Chapter 972 Kunxu’s Unique Thunder Tribulation
When March arrived, accompanied by a wave of fluctuation in the Spirit Realm, a promotion notice descended and floated in front of Zhang Yu. In an instant, Zhang Yu became a Rank 7 Sect Staff.
At the same time, a Tribulation Permit also slowly landed in front of him, representing that he had been authorized to legally undergo Tribulation Transcendence and legally break through to the next cultivation realm.
“Rank 7 Sect Staff and the Tribulation Transcendence Realm…”
Looking at the Tribulation Certificate floating in front of him, thinking about how he had climbed all the way from high school to this originally unattainable position, Zhang Yu felt deeply moved for a time.
Right at this moment, the Sect Examination Clone said, “Zhang Yu… do you still remember what we are going to do after climbing up? Establish debt for heaven and earth, establish loans for the people, inherit property for the past sages, and open peace for all markets.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Don’t just make up things I supposedly said.”
Glancing again at his Foundation Establishment Certificate, Golden Core Certificate, Nascent Soul Certificate, Spirit Transformation Certificate, and Void Refinement Certificate, Zhang Yu seemed to see his path here again, the scenes of his climb from the very bottom.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Unknowingly, I am already an upper-tier cultivator radiating with Certificate Qi.”
Fu Ji sighed with emotion in her heart: “Who would have thought that my, Fu Ji’s, desperate fight for survival, my shocking gamble after falling to the First Layer, would actually enlighten Zhang Yu. Looking throughout the history of the Evil Gods, this is definitely a great maneuver worthy of going down in history.”
The Auspicious God secretly thought: “I said Zhang Yu was extraordinary, but not a single person believed me back then…”
At the same time, along with the granting of the Tribulation Permit, a document was also sent to Zhang Yu.
It was exactly a brief introduction regarding the Tribulation Transcendence Realm and matters related to Tribulation Transcendence.
“Thunder Tribulation, Tribulation Loan, Tribulation Transcendence fees…”
After glancing over it, Zhang Yu secretly thought to himself: “The content described here is just too simple, the inner workings of it… It seems I still have to ask someone else.”
“Although information in Kunxu is already extremely developed and you can find all kinds of data with a single search — so much that you couldn’t possibly read it all — the vast majority of it is garbage data and outdated intelligence. These things clog up the Spirit Realm and Dharma Realm in massive amounts, pointlessly adding a lot of trouble to gathering information.”
“To figure out the situation, I still need to find a more reliable channel…”
Just as Zhang Yu was thinking this, a message from Zhang Pianpian surfaced before his eyes.
“Perfect, I happen to have such a channel right in my hands.”
His gaze flashed, and in the next moment, a stream of Zhang Yu’s consciousness had surfaced in the Supreme Clarity Realm, initiating communication with Zhang Pianpian. “Little brother, congratulations on stepping into the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.”
Zhang Pianpian looked at Zhang Yu in front of her, her eyes always carrying a trace of gentleness, as if the person standing before her wasn’t the all-powerful Myriad Laws Divine Sword, but a high school student from Songyang High School.
In her mind, scenes of the two of them supporting each other all the way through high school and university couldn’t help but surface.
Zhang Pianpian knew that it was precisely because this younger brother of hers had exhausted all his efforts and depleted his balance to help her time and time again that a feeling which shouldn’t have been there was left in her heart.
Zhang Yu asked, “Sis, do you know much about the Tribulation Transcendence materials?”
“I knew you were going to ask this. After you contacted me, I organized the Tribulation Transcendence materials I had on hand…”
Along with waves of thought acceleration within the Supreme Clarity Realm, Zhang Pianpian had already transmitted various materials to Zhang Yu. “The so-called Tribulation Transcendence Realm was originally supposed to be called the Dao Comprehension Realm.”
“It’s just like breaking through to the Void Refinement Realm, delving deep into the microscopic domain, discovering the existence of immortal aura, and subsequently obtaining a series of advancements in Immortal Dao Technology.”
“After the Immortalization Degree reaches 100% and the Primordial Spirit is forged into an Immortal Body, successfully breaking through to the Dao Comprehension Realm will also lead to deeper exploration of the microscopic domain.”
