Feeling the dark clouds hanging overhead and the information suddenly appearing in his mind, Qiu Xia's expression shifted.
Tribulation Cloud: One irregular Celestial Master detected. A Heavenly Tribulation has been prepared for you. Please prepare to undergo your tribulation immediately.
"Damn it! The tribulation I never faced in the Naruto World is catching up to me in this world!" Qiu Xia cursed under his breath. He looked toward Qiu Sheng and Wencai. "Brothers, guard Master while he breakthrough. I'm going to face my tribulation."
Without waiting for a reply, Qiu Xia flickered and vanished from their sight.
Wencai blinked, turning to Qiu Sheng. "What did Junior Brother just say? He's going to face a tribulation? Isn't he already a Celestial Master? What kind of tribulation is there to face now?"
Qiu Sheng rolled his eyes in annoyance. "How should I know? Just focus on guarding Master. We'll tell him once he's finished."
"Oh!"
Meanwhile, Qiu Xia left the Mortuary and headed to an uninhabited clearing ten miles away. He waited for the Tribulation Lightning to complete its gathering. Soon, a tribulation cloud massive enough to cover Ren Family Town and the surrounding hundreds of miles appeared above his head. Dazzling bolts of lightning flashed within the swirling mass, and then, a single bolt descended from the heavens, crashing down toward Qiu Xia.
Faced with the falling lightning, Qiu Xia quickly circulated his mana to protect his body. When the bolt struck him, it felt as though a stray leaf had simply drifted onto his head.
There was almost no damage. Instead, the energy of the lightning was refined by the Scripture of the Stars, using it to temper Qiu Xia's divine body and his mana. After the first bolt fell, a second followed immediately, but to Qiu Xia, it just felt like a few more leaves landing on him.
"Seriously? Is this all the damage a tribulation does? If that's the case, I'm going straight into the source." Qiu Xia felt his patience thinning. He transformed into a streak of starlight and shot upward toward the clouds. He took two more hits of lightning mid-air before successfully diving into the heart of the tribulation cloud.
The Tribulation Cloud: "Kid, you're provoking me, aren't you? If the lightning can't kill you, you come to my home to act wild? Fine, I'll use the entire reserve to refine you!"
The lightning energy, which should have fallen bolt by bolt, suddenly converged into thick coils of electricity that wrapped around Qiu Xia. The blinding radiance enveloped him as if trying to crush him into dust.
If this were any regular Celestial Master or even a Perfected Person they would have been finished unless they were a dedicated body cultivator. But Qiu Xia was an absolute freak of nature.
Though his realm was that of a Celestial Master, he had opened every acupoint in his body and condensed 129,600 Star Cores. His mana was likely the strongest of anyone below the immortal realm, and his divine body was incredibly powerful because of those unlocked apertures.
Consequently, the lightning failed to crush him. Instead, all that raw energy was converted into resources by the Scripture of the Stars, continuously tempering his body and elevating his mana.
While Qiu Xia was undergoing his tribulation, Uncle Jiu finished absorbing the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Dao and began to condense his Golden Core. The high-quality energy drawn from the Nine-Layer Tribulation Clouds allowed Uncle Jiu to condense a Seven-Turn Golden Core directly.
One had to realize that the strongest Supreme Elder currently in Maoshan had only achieved a Six-Turn Golden Core back in the day, even after using massive amounts of sect resources. Uncle Jiu had reached seven turns on his own.
Upon breaking through to the Celestial Master rank, Uncle Jiu's divine body was reinforced by spiritual energy. The middle-aged man who had previously looked like he was in his late forties now looked over a decade younger, appearing as if he were in his early thirties.
"A Golden Core swallowed into the belly, my life is mine to command, not Heaven's! Hahaha, I, Lin Jiu, have finally broken through to Celestial Master!" Uncle Jiu was ecstatic, his face beaming with joy.
Hearing his voice, Qiu Sheng and Wencai came running over. "Master, you've reached Celestial Master! That's amazing!"
