Guidance

The Golden Crow cried out, like a second sun. Wherever it swept past, grass and trees burst into flames, turning the land into a hell of fire.

Jiang Li was utterly unafraid of such heat; not a single drop of sweat formed on him. He sidestepped, seized the roots of the Golden Crow's wings, and let it flap helplessly.

"Your cultivation technique seems to involve contemplating the blazing sun to comprehend the power of yang. It's a good technique, but you've only focused on the Golden Crow as a race of supreme hardness and pure yang. You've never considered that the world itself has two sides, yin and yang. The Golden Crow is only one part of the yang side, not all of it. Go. Seek out other things of hard, radiant yang."

Jiang Li hurled the Golden Crow at the man using Dharma Idol Embodiment. That man was just pressing down on Jiang Li with a Heaven Covering Handprint when the blazing sun suddenly scorched his palm, making him instinctively draw his hand back.

Jiang Li released his spiritual energy, forming a Heaven Covering Handprint of his own. It clamped around the Dharma Idol Embodiment user's wrist, and with a light twist, made the man howl in pain.

"Your conception of Dharma Idol Embodiment isn't bad—it balances offense and defense. But a powerful exterior only conceals inner weakness. If you can't endure hardship or bear pain, what are you cultivating for? Grueling cultivation damages your foundation, while quiet cultivation makes it hard to comprehend the Great Dao. Combining the two is the proper path. Fight others head-on more often. Taking a beating is cultivation too."

The Dharma Idol Embodiment user collapsed in pain. Everyone's vision went dark as that enormous body crushed down upon them, pinning them to the ground. They hurriedly unleashed their respective divine abilities, bored small holes through his body, and flew out through them, all cursing him for being worse than useless.

Kun Peng reacted the fastest. With a beat of his wings, he soared skyward, barely evading the Dharma Idol Embodiment user.

His Parents had died when he was young. After weathering countless hardships and dangers, he had finally become a core disciple of his sect. He did not fear pain, so Jiang Human Emperor's earlier methods were useless against him.

He refused to believe that if he rammed forward with such a massive body, Jiang Human Emperor would neither dodge nor evade. "You admire Kun Peng and yearn for freedom. Not bad."

Jiang Li could tell that this man differed from the earlier True Dragon and Golden House. He had transformed into Kun Peng simply because Kun Peng was free and unfettered: in the sea, it could become a Kun Fish and contend with True Dragons; in the skies, it could become a great roc and spread its wings in flight. If Qilin were free, he would envy Qilin; if the Human Emperor were free, then he would want to become the Human Emperor! "But the Great Zhou Law comes first, so this place doesn't suit you. Seek out a place where martial strength is revered above all else—that would better benefit your cultivation."

Jiang Li truly did not dodge. He pressed one hand against the roc's beak, shoving its entire head into the dirt. More than half its body remained stiffly outside the ground, looking utterly ridiculous.

After that, Jiang Li proceeded to guide the others one by one, defeating them along the way. From beginning to end, he never moved his feet even once. He even used only one hand, while the other remained clasped behind his back.

The Sun Chasing Clan member, Seven Kill Dao Child, Song Ying, and the rest—none of them withstood even a single move from Jiang Li.

The only ones still standing before Jiang Li were the Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation and Qin Luan.

"Jiang Human Emperor, take this move!"

The Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation had been gathering power the entire time. The dark clouds above Jiang Li's head were black as ink, as though they were not formed of vapor at all, but gathered from pitch-black heavenly lightning! His sect was renowned for its Thunder Technique. As the youngest disciple of the sect master, he was naturally well versed in thunder arts, especially in his study of heavenly lightning.

Among all heavenly lightning, he believed Heart Demon Immortal Lightning posed the greatest threat and was the hardest to overcome. Who could resist their inner demons while also confronting immortal lightning whose power did not diminish?

He believed no one could! "So it's Heart Demon Immortal Lightning. The little fellow has some ideas."

