The pitch-black night sky was illuminated by stars emerging one by one, shining brilliantly like blooming flowers.
With half-closed eyes, Meng Qi’s gaze emanated a surge of spiritual energy, his spirit honed into a sharp spike that fiercely struck at the Xuan Guan. A fissure emerged at the center of his brow, gradually widening to unveil an abyssal darkness within—profound and enigmatic.
Effortlessly and without resistance, a hollow, fragmented sound reverberated in Meng Qi’s mind. The Ancestral Orifice opened, the Mystic Pass was breached, and his spirit surged from his brow like a tidal wave—his accumulated abilities now fully unleashed!
At this moment, in his perception, the world was filled not only with the sea of primordial energy but also with vibrant vitality, obscure deathly aura, scorching solar fire, and brilliant stellar power. Various forces and energies filled the void, seemingly chaotic yet orderly, following certain principles of natural operation. Yet, they appeared to be evolving toward increasing disorder until reaching absolute silence!
His spirit formed a bridge, one end extending outward, “spanning” between heaven and earth, the other end connecting his inner world, guiding and channeling. The bridge was pure golden, resembling the legendary golden bridge to the other shore, standing firm above the chaos.
Boom!
Meng Qi heard a terrifying hollow sound, pulled by his inner world and transmitted through the bridge of heaven and earth, the mighty natural power surged forth, cleansing his physical body and removing impurities.
Without following the path of the nine orifices, merely opening the three secret treasuries would leave the physical body unable to withstand the power of heaven and earth and would disintegrate immediately. Yet now, Meng Qi sat calmly, his body emitting a pale golden glow, unmoved.
For those at the threshold of external scenery, this would be the limit. However, Meng Qi still kept his eyes half-closed without making any adjustments, directly merging the mighty natural power with his inner landscape!
Boom!
The sea of primordial energy and various forces began to boil. Suddenly, dark clouds gathered above the capital, deep and gloomy like an abyss, seemingly inverting the heavens with the brilliantly starlit capital below.
Streaks of cyan lightning darted chaotically, entwining with each other.
Wang Zai still had a clear, shining star floating before him as he gazed upward and sighed inwardly, “Truly a single step to heaven, with divine thunder descending, unaided by any external force. It seems that whether during his enlightenment before the stone tablet or his battle against the Six Annihilation Human Demon, Meng must have seized the moment of insight or the surge of energy to elevate his inner world to its peak. Apart from the lack of perfect harmony between internal and external forces, it is nearly at the level of external manifestation, wielding equally formidable power. Only thus could he accomplish such a feat—likely, his phenomenon now envelops the entire capital…”
He had read many books and indeed heard of similar events.
Boom!
A thick bolt of cyan lightning fell, instantly breaking through the roof and striking Meng Qi directly.
Meng Qi’s expression remained calm and serene. His right hand suddenly held the Tianzhi Shang, and he slashed upward abruptly!
The long blade trembled as if executing a feint, vibrating eight times before slashing fiercely. Purple lightning surged forth, coalescing into a raging dragon that clashed against the thunderous punishment with an unstoppable, overwhelming force.
Using thunder to counter thunder!
As he struck, Meng Qi had no thoughts of victory or defeat, no anxiety. Having reached the pinnacle of his inner world and nearly attained the state of external scenery, he could break through at will. Even an ordinary strike of his approached the perfection of a half-step. Otherwise, how could he have defeated the Six Annihilation Human Demon? How could he dare to suppress the opening of the Mystic Pass at his brow center under uncertain circumstances?
Crash!
The purple lightning guided the blade, striking the cyan thunderbolt, creating a deafening explosion. The lightning scattered, blackening the hall, while Tianzhi Shang leisurely fell back, reinserting itself beside Meng Qi.
The onlookers near the Su family’s villa were stunned into silence:
“Has the heavenly punishment descended already?”
“There’s no fluctuation of a battle between powerful beings?”
“He truly has taken a single step to heaven!”
Amazed, they expected Meng Qi’s phenomenon, which should have another layer besides the previous “Descent of the Stars.”
As this thought arose, they saw several suns rise, radiating scorching heat, with golden crows flying about, flames flowing!
“Strange, how can Kuang Dao’s inner world possess the sun and golden crows? He has never displayed such martial arts before…” Not only were the martial artists outside surprised, even Wang Zai, who was familiar with Meng Qi, furrowed his brows. Unless Meng had never revealed his full abilities before, his inner world should not reach this level!
Wang Siyuan’s face remained pale as his right hand formed a seal, continuously changing, as if calculating something.
