The Long Journey to Immortality

Less than a hundred breaths later, a beam of light flew out from between the mountains beneath their feet.

The light shot into the air, revealing a middle-aged cultivator dressed in a green robe.

“It’s Elder Haoge.” Piaomiaozi had only met Elder Haoge once, but he recognized him immediately.

It turned out that after deciding to undergo his tribulation here, Elder Haoge had arrived early to make arrangements and meditate, waiting for the moment he had been anticipating and pursuing since he embarked on the path of cultivation.

Upon seeing Elder Haoge, everyone bowed in greeting. Yunmin, the sect leader who had just arrived, naturally took the initiative to greet him and inquire about his well-being.

"Fellow Daoist Haoge, how is it? Should you undergo your tribulation today or postpone it for two more days? Have you mastered the three spiritual artifacts that the sect lent you?"

Elder Haoge cupped his hands in greeting and replied in a steady voice, slightly hoarse, "Thank you for your concern, Sect Master. I have already mastered those three spiritual artifacts."

"As for the day of the tribulation... if it was said to be today half a month ago, then it is today."

"With so many fellow disciples as witnesses, whether I, Feng, achieve my wish or unfortunately perish under the might of this tribulation, it can be considered a... fortunate event."

Although he was mentally prepared, Feng Haoge, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, still couldn't help but feel some "fear" when the topic of life and death came up.

In this peaceful and prosperous era, Golden Core cultivators who have lived for hundreds of years are far more afraid of death than ordinary people and low-level cultivators.

"Stop talking such unlucky words, Fellow Daoist Haoge. Today's matter can only succeed, there is no failure."

Since both are fortunate events, then naturally, whichever path we take will be a success.

The same thing was said in a different way, and the way it came from Yunmin Daoist made it sound much more pleasant.

Master Yunmin wouldn't say anything discouraging or blunt at this time.

He hoped that there would be one more Nascent Soul cultivator in the sect, so that he and his descendants could carry forward the orthodox lineage of the Zhengyi Sect in the upcoming upheaval.

Elder Haoge nodded slightly, then bowed to Daoist Yunmin and said, "I understand."

"Then I'm also looking forward to being able to call Fellow Daoist Haoge 'Supreme Elder' in a few hours, haha."

They chuckled twice, then bowed to each other with their hands clasped in greeting.

Elder Haoge rode the clouds on his own, flying towards the magic array that had already been carved on the top of a certain mountain peak.

Meanwhile, Daoist Yunmin, along with two other academy deans who had come to the area, was "directing traffic."

All the Golden Core cultivators who came to watch the ceremony were gathered together and arranged to watch the ceremony from a mountaintop about two miles away from the tribulation site.

This arrangement was made partly to prevent Golden Core cultivators and disciples who came to this place from being accidentally injured by the might of the lightning tribulation.

Also, in order to prevent the heavens from misunderstanding and thinking that Elder Haoge wanted to use external forces to overcome his tribulation, they instead sent down a higher-level and more powerful lightning tribulation.

The distance of two miles is not far, and Han Lu was able to see clearly when Elder Haoge was doing what she was doing using her spiritual eye ability. This did not prevent her from joining in the excitement as an onlooker.

For some reason, after arranging the positions for everyone to watch the ceremony, Daoist Yunmin landed beside Han Lu on auspicious clouds.

Suddenly having such a familiar yet unfamiliar Golden Core senior standing beside her, Han Lu, standing on the ethereal cloud, couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

And what about Piaomiaozi?

He was looking around, trying to see if any of the fellow Daoists riding on auspicious clouds were unfamiliar faces, perhaps the hidden seniors of the sect.

Although none of the Nascent Soul cultivators from the sect made an appearance, everyone knew that there must be Nascent Soul cultivators hiding nearby, keeping watch.

The Central Plains are in a period of peace and prosperity, but we still have to be wary of subjugation.

This matter is of utmost importance, and none of the cultivators of the Zhengyi Sect's central branch would want to see any villains come to cause trouble and disrupt Elder Haoge's tribulation at this critical juncture.

After meditating for about a hundred breaths on a stone platform on a mountaintop that had been leveled by magic, Elder Haoge finally began the final step of preparations before undergoing his tribulation.

He made a hand seal and released several streams of spiritual energy, causing the magic array around him to slowly activate.

Han Lu, as an observer, did not know the specific effects of the magic array, but she could guess that the magic array should have the function of resisting lightning magic.

Soon, as the magic array was fully activated, several three- to four-meter-tall bluestone pillars rose from the ground and appeared at various key locations within the array.

With her keen sense of qi, Han Lu noticed something different again.

"It seems the spiritual energy around us has decreased?"

"Could this magic array be a curse array?"

With a puzzled look on her face, Han Lu wanted to ask Piaomiaozi, but hesitated because Daoist Yunmin was only three meters away from her.

Unexpectedly, the next second, Piaomiaozi's voice rang in Han Lu's mind, answering the question she hadn't yet uttered.

Chapter 469 Tribulation of Three Colors

"Han Lu," Piaomiaozi was perhaps a little uncomfortable because Yunmin Daoist was standing beside him, so he chose to answer Han Lu by transmitting his voice, "The matter of undergoing the tribulation is actually that the cultivator uses the spiritual power in his body to fight against the tribulation clouds that gather the tribulation lightning."

“The tribulation clouds, which are formed in accordance with the will of Heaven, are much more effective at absorbing spiritual energy than even the most sensitive cultivators.”

"If the spiritual energy of the tribulation site is too abundant during the tribulation, the tribulation clouds will absorb more spiritual energy and the resulting heavenly lightning will be stronger."

