Unedited
The moment the black and white ring shadows appeared, the ten suns above the sky of the illusory realm exploded one after another. The sky began becoming dim and dark. The earth, however, started to tremble and the lava surged, initiating a raging flame that engulfed each of the volcanoes!
As the ring shadows flashed, an unimaginable medicine soul gradually permeated heaven and earth. It was so powerful that it could crush the medicine soul of any Fifth Revolution Pill Refinement Masters!
It was the medicine soul power accumulated in the Heavenly Dao from the countless deceased pill masters since ancient times. It was the reward that heaven and earth gave to a Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Master!
A Fifth Revolution Pill Master did not have the right to observe the breakthrough of a Seventh Revolution Pill Master at all! Every single one of them was unable to endure the force given out by the medicinal soul of heaven and earth!
Each of the volcanoes erupted in succession, filling the sky with sparks of flames. Those flames, however, suddenly fell down, raining down upon the Pill Sovereign’s location.
At this moment, the Pill Sovereign’s forehead was beaded with sweat. He was sitting down with his eyes closed, beginning to push through the bottleneck of the Seventh Revolution.
A towering ancient tree was standing upright behind him. It was the form of his medicine soul.
That ancient tree had luxuriant foliage. It gave off a faint layer of light screen that was condensed from medicine soul power, preventing the rain of flames from falling upon him.
Ning Fan raised his head and looked into the sky. His expression turned grim as he was staring at the black and white ring shadows.
“This black and white ring shadow is the first ring of the Heavenly Dao – The Ring of Life and Death. If cultivators at the First Step of Cultivation are unable to escape the restriction of the first ring of the Heavenly Dao, they won’t be able to achieve immortality…” Luo You explained.
“A mere black and white ring shadow like this is the Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm, huh…”
Ning Fan was deep in thought. This black and white Heavenly Dao was probably the one he offended in the past.
Maybe it was an illusion. When he stared at the black and white ring shadow, he suddenly felt that the ring shadow turned into a huge eye. Its black pupil was clearly distinctive from the whites of the eye around it. That large eye batted once at him…
After he observed it carefully, he realized that the ring shadow did not undergo any changes. It seemed just like an illusion.
There was an instant where a fierce and piercing qi seemed to have been released from the ring shadow and it was locked on Ning Fan.
The Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm seemed to have recognized Ning Fan and knew that he was the person who captured the messengers of the heavenly tribulation twice and offended the might of the heavens.
However, a brief moment later, that qi which was targeted at Ning Fan dispersed.
The reason why the heavenly ring appeared today was because the Pill Sovereign achieved the breakthrough in his pill refinement realm.
Even though the Heavenly Dao detested Ning Fan, it was aware of what was right and wrong and it did not intend to go against the rules and punish Ning Fan.
Only an indolent female voice suddenly echoed from the ring shadow of the Heavenly Dao and entered Ning Fan’s ears. Other than Ning Fan, no one else could hear that voice.
“Junior of the Rain World, you are quite bold to harm my puppets in the Lower Realm. I have been in control of the heavenly ring for 150 million years. You are the first cultivator who dare to defy the heavens publicly. Although your sins are deep, I know what is right and wrong and I won’t summon tribulations upon you personally now. Besides, you are already not far away from the heavenly tribulation of the Void Pierce Stage. I’m looking forward to you dying in that heavenly tribulation… But still, hopefully you can go through the tribulation safely…”
The lady seemed to have chuckled. Then, it vanished all of a sudden. That voice seemed to be coming from very far away. Neither the Pill Sovereign nor Luo You could hear it. Only Ning Fan was able to hear it.
Ning Fan’s eyes widened with surprise.
Who exactly is the lady who spoke to me via telepathy just now? Her abilities are so terrifying…
Commanding the Heavenly Rings for 150 million years… Could she be an immortal emperor…?
Ning Fan sighed. He never expected that he would be targeted by such a frightening lady.
Luckily, she was a lady who goes by the law and did not try to summon tribulations on Ning Fan personally.
