Chapter 1346: Breakthrough
Within the cave abode, time seemed to lose all meaning. Everything flowed back against the current of time.
Worn-out cultivation manuals became pristine, blooming flowers reverted to buds, peach pits Lu Yang often played with turned back into immortal peaches, and even Lu Yang’s cultivation was steadily regressing.
Transcendent Tribulation stage, Void Refinement Stage... Foundation Establishment Stage, Qi Training Stage, mortal. His appearance shifted from a young man to a young boy, then from a young boy to a child. Even when he became a swaddled infant, the changes didn’t stop. He took on his appearance from his past life, then returned to the Apex Transcendent Tribulation Stage.
Everything in the cave abode underwent the cycle of reincarnation, constantly changing and repeating without end. This meant that Lu Yang’s comprehension of the Origin-Tracing Incipient Dao Fruit had ascended to a new level.
In truth, when Lu Yang was in the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s cave abode, he had discovered that the mastermind’s method of achieving Transcendence resembled Hui Doudou’s, that the events of the primordial era had played out again in the Ember Legacy Dynasty, and that all things in the world existed within cycles of reincarnation.
With that realization, his mastery of the Origin-Tracing Incipient Dao Fruit had taken a great leap forward.
However, he dared not show it, fearing that the mastermind was hiding nearby. He deliberately dragged it out, pretending his understanding of the Origin-Tracing Incipient Dao Fruit had only reached this level after many experiences.
Now, his state was perfected, and his cultivation rose steadily, reaching the end of the Transcendent Tribulation Stage. It was the perfect timing to complete his Incipient Dao Fruit and ascend to immortality in one go!
In terms of ability, Lu Yang’s Origin-Tracing Dao Fruit shared many similarities with the Epoch Dao Fruit. Both could reverse time and cause cultivation to regress.
Dao Fruit abilities often overlapped. For instance, the Epoch Immortal could halt time with the Epoch Immortal, and the Nine-Layers Immortal could halt time with an extreme cold field via the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit. Both achieved time stop, but through completely different methods.
The same applied to the Origin-Tracing Dao Fruit and the Epoch Dao Fruit. They were two different paths. While causing an opponent’s cultivation to regress, the Epoch Dao Fruit could also return the spirit qi they had used during cultivation to its original state.
In contrast, Lu Yang could only make his opponent’s cultivation regress without affecting the world as a whole. It was a conceptual “regression.” Hence, Lu Yang could restore spells to their original forms and revert himself to his past-life appearance. These were things the Epoch Immortal couldn’t do.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
~~~
Outside the cave abode, Yun Mengmeng hummed as she baked cookies, with Bai Shuang watching eagerly from the side.
“It’s about time.” Yun Mengmeng opened the oven and pulled out the tray. The cookies showed no sign of being baked, still lumps of dough. “Hmm? What’s going on? Did I forget to light the fire?”
“I’d just broken through!” Xia He stomped her foot. It wasn’t easy for me to advance by a minor realm, and now my cultivation has regressed to its previous state.
Yun Mengmeng had baked cookies to celebrate, but now the cookies were unbaked, and Xia He’s breakthrough was undone.
Not far away, Qing He was compiling the Great Dou Dynasty’s annals. When she wrote the final character, she let out a long breath and raised the book to admire her work. “Finally done.”
Qing He had poured her heart into writing this book to spread the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s reputation. It recorded the Dou Heavenly Emperor’s glorious achievements. Yet before she could revel in her excitement, the writing on the pages faded rapidly, line by line, page by page, until the whole book was blank and brand new.
“My book!” Qing He rarely got agitated, and her voice was two decibels louder than usual.
~~~
It wasn’t just Heaven’s Gate Peak; the entire Dao-Seeking Sect fell into a bizarre state.
Li Haoran had gone without sleep for forty-nine days to forge a peerless magical treasure. He was already a renowned artifact-refining master at the Fusion Stage, known throughout the universe. Even Transcendent Tribulation cultivators pulled strings to buy his works.
Then something inexplicable happened. The peerless magical treasure suddenly reverted to raw materials.
~~~
“I’ll count down from three, then we’ll jump together.” The River Spirit, Ether robot, and the Innate Daoist Priest were playing a co-op game and had finally reached the last level.
They controlled their three little characters to jump across to the other side, and the victory screen finally appeared, but the game immediately jumped back to the first level.
All their progress records had vanished.
“NOOOO!!!” The River Spirit and the Innate Daoist Priest wailed in utter despair.
~~~
Seventh Elder was concocting pills, and the Taciturn Daoist Priest was handling sect affairs for once...
Everyone encountered similar problems.
“A ghost haunting?”
For a while, panic spread through the Dao-Seeking Sect.
~~~
Yun Zhi appeared before Lu Yang’s cave abode, a smile on her lips.
“Little Zhi, what’s going on?”
“Little Junior Brother is about to break through. The seal on his cave abode can’t contain the Origin-Tracing Incipient Dao Fruit. Its power is leaking out.”
Yun Zhi raised a hand and laid down an even more profound and mysterious array to seal the cave abode’s door, preventing further catastrophe from befalling the Dao-Seeking Sect.
“I don’t know when Little Junior Brother will break through. All of you should leave Heaven’s Gate Peak for now.” Yun Zhi dared not probe the cave abode with her spiritual consciousness, worried that it could affect Lu Yang’s cultivation.
The group had barely evacuated Heaven’s Gate Peak when dense dark clouds gathered above the Dao-Seeking Sect. The oppressive black mass filled onlookers with inexplicable unease, as though a mountain was weighing down on their hearts and leaving them unable to breathe.
“An Immortal Ascension Tribulation? Who is ascending?!” Wu Yao looked up from within his cell, his pupils contracting. He recognized the tribulation at a glance. It was the Immortal Ascension Tribulation every cultivator dreamed of.
“It’s the Immortal Ascension Tribulation!” someone shouted. The entire Dao-Seeking Sect instantly realized that this was the legendary Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
“Who is undergoing the tribulation?!”
“Judging by the direction of the lightning, it’s all converging toward Heaven’s Gate Peak. Senior Brother Lu Yang is about to undergo the tribulation!” Tao Yaoye exclaimed excitedly, feeling happy for him.
“Lu Yang?”
Everyone was astonished. How long had Lu Yang even been cultivating? His cultivation speed from mortal to half-immortal had already made history. They had assumed that ascending to immortality would be the hurdle that finally slowed him. Yet Lu Yang had stepped right over it and was about to become an immortal!
Boom!
The cave abode exploded. Lu Yang flew out and faced the tribulation directly. The aura he radiated had broken through the limits of the Transcendent Tribulation Stage. This was the power that had summoned the Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
“Everyone, get away from Heaven’s Gate Peak!” the Taciturn Daoist Priest shouted urgently. Although the tribulation wouldn’t actively strike bystanders, there was no guarantee a stray bolt wouldn’t veer off course and come crashing down. That would be disastrous.
At his words, everyone evacuated the Dao-Seeking Sect swiftly, messaging friends as they fled, some even starting livestreams. They were all excited and wanted to share the joy.
The first to sense the Immortal Ascension Tribulation was the Heaven Mandate Immortal. He stood above the clouds, looking down on Lu Yang, somewhat troubled.
“Everlasting, stand farther away. According to the rules, only one person should undergo the tribulation. If you’re here, it counts as two people, and the tribulation will become even more powerful.”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy waved impatiently, warning the Heaven Mandate Immortal fiercely. “Shoo, shoo! I’m standing right here. Strike with the power meant for one person. Don’t you dare overdo it!”
“Hey, no, forget it. I’ll do my best.”