Shrouding the Heavens: Starting by joining the Holy Land of Yao Guang

Chapter 86 The Four Extremes of Heavenly Tribulation
Zhuofeng, as its name suggests, has no magnificent scenery, no majestic presence, no spiritual essence, and nothing extraordinary about it.

It was ordinary, almost desolate, like a wilderness, with withered vines, old trees, and crows at dusk, the blood-red sunset casting a somber atmosphere, not at all like the main peak of the immortal sect.

Even on the main peak, there were endless broken walls and rubble, overgrown weeds and thorns, and there was no path left.

Li Yao thus entered Zhuofeng in a rather uneventful way, without any major upheavals along the way.

That night, Li Yao sat cross-legged atop Zhuofeng Peak, his powerful divine sense surging from between his brows, constantly searching the mountain. Unfortunately, he sensed nothing unusual about Zhuofeng Peak.

"It seems unrealistic to expect to gain any insights on my own. In that case, I'll have to rely on the Two-Colored Immortal Furnace." Li Yao stood up and left the mountaintop.

Five hundred years ago, Zhuofeng was very powerful, so there are many cave dwellings here. Li Yao randomly found a cave dwelling, set up a restriction, and then brought out the Two-Colored Immortal Furnace.

The entire mountain peak is covered with scriptures, and the aura and Daoist charm of the "All" secret remain on it. As long as there is aura and Daoist charm, the divine mark purple gold can be imprinted.

However, perhaps because too much time had passed since the last time the inheritance was initiated, the Daoist aura had dissipated significantly. The two-colored immortal furnace had been floating for several days, but no divine mark of purple-gold had been left behind.

Li Yao was not in a hurry. He let the two-colored immortal furnace float in the cave, slowly capturing the essence of the scriptures and the Dao. He himself sat cross-legged in the cave and began to cultivate.

Zhuofeng is very quiet. Although it is located within the Tai Xuan Sect, its lineage has been interrupted for too long, so no one comes here on ordinary days, making it extremely peaceful.

Because he was wary of the ruthless lineage within the Tai Xuan Sect, Li Yao never left Zhuo Peak and always stayed there to cultivate. Therefore, probably no one in the entire Tai Xuan Sect knew that Zhuo Peak had gained a new disciple.

Time flies, and seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Li Yao, who was cultivating, was awakened. He turned his head and looked at the two-colored immortal furnace beside him. He saw that several ancient characters had appeared on the divine purple gold, shining brightly. They were extremely ancient and did not belong to this era.

After careful contemplation, Li Yao confirmed that this was indeed the Secret of All Characters. Although it consisted of only a few ancient characters, each one seemed to be a vessel of the Great Dao, incredibly profound.

"Indeed, there is the secret Daoist rhyme of the character '皆' on Zhuofeng, but it has been too long and the rhyme has dissipated a lot."

Li Yao recorded those ancient characters into the Heavenly Book, but he did not deduce their meaning.

The mechanism for deducing the Heavenly Book is that the more content there is, the cheaper the price. Now that these few ancient characters are being used for deduction, Li Yao thinks that at least 500,000 jin of source material is needed to successfully deduce it.

Li Yao regained his composure, took out a piece of ice and snow source and continued his cultivation, waiting for the Two-Colored Immortal Furnace to continue capturing the profound meaning of the All-Character Secret Scripture.

Zhuofeng is truly peaceful. Since Li Yao joined the sect, no one has ever set foot here. Li Ruoyu also sits cross-legged in the main hall every day. There are only two people on the entire Zhuofeng, and they do not disturb each other.

Li Yao now focuses on cultivation every day, occasionally taking a break to carve phoenix patterns on the two-colored immortal furnace. Time flies like an arrow, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

On the two-colored immortal furnace, the number of ancient characters increased. By the fifteenth day, the number of ancient characters had reached more than one hundred. By the thirtieth day, the number of ancient characters had exceeded two hundred, but that was when it reached its limit. In the following month, there was no harvest at all.

The Divine Mark Purple Gold ultimately failed to awaken its profound meaning; this was the best it could achieve in capturing the essence of the scriptures.

Inside the cave, Li Yao stood up. He had already obtained the Secret of All Characters and was ready to leave.

Tai Xuan Sect is not a place to stay for long. For the past two months, he has been staying at Zhuofeng Peak and has never gone out, just to avoid running into the Ruthless People's Clan and reduce unnecessary risks.

Now that he had the secret of the All Characters, he didn't want to stay here any longer. However, before leaving, he had to say goodbye to Li Ruoyu.

