So he went straight to the Heaven-Severing Church's stronghold on Eastern Island to find Zhan Tian, intending to kill him and cut off any future trouble at its roots. But Zhan Tian seemed fairly obedient, and he was in a good mood today! So he let Zhan Tian go after a warning. After all, the Cultivation World was developing too quickly now. Even if he killed Zhan Tian today, some Zhan Long might pop up somewhere tomorrow, leaving him endlessly pestered. Better to leave Zhan Tian alive to keep the other schemers in check and buy the Righteous Qi Sect time to grow.
After breaking through to the Mahayana realm, he had a feeling that he would not remain in the Cultivation World much longer. That meant he needed to give the Righteous Qi Sect some support. After what happened today, Zhan Tian would certainly never dare harbor any designs on the Righteous Qi Sect again.
To intimidate Zhan Tian, he had never shown himself, merely locking onto him with his aura and pressure. As the saying went, the unknown was the most terrifying of all.
Seeing that he had accomplished what he came for, Li Dalong stayed no longer. He mounted his flying sword and headed straight back to the Righteous Qi Sect's Forbidden Grounds of the Rear Mountain.
Meanwhile, only after waiting a long while without hearing any response from the mysterious senior did Zhan Tian dare straighten up. In a flash, he hurried back to the Church Master's Hall and ordered the disciple on duty, "Send word to Long Tian immediately. Stop all operations and hold our existing territory."
"Cease all operations against the Righteous Qi Sect, and notify every member and disciple, as well as all the Newbie Forces. From now on, do not provoke anyone from the Righteous Qi Sect. Anyone who disobeys will be killed!"
"Yes!" The disciple on duty immediately bowed and answered.
After Li Dalong's single "Scram!" wiped out everyone besieging the Righteous Qi Sect, from the Heaven-Severing Church's vice church master, then riding the crest of his fame, on down, the entire Cultivation World erupted! Jaws dropped everywhere.
Now, whether they were ambitious figures of the Human Race or members of the Devil Race and Demon Race, almost all of them warned their clansmen and disciples at the same time to avoid provoking anyone from the Righteous Qi Sect as much as possible. Anyone who dared disobey would, at best, be expelled from their lineage or sect; at worst, they would be executed.
For a long time afterward, no one dared provoke the Righteous Qi Sect. Meanwhile, many people wanted to join it, and a constant stream of visitors came to discuss alliances, keeping Sect Master Zhou Yong so busy that his feet scarcely touched the ground.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Li Dalong. He continued teaching Zhou Tianlong every day. With Li Dalong's careful guidance and abundant cultivation resources, many of them system-rewarded pills unavailable in the Cultivation World, Zhou Tianlong advanced rapidly. In just a few short years, he had already entered the early Golden Core realm. If outsiders learned of this, they would undoubtedly consider him a genius among geniuses.
Whenever Li Dalong was not teaching Zhou Tianlong, he immersed himself in his own cultivation. By now, Zhou Tianlong no longer needed someone watching over his cultivation all day. He usually cultivated on his own, and only when he encountered a problem did Li Dalong help resolve it or guide him toward solving it himself. Apart from that, Li Dalong's days were full yet monotonous. After reaching the Mahayana realm, even the smallest daily increase in strength was extremely difficult. It required far too much spiritual power, and every little gain took time to accumulate. Until he encountered the bottleneck of the next realm, all that remained was the slow, patient work of grinding away.
Several years passed in the blink of an eye. Zhou Tianlong was now fifteen, and his cultivation had broken through to the late Golden Core realm. All he needed was the right opportunity to reach the Nascent Soul realm. It was simply unimaginable! Before the land mutation, Nascent Soul cultivators had been the guardian patriarchs of major powers, while late Golden Core cultivators had ranked among their strongest forces.
One day, Li Dalong suddenly sensed that his bottleneck was about to break. After telling Zhou Tianlong to cultivate on his own, he vanished before the boy's eyes. On a small island in the Southern Sea, more than twenty thousand li from the Righteous Qi Sect, a handsome young man suddenly appeared. The man who had appeared on this remote island was none other than Li Dalong, who sensed that he was about to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm.
In the world of immortal cultivation, the breakthrough from the Mahayana realm to the Tribulation Transcendence realm was the most important moment in a cultivator's life. This moment not only meant attaining greater power and a higher realm, but also facing the test of heavenly tribulation and enduring its baptism. Once they survived it, their body and Divine Sense would enter an entirely new realm and acquire a trace of immortal grace, raising their life to a higher level. Only upon entering the Tribulation Transcendence realm did a cultivator truly cross the threshold of immortal cultivation.
At such a moment, both the cultivator's state of mind and strength needed to reach their peak. Heaven would also send down an immensely powerful heavenly tribulation to test them and help them shed their mortal nature and ascend toward immortality.
During tribulation transcendence, a cultivator could not afford to be disturbed. The heavenly tribulation would increase in difficulty and intensity according to the number and cultivation levels of the people within its range. Thus, those undergoing it were generally extremely wary of interference. Either their sect chose a secluded location with powerful defenses for them, or it dispatched large numbers of people to stand guard and assist them.
Li Dalong did not notify Zhou Yong. He had confidence in himself, and the place he had chosen was secluded enough. Aside from the sea beasts inhabiting the ocean, other cultivators rarely appeared here.
First, Li Dalong scanned the area within five thousand li with his Divine Sense, checking for sea beasts or other forces powerful enough to interfere with his tribulation. After finding nothing that could threaten him, he casually set up an array to conceal the entire island and prevent anyone from disturbing him. Then he set up a small Spirit-Gathering Array and placed supreme-grade spirit stones inside to activate it.
Once all his preparations were complete, Li Dalong chose a reef rock, sat cross-legged, and began circulating his cultivation method, absorbing Heaven and Earth spiritual energy to assail his bottleneck. Heaven and Earth spiritual energy surged into his meridians, where it was transformed and compressed before being poured into his dantian. Time ticked away, and more and more spiritual power accumulated. After being compressed again, the spiritual power in his dantian surged back into his meridians, circulating round after round. Under its repeated scouring, the bottleneck began to break-a hairline fracture, a narrow gap, a spreading crack, until it opened completely. Once he broke through the bottleneck, his meridians absorbed Heaven and Earth spiritual energy even more violently. The resulting vortex dragged along even the seawater surrounding the island, whipping up towering waves.
When Li Dalong broke through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm, even the surrounding air seemed to grow heavy. Streaks of lightning appeared in the sky, as though awaiting the cultivator's arrival. It's here. Li Dalong's heart filled with tension and excitement. He knew he was about to face a test of life and death. If he made it through, the heavens would be high and the world boundless; if he failed, he would be reduced to ashes and scattered smoke.
Li Dalong hurried to absorb Heaven and Earth spiritual energy to fill the empty space in his newly expanded dantian, ensuring he had enough spiritual power for the coming tribulation transcendence. At the same time, he watched the tribulation clouds gathering overhead. As the lightning grew denser and the tribulation clouds pressed lower and lower, he stopped absorbing Heaven and Earth spiritual energy and readied pills to replenish his spiritual power.
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