Qi Zhengyan and Ruan Yushu were also slightly puzzled. Was this the manifestation of the Bayi Xuan Gong? Yet it seemed unrelated!
They could understand the appearance of a Bodhi tree, but what about the stars, the sun, and the golden crows? Could it be the lineage of the Immortal Dao Body?
As everyone prepared to congratulate Meng Qi for easily breaking through the thunder punishment, the deep darkness did not recede, the brilliant stars did not fall, and the sun and golden crows remained suspended, indicating that the ordeal was not yet over!
“What’s going on?” Everyone inside the hall and the martial artists nearby were astonished.
“Could it be…” Within the Council Chamber, the elders seemed to have realized something, some frowning, others approving.
“In ancient times, Su Wuming faced three layers of heavenly tribulation…” murmured the head of the Zhang family of Longnan.
“The Yin Fire Tribulation!” Wang Zai couldn’t help but widen his eyes, watching as dark flames rose from beneath Meng Qi, climbing upward, burning his flesh and spirit.
Cui Che, Bai Qigu, and others were stunned, never expecting to witness a double heavenly tribulation!
Meng Qi’s left hand formed a sword finger, assuming the posture of “Yaksha Blazing Sky” from the Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Sword. Although Meng did not use the flame, his physical body’s strength was no less than a treasure weapon, making the effortless display seem effortless to Cui Che and others.
What is called heavenly tribulation seems like mere child’s play…
Suddenly, the capital grew darker, with numerous vortices appearing where even starlight could not penetrate, exuding an unsettling suction and sense of destruction.
“What is this… What exactly is Kuang Dao’s inner world…” The martial artists in the capital were already bewildered, as the current situation exceeded their understanding. “Wait, it hasn’t dissipated yet. Could there be another tribulation?”
The wind howled, yet no one inside the hall felt its presence. Instead, they saw vortexes spiraling toward Meng Qi’s crown, seemingly intent on scattering his spirit and dissolving his physical form!
“The Metal Wind Tribulation, the third layer…” Wang Zai murmured.
Everyone present had already thought of Su Wuming and more or less guessed there might be a third layer of heavenly tribulation. Now they all held their breath, waiting for the birth of a legend!
The wind was formless, and neither blades nor swords could cleave it. Meng Qi did not strike back, letting the metallic gale bore into his crown. His body emanated a faint golden radiance, ceaselessly torn apart and reborn within the relentless tempest that sought to invade his spirit and dismantle his flesh!
Enduring unimaginable pain, Meng Qi’s expression remained calm. The pale golden glow constantly reformed, his physical strength continuously escalating, his power becoming increasingly terrifying.
With the Bayi in his heart, wind and fire could not disturb him!
“Now I see the true difficulty of the heavenly tribulation…” Cui Che exhaled, if the previous two layers of tribulation were overcome in such a manner, he would doubt the authenticity of various records describing the so-called “step to heaven” tribulation.
The wind tempered his golden body, gradually subsiding.
“At last, it’s over.” Wang Zai also exhaled, looking around at the strange phenomena.
This should be the complete phenomenon of Xiao Meng.
As he looked, Wang Zai’s mouth hung open, unable to speak. In the void, dark and deep, stars revolved around the sun, forming nebulae, converging into rivers, endless and boundless. Golden crows danced, virtual continents emerged, the sky round and the earth square, with pitch-black vortices lurking, devouring everything. They overlapped, seemingly converging at a certain place.
A certain place was vague and indistinct, like the four meditative heavens of Buddhism, or the Great Luo realms of Daoism!
“What is this Dharma manifestation?” Bai Qigu asked in astonishment.
Cui Che was captivated, feeling that it contained some profound mystery of heaven and earth.
The elders of the Council Chamber had long ceased their discussion, watching the strange phenomena in the capital.
“Interesting, interesting…” the Jiangdong Wang family’s Grandmaster seemed both surprised and contemplative.
“How can there be such a strange phenomenon…” Cui Yan slightly furrowed his brows, not quite understanding the implication of this phenomenon.
But all the elders felt one thing: such a phenomenon seemed to conceal the profound mysteries of heaven and earth!
The martial artists throughout the capital were already bewildered and overwhelmed, allowing themselves to be shocked and immersed in this feeling.
As the golden wind dissipated, Meng Qi sensed a mystical resonance between his five viscera and six bowels, the nine natural orifices, the boundless heights of the heavens, and the vast expanse of the earth. The stellar energies, solar flames, golden crows, and chaotic voids within his body’s acupoints also began to synchronize with the celestial stellar forces and solar fires, his very breath stirring the surging tides of natural power!
