Dao of Time: Awakening of The Timeless Immortal

0010 Heavenly Spirit Tribulation

Yao could not undergo a Heavenly Spirit Tribulation within his mind's eye or inner world, so he had to escape from it. 

His eyes snapped open only to realize that he was not drifting across the sky, instead he had been sitting somewhere atop a strange mountain with a protective barrier that surrounded him at all sides. 

His pretty face squeezed into a frown and his brows furrowed. He is about attempting a breakthrough but if the barrier remains here, there could be restrictions. 

He stood up from the stone platform, quietly suppressing his breakthrough and he walked towards the edge of the barrier, placing his hands on it. 

The barrier warped but did not budge. 

Yao wondered if maybe it is possible to use spiritual energy to weaken it, but he refrained from doing so. He did not want to waste his energy for a barrier when he still had like nine more acupoints to clear. He did not know how much spirit energy it would consume. 

Before Yao would make any move, a strange man appeared atop the mountain and stared deeply at him.

Yao stared back at him. 

The man looked to be in his middle age, probably a father of four happy kids. 

After a while of silence, he said. 

"You've been cultivating for seven years within your inner world and did not bother coming out once." 

Yao stared at the man and sneered. 

"I'm about to break through, will you keep me trapped under this barrier?"

The man's eyes seemed to widen, but he wasted no time in taking down the barrier.

The moment the barrier dissipated, Yao could no longer hold it in and a terrifying flood of spirit energy blasted out of his body and shattered the sky— only to open a black hole above his head.

The man's expression changed and he retreated. 

Yao's Heavenly Spirit Tribulation covered the entire Zicuen mountain and anyone caught up in it would be doomed. That is why the man had retreated.

Yao had not experienced a spirit tribulation before so he did not know what to expect. But in the next second, the atmosphere chilled drastically, causing Yao's entire hair to stand on end. 

He looked above him and saw a maelstrom of swords, rustling overhead. Yao's eyes widened. 

Why is he being attacked? 

Can he even survive an attack from the universe itself? 

He did not know. At this moment, the only thing he has is his spirit energy, and his level of control has not even gone beyond the Clarity stage. He was yet to purify the entire spirit energy. 

Yao looked up again, not exactly knowing how to counter the maelstrom of rustling swords.

***

Far away from the Zicuen mountain which is overlooked by a slanted groove that had a huge sword piercing into the ground, something that must have been done by a colossus, three men stared deeply at the Zicuen mountain, watching Yao's breakthrough unfold. 

"Do you really think that he's as talented as you claim that he is?" An old man— probably reaching the peak of the God-King Realm, asked the middle aged man that had appeared before Yao earlier. 

The man chuckled.

"Ancestor Shang, seven years ago I had drifted into the sky. Stars were supposed to explode into numerous supernovae that became the rebirth of new stars and death of the old ones. However, only one star exploded— an anomaly." 

Ancestor Shang stared keenly at the mountain, watching as Yao's Heavenly Spirit Tribulation spread open, and even reaching half a kilometer away from the slanted groove where the entire Celestial Sword Sect is housed. Though, he wasn't afraid that the tribulation would reach this place and that's because it couldn't.

"What happened Shang Yi. You know that drifting into the sky is a suicide attempt. The overlord could have killed you." 

Shang Yi smiled. "You had recently just come out from seclusion so you do not know that the Immortal Lord had left the six universes with his powerhouses, which means that the immortal lord has been gone for almost thirty years. Now at least, humanity can develop properly. And it should also be the reason why I was bold enough to drift into the sky." 

Shang Yi's expression turned solemn. 

"It was the epicenter of the universe. Stars are supposed to be aligned, which means that, if one explodes, another is supposed to explode alongside with many others, yet just a single star exploded, leaving the remaining ones intact. It was abnormal, so I checked and found the kid drifting through the sky." 

Ancestor Shang was suddenly baffled. "Was he sealed within or under the star?" 

Shang Yi sighed. "It is a possibility. I also discovered that he had a very boundless spirit energy, something that not even you possess. It was strange that he had to cultivate for almost seven long years just to stabilize himself. He had even managed to clear three acupoints without being told to. He is truly a genius."

Ancestor Shang was stunned. 

"Boundless spirit energy? Where is that ever heard."

The third party, Shang Fa, chuckled after being silent for a while. 

"Let's not forget that he's an outsider. The Celestial Sword Sect have had cases of invasion just because a lot of people want to lay hands upon our legendary Ceaseless Impetus. He could be a spy." 

Shang Yi turned towards Shang Fa. 

"Seven years ago, I discovered something— his seal! You weren't there to understand the situation but that seal had been broken and disintegrated into light particles. However I've touched its essence to feel that the seal is technically fifteen years old, which means he had been sealed for fifteen years." 

He turned back to Ancestor Shang. 

"When had the Ceaseless Impetus been discovered by outsiders? It is a year after the Immortal Lord left the six universes, so this child probably has no idea of the Ceaseless Impetus."

The three turned towards the Zicuen mountain and silently watched as Yao tried to survive the maelstrom of swords.

***

Yao's eyes flashed, still wondering how possible it is for him to stop the swords and then, he came to a conclusion— 

The orb that he had found when his seal had broken, the exact one that gave him the endless supply of spirit energy. It still had more surprises for him and he needed to unlock it.

He called the orb out of his inner world and they materialized, as if being expelled out of him. Yao watched as reality rippled at its arrival. 

He grabbed the orb and for a moment, he had a bit of enlightenment and he placed the orb upon his forehead. Miraculously, it fused into him, opening his inner eyes.

His vision suddenly grew extraordinarily sharp— like a third eye that is capable of seeing everything. Then, he sensed a threat and the third eye within him rotated, bringing to light a certain spell. 

Like a flash, Yao drew an inscription into the void. 

"The Soul of Sword."

"劍之魂"

"Jián zhī hún"

The moment, pure spirit energy powered this inscription, they transformed into a massive sword technique that cut through the sky like a light.

This was enough and the maelstrom of swords were completely destroyed. 

That completely ended Yao's Heavenly Spirit Tribulation. He had finally stepped into the True Qi Realm. At this moment, Yao felt the change in his combat ability. It felt as if he had been infiltrated with an insane brute strength— even without stepping into the realm, he already felt freakishly strong, so how much more freakish can it be?

The very moment his tribulation dissipated, three powerhouses appeared before him in an instant, their expressions grim. 

The eldest questioned almost immediately. 

"How did you know the Soul of swords? I never imagined that this technique would appear again in this era." 

Yao stared at them and answered honestly. 

"I don't know."

Shang Yi snapped. 

"You clearly used the technique to pass your Spirit Tribulation. And now you say that you don't know? Don't be a liar."

Yao's brows furrowed.

"I am not."

Truthfully, he had never met real people in the last twenty-two years so having this conversation can be considered as stressing.

Shang Fa interrupted. 

He seemed to understand Yao the most. "Did you have enlightenment?" 

Yao's eyes sparked brightly. "Yes, that's it." 

"What exactly brought about such an epiphany?" 

Yao sighed. "I fused an orb." 

Yao didn't talk much, he only observed his environment, having finally escaped the endless expanse of darkness. 

Ancestor Shang turned to his kins. "Bring him to the sword sect." 

He disappeared. 

Shang Fa walked towards Yao and said softly.

"Common buddy, let's go."

The three of them immediately left Zicuen mountain.