Liu Qianjue and many others stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. The scene that they had just witnessed had completely changed their mentality.
Before, they had been forced to become part of the Great Eastern Alliance, but at this moment, after seeing Lu Yin defeat Progenitor Chen, they had a new perspective on their situation. They had truly joined the Great Eastern Alliance in their hearts and become Lu Yin’s subordinates. In the future, when Lu Yin became a Progenitor, the benefits that they would receive from following him would be immeasurable.
“Congratulations to the alliance leader on passing your tribulation!” Mountain God shouted. He was the first to speak to Lu Yin, which shocked Elder He and the other Envoys.
Right after him, Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, and Madam Yōu all spoke up and congratulated Lu Yin as well.
Across the battlefield, Xu Qing’s expression had completely soured. “He actually managed to survive such an overwhelming tribulation. His combat strength is going to surge as soon as he becomes an Envoy, and he might even be able to protect himself on a battlefield like this one. It’s going to be incredibly difficult to kill him in the future.”
The Celestial Demon replied, “Since he was able to defeat Progenitor Chen at the same power level, he may very well become the Fifth Mainland’s first Progenitor.”
These words caused Xu Qing’s face to contort even more. Progenitors were indeed terrifying existences, but they were not necessarily able to induce despair. However, Lu Yin was also the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. The young man not only had an incredible talent for cultivation, but he was also skilled at tactics and strategy. Xu Qing could remember what Lu Yin had said before the war had started. If he eventually became a Progenitor, how would he treat the Astral Beast Domain?
This youth absolutely had to die, or else the Astral Beast Domain would suffer an absolute catastrophe in the future.
Lu Yin’s stellular tribulation could be seen as the most difficult tribulation that had ever been overcome. Progenitor Chen represented the most powerful Enlighter in history. Even Envoys with a power level of 700,000 would have found it difficult to challenge Progenitor Chen when he had been an Enlighter, and yet Lu Yin had defeated the invincible powerhouse and passed his tribulation.
The star energy within Lu Yin’s body all dissipated. Then, stellular energy began to surge out of the tribulation’s vortex and into Lu Yin.
This was his reward for surviving his stellular tribulation. His breakthrough had succeeded, and he would become an Envoy, which meant he would now be able to use stellular energy instead of star energy.
Each person’s stellular tribulation was unique due to how each person had a different star energy reserve, which subsequently affected how much stellular energy a person could absorb right after they passed their tribulation. The stronger the cultivator was, the more stellular energy they could absorb right after their breakthrough. However, this also meant that they would have to deal with even more hostility from the true universe.
Lu Yin’s horrifying star energy reserves had prompted the tribulation of the true universe to manifest Progenitor Chen as a humanoid tribulation, which had been the most dangerous tribulation ever. If the true universe had a face, there would have been an ugly expression on it at this moment.
A smile tugged at Lu Yin’s mouth as he thought of something else.
In the past, Kui Luo had mentioned that Bai Xian’er’s stellular tribulation had shaken the entire Perennial World and that even Progenitors had taken notice of it. How had she managed to do that? Had her tribulation been too big and noticeable, or had her tribulation also matched her up against a Progenitor?
Lu Yin felt that the second option was the more likely possibility. He was not arrogant, but he was certain that he had definitely reached the pinnacle of strength possible for an Enlighter, just as Progenitor Chen had done. If Lu Yin were a disciple of the Celestial Frost Sect, or if the Lu family were still in a position of power, his stellular tribulation where he had defeated Progenitor Chen would have absolutely attracted the attention of a Progenitor and earned the ire of the Aeternals.
This was Lu Yin’s level of self-confidence. He truly felt that the greatest difference between him and Bai Xian’er was nothing more than their backing.
Lu Yin looked northwards. It was possible that, at this moment, Xu Qing’s desire to kill Lu Yin had reached the same level that the Aeternals had felt towards Bai Xian’er after she passed her own stellular tribulation!
Lu Yin shook his head and dismissed such thoughts from his mind. Only after he absorbed all of the stellular energy that he could and completely replaced his star energy reserves could he be regarded as having fully passed his stellular tribulation.
The first time that stellular energy entered an individual’s body, they would have to choose where they wanted their stellular energy vortex to be located. This was something that Lu Yin had already considered, and he placed his own vortex right next to the black and white mist inside his chest, where it just happened to be covered by fatesand.
