Refusing to Take the Bait, 500 Years of Calamity Qi
But one day, a senior student Zhao Yuanshan knocked on his door.
Zhao Yuanshan had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a cheerful personality. He was the most active person among the younger generation of Qingfeng Temple.
He stood at the doorway, grinning at Chen Du: "Li Xuan, what are you doing cooped up in the house all day? The Houtian, there's a lantern festival in the town down the mountain. It's only once a year, and it's very lively. My fellow disciples and I are planning to go together. Why don't you come too? With your health, you should get out more."
Chen Du looked at him, about to speak, when a very slight vibration suddenly came from the depths of his mind.
[Calamity Warning triggered.]
[Simulation in progress... Simulation complete. If the host descends the mountain to the Lantern Festival, they will encounter an ambush at the East Stone Bridge. Ambush attacker's cultivation level: Early Stage of the Eleventh Realm. Ambush method: Using the crowds of the Lantern Festival as cover, they will set up a trapping formation at both ends of the stone bridge, activating it after the host enters the formation. Ambush attacker's origin: Unknown. Ambush attacker's purpose: To test the host's cultivation level and confirm whether the host is the true crown prince.]
[Warning Details: The ambush attackers have infiltrated the town three days in advance, disguised as lantern makers. The stone bridge is the only passage in the east of the town, and the crowds are dense, making it difficult to hide. If the host is traveling with fellow disciples, the ambush will be launched after the host enters the trap formation, at which time the companions may be injured or killed.]
[Suggestion: Do not descend the mountain; remain within Qingfeng Temple and use Qi-Concealing Technique to seal your aura.]
Chen Du's expression remained unchanged after reading the prompts on the panel.
He smiled at Zhao Yuanshan, a smile tinged with apology, "I appreciate your kindness, senior brother, but I haven't been feeling well these past few days. Master has told me to rest and recuperate, so it's inconvenient for me to go out."
Zhao Yuanshan paused for a moment, looked at him, then at his small, tightly closed room, and scratched his head. "That's true, you were sick a few days ago, you should rest more. Okay, we'll go, and bring you two lanterns when we come back."
After he finished speaking, he patted Chen Du on the shoulder, turned around, and left.
Chen Du closed the door, leaned against it, and slowly exhaled... The other party was getting more and more ruthless.
The last time was when he silently killed an assassin at the Peak Stage of the Tenth Realm.
This time, they directly sent an Eleventh Realm to test the waters.
Moreover, their methods were more meticulous, even calculating the terrain, the flow of people, and escape routes.
If he really goes down the mountain with his fellow disciples, once the trapping formation is activated... although I have the ability to fight back, I will be exposed prematurely.
He walked to the wooden couch, sat down, closed his eyes, and activated his Qi-Concealing Technique to its maximum.
He missed the lively Lantern Festival. But the Calamity Warning told him that beneath the dazzling lights and bustling activity down the mountain lay a net that had already been cast.
He won't take the bait.
The lantern festival lasted for three days.
For the past three days, Chen Du has never left that small house.
By day he sat cross-legged, practicing breathing exercises; by night he meditated on the Tribulation-Transcending Law. The faint sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers could be heard from below the mountain. As night fell...
A warm yellow light would also illuminate the direction of the town; those were the lanterns of the Lantern Festival, visible from miles away.
Zhao Yuanshan and his fellow apprentices left in high spirits, and returned in high spirits as well. Each of them carried lanterns in their hands, stuffed with food they had bought in town, and talked about the excitement of the Lantern Festival.
Zhao Yuanshan had indeed not forgotten him, and brought him back two lanterns, one a rabbit lantern and the other a lotus lantern.
He hung the lantern on Chen Du's windowsill, clapped his hands, and said with a grin, "To liven things up a bit, so you don't stay cooped up like a little old man all day."
Chen Du thanked him and watched Zhao Yuanshan leave.
Then he turned around and looked at the two lanterns on the windowsill.