Zhang Pianpian said, “In fact, starting from Qi Refining, whether it is improving physical strength, tempering the dao heart, gathering magic power through breathing, or practicing various cultivation arts… every step of our cultivation relies on utilizing the various Immortal Dao laws in the world.”
“And the essence of these Immortal Dao laws is actually the heavenly principle, it is the Dao Lineage.”
“After reaching the Dao Comprehension Realm, you will be able to perceive that the operation of Dao Lineages differs between the macroscopic and microscopic worlds. How to integrate the two and accomplish an upgrade in Immortal Dao technology was originally the main cultivation task of the Dao Comprehension Realm.”
“Was originally?” Zhang Yu asked. “Does that mean it isn’t anymore? And the Dao Comprehension Realm was also renamed to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm?”
“That’s right.” Zhang Pianpian nodded and said, “Just as I mentioned, there are countless Immortal Dao laws in the world, all of which originate from Dao Lineages, and Dao Lineages are created by Immortals. Therefore, the birth of every new Dao Lineage has the potential to trigger new Immortal Dao laws, cause massive changes, and subsequently alter the method of cultivation.”
“The Dao Comprehension Realm changing into the Tribulation Transcendence Realm is one such example.”
“In ancient times, there was an Immortal who created the Heavenly Tribulation Dao Lineage. This Heavenly Tribulation Dao Lineage is extremely complex, so today we will only discuss the part of it related to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.”
“Ever since the Heavenly Tribulation Dao Lineage was created, all cultivators who step into the Dao Comprehension Realm and begin to further explore the microscopic domain will trigger the thunder tribulation, leading to the annihilation of their physical body and Primordial Spirit.”
Zhang Pianpian sighed, “Although this thunder tribulation is silent, it flashes like lightning and looks very similar to natural lightning, which is why it is called the thunder tribulation.”
“But in fact, this phenomenon is not the same thing as natural lightning. It is a mutation in the microscopic domain triggered by the backlash of Immortal Dao Technology, causing the annihilation of the cultivator’s physical body and Primordial Spirit, which then erupts into flashes of light resembling lightning.”
Zhang Yu, whose understanding of Kunxu had grown deeper and deeper, immediately caught a familiar scent when he heard this piece of history…
Zhang Yu spoke up, “Did this Heavenly Tribulation Immortal put a lock on the Dao Comprehension Realm, solidifying cultivation realms and locking the upper limit, so that lower-tier cultivators explode the moment they delve into the microscopic world? Did they completely restrict cultivators from continuing to explore the microscopic domain, making it impossible for them to ever break through again?”
Zhang Pianpian nodded and said lightly, “Exactly so. This is a Dao Lineage meant to ensure lower-tier cultivators remain lower-tier cultivators forever.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly, “Solidifying cultivation realms is exactly what these upper-tier cultivators have always been pursuing from ancient times to the present.”
Zhang Pianpian continued, “After this Dao Lineage was established, the Dao Comprehension Realm was completely locked down. No one could break through it anymore. Any lower-tier cultivators who attempted to break through to this cultivation realm and then delve into exploring the microscopic domain all ended up dead, their Dao vanishing.”
“From then on, the Dao Comprehension Realm was no longer called the Dao Comprehension Realm, but rather the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. As generations of cultivators stepped into this cultivation realm, they all began researching how to survive this thunder tribulation, yet they invariably perished beneath it.”
Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, “Damn it… throughout Kunxu’s history, there has never been a shortage of these bastards.”
Zhang Pianpian continued, “And during this process, people further discovered… the deeper a cultivator’s foundation, the more severe the thunder tribulation they trigger.”
Zhang Yu asked, “What does this so-called ‘deep foundation’ refer to?”
Zhang Pianpian replied, “In essence, the more Dao Lineages a cultivator’s cultivation draws upon, and the deeper those connections are, the more severe the backlash. Specifically, along this path to cultivate, the more Immortal Dao Technology applied, the more types of Immortal Dao laws these technologies involve, and the richer the Dao Lineages they span across behind the scenes, the greater the thunder tribulation they will trigger.”