The stellular energy circulated through Lu Yin’s body in the exact same circuit that he used to cycle his star energy, and he was able to sense the changes taking place within his body. Breaking through to the Envoy realm would transform cultivators’ bodies. It was at this point that all cultivators would gain the ability to enter the true universe, which demanded the user to have immense physical power.
Even the most average cultivator would have their physical might be raised to a level where they would be able to enter the true universe. But for someone like Lu Yin, who had long since surpassed that level, he had no idea how much his physical strength would improve by. All he knew was that he could feel his body changing.
The stellular energy quickly passed through his body and entered Lu Yin’s opened lower meridian point. It then continued on and entered the middle meridian point before finally passing onto the upper meridian point. Finally, it entered Lu Yin’s chest, and right next to the black and white mist, a stellular energy vortex began to form and expand, pulling in more and more stellular energy.
Still, not a single person dared to approach Lu Yin. Even though the stellular tribulation had finished, approaching someone who was absorbing stellular energy could trigger another stellular tribulation. Technically, what Lu Yin was doing at this moment was still part of his tribulation.
Risks went hand in hand with rewards. This was something that had never changed over the countless passing of ages. It was not that no one had ever attempted to approach a person when they were absorbing stellular energy after a tribulation, but rather that people had discovered that doing so would trigger a tribulation targeted at them.
The only thing that anyone could do at this moment was watch as Lu Yin absorbed the stellular energy and officially became an Envoy. Only after he finished would the stellular tribulation truly be over.
After an average cultivator passed their tribulation, they would only need a few moments to absorb stellular energy, establish their stellular energy vortex, and transform their bodies to be able to enter the true universe. Everyone expected Lu Yin to finish this stage very quickly as well because, even though his star energy reserves had been utterly monstrous, when a cultivator absorbed stellular energy for the first time, there was no risk involved. They would be able to freely absorb the stellular energy in the same manner that they had previously absorbed star energy.
However, people quickly realized something was wrong. Lu Yin still had not stopped absorbing stellular energy. Just how much star energy had he possessed before his breakthrough?
No one had ever heard Lu Yin comment on how much star energy he possessed, but at this moment, they were able to see for themselves.
Even after enough time passed for an entire stick of incense to burn, Lu Yin was still absorbing stellular energy.
The time for two sticks of incense to burn soon passed, and yet Lu Yin was still absorbing stellular energy. The stellular energy beneath the vortex that had been Lu Yin’s tribulation formed a stream that continuously poured into his body.
Everyone was dumbfounded, particularly the gathered Envoys. They stared at Lu Yin as though gazing at a monster.
Qing Hua lamented, “Sure enough, he cannot compare to ordinary people. His body must have held star energy reserves a hundred times more than an ordinary cultivator. Even the most talented of cultivators from my Sixth Mainland are vastly inferior to him.”
Lan Xian looked up, her eyes still glistening. “No matter what, he is a member of the Lu family, and even a direct descendant at that. It’s only to be expected that his star energy reserves would be a hundred times more than other cultivators. He should be finishing soon.”
However, enough time passed for yet another stick of incense to burn, but Lu Yin was still absorbing stellular energy.
Lan Xian’s expression changed. If Lu Yin’s star energy reserves had only been a hundred times what average cultivators possessed, then he would have already finished. Why was he still absorbing more stellular energy?
To the north, Xu Qing’s expression was growing worse and worse as his killing intent mounted higher and higher. He felt completely helpless. The more stellular energy that Lu Yin absorbed, the more powerful the youth would become, and yet he was already shockingly powerful.
In contrast, the Celestial Demon next to Xu Qing began to laugh. “This is great!”
Xu Qing felt lost. “What do you mean?”
The Celestial Demon sneered. “Stellular energy is not the same as star energy. Regardless of how much star energy Lu Yin had, he could absorb it without qualms as long as he had sufficient star essence. But stellular energy? You and I need to be extremely careful when absorbing stellular energy in order to avoid the true universe’s notice and suffer having our stellular energy drained from our bodies. What about Lu Yin?”
This remark caused excitement to fill Xu Qing’s eyes. “That’s right! The more stellular energy he needs to improve his cultivation, the more likely he is to draw the true universe’s notice. Even if he manages to avoid that, it’s impossible to estimate how much time he will need to improve his cultivation given the amount of stellular energy he needs to absorb.”
