Green lightning and violet electricity danced through the air. A spark of thunder flashed as the Old Celestial Master shattered the rubble, streaking away like a bolt of lightning before somehow standing suspended in the sky.
"Thunder Method..."
"Fine. Let me experience the majestic might of heaven."
Lin Xian spoke softly, curiosity flickering in his eyes. A rainbow glow emerged beneath his feet, and he stepped upward one step at a time as though climbing stairs, ascending into the firmament. Flowing light danced around him in dazzling splendor, like an immortal bridge descending into the mortal world, spanning mountains and rivers. Immortal aura surged forth, divine might overwhelming as it suppressed all of Mount Longhu.
In an instant, the sky seemed split in two. Green lightning danced with the immortal bridge, rainbow radiance and violet electricity blending as one. They illuminated each other, collided, and battled, painting an immensely shocking scene.
"Holy shit, are those two people in the sky even human?"
At the foot of Mount Longhu, the Otherworlders preparing to attend the Luotian Grand Ceremony stared wide-eyed, unable to stop themselves from cursing.
"Cheat codes... Those two definitely have cheat codes!"
Cold sweat streamed down Zhang Chulan's face as he muttered incessantly. He had thought his own life was legendary enough, worthy of a protagonist, but compared to those two guys in the sky, it was simply not worth mentioning.
"There are always greater people beyond others, and higher heavens beyond the sky. Coming down from the mountain this time wasn't in vain."
In a secluded, deserted corner of Mount Longhu, Wang Ye, a Mount Wudang Daoist with long black hair and a somewhat lazy appearance, gazed into the sky. His previously carefree demeanor faded, and he could not help asking curiously, "Can the Eight Extraordinary Skills reach such a level?"
"Probably not." A mysteriously dressed man, hidden beneath his hooded clothes, suddenly appeared beside Wang Ye. His eyes were clear as he watched the two figures in the sky, a calm sorrow surfacing within them.
"Not?" Wang Ye was startled. This man had appeared at his side without him noticing in the slightest. It was simply unbelievable. Who exactly was this guy?
To probe his origins and identity, Wang Ye followed his line of thought and narrowed his eyes. "Then what use are the Eight Extraordinary Skills that everyone fights over?"
"What use? Yes, what use?" The mysterious man answered his own question. Looking at the Immortal Vestige in the sky, he suddenly began laughing wildly. Under Wang Ye's wary gaze, tears gradually welled in the man's eyes as he laughed, and then he burst into loud sobs. "They're useless! In the end, it's all empty. They're all useless things!"
How could the Eight Extraordinary Skills compare to cultivating life and essence together?
The Eight Extraordinary Skills, so mysterious in the eyes of worldly Otherworlders, were merely standard equipment for immortals. A casual strike from one had already reached the level of the Eight Extraordinary Skills.
"Before Patriarch Sanfeng attained the Dao and ascended as an immortal, he often taught later generations a saying: Cultivate Tai Chi, and all will prosper... The Great Dao is simple, but knowing is easy and doing is hard."
"How laughable. I clung to what was before my eyes and forgot the foundation."
"Wang Ye, stop practicing Fenghou Qimen. Go learn Tai Chi."
"How could a single extraordinary art compare to the path of immortality? Cultivation of life and essence is the foundation."
The mysterious man let out a long sigh. At that moment, he suddenly understood why those prestigious orthodox sects whose ancestors had produced immortals had dismissed the Eight Extraordinary Skills with contempt, even regarding them as arts that invited chaos.
If they had not even thoroughly mastered what they already possessed, how could they possibly covet anything else?
Even if the Eight Extraordinary Skills were cultivated to their utmost, they might not make one invincible in the human world. But the Mount Wudang Dao Lineage was a genuine immortal Dao Lineage. Zhang Sanfeng was the last True Immortal recorded in the history of the Inhuman World to attain the Dao, ascend, and achieve Immortality.
Oh, judging by things now, he should have been the second-to-last. The man in the sky was now the last True Immortal.
How laughable. He had stood in a treasure mountain yet returned empty-handed, picking up sesame seeds while throwing away a watermelon.
"You... Sir... who exactly are you?" Wang Ye's pupils contracted as a wild, bold thought nearly sprang forth. The man before him was...? He was?!
"Who am I? Someone who took the wrong path. How can sparrows understand the ambition of swans?" Zhou Sheng sighed, then leaped into the air. His body shifted through countless transformations, truly like the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven or Erlang Shen of legend, turning into a nimble sparrow and flying away.
How could a low-flying sparrow understand the soaring ambitions of a swan? Beyond people are people in the mountains; beyond the heavens lies Great Firmament Heaven.
"Zhang Zhiwei, not bad."
