Chapter 113: If You Do Not Die, My Heart Cannot Rest

Within the realm of Pure Yang, there exist three levels of tribulation that obstruct the path of the Dao: Wind, Fire, and Thunder. Once triggered, these calamities annihilate the dharma nature, shatter the divine body, and sever one's very roots. No matter how virtuous or accomplished a practitioner may be in their daily life, nor how balanced their internal energies, once caught within this state, they cannot escape these "three disasters."

To overcome them is to achieve a great leap in cultivation, bringing one closer to the ultimate, wondrous realm of merging with the Dao. To fail is to be reduced to nothingness. The internal organs turn to void, the limbs decay, and the body dissolves, returning its essence to the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, dissipating into spiritual breath. All the arduous efforts of thousands of years of practice are rendered mere illusion.

Those capable of attaining the Pure Yang fruit are individuals who have seized the fortunes of heaven and earth and encroached upon the mysterious mechanisms of the sun and moon. When these "three disasters" are about to descend, they invariably receive a premonition. Those with ten parts confidence are naturally unafraid and need only seek a secluded Daoist sanctuary to gather their mind and body to face the trial calmly.

Those whose cultivation is insufficient have another path: to hide within a "Heavenly Grotto," concealing their remains and masking their presence to deceive the heavens. Only when they feel their timing has matured do they return to the manifest world to face the trial again. Though these Pure Yang True Lords who retreat into the Grottoes cannot walk the world in their true bodies, they can manifest through the division of spiritual bodies or by lodging their consciousness within objects, using these methods to perceive the world and travel across the universe. As long as they guard the gates of their hearts and do not leak their Pure Yang energy—thereby alerting the heavens—they remain safe.

But Chen Yushu is different. His "three disasters" are not only far more ferocious than those of any other Pure Yang True Lord within the Xudu Heavens—even the Dao Lords would not dare treat them lightly—but his divine intent itself cannot easily manifest in the world. To do so would invite immediate destruction.

Following a burst of laughter, Yue You moved his sleeves, and a talisman—shimmering with hidden treasure light and dense golden patterns—floated out, hovering in the void. It radiated a ring of brilliant, colorful light. In a brief moment of expansion and contraction, it ignited without fire. Initially, it was merely a point of light like a torch, but within a few breaths, it roared and swelled into an ancient, simple portal.

The portal was painted with strange star maps, mountains, lakes, seas, birds, beasts, insects, and fish. It radiated a blinding treasure light, like a magnificent sun snatched down from the highest heavens, making it seem as if two suns hung over the sea. Millions of golden rays poured down from the sky.

On Linjiao Island, a group of demon apes dared not even scream. They huddled, arms wrapped around their heads, and scurried into the mountain streams and forests. Their eyes were scorched and blurred, stinging with pain to the point of temporary blindness, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Father! Father! What should we do? What should we do?" The boy, terrified, shrieked and grabbed at Yuan Ju’s sleeve, his legs trembling and his back soaked in sweat, as he gazed at the ancient, sun-like portal hovering in the sky, barely a hundred miles from their mountain sanctuary.

"Do not worry... Those two immortals are fighting; it has nothing to do with us," Yuan Ju said, his face pale. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke in a gentle, comforting tone. "Over these past few days, I have treated Yue You with the utmost respect, leaving no room for fault, and even gave him the 'Void-Escaping Shuttle' as an apology. True Lord Yushu should not stoop to punish me, and as for True Person Junyao—"

Yuan Ju’s eyes flashed. Since his failed bid for the throne and his subsequent expulsion from the South Sea Ape Tribe to the East Sea, he had secretly defected to the Ninth Prince of the East Sea, becoming his subordinate. Yuan Ju’s plan was to use his contributions in the power struggle to gain status in the East Sea, so that one day he might leverage the millions of aquatic tribes of the East Sea to return to the South Sea and plot his restoration.

The reason Yue You had not seen Yuan Ju in person when he returned with the head of Duke Jiuqu was because Yuan Ju had been urgently summoned by the Ninth Prince. Yuan Ju knew that in the ancient era, when the Heavenly Venerable still governed the Xudu Heavens, the East Sea Dragon Palace had always maintained deep ties with the Yuchen Sect. Regardless of anything else, even for the sake of the Ninth Prince, his Linjiao Island should be safe.

