The Immortal Nexus, above the overseas sea of clouds.
Lu Yang stepped out of the [Sea of Bitterness] and calmly swept his gaze around. He clearly sensed the wary gazes cast his way by Perfected Lords from all directions.
Among them, only the gaze from the direction of the Saint Sect was different.
Atop the Sacred Fire Cliff, Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue stood with her hands behind her back. Her eyes burned with a fiery passion as she stared intently at Lu Yang, seemingly forcing herself to suppress something.
However, Lu Yang paid it no mind. He immediately transformed into a streak of heavenly light and vanished from the Immortal Nexus, returning to the Mystic Spirit World Realm. By now, these two world realms were completely pressed together. The [Inevitable Fate] written by the Saint Sect Patriarch had essentially been fulfilled, though the Mystic Spirit World Realm remained unassimilated.
"My harvest this time is simply too massive!"
Only after returning to the quiet room in the Heavenly Court did Lu Yang finally drop his facade of calm. He rubbed his hands together excitedly, sensing the profound wonder of the [Divine Firmament Thunder].
'Even without utilizing my Dharma Body, I am now a First-Tier Perfected Lord.'
'Just like the Patriarch, regardless of what tier of Perfected Lord one was previously, as long as the Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual is completed, one can immediately reach the level of a First-Tier Perfected Lord.'
'Of course, it's not without its flaws.'
'My Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual is still unstable. I need to constantly siphon off a portion of the profound wonder to maintain the modification of the [Inner Demon] concept in order to sustain it.'
Once he exhausted his resources and had no spare energy to maintain it, the Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual would collapse on its own, and his combat power would correspondingly drop a tier.
'As expected, Dao Fruit Sublimation Rituals also have tiers.'
'The lowest tier is the kind of temporary ritual I just held. While usable, it has glaring flaws. It's only good for fighting with the wind at my back; fighting an uphill battle would be very difficult.'
'The middle tier should be something like Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue's.'
'Her ritual is likely [Number One in Combat for Five Thousand Years]. This ritual is strictly limited to a five-thousand-year timeframe. Once the time is up, it naturally becomes invalid.'
'Not to mention that at least three thousand of those five thousand years were siphoned away by the World Honored One... Looking at it from this angle, she actually found a loophole. But that's normal. If she didn't exploit loopholes, she wouldn't be a Perfected Lord of my Saint Sect. Regardless, her ritual has essentially stabilized.'
'As for the highest tier...'
At this thought, Lu Yang glanced at Patriarch Nether Whisper and sighed inwardly. 'The highest tier is naturally like the Patriarch's—directly opening up an entirely new Great Dao.'
'A rocket-ascension style Great Dao.'
'Normally possessing only the standard of an ordinary Perfected Lord, but when necessary, the Dao Fruit ascends, directly reaching the level of a First-Tier Perfected Lord. This is a fundamental alteration to the cultivation system.'
'Once this kind of ritual is achieved, there will be no hidden dangers whatsoever, nor will there be any instability. I can only say the Patriarch truly lives up to his title.'
However, Lu Yang wasn't greedy.
After all, the [Divine Firmament Thunder] had only just reached perfection, and his Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual owed a considerable part of its success to the [Heaven and Earth Born with Me] talent.
'Given enough time, I can also reach the Patriarch's realm!'
Lu Yang's heart swelled with ambition.
'Speaking of which, my creation of the Inner Demon Tribulation is probably bad news for cultivators who are currently breaking through realms with unstable states of mind.'
Thinking of this, Lu Yang stroked his chin, an amused smile playing on his lips.
"Well, it's about time to re-establish the Righteous Dao."
"It's the perfect opportunity to hang out the sign for the [Arctic Exorcism Court]. I'll just say that as long as they join, they can master lightning arts, which have a miraculous effect on eliminating inner demons..."
And just like that, a monopoly was born.
The Mystic Spirit World Realm, on a remote, desolate island in the Starfall Sea.
Looking out, a vast expanse of snow-white mist churned between heaven and earth, climbing towards the sky and clinging to the clouds. Within it stood a youth with delicate features, dressed in Daoist robes.
Above the young Daoist's head loomed a dark cloud that covered the entire island. Lightning danced within the cloud layers, emitting deafening, drum-like booms that shook the heavens.
Rumble!
The next second, golden light cascaded like a waterfall, and lightning fell like rain. Bolt after bolt smashed relentlessly onto the island, erupting into brilliant flashes wherever they struck.
The youth was entirely enveloped by the radiant colors. Crackling sounds erupted all over his body as his skin split and flesh tore in an instant, turning him into a blood-soaked figure. However, he gritted his teeth and persevered. He stuffed medicinal pills into his mouth as if they cost nothing, and one spiritual treasure after another flew out to block the falling lightning.