"That's why Elder Haoge set up a Spirit Dissipation Array to disperse the surrounding spiritual energy."

"Therefore, although Elder Haoge himself cannot replenish himself by absorbing spiritual energy during the tribulation, the tribulation cloud will definitely suffer greater losses."

"One positive and one negative aspect are very beneficial to the tribulation."

After a simple explanation from Piaomiaozi, Han Lu understood the reason and noted down this important "knowledge point".

Compared to the Core Formation stage, the Nascent Soul stage is more direct and straightforward, but it is no less complex.

“Besides,” Piaomiaozi continued, “the formation where Elder Haoge is located is remarkably effective in withstanding lightning attacks, and it is also a formation that most cultivators in the Central Plains prefer to set up when undergoing lightning tribulations.”

This aligns with Han Lu's speculation.

After the formation was activated, Elder Haoge took out magical treasures from his storage bag one after another and placed them casually on the ground so that he could call them up and use them at any time.

Immediately afterwards, another small bottle appeared in Elder Haoge's hand.

With a flick of his wrist, the five-colored pills in the bottle flew out and all of them entered Elder Haoge's mouth in one breath.

The clever Han Lu has transformed the tribulation into a fierce battle with a powerful cultivator skilled in lightning magic.

The side that runs out of fuel first wins.

By simplifying the complex and making the abstract concrete, Han Lu could see more clearly the various arrangements made by Elder Haoge, and with a little understanding, she could know his intentions.

"These five pills of different colors should respectively serve to replenish spiritual energy and stimulate potential."

"It seems that those secret techniques that are slightly harmful to cultivators but can stimulate their potential and enhance their combat power in a short period of time are also very useful when undergoing tribulation."

Sure enough, as soon as the pill was swallowed, Elder Haoge's aura increased by three points, and a faint blue light could be seen emanating from his body.

Everything is ready except for the east wind.

After completing all the preparations, Elder Haoge did not hesitate for a moment.

He raised his head to the sky, opened his mouth, and a golden pill, no bigger than a thumbnail and covered in patterns, flew out of his mouth.

The moment the golden elixir appeared, everyone's attention was drawn to this golden elixir covered with twelve elixir patterns.

Especially the elders whose cultivation level was only at the early stage of Golden Core.

Their goal was to condense a single pill pattern on their Golden Core and advance to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. Now that they had the good fortune to see a Golden Core with twelve pill patterns, they were naturally excited for a moment.

The moment the golden elixir leaves the body, the will of Heaven is already in motion.

In just three breaths, the world changed color.

The sky was originally clear and blue, but in the blink of an eye, it became covered with dark clouds.

Three more breaths passed, and the dark gray clouds were pulled together by an invisible force, turning into crimson red.

"One color".

Han Lu clearly heard Yun Min Daoist mutter something in a low voice not far away.

Not finished yet.

Many more dark clouds were tinged with blue, mingling with the crimson clouds.

"Two colors."

Master Yunmin's expression remained unchanged; he simply counted the colors of the clouds.

It's still not over.

A patch of earthy color appeared on the horizon, staining a few dark clouds before finally converging into the larger cloud that was about to transform into a calamity cloud.

"Three colors".

Yunmin Daoist's face showed more worry. Clearly, the tri-colored tribulation cloud formed by the convergence of three-colored clouds was not easy to deal with.

The more colors the tribulation clouds have, the more complex their five-element attributes are, and the more powerful the heavenly lightning they unleash.

Ordinary late-stage Golden Core cultivators undergoing the Nascent Soul Tribulation usually only encounter two-colored tribulation clouds.

There aren't many cultivators like Elder Haoge who have encountered the Tribulation of Three Colors, but there are some, mostly due to their cultivation techniques.

Some evil cultivators who have committed countless evil deeds will encounter four- or five-colored tribulation clouds when they undergo tribulation, and there may even be a phantom of a thunder pool appearing on the tribulation clouds.

From this point of view alone, Elder Haoge's tribulation this time was slightly more difficult than that of other late-stage Golden Core cultivators in the Central Plains.

However, there is both bad news and good news.

Elder Haoge is a Golden Core cultivator from Nanshan Academy, specializing in wood-attribute cultivation techniques.

The absence of golden tribulation clouds within the three-colored tribulation clouds slightly reduced the difficulty of his tribulation.

With one positive and one negative aspect, the cultivators watching the tribulation didn't show any bitterness, and they still held considerable hope for Elder Haoge's tribulation this time.

The tribulation clouds had not yet fully formed, but Elder Haoge, who was directly below them, could already feel their overwhelming divine might.

Han Lu, using her spiritual eyes, could clearly see that Elder Hao Ge's hand, which was forming hand seals, was even trembling slightly.

Elder Haoge cast a spell.

A magical artifact that had been casually placed on the ground suddenly flew into the air and landed in his hand.

Han Lu recognized it in just a moment; it was a spiritual artifact she had brought out from the ancient cultivation secret realm.

Han Lu looked at Elder Haoge, who was holding an umbrella-shaped spiritual artifact, and thought to herself, "Does this spiritual artifact have a special effect on resisting lightning tribulations?"

An umbrella that shelters from wind and rain can quell thunder; this seems perfectly reasonable.

The discovery of the function of this umbrella-shaped magical artifact is mainly due to the numerous ancient books within the Zhengyi Sect.

This "umbrella" has a history of appearances, having been seen by several ancient cultivators during their tribulations. This led the Zhengyi Sect cultivators to determine that it was a magical artifact adept at resisting tribulations.