Though he thought this, he knew his only son, spoiled by palace servants since childhood, was not one to be easily calmed. He kept his true thoughts hidden, offered a few words of comfort, and then took a deep breath. With a mix of trepidation and excitement, he channeled his mystical arts. He shook his primordial spirit and opened his dharma eyes, which were instantly filled with swirling, tadpole-like golden characters, carefully observing the confrontation high above.

One was a high disciple of the Yuchen Sect. He had achieved the first-grade golden elixir and cultivated the "Thunder of the Nation" dharma body—a feat not seen in nearly ten thousand years. He had taken the crown at the Danyan Assembly, with few rivals among the Eight Sects and Six Schools.

The other was a fierce demon, having inherited the lineage of the Empty Daoist under the Tribulation Immortal. He had abandoned the orthodox path for the demonic, nearly causing the Eight Sects and Six Schools to go to war and reenacting the "Zhonglang Catastrophe."

Both were the world’s top talents. Whether Chen Yushu or Junyao, both had won the Danyan Assembly in their time, crushing the heroes of the Eight Sects and Six Schools. Within their own realm, they were invincible. Although Chen Yushu had only manifested a strand of divine intent—hardly even a spiritual body—the battle between them was a spectacle rarely seen in the world, causing Yuan Ju’s heart to pound and his blood to race.

Ape nature is inherently warlike and rebellious. Although Yuan Ju had deep cultivation and could suppress his instincts—appearing even more refined and polite than most scholars in the mundane world—the underlying ferocity remained.

"If I were sixty years younger, with that reckless temper, I would have grabbed my Hunyuan staff and demanded a round against these two. Even if I died, I would have no regrets!" Yuan Ju sighed heavily in his heart. He glanced at his son, who was still clutching his sleeve with vacant, unfocused eyes, and shook his head in disappointment.

"However, True Person Junyao is one thing, but True Lord Yushu’s 'three disasters' are extraordinary. To have his divine intent wandering outside his Grotto—is he not afraid of heavenly retribution?" Yuan Ju suppressed his frustration with his son and stared at the extreme heights, wondering, "Can this battle even continue?"

At that moment, the ancient portal floating in the sky began to emit a grand sound. Its blazing radiance expanded outward, and wherever it touched, the spiritual energy was completely drained and absorbed into the portal.

"You dare to have your divine intent wander? Are you not afraid of the heavenly strike? Chen Yushu, you are truly desperate this time." Junyao gripped the jade seal at his waist, his eyes deep and bottomless like a dark pool, as he spoke coldly.

"Good son-in-law, have you heard this saying? To gain, one must lose. As for me, even if I lose some cultivation, I can easily cultivate it back." The portal opened slowly, and a light laugh drifted from within, unhurried:

"But compared to you, that is not worth mentioning."

*Boom!*

The portal opened completely.

Suddenly, the world fell silent. Within the flaming light stood a handsome man in purple robes and a golden crown, his spirit clear and his bones refined. He raised his sleeve, withdrawing the miraculous radiance, and looked at Junyao, who was facing him from afar. He smiled slightly and said, "Good son-in-law, how impolite. Your father-in-law is here; why have you not come to pay your respects?"

Junyao remained expressionless. "The talisman you have left, is it not 'Seeing the Eight Extremes'? It is actually a strand of your divine intent? Yushu, what are you thinking?"

Yue You could not help but frown. "You used the 'Zhongtian Dou Shu' to calculate that Junyao would come to intercept me? That’s why you left this contingency, but why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

"I knew he would come to intercept you without needing to calculate. Eleven years ago, after you escaped the catastrophe at the Tunxiang Mansion, my dear son-in-law has been obsessed with killing you. He even sought out a 'Corrupted Origin Elixir'—I don't even know where he begged for it. Though I suspect it came from the Dou Shu Sect; it might even have been crafted by my own senior brother." Chen Yushu clapped his hands and laughed.

"As for why I didn't tell you, Brother Yue You, don't you understand? You clearly used a talisman to hide the heavenly secrets, yet Junyao still found you. This boy must have mastered the Yuchen Sect's art of divination. If I had told you, and you, being unable to keep your thoughts to yourself, wouldn't he have easily deduced your whereabouts?"

Yue You was startled. He looked deeply at the half-weathered Corrupted Origin Elixir nearby, then fixed his gaze on Junyao, his pupils constricting. "No wonder Yushu said that if this boy attained the Dao, he would be his greatest enemy. In just eleven years, not only has he mastered the Nine Truths Sect’s 'Nine Gorges Inch,' but he has even learned the Yuchen Sect’s divination arts? Terrifying! Truly terrifying!"

