Chapter 132 Finale (Part 2) The clouds are rolling up!
Mu Fuyun didn't dare to delay too long.
She received a message from Zhan Yao, and learned that Kun Sheyang had already gone into seclusion. This was a great opportunity for her.
Once she goes into seclusion, she cannot leave the cave for at least three to five days. If she is struck by lightning during this period, even if an accident happens that Mu Fuyue does not want to see, she will not be able to immediately call Kun Sheyang to disrupt the situation. Without such a big threat, their chances of success will be much greater.
Thinking of this, Mu Fuyun could no longer wait. He stayed up all night to regulate his breathing and swallowed all the pills at hand that could stabilize the meridians, replenish qi and regulate breathing.
Similar medicinal properties, taking too much is not good after all, but even if there are excessive effects such as stagnation of spiritual power in the future, that will be a few days later, she ignored it for the time being.
As soon as the sun rose, she sent a message to Zhan Yao.
Perhaps it was some kind of tacit understanding among everyone. Since yesterday, when she entrusted everything outside to Zhan Yao, no one else had sent her any messages, as if they were afraid of disturbing her. All the news outside was told to her by Zhan Yao alone.
She soon got a positive answer.
"Okay, it's up to you when to start. We're always on standby."
Mu Fuyun decided not to wait any longer.
Soon, a medical practitioner came and removed the restrictions on her. Before leaving, he specifically reminded her not to use her spiritual power at will, otherwise, her cultivation might be ruined at any time due to disordered breath and meridians being unable to bear it.
Mu Fuyun naturally would not tell him that he would soon go against his instructions and gamble his life for a last hope.
Two moments later, she arrived at the Forbidden Abyss under the leadership of Zhan Yao.
It was a huge abyss.
Although I had read descriptions of the Forbidden Abyss in books before, I was still shocked when I saw it with my own eyes.
Mu Fuyun originally lived in Yuya Mountain and was quite knowledgeable. After entering this small world, he also followed the sect to faraway places like the West, but he had never seen such an abyss.
It's not just huge - its size is actually not as vast and boundless as the desert in the westernmost part. However, in a place like Tianyan with green grass everywhere and rolling mountains, it is hard to imagine that there is such a sunken place hidden in it. The most astonishing thing is the pitch-black color of the entire forbidden abyss from top to bottom.
The pure black, like a layer of special paint, coated every inch of the inner wall of the abyss, shining brightly in the rising sun.
Mu Fuyun stood at the edge of the abyss and looked down. The endless darkness made it impossible to tell where the end was. Or perhaps, this abyss was simply a bottomless pit. It was like a huge mouth, silently opening towards the sky, as if to swallow the entire world.
For some reason, when she looked down, apart from the instinctive fear and trembling at the first glance, she soon had a strange feeling, as if she had come to a place that was somewhat familiar but completely different. The big opening, like some kind of call, silently attracted her.
"This is it," Zhan Yao said solemnly, sword in hand, in the howling mountain wind. "In a moment, our movements will surely make a huge noise. Not only will those within the sect be unable to conceal it, but the entire continent will probably notice it. So, after discussing it with my master, we decided to send a message to both the Wuding Sect and the Taixu Sect, inviting them to come together, saying that you are about to break through and asking them to come and help. If something goes wrong then, they should be able to distinguish right from wrong before it becomes too serious. If something does go wrong, perhaps they can help."
As she spoke, she untied the mustard seed bag from her waist, shook it upside down like a basket, and poured out a lot of things on the ground: "These are for you, Senior Brother Chu and Senior Brother Song, my master's, and mine. Time is tight, and there is no time to collect more. You can use what you have."
There were countless high-grade magical instruments and high-level elixirs condensed from various natural treasures. Mu Fuyun was very knowledgeable and knew how precious these things were. To be able to collect all of them in one night must have been the result of his best efforts.
"My two senior brothers have gone down the mountain to greet the people from the Wuding Sect and the Taixu Sect with my master and the others," Zhan Yao estimated the time and said, "They should be coming up in three quarters of an hour. Before that, you should swallow these pills and put on your magic tools."
Mu Fuyun nodded, without being polite to her, and thanked her. Then he stuffed the pills in the exquisite box directly into his mouth as if filling it with something.
She had no doubt about the purpose or quality of these pills. They were the intention of Zhan Yao and the others, and they would never harm her. It was also the last bit of hope that she could seize and hold on to.
