Wealth-Greed Sealbreaking Tribulation

The gale howled, dark clouds were black as ink, and the blizzard grew ever denser.

In less than half a day, it buried all that horrifying devastation cleanly beneath the snow.

Nothing remained but a vast expanse of white.

??

Not until dusk did the snow finally cease.

The setting sun slanted across the boundless snowfield.

All was silent.

Suddenly, a sigh rang out from nowhere.

"Greed disrupts the heart and takes lives."

Where Cold Mountain City had clearly been completely destroyed, space suddenly twisted like rippling water, and a building abruptly emerged.

It was none other than Jixia Bookshop!

Within the dim bookshop, Zhou Xunzhen, its master, was nowhere to be seen.

Only a faint flame flickered ceaselessly at its center.

The books stored along all four walls were drawn by an invisible force into the heart of the flame, like moths rushing into a fire, where they were burned away.

Within the firelight, countless scenes flashed rapidly past like images on a revolving lantern.

At the same time, Zhou Xunzhen's slow chant echoed out.

"The heavenly sundial turns; the six realms hasten their return."

The images spun, reflecting the old scene of Zhou Xunzhen first entering Cold Mountain and opening the bookshop.

He drew a circle upon the ground and made it his prison, never taking half a step from his study for several years.

As the firelight continued to flicker, Zhou Xunzhen's appearance in the images rapidly aged.

Yet his chanting did not falter in the slightest.

"Cast bait upon Cold Mountain, stirring the dust of greed."

The light and shadows in the fire abruptly changed.

Fang Xun clutched the Cold Mountain Venerable in his hand tightly, then looked down at the laborers kneeling like ants at his feet. For the first time, a chilling murderous intent known as "corruption" sprouted in his eyes.

After hearing from his subordinates that the Cold Mountain Venerable had appeared in the world, Xiong Jin slowly turned to gaze at his nephew, Jiang Chongguang, and a trace of madness ignited deep within his eyes.

Yu Niang, who had nearly escaped Cold Mountain County, had her reason utterly consumed by jealousy and resentment after hearing passersby speak of Fang Xun's imminent meteoric rise.

Cheng Yishu, Yu Shang, Sun Wu...

Even the many constables and laborers of Cold Mountain County.

All of them were drawn into the wavering firelight.

As though nourished by their offerings, the flame silently surged several feet higher, its blazing waves reaching the heavens.

Zhou Xunzhen's chanting was like a great bell and a grand lute, reverberating through the sealed study.

Its tone also rose from an aged whisper at twilight into the cold indifference of one looking down upon all living things.

"Greed-for-Wealth Ruins-the-Seal Tribulation; calamities spring forth by the myriad."

"Calamities contend for fortune; the sea of life runs dry."

Deep within the heart of the flames, the disasters brought about over the entire past year in Cold Mountain County by a single word—greed—were replayed.

Xiong Jin led his men in assaulting the city, slaughtering without restraint.

Floodwaters towered to the sky, claiming half the city.

And finally, the catastrophe of mountains collapsing and earth splitting that concealed it all.

As if fuel had appeared from thin air, the fire in the bookshop blazed ever more fiercely, illuminating the dark space as brightly as day.

Zhou Xunzhen's voice, too, changed from aged and gloomy to sonorous and forceful.

"Use the city as a cauldron, use desire as a banner."

"Steal fortune and seize opportunity; borrow bones to weather the cold."

Every book in the bookshop transformed into streams of light and flew into the flames.

Within the final wildly flickering afterimages of the curtain of fire, the faces of those who had once lived in Cold Mountain County could vaguely be seen.

Boom!

The entire Jixia Bookshop was instantly swallowed by flames.

Yet in the next instant, the raging waves of heavenly fire abruptly fell into absolute stillness, as though time itself had been forcibly frozen.

A figure stepped through the air from the solidified sea of fire.

It was Zhou Xunzhen!

His body was hunched as he raised his head to look at the sky, climbing invisible steps and treading upon empty air.

"You countless ants, knock upon the gate for me!"

