"Change in the heavens?"
Other people heard Lin Qian’s words and nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, a change in the heavens is upon us."
The Shengtian Sect itself was already the strongest force in Coastal State, alongside the Great Spear Sect and the Beast Taming Sect, both of which were forces aligned with the former.
From what was apparent, the Wanxiang Sect, Divine Sword Sect, and the nearby sects standing united were a notch below the strength of the Shengtian Sect, Great Spear Sect, and Beast Taming Sect.
However, what the Shengtian Sect didn’t know was that the War Emperor Wei Wushuang hadn’t died at all. If the Shengtian Sect knew—or even understood that he had fully recovered—they would only cower.
Lin Qian had learned that when his master, the War Emperor Wei Wushuang, first returned, he had shocked the entire Coastal State, and everything had calmed down.
But the current situation didn’t look too optimistic.
According to Lin Qian’s speculation, if the Coastal State were to collude with the Black Blood Clan, relying solely on his master, the War Emperor Wei Wushuang, might not allow the whole state to remain stable as before, with one man’s power.
His master was a being of the Life and Death Realm, and this realm was divided into four small realms.
Body Realm: The first realm required one to endure the Power Tribulation to reach this level successfully.
The so-called Power Tribulation was when a fire arose within the heart, igniting the blood that flowed throughout the body, with flames consuming the flesh.
After surviving the Power Tribulation, the muscles, bones, and skin throughout the body would undergo earth-shattering transformations. Especially the origin of the heart fire, the heart itself, and the burning blood.
Having withstood the Power Tribulation, the heart would become robust and tough, impervious to common shocks. Even if pierced by a blade, death wouldn’t come, and if the blade were removed, one could recover within an hour.
Only by crushing the whole heart with extreme force could one be killed.
After the Power Tribulation, the blood throughout the body would seem as if it had been renewed, as if undergoing a transformation and being reborn.
Power Realm: The second realm involved facing the Force Tribulation.
While the physical body had a direct relationship with strength, Soul Power was the most direct expression of a Soul Martial Artist’s power.
The Force Tribulation would produce thunder and lightning that coursed through the Dantian and meridians, providing a direct tempering of the Soul Power.
If successful, the quality of one’s Soul Power would undergo an enormous change, with a power incomparable to the past.
However, if the Force Tribulation were failed, the meridians and Dantian would sustain damage. Not only would one’s strength be affected, but cultivation would also become more arduous than before.
Soul Realm: The third realm pertained to the Martial Soul.
Upon breaking through to this realm, an unseen gale would stir the Martial Soul within the Dantian.
This intangible gale could only affect the Martial Soul. During the Soul Tribulation, the martial artist could only stimulate Soul Power, reinforcing the Martial Soul within, for it to endure.
At this time, it was a test of a Soul Martial Artist’s foundation.
If it were one of those who broke through after a single nirvana cycle, it was questionable whether their talent would be sufficient to cultivate to the Life and Death Realm.
Even if they managed to reach the Life and Death Realm’s Soul Realm through Pills and some fortunate encounters and attempted the Soul Tribulation, their Martial Soul might not withstand the formless gales.
Of course, for an extraordinary being like Lin Qian with twelve nirvana cycles, overcoming the Soul Tribulation was a breeze.
If one failed to pass the Soul Tribulation, at best, the quality of the Martial Soul would deteriorate, affecting its unique characteristics. In the worst-case scenario, the Martial Soul would collapse entirely, rendering the individual completely useless.
Heart Realm: This was the final and most challenging realm of the Life and Death Realm.
Just like Lin Qian’s master, Wei Wushuang, as soon as he recovered a bit, he would certainly be able to break into this realm, and at the same time, he would also experience the Heart Tribulation.
The Heart Tribulation would directly appear in the sea of consciousness, creating various environments to test the soul.
If a Soul Martial Artist’s Heart Realm wasn’t strong enough, and they couldn’t extricate themselves from the various illusions, then they would be forever lost within the Illusion Realm.