"Indeed, I have succeeded. But wait, why is it just you two? Where did Qiu Xia go?" Uncle Jiu acknowledged them but quickly noticed his youngest disciple was missing.
Qiu Sheng replied, "Master, Junior Brother said he went to face a tribulation."
"A tribulation!" Uncle Jiu's face paled. "Where did he go? Why didn't you follow him?"
Even though Uncle Jiu had been in seclusion, he knew some of what was happening outside. He hadn't expected his own Human Tribulation to be so terrifying. He was lucky to have a Celestial Master for a disciple;
otherwise, even if he had called his fellow sect brothers for help, it might have been for nothing. If his own "Heaven, Earth, and Man" tribulation was that scary, how dangerous would his disciple's be? A disciple that good what if he died?
"We don't know. He just told us and then vanished into thin air."
Uncle Jiu grew anxious and was about to perform a divination to track his disciple when a familiar voice drifted over. "Master, congratulations on breaking through to Celestial Master."
Hearing that familiar tone, Uncle Jiu let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Qiu Xia and asked, "Didn't you tell the others you were going to face a tribulation? How are you back so soon?"
"I thought the lightning was too slow, so I just jumped into the clouds. Maybe that's why it finished faster. Plus, I didn't have to deal with the Earthly or Human tribulations."
Uncle Jiu stared at him, speechless. This was a first. If a normal Celestial Master jumped into a tribulation cloud, even a body cultivator would suffer a miserable fate. Yet this freak not only survived but was perfectly fine.
As for the Earthly and Human tribulations, the energy inside the cloud was so abundant that there were no spiritual energy issues to trigger an Earthly disaster, and as for a Human tribulation... no demon or ghost would be suicidal enough to follow someone into a lightning cloud to play.
With Uncle Jiu's successful breakthrough, the four of them naturally had a great celebration. Qiu Xia prepared a table overflowing with food. The next day, after Uncle Jiu said his goodbyes to Qiu Sheng's aunt, the master and his three disciples set out for Maoshan.
Along the way, Uncle Jiu trained his two disciples in Taoist arts while using his spiritual sense to impart knowledge and spells. Although the two would easily receive their Ordination once they returned to Maoshan because of their master's new status,
Uncle Jiu didn't want them to be subpar. Furthermore, once a disciple reached the Earthly Master rank, they were expected to leave the mountain to protect a region on their own.
At the main branch of Maoshan, one usually went down the mountain as an Earthly Master or Human Master. For disciples recruited outside the main branch, they could finish their apprenticeship at the Taoist Priest or Human Master level.
Now, both Qiu Sheng and Wencai had magic treasures and mana, but they lacked mental fortitude and technical proficiency. They needed practice for their arts, but for their mindset, they needed real-world experience. Finishing their studies and traveling the world was the best choice.
After a week of travel, the group finally reached the territory of Maoshan. As soon as they entered the area, Qiu Xia felt the spiritual energy increase. While it was still inferior to the Naruto World, it was undeniably much richer than any other place they had been.
As they walked onto Maoshan, Uncle Jiu spotted a Taoist in his thirties and called out, "Junior Brother Feiyu, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to be on duty today."
"Senior Brother Fengjiao! You've returned to the mountain!"
Hearing the name "Fengjiao," Uncle Jiu's face darkened instantly. Qiu Sheng and Wencai couldn't help but burst out laughing. Qiu Xia maintained a neutral expression, looking as though he hadn't reacted at all, but in reality, he was using his mana to physically lock his facial muscles to keep from laughing.
"Junior Brother Feiyu, I've told you just call me Senior Brother Lin Jiu!"
Feiyu shrugged. "That is the Taoist Name the Sect Leader personally gave you. I wouldn't dare change it."
"I'm not asking you to change the records, just use a different name when you talk to me. Anyway, how is Master doing?"
"The Sect Leader is doing quite well as a Celestial Master. By the way, are these three your disciples?"
"Yes. Qiu Sheng, Wencai, and Qiu Xia. Come, greet your Martial Uncle."
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