“To put it even more simply, the more erudite and profoundly knowledgeable one is, the heavier the thunder tribulation.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu was startled. “Kunxu is a world under the tyranny of Immortal Dao Technology. The more Immortal Dao knowledge and Immortal Dao Technology one masters, the more advantages they possess, and the stronger they can become. And every heavenly chosen is naturally striving in this direction…”
Fu Ji exclaimed in shock, “This thunder tribulation is practically aiming specifically to kill the heavenly chosen! The more someone is favored by the heavens, the greater the power. Doesn’t that mean a peerless heavenly chosen like you, Zhang Yu, is in danger?”
Zhang Yu nodded inwardly. After evaluating himself, he thought to himself, “Hmm, let me think… Speaking of which, although I’ve learned many cultivation arts, the vast majority are martial arts, and they are all similar types of filler martial arts just used to grind the Chain Formation Diagram. The Immortal Dao laws contained in these martial arts are… highly repetitive, just with different application methods. Calculated this way, my foundation might not necessarily be deep.”
“But…”
Zhang Yu glanced at his Feather Book, his eyes sweeping over each Chain Formation Diagram and Dao Seed, and thought inwardly, “Who knows how many Immortal Dao laws these things utilize, or how many Dao Lineages they involve? Could it be that my foundation will be considered extremely deep, triggering a super severe thunder tribulation?”
Although it was merely a guess in his heart, Zhang Yu felt that his guess was, nine times out of ten, correct.
Zhang Pianpian continued, “It is said that the emergence of the thunder tribulation caused an entire era where no one could break through to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, until later another Immortal appeared…
“He cracked the mystery of the thunder tribulation and created an Immortal Dao Technology that could utilize the thunder tribulation in reverse. By using the microscopic Primordial Spirit to temper the macroscopic physical body, he achieved Spirit-Flesh Unity, naturally comprehending the profound mysteries between the macroscopic Immortal Dao and the microscopic Immortal Dao.”
“It can be said that as long as one survives the thunder tribulation, they have completed the majority of their cultivation in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.”
“From then on, the cultivation methods of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm gradually developed and enriched, becoming faster, more effective, and more powerful than the original cultivation methods of the Dao Comprehension Realm. At its roots… it was all about using the thunder tribulation to drive cultivation forward, resulting in generation after generation of cultivators who successfully broke through.”
Listening to Zhang Pianpian’s words, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but recall Supreme Truth’s past evaluation. He thought to himself, “According to Senior Supreme Truth’s classification of Kunxu Cultivators, between these two successive Immortals, one pursued monopoly, and the other pursued openness, right? One wanted to climb to the peak of the Immortal Dao alone, while the other wanted to unite more people to promote the development of Immortal Dao Technology…”
Zhang Pianpian tapped her fingertips lightly, and image files appeared in front of Zhang Yu. They were exactly the scenes of present-day cultivators undergoing Tribulation Transcendence.
Tiny flashes of light, akin to lightning, could be seen appearing on the cultivators’ bodies. They blocked them using various methods and then used them to temper their Primordial Spirits and physical bodies.
Zhang Pianpian introduced, “In the modern era, the Heavenly Tribulation Dao Lineage is managed by the Heavenly Sword Sect. Just like the Immortal Qi Dao Lineage of the Myriad Laws Sect, it has become one of the foundational Dao Lineages controlled by the Ten Great Sects. Tribulation Transcendence has also become safer, more convenient, and much friendlier to those undergoing it.”
“First, you can only undergo Tribulation Transcendence by applying for it. Otherwise, no matter how profound your foundation is, the thunder tribulation you trigger will simply be intercepted and withheld by the Heavenly Sword Sect.”
“After all, apart from being used to advance a Tribulation Transcendence cultivation base, this thunder tribulation is also a precious resource in fields like artifact refinement and pill concocting.”
“Second, the person undergoing the tribulation must pay a fee based on the scale of the thunder tribulation. It’s just like Spirit Realm Flow: you only get to endure as much thunder tribulation as you pay for…”
“To improve safety, modern thunder tribulations no longer erupt all at once like the most primitive ones. Instead, under the control of the Heavenly Sword Sect, they flow out in a steady trickle, erupting slowly. You can even rest for a while and undergo the tribulation for a while, allowing Tribulation Transcendence cultivators to break through gradually.”
