Preparing for the Tribulation!

"Let's all introduce ourselves."

Perhaps sensing the atmosphere had become somewhat heavy, Lu Shang smiled and said, "Zhou Hao defeated me, so I acknowledge his strength. If any of you still want to try, then do it yourselves."

"Since you approve, senior brother, I naturally have no objections," the burly man with a face full of scars said with a smile. "My name is Shi Lai."

"Nine Luan." The alluring woman in white nodded gently to Zhou Hao.

"Clear Wind, Mingyue," the two young Daoist disciples said in succession.

Compared to Lu Shang and the others, the two Daoist disciples were clearly less willing.

"Zhou Hao greets fellow Daoists." Zhou Hao bowed to the five people.

"Clear Wind, Mingyue, you two take Zhou Hao inside to pay respects to the Ancestor," Lu Shang instructed. "The three of us will return to the back mountain first."

"Understood, senior brother." The two boys pouted and turned to walk towards Five Village Temple.

"What are they doing here?" Zhou Hao asked, somewhat puzzled.

Why am I so disliked by these two children?

"These two little monkeys overheard you talking about the secret techniques left by our ancestor when you were halfway up the mountain," Shi Lai said with a smile.

ah?

No wonder.

Zhou Hao suddenly realized and quickly said, "I just felt something was strange at the time, and I didn't mean to belittle it in any way."

"It's alright." Lu Shang waved his hand. "In your current era, the cultivation methods are perfected and the immortal path is flourishing, so you naturally can't understand how many attempts the ancestors and other great beings made in the earliest times of ancient times to ensure that all beings in the Three Realms could cultivate and that the world wouldn't be filled only with gods and demons."

"Back then, our ancestor taught without discrimination, preaching and spreading the Dao in the Earth Immortal Realm. The secret techniques and cultivation methods he passed on were all to guide cultivators toward the Dao." Lu Shang's eyes were full of reverence.

"I was arrogant and presumptuous before. I will go in and pay my respects to the Ancestor to apologize," Zhou Hao said solemnly.

"Go." Lu Shang nodded. "Our greatest purpose in surviving was to choose a suitable successor for our ancestor, and now we have finally accomplished that. With your strength, I believe it won't be difficult for you to survive the Heavenly Tribulation and become a Heavenly God. It is even highly possible that you will become True God Dao Ancestor in the future. I hope you will not slacken your efforts and tarnish the reputation of our Five Village Temple."

Nine Luan and Shi La, standing to the side, also wore solemn expressions, their eyes filled with anticipation as they looked at Zhou Hao.

"Understood." Zhou Hao nodded emphatically, then walked towards the Daoist temple.

Inside the Five Village Temple.

Two boys, Clear Wind and Mingyue, stood on either side of the main hall.

"Let's go in and pay our respects to the portrait of our ancestor."

"When our ancestor perished, he left no instructions, but someone will give you his belongings."

After saying this, the two boys pushed open the palace door and invited Zhou Hao into the palace.

Upon entering the main hall, Zhou Hao was greeted by a portrait of an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face, wearing a purple-gold crown and a crane-feather cloak.

As his gaze met that of the old man in the portrait, Zhou Hao felt, in a daze, that the old man in the portrait seemed to nod slightly at him, as if he would step out of the portrait at any moment.

"Come in." A gentle voice rang out, and Zhou Hao then noticed that in front of the portrait, there was an old man with white hair dressed in an earth-yellow cloth robe standing in front of an incense table.

"Father-in-law?" Zhou Hao asked in surprise.

Isn't this the white-haired old man who called himself the 'guardian of the mountain' at the foot of Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities Hill when he arrived at the mountain?

"First, pay your respects to the Ancestor." The white-haired elder pointed to the prayer mat placed in front of the incense table. "You have passed Lu Shang and the others' test and will become the Ancestor's successor, the new master of Five Village Temple on Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities. Naturally, you must first kneel and pay your respects to the Ancestor."

"Hmm." Zhou Hao walked to the prayer mat, then knelt and bowed, "Disciple Zhou Hao greets Ancestor."

