Chapter 997: Flying Ascension Tribulation

Pure Nine-Lotus Lamp

After giving his instructions, Yuan Qingque pointed to his glabella, and the Nine Heavens Dao Fruit he had refined was drawn out again. This Dao Fruit resembled a circle formed by nine sword-shaped beams of light, but in Yuan Qingque's hand, he molded it into a tower of nine stacked light beams.

"Qing'er won't need me to worry about her future, but you're different. I'll leave this Dao Fruit to you!" As Yuan Qingque spoke, amid Yuan Zhen's surprised expression, he reached out and pressed the even more powerful Nine Heavens Dao Fruit onto her glabella.

Yuan Zhen immediately sat cross-legged on a cloud and began to refine it using the Nine Heavens Profound Scripture.

Tongtian Dao Refining Pagoda.

The Demon Venerable saw the spatial gate suddenly appear before its eyes and couldn't help but sigh. After Yuan Qingque reached the Void Refinement stage, it had even less power to resist.

After stepping through the spatial gate, the Demon Venerable landed beside Yuan Qingque.

Seeing the humanoid Demon Venerable, Yuan Qingque reminded it, "Fellow Daoist, it's time for us to depart."

"Please, Brother Daoist!" After hearing this, the Demon Venerable nodded, then rolled in mid-air, transforming into a white dragon that appeared in the sky. Its scales shone brightly like white jade, faint clouds entwined around its horns, and its dragon eyes were like ice and snow.

As Yuan Qingque looked at the white dragon beside him, a surge of emotion couldn't help but rise in his heart. In the past, True Monarch Yiyuan ascended riding a yellow dragon; today, Yuan Qingque also had a white dragon.

At this moment, the spiritual light of ascension descending from the heavens spread out, covering the Demon Venerable beside him as well.

"Everyone, may we meet again in the Immortal Realm if fate allows." Yuan Qingque bowed to True Monarch Wuchen and the other two, who stood in the clouds in the distance. Then, with a leap, he landed on the dragon's back.

The Demon Venerable gently swayed its dragon head, glanced in the direction of the Desolate Sea, then let out a long roar that shook the nine heavens, its spiritual light overflowing. As its dragon wings unfurled, a fierce wind arose. In an instant, Yuan Qingque and the white dragon, following the spiritual light of ascension descending from the Spirit Void Immortal Realm, soared directly into the nine layers of clouds.

Ye Qing, guarding Yuan Zhen, could not leave. He could only look up as Yuan Qingque's figure grew smaller and smaller, eventually turning into a speck of light and disappearing into the extremely high sky. His eyes showed reluctance, but after Yuan Qingque left, he had no time for sentimentality, for the Nine Heavens Demon Subduing Sect would need his support from then on. The three Demon Dao Transformation Gods were dead, but the Eastern Dawn Demon Dao had not yet been eradicated. Before Yuan Qingque left, he didn't want to create more complications and left this matter to his successors.

In the distance, the two Transformation God True Monarchs from the Grand Void Ethereal Palace in the clouds ascended directly, following Yuan Qingque's spiritual light of ascension. Ascensions were rare in the world, and they didn't want to miss this opportunity to witness one. True Monarch Wuchen was a half-step late because he needed to instruct the disciples of the Daoist Sect to take this opportunity to hunt down the Eastern Dawn Demon Dao. However, after making arrangements, he immediately controlled a medicinal pill and flew towards the sky.

During the ascension, Yuan Qingque closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling the Divine Soul Dharmakayas soaring from the Five Continents and Four Seas. These were the Transformation God True Monarchs currently in the Heavenly River Realm. After sensing the spiritual light of ascension, all who weren't in death seclusion flew up to follow, wanting to see what was happening.

Yuan Qingque paid them no mind. He kept his eyes tightly shut, his mind focused, feeling the Void Refinement realm he had just broken through to. Slaying the three Demon Dao Transformation Gods was merely the most basic power of the Void Refinement realm. The Nine Heavens Demon Subduing Sect had a profound heritage. Yuan Qingque, in the sixth layer of the Tongtian Dao Refining Pagoda, had long ago obtained the Void Refinement chapters of the Nine Heavens Profound Scripture taught by the Ancestral Master, so he was not completely ignorant of this realm. The later stages of the Ascension Heavenly Tribulation were progressively more terrifying; even Void Refinement cultivators wouldn't dare claim complete certainty of passing through it. Therefore, Yuan Qingque had to use all his time to skillfully master his current realm and power.

