I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 502Book 2: : Tribulations Flow Like Water, Untouched by All Laws
Vol 2 Chapter 502: Tribulations Flow Like Water, Untouched by All Laws
Zheng Fa looked up at the sky, feeling quite curious—he had never witnessed the so-called Heaven, Earth, and Human Tribulations before.
From the cultivation texts he knew, every Scattered Immortal would face this ordeal.
The probability of successfully passing through it was extremely small!
The Vermilion Heaven Jade Manual recorded that among cultivators, fewer than one in a hundred could survive this tribulation.
Just as he was trying hard to recall, his heart suddenly stirred, and he instinctively turned to look at the sky.
The sky darkened, as if veiled by a layer of gray gauze, misty and hazy.
The air trembled slightly, as if some inexplicable presence had arrived by his side.
Zheng Fa's body exploded like fireworks, scattering into thousands of light points that gradually grew, transforming into hundreds of people.
These people included both men and women with different faces, greedily absorbing the spiritual energy within Zheng Fa's body and the runes emanating from him.
Their auras slowly strengthened before gradually disappearing from everyone's sight.
"Heart Demons devouring the body." Creation Daoist watched this scene and couldn't help but sigh, "Finding one's true heart among countless worlds... I'm not afraid of everyone laughing, but even now when I recall it, I feel this tribulation was extremely dangerous."
Gu God and the others didn't mock him;instead, they all wore expressions of shared concern and nodded along.
"My Leiyin Temple does have treasures that can suppress heart demons, but the most difficult aspect of this tribulation is that you cannot resist—you must merge yourself with the heart demons." Bailian shook his head, "You can only rely on your own True Spirit."
Roc followed with a laugh: "Back then, I only passed this tribulation thanks to the inheritance in my bloodline."
Bailian also pressed his palms together: "I had teachers and elders protecting me, waking me from the confusion."
Creation also laughed: "I relied on Fellow Daoist Lu Mo, but this Zheng Fa... who does he rely on?"
......
Jiushan Realm, Zheng Fa's small courtyard.
"How's it going?"
Yuan Xiaoniao was extremely anxious, asking the Heavenly Emperor body.
"The main body is already undergoing the Heavenly Heart Tribulation, now transformed into heart demons and reincarnated." The Heavenly Emperor body sensed for a moment, his expression turning strange, "This lifetime, he should be a courtesan."
"Heart demons?" Uncle Pang frowned deeply, "Isn't Zheng Fa the least afraid of heart demons?"
The Heavenly Emperor body shook his head, explaining: "This tribulation cannot be resisted, only accepted."
"This is..."
Most people in the courtyard frowned.
It wasn't that they lacked confidence in Zheng Fa, but rather that no heavenly tribulation was guaranteed to be passed!
The Heart-Questioning Tribulation had stumped so many cultivators—no matter how strong Zheng Fa was, there was still risk.
"This tribulation is actually about gathering all the 'me's throughout the heavens." The Heavenly Emperor body explained, "One must return to this world's path from various illusory worlds. If unable, the main body will dissipate throughout the heavens."
Leiyin Temple looked distressed, sighing: "I've read these texts saying this tribulation is best faced with teacher protection, even requiring sect experts to descend across heavens to provide enlightenment, but we..."
Elder Yu and Uncle Pang exchanged glances, both looking somewhat ashamed.
The Heavenly Emperor body remained calm, just looking toward the Sword Dao body and asking: "You or me?"
"I'll do it." The Sword Dao body shook his head, still somewhat regretful, "I thought he was doing quite well as a courtesan."
With that, he pressed his index and middle fingers together, thrust them forward, and softly commanded: "Awaken!"
A stream of light flew from his fingertips, flashing through the void before disappearing.
"You all... oh right, you're all one with him!" Uncle Pang suddenly realized, "Naturally able to communicate!"
The Heavenly Emperor body chuckled lightly, tacitly acknowledging this statement.
Uncle Pang and the others beamed with joy, repeatedly saying: "This One Qi Transforming into Three Purities divine ability is truly extraordinary!"
....
"If not for Fellow Daoist Lu Mo, I don't know how I would have fared back then." Creation Daoist was still recalling the difficulties of the Heavenly Heart Tribulation, his expression grateful and relieved, "Even if I barely passed this tribulation, my soul suffered great damage..."
Yuan Xiaoniao was extremely anxious, asking the Heavenly Emperor body.
He appeared spiritually complete and physically sufficient, his expression quite relaxed.
"..."
Creation Daoist didn't even finish his sentence, his mouth half-open as he looked at Zheng Fa's condition, then closed it, seemingly not wanting to speak anymore.
The Heavenly Heart Tribulation might be truly dangerous for others, and it did pose some challenge for Zheng Fa—his previous strongest method against heart demons, the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant, couldn't be used.
But compared to others, he still had One Qi Transforming into Three Purities!