"Ancestor, his name is Zhou Hao. He is a disciple of your old friend Sanqing, and he will inherit your mantle in the future." The white-haired old man looked at the portrait and murmured, "Rest assured, I will assist him and pass on the Five Village Temple lineage in the future, so that your lineage will not be cut off."

Upon hearing the white-haired elder's words, Zhou Hao understood immediately and respectfully replied, "Ancestor, I will certainly leave behind a legacy and carry on the lineage of Five Village Temple."

The white-haired old man looked at Zhou Hao, a slight smile appearing on his face, and nodded gently. "Remember your promise today. Get up."

"Yes." Zhou Hao stood up, his expression solemn.

"I am the spirit of the ' Earth Book,' a magical treasure used by our ancestor in his lifetime. During the ancient war, our ancestor perished, and I was also severely injured. Fortunately, with the help of the Lady Nuwa, I was guided in the cultivation method of innate magical treasures. Over these endless years, I have slowly cultivated and have become a true living being. Not only have I been able to completely detach myself from the magical treasure's original form, but I have also survived the heavenly tribulation and become Pure Yang True Immortal. It can be said that I have turned misfortune into blessing," said the white-haired old man.

"No wonder your aura is different from that of ordinary living beings, old man," Zhou Hao suddenly realized.

He had certainly heard that spiritual treasures could also cultivate.

In the Three Realms, there have long been those who attained the status of Celestial Immortals through innate spiritual treasures, and some have even become Dao Ancestors.

"I've named myself ' Earth Elder,' but you can also call me 'Old Man' like Lu Shang and Shi La do."

As he spoke, the white-haired old man picked up a black token with the words "Heaven and Earth" on it from the incense table and handed it to him, saying, "This is the true ' Heaven-Earth Spirit Mirror,' which is also the central hub of the entire blessed land. After you refine it, you can use the Heaven and Heaven-Earth Spirit Mirror, or the token issued by the Mirror, to activate the teleportation array within and break through the boundary to teleport back, as long as you haven't left the Three Realms."

"Furthermore, this Heaven-Earth Spirit Mirror is also a magical treasure of a grotto-heaven, capable of storing the entire Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities. If you wish to move Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities, that's entirely up to you."

Zhou Hao nodded.

The entire Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities is an independent small world. For a powerful being, even opening up a large world within a magical treasure cave is nothing special, so he naturally wouldn't be surprised.

He was truly impressed by the fact that he could be teleported back at any time, as if he carried a directional teleportation array with him.

For this reason alone, the value of the Heaven-Earth Spirit Mirror is at least comparable to that of a Primordial Spirit Treasure.

"If we move Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities to Perching Dragon Gorge, we can teleport directly to it, whether it's myself or my family. That would be so convenient." Zhou Hao held the Heaven-Earth Spirit Mirror in his hand, and his powerful Origin Power directly penetrated into it. In the blink of an eye, he successfully refined it and imprinted his Soul Seal on it.

Instantly, the entire Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities Hill appeared clearly in his mind.

Whether it's the Five Village Temple, the Ginseng Fruit Tree behind the Daoist temple, or the magic arrays on Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities, everything seems to be under control.

In addition, six other tokens connected to the Heaven-Earth Spirit Mirror also appeared in his perception.

"Take it back." Zhou Hao's mind raced.

Immediately, the space in front of him rippled, revealing five more spirit tokens scattered outside.

"Now that I am the master of this blessed land, there is naturally no need for any more destined ones to come." Zhou Hao put away the five tokens, adding to the one he had brought with him earlier, making a total of six tokens.

In other words, besides possessing the Heaven-Earth Spirit Mirror himself, he can also give the token to six other people, who can be teleported in from any point in the Three Realms at any time.

"Because the Ancestor did not leave behind any inheritance when he passed away, most of the most advanced techniques and secret arts of the Five Village Temple lineage were compiled by Lu Shang, Nine Luan, and Shi La, and are recorded in this jade slip." The white-haired old man, ' Earth Elder,' picked up another cyan jade slip from the incense table. "You are a disciple of the Sanqing, so you must not lack supernatural powers and secret arts. However, the Ancestor's ' Universe in the Sleeve ' secret art was once renowned throughout ancient times. Even when it was later exchanged with other powerful beings, some of the most profound mysteries were not passed on to outsiders, and were only passed on to a few of his closest disciples. You should study it carefully in the future."