In the dilapidated palace, Li Ruoyu showed no surprise at Li Yao's arrival, as if she had already guessed this outcome.

"Senior, I am about to leave and have come to say goodbye," Li Yao said, clasping his hands in farewell.

“The lineage of Zhuofeng has been severed. If you stay here, you will only be wasting your time. It’s better to leave. Is there a main peak you like? I can introduce you to one,” Li Ruoyu said calmly.

He was already used to it; everyone who came to Zhuofeng did so for the sake of inheriting the tradition, and no one would stay here for long.

"Thank you, senior, but I'll go find it myself." Li Yao shook his head and declined Li Ruoyu's offer. After all, he wasn't going to join another main peak, but rather leave the Tai Xuan Sect.

"In that case, go and cultivate diligently," Li Ruoyu said, paying no further attention. He closed his eyes and fell silent like a withered tree.

Li Yao clasped his hands in a salute once more and left the dilapidated hall. He still held the old man in high esteem.

The lineage of Zhuofeng was severed for five hundred years. Li Ruoyu has been sitting on this peak for five hundred years, guarding it. Although there is no lineage, his cultivation is unfathomable and has not been wasted in the slightest.

This is a truly wise man who appears foolish. He is currently in the latent stage, just waiting for the right opportunity. Once the opportunity arrives, he will surely soar to the heavens and fly high in the sky.

Li Yao glanced back at Zhuofeng, then turned and strode away.

The trip to Tai Xuan Sect went so smoothly that it was unbelievable; none of the crises that existed only in our imaginations occurred.

Even now, it's estimated that only Li Ruoyu knows that he once joined the Tai Xuan Sect; no one else knows of his existence.

The Ruthless Clan didn't find a trace of him at all. Everything went so smoothly that Li Yao felt he could even take a stroll through the Tai Xuan Sect to see if his Six Seals of Forbidden Immortals truly prevented the Ruthless Clan from recognizing him.

Of course, he immediately cut off the idea as soon as it appeared.

After leaving the Tai Xuan Gate, Li Yao chose a direction, then his figure flickered and quickly disappeared into the towering mountains.

After more than two months of cultivation, his cultivation level rose rapidly, and he was only one step away from giving birth to a water deity.

After the spirit of the kidneys gives birth to the deity, the Dao Palace Secret Realm will be completed. At that time, he will inevitably directly challenge the Four Extremes Secret Realm, and a heavenly tribulation will descend.

Li Yao didn't want his breakthrough to attract attention, so he wanted to completely escape human habitation and go to a truly uninhabited area.

After leaving the Tai Xuan Sect for thousands of miles, Li Yao activated the Xing Zi Secret Technique with all his might. In an instant, he transformed into a blazing bolt of lightning and disappeared into the horizon.

Endless mountains and rivers were left behind in an instant. Li Yao's speed was extremely fast. In just two or three breaths, he had traversed a hundred miles.

Seven days later, Li Yao arrived at a mountain range with undulating peaks, more than 500,000 miles away from the Tai Xuan Sect.

This is a true no-man's-land, with no human habitation for hundreds of thousands of miles around.

For the past seven days, Li Yao has been using the Traveling Technique to travel across hundreds of ancient kingdoms, arriving at the southernmost part of the Southern Region.

This place is so desolate that it may not have been visited for decades or even centuries.

"This is it." Li Yao felt that this place was very suitable for his breakthrough. He landed on a mountain peak and carved out a cave halfway up the mountain.

The place was desolate, so Li Yao simply set up a barrier and began to cultivate.

During his two-plus months at the Tai Xuan Sect, he had almost fully opened the potential gates of the Kidney Divine Treasury, and now, all that remained was for the gestation of a deity.

"boom!"

Two days later, a terrifying aura swept up the sky, directly shattering the white clouds. The vital energy from all directions swept in and converged on a mountain peak.

Inside the cave, Li Yao's entire body was crystal clear, shimmering with precious light. In his chest cavity, five-colored light circulated, mutually restraining and generating each other, and the power of the five elements surged and boiled.

Within the Dao Palace, the Kidney Divine Treasury trembled violently, as a surge of watery essence rushed in, accompanied by Daoist power, replenishing the essence within the Divine Treasury.

The Water Goddess was born, and from then on, the auras of the five great gods merged into one, and the Dao Palace was completely perfected.

"Shh!"

Li Yao opened his eyes, and a divine light suddenly appeared, shooting out from his eyes and traveling several feet.