Dressed in azure robes with loose black hair, Lin Xian stood atop the Divine Bridge, crushing the battlefield beneath him. His aura was heaven-shaking, firmly holding the upper hand. Like a deity of the nine heavens overlooking the mortal realm, Divine Sense manifested between his brows and transformed into a Heavenly Sword suspended high above the clouds. The light it emitted made hearts tremble, impossible to look at directly.
He praised him once, remaining utterly motionless with his hands behind his back and wide sleeves fluttering. No matter how many spells or divine abilities came to kill him, all were cut apart by that single Heavenly Sword.
From the start of the battle until now, Zhang Zhiwei had used every cultivation art and skill of Mount Longhu, yet he had never forced Lin Xian to move even a finger.
"Under the bright heavens, there are many common mortals and few outstanding talents."
The Old Celestial Master transformed into lightning, his expression solemn. With the Celestial Master Seal at his waist and the Celestial Master Sword in hand, he said in a deep voice, "Common man Zhang Zhiwei, bearing the inheritance of the ancestral Celestial Master, seeks instruction in an immortal's great arts today."
"Thunder, come!"
Rumble!
Heaven and earth stirred naturally, and a change arose from nothing. The previously clear sky instantly filled with dark clouds, lightning flashing and thunder roaring, leaving every Otherworlder dumbfounded.
To influence heaven and earth by one's own power—was that still human?
The Shangqing Sect's leader said in a trembling voice, "The Inner Landscape has manifested outwardly, the Inner Landscape has manifested outwardly! He commands the external universe through the human body's Twenty-Four Gods. Zhang Zhiwei has actually reached such a realm."
"Before the Shangqing Zixia Void Emperor, the Jade Dawn Lord of Taishang's Great Dao. Dwelling idly among pearl-like stamens, he composed seven-character verse, scattering into five forms and transforming into ten thousand gods."
"To wield a small portion of heaven and earth's power—this is Half-Step Outer Landscape!"
"With no regrets at the mysterious gate, the foundation has been established. Is Zhang Zhiwei's Half-Step Outer Landscape low-grade, middle-grade, or high-grade?"
"Probably middle-grade Half-Step Outer Landscape." Another elder of the Shangqing Sect looked at the majestic heavenly might and said gravely, "High-grade is the Immortal Foundation. If he were summoning heavenly lightning, the thunderclouds should not be this small."
"Can that Divine Bridge Immortal withstand it? He..." The Shangqing Sect leader was about to sigh when he suddenly cursed, "Damn it, he flew up! He flew into the sea of thunder!"
Facing the Five Thunder Righteous Method and heaven's majestic might, Lin Xian showed not the slightest fear. Instead, he rode the Divine Bridge upward, crossing the Thunder Method with his physical body and charging into the thunderclouds.
Heavenly Tribulations had been rare since ancient times. Even true geniuses among cultivators of the Body-as-Seed System had to wait until the Four Extremes Realm before they could undergo Tribulation Crossing.
As for ordinary cultivators, they might not encounter a Heavenly Tribulation even after cultivating all the way to the Immortal Platform Secret Realm.
Heavenly Tribulations were also a standard by which geniuses were measured. They were both danger and Fortune. Many gifted cultivators had drawn benefits from Thunder Tribulations, allowing their combat strength to vastly surpass those at the same realm.
For Lin Xian at the Divine Bridge Realm to undergo the Four Extremes Heavenly Tribulation was no different from seeking death.
The Four Extremes Heavenly Tribulation could drown mountain ranges at a whim, with violet lightning ten thousand zhang high scorching the earth black. It was terrifying beyond measure. Before attempting it, a cultivator had to possess combat strength comparable to the Four Extremes, or there was simply no way to survive it.
By comparison, when the Old Celestial Master's Five Thunder Righteous Method struck his body, Lin Xian merely felt numb and tingly, with a slight sting that he could readily endure.
"Weaker Thunder Tribulations have their advantages too."
"Undergoing a Heavenly Tribulation is impossible, and I can't defy the heavens to slay immortals either. I can only rely on the Five Thunder Righteous Method to temper my body bit by bit and elevate my Primordial Spirit."
"It's a little slow, but it's better than being killed by a single strike from a Shrouding the Heavens Heavenly Tribulation."
Lin Xian muttered to himself and released his Divine Sense, allowing it to undergo the baptism of the Thunder Method. He sensed that supremely firm, supremely yang energy as it took on a trace of Solar Yang's crimson hue.
His divine consciousness endured the tempering and quietly changed, as though reborn, revealing an extraordinary, transcendent aura.
As time passed, the Thunder Method gradually weakened, and the thunderclouds above slowly dispersed.
With a thought from Lin Xian, his Divine Sense took form and became a streak of light. It flew before the Old Celestial Master, and he shouted, "Old Celestial Master, put more strength into it!"
Zhang Zhiwei: ???
Put more strength into it? Do you think I'm your bath attendant?!