The Shaping Tribulation

In the Primordial Great World, all sorts of living beings naturally killed and devoured one another to grow stronger and advance.

The stronger beings grew ever more powerful by devouring all things.

The weaker beings could only become food for the strong, meat for them to grow stronger on.

That was why having a powerful protector to rely on was truly precious.

Naturally, these little creatures sincerely revered Li Xuan.

By now, Li Xuan was used to this. He waved at the creatures and said calmly, "All right, get up! You need to cultivate diligently! As long as you don't go beyond... well, as long as you stay within three thousand li of Mount Taixuan, my array can keep you safe! Go cultivate!"

After speaking, Li Xuan flew to the Thirty-Six Grade Creation Green Lotus Platform, sat cross-legged, and continued cultivating.

With cultivation speed multiplied fivefold, he couldn't afford to waste even a moment.

Besides, he had already chosen to cultivate for ten thousand years, so he might as well carry on without a break.

Seeing their lord enter meditation atop the mountain again, the creatures rose and quickly dispersed, moving as quietly as they could.

Only Bright Rabbit stayed below the mountain, watching for a long while before taking a deep breath, his eyes full of resolve.

He found a spot with abundant spiritual energy, closed his eyes, and began cultivating too.

Fivefold cultivation speed, ten thousand years of time.

As the clouds and mist within the Grand Profound Illusory Realm Array slowly churned, another ten thousand years passed.

"Mystic Immortal! Advance!"

On the final day of his fivefold cultivation speed, Li Xuan suddenly opened his eyes and formed a hand seal.

At once, spiritual energy came rushing from all around, turning into a liquid-like substance that poured into Li Xuan's body.

Li Xuan's True Immortal Level 10 cultivation rose another step, and he entered the Mystic Immortal Realm!

Once a Primordial Being entered the Mystic Immortal Realm, the laws of Heaven and Earth would notice them, and they would have to undergo a Shaping Tribulation. If they survived it, they could take on their true form.

But Li Xuan... his true body was already human-shaped, so he had no need to take on a new form.

Yet the Shaping Tribulation seemed not to care about that at all.

The Shaping Tribulation was neither especially great nor especially small.

For Primordial Beings, it was a tribulation with a fifty-fifty chance of survival.

If they failed, they would naturally be reduced to ashes. If they survived, they would become Mystic Immortals and take on their true forms.

But on this day, the entire sky above Mount Taixuan, stretching for tens of thousands of li, suddenly turned dark.

"Th-this..."

Even Li Xuan wasn't so foolish that he didn't know what a Shaping Tribulation was.

He looked up at the black clouds covering the whole sky and swore outright. "This damn thing is the Shaping Tribulation!?"

The Shaping Tribulation of an ordinary being brought only a few or a dozen li of dark clouds. If it covered dozens of li, that meant the being was exceptionally powerful.

But tens of thousands of li...

"Is this thing planning to strike me dead? Did the Heavenly Dao discover I'm a transmigrator? Is it using this chance to kill me?"

Purple light swirled in the black clouds. Thunder dragons, several zhang thick and a hundred zhang long, roared through the sky but did not descend, clearly still gathering power.

Li Xuan's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

The astonishing sight also drew the attention of every creature within three thousand li of Mount Taixuan.

The pressure from the tens of thousands of li of Tribulation Clouds had already sent them into a panic.

"A tribulation! This is a great tribulation!"

"Is... is our lord going through a tribulation!?"

"Could this be the legendary Six-Nine Tribulation? If our lord survives, he'll become a Grand Unity Golden Immortal!?"

"No, it's probably the Nine-Nine Tribulation! If our lord survives, he'll become a Quasi-Saint, said to be surpassed only by the Great Dao!"

"Wow, our lord is amazing! So amazing!"

"We'd better get out of here! Our lord can easily withstand the tribulation, but if it so much as touches us, we'll die!"

"Go, go!"