A terrifying power of Tao swept through his body, and five deities were born. They sat cross-legged in the Taoist palace, bestowing upon him boundless power and providing him with an inexhaustible source of divine energy.

With his Dao Palace at its peak, Li Yao was at least several times stronger than before, not just in one aspect, but in every way.

"The Dao Palace is complete. Next, it's the Four Extremes Secret Realm." Li Yao's eyes shone brightly, showing no fear of the Four Extremes Heavenly Tribulation.

"However, before that, I need to do more preparation and make myself stronger."

For example, to avoid distraction, he has not yet used the Heavenly Book to deduce the secret of the character "皆" obtained from Zhuofeng.

Now that the water deity has been conceived, it is time to deduce and perfect the secret of the character "皆".

Ten times the combat power will be of great help in the upcoming battle against the Heavenly Tribulation.

Li Yao took out 300,000 jin of source energy and then let the Heavenly Book absorb it.

As the light of enlightenment suddenly shone, Li Yao entered the realm of creating laws.

This time, he stayed there for two breaths. Clearly, after the Dao Palace reached perfection, he stayed in the Creation Domain for longer periods of time, and correspondingly, his understanding of the All-Encompassing Secret had reached a very deep level.

The Secret of All Characters is different from the other nine secrets; its power can only be truly felt the moment it is triggered.

Li Yao left the cave and began to activate the "All" secret technique, wanting to experience the feeling of triggering it.

The first time, he felt nothing, which was undoubtedly a failure. Li Yao did not stop, but continued to operate the All Character Secret.

"boom!"

Finally, on the eighty-seventh time, both the Xing and Dou secrets started operating on their own, and then the Jie secret was successfully triggered, resulting in a tenfold increase in combat power. Li Yao threw a punch, blasting forward.

"boom!"

As the fist landed, a towering mountain in the distance shattered with a deafening roar. At the same time, rocks flew through the air, waves crashed against the shore, and huge boulders shot in all directions.

Like a thunderclap that shook the heavens and the earth, the world trembled violently, the void collapsed, and violent energy swept in all directions.

After a long while, when the smoke cleared, Li Yao looked at the punch he had thrown and was shocked.

Ahead, there used to be a majestic mountain peak, towering into the clouds, but now, the mountain has disappeared, and a huge crater has appeared in its place.

"This..." Li Yao was dumbfounded, unable to believe that this was the punch he had just thrown!
He smashed a mountain peak that was two thousand feet high with a single punch, creating a crater several hundred feet deep!
"Even someone at the peak of the Four Extremes might not be able to withstand this punch; they'd probably be blown to pieces!" Li Yao exclaimed in shock.

The power of the "All" secret technique filled him with immense joy; however, the probability of triggering this secret technique was indeed not high.

Even with the enhancements of the Fighting and Movement Secrets, which increased the trigger probability of the All Secret, it still took him over eighty attempts to succeed—the probability was undeniably low. However, once successful, it would instantly amplify his combat power tenfold, creating unimaginable destructive force. That punch just now shattered a mountain, leaving a crater hundreds of feet deep. Without using the All Secret, he simply couldn't unleash such power.

In a battle, this single move often decides the outcome, making it extremely domineering.

Li Yao didn't stop and continued to operate the All-Encompassing Secret. He wanted to see where the probability point was when the All-Encompassing Secret was triggered when he possessed three of the Nine Secrets.

The second trigger was successful, and it ran 80 times; the third trigger was successful, and it ran 76 times; the fourth trigger was successful, and it ran 75 times...

After conducting the experiment ten times, Li Yao arrived at a specific number of times, which was roughly between seventy and eighty.

Li Yao was quite satisfied with this number of times. Seventy or eighty times seemed like a lot, but Ye Hei triggered the "All" secret in the early stages, often hundreds of times each time. It wasn't until later, when the "Fight" secret was available, that the probability increased slightly.

Of course, Li Yao felt that there was another reason why his probability was so high: his understanding of the "All" secret was deep enough, and it was not entirely because he possessed the "Fighting" and "Traveling" secrets.

The probability of triggering the "All" secret will definitely be different depending on the level of mastery. For example, the Emperor, as the creator, can definitely unleash ten times the combat power at will.

"The secret of the character '皆' has been deduced. Now, it's time to challenge the Four Extremes Secret Realm."

Li Yao turned back to his cave, waved his hand and took out a large number of alien sources, each with a different attribute, and then began to absorb their essence.

The five divine treasures trembled simultaneously, and the sound of chanting emanated from within the Taoist palace. It was as if the departed self and the Taoist self were chanting for the present self.