“Even more important is his sixth stellular tribulation, when he tries to break through the power level threshold of a million. The more stellular energy one possesses, the more terrifying their tribulation will be. He just fought Progenitor Chen! His sixth tribulation may see him face Progenitor Chen once again, but will he be able to defeat Progenitor Chen as a peak Envoy? He might even need to face additional Progenitors for that tribulation. He has no chance of a future.” The Celestial Demon sounded completely relaxed as he spoke, and his words caused Feng Lin, the carrion beetle, and the other astral beast powerhouses to relax as well. It was well known that, the more stellular energy one possessed, the more difficult it would be to cultivate, and the stronger the tribulation to reach a power level of a million would be.
The astral beasts were not the only ones thinking such things, as similar thoughts had also occurred to Yuan Shi and the human powerhouses. Their faces fell further and further as they watched Lu Yin continue to absorb more and more stellular energy.
After enough time had passed for a fourth stick of incense to burn, the stellular energy vortex in Lu Yin’s chest was no longer able to absorb any more stellular energy, and the vortex over his head started to shrink. Everyone finally felt that they could begin to relax. The tribulation was finally over.
Lu Yin probed the strange feeling of having a stellular energy vortex in his chest. He had absorbed so much stellular energy, and he could feel it wandering through his body along the same paths that star energy had circulated once before. Both his physical body and his spiritual force had undergone some tremendous changes, and although he could sense the transformation, he had no idea what level his strength had now reached. He really wanted to test it out.
While stellular tribulations were catastrophes, they also induced a transformation in cultivators. They were miraculous phenomena.
Absorbing stellular energy for the first time did not usually cause a person’s strength to rise by an extreme amount. Lu Yin stared up at the fading stellular tribulation. Was the transformation that he had just experienced really the limit of what the tribulation could provide? That indicated that absorbing more stellular energy would bring about ever greater changes. Stopping at this point was a pity, but the amount of stellular energy that a person could absorb for the first time was determined by their previous star energy reserves. With Lu Yin’s stellular energy vortex fully formed, he could no longer absorb any more stellular energy from his tribulation vortex.
Lu Yin started to get anxious when he saw the stream of stellular energy connecting to his body dwindle and weaken. He had a sudden thought: his star energy and stellular energy circulated through his three meridian points. Since he had been able to open them, could he also close them again? If he could close them, could he seal stellular energy within his meridian points?
When Yuan Shi and the other Envoys saw the fading stream of stellular energy, they prepared to approach Lu Yin.
Lu Yin suddenly pulled out a bit of the black and white mist in his chest and used it to seal the path from his upper meridian point to his chest. He had opened up this upper meridian point with Origin Matter, and he was trying to use the black and white mist to seal it back up because he had no other resources available. As Lu Yin worked to block the path, he also used some of the black and white mist to encapsulate his newly formed stellular energy vortex. He was attempting to hide his first vortex from the true universe.
The true universe only looked at stellular energy. Death energy had no connection whatsoever to the true universe.
As soon as the black and white mist sealed the path connecting Lu Yin’s upper meridian point to his chest and surrounded his stellular energy vortex, Lu Yin sucked in a sharp breath. The stream of stellular energy entering his body that had nearly disappeared entirely instantly surged again, dumping stellular energy into Lu Yin’s body at the same incredible rate as before.
Lu Yin’s eyes twitched in excitement. So it actually was possible?
Yuan Shi quickly retreated back to where he had been previously been standing. He stared at the youth in confusion as Lu Yin resumed absorbing more stellular energy. How could he keep going?
Everyone was similarly stunned. Lu Yin had clearly just finished absorbing stellular energy, so why had more stellular energy suddenly started pouring into his body once again?
Lan Xian was just as confused as everyone else. Why had she never heard of such a thing before?
Lu Yin was the only one feeling incredibly excited. Opening his three meridian points had caused his strength to surge in the past, and at this moment, as he resealed the upper meridian point with the black and white mist, he was able to absorb more stellular energy into it. Could he do the same with the others? He had never heard of such a possibility before.
Not everyone had received the opportunity to open all three of their meridian points, and doing so was also extremely difficult. Naturally, resealing them was just as difficult to accomplish. After all, not everyone possessed the God of Death’s power.
