Chapter 12: The Celestial Immortal Body

"Hoo——" A fierce wind suddenly appeared in this world filled with death. Winds came from all directions, all rushing toward the immortal Diancai. Ji Ning, the Mad Immortal Wu Feng, and the Whitewater Marsh all felt the intensity of the wind, but they could withstand it with their primal energy alone.

The closer the wind got to Diancai, the greater its power. As the winds converged from all sides, they gradually transformed into azure wind blades. When these azure wind blades truly flew before Diancai, they turned into deep azure, even 'black' wind blades.

Just looking at them made Ji Ning and the others tremble inwardly.

"Gather."

The black-robed, black-haired Diancai stood there, with five Plowshare Heaven Immortal Swords floating around him, spinning, forming a five-colored light that surrounded him. The terrifying black wind blades struck again and again, but all were blocked.

"Junior apprentice-brother Diancai's swordsmanship has improved this much?" The Mad Immortal Wu Feng revealed a joyful expression. "Ji Ning, I had some expectations for your master's swordsmanship, but he is even stronger than I anticipated. Back then, we all thought... that Diancai was the most likely to become a Celestial Immortal. Even then, his swordsmanship was already astonishing. After roaming for forty years and obtaining the Dao Repository you gave him, his swordsmanship is now... no less than that of Senior Beixing. He truly has hope of becoming a Celestial Immortal!"

"Mm." Ji Ning was also full of anticipation.

Putting aside everything else, just the 'Five Elements Sword Intent' his master had displayed earlier told Ji Ning that his master's swordsmanship was likely on the same level as his own. He truly was the unparalleled genius of the Black-White College, the one most likely to become a Celestial Immortal.

...

The fierce black wind blades struck the five-colored light again and again, causing cracks to appear in the surrounding space.

Boom~~~

All the black wind blades dissipated, and the world fell silent for a moment. But then another gust of wind appeared between heaven and earth, like needles piercing. Whoosh, whoosh, it blew, and countless 'sharp needles' appeared in midair, each glowing with golden light, stabbing toward the five-colored light formed by the five flying swords.

...

Sometimes fierce, sometimes insidious, sometimes gentle, sometimes cold, sometimes scorching...

All kinds of winds came, one after another.

Even 'Heavenly Winds' appeared, a full twelve types.

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent again, and this time no wind appeared for a long while.

"Not good." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng was startled. "The final stage of the Wind Tribulation has begun."

Ji Ning was also anxious and uneasy, watching his master standing in the distance with tension.

The Heavenly Tribulation consists of four major tribulations: Wind, Fire, Thunder, and Heartfiend. Among them, the Wind Tribulation... first comes ordinary wind, then various types of Heavenly Winds of different power, and finally the most terrifying 'Celestial Immortal Wind'. This Celestial Immortal Wind is formless and colorless, hard to find even in the Three Realms; it only appears when one undergoes the Heavenly Tribulation.

No magic treasure can block this Celestial Immortal Wind. It appears directly before the tribulation-taker, then enters through the crown of the head. No matter what Daoist robe or means one uses, none can stop the Celestial Immortal Wind from penetrating!

Once the Celestial Immortal Wind enters through the crown of the head, it naturally sweeps through the five viscera and all parts of the body.

At this moment, what is tested is the Dao-heart.

If the Dao-heart is weak, once the Celestial Immortal Wind enters through the crown of the head, it may instantly dissolve the bones and flesh, turning them to ashes! Only the Golden Lotus Primordial Spirit can escape... Ninety-nine percent of Return to Void Earth Immortals fail under the 'Celestial Immortal Wind'.

If the Dao-heart is strong and can stabilize, then after the body endures the 'Celestial Immortal Wind', it will undergo a transformation, gradually turning into a 'Celestial Immortal Body'.

"Master, you must hold on." Ji Ning was extremely worried.

"Hold on." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng also stared.

Standing in the distance, Diancai, surrounded by five black flying swords, opened his eyes and revealed a smile, looking at Ji Ning and the Mad Immortal Wu Feng: "The Wind Tribulation has passed."

"Good." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng laughed heartily. "I knew junior apprentice-brother's Dao-heart was formidable. This Celestial Immortal Wind can't do anything to you. Quickly recover your primal power and prepare for the next Fire Tribulation!"

Ji Ning also breathed a sigh of relief.

At least the first tribulation was overcome.

In truth, given his master's usual Dao-heart, he should have had confidence. But before entering this minor world, his master's emotions had fluctuated, and he had even spoken of dying and reuniting with his junior apprentice-sister. Ji Ning was very worried that his master would be affected by the feelings from back then; if the Dao-heart wavered even slightly, it would mean instant dissolution of bones and flesh into ashes.

The Heavenly Tribulation is extremely cruel; not the slightest mistake is allowed. One wrong step, and it's all over!

...

Ji Ning, the Mad Immortal Wu Feng, and the Whitewater Marsh all released their divine sense to scout and keep watch in the distance, while also watching Diancai.

About half an hour after the Wind Tribulation passed.

In the sky, a red cloud appeared, like a cloud formed by gathered flames.

"The Fire Tribulation is here." Ji Ning and the Mad Immortal Wu Feng watched nervously.

The Fire Tribulation, though not as gentle as the Wind Tribulation, is far more violent! If there is the slightest failure to withstand the power of the flames, the Return to Void Earth Immortal's physical body will be burned to ashes.

The fiery red cloud in the sky began to descend slowly, causing the surrounding temperature to soar rapidly, and even a hazy red light appeared in the air.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~~~" The ground began to soften, then turned into red magma, flowing and rolling.

Diancai had already floated up.