Three quarters of an hour later, all the pills had been swallowed, and Mu Fuyun had put on various magical weapons for defense. At this time, people from the three major sects also came to the Forbidden Abyss one after another.
The place that was originally empty and deserted suddenly became more popular.
However, the more people there were, the deeper and more vast the Forbidden Abyss seemed. Each of them was a cultivator of immortality. In the eyes of mortals, they were already high and mighty beings, close to ascending to the immortal gate. But next to the Forbidden Abyss, they were like ants, insignificant.
"I never thought there was such a place in Tianyan!" Liang Huailian, who arrived first on his sword, was like a floating cloud. His figure seemed much lighter than when he was in the western desert. It was obvious that he had indeed advanced during that outflow of spiritual energy. "This layer of dark and shiny things must be the marks left by the thunderbolts that struck the spirit stones, right? My God, how many thunderbolts must have been needed to split this deep pit into this state!"
Liang Daoheng, with the Wuding Sect's men, followed closely behind, paying close attention to his precious daughter's every move. Upon hearing this, he quickly raised his voice, "Bao'er, this is a place specially provided for cultivators to experience their final heavenly tribulation. We in the Wuding Sect also have it!"
Liang Huailian ignored his words, stood on a high place and looked around privately, and soon found Mu Fuyun and Zhan Yao standing together.
She placed her hands on her hips and spoke condescendingly, "Hey, Mu Fuyun, I heard you're going to ascend to heaven? You're worthy of being my prized opponent! But you have to be careful, ascending to heaven isn't easy. Throughout history, there have only been a handful of people who have reached this level, and most of them have failed at the last moment. You'd better protect yourself and don't lose your life. If you fail, I'm still waiting to compete with you again!"
Her tone sounded so relaxed, as if it was just an ordinary appointment for a competition, but everyone knew that there was only one step between the late stage of tribulation and ascension, and if she failed, there would be only one way to go, which was death.
But when such heavy words came out of Liang Huailian's mouth, they sounded very lively, and Mu Fuyun felt a little relieved after hearing them.
"I understand," Mu Fuyun gave her a rare smile and said loudly, "But you have to work hard too. Otherwise, I don't know how many years I will have to wait for you to break through the tribulation."
"Hmph! Don't underestimate me! I will definitely catch up with you soon!" Liang Huailian said, and turned to Zhan Yao, "And you, Zhan Yao, don't even think about slacking off! Practice hard and don't fall behind!"
Zhan Yao curled her lips and said expressionlessly, "Stop talking nonsense."
As they were talking, Chu Ye and Song Xinghe settled the people they had led and quickly came to Mu Fuyun.
The final blow was imminent, a matter of life or death. They had no other choice but to fight to the bitter end. Under such pressure, both of them looked solemn, and the aura around them became extremely dull.
In the eyes of others, the two of them were just worried about their fellow junior sister, just like before in the Western Desert. After all, Mu Fuyun was Mu Fuyue's biological sister. In the past, everyone knew that Chu Ye and Song Xinghe had a close relationship with Mu Fuyun, and because of Mu Fuyue's death, the two of them had always felt guilty.
Only they themselves know that what they are really tormented with at this moment is that if they fail, they will really make a huge mistake that they will never be able to forgive in their lifetime.
Chu Ye took out a small lotus lantern from the mustard seed bag and gently placed it aside in Mu Fuyun's sight.
That is Mu Fuyue’s lotus lantern.
According to the oath Chu Ye and Song Xinghe had made earlier, they had to bring Mu Fuyue's lotus lantern, otherwise they would be breaking their oath.
The soul-nourishing technique that Mu Fuyue placed her hope on was to take advantage of the moment when she suffered a thunder tribulation and her spirit and body could no longer withstand it and was about to die, so that she could take advantage of the opportunity and occupy this body.
But this method is only possible in two cases.
One is when one's spiritual power is weak and one's cultivation is shallow, and one is advancing for the first time and is hit by heavenly thunder. Like Mu Fuyun, whose bones are weak and damaged, it is easy for him to not be able to withstand it. The other is when one's cultivation has reached its peak, like her now, and is about to be hit by eighty-one heavenly thunders. After all, throughout history, most of the powerful people who were about to ascend to heaven failed at this hurdle.