He calmed his mind, just about to ask Chen Yushu how he intended to avoid heavenly punishment while his divine intent was wandering, when the purple-robed, golden-crowned Daoist flicked his sleeve and said calmly, "My Pure Yang Thunder Tribulation is coming. I cannot look after you, so go further away."

Yue You was shocked. He clamped his mouth shut and, without a word, transformed into a gray mist and fled.

Suddenly, grand thunder roared in the sky. At first, it was just a few claps, but after a few dozen breaths, it sounded as if a giant spirit was beating a drum, shaking the clouds until they scattered, losing all form. Then, as a golden bolt of lightning tore through the sky, in the blink of an eye, the wind and clouds changed color for thousands of miles, and the ocean surged!

The sun, moon, and stars vanished. Billions of golden bolts of lightning filled everything, the light so intense it seemed to pierce the atmospheric layer, as if about to crash down with the lightning and shatter the earth!

Heaven and earth trembled; the laws of the Dao shifted! This thunder disaster, which seemed intent on destroying the world, sent ripples through the hearts of all the True Ones across the Nine Provinces and Four Seas. The Yuchen Sect, the Blood River Sect, the North Pole Garden, the Dou Shu Sect, the Divine Control Sect, the Thunder Prefecture... Gaze after gaze—cold, disgusted, mocking, curious, or joyful—looked on from afar.

Deep beneath the boundless blue waves of the East Sea, on a thousand-foot-high jade platform, an old woman with two horns on her forehead and deep golden eyes looked up. After a moment of thought, she laughed and ordered, "What do these two mean? Are they going to fight right here in the East Sea? Someone go and report to the First Prince; ask him to close the gates and not to interfere in this matter."

Below the platform, a ten-thousand-foot-long ancient dragon prostrated itself, acknowledged the command, and split the deep currents of the dark sea to depart.

...

In the Yuchen Sect, at a golden-purple palace hanging in the sky, Fire Dragon Personage suddenly sighed and shook his head. "Foolish! Truly foolish! Your lifespan is already short, yet you insist on showing off? Even if you kill him, what does it matter? It is only a strand of divine intent—a drop in the ocean!"

"And what would you have him do?" A clear, crisp female voice replied from the void.

"What can I do? I am his senior uncle, not his master! His master is currently running to the Great Master of Taisu to beg for ginseng fruit to find a way to extend his life!" Fire Dragon Personage clapped his hands heavily and said angrily, "What can I do? Out of sight, out of mind! Such a talent, the head of the Danyan Assembly, reduced to this state just for Chen Yan! Hateful! Utterly hateful!"

...

In Nanchanzhou, the Innate Demon Sect, Zhuang Si put down her bronze mirror as she was painting her brows. She sneered and turned to ask, "Has the palace built for Chen Yushu's new son been completed?"

Hundreds of alluring demonesses serving behind her knelt and respectfully answered in the affirmative.

"Even Father says that Chen Yushu’s son, named Chen Heng, seems quite interesting, though he cannot be calculated," Zhuang Si frowned. "I had hoped that after the snake captured him, I could spend time with him and see just how interesting he is. But now that Junyao has stepped in, Chen Heng likely won't be coming to the Innate Demon Sect for a while..."

...

As the True Ones of the Nine Provinces and Four Seas looked on, each with their own agendas, the thunder roared!

As the Pure Yang Thunder Tribulation descended, Chen Yushu coldly opened his hand and released a purple talisman to meet it. "I, under the decree of the Ancestor of Tribulation Immortals, write this talisman. May the ten thousand saints aid life, may the heavenly soldiers assist, may the hundred truths be revealed, may divine power be manifested, that the calamity may be extinguished and order restored between Yin and Yang. Do not be ignorant; manifest at once!"

He formed a seal with his left hand and chanted silently. As the purple talisman spun three times and turned to ash in the air, the thunder disaster that sought to extinguish all things slowly faded. After a terrifying flicker, it finally dissipated, powerless.

In the blink of an eye, the world was clear and bright once more. However, the moment the thunder disaster vanished, two incredibly sharp Yin-Yang saber lights tore through the void, seizing the tiny gap in Chen Yushu’s energy flow, and slashed toward his head!

"Good son-in-law, you caught the moment well, but unfortunately, it is still a lesser path." Chen Yushu smiled slightly and shattered the two saber lights with a wave of his hand. But in the next instant, the shattered light divided into four.