Zheng Fa had previously tried—when he underwent tribulation, his two clones didn't participate;similarly, when the Heavenly Emperor body achieved Hujie, he felt like an outsider.
Yet the connection between him and his clones remained close;even across countless heavens and worlds, they could sense each other.
Therefore, he could quickly awaken in every lifetime, returning to his path.
....
As Zheng Fa's form coalesced, his aura became increasingly ethereal, almost giving a sense of freedom unconstrained by heaven and earth.
Zheng Fa felt this most deeply—
The "scattered" in Scattered Immortal, in his view, had two meanings.
Starting from the Scattered Immortal rank, he could truly spread his Dao Fruit, carrying the meaning of branching out and spreading leaves.
The other meaning actually closer to a free spirit, simply put, carrying a sense of freedom and casualness.
After gathering all the "me's throughout the heavens, he truly felt a sense of being beyond the three realms, or rather, truly mastering his own destiny.
Or rather, he truly felt a kind of completeness.
His heart held neither joy nor sorrow, only a great liberation and great freedom, an unconstrained sense of exhilaration, as if someone had removed a great mountain from his body.
Wrinkles appeared in the void.
A spherical space appeared around Zheng Fa, its interior completely unclear to outsiders.
This spherical space was extremely distorted, with countless pipes moving within like tentacles.
"This tribulation is quite interesting."
Before Creation and the others could speak, Tongtian spoke up enthusiastically: "Spatial-temporal turbulence, chaos reappearing?"
Zhunti looked toward Bailian, seemingly inquiring.
"This is the Earth Tribulation, ever-changing in form. Those without powerful immortal bodies cannot pass through."
"How do you think Zheng Fa will fare?"
Bailian thought for a moment and actually said: "I observe that Fellow Daoist Zheng Fa probably won't be troubled by this tribulation."
Creation and the others looked at him strangely—they knew how unwilling Bailian was for Zheng Fa to advance.
What was going on?
Bailian stated matter-of-factly: "In terms of combat power, Fellow Daoist Zheng Fa long surpassed Scattered Immortals. Such tribulation truly isn't enough to hinder him."
Zhunti smiled, looking at Rilian saying: "You certainly think highly of him."
Bailian pressed his palms together, expression calm: "It's just a pity we're enemies, not friends."
His words seemed like a premonition as Zheng Fa's figure emerged from the spherical space, not even a corner of his clothing disturbed.
Everyone knew that the Heaven and Earth Tribulations that were like insurmountable chasms to other cultivators had already been passed by Zheng Fa—and it seemed he didn't even exert any effort.
For Zheng Fa, only the final step remained to achieve Dao Fruit—the Human Tribulation.
Bailian also seemed to have waited for a long time, now speaking up: "Ancestor Zhunti."
"Hmm?"
Creation Daoist and the others felt their eyelids twitch, suddenly understanding Bailian's meaning.
These six heavenly beings had previously seemed quite favorable toward Zheng Fa, which naturally made them somewhat cautious.
But from what just happened, these six seemed unwilling to interfere with Zheng Fa's tribulation!
Zhunti looked at him deeply, suddenly smiling: "As you wish."
Bailian bowed respectfully, then asked: "Ancestor, can this heaven and earth currently withstand the aftermath of our magical duel?"
Clearly, he also didn't want to give up the Hongmeng Purple Qi.
"With us here." Tongtian suddenly spoke, his eyes shining as if wanting to watch a good show, adding, "But you'll have to wait."
Bailian looked momentarily stunned, not yet understanding the meaning of these words, when he suddenly felt chilled to the bone and looked outward.
With just one glance, all the composure on his face turned into stunned realization, with only one thought in his heart:
Dragons, phoenixes, qilins, demon gods, great witches—hundreds of figures stood in the air, watching Zheng Fa with menacing eyes.
He immediately understood—Zheng Fa's Dao Fruit oath was too grand!
Bailian had known that larger Dao Fruit oaths brought stronger tribulations, but he never expected such a spectacular sight—all the renowned races between heaven and earth had come here.
Only limited by heavenly rules and fear of the six great powers, these races' strengths weren't extreme, but they were still at Scattered Immortal level.
The emergence of humanity itself was a blow to all races.
Even though he thought highly of Zheng Fa, Bailian now wondered if there was any need for him to intervene?
A voice transmission suddenly reached his ear: "How about we help Zheng Fa?"
Bailian looked at Creation, expression strange, but understanding perfectly what Creation meant—Hongmeng Purple Qi.
They truly feared Zheng Fa might be beaten to death, unable to obtain the Hongmeng Purple Qi.
Even Bailian had only wanted to prevent Zheng Fa from becoming a Scattered Immortal, never considering this person's death.
Gu God was completely baffled: "Save Zheng Fa?"
"...Yes."
"You just said—"
Bailian's expression was also indescribable: "How could I have imagined his Human Tribulation would be this strong!"