The five deities shone brightly, their divine power surging forth like a vast ocean, soaring into the sky and shattering the clouds.

"brush!"

A bright sun appeared, hanging behind Li Yao's head, its blazing light soaring into the sky and illuminating the world.

Surrounded by celestial light, he was enveloped by a vast divine power, gathering endless essence into his body and undergoing a baptism akin to a sacred ritual!

Divine light surged like a tide, washing over every inch of his flesh and blood. His entire body shone brightly, as clear and pure as seven-colored glass, without a trace of impurity.

At the same time, the divine sound of the Great Dao within Li Yao's body became even more magnificent. He almost imprinted himself in the void, condensing with the entire world into an immortal entity.

The vital energy surged, refining all the alien sources and rushing towards Li Yao, who was imprinted in the void. It penetrated his body, making him crystal clear, and even the hair on his skin shone.

The cleansing of the physical body is a visible transformation; his body becomes increasingly flawless, as clear as crystal, and the powerful life force becomes even more terrifying.

Each of Li Yao's heartbeats was like a divine drum beating, like thunder roaring, deafening.

Moreover, his heartbeat grew louder and louder, thump, thump, thump... echoing through the heavens and earth.

This is a transformation; the entire body, flesh and bones are undergoing a complete metamorphosis, and the physical shell is about to change—this is a sign of breaking through the barrier!

"call!"

Finally, he burst into flames, divine flames soaring into the sky, his body becoming almost transparent, his flesh translucent, and his internal organs and bones almost visible.

Blood was seeping from every pore of his body, his entire body was a bright red, and the flames were raging and sizzling, evaporating the blood and leaving a strong smell of blood.

Li Yao's blood flowed continuously from his pores, while new blood with a radiant glow was being generated within his body, its faint crimson color shimmering.

"Crack!"

His body, which resembled seven-colored glass, had bones that were breaking and then regenerating.

This terrifying transformation is truly remarkable; the metamorphosis is so thorough that even the bones are regenerating.

"Boom"

Li Yao's crystalline body also broke, like a beautiful jade artifact cracking. Then his internal organs trembled, his joints cracked, and everything was being reborn.

"boom!"

As if sensing the coming of the heavens and earth, a sea of ​​thunder began to gather, and the thunderclouds roared throughout the heavens and earth. Streaks of lightning, each tens of feet thick, danced across the sky, resembling true dragons.

The Four Extremes Heavenly Tribulation has arrived!
Thunderbolts descended from the heavens, striking Li Yao. The mountain he stood on vanished instantly. He stood tall, facing the purple lightning head-on.

"boom!"

When the first bolt of lightning struck, his entire body shimmered and shimmered, and he withstood it without being harmed in the slightest.

"boom!"

The second heavenly tribulation was no longer a single bolt of lightning; it transformed into a purple sea, a pool of lightning!
Endless lightning engulfed Li Yao, turning the world into a vast ocean of purple light, a truly terrifying sight.

Lightning surged down, thunder roared like a tide, shattering everything in its path, its intensity overwhelming, turning the world into a purple blur.

"boom!"

The thunder was deafening, shattering people's souls, connecting heaven and earth, vast and boundless, like the Milky Way pouring down from the ninth heaven, as if millions of stars were falling.

The void was shattered and left in ruins, but it would soon be submerged because the lightning was so intense that blinding lightning filled every inch of space.

"boom!"

A deafening thunderclap shook the world, and purple lightning surged like a tidal wave, creating a world of lightning capable of destroying everything, filling people with fear and dread.

Lightning itself represents the majestic power of the heavens, fierce and unbearable to look directly at.

The purple sea of ​​lightning engulfed the undulating mountains, representing the will of heaven and earth, capable of obliterating all living beings in the world, causing one's soul to tremble uncontrollably.

Li Yao was in the purple sea, his skin torn open, his body charred black, blood flowing, having suffered unimaginable damage.

Although he was severely injured, he was full of vigor and showed no signs of defeat. Instead, he raised his head to the sky and fought back with all his might.

Li Yao fought amidst the sea of ​​lightning, without using divine power or any secret techniques; he simply relied on his physical body to resist.

This was an ordeal, but also a test. He floated in the sea of ​​lightning, constantly throwing punches and shattering bolts of lightning. Then, he opened his mouth and inhaled sharply, drawing the scattered lightning into his body.

The violent lightning entered his body, beginning to temper his flesh and blood, and his internal organs.

