Chapter 1723 : Beyond the Twelve Tribulations

After breaking through to the Late Celestial Immortal Realm [the advanced stage of the Celestial Immortal cultivation realm], they would venture into the Chaos [the primordial, formless void beyond the ordered worlds] to seek Innate Energy [the primordial, foundational energy that existed before creation]. Their safety in doing so would be not just ten times, but immeasurably greater than that of those in the early or middle stages of the Celestial Immortal [a powerful immortal who has ascended beyond the mortal plane] realm.

It was precisely for this reason that the success rate for Path Tribulation Protagonist [a cultivator destined to face and overcome the Heavenly Tribulations of their cultivation path] was exceptionally high; very few met an early demise.

Once one cultivated to the Eleventh Tribulation, or even the Twelve Tribulations Domain [the pinnacle state before the final Heavenly Tribulation], and then survived the breakthrough from within the Path Tribulation [the series of Heavenly Trials a cultivator must face], the certainty of later cultivating to the Great Perfection Celestial Immortal Realm [the perfected, flawless pinnacle of the Celestial Immortal stage] was almost ninety percent.

There was even immense hope of breaking through to the Ancient Immortal Realm [an immortal realm of immense age and profound power, surpassing Celestial Immortals].

Eldrin Chen's current strength had long since surpassed even the Twelve Tribulations [the ultimate series of Heavenly Trials]. The amount of Innate Spiritual Essence [the purest, most foundational spiritual substance, precursor to all creation] he obtained was naturally astonishing, far exceeding what an ordinary Celestial Immortal Great Power [a Celestial Immortal of formidable might and influence] would receive.

He successively condensed a full forty-five strands of Innate Energy [the primordial, foundational energy that existed before creation] before discovering that both the Heaven Earth Profound Yellow [a legendary spiritual substance representing the foundational energy of heaven and earth] and the Innate Spiritual Essence [the purest, most foundational spiritual substance, precursor to all creation] had been completely exhausted.

"Forty-five strands of Innate Energy [the primordial, foundational energy that existed before creation]."

"The additional amount... that makes twenty-five strands worth of Innate Spiritual Essence [the purest, most foundational spiritual substance, precursor to all creation], correct?"

Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, then slowly refined five of those strands of Innate Energy [the primordial, foundational energy that existed before creation] into his Path Fruit [the condensed essence and achievement of a cultivator's chosen Dao or cultivation path].

At that moment, as the Path Fruit [the condensed essence and achievement of a cultivator's chosen Dao or cultivation path] underwent a reverse refinement towards the Innate [the primordial, foundational state of existence], Eldrin Chen felt his foundation become more harmonious and complete. His combat power seemed to have increased slightly, yet it lacked a qualitative, transformative leap. The complete novel can be found at audio-novel.com.

Eldrin Chen understood clearly that this was not due to any lack of growth in his own strength, but rather because his combat prowess had become overwhelmingly formidable.

The higher one's cultivation realm ascended, the greater the disparity between each successive layer became. When he was still in the Earth Immortal Realm, an Eighth Level Earth Immortal was only equivalent to about one and a half Seventh Level Earth Immortal cultivators.

Yet, upon reaching the Celestial Immortal Realm, the gap in combat power between the Seventh Layer of the Celestial Immortal Realm and the eighth layer had already widened to a multiple.

This was because an existence at the Seventh Layer of the Celestial Immortal Realm merely needed to cultivate a single Celestial Immortal Foundation to its peak. In contrast, an Eighth Heaven Celestial Immortal had to master at least two perfected Innate Foundation [the foundational spiritual roots one is born with, determining cultivation potential].

An existence at the Seventh Layer of the Celestial Immortal Realm only needed to refine nine strands of Innate Energy [the primordial, unadulterated energy of creation] to break through, while an Eighth Heaven Celestial Immortal required at least eighteen strands. The difference between them was a qualitative transformation.

