Chapter 37
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Chapter 37: Ye Hongchen Becomes a Saint
Southern Wilderness, the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
An old beggar, dressed in rags with unkempt hair, holding a bamboo staff as he walked along a wild mountain path, suddenly sensed something. He looked towards the east.
That was the direction of Mount Taicang.
Up in the sky, vast lightning gathered. Clouds of tribulation stretched for a thousand li, as if a calamity destined to destroy the world was about to descend.
The old beggar revealed a mouthful of blackish-yellow teeth, his eyes brimming with heartfelt relief.
"That little brat hasn’t disappointed this old man after all. She’s finally become a Saint." The old beggar felt greatly comforted. Step by step, he walked towards Mount Taicang.
His pace seemed extremely slow, yet with each stride, he traversed over a hundred miles. It was unmistakably the supreme divine ability of shrinking the earth beneath one’s feet.
…
Xuanfu Palace.
Within a dim temple hall, Lu Fengming opened his eyes. Instinctively, he looked towards the last green lamp, but its flame still flickered weakly – it hadn’t gone out.
"The one who became a Saint isn’t Yang Xuanzhan!"
Lu Fengming let out a low roar, his eyebrows and long hair, which spilled onto the floor, bristling as he revealed eyes filled with overwhelming killing intent.
"Just who dares to steal the fortune meant for my Xuanfu Palace?"
He strode out of the temple hall.
At that moment, the Jade Sky Saint of Xuanfu Palace also arrived. He appeared as a graceful young man, holding a folding fan, exuding elegance and refinement, and radiating an immensely powerful aura.
"Junior Brother Gu, you felt it too?"
The Jade Sky Saint looked at Lu Fengming, a tremor of surprise running through his heart.
Gu Lingxiao had become a Saint after him, but the aura emanating from Gu Lingxiao at this moment actually surpassed his own. Moreover, that surge of killing intent left even the Jade Sky Saint deeply unsettled.
Lu Fengming nodded, stating, "The one who achieved Sainthood should be Ye Hongchen."
"I think so too."
The Jade Sky Saint agreed, nodding. "Ye Hongchen and Xuanzhan were outstanding talents of the same generation, the individuals in the Southern Wilderness most likely to become Saints. I truly thought Xuanzhan would achieve Sainthood first. I never expected it to be Ye Hongchen."
"Shall we go take a look?"
"Alright." Suppressing his killing intent, Lu Fengming soared into the air alongside the Jade Sky Saint, leaving Xuanfu Palace and heading straight for Mount Taicang.
The tribulation of achieving Sainthood was boundless and magnificent.
The scale of the disturbance caused by the heavenly tribulation was immense, affecting nearly half of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The aura of the heavenly tribulation enveloped heaven and earth; birds and beasts, cowering beneath the heavenly might, trembled and prostrated.
The vast, boundless clouds of tribulation continued to expand, now stretching for three thousand li.
At this moment, the major powers throughout the Southern Wilderness were shaken.
Someone becoming a Saint caused far greater shock and awe than someone becoming a God.
For several thousand years, the Southern Wilderness had not produced a single Saint.
The ancestors of the Tianxin Sect, Dan Ding Sect, He Huan Sect, Wuji Sect, Qi Xian Sect, and Heavenly Corpse Dao were all awakened from their deep slumbers by the commotion of ascension to Sainthood, each emerging from their coffins and flying towards Mt. Taicang.
Elder Huang, on his way to the Godfall Ridge, also witnessed the descent of the heavenly tribulation.
"Someone is becoming a saint in the Southern Wilderness?" Elder Huang exclaimed in shock.
"Unfortunately, if not for the guidance I received from the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, I would have definitely made the trip."
Elder Huang suppressed the turmoil in his heart and flew toward Godfall Ridge.
…
Linglong City.
Ye Xu also stepped out of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, walked to the entrance, and gazed toward the direction of Mount Taicang.
He dared not step beyond the area protected by Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Having divulged too many heavenly secrets, he bore the weight of immense divine retribution. Simply taking one extra step could trigger its descent.
"That’s the direction of Mount Taicang," Ye Xian’er murmured, then immediately grew anxious. "Both Grandmasters are there!"
This was a saintly heavenly tribulation. Its sheer power was devastating enough to level everything within a radius of thousands of miles.
Mu Yunsheng and Mu Chenfeng also seemed to be on Mount Taicang, right at the Cave of the Ziwei Saint.
"Quite the spectacle indeed."
Ao Lie also emerged from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. He looked at Ye Xu and asked, "Senior, would you like to go take a look?"
"And what is there to see?"
Ye Xu smiled. "Their opportunities… all came from me."
"…"
Ao Lie was instantly rendered speechless.
"Senior, I’ll go join the fun." To escape the awkwardness, Ao Lie immediately flew out of Linglong City.
After witnessing what happened to Han Dongliu before, the City Lord of Linglong had discreetly lifted the flight ban, no longer daring to be audacious.
"Senior, I want to go see too." Ye Xian’er shook Ye Xu’s arm, pleading pitifully.
"I’m not stopping you. If you want to go, go by yourself."
Ye Xu turned and walked back into Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.
He truly wanted to go, but that was all it could be—a wish.
For a very long time to come, he might remain confined within Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.
Ye Xian’er drooped her head dejectedly.
Given her level of cultivation, whether she could even successfully reach Mount Taicang was an unknown.
…
In the Mount Taicang range.
A towering mountain, ten thousand zhang high, had completely cracked open, revealing a barrier etched with Symbols. This enclosed a small world – precisely the Cave of the Ziwei Saint, hidden deep within the mountain’s belly.
Now, this immense peak was collapsing, its structure fragmenting, fully exposing the Cave of the Ziwei Saint to the heavenly tribulation below.
Mu Yunsheng and Mu Chenfeng, awed and fearful of the heavenly might, trembled uncontrollably.
"Elder Brother, will we die here?" Mu Chenfeng huddled into a ball, deeply worried.
Following Ye Xu’s direction, they had entered the Cave of the Ziwei Saint. Both Ye Hongchen and Yang Xuanzhan, upon recognizing Ye Xu’s token, had allowed them entry without trouble.
The two men successfully obtained the Xumi Ten Thousand Forms Flower, but just as they were preparing to leave, Ye Hongchen became a saint.
The heavenly tribulation was brewing, and the heavenly might locked onto the Cave of the Ziwei Saint; the two men did not dare to take even one step outside, for if they were unlucky, a bolt of heavenly tribulation might strike them down.
Their bodies were too weak, so they dared not endure a single Tribulation Thunder.
"Ye Hongchen has already become a saint; it’s just a saintly heavenly tribulation—how could that possibly trouble her?" Yang Xuanzhan glanced scornfully at the brothers and snorted coldly.
He turned to Ye Hongchen, filled with both envy and jealousy.
This should have been his own good fortune; the one who should have attained sainthood was him.
Yang Xuanzhan let out a long, deep sigh.
Ye Hongchen sat cross-legged in the void; her face was youthful like that of a young boy, but her aura seemed integrated with heaven and earth, as she became Heaven and Man united.
At the saint level, one comprehended the laws that governed all worldly affairs, grasped the natural way, and achieved unity between Heaven and Man.
With every gesture or movement, one could borrow the power of heaven and earth.
This was the very reason a saint was terrifying.
Fighting a saint was akin to opposing the entire cosmos; even the most formidable God King could scarcely contend against a saint who had survived the heavenly tribulation.
Ye Hongchen kept her eyes shut, and her aura fluctuated endlessly.
One phenomenon after another manifested from the void, akin to the span of a person’s life or countless repetitions of reincarnation.
Ye Hongchen was comprehending the Dao.
Having acquired the Ziwei Saint’s cultivation notes and refined the spiritual essence of his inner world, Ye Hongchen plunged fully into the journey of comprehending the Dao.
Her primordial spirit, delving deep within the sea of consciousness, underwent repeated cycles, deepening her insights into the "Red Dust Tribulation Sutra" until they culminated in a qualitative leap.
Then, her ascension to sainthood unfolded naturally.
Ye Hongchen opened her eyes.
The infinite phenomena vanished, leaving her appearing as an ordinary person with no trace of a saint’s majestic aura; she landed back on the ground and gazed at Yang Xuanzhan, saying, "So becoming a saint is truly wondrous."
Yang Xuanzhan looked astonished, fixed his stare on Ye Hongchen, and demanded, "What exactly occurred?"
"Do you genuinely seek to know?" Ye Hongchen asked with a light laugh.
Yang Xuanzhan reflected briefly and offered a self-deprecating smile.
In that moment, he did not desire such knowledge.
He dared not become a saint himself.
"You are now plagued by inner demons; even if I detailed every step of becoming a saint for you, it would remain impossible." Upon ascending to the saint level, Ye Hongchen perceived all hearts and saw Yang Xuanzhan utterly transparently.
Yang Xuanzhan was burdened with heaviness in his mood.
"All of you, enter my Purple Palace," Ye Hongchen said, chuckling. "Otherwise, when the heavenly tribulation arrives, I shall lack any spare time to shield you."
She opened her Purple Palace and effortlessly drew in the Mu Chenfeng brothers along with Yang Xuanzhan.
Boom!
The first layer of the heavenly tribulation descended.
The saintly heavenly tribulation comprised six layers in total.
Each calamity grew more terrifying than the last.
The three-thousand-mile clouds of tribulation swelled, spewing forth vast torrents of lightning that merged and coalesced. They refined into a single massive Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation, hundreds of miles wide, crashing down upon Mount Taicang.
Boom!
Before this heavenly tribulation had even fully descended, every living creature within three thousand miles of Mount Taicang was reduced to ashes.
Mount Taicang shattered; the protective barrier around the grotto-heaven of the Ziwei Saint was annihilated.
The Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation smashed down directly overhead.
Ye Hongchen traced a circle in the air with her hand. The circle expanded continuously, finally swallowing the Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation whole like a black hole. The first heavenly tribulation had been overcome smoothly.
Ye Hongchen was entirely at ease.
Boom!
A second Tribulation Thunder fell.
Ye Hongchen simply traced another circle.
…
In the blink of an eye, the fifth heavenly tribulation arrived.
The three-thousand-mile clouds of tribulation instantly condensed into a divine sword. With a single thrust, it pierced straight into Ye Hongchen’s Dao heart.
This tribulation targeted the Dao heart itself.
Ye Hongchen’s brow slightly furrowed.
As the heavenly tribulation pierced her Dao heart, countless inner demons instantly sprang forth. Innumerable chaotic thoughts flooded Ye Hongchen’s sea of consciousness.
Even the inner demons themselves solidified, raging wildly within her Purple Palace of Consciousness.
Yang Xuanzhan and the other two trembled with fear, terrified that they too might be caught in the calamity.
Ye Hongchen’s primordial spirit stepped into her Purple Palace. She stood motionless, allowing the inner demons to gnaw and ravage her.
After an immeasurable time, countless strange phenomena manifested upon her primordial spirit.
Each phenomenon represented a conquered inner demon, subsuming every demon birthed from the chaotic thoughts.
"Is this the profound essence of the Red Dust Tribulation Sutra?" Yang Xuanzhan stared at this scene, suddenly comprehending the sutra’s underlying mystery.
Where the heart resides, there lies the Red Dust.
Ye Hongchen’s cultivation had always been tempered within the mortal world. She had ascended to godhood amidst the Red Dust, and attained sainthood within the Red Dust.
Yet her Dao heart had never wavered.
It was precisely this constancy that allowed her to so effortlessly vanquish the inner demons.
Boom!
The final tribulation arrived.
But it was neither a Divine Thunder nor a sword of inner demons. Instead, it manifested as a brilliant scripture.
This composition radiated dazzling light, formed from the profound mysteries of heaven and earth. It descended into Ye Hongchen’s Purple Palace. Within its depths, countless sounds of the Dao began to resonate.
It seemed like a gift bestowed by the cosmos themselves.
It was a grand gift for her ascension to sainthood.
"Don’t stop!" Yang Xuanzhan warned with terror in his eyes. "This will make you merge with the Dao."
This was the most terrifying tribulation.
Merging with the Dao.
Once lured by the sound of the Dao, the power of Heaven and Earth would seize control of one’s primordial spirit and physical body, utterly transforming them into a part of the cosmos, an extension of the Heavenly Dao itself.
Among saintly heavenly tribulations, this calamity was the most dreadful.
Yang Xuanzhan could see clearly, yet Ye Hongchen, submerged in the great tribulation, could neither hear his voice nor share his awareness.
She could only feel her flesh and the laws she cultivated resonating with the cosmos, rejoicing.
She longed to merge with the cosmos, to become part of it.
Thus, she would exist for all eternity.
"Palace Master Yang, what’s happening?" Mu Yunsheng asked, bewildered.
Yang Xuanzhan explained, "It’s a trap laid by the Heavenly Dao—a great calamity every saint must face. Throughout history, countless souls have fallen at this very step."
"Once seduced by the Dao, they willingly merge with it, becoming its very flesh and blood."
"Hiss…"
Mu Yunsheng drew a sharp, icy breath.
He never imagined the process of facing the tribulation to attain sainthood could be so perilous. One misstep meant utter, irreversible ruin.
"This celestial being is really despicable!"
Mu Chenfeng spat out in disdain.
"Second Brother! The Heavenly Dao watches from just three feet above! Cease your insolence!" Mu Yunsheng barked, slapping his palm toward him.
Mu Chenfeng hastily pressed his palms together, tilting his head skyward as he chanted, "Oh Celestial Being, pray forgive this rash youth for his ignorant words…"
The old fellow truly acted like a clown.
Yet Yang Xuanzhan couldn’t muster even a trace of laughter.
Cold urgency tightened his chest.
His concern wasn’t rooted in any deep bond with Ye Hongchen. Rather, her success would grant him another powerful ally—a crucial piece to counter Lu Fengming.
"Don’t you dare disappoint me…" Yang Xuanzhan murmured under his breath.