At the same time, Li Yao began to circulate his Star Radiance Battle Body. He wanted to use it to refine his body. The energy contained in the lightning was simply the best resource for refining the body, many times better than the blood of the dragon.

If there were onlookers, they would be incredibly shocked. Throughout history, who has ever dared to temper their body in a sea of ​​lightning like him?

Not only Li Yao himself, but even the Two-Colored Immortal Furnace was currently floating in the sea of ​​lightning, undergoing the tempering of the heavenly tribulation and imprinting itself with the Great Dao Laws of the lightning tribulation.

For ordinary cultivators, the Heavenly Tribulation is a life-threatening ordeal, but for true geniuses, it is an unparalleled transformation.

At this moment, both man and furnace are enjoying their own creation.

"boom!"

Another thunderous surge arrived, shaking the heavens and earth. A boundless purple light enveloped him, piercing through the sky and the earth, like countless awe-inspiring dragons soaring into the sky.

The two-colored immortal furnace floated above Li Yao's head, experiencing the lightning tribulation with him. It was struck by the purple sea, leaving countless electric marks and innate patterns.

This time, Li Yao finally began to use various holy techniques to fight against the lightning. He used the Primordial Holy Light Technique to shield his body and the Holy Light Technique to attack continuously, directly scattering the descending lightning bolts.

What followed was a pure display of skill: Holy Light Technique, Primordial Holy Light Technique, Fighting Word Secret Technique, Movement Word Secret Technique, All Word Secret Technique, Divine Radiance of the Sun...

The lightning was annihilated time and time again. Even with its boundless power, it couldn't withstand Li Yao's heaven-defying combat strength.

Next came the fourth tribulation, the fifth...

This is a calamity rarely seen in history. It seems that even Heaven cannot tolerate an existence like Li Yao, because his foundation is simply too strong.

Throughout history, among all the Celestial Venerables, Ancient Emperors, and Great Emperors, who among them possessed such a profound foundation within the Dao Palace Secret Realm as Li Yao? Who else, with his cultivation level, could comprehend the Emperor Scripture to such an extent? Who else at this realm possessed three of the Nine Secrets, comprehended them to an extremely profound degree, and also held two forbidden secret techniques of Great Emperors, cultivated them to an extremely deep level… and even mastered the Immortal King's Scattered Hand Technique!
This profound foundation enabled Li Yao to possess such extraordinary combat power, allowing the Dao Palace to dominate the Four Extremes Secret Realm.

But it is precisely this kind of profound foundation that is intolerable to Heaven, because it is simply too exaggerated, and such examples are rarely seen in ancient history.

The ninth thunder tide arrived as scheduled, with countless bolts of lightning. Purple became the only color in the world, and Li Yao was like a piece of duckweed in a tsunami, instantly submerged.

"boom!"

Endless lightning and blazing divine light illuminated the world as bright as day, dazzling and spectacular, like a boundless fire burning and collapsing the void, threatening to completely annihilate Li Yao.

"Ong!"

In an instant, Li Yao's body became a charred corpse, like a tree struck by lightning, devoid of life.

"boom!"

But in the next moment, the blazing true fire burned, and Li Yao's body turned into a rain of light and dissipated. Then, he was reborn from the flames.

In the end, it was the True Phoenix Treasure Technique that turned the tide. Even though it was a free-form technique, it was still a free-form technique of the Immortal King, which transcended the realm of humanity and this equally broken universe.

No one can pass the ninth tribulation of lightning. To completely annihilate him, but so what? Unless you blast him to death in one go and wipe him out completely, the True Phoenix Treasure Technique can pull him back.

The lightning continued to fall, killing Li Yao nine times in succession. Neither the Primordial Holy Light Technique nor the Two-Colored Immortal Furnace could stop it. No attack method could disperse the ninefold lightning tribulation.

But ultimately, it can be weakened, preserving a sliver of its brilliance, allowing it to continuously rise from the ashes and return.

Finally, the void trembled, the vast purple sea vanished, and the world instantly calmed down, as if nothing had ever happened.

The time limit for the Heavenly Tribulation had arrived, and Li Yao had survived it. After two years of cultivation, he entered the Four Extremes Secret Realm, and from then on, his cultivation path reached a minor success, making him a renowned figure in the region.

The charred old skin fell away in a rustling sound, and Li Yao's body, reborn from the lightning, shimmered with a precious light, full of powerful energy. His eyes were clear, his black hair flew, and he was dressed in white, like a celestial being resurrected.

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(End of this chapter)