Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Three Million Miles of Clouds of Tribulation, the Child of Fortune Becomes a Saint

Lin Qianmo asked, "You are the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

Lin Qianmo turned at the sound of the voice and saw a young man with red lips, white teeth, and a handsome appearance standing at the door. His smile was warm, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.

She had heard Qi Ruyu’s introduction and knew Ye Xu’s identity.

Today, upon seeing him, he still seemed a bit youthful.

However, his eyes were as deep as an abyss, making them hard to see through.

Ye Xu nodded with a smile and said, "That’s me."

Lin Qianmo’s eyes flickered as she asked, "Daoist friend, with your vast divine abilities, you could calculate our visit to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion several days earlier. How about you help us figure out the chances of Nangong Zhandao becoming a saint?"

Lan Youruo’s eyes brightened, immediately shifting her gaze to Ye Xu.

Qi Ruyu said, "Master, this senior is a businessman; you must offer a price first."

Lan Youruo stared at Ye Xu eagerly and said, "I am willing to offer divine weapons of the great sage if you, Master, can calculate the chances of Nangong becoming a saint."

Yang Xuanzhan’s eyes lit up; business had arrived.

The three members of the Da Qian royal family looked puzzled. What relationship did Lan Youruo have with Nangong Zhandao to be so urgent?

Lan Youruo’s strength was not weak; she was a quasi-emperor.

Therefore, none of the three thought about romantic involvement.

A semi-saint and a quasi-emperor—it sounded absurd.

The price was set, but Ye Xu seemed uninterested in business. He shook his head and refused, saying, "All of you are guests from afar, so I’ll grant you a favor."

"This piece of information comes free of charge."

Lan Youruo said gratefully, "Thank you, Master," then added anxiously, "Please inform us now."

Ye Xu said, "Nangong Zhandao is a child of fortune, blessed with great fortune. His ascension to sainthood is predestined by fate and will not face any errors."

Qi Ruyu muttered, "Child of fortune? Is it really that exaggerated?"

Ye Xian’er tilted her head, looking puzzled at Ye Xu, and asked, "Senior, what is a child of fortune?"

Ye Xu said, "A child of fortune is like a son of heaven."

Ye Xian’er wore an expression of disbelief and said, "How can heaven have a son? Senior, I’m not foolish; why are you deceiving me?"

Lin Qianmo and Lan Youruo found it both amusing and speechless.

Ye Xu felt exasperated and said, "It’s just a metaphor; do you understand?"

"Nangong Zhandao carries a part of the Yuan Realm’s fortune and often escapes danger precisely because he has abundant luck, which is why I call him the child of fortune."

Ye Xian’er suddenly understood.

"So that’s how it is."

Indeed.

After a quarter of an hour, Nangong Zhandao’s emotions gradually stabilized, but his aura grew increasingly powerful. His magic power surged wildly, and his cultivation level shot up like a straight line.

Rumble!

Above Linglong City, a sudden thunderclap exploded. The dark clouds that had just scattered due to the Sword Servant’s death gathered back at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The clouds of tribulation appeared pitch black, covering thirty thousand miles, vast and boundless.

"Is another strong foe attacking?"

Hearts quaked within Linglong City. After enduring the Sword Servant incident, the crowd still hadn’t snapped out of their fright.

"No, it doesn’t look like an expert attack, more like someone facing a tribulation."

A senior sage witnessed this scene and said, "Could clouds of tribulation spanning thirty thousand miles belong to a great sage facing a tribulation, striving to become a quasi-emperor?"

The calamity for sages had six heavens.

Above that, it was when a great sage advanced to quasi-emperor that heavenly tribulation descended.

Yet, judging by the might of this heavenly tribulation, if it were for a great sage’s ascension, the commotion seemed too slight, utterly unworthy of a quasi-emperor’s majesty.

Everyone speculated intently.

"Thirty thousand miles of clouds of tribulation, truly astonishing!"

When Ye Hongchen attained sagehood, her heavenly tribulation spanned only three thousand miles, a mere tenth of Nangong Zhandao’s.

One could imagine how vast and profound Nangong Zhandao’s foundation was.