Even if three Seventh Layer of the Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators joined forces, they would likely be utterly suppressed and slain within a thousand exchanges against a single Eighth Heaven Celestial Immortal.

Although Eldrin Chen's power had progressed somewhat after his Path Fruit [the condensed essence of a cultivator's chosen Dao, representing their comprehension and power] transformed into its Innate [primordial, heaven-born] state, he was still far from possessing the combat strength of an Eighth Heaven Celestial Immortal.

"I can still open a few more layers of heaven," he murmured to himself.

As soon as his foundational essence ascended, Eldrin Chen immediately set about continuing to expand the heavens and earth within him.

This was precisely the moment of the Universe's initial opening. From the profound mysteries of the cosmos, Innate Spiritual Essence [the purest form of spiritual substance, born with the universe] descended. With each new layer of heaven and earth he opened, he could obtain one more strand of Innate Energy.

If this opportunity is missed, acquiring Innate Energy [the primordial, untainted energy that existed before the formation of the cosmos] in the future would require venturing into the perilous depths of the Chaos [the formless, primordial void that existed before creation].

Then, Eldrin Chen mobilized the full power of his cultivation foundation, once again employing his profound Divine Ability [a supreme supernatural power or technique] secret arts to cleave Chaos and shape a new layer of his Universe [the personal cosmos or inner world cultivated by a powerful being].

Amidst a deafening roar, Eldrin Chen utilized the Chaos Weapon Forging Art [a divine technique to manifest weapons from primordial chaos], materializing ten distinct Chaos Divine Weapons [divine armaments forged from the essence of primordial chaos] to sunder the twenty-first layer of heaven and earth.

Immediately after, he brandished the Chaos Heaven Halberd [a halberd of immense power forged from chaos], channeling his lifetime's accumulated mana and the might of his Path Fruit [the condensed essence and achievement of a cultivator's chosen Dao or Path] into its edge, cleaving open the twenty-second layer of the Twelve-Layered Heaven and Earth [a conceptual framework representing the layered structure of a cultivator's inner universe].

Thereafter, Eldrin Chen employed the Primordial One Energy Grasping Hand [a divine hand technique capable of seizing and manipulating the fundamental energy of creation] and the Great Five Elements Primordial Solar Divine Thunder [a supreme thunder technique embodying the power of the five elements and the primordial sun], consecutively forging the twenty-third and twenty-fourth layers of heaven.

"Twenty-four myriad heavens."

"Has this reached the limit?"

After consecutively opening twenty-four layers, Eldrin Chen murmured softly to himself, ultimately abandoning the thought of continuing further.

His Universe was too vast. The scale of each heavenly layer far surpassed that of ordinary beings at the Early Celestial Immortal Realm [the initial stage of the Celestial Immortal cultivation realm], rivaling the inner worlds of great powers at the Late Celestial Immortal Realm [the advanced stage of the Celestial Immortal cultivation realm].

Under these circumstances, although he obtained more World's Origin [the fundamental, creative essence that forms the basis of a world], the pressure he had to bear grew increasingly immense.

To have opened up twenty-four layers of Heavenly Domain [a vast and distinct region within a higher realm] was already the absolute limit of what Eldrin Chen could achieve.

Therefore, Eldrin Chen did not force the matter further. He once again gathered Innate Spiritual Essence [the purest form of spiritual energy, foundational to creation] to condense strands of Innate Energy [the primordial, unadulterated power that existed before the cosmos], successfully refining four more strands.

"Forty-nine strands of Innate Energy?"

Gazing at the Innate Energy swirling in his palm, Eldrin Chen could not help but smile and murmur to himself.

Having stabilized his Celestial Immortal Universe [the inner cosmos of a Celestial Immortal cultivator], he flicked his sleeve and released five strands of Innate Energy, merging them into the Fire Phoenix Parasol Tree, the Primordial Chaos Ancient Maple, the Longevity Ancient Tree, the North Sea Great Toon, and the Primordial Earth Source Tree—these five Worldly Spiritual Root [spiritual trees of immense power that anchor the energy of a world].

