Entering the Purple Mansion Realm!

That Immortal Master had arrived in Spirit Terrace County a month ago.

Over that month,

those in the know had learned just how low-key and solitary that Immortal Master was.

Yes, in some people's eyes, this Immortal Master was exceedingly aloof. Though not arrogant or cold, he was far from approachable.

At the third floor of an ordinary tavern, several young masters from various lineages were drinking and making merry.

Earlier, because of the rotation of the garrison post, their families had ordered them to stay home for a full month.

Lest they go out and cause trouble.

Perhaps because tomorrow marked the new year, their families had finally let them out today.

So naturally, they had to gather for a proper feast.

Between their words, they couldn't help pouring out their complaints to their brothers and friends.

"Let me tell you, you have no idea what my old man did. He locked me in the courtyard for a whole month! A whole month of cultivation—I was exhausted to death!"

A young master dressed like a rich scion poured out his bitterness.

The moment he spoke, everyone present immediately chimed in.

"You think we weren't? I suspect they joined forces to lock us at home and stop us from going out, all to push us into cultivating. Otherwise, that Immortal Master arrived a month ago—why would they only let us out now?!"

"Exactly. What's so interesting about cultivation? We're living so comfortably here. I heard that those who entered the great immortal sects and major powers all live like monks."

"Hmph, stop bragging. Aren't you only saying that because you failed that test and got eliminated?!"

Someone spoke as if he couldn't care less, only for someone else to immediately expose his sore spot.

That person's face flushed red. It was hard to tell whether he was angry or drunk.

"Bullshit! I... I... Who said I was eliminated... Back then, there was even a Daoist master who wanted to take me as a disciple. I just didn't agree!"

"Is that so? Tell us about it!"

"Hahaha!"

"Stop teasing him. We've been playing together since childhood. What could you possibly have done that I don't know?"

The young master in splendid robes seated at the head of the table burst into laughter.

Beside him sat a calf-like youth with a face flushed bright red. He was the very person who had claimed he hadn't been eliminated.

"Brother Bai Qian, you're right."

"Exactly. We don't have peerless talent, so why are our old men forcing us to cultivate?"

Another person spoke up. It was the Zhao Clan's young master.

The moment his words fell, he voiced what they all felt.

If they truly possessed exceptional aptitude and outstanding talent, their lineages would have sent them into sects long ago.

Why would they still be left here like this?

Rumble—

Just as the fragrance of wine filled the air, before this group of young masters could boast boldly and drink themselves senseless,

the cloudless sky suddenly filled with dark clouds.

Several claps of thunder resounded through the Nine Heavens.

Their sudden appearance startled many of them badly.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Is it thundering outside?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could there be thunder in broad daylight?"

Some commoners raised their heads to look at the sky.

Some cultivators abruptly turned their gazes in one direction.

The young masters on the high platform rushed out and looked up at the dark thunderclouds blanketing the heavens.

"Those thunderclouds are terrifying."

"That's lightning."

"No, that direction... isn't that where the Immortal Master is?"

Someone noticed the direction. Clouds and mist shrouded the mountain where Lu Qing was staying, and he muttered to himself.

In truth, many people were shocked.

"That doesn't look like ordinary lightning. It looks like—a Lightning Tribulation!"

Someone grabbed at his beard, his face filled with alarm.

Crossing from the Qi Nourishment Realm into Foundation Establishment required no tribulation.

On the contrary, one only needed to undergo tribulation after Foundation Establishment.

For most people in this small place, what even was a Lightning Tribulation?

But cultivation lineages couldn't possibly know nothing, and some well-traveled Rogue Cultivators also cried out in alarm.

They weren't fools. Once they realized it was a Lightning Tribulation, they thought of a possibility.

"Immortal Master Lu is undergoing tribulation."

"I heard every garrison commander is a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Then... is he undergoing the Purple Mansion Tribulation?!"

Someone blurted it out, his expression shaken.

The young masters on the high platform finally regained their senses amid the thunder and lightning, more than half sober from their wine. In streets and alleys, deep within lineage residences, in inns and elsewhere, countless gazes turned toward that mountain.

After all, only a month had passed.

The new garrison commander was called Lu Qing, and the overwhelming clash at the city gates had been witnessed by many people. Even the four lineages' compliance had made people clearly realize that Lu Qing was no ordinary man.

Setting aside the Profound Heaven Dao Academy behind him, he himself was a great Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The four lineages had been so obedient, most likely because they couldn't defeat him.

Now, setting aside that possibility and looking at today's Lightning Tribulation,

everyone knew that Immortal Master Lu Qing's cultivation wasn't merely at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Within the Bai Clan, Bai Shoucai's expression shifted repeatedly in shock. They had roughly guessed that Lu Qing was at the Sixth Layer of Foundation Establishment or the Seventh Layer of Foundation Establishment.

But now, it seemed he had likely long since reached the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment.

Today, he was crossing the tribulation to enter the Purple Mansion Realm.

No matter how wildly the thoughts of those outside shifted, they couldn't affect Lu Qing's tribulation.

Speaking of tribulation, Lu Qing had initially felt a trace of curiosity toward the Lightning Tribulation.

But when the lightning descended, from the first bolt and second bolt to the ninth bolt that fell later, that trace of curiosity vanished with it.

The Lightning Tribulation struck his body.

Lu Qing didn't use the Spiritual Power throughout his body to resist it. Instead, he borrowed the lightning filling the sky to hammer and temper his flesh.

It wasn't that he failed to appreciate kindness and looked down on the Lightning Tribulation. Rather, he sensed that within it lay both destruction and immense vitality.

Aside from a little pain, nothing else was fatal.

He emptied his mind, and the coolness between his brows nearly turned icy.

Until his mind stirred, and his Spiritual Power continually reversed, washing over the sea of consciousness between his brows again and again—

Until a faint membrane he could vaguely sense dispersed before his eyes.

It was like a layer of mist being blown away, and the world's original appearance became completely clear.

Every flower, blade of grass, and tree; every lake, bird, and fish; wind stirring the bamboo grove, a clear stream murmuring...

His perspective seemed to shift, rising higher and higher from Green Bamboo Courtyard. The lightning of the tribulation had already dispersed, and the last traces of thunderclouds faded away.

He "saw" countless gazes from Spirit Terrace County fixed upon him—some astonished, some shocked, some uncertain, some bewildered...

He also "saw" a bottomless river flowing past several li beyond Spirit Terrace County, its surface crowded with boats...

The entirety of Spirit Terrace County came into his sight. Whatever he wished to see, he could see, as clearly and easily as the lines on his palm.

A trace of Divine Soul fatigue surfaced. Lu Qing understood that he had just opened the Purple Mansion Realm, and his Divine Soul leaving his body had brought about this slight weariness.

So, he drew all his thoughts back in.

Within the Purple Mansion Realm between his brows, a figure identical to Lu Qing sat cross-legged in the void amid a vast expanse of whiteness.