“However, once a thunder tribulation is triggered, it cannot be stopped. Therefore, the paused thunder tribulation is temporarily stored by the Heavenly Sword Sect, and this storage fee is not cheap either.”
“In short… the entire Tribulation Transcendence Realm is just endlessly paying money, continuously triggering the thunder tribulation and pausing the thunder tribulation, until you finally pass all the thunder tribulations, at which point the cultivation of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm is pretty much done.”
“The whole process of Tribulation Transcendence takes a few years for the fast ones, over a dozen years for the slow ones, and there are even some who take 30 years.”
Zhang Pianpian sighed, “During this process, the physical body and Primordial Spirit undergo tempering from time to time, but they can still rest. The wallet, however, doesn’t get a moment’s peace.”
“Thunder Tribulation Fee, storage fees, late fees… each one is more expensive than the last. Money is being deducted every minute and every second, and the moment your liabilities exceed your assets, you go bankrupt.”
“Because it’s related to the thunder tribulation, this kind of bankruptcy is also called a thunderclap.”
“Some people refer to the tempering of the physical body and Primordial Spirit as the outer thunder tribulation, while the test that wallets and accounts undergo is called the inner thunder tribulation.”
Zhang Yu glanced at the price list Zhang Pianpian handed over and couldn’t help but curse the Heavenly Sword Sect, “These fees are way too expensive! During the entire Tribulation Transcendence Realm, it’s basically constantly paying money. Will all the money I can make after breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm just go straight into their pockets?”
The Sect Examination Clone said angrily, “The Heavenly Sword Sect is making all the money! This is a serious loss of sect-owned assets!”
“During this Tribulation Crossing Stage, the greatest pressure is on our account balance,” Fu Ji said.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Once I break through to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, I have to pass the thunder tribulation as quickly as possible. The faster I pass it, the fewer Immortal Coins I’ll consume.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes fell on the information about the Tribulation Loan written in the materials.
Zhang Pianpian explained, “Tribulation Transcendence cultivators consume a massive amount of resources, and sometimes cash flow problems are unavoidable. This gave rise to the specialized business of Tribulation Loans, which then formed a market around the debts of Tribulation Transcendence cultivators…”
With a casual tap, Zhang Pianpian brought up a large amount of data. It showed the price trends of the debts of many Tribulation Transcendence cultivators from the Ten Great Sects, fluctuating based on their Tribulation Transcendence progress.
After understanding the information about Tribulation Transcendence, Zhang Yu bid farewell to Zhang Pianpian.
But seeing Zhang Yu’s fading figure, Zhang Pianpian spoke up, “Brother, do you remember the 11th Immortal Emperor I mentioned to you last time?”
Zhang Yu paused slightly and looked at Zhang Pianpian, waiting for her to continue.
“The so-called 11th Immortal Emperor is a newly emerged Immortal Emperor outside of the Ten Immortal Emperors.”
“And it seems… there has been more than one such Immortal Emperor born so far.”
Zhang Pianpian said, “This time, Yun Taizhen failed her breakthrough and was miserably suppressed. I’m afraid she can also be considered an 11th Immortal Emperor.”
“It’s just that the previous 11th Immortal Emperor required the Ten Immortal Emperors to suppress them by means of erasing their information.”
“But this time, as an 11th Immortal Emperor, Supreme Truth was directly suppressed. Different methods were used for the two…”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Different methods were indeed used, but Senior Supreme Truth… wasn’t directly suppressed, but rather encountered a World Rollback. The Ten Immortal Emperors probably used different methods to suppress different 11th Immortal Emperors.”
“Just like different ingredients, different cooking methods must be used to preserve their nutrients to the greatest extent.”
In that instant, Zhang Yu felt as if he saw an incomparably massive dining table. Ten pitch-black silhouettes surrounded the table, serving plates of dishes in various shapes and forms.
Zhang Pianpian stared at Zhang Yu and said, “Supreme Truth couldn’t fill their stomachs. After she was suppressed, the Ten Immortal Emperors will also look for the next 11th Immortal Emperor.”
“And you… are now probably the number one candidate for the 11th Immortal Emperor in the eyes of the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor.”
Although Zhang Yu was already mentally prepared, hearing Zhang Pianpian say this still made his heart tremble as a profound chill welled up within him.