Chapter 342 – Fifth-Realm Innate Divine Ability: Reincarnation of Time, Nascent Soul Tribulation

Helping the East Sea Gate forge a few Dragon Swords was not only not difficult for Lu Chen, but even somewhat too simple.

However, Lu Chen could guess Ao Yao’s intentions.

Though the East Sea Gate appeared to be a school on the surface, in Lu Chen’s view, it more closely resembled a family disguised as a school.

After all, the primary requirement for selecting disciples in the East Sea Gate was that the individual must possess Dragon bloodline within them.

This condition, which largely depended on innate factors, was something ordinary people simply couldn’t meet.

This resulted in East Sea Gate disciples mostly being descendants of former East Sea Gate cultivators.

As for why Ao Yao wanted him to forge Dragon Swords,

it was probably because he believed this could open up a new cultivation path.

That would allow cultivators who didn’t originally possess Dragon bloodline to still qualify to join the East Sea Gate.

Take Lu Chen himself for example – though he lacked Dragon bloodline, the Sword Intent he cultivated and his own Ink Dragon Sword

were highly compatible with the East Sea Gate’s system.

And these two aspects applied equally to other sword cultivators.

In other words, if the East Sea Gate relaxed its requirements and absorbed talented sword cultivation seedlings,

then provided them with specific Dragon Swords paired with special cultivation manuals,

such sword cultivators, once grown, could be considered half members of the East Sea Gate.

Moreover, a Dragon Sword wasn’t merely a magic treasure or magical artifact.

It could even be viewed as a Flood Dragon without physical form.

‘Dragon Transformation’ was a highly risky endeavor that consumed enormous time and resources.

But if the subject of Dragon Transformation shifted from cultivators to Immortal Swords,

then the time factor could be essentially disregarded.

Because multiple generations of sword cultivators could be used to nurture the same Dragon Sword.

Absorbing sword cultivators without Dragon bloodline – this was the future Ao Yao envisioned.

And this was what he had requested of Lu Chen.

It had to be said that Ao Yao, as a Mahayana stage True Dragon, possessed vision far beyond ordinary people.

After all, to nurture a Dragon Sword, develop its sword spirit, then gradually temper and elevate it to rival a True Dragon’s level –

this would require thousands of years and the efforts of multiple sword cultivators before any results could be seen.

Let alone having a group of sword cultivators without Dragon bloodline join the East Sea Gate.

For the extremely exclusive East Sea Gate, this was undoubtedly difficult to accept.

Only an ancestral figure like Ao Yao at the Mahayana stage had the ability to suppress all opposition and make them accept this matter.

If it were a True Dragon at the Transformation Soul stage, it would be very difficult to suppress the entire East Sea Gate.

However, these were all internal matters of the East Sea Gate.

Lu Chen had neither the authority nor the desire to get involved.

Right now, he was only thinking about his upcoming Nascent Soul Stage breakthrough.

That’s right, with billions of experience points at his disposal, he already possessed the capital to assault the Nascent Soul Stage.

And Ao Yao had clearly recognized that Lu Chen would soon attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

Therefore, after explaining what he wanted Lu Chen to do, he proactively said: “There’s no need to rush the forging of Dragon Swords. As long as you can forge nine Dragon Swords for the East Sea Gate within a thousand years, that will suffice to repay this old man for these past days’ favors.”

“This old man can see your current state – you’re probably planning to attempt the Nascent Soul Tribulation immediately after returning.”

“In for a penny, in for a pound. Since this old man has already helped, a little more assistance won’t make much difference.”As he spoke, Ao Yao extended his hand.

In the next moment, a unique golden dragon pearl appeared in his palm.

“Here, with this, even if you ultimately fail in your breakthrough, it will preserve your Divine Soul intact and minimize the cost of your failed breakthrough.

[Name: Kang Gold Dragon Pearl]

[Grade: Fourth Realm Dao Artifact]

[Effect: A source Dragon Pearl condensed by the Great Vehicle Stage True Dragon·Ao Yao. When carried, it provides immunity to water and fire, protecting the body and guarding the soul.]

Seeing the effects of the Kang Gold Dragon Pearl, Lu Chen didn’t stand on ceremony.

He accepted the dragon pearl and sincerely expressed his gratitude: “Thank you for your assistance, Senior.”

Ao Yao waved his hand dismissively, saying: “No need to be so polite. With the potential you’ve shown, kid, you might be able to help me in the not-too-distant future.”

“That’s how the Immortal Cultivation World is – there must be giving before there can be receiving.”

“Alright, in my current condition, I can’t stay long even within the Dragon Abyss.”

“If you encounter any unsolvable troubles in the future, you can come to the Dragon Abyss for guidance. With that Kang Gold Dragon Pearl, it’s as if half of me is present, and no one from the East Sea Gate will stop you.”