As the white dragon flapped its wings, its scales trembled. The external temperature had dropped to extreme cold, but the white dragon, inherently commanding the power of Yin-cold Ice Souls, found itself in its element. It even felt that its realm, which had been stuck in a bottleneck, had slightly loosened. Unbeknownst to them, they had already passed through nine invisible barriers, which were the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang. This was the first, and most basic, hurdle in the ascension process.

Each layer of the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang contained different powers of heaven and earth. After reaching the Transformation God realm, ordinary spiritual energy brought very slow improvements for cultivators. However, within the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang, if one was lucky, one could find primordial clear qi that had not completely dispersed into spiritual energy. The higher the layer, the purer it was. When a Divine Soul refined these, it could revert from acquired to primordial, making it easier to approach and listen to the Great Dao, and become one with the Dao. With the cultivation of a Transformation God True Monarch, surpassing the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang was naturally effortless. However, above the Heavenly Gang were the Nine Layers of Heavenly Tribulation, a great terror that only peak Transformation God cultivators dared to touch. Most of what each layer of heavenly tribulation contained was primordial qi. Therefore, Transformation God cultivators in the Heavenly River Realm often came to attempt to pass the heavenly tribulation, specifically to absorb this qi.

Yuan Qingque and the white dragon did not stop; they directly broke through the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang and crashed into the Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. These Nine Layers of Heavenly Tribulation were the Great Dao rules jointly established by several mighty cultivators who opened the Spirit Void Immortal Realm. Their original intention was to provide a path of ascension for cultivators not from their respective lineages. When the Spirit Void Immortal Realm was first opened, super-forces like the Water Mother Palace and Grand Void Ethereal Palace all had their own direct channels to ascend to the Immortal Realm. The so-called Ascension Heavenly Tribulation was like the Immortal Gate's college entrance examination: if you could stand out from tens of thousands of cultivators in the lower realms and cultivate to the Void Refinement realm, then you would be a talent acknowledged by the Immortal Realm. You could rely on your own efforts to become a new member of the Immortal Realm and be accepted by the other super-forces.

For example, the Ancestral Master of the Nine Heavens Demon Subduing Sect, after ascending to the Void Refinement stage, had the opportunity to listen to the Dao at the Water Mother Palace. During his third time listening to the Dao, he comprehended his own Great Dao and successfully merged with the Dao. This attracted the Water Mother, who had already transcended, to descend and take him as her personal disciple. However, with several great changes in the Heavenly River Realm, the backdoors for ascension that the mighty cultivators had opened for their descendants were either sealed, lost their keys, or were destroyed. This led to the Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, originally meant to demonstrate fairness and left for outsiders, paradoxically becoming the only legitimate channel for ascension now. Precisely for this reason, cultivators who could pass the Ascension Heavenly Tribulation and enter the Immortal Realm were all top-tier geniuses!

Since the opening of the Spirit Void Immortal Realm, countless cultivators had died within the Nine Layers of Heavenly Tribulation. Especially in the first three layers of heavenly tribulation, nearly ninety percent of the Transformation God True Monarchs in the Heavenly River Realm perished here.

"Brother Daoist, the first layer of heavenly tribulation has arrived!" At this moment, the white dragon spoke, its voice rumbling like thunder, reaching Yuan Qingque's ears.

Yuan Qingque opened his eyes and first looked around. He saw dozens of Divine Soul Dharmakayas sitting atop the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang, waiting for him to pass the Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. Three of them were closest to him: True Monarch Wuchen of the Daoist Sect, and Grand Empty and Grand Ancient from the Grand Void Ethereal Palace. Yuan Qingque nodded slightly at them in acknowledgment. Then, together with the white dragon, he flew into the first layer of heavenly tribulation.