"Understood." Zhou Hao nodded.

When he fought Lu Shang before, he had already experienced some of the mystery of the secret techniques personally passed down by the Zhenyuan Ancestor, and found that the Universe in the Sleeve used by Lu Shang was not as simple as the outside world had said.

After all, this was Zhenyuan Laozu's trump card, so it's perfectly normal for him to keep it to himself.

"Finally, there is this spiritual treasure, which is also my original form, the ' Earth Book '." The Earth Elder picked up the last item placed on the incense table, which turned out to be an ordinary-looking earthen-yellow book.

There are countless ancient divine patterns on the cover of the book, which faintly form the word "".

Looking at the Divine Pattern on the book, Zhou Hao seemed to see endless mountains and rivers, and even seemed to be able to feel the pulse of the earth.

"Earth membrane tire," Zhou Hao said softly.

"That's right," the Earth Elder sighed. "The Daoist robe you're wearing is the transformation of the Cosmos Diagram, isn't it? Back then, when Pangu separated heaven and earth from chaos, the earth's membrane evolved into the ' Earth Book,' while the pure spiritual energy of the sky nurtured the ' Cosmos Diagram.' Now, these two innate treasures, one from heaven and one from earth, have reunited on your body. It's truly a blessing."

Zhou Hao nodded.

After all, it is a spiritual treasure born from heaven and earth at the very beginning of creation, and it is a supreme innate treasure that contains thirty-six innate restrictions and expounds the complete Great Dao as soon as it is formed.

There are only a dozen or so innate treasures like the Earth Book and the Cosmos Diagram in the entire Three Realms, and to have two of them is truly a stroke of good fortune.

"After obtaining the Earth Book, our ancestor spent countless years integrating numerous chaotic treasures, condensing the Earth Book into the Five Elements, transforming me into a chaotic treasure. Unfortunately, I was severely damaged in the battle years ago and fell back to the Innate Realm. However, the Five Elements essence within the Earth Book remains. In the future, you will not only be able to better comprehend the Five Elements with it, but when you become a Dao Ancestor, you may even be able to transform and advance the Earth Book."

The Earth Elder handed the Earth Book to Zhou Hao, reminding him, "However, I have already separated from the spirit treasure's body and become a true living being. After you refine the Earth Book, although I will still have a soul connection with you, like a spirit beast, I will no longer be the spirit of a spirit treasure. Therefore, you would be best off nurturing a new spirit treasure..."

What is the origin of the Five Elements?

Zhou Hao's eyes lit up.

"According to the conjecture of the Loose Immortal Hongchen, when I overcome the Heavenly Tribulation and achieve the Heavenly Immortal Golden Core, I will use the Five Elements Treasures to assist in condensing the Golden Core. This Earth Book contains the origin of the Five Elements and was once a Chaos Treasure. If we're talking about preciousness, what Five Elements Treasure is more precious than this?"

If it weren't for the deaths of Radiant Light Heavenly Immortal and Jade Dragon Heavenly Immortal, he would have already prepared to undergo tribulation in the Heavenly Realm. He had even already arranged for the collection of rare Five Elements artifacts within the Limitless Palace.

Now that he had obtained the Earth Book, Zhou Hao was immediately intrigued.

He first infused his own Origin Power into the Earth Book. With the Earth Elder's approval, he effortlessly refined this innate treasure.

As Zhou Hao followed, he felt the vastness and surging power of the Earth Book, as if it were the foundation of the Five Elements of an entire great world, with the Earth element as the main element, mutually generating and restraining each other, forming a unified whole.

"Senior Earth Elder, I have a method for refining the Golden Core after passing through the Heavenly Tribulation and becoming a Celestial Immortal. It was originally the ingenious idea of a Loose Immortal. However, he failed to pass through the tribulation and never had the chance to try it, regretting it for the rest of his life. When I first started cultivating, I had the opportunity to fulfill his wish and wanted to give it a try. I would like to ask Senior Earth Elder to help me understand whether it is feasible." Zhou Hao transmitted the method for refining the five elements and refining the Golden Core left by the Loose Immortal Hongchen in the <Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light> to Earth Elder through mental connection.