“I hope the next time we meet, you’ll still be able to surprise this old man…”

As his words faded, Ao Yao’s figure disappeared from before Lu Chen.

Lu Chen looked down at the incredibly deep Dragon Abyss, understanding that Ao Yao must have returned to secluded cultivation.

After determining there was little point in remaining at the Dragon Abyss, Lu Chen headed directly toward its outskirts…

Azure Cloud Sect, East Sea Gate.

“Wait, why is the Azure Cloud Main Peak closing again? Didn’t it close just a few years ago?”

“Could it be that another powerful expert from our sect needs to use the Ascension Platform for a breakthrough?”

A Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect looked at the once-again sealed Azure Cloud Sect Main Peak with great surprise.

There was no particular reason – it was just that the frequency of closures was somewhat too high.

After all, it had only been about ten years since the last time the Azure Cloud Main Peak was closed.

While ten years isn’t short for Cultivators, it’s certainly not long either.

It’s enough time for the vast majority of Cultivators to remember such events.

And it wasn’t just these ordinary Azure Cloud Sect Disciples.

Even the Azure Cloud Sect elders on the Main Peak hadn’t expected the Main Peak’s Ascension Platform to activate again in such a short time.

Moreover, both activations were for the same person.

Gu Liqing looked at Lu Chen, who had been meditating and regulating his breath in the Ascension Platform for a hundred days, then couldn’t help but glance at Jing Gong beside him.

Officially speaking, Lu Chen was Jing Gong’s Disciple.

But while the Disciple Lu Chen had already reached Golden Core Stage Perfection and was about to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage,

Jing Gong, as his master, after all these years, had only reached the ninth revolution of the Golden Core Stage.

He still had considerable distance to cover before reaching the Nascent Soul Stage.

As Gu Liqing kept looking at him, Jing Gong began to feel somewhat embarrassed.

“What do you mean by that, Sect Leader Senior Brother? Are you saying I’m inferior to my own Disciple?”

“And don’t just focus on me – why don’t you think about yourself? Could your cultivation speed back then compare to Little Lu’s?”

Hearing this, Gu Liqing immediately felt awkward.

Because truth be told, he wasn’t much better than Lu Chen either.

Having once been the first great Divine Ability user in the Azure Cloud Sect to master the Transformation Dao Realm at the Nascent Soul Stage,

Gu Liqing had always been quite confident in his own talent.But ever since Lu Chen mastered the Great Divine Power of the Transformation Dao Realm while still at the Golden Core Stage,

his confidence had been completely shattered.

Thinking about it this way, he really had no reason to mock Jing Gong.

They were both in the same boat, one laughing at the other for minor faults.

Thus, Gu Liqing, who had initially intended to use Lu Chen to taunt Jing Gong a few times,

ultimately chose to remain silent.

As for the other Peak Lords nearby, they were not in as good spirits as the two of them.

This was because Lu Chen’s current breakthrough was entirely different from the last one—it was the perilous Nascent Soul Tribulation.

In a sense, starting from the Nascent Soul Tribulation,

the Heavenly Tribulation truly became a life-or-death trial for cultivators.

This was not only because the power of the tribulation at this stage far surpassed previous ones,

but also because the cost of failure began to multiply exponentially.

To put it simply, if one failed the Nascent Soul Tribulation,

the damage to the Divine Soul and the harm to one’s Foundation would be the least of their worries.

What they feared most was the complete dissipation of the Divine Soul, leading to total annihilation.

Once this outcome occurred, it would be like drawing water with a sieve—all efforts would come to nothing.

A thousand years of cultivation would be destroyed in an instant.

This was why many Golden Core Stage cultivators, even after achieving Perfection, dared not attempt a breakthrough lightly.

They simply could not afford to lose.

Yet after Lu Chen obtained great fortune at the East Sea Gate’s Dragon Abyss and reached the Golden Core Stage Perfection, he chose to begin his tribulation immediately upon returning to the Sect.

Such a decision was difficult for even the experienced Gu Liqing and the others to comprehend.

After all, in their eyes, Lu Chen was still very young.

His bone age had not even reached a hundred years.

Such a significant age advantage meant Lu Chen could have made far more preparations.

But Lu Chen chose to begin his breakthrough directly.

This was undoubtedly extremely risky.

Out of concern, Gu Liqing and the others had advised Lu Chen not long ago.

But in the end, they were persuaded by Lu Chen.

Lu Chen’s reasoning was simple:

not only had he mastered the Great Divine Power of the Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation, but he had also mastered the Great Divine Power of Samadhi True Fire.

Hearing this, Gu Liqing and the others fell silent.

Although they were unaware of Lu Chen’s Transcendent Golden Core,

in their view, Lu Chen possessed a First-Grade Heavenly Golden Core,

which was considered the highest quality Golden Core in the cultivators’ understanding.