This layer of heavenly tribulation was a torrential downpour of thunder. Amidst the intertwined lightning and thunder, it was as if they had entered a world of thunder. Any tangible substance that entered it would be struck by countless bolts of lightning and reduced to dust by the mighty power of thunder. Most heavenly tribulations for breakthroughs in various realms in the Heavenly River Realm were derived from this. However, even the power of a Transformation God heavenly tribulation, compared to this first layer of Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, was like a firefly compared to a bright moon. But for Yuan Qingque and the Demon Venerable, this layer of heavenly tribulation only consumed a little of their strength. Moreover, it wasn't just them. Even more than half of the dozens of Transformation God True Monarchs who were originally in the Nine Layers of Heavenly Gang followed and charged into this first layer of heavenly tribulation.

Yuan Qingque merely opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of Nine Heavens True Qi, forming a protective light shield. Meanwhile, the white dragon beneath him roared, its chilling aura enveloping it, transforming into waves of cold current, directly withstanding the almost endless heavenly tribulation lightning, and soaring upwards.

Soon, they charged into the second layer of heavenly tribulation, which was a raging inferno of overwhelming flames, incinerating everything into nothingness. It was said that the sect-protecting cultivation method of the Heaven-Burning Pure Land, the Heaven-Burning Pure World Flame, originated from here.

After arriving here, the Demon Venerable's expression began to turn solemn. Its true spirit power perfectly countered these destructive flames. However, it was after all only at the peak of Transformation God. Compared to the heavenly tribulation, which was continuously supported by the power of heaven and earth, it was possible for it to fail to pass due to exhaustion. In the past, before it was sealed by the Tongtian Dao Refining Pagoda, it had attempted this Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. It was before this second layer of heavenly tribulation that it felt its strength was insufficient and stopped, retreating. At that time, the Demon Venerable could feel that if it went all out, it might be able to pass this second layer of heavenly tribulation. However, if it did so, it would certainly die upon entering the third layer. Compared to that time, it had now signed a contract with Yuan Qingque, so it could not retreat under any circumstances.

With a long roar to the sky, the Demon Venerable fully unleashed its White Dragon True Spirit power, carrying Yuan Qingque on its back as it darted through the sea of flames. On the dragon scales, where the Demon Venerable's extreme cold power converged, frost melted and water vapor evaporated. Yet, it transformed these into layers of water curtains, resisting the fierce flames, aiming to pass this second layer of heavenly tribulation as quickly as possible. In the blink of an eye, they had already covered half the distance.

Yuan Qingque's expression remained unchanged. Noticing the white dragon beneath him suddenly slowing down, he opened his mouth and exhaled his Nine Heavens True Qi, condensing it into a powerful talisman that landed on the white dragon's body. In an instant, it was as if undying springs appeared on the white dragon's body, continuously gushing clear, icy water that drenched its crystalline scales, blocking all the destructive flames from its body. After receiving the blessing of Yuan Qingque's sixth-rank talisman, the Demon Venerable finally recovered and charged towards the third layer of heavenly tribulation.

At this moment, Yuan Qingque looked around once more. He found that more than a dozen Divine Soul Dharmakayas were still following him. This meant that they were at least peak Transformation God cultivators. But soon, only a single-digit number should remain.

Thinking this, Yuan Qingque and the white dragon had already charged into the third layer of heavenly tribulation. Here was a world of ice, with snowflakes drifting down. As they fell upon the white dragon, which possessed the bloodline of an extreme cold true spirit, it felt comfortable, but its originally agile body slowly began to become sluggish.

"Be careful!" The void around Yuan Qingque twisted. This indicated that the external temperature was so low that even his body could not withstand it, and it would be frozen stiff and shattered upon contact. He immediately cast a warming talisman, applying it to the white dragon. The Demon Venerable also reacted at this moment. It had almost been assimilated by the extreme cold power here. After receiving the talisman's blessing from Yuan Qingque, its Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, which had been half-frozen, began to operate, and it immediately burned its White Dragon True Spirit blood.

After fighting with all its might, the Demon Venerable finally temporarily escaped the influence of this ice heavenly tribulation. Its divine sense began to circulate again, and it joyfully discovered something: its bottleneck had a crack. If it could pass this layer of heavenly tribulation and continuously absorb the power of extreme cold ice souls here, it might be able to break through the fifth-rank shackles and become a sixth-rank, true white dragon. At this moment, the Nine Heavens True Qi within Yuan Qingque circulated even more vigorously. His eyes were like the sun, illuminating all directions, melting the frost that blocked his path.