Although the heavenly tribulations that Ning Fan faced became scarier and scarier starting from the Void Glimpse Stage, they also did not give him no chance to survive…
The heavenly tribulations might be terrifying, but their power was still restricted to the level of the First Step of cultivation. The Heavenly Dao was not so cruel as to summon an immortal tribulation on him.
An immortal tribulation was the heavenly tribulation that the Heavenly Dao of the Second Step of cultivation would summon for immortals… If Ning Fan were to encounter that level of heavenly tribulation, he would not need to make any struggles at all as he would be directly killed.
With that lady’s strength, she could kill Ning Fan in a single breath. Even so, she did not abuse her power and go against the laws to summon an immortal tribulation to kill him. In a way, she could not be counted as his enemy.
Ning Fan had a feeling that even though she looked forward to seeing him die in the next heavenly tribulation he would face after attaining the Void Pierce Stage, she was also excited to see him go against the heavens and get through the tribulation…
Perhaps the terrifying heavenly tribulations that came after him every time was just a test while the heavenly tribulation puppets were his rewards…
“Ning Fan! What are you doing? Hurry up and absorb the soul power that is flowing across heaven and world!” The Pill Sovereign suddenly opened his eyes and urged him.
Ning Fan did not utter any word. He had already decided not to absorb the Pill Sovereign’s soul power.
Every time when a pill master was advancing to the Seventh Revolution, there was a limitation to the soul power that heaven and earth would grant to them.
For ordinary Peak Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Masters, even if they absorb all the soul power that the heavens and earth give to them, they also might not necessarily be able to advance to the Seventh Revolution.
If Ning Fan absorbs the Pill Sovereign’s soul power now, it would then lower his chances of success in the advancement…
Ning Fan was not a kind person. However, since the Pill Sovereign was kind to him, he was not going to repay his kindness with evil!
Suddenly, he stood up. He did not plan to absorb the soul power at al. Instead, he turned into a ray of light and flew out of the protected area of the ancient tree, soaring into the sky. Standing mid-air, he said.
“I’ll help you withstand the tribulations!”
His words were simple and brief but they were loud and determined.
Upon hearing his words, the Pill Sovereign was stunned. Then, he looked touched but he sighed with a hint of disappointment at the same time.
“Silly child… This is a rare opportunity! If you absorb some of the soul power, perhaps your pill refinement realm can advance to the High Grade Sixth Revolution!”
“I never lack opportunities in my entire life. If I am not blessed with opportunities, I’ll just need to seize them with force. The only thing that I can never neglect is my Dao Heart!”
With determination in his eyes, he opened his mouth and inhaled. The rain of flames that fell around the sky were absorbed into his abdomen.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he gathered the soul power that was scattered across heaven and earth near the ancient tree to make it easy for the Pill Sovereign to absorb it.
He took out several formation disks and planted layers of Mortal Void Grade formation light around the ancient tree!
He knew that the moment the Pill Sovereign finishes absorbing the soul power, he would then start facing the tests from the heavenly tribulation!
The heavenly tribulation of the Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Realm was not trivial. What Ning Fan was doing now was considered as helping the Pill Sovereign increase his chances in achieving his advancement.
The Pill Sovereign sighed and closed his eyes. He had decided to grant Ning Fan a vast opportunity but if Ning Fan insisted not to accept it, he also could not force him.
After making a sigh, what occupied more of his heart was the feeling of relief.
His judgement was not wrong. The disciple that he had set his eyes on was indeed a man with excellent personality. Unfortunately, that man already had a master and therefore, there was no chance for him to be his master in this life anymore…
“Fine… Since you don’t accept my soul power of heaven and earth, this second session of guidance is invalid…”
“Why? Having the chance to observe a pill master attaining the Seventh Revolution at such a close distance is an opportunity itself!”
Ning Fan smiled at the sky. Just like what he had said, how many chances does one have in the world to observe the breakthrough of a Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Master?
Commonly, every Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Masters was worried about others seizing their soul power. Thus, most of them would choose to achieve the breakthrough in a remote area without allowing any outsider to witness it.