"When I faced the tribulation, mine barely spread nine thousand miles," mumbled Lan Youruo. "With such a formidable heavenly tribulation, can Nangong withstand it?"

"He has already become a sage. With his skills, it shouldn’t pose much difficulty," Lin Qianmo soothed.

Nearby, Nangong Qing and Nangong Chengye were brimming with intense excitement.

Nangong Zhandao was truly worthy of topping the Hidden Dragon List.

Whoosh!

Nangong Zhandao opened his eyes. Divine light glimmered within them, and he soared toward the heavenly tribulation like a divine dagger.

"Look!"

A sage sharp-sighted caught the blade radiance transformed by Nangong Zhandao. "The one undergoing the tribulation is a young cultivator. As for his cultivation level… he merely became a sage just now!"

Another sage cried out in amazement, "Could it possibly be he who stirred this heavenly tribulation?"

"My heavens."

A sage uttered in awe, "He freshly entered sagehood yet attracted thirty thousand miles of clouds of tribulation. What kind of freak hails from here?"

"Our Yuan Realm is vast and bountiful, where birthing such a talent is only natural."

"This Linglong City truly teems with hidden talents: not only boasting a powerful being like the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion but also such a monstrous heavenly favorite," one reflected with a sigh.

Blast!

After brewing for the duration of sipping a cup of tea, the first heavenly tribulation finally erupted.

Thirty thousand miles of clouds of tribulation condensed into a bolt of lightning stretching a hundred thousand zhang. The devastating divine thunder vaporized the void and seemed set to crash down onto Linglong City, reducing the entire city to ash.

Clang!

Nangong Zhandao reached out for his dagger, drawing it with a resounding hum before slashing towards the first heavenly tribulation.

The strike appeared entirely ordinary, devoid of any flourish.

With that single slash, the lightning vanished.

The first heavenly tribulation had been overcome by Nangong Zhandao with effortless ease.

"What formidable strength."

The eyes of the experienced sage hardened. "His current strength is unquestionably no less than mine, at least at the late stage of the saint realm."

"He has only just become a sage, with limitless potential ahead. I wonder which clan’s disciple he is?"

Seeing this, Lan Youruo felt slightly relieved.

In truth, she knew of Nangong Zhandao’s strength, yet she still couldn’t entirely set her mind at ease.

Boom!

As they spoke, the second heavenly tribulation arrived, its power surging dramatically. Across five thousand li, the Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation filled the space, like a churning sea of lightning or a rain of meteors, crashing wildly towards Nangong Zhandao.

Nangong Zhandao raised his dagger and stepped into the lightning sea. His body shimmered with a layer of golden light as he instantly activated his Indestructible Golden Body. His divine dagger swept out, covering a vast distance and scattering the Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation to nothingness.

The second heavenly tribulation was obliterated in an instant.

Qi Ruyu’s heart raced with shock.

"Daoist Friend Nangong’s strength truly puts me to shame," Qi Ruyu said with a flush of embarrassment.

Lin Qianmo glanced at her. "He has experienced all kinds of strange things, his foundation is immensely profound. That he can achieve this step is not strange in the least."

"It would be strange if he lacked this kind of power."

Ye Hongchen and Qi Ruyu both lowered their heads, overwhelmed by shame.

"There’s no need for you to feel ashamed," Lin Qianmo said. "The Yuan Realm has countless inhabitants, yet only a single Nangong Zhandao has emerged over such a long time, which is proof enough of his exceptional nature."

Ye Xu smiled. "For over ten million years, the Yuan Realm’s strength fell to its lowest point. As the saying goes, extreme opposites attract; a great change is imminent for the Yuan Realm. Nangong Zhandao’s birth might very well signify the rising luck of the Yuan Realm."

Lin Qianmo cast a surprised glance at Ye Xu.

It seemed Ye Xu knew quite a lot.

"Master, just how powerful is this heavenly tribulation?" Yang Xuanzhan asked with trepidation. Though he envied Nangong Zhandao, he recognized his own lowly strength; even a heavenly tribulation spanning thirty thousand li would be something he could not withstand.

As was widely known,

the stronger the heavenly tribulation, the greater the foundation of the one facing it.

Once overcome, the rewards were immense.