Mu Fuyue probably didn't expect that her sister could cultivate to such a level in such a short time despite having such damaged bones. This is probably unique not only in Tianyan but also in the entire continent.
The lotus lantern stood quietly by without any reaction, making the onlookers think that it was just a lotus lantern that had not been lit yet. Chu Ye took it just in case. If Mu Fuyun had an accident, he could collect her remaining spiritual consciousness as soon as possible so that her lotus lantern could stay lit longer.
Chu Ye gave Mu Fuyun a serious look, indicating to her that everything was ready.
Mu Fuyun glanced at the lotus lantern.
She knew that Mu Fuyue didn't dare to come out. With so many eyes watching her, Mu Fuyue would definitely hide herself well and wait for the opportunity to enter, and then take advantage of the chaos to avoid the sight of most people.
Mu Fuyun quickly looked away and glanced at the people watching around him.
Just like the previous competition among the three major sects, everyone gathered around the Forbidden Abyss in order, and countless pairs of eyes looked in her direction, making her inexplicably dazed.
Those were pairs of eyes full of expectation, curiosity, and encouragement, and were no longer the eyes full of doubt, contempt, and disdain that she had seen when she first came to this small world. Even the demon cultivators from the Demon Realm came with curiosity. After all, in the entire continent, from ancient times to the present, there were only a handful of cultivators who could break through the late stage of tribulation and ascend directly.
That’s right, people from the Demon Realm have also come.
Mu Fuyun's eyes met Cang Yan's for a moment, but he quickly looked away and looked at Jiang Hanqiu, who was currently in charge of the situation on behalf of the head.
Tian Yan never mentioned the news that the master was seriously ill and might not live long. Everyone just thought that Qi Yuanbai was in seclusion to recuperate. As for Xie Hanyi, everyone knew that he had suffered great losses in the Western Pole, so it was understandable that he could not come. It was a pity that the one who had the opportunity to ascend to heaven this time was his direct disciple.
This is the first time in history that a master and his apprentice have achieved a breakthrough to the highest realm first.
Jiang Hanqiu received Mu Fuyun's eye signal, nodded at her very quickly, and then turned to everyone present.
"Today is the day when Mu Fuyun, a disciple of Lingshan Daojun from the inner sect of Tianyan, will overcome the tribulation and strive for the immortal path. All of you fellow Daoists from friendly sects should know that this level is the most difficult part of the path of cultivation. Once you fail, you will die on the spot and there will be no recovery. Moreover, my disciple Fuyun has just returned from the Western Extremes and his injuries have not yet healed. He has also been cultivating for a short time. It is only through various coincidences that he was able to break through to this point in such a short time. Today's level is full of difficulties. Without the help of others, it would be difficult to overcome it. All of you Daoists are willing to take the trouble to come to Tianyan, and you must have a generous intention to help."
Jiang Hanqiu's voice was very loud, with a heroic spirit unique to female cultivators. Although she had never served as the head of Tianyan in all these years, she did not show any sign of fear or weakness when facing the cultivators from the other two major sects and the demon cultivators from the Demon Realm.
"Yes, cultivators have the hope of ascending to heaven, no matter which sect or school they belong to, they are all fellow practitioners. No matter how long it takes to cultivate to this point, it is all due to the law of cause and effect. We, the mortals, should put aside everything and do our best to help." Zhenren Hongmeng took over Jiang Hanqiu's words with a smile.
In comparison, Liang Daoheng seemed more vulgar and straightforward: "Not bad, not bad. I was also thinking about seeing what it's like to ascend to become an immortal. After all, I've been practicing for most of my life and have never seen such a scene. I have to thank Tian Yan for his generosity in allowing me to bring all my disciples here to broaden my horizons. Hahahaha!"
Cang Yan said calmly, "Stop talking nonsense and get started."
Jiang Hanqiu's eyebrows twitched for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and clasped his fists towards the three parties. "Since that's the case, I'd like to thank you all on behalf of Tian Yan. Without further ado, please take a seat and rest in peace."
After she finished speaking, she also returned to her position on her sword.
For a moment, everyone present looked in the direction of Mu Fuyun, and the originally noisy voices gradually died down. Countless people and a vast area suddenly became eerily quiet.
"The lightning-dissipating stone formation has been set up." Song Xinghe lowered his voice to remind Mu Fuyun, and at the same time pointed to an inconspicuous spot in the darkness that was glowing with a deep blue luster.