The candlelight inside the lantern hadn't gone out yet, and the rabbit's eyes shone brightly in the candlelight. The shadows of the lotus flowers were cast on the wall, swirling one by one.
He stood by the window, gazing for a long time. He would never see the lanterns of the Lantern Festival.
But the Calamity Warning told him that the net below the mountain had already been cast.
On the fifth day, a warm current of energy surged into the depths of his consciousness, stronger than ever before.
He roughly calculated that it had been a full five hundred years.
He paused for a moment, then understood.
This calamity is greater than the last one.
Last time it was an assassin at the Peak Stage of the Tenth Realm; this time it's an ambush by someone at the Early Stage of the Eleventh Realm.
The ambushers waited for three days, but no one showed up, so they had to retreat.
He skillfully avoided a deadly trap that could have claimed dozens of lives.
But Heavenly Dao bestowed upon him five hundred years of Calamity Qi.
He slowly exhaled, the five hundred years of Calamity Qi being four times greater than the previous hundred years.
He channeled that Calamity Qi into [Heaven's Way's Gift], causing his talent to tremble, the tremor far more intense than ever before.
A moment later, the three things appeared simultaneously in the depths of his consciousness.
The first item was a dark gold scripture. The cover bore only two words: "The Tribulation Armor," Eleventh Tier, containing the Medium Core Level Nine Law, "The Tribulation Armor."
This method uses Calamity Qi as its material and one's own body as its furnace. Once mastered, it can condense an invisible Tribulation Armor on the body's surface.
The Tribulation Armor does not defend against swords or magic; it only blocks calamities.
Every calamity that touches the Tribulation Armor will be devoured by the Tribulation Armor, turning into Calamity Qi that nourishes itself.
The greater the calamity, the thicker the Tribulation Armor, and the more it gives back.
The second item was a dark golden light, representing others' insights into the Tribulation-Transcending Law over 30,000 years.
The Tribulation-Transcending Law that one feeds on tribulations and uses one's own body as a furnace, enduring countless tribulations without being destroyed; each tribulation is a tempering process.
That unknown predecessor spent a full 30,000 years on the Tribulation-Transcending Law. Every step of his understanding, every breakthrough, and every bottleneck that he had been stuck on and then reopened was all contained within this radiance.
The third thing was a similar dark golden light, representing someone else's understanding of the Tribulation Armor Law over 30,000 years. The Tribulation Armor Law uses Calamity Qi as material and one's own body as a furnace to condense an invisible Tribulation Armor on the body's surface. This was also someone else's path in the Tribulation Armor Law, which had taken a full 30,000 years.
The three items were an Eleventh Tier cultivation technique and two Medium Core Level Nine Laws, each requiring 30,000 years of enlightenment.
He looked at each one, his heart surging with indescribable shock. Five hundred years of Calamity Qi had yielded such a rich reward.
He slowly exhaled, simultaneously drawing both insights into his mind, and closed his eyes to deduce their meaning.
The Tribulation-Transcending Law and the Tribulation Armor Law, one is active and the other is passive.
In the days that followed, Chen Du hardly left the small house.
He simultaneously absorbed the two insights into his sea of consciousness, and activated [Divine Revelation Reading] at full power, dissecting his 30,000 years of insights into the Tribulation-Transcending Law and the Tribulation Armor Law one by one.
The Tribulation-Transcending Law: feed on tribulations and use one's own body as a furnace.
The Tribulation Armor Law uses Calamity Qi as its material and one's own body as its furnace.
The two laws share the same origin but diverge in their application; one actively confronts calamity, while the other passively absorbs it. Ultimately, however, they both revolve around the concept of "calamity."
He spent several months connecting the threads of the two laws one by one, reaching the first level of both realms.
The two laws slowly rotated in his sea of consciousness, echoing each other and resonating with the second level of the Bury Heaven, Extinguish Earth and the second level of the Divine Prison Law.