With every step he climbed, the silver in his hair darkened by an inch; the joints of his bent spine cracked explosively, straightening once more like a sword. Even his wrinkled flesh rapidly transformed into that of a youth as though by a miracle.

"Once the flying-ash tribulation ends, Longevity ascends the altar!"

When Zhou Xunzhen finished chanting and completed this path to heaven step by step.

He quietly said to Heaven and Earth, "Today, I, Zhou Xunzhen, shall break through the Celestial Phenomenon Realm and enter the Creation Realm..."

"Lend me another lifetime from Heaven!"

Heaven and Earth seemed to fall into stillness for an instant.

Then an immense, irresistible, and profoundly mysterious aura suddenly descended from the sky and settled upon Zhou Xunzhen.

Zhou Xunzhen underwent nirvana and rebirth, transforming into an elegant youth of sixteen.

Vitality surged and boiled like a tidal wave!

Having completed his transformation, Zhou Xunzhen showed neither joy nor sorrow.

He half-closed his eyes, feeling the youthful body he had regained, immersed in the sensation as though Heaven and Earth held no one but him.

At that moment, two escape lights that had long concealed themselves slowly descended from the distant horizon.

Both newcomers wore official robes. The instant they landed, they bowed deeply to Zhou Xunzhen. "Congratulations, Senior, on overcoming this [Heaven's Lifespan Demand] tribulation and advancing your cultivation another step."

Zhou Xunzhen cast the two men a faint sidelong glance. Only after a long while did he say without a ripple in his expression, "Should you encounter difficulties in the future, you may come seek me at Jixia Academy."

As he spoke, a golden page drifted down and hovered before them.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Senior!"

When the two respectfully accepted the token and raised their eyes again, Zhou Xunzhen had already vanished from the vast world of wind and snow.

"A Creation Realm powerhouse..." After a long silence, the younger official finally sighed in relief.

"What a pity. Cold Mountain has been wiped clean from the face of the earth. I, the newly appointed magistrate of Cold Mountain County, fear I have nowhere to take office." The young man shook his head, yet there was not the slightest trace of regret in his tone.

The elder beside him, whose official bearing was imposing, stroked his beard and said blandly, "Without destruction, there can be no rebuilding. After such a great calamity, it is clean as a blank sheet of paper—just the thing for you to make your mark."

"For this subordinate to gain such an opportunity, I must rely greatly on Your Excellency's guidance and cultivation all along the way!" the young man hurriedly said with cupped hands.

These two were none other than Yin Fengshuo, the governor of Cold Mountain Commandery, and Shen Chongguang, the new magistrate of Cold Mountain County who should have taken office long ago!

Ignoring Shen Chongguang's flattery, Yin Fengshuo looked at the deathly silent Cold Mountain County below and shook his head with a soft laugh. "You should have soared to greatness, yet you fell into calamity and died suddenly. Fang Xun, you truly did not have the fate for wealth and rank! It was so fifty years ago, and it remains so now!"

Shen Chongguang quickly lowered his head, watching his nose and letting his nose watch his heart, pretending not to hear.

He had long known that Governor Yin and Fang Xun had always been at odds. That was why he had gone with the flow and watched Fang Xun become trapped in the situation without lifting a hand to save him.

But he was ultimately not deep enough in his schemes. After holding back for a moment, he could not help asking the concern in his heart. "Your Excellency, Cold Mountain was, after all, territory under your jurisdiction. Now it has been destroyed in a single day..."

"What if the Sacred Capital holds you accountable?"

Yin Fengshuo said lightly, "The chief culprit, Fang Xun, has already been executed. As for this official, at most I shall bear the charge of negligent oversight and lose three years of salary."

"Besides, this time I have received a favor from a Creation Realm powerhouse. Heh heh..."

Shen Chongguang nodded in sudden understanding and did not dare say another word.

The escape lights rose again, and the two vanished in an instant.

Cold Mountain County became deathly silent once more.

Night fell, and the day was nearing its end.

Whether it was Zhou Xunzhen, who had returned to youth and lived another life.

Or Yin Fengshuo, cold-blooded and calculating.

Neither of them noticed the swarm of gnats that continued to fly above the falling snow and shattered bricks.

(There's more!)