As Wang Zai was about to rise and congratulate Meng Qi, a violent coughing sound interrupted: “Still… cough… not finished yet…”
“Not done yet?” Everyone’s gazes froze, instinctively looking up at the sky. Through the rift torn open by the azure thunder, they saw an expanse devoid of sun, moon, or stars—no golden crows or chaotic voids, just an endless swirl of primordial chaos!
Upon witnessing this chaos, many of those present who lacked sufficient strength began to tremble, their spirits shaken.
Su Li and Su Yue were stunned. Since the time of the Human Emperor, there had never been heard of a single step to heaven having four layers of tribulation, even the Overlord only had three!
As for the origins of the Demon Buddha, his appearance was already a terrifying Dharma Body that overpowered the world. No one knew what his opening of the orifices and external scenery were like.
As for the Human Emperor and before him, except for the Jiangdong Wang family, perhaps no one knew whether there were any tribulations or not!
Gu Xiaosang lifted her head, her face deathly pale, gazing straight into the chaos as she suddenly sighed: “To have provoked such calamities is truly beyond my expectations. I fear I may no longer seek his ‘company’ after this…”
The elders in the Council Chamber either stroked their beards, furrowed their brows in contemplation, or stared blankly into the void, utterly perplexed as to what kind of calamity this could be.
The Wang family’s Grandmaster initially appeared bewildered, then his expression shifted slightly, turning unusually solemn.
“Not finished yet…” Amidst the astonished exclamations from the crowd inside the hall, chaos suddenly descended, making Meng Qi feel the terror of destruction and the vicissitudes of life and death!
Throughout the tribulations, this was the first time he felt a sense of crisis!
Without looking up, closing his eyes, Meng Qi activated his inner world, opened the acupoints, operated the internal organs, and underwent the nine orifices transformation!
The phenomena of black holes, golden crows, suns, stars, and more suddenly converged, surging into Meng Qi’s body. The entire Divine Capital was left in utter darkness, with only the descending chaos remaining!
As everyone held their breath, Meng Qi’s right hand unknowingly grasped the handle of the Tianzhi Shang.
With a loud roar, he swung the blade upward!
In the chaos, everyone saw a blade of light shining brilliantly, as if it possessed the power to cleave heaven and earth!
The chaos was split! The darkness was split!
Everything was split!
This sight made everyone’s pupils shrink to pinpoints. Even the elders of the Political Affairs Hall were struck with awe. Though it was immature, though it was not yet perfected, at this moment, this blade was so fitting—so utterly terrifying!
Boom!
The chaos dispersed, sunlight streamed down, the sun hung high in the sky—another splendid sunny day!
…
The sword light descended, slicing through the golden wind, unveiling Jiang Zhiwei’s yellow-clad figure.
She looked delighted, suddenly sensing something, gazing toward the Divine Capital, even though she could see nothing.
…
Huanzhou, at the foot of Simushan.
Qinglian Gongzi Liufu was drinking heavily, drunk.
Suddenly, he laughed heartily, talking to himself:
“With my nature, why should I learn from them and painfully suppress my thoughts? A perfect half-step is not the end of the road!”
As he laughed heartily, a blue light radiated from between his eyebrows, making the surroundings appear fresh and elegant, as if lotuses were blossoming.
…
Meng Qi cleaved through the chaos with a single strike, his entire body wracked with pain and riddled with hidden injuries. Yet with every breath, his primordial spirit remained aloft in the Muddy Pellet Palace—unbound by direction, untethered by space, free from all constraints of front or back, up or down, left or right!
His inner world operated, mobilizing the power of heaven and earth, Meng Qi slowly flew down.
“Ah?”
“The phenomenon?”
Seeing this, Wang Zai and others were momentarily stunned, while the Meng Qi before them, although his clothes were tattered, exuded a deep and awe-inspiring aura.
“Haha, let me change clothes first, then I’ll come to drink with you all!” Meng Qi laughed and turned around.
Amidst the uproarious laughter, he strode forward with his head held high, heading toward the back hall, carefree and unrestrained.
My phenomenon, with the essence of the primordial and the form of immortality, is thus called the “Immortal Primordial Manifestation”!
…
Liufu swayed as he stood up, reciting loudly: “Laughing loudly as I leave the door, how could my kind be commoners!”
[End of Volume Three]
Volume Four: Twenty Years of Unrestrained Freedom
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage