Chapter 453 - 334: Lechuan’s News
At Fang Qingyuan’s question, Lechuan sighed and said,
"It’s not that I’m unwilling to act, but a situation has developed at the Main Mountain. Someone is trying to poach one of the Nascent Soul Cultivators from our lineage."
Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s complete confusion, Lechuan got straight to the point.
"Before, your cultivation hadn’t reached a certain level, so it wasn’t appropriate for me to explain certain matters. But now that you’ve achieved Core Formation, I’ll tell you the reasons behind all this. You can offer your own ideas, too.
"Do you know why Divinity Transformation Cultivators are so rarely seen, always holing up to cultivate in their Spiritual Lands? Logically speaking, they no longer have to worry about their lifespans. So why do they still strive so hard? In fact, they seem even less involved in worldly affairs than they were during the Nascent Soul Stage."
Fang Qingyuan reviewed his knowledge of cultivation lore in his mind. He then recalled his brief clash with the Will of the Laws of Heaven and Earth during his own tribulation ordeal and said slowly,
"Tribulations?"
"That’s right. Tribulations. Cultivation itself is an act of defying the heavens. The higher your cultivation, the more the heavens target you. This is heavenly jealousy. No matter how astonishingly talented a cultivator is, if they don’t reach the Divinity Transformation Realm, they will sooner or later turn to dust. But does becoming a Divinity Transformation Cultivator mean you can rest easy?
"Not at all. While Divinity Transformation Cultivators are free from the threat of old age, they have their own tribulations to face: the Three Major and Minor Calamities, and the Four-Nine Great Tribulation. Each is more difficult to overcome than the last. Failure to pass even one of them means death and the complete annihilation of one’s Dao."
As Lechuan explained, Fang Qingyuan began to grasp for the first time what kind of tribulations Divinity Transformation Cultivators had to face.
Lechuan came from a family with a profound heritage; his ancestors had included Nascent Soul Cultivators. Naturally, the Le Family forebears had extensively researched the realms beyond Nascent Soul. For Lechuan to now explain all of this to Fang Qingyuan for free was quite a boon for him.
According to Lechuan, when a Late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator breaks through to the Divinity Transformation Realm, they achieve longevity and can be addressed as a Zhenren. Thus, it is also appropriate to call them a Longevity Zhenren.
The so-called "Three Major and Minor Calamities" were originally recorded in the scriptures of the Buddhist Sect. The three minor calamities are Famine, Warfare, and Plague, and the three major calamities are Fire, Flood, and Wind.
Such scriptures are partly intended to be aspirational, so the descriptions are not always literal. When applied to the reality of the Cultivation Realm, particularly to Divinity Transformation Cultivators, it works something like this: those who fortunately achieve longevity despite having an incomplete Dao Foundation must face both the major and minor calamities, while those with a perfected Dao Foundation need only face the three major calamities.
The first of the minor calamities is "Famine." Originally, this meant a year of disaster when no crops would grow. For a Longevity Zhenren, it manifests as a sharp drop in their affinity with the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. They can neither absorb it nor wield it, resulting in a severe disharmony. This typically occurs in cultivators who failed to properly "negotiate" their "compromise" with the heavens. Though they may have narrowly survived their ascension tribulation, they afterward suffer a powerful rejection by the Laws of Heaven and Earth.
The second is "Warfare." This one is easy to understand—it means being killed by an external force. This problem usually arises when a cultivator becomes complacent after attaining longevity, allowing their Heart Demon to swell. They grow arrogant and attract unnecessary trouble. It may seem like an external calamity, but it is, in fact, born from the mind.
The third is "Plague." This occurs when a long-lived cultivator begins to exhibit the "Five Signs of Decay" due to an unstable Dao Foundation.
As for the "Three Major Calamities" of Wind, Flood, and Fire, they describe certain aspects of the tribulations sent by heaven and earth.
It is because of these Three Major and Minor Calamities that even achieving longevity is not a permanent solution. Divinity Transformation Cultivators must therefore continue to fight for resources. In a way, this struggle is a battle for survival itself, which is why conflicts between them are all the more perilous and brazen.
The root cause of this whole affair is a newly ascended Divinity Transformation Cultivator at the Beast Taming Sect’s Main Mountain named Kaelv Ming. He has set his sights on the Tier Five Spirit Land that belongs to the true patron of Lechuan’s lineage—Yue’e, the Master of Moon Peak. As a result, he has been targeting her at every turn on the Main Mountain, scheming to take her Spiritual Land.
Previously, both Huo Gan and Di Yuanpu were sent by Yue’e to the Barbaric Wilderness and the Southern Border to serve as the vanguard. Yue’e was making preparations on two fronts: one was to continue contending with Kaelv Ming at the Beast Taming Sect’s Main Mountain, and the other was to dispatch people to build up a power base in the Barbaric Wilderness. That way, if she ultimately lost the fight against Kaelv Ming, she could relocate her entire faction.
Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan finally understood. The chain of events over the last century, beginning with Wei Tong’s relocation to White Mountain, was all primarily caused by Kaelv Ming trying to force Yue’e to move out.
Fang Qingyuan was suddenly at a loss. As he recalled the various events of the past hundred years, his spirits inexplicably sank. He was caught up in it all, too. ’If it weren’t for all this messy business, I would have lived an entirely different life.’
’But for a conflict between two Divinity Transformation Cultivators, does the Beast Taming Sect’s Main Mountain not intervene at all?’
In response, Lechuan explained:
"Our Beast Taming Sect reveres the strong. Whoever has the most power gains the best resources. Although Yue’e Ancestor has seniority, her actual strength is no match for the newly ascended Kaelv Ming. Her Companion Beast is a white rabbit, whereas Kaelv Ming’s is a rare variant of peacock. If they were to truly fight, Yue’e Ancestor is not confident she could win. That is why our side out here has been receiving more and more support in recent years."
Every sect has its own ethos. In Fang Qingyuan’s mind, the Beast Taming Sect was like the Barbarian Race from his original world—they valued only combat prowess, not seniority. ’If Kaelv Ming were at Qi Yun or the Great Zhou Academy, he would never dare try to steal from a senior like Yue’e. He’d most likely be sent out to carve his own territory from the Ancient Beasts of the Wilderness.’