Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 347 Karmic Tribulation. (First Update!)

"Waaaaah... Waaaaah..."

Joyful music carried far across the fields as a procession dressed in red and green escorted a red sedan chair, accompanied by music and dancing.

The eight sedan chair bearers of the "Scissors Prison" moved in perfect unison, making the red sedan chair move as if it were flat ground. There was no bumpy feeling inside, and even the teacups on the table were smooth and without any texture.

The ghost bride, adorned in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, sat regally in the main seat, with Zheng Que sitting a few steps away.

At this moment, Zheng Que was holding two exquisitely designed storage bags. One of them, a beeswax-yellow bag embroidered with cloud and water patterns, came from Chen Zhentao of Xuanyuan Pavilion.

The other one, with a purple embroidered leaf pattern, comes from Gao Yinxia of the Heavenly Artifact Sect.

"...To achieve the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment, one needs a complete 'Law'..."

"Your 'law' is now complete."

"The next step is to act in accordance with the rules of this 'law'."

"Not only is this necessary for the Heavenly Foundation Establishment stage, but you should also follow this 'rule' in all your future actions."

“This ‘law’ will become your path from now on.”

“That female cultivator from the Heavenly Artifact Sect actually fits your ‘law’…”

"...In short, these are the precautions for Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment."

The ghost bride's calm voice rang out from the ornately decorated red sedan chair.

Zheng listened attentively and quickly wrote down everything.

The ghost bride possessed a wealth of knowledge about cultivation techniques.

Many of the details were things that Chen Zhentao of Xuanyuan Pavilion had never mentioned before.

According to the ghost bride's explanation, the "law" on his body was actually incomplete before he survived this tribulation.

Because a fragment of the "Law" resides on the "mysterious" body of the [Iron Tree Prison].

Only after he survived this ordeal did he obtain the complete "Law".

Thinking of this, Zheng Que knew that this must be because, back at Wanshan Temple, a "strange" part of the [Iron Tree Prison] had secretly stolen the power of the "Law Ghost"...

The reason he and Lu Maohong and the others returned to Taiping County in such a confused state was because they had fallen for the "weird" methods of the [Iron Tree Prison].

Thinking of this, Zheng Que then asked, "Then, what is the root cause of this calamity?"

The ghost bride had previously told him that to overcome his tribulation, he needed to find its root cause...

He had already reviewed his current ordeal while he was in the underworld.

From the day he entered Taiping County, this calamity seemed to have been destined.

For decades, the rogue cultivators in the city have been secretly using the evil Blood Refining Technique to try and achieve Foundation Establishment.

If he had stayed in the city instead of joining Lu Maohong's tax-transporting team, he would have certainly died.

Anyone who follows Lu Maohong's tax-transporting team will be infected with a spell by the [Nine Nether Relics], and no matter what they do afterward, the outcome will be the same as it is now.

The only way to avoid the "weirdness" of the Iron Tree Prison and the "Nine Netherworld Treasures" is to never go to Taiping County in the first place.

But that only appears safe.

What's bound to happen in Taiping County will still happen.

Ultimately, either the [Nine Netherworld Treasures] parasitized the "Strange and Unpredictable" [Iron Tree Prison], or the "Strange and Unpredictable" [Iron Tree Prison] refined the [Nine Netherworld Treasures]...

Regardless of the situation, as long as he is still within the territory of Taiping County, the "Nine Netherworld Treasures" or the "Iron Tree Prison" will still come looking for him.

Just like the [Evil Shadow Play] that gave him that opportunity. Furthermore, if he hadn't gone to Taiping County, he wouldn't have known anything when the day of his doom arrived.

The Ghost Bride might still be in the "Scissors Prison," and with Mu Xian Gu gone, the ending is practically a death sentence!

Upon hearing this, the ghost bride thought for a moment and immediately replied, "The root of the calamity cannot be explained in just a few words."

"I will use my fate as an example."

"All mortals who enter the path of Tao will face calamities."

"The tribulation of life at the time of entering the Tao is also called the tribulation of entering the Tao."

"Ordinary cultivators will face a life-threatening tribulation when they first enter the Dao; when they reach the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment stage, they will face a second life-threatening tribulation; and next comes the Golden Core stage of the Upper Three Ranks..."

"Fate cannot be avoided; one must overcome it oneself."

"The root of one's fate lies within the person undergoing the tribulation."

"Your tribulation this time is not due to fate, but rather to cause and effect."

"I have only witnessed this karmic tribulation once before."

"The senior who experienced the karmic tribulation at that time foresaw that he would face a tribulation and made many preparations in advance."

"But unfortunately, that senior did not find the root of the calamity, that is, the 'cause' of the karmic calamity, and in the end he still died and his cultivation dissipated."

"All the preparations they made in advance were disrupted one after another by unexpected events before the calamity arrived..."

"Just like you this time, it's actually the same."

“That lord clearly arranged for me and that [Painted Skin] to come and protect you.”

"And they even told you in advance the specific time of this calamity."

“But when it was time for you to overcome this karmic tribulation, both I and that ‘painted skin’ encountered an accident and were not by your side.”

"In short, if the root cause of a karmic calamity is not found in time, the specific circumstances of the final calamity will be unexpected."

Zheng Que listened and nodded. His master, Daoist Qu, had also told him about the tribulation of entering the Dao.

But this karmic calamity...

In a flash, Zheng Que asked, "What if you and Mu Xiangu had stayed by my side from the very beginning?"

The ghost bride quickly replied, "If I had been by your side from the beginning, you wouldn't have been targeted by that [Painted Skin] when you passed through Baozhen Valley."

"Your current predicament has nothing to do with that [Painted Skin]."

"However, in this way, my final cultivation level may not be able to break through to the [Iron Tree Prison]."

"Without the cultivation of the Iron Tree Prison, even if I follow you, I won't be able to change anything."

"From another perspective, the fact that I and that 'painted skin' were not present when you were undergoing your karmic tribulation this time proves that I and that 'painted skin' had the power to bring changes to the karmic tribulation."

"The fact that I and [Painted Skin] were able to arrive in time shows that the variables we brought were limited."

"If anything goes wrong, I and that 'painted skin' will perish along with you!"

variable……

Zheng Que nodded slightly. If he had let the ghost bride accompany him from the beginning, he probably wouldn't have encountered any of the three "strange occurrences" on Yaotai Mountain.

In that case, not only would he lose Mu Xiangu as an assistant, but he also wouldn't be able to obtain the "law" from Wanshan Temple!
Without killing the "Law Ghost" in Wanshan Temple, he wouldn't have enough Yin energy to raise the Ghost Bride's cultivation to the [Iron Tree Prison].

The three "strange occurrences" on Yaotai Mountain seem to indicate that he was unlucky, being chosen by three "strange occurrences" in a row.

But in reality, without those three "strange" events, he might not have been able to survive this ordeal!
(End of this chapter)