Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Dharma Ending Tribulation? What does that mean?” Zhou Bao asked, his heart racing. He was very sensitive about the phrase “Dharma Ending” because the era of his previous life was called Dharma Ending Age.
“The so-called Dharma Ending Tribulation is actually the beginning of the Dharma Ending Age!” Since the conversation had gone so far, Ghost Child did not want to conceal this from Zhou Bao. “The Dharma Ending Tribulation and the Dharma Ending Age are legendary items. I heard about them in some ancient legends when I was young. The Dharma Ending Tribulation is the second last tribulation the Void Universe must endure, which is also the most horrible tribulation for all practitioners. When this tribulation ends, there will be no man, demon, beast or devil practicing martial skills in the micro or macro worlds of the Void Universe. Only common people will be left. All the spiritual Qi that facilitates the progress of cultivation will also disperse and the one replacing it will be the Qi that maintains the survival of living creatures. The age after the Dharma Ending Tribulation is called the Dharma Ending Age. This is a long and solitary age, which will last to the advent of the last tribulation—the World-ending Tribulation!”
“Dharma Ending Tribulation…Dharma Ending Age…an age solely belonging to common people…and World-ending Tribulation!” Zhou Bao blinked, feeling a little excited. But then, he heaved a sigh and said, “So that is what it is. I see. Seems that I have to work harder and practice!”
“That’s for sure. But where do you want to go now? You can’t just drift in the Void Universe without a clear destination, can you?”
“Drift around? Well, that’s my plan in the first place. But after hearing what you just said, I understand that time and tide waits for no man.” Zhou Bao said gently. “You’re an ancient being, so you must have good knowledge about this Void Universe. I guess you know many places suitable for practicing. Although Azure Heaven has sufficient spiritual Qi, I’ve noticed that it cannot give me much help anymore!”
“Of course it can’t help you now. You’ve refined it into your macro world, so the spiritual Qi inside is actually integrated in your body. How can you practice with it then?”
After listening to Zhou Bao, Ghost Child was half annoyed and half amused. Then, he said, “There are many places suitable for practicing, but they’ve all been taken up. The best place to go to is the Central Star Area, which used to be occupied by Heaven Realm World back then. In that area, there is abundant spiritual Qi and lots of open-air Dharma. You know, the Dharma has been exposed outside the hollow and you can see its wonders with bare eyes. This open-air Dharma is extremely helpful in accomplishing the Earthly Immortals’ Way. That’s why Heaven Realm World produced so many Earthly Immortals during those years. Now, the area is occupied by the Holy Alliance. If you want to encroach it, please don’t bother trying. Apart from the Central Star Area, there are some other Star Areas. But they’ve all probably been taken up by now. I don’t think there is any place left! In addition to those areas, the rest of the places are just too dangerous. If you go in, it’s just like sending a sheep to a tiger!”
“Then, what you’re saying is—”
“Don’t you have another identity? Why not take this opportunity and check out the Central Star Area. Your cultivation has progressed in a rather odd fashion. Though your combat capability is incredibly strong, your phase is not high enough. You haven’t even reached the phase of the Five Qis Collecting in Mind, nor have you fully accomplished the Primordial Spirits of Three Separations, let alone advancing to the Divine Immortal Realm!”
“Well, this isn’t what I want it to be, either. But the technique of the Primordial Spirits of Three Separations is much harder to practice than I imagined!”
“If it were easy to practice, it wouldn’t have become the current Primordial Spirits of Three Separations. You have completed your Second Primordial Spirit, and your Third Primordial Spirit is about to take shape; now it all depends on your Fourth Primordial Spirit. If you can finish your Fourth Primordial Spirit and integrate it to your body, you will be able to absorb and refine four of the Five Kinds of Qi at the same time. That way, your practice will speed up significantly. And that is why I asked you to practice this Divine Sense!”
“Absorbing and refining four of the Five Kinds of Qi at the same time? Why do I need to do so? I can just take time to refine them one by one!”
“Are you an idiot? Take time? In terms of the Five Qis in the Chest, the two most critical points are the balance and the purity. If you can draw four of the Five Kinds of Qi simultaneously, you can bring the balance of the four kinds of Qi to the utmost!”
“Then, is it possible to refine the Five Kinds of Qi at the same time?”
“Yes, you can do it as long as you accomplish your Fifth Primordial Spirit. It’s just that the Fifth Primordial Spirit is legendary. I don’t know how to do it, and no one else knows either!”
“So, it’s impossible to achieve?”
“Right. Balancing the Qi is pretty tricky. When you proceed to the practice of the Fourth Primordial Spirit and extraction of the Five Kinds of Qi, you’ll understand how important this Primordial Spirits of Three Separations is in collecting the Five Qis in the Chest, as well as how many benefits it will bring to your future practice!”
“Hearing you speak so highly of this Primordial Spirits of Three Separations, if I don’t go all out to practice it, I’ll feel guilty for letting you down!” Zhou Bao pondered over this for a moment, then, he asked, “You stayed in the Central Star Area before, so you’re certainly familiar with that place, right?”
“You want to go to the Central Star Area?”
