From his cultivation chamber, Xi Ri opened his eyes. His elegant features and smile resembled a spring breeze, but anyone who looked into his eyes would feel the chill of a desolate winter. “I’ve reached the limit.”
As expected of someone valued by Xi Mengfei’s brother. Although his personal power or the force he controlled wasn’t very strong, the former Xi Emperor’s vision was still very high. Xi Ri did not disappoint him and reached the limit a mortal could reach, the Transcending Mortality Realm. Now, he could only become a true immortal to advance.
However, Xi Ri didn’t have the confidence to transcend the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. It wasn’t the first half he was worried about, but the latter half, the Inner Devil Tribulation.
As a reincarnator that survived the apocalypse for years, a shadow remained in his heart. Originally, that shadow had slowly diminished after his rebirth. If nothing noteworthy happened, he would have disconnected his current life from his past, but something did happen.
He met two fellow reincarnators.
Tianyi and Daoyi’s existences were like a thorn in his heart, reminding him that the apocalypse did happen and would always remain with him. Again, the shadow in his heart would disappear with time. He even felt that reminiscing with his fellow reincarnators wasn’t so bad, even if he was jealous of Tianyi. However, then that incident happened.
To sell their acts of betraying the then Buzhou Immortal Sect even more, the top echelon allowed the immortal elders not in the know to harm the Buzhou Immortal Sect’s interests. Thus, Immortal Starsoul, accompanied by Hun Jusang and Jiang Chunye, attacked the Xi Dynasty. In the end, Tianyi discovered the abnormality, rescued the Xi Imperial Family and the Jiang Family, then escaped.
During the escape, Hun Jusang unleashed a technique on Xi Ri that amplified the shadow in his heart. As a result, his inner devil manifested and almost possessed him. Had it not been for Tianyi or Xi Mengfei’s efforts, he would have likely died.
But even if they managed to suppress his inner devil temporarily, it didn’t mean that it disappeared. Xi Ri’s inner devil caused his personality to revert to that cold-blooded survivor of the apocalypse. It wasn’t a temporary change of personality, but something rooted more deeply.
Although Xi Ri’s personality appeared to have reverted from before the incident, only he knew that it was mostly an act. And perhaps Daoyi sensed it.
Still, what could she do to help? With Tianyi’s current influence, he already sent a lot of treasures that helped him suppress the inner devil to the maximum. Tianyi’s action eased much of Xi Ri’s dissatisfaction. Although he knew it was illogical, he couldn’t help but blame Xi Mengfei for causing the Nihility Sect to attack the Xi Dynasty.
However, suppression was not elimination. To overcome his inner devil, Xi Ri had to rely on himself. Otherwise, inner devils would not be so feared. Xi Ri could stall and halt his cultivation, slowly adjusting his state of mind until his inner devil disappeared, but he didn’t think that would happen.
He envied Daoyi. She was lucky and didn’t encounter any event that caused her to form an inner devil. Or maybe it was her own state of mind and personal ability? Xi Ri didn’t know.
What Xi Ri did know was that he could only count on himself.
Of all the cultivators that transcended their Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, few had undergone it near the end of their lifespan. Most cultivators chose to do it at their peak and not delay it. If you didn’t even have the confidence to undergo the heavenly tribulation, what chances would you have to succeed?
Thus, Xi Ri didn’t want to wait any longer. He knew that his inner devil would explode the moment he started his inner devil tribulation, but he also prepared for it. Xi Ri tempered himself using the Immortal Court’s training ground, such as the Paradise Agony Abyss, that tested a cultivator’s willpower. He had the confidence to say that his willpower even exceeded Tianyi’s.
Since he reached his peak state, Xi Ri didn’t delay any longer. He disappeared from his mansion on Appointment Peak and appeared outside the general area of the Immortal Court. It was a vast mountain range as far as the eye could see.
Although the entire floating island was considered the Immortal Court, and thus, didn’t have an official name, many called it Buzhou Immortal Island. Even if the Immortal Court controlled the entire island, there were still many areas left untouched by them.
Xi Ri chose a vacant spot he scouted long ago. Soon, black clouds gathered in the sky above him. He didn’t have to worry about any sneak attack because no demons or cultivators not part of the Immortal Court were allowed on Buzhou Immortal Island.
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Tianyi cast his gaze into the distance. There, he saw a long mountain range. At the bottom, greenery still covered it, but as his eyes went up, the barren rocks replaced the greenery. At the very top of each mountain was a snow-covered peak that touched the clouds.
Although Daoyi or Xi Ri didn’t tell him, he could still feel that Xi Ri had changed from his core. Tianyi didn’t have an intuitive insight into the human heart like Daoyi, but he spent many years with Xi Ri and Daoyi. Even if their outward actions didn’t change, he would still subconsciously sense some things. The greatest proof was that Xi Ri didn’t tell him when and where he was going to undergo the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation.
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With a wave of his hand, Tianyi disappeared from Nine Heavens Peak and appeared near Xi Ri’s location. Of course, his appearance was only for himself. If anyone else came, even an immortal emperor, they might not be able to sense Tianyi at all since he hid himself between the layers of spacetime.
Xi Ri obviously didn’t want him to interfere, so why should Tianyi ruin the latter’s mood? Although he had to be thankful to Xi Ri for choosing now instead of after he left for Yan Nie’s wedding. Well, even if Tianyi had already left, he wouldn’t necessarily be worried. After all, he still had many conduits left in the Immortal Court.
