Chapter 726 - 522: Zhao Yu Leaves the Pass
The sword forest beneath the heavens was a realm of serene solitude.
Chen Sheng was seated cross-legged atop a meditation cushion, his eyes gently closed for a long time. The aura around him sometimes condensed like a sword, its edge restrained, and sometimes it was heavy like an abyss, immeasurably deep.
Each thread of breath resonated with the rhythms of the Great Dao!
With the emergence of the Asura tribe from the world within him, the patriarch Ming Sheng provoked a world-ending catastrophe, accelerating the demise of the heavens and earth...
Celestial fire, water disasters, wind disasters... gradually emerged!
The destructive tribulation of the Pan Wu realm had already quietly entered its late stage.
The power of destruction permeated the heavens and earth, yet it was the aid to Chen Sheng’s cultivation. His cultivation steadied and rose in thickness, borrowing from the momentum of this tribulation.
The Dharma Seed that sustained the world of Pan Wu also began to enhance with endless power of destruction.
"Decline, decay, collapse, destruction, extinction, severance, withering, exhaustion... are seeds of the mysterious tribulation!"
For a long time.
Chen Sheng slowly opened his eyes, calm and unruffled, yet carrying a clarity that penetrated the heavens and earth.
He sensed the increasingly condensed cultivation within him and felt the enlightenment brought by the power of the destructive tribulation, musing to himself:
"Ming Sheng has emerged, the destructive tribulation deepens. With my current foundation, achieving perfection in the third step of Integration is now inevitable!"
As thoughts flowed through his mind, the aura around him trembled slightly, and a more powerful pressure quietly emanated before instantly restrained, merging into his body.
The cultivation of the third step of Integration had become completely stable, deeply rooted, and unshakeable!
Chen Sheng gazed towards the celestial vault of the sword forest, a glint of resolve flashing in his eyes, forming an idea for his next direction in cultivation:
"Neither destroyed nor void, both destroyed and void!"
"Next is the fourth step of Integration—the Void Tribulation!"
He silently contemplated two words in his heart, carrying a reverence and contemplation for the Great Dao:
"Void Tribulation marks the end of the destructive tribulation, a realm where all things revert to nothingness, where there are no sun or moon, no space or time, no living beings, no laws..."
"Heaven and earth return to chaos, all Dharmas return to emptiness, only the true original heart can remain eternal within the void."
With those words, he slowly closed his eyes, immersing his Heart Spirit in the sea of consciousness.
In his mind, the cultivation spell of the "Mysterious Void Heaven Piercing Sword Canon" flowed like tides.
Every scripture verse contained supreme Dao Rhyme, guiding him in comprehending the realm of the Void Tribulation. He silently recited each word, clear and heartfelt:
"True emptiness is pristine without a mote of dust, mysterious subtlety paves the pure path!"
"Observe the external destruction of the world, witness the internal void of the Primordial Spirit... A thought returns to tranquility, all Dharmas dissolve... When tribulation comes, the heart remains unmoved, the sword cuts through primordial chaos."
During the recitation of the spell, the Sword Qi and blood light around him gradually retracted, replaced by a faint force of void tranquility.
The space around him warped slightly, as if attempting to blend into the way of emptiness.
Chen Sheng continued to immerse himself in contemplation, his heart filled with countless reflections, all leading to insights on the Void Tribulation:
"The heavens and earth have laws, stated as formation, dwelling, destruction, void."
"All that is formed, living, and with law cannot escape the cycle of these four tribulations... Only those who endure the Void Tribulation without perishing may be called Daoist Monarchs."
"Void is neither non-existence, nor extinction, nor severance, nor termination, but a state where all Dharmas return to the source, all phenomena return to tranquility, all thoughts return to truth."
"Cultivation of void is not the cultivation of nothingness but cultivation of neither creation nor destruction, neither defilement nor purity, neither increase nor decrease of true thusness..."
"Even if the heavens and earth decay and extinguish, if space and time dissipate, the true original heart remains unmoved, which is the essence of the Void Tribulation and the key to my breakthrough of the fourth step of Integration."
Hoo—
A gentle exhalation, a clear strand of Sword Qi slowly emitted from his mouth.
This Sword Qi was not sharp nor did it bear any murderous intent, but rather carried a sense of distant emptiness and tranquility.
Where the Sword Qi passed, space trembled slightly, then immediately returned to calm, as if there had never been any disturbance.
Chen Sheng slowly opened his eyes, a hint of enlightenment flashing within:
"With the guidance of the ’Mysterious Void Heaven Piercing Sword Canon’, the subtlety of the Void Tribulation is now clear in my mind, knowing how to approach cultivation, no longer confused."
His expression slightly tightened, a flash of clear recognition passing through his eyes, without any sense of pride or complacency:
"However, my current realm of enlightenment is still too forced."
"Over these years, I have touched upon several laws, sword, blood, illusion, mind, Array Dao, and several other laws, but each is just barely grasped, merely entering the seventh tier."
He remained clear-minded:
"The fourth step of Integration, the realm of Void Tribulation, is not easily surpassed by knowing its subtleties, requiring profound depth in the laws, demanding high levels of polishing the mind."
"With my current foundation, the distance to truly breakthrough the Void Tribulation is still far off, not achievable in a short span!"
With such thoughts, Chen Sheng’s heart was transparent.
His four major talents had all reached the seventh tier, and over the years, the quick path brought by these talents had thoroughly ended.
The path of cultivation for the future would have no shortcuts to take!
Chen Sheng could only settle his heart like the other Dharma Masters of the Spirit Realm.
Day after day, year after year!
Spending hundreds of thousands, even millions of years, slowly honing the Dao Heart, deeply cultivating the laws, to find a glimmer of progress.
Thinking this far, he did not feel anxious, but rather gained a sense of steadiness and peace, silently contemplating:
"The Great Dao is boundless, it is nothing but upward seeking and exploration, unrelated to speed, only related to the original heart."
With the rise of such thoughts, he closed his eyes once more, immersing his Heart Spirit in enlightenment, not minding external noise, not questioning the passage of time, moving forward slowly.
...
The Supreme Emperor Realm, the core of origin, a palace.
Chaos permeated, immortal aura wafted, millions of beams of golden light poured down from the heavens.
This place was perpetually silent, with only the faint echoes of the Great Dao Sanskrit reverberating, exuding an unsettling majesty.
At the center of the Heavenly Palace, a figure sat on a throne, its visage indistinct, yet naturally exuding a mysterious and commanding aura, as if all of heaven and earth were under its control.