A long time later, the dark clouds finally began to dissipate.
On the desolate island, now reduced to ruins, the youth knelt on the ground in tattered clothes, his face charred black. Yet, his eyes were filled with uncontainable joy.
"I succeeded!"
"I finally survived this godforsaken lightning tribulation! From today onwards, I am a Ghost Immortal of the Heavenly Court! I will govern a region in the future and enjoy the Great Dao of Longevity!"
At this thought, a wave of wild ecstasy washed over the youth.
But then, he felt a sudden wave of dizziness. He subconsciously patted his body but didn't find anything amiss, so he simply left the desolate island.
In the short span of a thousand years following that, it was as if his luck had taken a massive turn for the better. He encountered countless fortuitous opportunities, and his cultivation base advanced by leaps and bounds—from Ghost Immortal to Human Immortal, then to Earth Immortal, and finally reaching Heaven Immortal. Eventually, after the fall of the previous generation's Supreme, he vied for supremacy with the other Heaven Immortals and emerged victorious, becoming the next Supreme...
"Huh!?"
Just as he was about to step onto the throne of the Supreme, the youth suddenly shuddered and snapped back to reality. He looked around blankly, cold sweat instantly pouring down his face.
'Are you kidding me!?'
'Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm? Where would I get that kind of talent? My lifelong aspiration was just to attain the Ghost Immortal realm and then slack off. Why would I ever vie for the position of Supreme?'
'An illusion!?'
The very instant the youth regained his clarity, the scene before him shattered explosively. Only then did he realize that what lay before him was not the throne of the Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm.
It was a bottomless abyss!
If he had truly taken that step just now, he would have plummeted straight down. He didn't know what the consequences would be, but he was absolutely certain he didn't want to find out.
The next second, the abyss collapsed, ultimately transforming into a ghostly phantom that floated above his sea of consciousness. A sinister "Jiejiejie" laughter echoed out. "Consider yourself lucky, kid. Your cultivation base was simply too low, so it only birthed a minor inner demon like me. Don't worry, I'll be waiting for you in the future..."
As its words faded, the phantom shattered.
Leaving only the bewildered youth. He flopped onto the ground with a thud, his heart still palpitating with lingering fear. "What was that... could it be another tribulation?"
"Fuck! Is there no end to this!?"
The youth couldn't help but curse out loud.
He was lucky this time. His desire to slack off was extremely strong, so the inner demon hadn't chosen the right approach. If it really happened again next time, he had zero confidence he could survive it!
Just then, a streak of light suddenly flew toward the desolate island from afar.
"Fellow Daoist Lan?"
The light parted, revealing a middle-aged Daoist stepping out. Upon seeing the youth, his face instantly lit up with joy. "Thank goodness, finally someone actually survived this time!"
Daoist Lan: "???"
"What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist?" Having just narrowly escaped death, how could the youth stomach those words? He immediately showed a look of anger. "Are you saying this poor Daoist shouldn't survive his tribulation?"
"You are unaware, Fellow Daoist."
The middle-aged Daoist shook his head, a bitter expression on his face. "Recently, Immortal Lord Du Ye, Master of Tribulations, established yet another tribulation called the Inner Demon. God knows how many cultivators fell victim to it."
"Caught completely off guard, so many people died!"
"I, Chen Shan, usually have a wide circle of friends. But having searched the Starfall Sea for my friends who were undergoing tribulations, you are the only one left alive, Fellow Daoist!"
Upon hearing this, Daoist Lan gasped sharply.
A moment later, he couldn't help but grumble in a low voice, "Why is that Immortal Lord always trying to find ways to increase the difficulty of cultivation? Is he even one of us Mystic Spirit natives?"
The folk customs of our Mystic Spirit World Realm have always been pure and simple!
The worst things people did here were just murder and robbery. We never pulled any of this underhanded, underworld nonsense! Why did a freak like Immortal Lord Du Ye have to appear?
"Shush... You mustn't disrespect the high-realm cultivator!"
Daoist Chen Shan hurriedly covered Daoist Lan's mouth. "It's said that the Immortal Lord can sense things according to his mind. If you curse him, he might just turn around and strike you with lightning!"
"And rumor has it he's quite petty—"
Boom!
A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down. Chen Shan, who had just been exuding an ethereal, immortal aura, was instantly charred black. He held his breath for a good while before opening his mouth to exhale a puff of black smoke.
"See?"
Daoist Lan instantly nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice. But then, his face fell again. "Even so, with these tribulations becoming harder and harder to survive... what are we supposed to do?"