"Our lord, good luck! We're leaving first!"

"Our lord, good luck!!"

"Good luck!!"

The spirit creatures hurried away from Mount Taixuan, shouting their praise as they went. Li Xuan could only give a wry smile. "Good luck..."

Then he looked up at the sky and said calmly, "Well, good luck to me, then! It's only death."

Rumble!!

The thunder dragon rolled through the clouds, seemingly enraged by Li Xuan's attitude. In an instant, it came crashing down, its body nearly a thousand zhang long!

Li Xuan closed his eyes slightly, as though he had accepted his fate and given up hope.

"Crack!!"

A deafening boom rang out, and Mount Taixuan seemed to tremble. But a moment later, everything returned to normal.

At the summit of Mount Taixuan, the Thirty-Six Grade Creation Green Lotus Platform stood firm and unmoving.

A small, thin, transparent barrier surrounded it. It looked incredibly fragile, yet it was utterly indestructible!

"Ahahahaha!"

Then...

A wildly arrogant laugh rang across the sky.

Inside the barrier, Li Xuan slapped his thigh and threw back his head, laughing with delight as he shouted at the heavens, "Idiot! Moron!! Do you even know what I'm sitting on? This is the Thirty-Six Grade Creation Green Lotus Platform, the greatest defensive treasure in all of Heaven and Earth! You think you can strike me dead? I was just humoring you, and you actually thought you could kill me!?"

The dark clouds churned and rumbled, seemingly enraged by Li Xuan. Three or four more thunder dragons came crashing down.

But against the Thirty-Six Grade Creation Green Lotus Platform, attacks of this level were no more than a tickle.

The thin barrier remained completely motionless, and the lightning vanished without a trace.

After five bolts of lightning struck, the vast clouds, unwilling as they were, could only gradually disperse. Li Xuan had survived the Shaping Tribulation.

"Ding."

"Choice System activated."

"Choice One: Continue through the Three-Nine Tribulation. Upon completion, receive a five-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll and one random Innate Spiritual Treasure."

"Choice Two: Continue through the Six-Nine Tribulation. Upon completion, receive a fifty-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll and one random Innate Supreme Treasure."

"Choice Three: Continue through the Nine-Nine Tribulation. Upon completion, receive a million-year cultivation experience scroll and one random Primordial Supreme Treasure."

"Choice Four: Stop facing tribulations and cultivate for another ten thousand years. Upon completion, receive: Enhanced Cloning Technique."

The moment Li Xuan survived the Shaping Tribulation, the system presented him with a choice. He looked at the four options before him, unsure what to pick.

With the defensive power of the Thirty-Six Grade Creation Green Lotus Platform, it seemed like he could withstand even Choice Three, let alone One or Two.

"Is this another freebie?"

Li Xuan muttered to himself. He raised his hand, about to choose One. He could forget about Two and Three, but One would definitely give him five thousand years of cultivation and an Innate Spiritual Treasure for free.

But before his finger touched the option, Li Xuan suddenly stopped. A cold smile appeared on his face. "Hmph, trying to trick me? I. Won't. Fall. For. It!"

With that, he casually chose Choice Four.

Play it safe! Never get reckless!

That was a conviction Li Xuan held firmly in his heart!

After advancing to the Mystic Immortal Realm, Li Xuan could clearly feel that his understanding of the Dao had deepened.

His grasp of the rules around him, once vague, had also become much clearer.

"Lightning, come!"

With a thought, Li Xuan pointed forward with one hand. A bolt of lightning, as thick as his thumb, immediately descended from the sky with a thunderous boom.

"Fire, come!"

He gave another low shout. Five Elements True Fire roared forth, stretching into a fire chain dozens of meters long. It burned for a moment before slowly fading away.

"Grand Unity Palm!"

Rumble!

A gigantic palm print, over a hundred zhang wide, roared forth, driving the spiritual energy before it in a surging, earth-shattering wave. Its power was peerless.