The Sixth Revolution was like Heaven while the Seventh Revolution was like attaining the Immortal Realm. Breaking through to the Seventh Revolution was even more difficult than the Sixth Revolution. Its difficulty was not just in the aspect of soul transformation but also the fact that a majority of pill masters could not get the experience from those who had successfully achieved the breakthrough. Pill masters without the necessary knowledge could only explore themselves, just like a blind man travelling at night. Thus, it was naturally beset with difficulties…
The Pill Sovereign closed his eyes and stopped speaking.
In the Temple of Rain, each of the old monsters were shocked by Ning Fan’s tolerance.
Be it a divine cultivator or a devil cultivator, there is basically no one who could persevere in not seizing the soul power.
How many Sixth Revolution Pill Masters in the world could keep their mind intact upon seeing a Seventh Revolution Pill Master who wants to share his soul power with them…?
Even the likes of Chu Chang An also began to have respect for Ning Fan.
Yun Qingge’s eyes were staring at the bronze mirror, deep in thought.
She was Yu Chong Er’s master. She was the daughter of a former Rain Sovereign. Guarding the Rain Palace was always her main priority.
Yu Chong Er had developed infatuation for a devil cultivator to a point of giving him the Heaven Deceiving Cloak, sacrificing her Insect Sovereign’s Blood and even stealing the White Tiger Vambrace for him… This made Yun Qingge extremely furious.
Yu Chong Er did not tell Ning Fan that she did not request the White Tiger Vambrace from her master but she stole it from her instead…
Yun Qingge already found out that Ning Fan was that devil cultivator. Hence, she harbored enmity against him!
She stubbornly thought that Ning Fan used some kind of lowly tricks to bewitch Yu Chong Er which caused her to do such audacious acts.
Today, she saw that even though he might be a devil cultivator, he was a magnanimous person. Therefore, she denied her original thought of him bewitching and hoodwinking Yu Chong Er…
“Could it be that Yu Chong Er gave him those things out of her own free will…” Yun Qingge seemed to have understood something and her eyes were gradually filled with confusion.
One day, two days, three days… After seven days, the Pill Sovereign had finished absorbing all the soul power of heaven and earth within the illusory realm. He then took out an unknown pill from his pouch and ate it.
That pill seemed to be effective in tempering one’s medicine soul as it gradually restrained all the soul power that he had just absorbed.
The moment he finished taking in the soul power, waves of bone-chilling wind suddenly blew across the place!
At the areas where the chill wind passed by, the lava in the cracks on the land were extinguished bizarrely!
Every mountain and river directly disintegrated into ashes!
Even the ancient tree that was protecting the Pill Sovereign began withering rapidly!
In just an instant, the Pill Sovereign’s medicine soul was severely injured. Blood flowed out from his lips. His eyes widened with shock!
“What a strong chill wind tribulation!”
A chill wind tribulation was a heavenly tribulation that only Void Fragmentation Realm experts would encounter.
The Pill Sovereign was at the Third Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. However, even when he broke through to that cultivation realm, the chill wind tribulation he faced also was not as strong as this!
Even if the Pill Sovereign is fully prepared, he also would not have more than fifty percent chance of getting through such powerful heavenly tribulation!
As for the current him, he did not even have ten percent of chance as he did not expect that the chill wind tribulation would be so powerful!
Despite just breaking through to the Low Grade Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Realm, the chill wind tribulation he faced was actually comparable to the heavenly tribulation at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm!
In the Temple of Rain, surprise filled everyone’s faces. Even the Rain Sovereign’s scalp tingled.
“Everyone said that the Seventh Revolution is like achieving the Immortal Realm. I didn’t believe it at first. However, judging from the current situation, that saying is true. Even I will have difficulties in withstanding such a powerful heavenly tribulation… No. I must immediately enter the illusory realm of the Black Stage to help the Pill Sovereign get through the tribulation!”
Even though the Rain Sovereign had suspicions for the Pill Sovereign, he naturally became willing to lend him a hand as the latter was about to achieve the Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Realm which would be of great use to him.
However, as he swung his body, his expression turned grim suddenly. To his surprise, he discovered that the entire illusory realm inside the heavenly dwelling space of the Black Stage was sealed by the power of Heavenly Dao. With his power at the Fifth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm, he also could not break it open!
“This is bad! I can’t get inside the heavenly dwelling space. The Pill Sovereign is in danger!”