Creation and the others looked up, seeing the completely packed situation above and below, and had to admit they'd truly never seen such a tribulation.
"Save him..."
Roc's face was full of reluctance.
"Hongmeng Purple Qi takes priority!"
Gu God looked up, only speaking after a long time: "I understand your thinking, these people's strength is slightly inferior to ours, we could fight desperately if needed, but at what cost?"
Bailian opened his mouth, also speechless.
Gu God asked seriously: "If I suffer fundamental damage from saving Zheng Fa, will your Leiyin Temple provide compensation?"
Or rather, he truly felt a kind of completeness.
Zheng Fa was Leiyin Temple's great enemy—if they were severely injured or even died protecting him, how would the sect view him?
His heart held neither joy nor sorrow, only a great liberation and great freedom, an unconstrained exhilaration, as if someone had removed a great mountain from his body.
......
Just as he quietly contemplated this realization, the space around him suddenly twisted.
Speaking of which, he wasn't unfamiliar with Human Tribulations.
This brings us to old acquaintance Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.
This person had his Demon Emperor certification interrupted by Zheng Fa.
Later, after understanding what Human Tribulation was, he learned his own identity—Great Freedom Demon Emperor was just unlucky;Zheng Fa was his Human Tribulation.
Now he suspected Great Freedom Demon Emperor had returned for revenge!
Looking at the massive crowd of demon beasts surrounding him, Zheng Fa felt karma had arrived.
As they say, enough ants can kill an elephant, and the "ants" before him were all extraordinary species of heaven and earth, each difficult to deal with.
In fact, each one was stronger than he had been back then.
Zheng Fa felt he didn't deserve this.
He glanced down at the thousand-plus newly born humans and guessed this wasn't just his Human Tribulation, but also humanity's founding tribulation that he had encountered.
The myriad races naturally didn't dare eliminate humanity with Nüwa's backing, but on the other hand, their fear, anger, and even hatred burned even more fiercely because of this.
The myriad races people obstructing his path seemed unable to hold back anymore, their powerful auras cutting across the sky as they charged toward Zheng Fa.
Hundreds of massive demon bodies completely obscured Zheng Fa's figure.
Lightning, fierce winds, torn space, shaking mountains.
Those races that usually fought to the death, those Witches and Demons who battled irreconcilably, actually joined forces now, working together just to deal with one person!
"Save him!"
Bailian gritted his teeth, deciding Hongmeng Purple Qi took priority, preparing to charge in.
But the next moment, with a bang, a figure came flying toward him.
Bailian sidestepped to avoid it, watching as a great witch brushed past his shoulder and crashed down, creating a deep crater in the ground.
He quickly looked back, his pupils contracting.
Zheng Fa stood in the air, completely unmoved no matter how fiercely the myriad races people attacked!
His heart greatly shaken, looking closer, he saw Zheng Fa wasn't completely motionless.
Around Zheng Fa, a layer of golden mist spread, like gentle gauze, neutralizing all attacks imperceptibly.
Protective artifacts?
How had he not heard of this?
What protective artifact had such power?
As he wondered, he saw the golden mist retract, settling behind Zheng Fa's head.
Bailian recognized it now!
Merit!
At this moment, Creation Daoist seemed to have also seen the truth, looking at Bailian with a strange expression: "This merit power actually has such capability? Fellow Daoist Bailian, you never mentioned this before!"
Roc and the others also remembered Bailian's Merit Golden Wheel, nodding one after another, their looks toward Bailian becoming somewhat wary—seeming to think he had been hiding this, secretly scheming.
"...My merit and his are different." Bailian didn't want to explain but had to.
"Different?"
"My merit doesn't have such power, not even one-tenth of it. His merit is nearly invulnerable to all methods." As Bailian spoke, his voice grew softer, his expression extremely stifled.
It had to be said, it was quite persuasive.
Looking at Zheng Fa standing unmoved in the air, completely unharmed, Creation slowly nodded, expression complicated: "Forget this merit being different—Zheng Fa's tribulation experience... is also different from ours."
Rilian looked at Zheng Fa, unsure whether to be happy or sad—
Happy that he didn't need to struggle with how to explain to his sect.
"The so-called Human Tribulation involves those entangled in karma with the cultivator obstructing their path." Bailian's eyes shone brightly, "We also have some karma with him."
He looked at Gu God, who seemed to know what he wanted to say, expression helpless: "His tribulation passing was too fast, unexpectedly so. Didn't have time."
Seeing Rilian's dissatisfied expression, she added: "With his merit protection, my children might not even be useful."
Bailian couldn't help but glance at Nüwa, highly suspecting that when Nüwa allocated merit to Zheng Fa earlier, she had already anticipated this scene.
Nüwa completely ignored his look, instead cupping her hands toward Zheng Fa: "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on achieving Dao Fruit."
Zheng Fa's response confirmed Bailian's suspicion: "Thank you for your protection, Your Majesty."