Mu Fuyun then noticed that both he and Chu Ye looked not very well. They were not completely pale from weakness, but rather rosy on the surface and empty inside. It must be because of this stone formation that they had wasted a lot of spiritual power, and then relied on various high-level elixirs to forcibly replenish their qi and blood.
Following Song Xinghe's instructions, she bent her legs and sat cross-legged at that point, slowly closed her eyes, and eliminated all the chaos and distractions around her, concentrating her mind completely on the breath lingering in her body.
After a night of adjustment, the spiritual energy had already been smoothed out and filled everywhere, and all the joints were also unobstructed, as if the slightest shock would make it overflow and break through the limit.
Everything was ready. She pressed the breath in the top of her head downwards. Then, the breath in her body circulated rapidly. The high state in her dantian shook slightly. Then, a huge amount of spiritual power immediately accumulated, forming a strong impact.
Everything in the outside world was still perfect and peaceful, but inside her body, a storm had swept through and sand was dancing wildly.
At first, everyone waited quietly, and no one dared to speak, for fear of accidentally disturbing Mu Fuyun and interrupting her path to advancement.
But after all, no one had ever seen a precedent of someone crossing the border in the late stage of the tribulation. After waiting for a while, he saw that she seemed to be in a trance and there was no movement, so he couldn't help but hesitate.
"Is it really that easy to advance? I heard that those powerful people had to retreat for months, years, or even decades before they could advance. Can she really advance further if she enters into meditation like this? If she doesn't break through, are we just going to keep waiting like this?"
"It's not good to ask us to wait for several years... I don't understand it either, but in the Western Pole, Mu Fuyun did advance many levels. At that time, the thunder roared for so long, one after another, no one could count it, but it was definitely her that fell the most. I just don't know if she really reached the late stage of the tribulation..."
Seeing that everyone was gradually losing their initial seriousness and suspicions about each other were gradually aroused, someone in the crowd suddenly pointed to the sky and shouted.
"Look, the clouds are rolling in!"
It was a very familiar scene. The clouds grew thicker, the sky darkened, and between the surging clouds, faint thunder was brewing. A thunder disaster had occurred!
For a moment, everyone held their breath and stared at the sky that was rapidly darkening.
Layer upon layer of dark clouds rolled together, like a ball of fog that could swallow the sky and the earth. Amidst bursts of low, muffled thunder, light gathered.
The discussions around him gradually became louder. Mu Fuyun did not dare to be distracted at all. He shut out all the noise and focused all his attention on the breath and spiritual power flowing through his meridians.
The lightning that was gradually taking shape paused in the air for a moment. Before anyone could see it clearly, the light, so strong that it made people's eyes see stars, was like a terrifying long whip. It was grasped by an invisible big hand, which mobilized spiritual power and lashed down fiercely.
Different from the thunder tribulations that people occasionally see when breaking through a realm, this golden whip formed by lightning is more powerful than they expected. It is as if the smooth whips they see every day have suddenly grown countless barbs, and when it is whipped, it will surely bring up a piece of fresh flesh and blood.
Hongying, who was standing very close, saw it very clearly. The long whip that came down on her head made her face look a little pale. The dazzling light made her eyes go white. For a moment, she couldn't see anything clearly and subconsciously grabbed the arm of the person next to her.
Xiao Yan's face flushed, and he quickly turned around to look. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, he saw Hong Ying staring intently at Mu Fuyun not far away, muttering, "You must hold on..."
Xiao Yan choked in his throat and swallowed back the words "This is just the first thunder" that were about to come out of his mouth. He looked over with Hongying.
The thunder had struck down and landed precisely on Mu Fuyun.
There seemed to be no change in her posture while meditating and regulating her breathing, except that she swayed slightly at the moment the lightning struck her body.
After all, he had taken so many pills, prepared so many superior magical instruments, and Chu Ye and Song Xinghe had spent so much effort to move the lightning-dissipating stone formation here. Although the first lightning had a strong impact, it did not bring much pain. It was just like a tiny needle tip, quickly piercing the meridians throughout the body, leaving only a thin, numb feeling that quietly spread.
Mu Fuyun closed her eyes, not paying attention to Chu Ye and Song Xinghe who were helping her to replenish the formation. She just quickly adjusted her breathing and waited for the next lightning to come.