Seeing this, the white dragon also dared not be negligent. It unleashed its true spirit power, its dragon breath like a warm current, melting a myriad of miles of ice. As they ascended towards the fourth layer of heavenly tribulation, nine more spiritual lights surged upwards. In the Heavenly River Realm, the Transformation God True Monarchs who could pass the three layers of heavenly tribulation were indeed few and far between. Yuan Qingque saw a few familiar faces and nodded slightly. Those few people also courteously returned the gesture. As the last snowflake melted, Yuan Qingque, riding the white dragon, charged into the fourth layer of heavenly tribulation.

Six of the remaining nine Transformation God True Monarchs hesitated and remained in place. Only two swords and a colorful phoenix followed and charged into the fourth layer. There was also a wisp of shadow, unnoticed by these Transformation God True Monarchs, narrowing a pair of long, narrow eyes as it silently entered the fourth layer of heavenly tribulation.

The fourth layer contained chaotic void power. This wisp of shadow had just entered and hadn't even opened its eyes for long when it was suddenly torn into countless pieces. At the moment the shadow was shattered, in a water mansion hidden deep within the Five Continents and Four Seas, a young man shrouded in black smoke spat out a mouthful of blood.

"This fourth layer is actually so terrifying," he muttered. "Without reaching Void Refinement, perhaps only the Transformation God True Monarchs of the Grand Void Ethereal Palace who have mastered the power of void origin could pass through it." The young man recalled the last images transmitted before his consciousness was shattered by the void, and spoke with lingering fear. He prided himself on being the foremost figure of the Demonic Dao in the Heavenly River Realm. His cultivation was so profound that even the top Transformation Gods from the Central Continent Holy Lands were not worth his attention. He had even entered the Heavenly Sea Water Mother Palace once, and although he was discovered, he still managed to escape alive. However, he hadn't expected that, under the scrutiny of this Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, he would discover that his cultivation could not be considered top-tier in the current era. Yuan Qingque, who had reached Void Refinement, was of course beyond comparison, but even those two swords from Central Continent were above him. However, probing the Ascension Heavenly Tribulation this time was not without benefits. At least the young man found his path forward.

Within the fourth layer of heavenly tribulation, Yuan Qingque finally took action. His eyes shone like brilliant stars, dazzling, and the Void Refinement chapters of the Nine Heavens Profound Scripture, after thousands of years, finally shone brightly in the Heavenly River Realm once more. The white dragon also did its utmost, but its realm was completely insufficient at this moment. Amidst its earth-shattering dragon roars, its dragon body continuously twisted, and scales shattered one by one. It tried to dissolve the void power by freezing the void with its true spirit power. This had some effect. However, compared to the endless heavenly tribulation, its true spirit power would eventually be exhausted. After only covering one-third of this path, it reached the white dragon's limit of endurance. Amidst a mournful dragon cry, its dragon scales began to shatter and fly off, and dragon blood splattered into the heavenly tribulation, turning into dazzling streaks of cold light. This bought it some more time.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Qingque also sighed softly, then used a movement art to detach himself from the white dragon's back. Without the white dragon, Yuan Qingque began to go all out. He summoned his vital flying sword, and with man and sword united, like a brilliant arrow, he flew through the final one-third of the journey and charged into the fifth layer of heavenly tribulation.

By this time, the other three Transformation God True Monarchs who had followed into the fourth layer of heavenly tribulation also had no choice but to stop. They waited here for a while, vaguely hearing earth-shattering sword cries and energy fluctuations so terrifying that their Divine Soul Dharmakayas couldn't help but tremble. The multi-colored divine light seemed to reach its peak brilliance at one moment, but quickly dimmed. They did not see the final scene of Yuan Qingque passing the Nine Layers of Heavenly Tribulation. Nor did they know whether he had succeeded or failed. Once enveloped by the spiritual light of ascension, unlike them who could retreat at any time if they couldn't pass the tribulation, he could only be carried by the spiritual light of ascension all the way towards the Spirit Void Immortal Realm.

After waiting for several more days and confirming that no further activity could be detected, all the Transformation God True Monarchs departed from the Nine Layers of Heavenly Tribulation. Among the Five Continents and Four Seas, the ancient sects with long legacies indeed had means to contact the Upper Realm. However, these were their ultimate reserves. They could only be actively used when the sect faced imminent extinction, or during major events or tribulations that altered the Heavenly River Realm's fate. At