Four became eight, eight into sixteen, sixteen into thirty-two, thirty-two into sixty-four... As Chen Yushu broke them, the lights multiplied. Within a few breaths, there were thousands of them, and the sharp killing intent within the light grew increasingly potent, as if nothing could withstand their edge!

"Is this the secret technique of the Outer Heaven Huangting Sect? It seems you truly obtained that page of the Earth Palace Golden Chapter. You have good luck." Chen Yushu observed for a moment, then calmly pointed to manifest a brilliant canopy, standing within it. Even as the Yin-Yang saber lights multiplied into the thousands, they could only make the spiritual light flicker, unable to penetrate an inch.

At this point, Chen Yushu’s eyes finally shot out divine light. After staring at Junyao for nearly a hundred breaths without moving, he slowly curled his lips and clapped his hands in laughter.

"So it is true! You idiot! You fool! You actually practiced that technique? For the sake of a mere Chen Yan? A mere woman! You have finally destroyed your own path! Hahahaha!" He bent over, his laughter full of satisfaction.

"Good son-in-law, do you know why I specially sent my divine intent out today, and even sacrificed a talisman from the Ancestor of Tribulation Immortals for it?"

Thousands of Yin-Yang saber lights tore through the void, slamming into the canopy protecting Chen Yushu, shaking it violently!

"It is because of you." Chen Yushu remained unmoved and sighed. "Although it is rumored that because you practiced that technique, your life will not be long, how could I know if the rumors were true without seeing it for myself?"

"Now, it is true that you won't live long, and I can finally rest easy." Chen Yushu laughed toward the sky. "Your Dao nature is still above mine. If you die, in this vast Nine Provinces and Four Seas, who can oppose me? Who else is worthy of being Chen Yushu’s rival!"

*Boom!*

A thunderous sound shook the earth, and the surrounding light dimmed. A "Thunder of the Nation" dharma body emerged from Junyao, merging the thousands of Yin-Yang saber lights. With an unstoppable force, it shattered the raging waves and charged forward!

"Why bother? Even with the talisman from the Ancestor of Tribulation Immortals, I can only stay in this world for at most an hour. Killing me will only result in a strand of divine intent being lost here; it is of no consequence." Chen Yushu shrugged and dispersed the canopy. "However, since you want to play, I will accompany you."

He flicked his sleeves, and a solemn dharma body, towering to the extreme height of the sky, emerged behind him.

In an instant, the two majestic dharma bodies collided!

In a sound beyond description, the clouds and light within a thousand miles were wiped clean. It was as if the sky had collapsed, the echoes reverberating until the sea split open, revealing a bottomless depth!

...

On the blue waves, the gray light transformed from Yue You was fleeing with all its might. Hearing the deafening roar behind him, he was even more terrified, not daring to look back.

"Must bring Chen Heng back to the Innate Demon Sect, or if he cannot be captured alive, bring his corpse?" Yue You accelerated, his heart filled with confusion as he recalled Chen Yushu’s telepathic message. "Isn't this boy ordinary? What merit does he have to be suddenly favored? With Yushu outside the Grotto and no interference from the heavens, what did he calculate just now?"

Before he could think further, Yue You suddenly halted, looking ahead in shock.

Fifty miles away, a young man in green robes, hanging a seal at his waist, was walking across the waves. His momentum was formidable, pressing the sea waves until they were as still as a flat lake—truly terrifying.

"Junyao? Aren't you fighting Yushu—"

Before he could finish, Yue You sensed the abnormality in his energy—it was clearly just a spiritual body.

"A spiritual body? A mere spiritual body dares to block me? Ridiculous! Ridiculous!" Yue You sneered, revealing his ten-thousand-foot-long Ba Serpent true form, just about to swallow Junyao's spiritual body in one gulp.

But he saw Junyao reach out and grasp a crimson longsword cast from red light.

"The Yuandu Demon-Slaying Sword?!"

Yue You twisted his body, trying to turn back. But in the next instant, a sword light that seemed to split the heavens struck his serpent body, cleaving it in two!

"Is the spiritual body I sent too weak... or is Junyao too strong?"

Blood rained down. In the midst of the excruciating pain, a thought flashed through Yue You’s mind: "Yushu, it seems your servant cannot bring that Chen Heng back today. Better leave it for yourself to handle later..."

In his serpent pupils, a sharp sword light was clearly reflected once more. It instantly shattered the heavy clouds blocking his path and, carrying a bone-chilling killing intent, struck again!