Jiang Li had experienced fifteen Ascension Tribulations. With one glance, he recognized what kind of lightning tribulation it was.

"But its power is still lacking."

Jiang Li reached out and seized the Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation, pulling him over so that both of them stood within the range of the Heart Demon Immortal Lightning.

There was an iron rule in the cultivation world: a lightning tribulation could only be crossed by one person. The more people involved, the greater its power became.

The Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation's eyes widened in horror. He discovered that he could no longer control the lightning tribulation, and the power of the Heart Demon heavenly lightning began to swell beyond restraint!

Boom! The sound of thunder reverberated through the entire space. Even those merely hearing it trembled in fear; one could imagine the terrifying force of the lightning tribulation faced by the two at its center.

At the very least, the Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation's legs were shaking from fright.

Even Meng Chun, who had been watching the spectacle from the shadows, jumped in shock.

Jiang Li was not the least bit flustered before the vast lightning tribulation. He even yawned.

He bore the doubled lightning tribulation alone, allowing the Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation to face only his inner demons.

"Mm, I don't feel much." Jiang Li smacked his lips, finding the lightning tribulation lacking in strength. The strongest lightning tribulation the Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation could imagine was nothing more than this to him.

It was no wonder. That man's sect was merely a small sect tucked away in a corner of Great Zhou, and knew very little of the lightning tribulations faced by those in the Tribulation Stage and Great Ascension Stage. Take Primal Chaos Immortal Mortal Lightning, for example—he probably knew only the assessment, "like the might of heaven, impossible to resist by force." As for what made that lightning tribulation so powerful, he could not imagine it.

Jiang Li then pulled over the utterly bewildered Qin Luan as well.

The power of the lightning tribulation increased fourfold! Qin Luan panicked for a moment, then swiftly steadied himself and focused on resisting his inner demons. He trusted that Jiang Human Emperor was only making him face his inner demons, not the terrifying descending lightning.

Qin Luan had guessed correctly. Jiang Li still bore the lightning tribulation alone.

"Mm, it's a little itchy." Even after enduring the lightning tribulation at four times its power, Jiang Li still felt it lacked something. But he did not pull anyone else in, making those around him breathe sighs of relief.

The others had not undergone enough experience yet. It was too early to make them confront their inner demons.

He could not devastate the flowers of the Nine Provinces just because he wanted the lightning tribulation to give him a massage.

Jiang Li felt that he had quite the sense of the bigger picture.

The Person Controlling Thunder Tribulation squeezed his eyes shut and trembled faintly, utterly helpless before his inner demons.

Jiang Li smacked the back of his head, pulling him out of his inner demons.

"Little fellow, you only know how to make others face their inner demons. Why are you so useless when facing your own? When you return, think carefully about how to resist them."

The man finally recovered somewhat from the terror of confronting his inner demons. Hearing Jiang Li say this, he hesitated before asking, "Jiang Human Emperor, why didn't you fall into your inner demons?"

Inner demons could not be avoided. Once some trigger stirred them, a cultivator could only confront them; there was no second way to resolve them.

He felt that not even Jiang Human Emperor could be an exception!

"Probably because I beat my inner demons so badly before that they're too scared to come out and see me." Jiang Li thought for a moment before explaining.

Back then, his inner demons had transformed into the Human Emperors of every generation, shouting, "No need to speak of martial honor, everyone! Let's rush him together!" Then Jiang Li had beaten them until they were battered and scattered, crying for their fathers and mothers.

It was rather like this situation.

The man fell silent. Jiang Human Emperor's strength had truly surpassed all his imagination.

Making inner demons afraid—so were they his inner demons, or was he the inner demon of his inner demons?

He thanked Jiang Li for his guidance, then silently withdrew.

Before leaving, he glanced at Qin Luan, who was still battling his inner demons, with deep envy.

If he possessed Qin Luan's Mental state, perhaps he too would have earned Jiang Human Emperor's attention.

How laughable. Before entering the Secret Realm, he had actually dreamed of competing with Qin Luan. Now, it seemed he was still far too lacking.