For the first time in his life, the Rain Sovereign hated himself for being unable to help the Pill Sovereign.
Even though he relied heavily on the Pill Sovereign in the past, he suppressed him even more. After all, he was unwilling to see that the Pill Sovereign could grow his influence in the Rain World. If he were to see him in danger in the past, he naturally would not be nervous.
Today, however, the Pill Sovereign was on the verge of attaining the Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Realm. After the Rain Sovereign had reassessed the advantages and disadvantages of the Pill Sovereign’s existence, he chose to help him.
Unfortunately, he also was unable to enter the illusory realm of the Black Stage. There was no way he could help the Pill Sovereign at all.
If the Pill Sovereign achieves the Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Realm, the Seventh Revolution Pills he concocts would be an important aid to the Rain Sovereign in achieving the Immortal Realm…
The Rain Sovereign’s face was filled with rage. After so many years, a Seventh Revolution Pill Master was about to be born in the Rain World. However, reality told him that the Seventh Revolution Pill Master was facing a terrifying chill wind tribulation and he had a ninety percent chance of dying!
“The Pill Sovereign can’t die!” He roared in wrath. Those who did not know him well would probably think that he had a deep relationship with the Pill Sovereign. However, it was just for his own benefits in reality.
Inside the illusory realm, Ning Fan stood amidst the waves of chill wind. His eyes were filled with astonishment.
The moment the wind appeared, he could not get out of the illusory realm. Moreover, he also could not enter the Yuan Yao World or the Profound Yin World!
The chill wind tribulation was extremely scary. Even the Pill Sovereign only had ten percent chance of successfully withstanding it. He without a doubt did not stand a chance against it!
All the Mortal Void Grand Formation he had set up were turned to flying ashes by the wind tribulation.
That bone-piercing cold wind continued to blow toward Ning Fan and he could only feel that his body was going to be reduced to ashes as well. He quickly recovered from shock and activated his Yin Yang Devil Flame, summoning a black fire wall that covered the area of ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) around the Pill Sovereign!
When ice and fire mix and the yin and yang achieves harmony between each other, yin yang flame is produced.
The flame that Ning Fan used was the combination of twenty-four types of Heavenly Cold Qi and Earth Flames. Its grade reached High Rank Seventh Grade. It contained a trace of power from the harmony of yin and yang which naturally had some resistance toward the cold wind.
All of a sudden, the wind was kept outside the fire wall.
Ning Fan looked at the Pill Sovereign who was still sitting in a meditative posture and slightly gnashed his teeth.
At this moment, the divine wood medicine soul inside the Pill Sovereign’s body was gradually experiencing soul transformation. However, Ning Fan had no idea exactly how the transformation would occur.
When the wind tribulation assaulted suddenly just now, it inflicted a serious damage to the Pill Sovereign’s medicine soul, causing him unable to use any of his magic power temporarily…
The Pill Sovereign coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood. His face turned pale. The moment the blood came out from his mouth, it immediately vanished into ashes.
He was injured by the cold wind. He knew that his chances of attaining the Seventh Revolution today were extremely slim. He did not even have the confidence whether he could escape to safety or not.
He felt a little regretful. If he had known that the wind tribulation would be so terrifying, he certainly would not have been so opinionated to promise to share soul power of heaven and earth with Ning Fan.
If he had known that the tribulation would be so powerful, he certainly would have chosen a remote and deserted area to achieve the breakthrough on his own. In that case, even if he fails to withstand the tribulation, he would only just sacrifice his own life without involving anyone else…
He suddenly understood why so many pill masters would be so cautious and avoid being noticed by anyone including their closed ones when they were achieving the Seventh Revolution.
Perhaps some of them were just unwilling to share the soul power with others.
For some others, however, it might be because they had no assurance to withstand the tribulation and did not want to put their disciples or descendants in danger…
The Pill Sovereign sighed deeply and took out an ancient brown wooden plate from his pouch.
It was unknown how old that wooden plate was and what ability it had. However, it seemed to hold a mysterious power within.
The moment the Pill Sovereign took out the wooden plate, the entire illusory realm started trembling.