Tianyi watched the lightning fall from his location within spacetime. To increase his chances of overcoming the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, Xi Ri had also cultivated the martial path. He didn’t intend to become a dual path cultivator, he simply used the martial path to strengthen himself and increase his chances of overcoming the heavenly tribulation.
Lightning after lightning fell, but Xi Ri persevered. Even if lightning burned all his skin, charred his bones, incinerated his organs, Xi Ri accepted the pain without even a grunt. He dealt with the lightning and healed himself. Finally, the bolts of tribulation lightning stopped after the five hundred and seventy-ninth bolt.
A stillness permeated the area around Xi Ri. His body began to change and heal as it continuously recovered and evolved. However, the most crucial aspect hadn’t been concluded. Xi Ri had started his Inner Devil Tribulation. After transcending the first half of the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, Xi Ri’s body began to transform into that of a true immortal, but if he failed his Inner Devil Tribulation, his tribulation would become nothing but a guillotine.
Tianyi sighed and continued to watch Xi Ri. In Jade Peak Palace, a ripple appeared in the air and a second Tianyi stepped out. While one body guarded Xi Ri, another one would bring his disciples to attend Yan Nie’s wedding. This conduit of his only had the power of an immortal monarch, but it could still open a portal to the Nine Heavens Universe. Once the portal opened, his Heavenly Dao clone could directly send an attack through the portal.
He paused as he stopped in his path toward Nine Heavens Peak. He made a wry smile. ‘Since when did I start to look down on an immortal monarch’s strength so much? Only an immortal monarch’s strength. Ha!’
Tianyi shook his head and arrived at the Nine Heavens Palace atop the Ninth Mountain. Daoyi had arrived with his new conduit, so he only needed to wait for Leng Junfeng, Jinshu, and Ming Xingyun to arrive. When they arrived, Tianyi waved his hand and an immortal boat appeared.
The immortal boat appeared like a futuristic sailboat spaceship. The design looked completely out of place in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System, and Tianyi had designed it based on what he thought looked cool. After the war ended, he created this boat since the one he had wasn’t up to his needs.
He called it the Voidverse Shuttle.
As the name suggested, Tianyi used his insight into the Law of Spacetime to refine this monarch artifact. Had he used better materials, it would have definitely been an emperor artifact, but Tianyi didn’t want to spend too much resources on an artifact whose ability he already possessed. At most, he would give it to a disciple or something once they needed to venture out.
Unlike when Su Bojing escorted Leng Junfeng with the Elderlight Boat, the Voidverse Shuttle appeared outside of the Immortal Court without passing through the Mortal Severance Gate. Of the immortals of the Immortal Court, only Tianyi and Mengfei could accomplish this act without using the guardian formation.
After all, the formation was jointly set up by Mengfei, with Tianyi as an aid. Mengfei’s accomplishments in formations exceeded Tianyi, but Tianyi mastered the Law of Spacetime and he controlled the Huang Realm to an extent. If anyone dared to attack the Immortal Court, it would not be an overstatement to say it would be akin to attacking all the Huang Realm.
Leng Junfeng observed the ground beneath the immortal boat. He had already experienced Tianyi’s mastery over spacetime, but it still surprised him. He couldn’t feel any fluctuation each time Tianyi teleported him or others. Rather than an artificial technique, it was closer to a natural phenomenon. In contrast, Jinshu and Ming Xingyun showed no surprise. After all, they were used to it.
The Voidverse Shuttle sailed through the sky and the ground below soon turned into a blur of colors.
“If you’re going to fly so fast, why didn’t you just teleport directly near Flamecloud Peak?” Daoyi asked.
Leng Junfeng turned toward his master’s wife. Strictly speaking, this was his first time seeing her. Although she was a true immortal like him and Jinshu, his intuition told Leng Junfeng that her strength exceeded theirs. Although he wondered why his master’s wife didn’t become an immortal monarch if she had such strength, he didn’t ask. He was still unfamiliar with the surrounding people, something that would disappear with time.
The Voidverse Shuttle lurched to a stop without warning, but no one felt any discomfort. From the moment they teleported out of the Immortal Court, none of the passengers felt the ground beneath them move. It was as if they were standing on the ground, and not on an incredibly fast ship.
None of that mattered to Leng Junfeng because a structure outside the immortal boat caught his eye. It was a monolithic tower that reached the clouds. Furthermore, it was built atop a massive volcano covered in verdant vegetation.
The mountain was known as Flamecloud Peak, and the tower was called the Flame Pill Tower. It was an organization that came into existence after the war of unification, and its creator was none other than Yan Nie, the Divine Flame Monarch.
The Voidverse Shuttle didn’t land near the entrance to the Flame Pill Tower, but floated higher and higher until it was almost at the peak. There, the passengers could see a gigantic flame continuously burning on the highest floor. The flame was composed of five colors, but each color faintly had two tints, and was immensely beautiful.
‘That guy, is he also trying to comprehend the Law of Yin and Yang?’ Tianyi thought. He didn’t dwell on the matter, and the boat drifted toward one of the landing pads sticking out from the third highest floor.
Before the Voidverse Shuttle landed, Yan Nie appeared in front of the boat. “Can’t you just obediently enter at the entrance and not use the member-only entrance?”