If they were to successfully break through the Illusion Realm, the soul that had transcended the Heart Tribulation would significantly enhance, possibly even improving their comprehension, which could be of great help on the path of cultivation.
However, if they failed to break through the Illusion Realm and were permanently lost within it, the soul’s origin would be completely consumed, and they would disperse into nothingness.
But Lin Qian believed in his own master, Wei Wushuang; he was sure that he would be able to transcend the Heart Tribulation.
That’s because Wei Wushuang once suffered from a poison that produced pain at all times, tormenting his mind and soul.
Characters like Wei Wushuang, who even fell from grace and ended up in a place like Prison Island, calmly faced imminent death at the end.
Having experienced all this, Wei Wushuang would surely be successful in advancing to the Heart Realm.
"My master’s breakthrough to the Life and Death Realm’s Heart Realm is merely a matter of time. When he was in the Soul Realm of the Life and Death Realm, he was already the strongest person in Coastal State. How unstoppable would he be once he reaches the Heart Realm?" Seeing Lin Qian’s worried expression, Gao Benli reassured him.
"Once Master leaves his seclusion, everything will be illusory in the face of absolute power."
Gao Benli’s words made Ding Zhirong and the others look at him in amazement and exclaim in unison.
"The War Emperor isn’t dead?"
"By now, there’s nothing to hide from you," Lin Qian said, nodding to the people in front of him. "My master, the War Emperor, has already been cured of the poison and has been recovering his strength. That funeral was a sham."
After hearing Lin Qian’s words, Ding Zhirong and the others were first astonished and then wildly ecstatic.
In their hearts, the War Emperor Wei Wushuang was the spiritual pillar of the Wanxiang Sect in recent years.
At one point, the situation of the Wanxiang Sect’s territory was perilously on the brink, with the Shengtian Sect already approaching their sect gates. It was then that Wei Wushuang came back from outside Coastal State.
With his power alone, he made the Shengtian Sect, the Great Spear Sect, and the Beast Taming Sect retreat, not to mention giving back the territories they had taken, and even ceded quite a lot of their own to the Wanxiang Sect.
Knowing that Wei Wushuang had passed away, they were extremely saddened, but to their surprise, the truth turned out to be such a joy.
"Lei Qian, inform your grandfather and my senior uncle, Qin Wushuang, to gather those in the sect we trust at Maoqing Mountain tonight to discuss the specifics of the situation. Remember, they must be the most reliable," Lin Qian turned his head towards Lei Qian and instructed him.
"Understood, Boss," Lei Qian responded solemnly, quickly rising to leave.
"Elder brother, you go to the entrance of the secret valley and wait there to seek an audience. Given the situation, he certainly won’t see you, which is exactly what we need to hold him there. If he leaves the secret valley, notify me immediately," after instructing Lei Qian, Lin Qian then turned to his senior brother Gao Benli.
"Heh, although my grandfather has been turned into a Blood Nourishing Corpse, he still is at the Life and Death Realm. Even if he leaves the secret valley, I wouldn’t know a damn thing, and how would I notify you in time? Don’t joke with me, okay?"
A crisp sound rang out. After Gao Benli finished speaking, Lin Qian raised his hand to show him a semi-transparent crystalline card: "There’s a saying that science and technology are the primary productive forces. The things that products from advanced cultivation civilization can do are hard for you to understand, elder brother."
I am really sorry about the issues with the updates these past few days; writer’s block is truly painful.
To speak frankly, I could just throw in a scene where the protagonist shows off and smacks down Qian Long and others with some flashy fighting and it’d be over.
But I am not willing to write it that way. I am trying my best to come up with a good plot.
I’ve mostly adjusted over these two days, and updating should return to normal by tomorrow.
Thanks for your donations, which have surprised and humbled me. Thank you for your recommendation tickets, which allow others to see the mighty power of the readership of a new book.