“Yes. Other places are just boring. Anyway, I’m good at concealing myself. And few people actually know me in a place like the Central Star Area—”
“You’re seriously wrong if you really think so. The communicating methods in the Void Universe are quite adequate. Based on your past behavior in Heaven Realm World, I reckon all the influences and worlds in the Void Universe are already very familiar with your image and disposition. If you appear in the Central Star Area with your actual identity, you’ll definitely be exposed in an instant!”
“Then, I won’t use my real identity. How about I present myself as Taoist Cundi?”
“Taoist Cundi?” Ghost Child seemed confounded for a second, then, he yelled, “Taoist? You still dare to call yourself a Taoist?”
“Whatever! I’ll just claim to be Cundi!” Zhou Bao replied calmly.
“Based on what you did in Eastern Thunder World and the investigations those huge influences carried out, they can easily find out that you, Taoist Cundi, are probably the Zhou Bao in Heaven Realm World. Guys practicing martial arts are not used to relying on evidence. Where their interests are concerned, they would rather kill one thousand innocent targets in case they miss the real culprit. Therefore—”
“Therefore I can’t even use the name Cundi, can I?” Zhou Bao narrowed his eyes slightly and went on, “No matter what, they have no solid evidence. But they know Cundi is a practitioner who has the bloodline of Zhuyan and can kill an Earthly Immortal. Even if they’re suspicious, they won’t be silly enough to attack me by force, will they?”
“Well, you do have a point. No one can ignore your Earthly Immortal-like combat capability. Anyway, you’ve defeated and killed an Earthly Immortal before. If they do get suspicious, they won’t dare to act rashly. All the things I did can probably allay their suspicions. This might be a great strategy. Well, are you truly determined to go to the Central Star Area?”
“Now that the place is good for my practice, I certainly can’t let go of this opportunity. After all, when the tribulation comes, it’s impossible to evade it, right?” Zhou Bao smiled. Following Ghost Child’s directions, he urged his Supreme Fairy Weapon, the Black Pearl, to reverse and flew directly towards the Central Star Area.
The Central Star Area, an ancient area quietly suspended in the Void Universe.
This Star Area was quite vast and included more than 10 different macro worlds. These macro worlds had been uprooted from their original spots and placed here by some mighty practitioners after Heaven Realm World was removed by Jade Emperor. Of course, none of these mighty practitioners were as powerful as Jade Emperor. This was the result of their combined efforts, which was also the primitive form of the Holy Alliance that appeared after the Heavenly Court disappeared.
The Holy Alliance was an enormous association in the Void Universe and its fame was widely known throughout the Void Universe. With dozens of Earthly Immortals in charge, though its influence was not on par with that of the Heavenly Court, its reputation and prestige ranked only second to the Heavenly Court.
Now, Zhou Bao was in the Central Star Area. Of course, he had no way to step into the core of the Central Star Area when he just landed. The core of the Central Star Area was heavily guarded. No one could set foot on it except for those at the top levels. Even an Earthly Immortal could not break in by force. Like the Yin and Yang Dust Formation Heaven Realm World had, the central area of the Holy Alliance also had powerful and complicated formations. Besides, there was a crowd of Earthly Immortals on perpetual standby to repel any intruders. If you tried to force your way in, you would certainly be reduced to ashes.
“Never thought this so-called Holy Alliance could place such a heavy defense in the central area, and…”
“Say no more! What are you thinking? Even if you break in, what can you do? Are you going to stay calm and do your practice under such a tight defense?” Ghost Child said, his voice revealing a trace of disdain. “I think you’d better stay on the outskirts of the Holy Alliance. The macro and micro worlds here are pretty great. You can find a place to practice the Primordial Spirits of Three Separations and achieve the Five Qis Collecting in Mind. This will work as well. What do you say?”
“That’s the only choice I have!” Zhou Bao sighed gently, pushing all the other agendas to the back of his mind.
There were plenty of treasures in the Central Star Area, but the Holy Alliance did not have these treasures all to themselves. In fact, they did not have the capability to do so. After all, the Holy Alliance did not have the strength to rule the heavens and realms as the Ancient Celestial Court did. Therefore, they only took half of the treasures at the Central Star Area and shared the other half with the rest of the influences and macro and micro worlds; the Holy Alliance also acted as a proxy in the management of some of the treasures.
The specific rules about this sharing had long been agreed upon. Although it was the Holy Alliance that ruled the Central Star Area, most of the area were open to the rest of the influences and macro and micro worlds. Even any Independent Practitioner could make use of a stretch of land there, as long as he could pay for it.
The payment here was not made in gold or silver. Instead, the currency used in this place was in the form of all sorts of treasures in the world, including fairy weapons and celestial devices. And the most commonly used currency was Spiritual Stones.
If you had some Spiritual Stones or very valuable weapons or devices, you would be able to rent a room in the Central Star Area and practice. When your lease expired, you had to renew it. If you wanted to buy a land, it was impossible, because the Holy Alliance only rented the land instead of selling it.
Ghost Child encouraged Zhou Bao to rent a patch of land in the Central Star Area to practice. After giving this some thought, Zhou Bao felt that this was a very safe plan. By doing so, he could have an opportunity to explore this Central Star Area and penetrate into the mainstream parties of the Void Immortal Realm.