In the temple of Rain, the Rain Sovereign was staring at the wooden plate through the bronze mirror with an expression filled with joy and concern.
“This is… World Tree Token! According to rumors, there was once an ancient tree that grew in the Eastern Heaven Immortal Realm. It is called ‘World Tree’. The flowers it produced naturally carry a heavenly dwelling space. The fruits it bears naturally contain small chilliocosm! A piece of that tree bark can be made into a token. Cultivators who hold the token can immediately make an escape even if they are trapped inside a small chiliocosm!”
“However, this token can only be used once and it can just bring out a single person at a time. After it’s used, it will self-destruct!”
“The Pill Sovereign is able to get out of the heavenly dwelling space with the token in his hand. However, Ning Fan will still be in danger!”
The Rain Sovereign gritted his teeth. There was only one token. Even if the Pill Sovereign could escape, Ning Fan would still be killed by the wind tribulation…
“These two individuals are important to my great plan of achieving the Immortal Realm. Whoever dies is also a huge loss… What should I do?!” The Rain Sovereign pounded the dragon table beside him with his fist.
A brief moment later, the Pill Sovereign did something that many cultivators in the temple felt unthinkable.
He gave the World Tree Token to Ning Fan…
“Hurry up and activate this token to leave this world! I’ve dragged you into this. I can’t let you die in this place!”
Ning Fan’s face was filled with shock. He did not move forward to take the token.
At the crucial moment of life and death, the Pill Sovereign chose to sacrifice himself and let Ning Fan live. This made Ning Fan clench his fists tightly.
Ning Fan gnashed his teeth. He still had his closed ones to protect. He still had revenge to seek. He could not die here now.
The wisest decision for him right now was to take the token and leave this place on his own. Besides, even if he leaves, the Pill Sovereign would still have a ten percent chance to successfully withstand this tribulation. He might not necessarily be dead for sure…
However, no matter what, Ning Fan could not make that decision.
He never claimed to be a smart person because smart people would know how to protect themselves and preserve their lives. He, however, did not know it…
What he knew was that when someone showed him kindness, he must repay them with kindness; when someone harmed him, he must take revenge!
He might be able to remain unmoved after killing millions but he would never watch someone whom he cared about die in front of his eyes!
He was not going to run away nor hide!
So what if the powerful wind tribulation is strong and powerful? Is this something that could make him yield in fear for death?
Ning Fan placed his palm on his storage pouch. The next moment, he took out the two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets, Zhi Huo and Zi Dian. Without hesitation, he crushed them with his hands!
“Detonate!”
The sky was veiled by the strong cold wind. No one was able to clearly see what Ning Fan had detonated. Only the Pill Sovereign who was close to him could see it.
However, the moment the two puppets were detonated, an unimaginable destructive force destroyed the entire Black Stage!
Even the heavenly tribulation at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm would also be slightly dispersed by the power released from the detonation of two puppets at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm!
As soon as the Black Stage was destroyed, Ning Fan carried the Pill Sovereign who was already grievously injured and picked up the countless fragments of the two puppets. When the power of the Heavenly Dao was in chaos, he flew out from the illusory realm!
His puppets were destroyed. He failed to clear the stage. However, he did not care about it at all!
On Ning Fan’s back, the Pill Sovereign managed to escape for his life and left the wind tribulation to stay amidst the ruins of the Black Stage.
The medicine soul in his body was experiencing changes gradually. All he needed to do before officially attaining the Seventh Revolution was to go into seclusion and stabilize his medicine soul.
He might have successfully achieved the Seventh Revolution but he was not pleased at all. Instead, he was guilt-ridden. Suddenly, tears coursed down that old man’s cheeks.
He saw it vividly! In order to save his life, Ning Fan had destroyed two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets!
He did not know why Ning Fan would have two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets and he was not planning to ask him.
He only knew that anyone who possessed two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets would definitely be reluctant to destroy them. Only Ning Fan who would go to such lengths as to sacrifice his precious puppets just to save his life!
“Ning Fan, I owe you my life. You have sacrificed two puppets in order to save me!” The Pill Sovereign did not know what he should say. Inwardly, however, he had made up his mind that as long as he is alive, he would never allow anyone to harm Ning Fan.
