CHAPTER 270: TRIBULATION [1]

But, of course—

Death was not the end.

As Yu Xuan’s lifeless body was in silence, the world itself seemed to pause.

Then, a mysterious energy, surged into existence, penetrating every inch of his being.

It did not come from Heaven and Earth, but from within himself.

His blood began to shimmer — glowing threads of gold coursed through his veins, each drop pulsating with vitality.

The energy and his blood fused, merging into a singular, chaotic current that swept through his body, baptizing him.

His Lower Dantian flared once more — a violent golden light burst forth, and from within that void, a new core began to form.

It was radiant, perfect... and then, in the very next instant, it imploded again.

Yu Xuan’s consciousness flickered. He felt himself die — his senses fading into nothing, only to be pulled back by a surge of new vitality.

And then he died again.

And again.

And again.

Each time he "died," the process repeated — death and rebirth, collapse and reconstruction.

The cycle of Life and Death itself was being rewritten within his flesh.

It wasn’t just his Dantian anymore, every cell in his body was undergoing the same torment.

His very biology was caught in an endless loop of destruction and renewal.

His muscles, bones, blood, everything was being tempered.

Outside, the Elemental Heaven Peak Master watched, her eyes wide with disbelief and alarm.

Her disciple was glowing with radiance one moment — shining like a miniature sun, his presence overflowing with vitality.

And the next instance, that radiance vanished completely, his body turning lifeless.

Over and over, the cycle continued.

The golden light of life, then the stillness of death — alternating endlessly.

And then—

Boom.

A pulse of energy erupted from Yu Xuan’s body, rippling across the entire peak.

His eyes snapped open, blazing with clarity.

He was conscious again — fully, truly conscious. The alternating deaths had ceased.

Looking inward, Yu Xuan’s spiritual sense expanded, and what he saw left him breathless.

Every cell in his body contained a tiny golden nucleus, shining like miniature stars.

Even his blood cells radiated faint light, their centers glowing gold.

His skin cells, his muscle fibers, all of them had become microscopic mirrors of his Life Core.

And the core itself, now burned with an iridescent golden brilliance, pulsing steadily like a sun within his body.

This was no ordinary core.

This was something transcendent.

If before he could be killed by destroying his core, now that was no longer possible.

His life force had spread throughout his entire body, he would need to be completely annihilated, down to the last particle, to truly die.

Even his bones had transformed, their color now a deep, luminous black-gold, hard yet flexible, exuding strength.

Yu Xuan exhaled slowly, feeling peace unlike anything he had ever experienced.

His mind, body, and soul were in perfect harmony.

And this too also triggered something.

Within his Middle Dantian.

Which was partially opened, since his Foundation Establishment stage — the realm of the Heart and Spirit, where the Emotions of Mortals dwell, began to awaken fully.

As his Life Core stabilized, the waves of power flowing through him resonated with his emotions, refining them, purifying them, evolving them into their Primeval Forms.

The primal emotions of humankind — Joy, Sorrow, Anger, Fear, Love, Hate, and Desire — surfaced, intertwining with his cultivation.

Each emotion flared within him.

Yet Yu Xuan’s eyes remained calm.

His Spiritual Eye, gleaming faintly on his forehead, pulsed in rhythm with his breath.

When Yu Xuan refined Joy, it became serene contentment, unshaken by external influence.

When he refined Sorrow, it became empathy, a deep understanding of loss.

When he refined Anger, it transformed into resolve, a tempered flame that moved with purpose.

When he refined Fear, it became awareness, the acceptance of the unknown.

When he refined Love, it became compassion, pure and selfless.

When he refined Hate, it became willpower, the strength to confront.

When he refined Desire, it became ambition, channeled and directed towards his goals.

Each emotion aligned within him.

’When my heart no longer rules my mind, nor my mind rules my heart, but both move as one, I achieve liberation.’

Yu Xuan’s thought echoed within him.

Then, something profound happened.

All the turbulence around him, the wild flow of energy, the emotional storms, vanished completely.

His aura stabilized, flowing in perfect harmony.

The Elemental Heaven Peak Master, who had been silently observing, could only gape in disbelief.

Her lips formed an involuntary "O" as she whispered,

"He... he merged his Spiritual Tribulation with his Breakthrough Tribulation..."

Such a feat was nearly unheard of.

The mind and body tribulations were meant to be different — but Yu Xuan had transcended both in one seamless motion, as if it were as natural as breathing.

Yu Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

A tranquil light glimmered in his pupils — his right glowing white, his left dark as an abyss.

He exhaled softly.

His presence now felt boundless, yet gentle — vast as the sea, yet still.

But then, he looked up.

And his expression was strange.

"Eh? Aren’t the clouds... a little too much?" he muttered.

Above him, the heavens churned with unnatural fury.

What had started with normal black thunderclouds had grown into a maelstrom spanning the entire Elemental Heaven Peak.

The sky darkened completely, not a hint of sunlight remained.

Bolts of lightning crackled across the heavens.

The air was heavy.

The Elemental Heaven Peak Master too sensed the strangeness, but that was expected.

And she also sensed those watching her disciple, undergo his tribulation.

Yu Xuan raised his hand toward the sky, a wry smile twitching at his lips.

"Is this really necessary," he muttered under his breath.

A deafening rumble answered him — the wrath of Heaven itself.

***

Underworld.

Lower Realms Management Bureau, Sector 8.

A low-level clerk was lazily scanning through the flow of mortal souls.

Suddenly, it sensed something.

A single soul was fluctuating wildly, repeatedly dying and reviving.

The clerk straightened.

"Huh? That can’t be right."