Coupled with two Great Divine Powers and multiple Dao Artifacts,

upon careful consideration, Lu Chen’s array of methods surpassed even those of many seasoned Golden Core Stage cultivators who had prepared for over a thousand years.

After all, most Golden Core Stage cultivators might never obtain a single Dao Artifact suited to them in their entire lives.

If one factored in the First-Grade Heavenly Golden Core and the two Great Divine Powers,

if even Lu Chen could not successfully transcend the tribulation,

then there would be few Golden Core Stage cultivators in this world who could.

Thus, Gu Liqing and the others ultimately chose to respect Lu Chen’s decision and provide him with as much assistance as possible.

However, what Gu Liqing and the others did not know was that,

whether it was the quality of his Golden Core, the two Great Divine Powers, or the multiple Dao Artifact Immortal Swords,

none of these were, in essence, Lu Chen’s greatest confidence.

His true confidence actually came from the ten billion experience points,

as well as his second Innate Divine Ability, which he had recently strengthened once more—Reincarnation Time.

[Innate Divine Ability: Reincarnation Time]

[Grade: Five Realms][Effect: Upon use, allows the user to foresee the target’s situation 10 seconds into the future. The greater the disparity in cultivation and the more targets involved, the more Spiritual Power required to maintain the Divine Ability.]

[Special Effect · Reverse Time: Can reverse one’s own time by five seconds, restoring the body to its state five seconds prior. Additional time reversal can be purchased with experience points—100,000 experience points for 1 second of reversed time.]

Judging solely from the interface, the fifth-level Reincarnation Time didn’t appear significantly more powerful than the fourth-level version.

It merely removed the restriction of “unable to recover Spiritual Power.”

Yet this single change transformed this second Innate Divine Ability into an almost invincible and terrifying power.

The true horror of Reincarnation Time lay in its comprehensive reversal—not only Lu Chen’s Physical Body but also his Divine Soul.

In other words, as long as the Heavenly Tribulation couldn’t annihilate Lu Chen in one strike,

and Lu Chen possessed sufficient experience points,

he would be virtually immortal.

This was the real reason Lu Chen had 98% confidence in successfully overcoming the Nascent Soul Tribulation.

It was through this experience that Lu Chen finally understood why the fifth-level Enlightenment Realm was called the Immortal Realm.

The effect of this fifth-level Divine Ability, compared to the fourth level, could only be described as heaven and earth apart.

Lu Chen even vaguely guessed what the sixth-level Reincarnation Time might achieve.

Once this Innate Divine Ability reached the sixth level, Lu Chen’s Reincarnation Time might no longer be limited to himself.

He could potentially apply its effects to other people or objects.

Moreover, the duration of reversed time might be significantly extended.

At that stage, many of Lu Chen’s techniques could achieve qualitative transformation under this Divine Ability’s influence,

truly turning decay into mystery.

Although Lu Chen had high confidence in overcoming this tribulation,

he hadn’t neglected any necessary preparations.

Even if these preparations might ultimately improve his success rate by less than one percent,

any improvement, however small, was still valuable.

His final preparations during this period included:

• Meditating for a hundred days on the Ascension Platform

• Deploying various Formations and Talismans

• Selecting the optimal time for his Breakthrough

All these preparations concluded as the awaited moment finally arrived.

On the Ascension Platform, Lu Chen suddenly opened his eyes.

He ceased suppressing his cultivation and began channeling the power of heaven and earth.

Instantly, the previously clear skies above the Azure Cloud Sect darkened with gathering clouds.

The commotion caused this time far exceeded that of Lu Chen’s previous Golden Core Tribulation.

Day turned to night as endless black clouds blotted out the sky.

Though the Heavenly Tribulation had just begun manifesting,

its oppressive pressure was already felt by everyone in the Azure Cloud Sect.

Many Disciples who had been flying on their Swords were forced to land,

their hearts trembling under the terrifying heavenly might.

Several senior cultivators who had been in long seclusion simultaneously awakened.

For these veterans, the Dao pressure brought by the Heavenly Tribulation

was more perceptible to them than anyone else.

They understood better than anyone how terrifying this tribulation was.

Without exaggeration, they felt this Heavenly Tribulation

was nearly equivalent to what one might encounter during the Deity Transformation Stage.At this thought, many grand cultivators of the Azure Cloud Sect could no longer suppress their curiosity.

They began flying toward the Main Peak in unison.

They wanted to see which grand cultivator of their sect possessed such means and courage to attempt a Deity Transformation Breakthrough.

But when they saw only Lu Chen at the Golden Core Stage standing on the Ascension Platform, they all froze in place.

Wait… Golden Core Stage?

Huh?

(End of Chapter)