Now that he has refined the Earth Book, the Earth Elder is like his own spirit beast, so he doesn't need to worry about the secrets of his cultivation being leaked.

Moreover, as one's cultivation level increases, these techniques are thoroughly reviewed in one's mind and perfected according to one's own ideas. They are no longer the conjecture-like methods they were at the beginning. Therefore, even if one tells the Earth Elder, it will not violate the oath of Heavenly Dao.

"What an imaginative conjecture!" the Earth Elder exclaimed in admiration. "For a mere Loose Immortal to dare to think what others wouldn't, he must be a heretic."

After achieving the status of a celestial immortal, how important is it to condense the golden elixir?

Which cultivator doesn't meticulously follow the established methods to refine their immortality, fearing that a single misstep could lead to irreversible consequences?

But the Loose Immortal Hongchen deliberately choose not to follow the usual path.

"This method seems feasible, but it is, after all, the process of condensing the Golden Core. If it has any negative effects, it could damage the foundation." The Earth Elder pondered the method of condensing the Golden Core in his mind.

He had also survived the Heavenly Tribulation and refined the Heavenly Immortal Golden Core, so he was extremely familiar with this process.

However, one still harbors doubts and dares not be certain about unverified methods.

At the very least, if it were him, he would never dare to try it with his own Heavenly Immortal Golden Core.

"What do you think the chances of success are, senior?" Zhou Hao asked.

"Fifty or fifty," the Earth Elder glanced at Zhou Hao. "Have you thought this through? Even if you succeed, it's uncertain how much your strength will increase. But if you fail, at best your Golden Core will be impure, trapping you at the Celestial Immortal realm for billions of years; at worst, you might never be able to advance again."

Whether it's Qi Refining or God-Devil Body Refining, for Celestial Immortals to advance to the higher realm of Pure Yang True Immortal, or for Celestial Gods to achieve True Godhood, the perfect purity of the Golden Core and Divine Body are the primary conditions.

Given Zhou Hao's extraordinary talent, his tribulation will inevitably be the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. Once he passes it, he will be able to condense a pure and perfect golden core and divine body.

However, if one doesn't handle it properly and defiles the Golden Core, it won't be so easy to cleanse and transform it again in the future.

"A 50% chance." Zhou Hao nodded, which wasn't much different from his own calculations.

"I have Second Primordial Spirit avatar, and like my main body, I cultivate both body and qi. Letting the avatar undergo tribulation first, even if the method for condensing the golden core fails, will still result in a celestial being, which won't significantly affect my strength. With a 50% chance, it's definitely worth a try." After pondering, Zhou Hao decided, "I will undergo tribulation once I return to the Heavenly Realm!"

"Why must you return to the Heavenly Realm to undergo tribulation? This world is protected by Lady Nuwa's spacetime magic; even powerful beings cannot enter. It is the ideal place to undergo tribulation. Moreover..." the Earth Elder said meaningfully, "There are many immortals and demons outside, waiting for you to leave!"

Wow~~~

A screen of light appeared in mid-air, and then flashed with light and shadow. It was the chaotic battle in the Earth Ruins Realm caused by the sneak attack of the Wujian Gate after Zhou Hao arrived at Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities.

"A large number of True Immortals and Celestials have entered? The seal on the Earth Ruins Realm has been broken?" Zhou Hao's face instantly turned cold as he watched the group of True Immortals and Celestials wantonly sweeping and slaughtering the Necro Race.

Those are all magical treasures I've already reserved!

"I'll undergo my tribulation right here!" Zhou Hao gritted his teeth and said, "Senior Earth Elder, I've heard that the Ginseng Fruit Tree can bear thirty fruits every ten thousand years, Five Village Temple only appears once every million years. Are there any remaining in the mountains?"

"Of course there are some left." The Earth Elder's lips curled up in a smug smile.

"I personally oversee the distribution of the fruit. Each time I give it to someone with a special affinity, I always keep at least half of it for myself. Over the years, I've accumulated enough that even the Dao Ancestor would be envious."

"That's settled then!" Zhou Hao smiled.

First, overcome the tribulation!