Eighty-one thunders, if it is the same as the previous advancement, the first few will be less powerful and the intervals will be longer, and it will be more difficult to endure as time goes by. She has no time to care about irrelevant people.
But because of this, she failed to notice that the crystal piece that had been hanging on her chest and hidden under her Taoist robe emitted a very faint light for a moment when the light fell on her, as if it was sensing something.
At the same time, crossing the undulating Tianyan Mountains, passing through the lush green forests, and wading through the winding stone steps, the Guizang Palace on the high ground was quiet and silent. Apart from the faint rumble of thunder in the distance, even the sound of branches rubbing against each other among the trees could not be heard.
Behind the main hall, in a very inconspicuous room, Xie Hanyi, who had been lying motionless on the couch, emitted a dim light the moment the muffled thunder was heard in the distance.
That was a wisp of spiritual consciousness that fell somewhere else, silently transmitting the sensation.
Time and time again, as the lightning struck, the dim light gradually became brighter.
-
In the forbidden abyss, the speed at which lightning gathered and struck increased unnoticed.
However, for the crowd who had been watching for nearly an hour, this speed was still a bit slow.
"If this continues, I'm afraid it won't be until after dark that I can fully experience the thunder tribulation!"
"Yes, we can rest assured. I think our preparations are very thorough and we should be able to get through it smoothly in the end."
"I don't know about that. This is about ascending to godhood, so maybe it won't be that simple..."
"Ah, who knows? This Mu Fuyun seems to have been very different since she first joined Tianyan. Although in the past two years, probably because of the abundant spiritual energy in her spiritual veins, many young cultivators with excellent talents and rapid advancement have emerged, but Mu Fuyun is the only one who has such a low starting point and yet has advanced faster than others. I believe in her!"
"Yes, her performance in the three major sect competition was truly astonishing..."
Suddenly, many people began to recall the various events of the sect competition. Mu Fuyun, who appeared like a meteor, left a deep impression on everyone.
It had clearly only been a short time, but for some reason, when I think about it now, I feel as if I were in another world. It was even as if everything was destined. She entered Tianyan with such an extraordinary attitude, and was destined to embark on such an extraordinary immortal journey.
While most people's attention was focused on Mu Fuyun and the swirling clouds in the sky, Zhan Yao and a few others quietly diverted their attention and kept an eye on the inconspicuous lotus lantern next to them.
Thunder struck down one after another, and Zhan Yao clearly saw that the amplitude of Mu Fuyun's body shaking was gradually increasing, and the rosy complexion that was originally faintly visible on her face was also peeling off bit by bit.
This is because the soul is slowly separated from the physical body under the accumulated pressure of the thunder tribulation. Once it cannot survive, the soul and body will be completely separated and will be quickly annihilated by the thunder and lightning. The physical body will also quickly dissipate without the soul - that is the process of a cultivator being completely reduced to ashes.
Back then, in the secret realm of the Western Desert, Chu Ye captured the moment before Mu Fuyue's soul flew away and collected a wisp of broken soul. But now, what Mu Fuyue wanted to capture was the moment when Mu Fuyu's soul left his body but his body had not yet dissipated.
The lotus lamp was slowly getting brighter, and a wisp of faint blue-gray smoke flashed quickly at the top.
Zhan Yao tightened his grip on the sword.
She quickly winked at Xu Lian and Zhou Su who were standing not far away. After receiving their responses, she focused on watching the movements of Mu Fuyun's lotus lantern.
Chu Ye and Song Xinghe had been guarding the lightning-dissipating stone formation. Due to the continuous thunder tribulations, they had consumed more than half of their spiritual power. It would not be long before their sea of qi would be exhausted, and they were in urgent need of replenishment.
"I'm afraid my two senior brothers can't hold on any longer..." Xu Huaiyan said nervously.
He had an impulse in his heart and wanted to step forward to help them, but his cultivation level was far inferior to theirs, and he was afraid that he would have a hard time resisting. Doing so would only make Mu Fuyun suffer more.
Cang Yan, who was watching indifferently, finally moved his wrist quietly at this moment, gathered a cluster of spiritual power in his palm, ready to fill the gap for Chu Ye and Song Xinghe when they could no longer bear it.
However, before he could make a move, he heard Jiang Hanqiu's secret words in his ears.
"Please, Demon Lord, please move and go to Guizang Palace."
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