"Go!"

Diancai pointed into the distance, and one of the black Plowshare Heaven Immortal Swords flew out, transforming into a fiery red great serpent dancing wildly, charging straight into the huge red cloud. It stirred the red cloud into chaos. But soon, that Plowshare Heaven Immortal Sword was shaken back.

Then the red cloud descended faster, soon completely enveloping Diancai.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~~~

The temperature instantly rose to a terrifying level. The rock and soil in that area were scorched into nothingness. Even the rock and soil where Ji Ning and the others were in the distance had turned into flowing magma, showing how terrifying the temperature was.

"Boom~~" "Whoosh~~" "Sizzle~~~"

Through the red cloud, one could faintly see various heavenly fires burning. Some were golden, some black, some emerald green, some the color of dazzling stars...

"All kinds of heavenly fires descend." Ji Ning and the Mad Immortal Wu Feng watched with tight hearts.

"Boom!"

Suddenly.

The entire red cloud converged sharply toward the center, and then a figure protected by five flying swords was seen. The red cloud turned into flames, seeming insubstantial, passing through the obstruction of the flying swords and flying directly into the figure's body.

For a moment, the world cooled down, and the surrounding temperature rapidly decreased.

But Diancai, floating in midair, emitted flames. Ji Ning could even see the fire inside his master's body; he was like a 'man of fire'.

"The last type of fire in the Fire Tribulation, the 'Celestial Immortal Fire'." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng said nervously.

The Celestial Immortal Body must undergo the threefold tempering of Wind, Fire, and Thunder before finally achieving the Celestial Immortal physical body.

Then, through the Heartfiend Tribulation, one achieves the Celestial Immortal Dao-heart.

Only after passing all of these can one be considered a carefree Celestial Immortal!

"He passed." Ji Ning, who had been watching nervously, revealed a joyful expression. In the distance, Diancai, who had been a 'man of fire', gradually dimmed and slowly returned to normal.

Diancai descended, then sat cross-legged, silently regulating his breath and recovering his primal power.

"The Fire Tribulation has passed. Next is the most dangerous Thunder Tribulation!" The Mad Immortal Wu Feng said softly.

"Mm, the Thunder Tribulation!" Ji Ning's heart was also hanging.

Among the four major tribulations, the final Heartfiend Tribulation is the most bizarre!

But the Thunder Tribulation is the most terrifying!

The Thunder Tribulation is the most violent. Layer after layer of lightning, with power that continuously escalates. Even the immortals Juhua and Beixing from back then, under the unending heavenly thunder, eventually had their physical bodies destroyed and their Golden Lotus Primordial Spirits damaged, barely escaping to become Sanxian. It can be said that the 'Thunder Tribulation' is a nightmare! Countless unparalleled geniuses have fallen to it. There is no room for cleverness in withstanding the Thunder Tribulation. When a heavenly thunderbolt strikes, if you block it, the next one comes. If you can't block it, you're finished.

It's that simple!

"I wonder how many heavenly thunderbolts there will be." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng said worriedly.

"Master's swordsmanship is extremely high, his talent is great, and he has five Immortal-grade top-quality flying swords. I'm afraid the heavenly thunder won't be few." Ji Ning was also worried.

For the Thunder Tribulation, some Earth Immortals might only encounter nine heavenly thunderbolts.

Some have eighteen, some twenty-seven, some thirty-six... Legend has it that the highest number is eighty-one!

The number of heavenly thunderbolts is related to many factors, even to one's merit. However, generally, those who cultivate the qi-refining path cannot encounter the legendary eighty-one heavenly thunderbolts! 'Eighty-one' thunderbolts are usually encountered by divine body refiners during their tribulation. Many heaven-defying Return to Void divine body refiners are struck to death by the heavenly thunder!

Ji Ning knew well that even if he cultivated the Eighty-Nine Arcane Art to the third stage, if he encountered eighty-one heavenly thunderbolts, he would be struck to slag without any resistance!

"I hope it's below thirty-six." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng said softly.

"Mm." Ji Ning also nodded lightly.

Qi-refining cultivators are naturally weaker than divine body refiners in withstanding heavenly thunder. Generally, if it exceeds thirty-six heavenly thunderbolts, it's very difficult to get through.

...

Another half hour passed.

In the calm sky, two enormous dark clouds suddenly appeared, flying rapidly from different directions, rumbling and blotting out the sky. As the two dark clouds drew closer, bolts of lightning began to flow between them. The terrifying power made Ji Ning, the Mad Immortal Wu Feng, and the Whitewater Marsh all worried.

Gradually, the two enormous dark clouds began to converge and merge. This super-massive merged dark cloud started to rotate.

Soon, this Thunder Tribulation cloud had turned into a vortex of thunder and lightning.

"Such a large Thunder Tribulation cloud." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng suddenly changed expression.

"What's wrong?" Ji Ning asked worriedly.

"When I underwent my tribulation back then, I failed under this Thunder Tribulation cloud. But the Thunder Tribulation cloud during my tribulation wasn't this big." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng said worriedly.

"What? How many heavenly thunderbolts did you face back then?" Ji Ning asked.

"I don't know, but I was struck by the twenty-fifth heavenly thunderbolt, which scattered my magic treasures and shattered my physical body. I gave up and fled." The Mad Immortal Wu Feng said. "Junior apprentice-brother Diancai's heavenly thunder will definitely be more than mine."

As soon as he finished speaking.

Boom!

Ji Ning felt a thunderous roar in his ears. A dazzling bolt of lightning instantly struck down from the vortex of thunder and lightning high in the sky, heading straight for Diancai below.

...