"This saintly heavenly tribulation has seven layers in total," Lin Qianmo stated calmly. "There will be one chaotic divine thunder, its power likely equivalent to a full-force strike from a Saint King."

"After that strike, Nangong Zhandao will be injured."

Even as she spoke, Nangong Zhandao had already passed the fifth trial – the inner demon tribulation.

The next instant,

the aura of the heavenly tribulation shifted abruptly. The void shattered instantly as vast amounts of chaotic energy surged forth from its depths. Just as Lin Qianmo had predicted, the chaotic energy fused with the power of the thunder tribulation, coalescing into the chaotic divine thunder of great annihilation.

Crack!

After a moment, the range of the clouds of tribulation suddenly shrank. A divine thunder that pierced through heaven and earth, containing the chaotic heavenly might, transformed into a thunder dagger.

In the nine heavens above, it seemed as if a divine being held a divine dagger ten-thousand zhang tall and slashed it towards Nangong Zhandao.

Boom!

Where the divine dagger passed, everything was destroyed, decayed, and lost all life under the crushing weight of chaos.

Even the laws turned into nothingness.

Nangong Zhandao closed his eyes and focused his mind. Just as the divine dagger was about to reach him, he also unleashed a slash.

Clang!

It was unknown what material his divine dagger was forged from. Having endured repeated bombardments from the Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation, it surprisingly absorbed the power of the thunder tribulation, its aura fierce and sharp.

As Nangong Zhandao unleashed his slash, the world lost its color.

Everyone saw a gray and misty world.

Everything within a radius of ten-thousand li turned into the dagger in Nangong Zhandao’s hand.

He held the ten-thousand-li world in his grasp and used the world itself as his dagger.

Bang!

Nangong Zhandao slashed towards the heavenly tribulation divine dagger.

In an instant.

The heavenly tribulation divine dagger began to crumble. But Nangong Zhandao’s dagger also suddenly trembled. The gray world collapsed and began to disintegrate.

The impact of the two terrifying forces caused a surging shockwave to erupt across the heavens and earth, affecting tens of thousands of li.

The cultivators in Linglong City were utterly terrified.

The aftershocks at this level were enough to take their lives.

Lin Qianmo waved her hand gently. The shockwave dispersed, saving everyone in an instant.

Spurt!

Nangong Zhandao spat out a mouthful of golden blood. His immortal golden body was broken, his divine powers were shattered, and he suffered severe injuries.

But this Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation and chaos was also destroyed by Nangong Zhandao.

He had thus overcome the sixth heavenly tribulation.

"There was still one more."

Nangong Zhandao looked up at the vast sky. The clouds of tribulation, vast and majestic, condensed into an illusory divine dagger and slashed into his Dao heart.

In a flash.

Nangong Zhandao sat cross-legged in the void and began to untangle the merging with the Dao tribulation.

Who knew how long after.

Nangong Zhandao opened his eyes.

That divine dagger had been completely refined by him. His spirit soul strengthened, his spiritual power skyrocketed, and his physical body gained significant improvement.

The sky was bright and clear, cloudless for ten-thousand li.

Nangong Zhandao walked down from the void.

"Congratulations, Daoist friend, on advancing to the sage realm," Qi Ruyu congratulated with cupped hands.

"Congratulations."

Ye Hongchen also offered congratulations.

"Congratulations, Ninth Brother," Nangong Yi cheered gleefully.

"Well done."

Nangong Qing exclaimed excitedly.

Nangong Zhandao showed a smile. His gaze swept over the three generations—Nangong Qing and his grandchildren. He said, "Without you, I couldn’t have advanced to the sage realm this quickly."

"We are all family, no need for thanks," Nangong Chengye said.

"You return to Da Qian first. After I finish my matters, I will head to the Eastern Region," Nangong Zhandao said with a laugh.

Nangong Qing’s smile froze.

He suddenly felt that Nangong Zhandao seemed like a changed person.

Compared to just before, he had lost a touch of human warmth.

"Okay."

Nangong Qing forced a slight smile. He said, "Then we will go back first to tell Wan Jun and wait for you in Yujing City."

"Ninth Brother, you must come back."

Nangong Yi waved at Nangong Zhandao. She said, "I’ll be waiting for you at Changning Palace."