“It’s just two puppets. Don’t worry. Compared to our lives, the puppets are nothing. Besides, there might still be a chance to repair them…”
Ning Fan waved his hand, hinting at the Pill Sovereign that he did not need to thank him.
Internally, however, he was smiling bitterly.
Well, the two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets had exploded into countless fragments. Could they really still be repaired…?
However, even though those puppets were precious, Ning Fan did not have any regret at all for his actions.
After all, the reason why he tried to overrun the whole world was just because he wanted to leave no regrets behind.
In the Temple of Rain, each of the old monsters were dumbfounded. They had no idea what technique Ning Fan had used that could even destroy the wind tribulation…
Even the Rain Sovereign was unable to believe what had just happened. His eyes turned grim.
That kid’s ability sure is frightening. It’s so strong that it could even destroy such powerful wind tribulation… Apparently, he is withholding too many secrets…
Inwardly, he began to be wary of him again. However, he naturally would not investigate what technique Ning Fan used to stop the wind tribulation right now.
At the end of the day, the people who were of great use to him, the Pill Sovereign and Ning Fan, survived. It was really a joyful matter.
Before everyone could start asking questions, Ning Fan was suddenly startled.
He saw that the merit point on his palace lord token increased by ten billion points. Then, it flashed with silver light and a dazzling jade box floated in front of him. It seemed to be the prize of clearing the third stage.
“This is…” Ning Fan’s eyes glistened. With this item, he would not need to spend too much time to attain the High Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm.
…
In the Purple Prefectural Studies Palace in Southern Heaven Immortal World.
A female celestial being in purple robes who was sitting leisurely in the eight trigrams palace stood up with her hands clasped behind her back.
The shadows of rings rippled on the bronze floor beneath her feet like water wavelets.
Through those ripple-like rings, one could see the stars on the entire universe.
The female celestial being stared at the ripples on the bronze floor and saw an insignificant Void Refinement Realm young man in countless stars domains away.
After witnessing him sacrifice two puppets, the lady’s indolent and uninterested face suddenly was filled with a hint of surprise.
“This young man sure is a surprising devil cultivator. He is a lawless devil lord for having the guts to abduct my puppets who are responsible to summon tribulations. Now, however, he destroyed the two of them in order to save someone. His actions really exceeded my expectations… Even though he is just a cultivator in the Lower Realm, it’s rare to find someone like him…”
“However, he still has to face his Void Pierce Stage heavenly tribulation! Now, I feel somewhat unwilling to let him die under the heavenly tribulation… Be it life or death, you don’t have to be mad about him. He isn’t someone who is unpardonably wicked. Why bother to be always against him?”
The purple-robed female immortal looked at the ring shadows beneath her feet affectionately.
In the next instant, they trembled abruptly and a half black and half white bird which gave off an auspicious aura flew out from them and perched on the female immortal’s shoulder. It started tweeting and chirping to the female immortal, as if it was complaining to her. Its appearance looked rather dull and cute.
“JI JI JI…!” The dull bird seemed to be extremely furious.
“Little dull bird, why bother arguing with a junior of the Rain World? You’re one of the Dao Spirits of the First Ring of the Heavenly Dao. You can’t be so impulsive. The Fu Li Race has gone extinct and the Heavenly Dao will never come back. If you continue to behave like this, I can no longer protect you.”
“*Ji Ji Ji…” The bird seemed a little scared.
“Continue to summon tribulations to him. You can increase the power of the heavenly tribulations but you have to make sure to give him a chance to survive… Alright. Little dull bird, you may leave now. I still need to perform calculations on the calamities of the universe. I am not free to hear your grumbling.”
The lady gently patted the bird’s head and coaxed it to return to the ring shadows again.
The massive palace became as silent as the grave again. Only the sounds of the stars moving reverberated across the place.
Very quickly, the female immortal had cast Ning Fan to the back of her mind. There were too many living beings which needed her attention. Therefore, it was impossible for her to focus all her attention on a single person.
Above the eight trigrams palace, only three words were visible.
Tribulation Wielding Palace!
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel