Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Stepping outside the Tower of Secrets, Xuan Hao could not help looking around the empty independent space that the Tower of Secrets was located inside of… And outside of a few floating pieces of land with ruins on top of them floating around, there wasn’t really anything else inside of the independent space.

”Isn’t this the perfect location to breakthrough…?” Quietly whispering this to himself as he finished looking around the rather empty independent space, it didn’t take long for him to conclude that the independent space was a perfect location for him to break through.

Not only would he not have to waste time searching for a safe location to break through, but breaking through inside the independent space would also isolate the disturbance caused by his breakthrough and ensure he didn’t attract any unwanted attention from either powerful demon beasts lurking in the depths of the mystic realm or powerful cultivators if he broke through outside the mystic realm.

His only worry in breaking through inside the independent space was potentially damaging the Tower of Secrets during his breakthrough, something that could cause the terrifying killing formation guarding the tower to target him.

”Ehm… Is it okay for me to breakthrough here?”

For this reason, he quickly turned around to ask the preservation golem about whether or not it would be okay for him to breakthrough.

”Question acknowledged, breaking through near the Tower of Secrets is acceptable for anyone in the Profound Immortal Realm or below, those exceeding the Profound Immortal Realm should not conduct a breakthrough within the mystic realm, as it could damage the mystic realm’s foundation.”

”Great! Ahm…! What about potential damage caused to the Tower of Secrets during a breakthrough?”

”Damage to the Tower of Secrets for anyone in the Profound Immortal Realm or below is impossible.”

”This… I see…”

Getting the answer he wanted from the preservation golem; Xuan Hao had no idea if he should feel relieved or not upon realizing just how powerful the formations guarding the Tower of Secrets were.

From the looks of it, any plans of potentially trying to forcibly take the techniques inside of the Tower of Secrets wouldn’t be possible before he surpassed the Profound Immortal Realm or at the very least managed to find a way to do so without having to force his way through the formation guarding the place.

Whoosh~

Knowing that it wouldn’t be a problem for him to stay inside the independent space, Xuan Hao didn’t continue talking with the preservation golem any longer and directly flew to a small, isolated corner of the space as far away from the Tower of Secrets as possible before closing his eyes to meditate.

Rumble~!

Not a second later, a rumbling sound echoed out from above, as Xuan Hao no longer held his cultivation back. Allowing it to breakthrough and in response triggering the Immortal Soul Tribulation that anyone attempting to reach the Dao Seed Realm would have to face… And before long, the empty sky above him cracked open, revealing a sea of fire amidst the swirling clouds that had gathered.

RUUUMBLE-!

Before he could even admire the beautiful heavenly fires above, a deafening roar echoed as the first wave of fire descended towards him like a sea of fire cascading down from the heavens above into the mortal realm below.

Symbolizing the official start of the Immortal Soul Tribulation and at the same time, the first of seven tribulations, the tribulation of fire!

WHOOOSH-!

As the descending flames struck his body, Xuan Hao barely had time to put away his robe before it was turned to cinders, a warning from the depths of his soul indicating that he would have to face this tribulation only with his body of potential face something much worse.

Even then, with his powerful physique already far above the Soul Ascension Realm and even exceeding that of most Dao Seed Realm cultivators, he didn’t worry too much as he felt the flames sweeping over his body. Burning away the few impurities still present inside his body.

The first tribulation wasn’t really that worrisome for someone like himself, as it targeted the impurities accumulated inside the body over the years through pill consumption or other things one consumed or absorbed.

For someone as young as himself who hadn’t taken any pills or other things to rapidly improve his strength, the tribulation of fire didn’t pose much of a threat, as it only served to help him further refine his body and meridians.

Because of this, as the last embers of the tribulation of fire faded, Xuan Hao watched the second tribulation already forming above.

Like the first tribulation, he wasn’t too worried about the second tribulation, the tribulation of earthen lightning, as it served to temper the body and would be easy for those with stronger bodies and harder for those with weaker bodies.

For example, most demon beasts wouldn’t have any problem with this tribulation and failure was rare, while human cultivators, with their weaker bodies, often had higher failure rates at this tribulation compared to others…

Crackle~ BOOOM!

Because of this, as the first golden lightning bolt tore through the dark clouds above before striking him, Xuan Hao barely flinched. His already strong body absorbing the impact of the lighting with ease.

Boom-boom-boom!

Even as more lighting descended to wrap around him like chains of celestial judgement, it didn’t make any difference, as his body resisted the lighting with ease. Instead, each strike only served to refine his body further.

BOOOOM!

And so, with a final, thunderous boom, the tribulation of earthen lighting passed with little suspense. Sparks still dancing across the surface of his skin, as he turned to look up into the swirling clouds above, a hint of cautiousness finally appearing in his eyes.

The third tribulation, the illusory heart tribulation, was by far the tribulation that he feared the most out of the seven tribulations from the immortal soul tribulation, as the strength of his will could be considered a weak point of his due to how short he had lived.

His main confidence in taking on the third tribulation came from his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions and his understanding of illusions being able to assist him in overcoming the illusory heart tribulation.

Whoosh~

As the last traces of lighting faded from his skin, Xuan Hao watched as a gentle mist descend from above before the world around him darkened and his surroundings began twisting unnaturally for a few seconds before the darkness retreated and he found himself standing on a lone mountain path that was eerily silent.

Observing his surroundings, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver running down his spine.

He knew this place.

But… It wasn’t from his own memories. Instead, it was part of the memories of his past before he had transmigrated over.

The main difference was that these memories had been unclear and the only thing he could recall from this moment he was now experiencing was that he had been fleeing from something, he just didn’t know what it was…

Feeling an inherent curiosity towards exploring his past in more detail, Xuan Hao couldn’t resist turning to look back. Wanting to see what it was he had been fleeing from, see what had caused him to originally flee all the way to the Ewaria Continent.

Then, he saw it.

A vast, writhing darkness that seeped out from the earth like an endless tide. Devouring everything in its path, be it trees, stones or even the sky itself. Everything was devoured.

No sound, no struggle, just absolute erasure.

He had seen this before. He had fled from it.

Long before he became a cultivator this thing had been chasing him.

But why?

Feeling an overwhelming sense of confusion washing over him as he gazed into the expanding abyss, faint voices began drifting over.

”Return to ████.”

”██ and ██ were never meant to escape ███.”

”Immortal blood, you ████ escape █ and ███ will find ████.”

Listening to the broken voices while the darkness surged towards him, a profound sense of fear washed over him.

Even if he knew this was nothing more than an illusion, the fear he felt from the bottom of his heart was real.

Not just that, but he felt like the threat from the darkness in front of him wasn’t just an illusion. If he failed to escape, he would be swallowed up and erased just like everything else that was devoured by the expanding abyss.

No. This is an illusion.

Feeling himself shaking in fear confronted with the approaching darkness, Xuan Hao ultimately stopped himself from acting on instinct. Clenching both of his fists before taking a step forward towards the approaching darkness.

Rumble~!

That single step caused the approaching darkness to recoil before another step caused it to start trembling… And with a final step, he tore through the illusion. The darkness shattering in front of him shattering together with the world around him as he returned to the independent space, the tribulation clouds still hovering menacingly above.

But none of this mattered to him as he couldn’t get the image of what he had just seen out of his head.

What was that thing he had just seen?

Was that the true appearance, or just a manifestation of what had been chasing after him?

No matter what it was, one thing was for certain… And that was the fact that whatever had caused him to originally flee to the Ewaria Continent was far more terrifying than he had first believed. Evoking the image of devouring everything it encountered without resistance…