he was even worthy to begin instead of relying on the power given to him as a True Lord.
More attacks blasted him and he lost his limbs multiple times. Still, he endured. He tried to absorb power but his success rate was erratic as the Heavens seemed to get angry with every increase in his power.
His first success was the best by far. Time became immaterial to him as the attacks simply increased. He felt all the Daos he had touched upon were being used against him on top of concepts he had no idea what they were!
"I WILL NOT DIE!" He suddenly screamed as his body felt frail. His emerald eyes blazed as his body regenerated once more. Ever since he fused with the phoenix essence, he felt the restorative power of his body had exponentially increased.
If not for that, he would have truly died already. He simply could not keep up with the assault but the black clouds rumbled as a familiar power began to appear there. He weakly picked himself up as emerald light gathered.
It was his Dao but also not. He recognized it. It was the Dao of the elder phoenix! The Dao of Defiance was barely understood by him but he did not walk away. Instead, his own harmony flared in full.
Emerald flames met a bolt of emerald power from the Heavens. When the 2 met, the world faded into a blur.
For the entire 4th layer! Lind was about to be erased when a roar escaped his throat.
[ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!] The world snapped back into place as he collapsed in the glass basin. The black clouds remained, but he had survived!
Blood pooled around him yet no reprieve was in sight as the black clouds rumbled once more. He barely opened his eyes and knew what was about to happen.
[Spirit, prepare yourself.]
It was the only warning he gave as lighting finally appeared. It was not, however, the start of 9 rounds. It was pure Wrath!
It was the final hurdle for the first part of the Tribulation of Judgment! Crimson, black, and virulent green lighting built up. Lind could barely move but he did not need to for the next part.
The 3 bolts of lightning slammed into his body and he used the jolt of power to slam his claws into the basin! Instantly, the entire basin lit up with the power of the tribulation lightning of Wrath!
Lind screamed but did not forget his promise. WIth the full power of the Heavens fueling his Nodes, he could finally use his powers once more!
He Forged in that moment of destruction and pure power. The tribulation had restored his power at last!
The glass basin lit up with all he had as golden energy flared in various patterns. The dark abyss of Death Dao surged but it was untamed. It hurt the artifact even as it was used. The creator was either a fool or had no idea what they were doing.
If not for the Inheritances in the Endless Peaks, Lind would have struggled but he had long since experienced Death.
It had been so long to him. So long since he felt like a cultivator but he could not relish the feeling. He had to focus as he Forged the Death Grounds. The Heavens raged as he stole power from their Wrath!
The Tribulation of Judgment would only get harsher afterward but he kept his word.
The unstable balance was undone and the Death Grounds shimmered with new power. The spirit even looked revitalized and in shock as it looked at him. The once androgynous being shrunk to a child size and grew flaming hair of all colors.
Its eyes were both innocent and bottomless. A smile slowly spread before the pressure above spiked.
Tribulations rarely seemed to allow disruptions from any outsider but Lind knew he had subverted the point of facing Heavenly Wrath at his weakest moment. He had won, true, but he had used that power for others and stolen its bite on himself in the process.
Only a True Lord could do that.
His body was recovering yet he felt the changes above. The basic round was over, the first bolt of lightning. Now, the true tribulation began!
⬧⬧⬧⬧
Helsgath felt insignificant. He had so many memories of his previous lives and had been proud to become a True Lord of his race. He had begun to master the Dao of the Living Flame and thought he could break the chains that bound him to his fate.
He was going to die in the 4th layer. A True Death, not simple death. It was the fate few of his race could avoid even with their remarkable ability.
Yet, he saw the impossible happen right in front of him and knew where he had gone wrong. He knew where so many cultivators went wrong.
The secret to the Divine Realm was not tricks, perseverance, or even power. It was will. The will to not accept the inevitable. The will to sever all obstacles, even the ones within, without remorse.
Lind Frey had been a rising power and he had chosen to help him, but in his heart, he could admit, he did not believe he could succeed.
Even with how much they needed him to, the bar was just too high. He thought what he knew to be the Rebirth Grounds was the only answer. He thought his race could proudly claim a place in his rise to the Divine but he was so wrong!
The Soul Cleansing Ritual had to be modified by Lind Frey. The Path of Rebirth Flames was mastered by him! And now, the Death Grounds were repaired by him!
The sacred pieces of his race were flawed and only his intervention corrected them!
"Finally getting it, boy?" A woman's voice made him jump to find his fellow True Lords had appeared somehow without his knowing.
The stout figure of the Black Shelled Tortoise True Lord smiled at him but then grimly looked up.
"Is he trying to kill all of us?" Van's narrow face was pale but Kaltara was not much better.
"No, he is just the same idiot he always is. Why take the easy road to power when you can raise everyone up? Honestly, too much compensation for his mistakes can only lead to such stupidity." Her words were harsh but there was praise in her eyes.
"Did–did you both know we could call for the Ascension?" The pair looked at him in pity before nodding.
"While we know, it is near suicidal. Look at it, boy. Heaven and Earth allow us to exist as the peak of our races but we are only ever its servant. To command it like that, directly, is to invite certain death. Slim and I have no chance of survival down that path." Kaltara looked up as the black clouds turned silver.
All 3 felt their souls shiver as every weapon to ever exist appeared in the sky.
"None of us have any chance against such an action, but Lind Frey has never been one to walk the path only to blaze it." The trio looked on as emerald light flared around their fellow True Lord.
Dao Weapons! He invoked Dao Weapons!
"We have work to do! Don't just stare!" Van snapped them out and Helsgath felt their auras flare. He enjoined his to them and a massive wall of energy spread just before the battle commenced!