These five Worldly Spiritual Root had already been nurtured by the feedback from his Universe [the cultivator's inner cosmos] and were on the very cusp of a profound metamorphosis. This chapter is part of a larger work available at audio . novel . com.

Now, infused with the five strands of Innate Energy, they instantly shattered their Postnatal Shackles [the limitations inherent to things born after the creation of the cosmos] and transformed into five magnificent Innate Spiritual Root [spiritual roots of primordial origin, possessing power from the dawn of creation].

In that very instant, from within the five ancient trees, five majestic Heaven and Earth True Spirit [primordial spiritual beings representing fundamental cosmic forces] emerged: the Vermilion Bird [the True Spirit of the South, representing fire], the White Tiger [the True Spirit of the West, representing metal], the Black Tortoise [the True Spirit of the North, representing water], the Azure Dragon [the True Spirit of the East, representing wood], and the Qilin [the True Spirit of the Center, representing earth].

Each of them was wreathed in an aura of Innate Energy, and they bowed three times in deep reverence towards Eldrin Chen.

"We offer our deepest gratitude for the Patriarch's generous gift."

"With the empowerment of the celestial and earthly positions, both foundation and combat prowess are comparable to an Innate Divine Spirit [a divine being born from the fundamental forces of the cosmos, possessing immense innate power]?"

Eldrin Chen's gaze flickered slightly, and he gave a faint, acknowledging nod.

He waved his hand, signaling for the others to withdraw. Then, with a sweep of his sleeve, ten strands of Innate Energy [the primordial, foundational energy from which all things are born] descended.

Within the original Six Heavens and Seven Realms [a legendary cosmic structure comprising six celestial layers and seven material realms], the six heavens contained the Thalion Ancient Tree, the Stellar Ancient Tree, the Primordial Solar Ancient Tree, the Void Heaven Wood, the Two Polarities Celestial Light Tree, and the Longevity Fruit Tree.

The seven realms held the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, the Frost Soul Immortal Pear Tree, the Fire Jade Immortal Marrow Tree [a spiritual tree whose marrow is like fiery jade], the Gale Wind Gourd Vine [a magical vine that bears gourds imbued with the power of gale winds], the Northern Dark Cold Mist Tree, the Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree [a spiritual tea tree said to grant profound enlightenment], and the Immortal Peach Ancient Tree.

The Flat Peach Ancient Tree, the Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree, and the Gale Wind Gourd Vine had already ascended. The remaining ten Worldly Spiritual Root [spiritual roots of profound worldly power], each having received a strand of Innate Energy, were now undergoing a metamorphosis into Innate Ancient Tree [ancient trees that have awakened to their primordial, innate nature].

According to Eldrin Chen's estimation, all thirteen of his Spiritual Root [the foundational spiritual plants within a cultivator's inner world] would ascend to the Innate Realm [a state of being aligned with one's primordial, innate nature].

These thirteen Innate Ancient Tree were not only exceedingly rare treasures but were also crucial to his own cultivation.

As Eldrin Chen estimated, his Twenty-Four Heavens were far too vast, exceeding the norm for an Early Celestial Immortal Realm [the initial stage of the Celestial Immortal cultivation realm]. Following the conventional path of cultivation, it might take ten million years just to advance a single layer.

However, if an Innate Ancient Tree were planted within each of the Twenty-Four Heavens, and they cultivated by drawing in Primordial Chaos Energy [the undifferentiated, primordial energy that existed before creation], Eldrin Chen's cultivation speed would skyrocket tenfold.

By that time, even without relying on external aids, his own spiritual power would increase by one level every million years.

Of course, these were not the primary benefits. The most crucial aspect was that the Innate Ancient Tree could stabilize the Universe [the self-contained world or cosmos a cultivator creates and nurtures], enhancing its foundational essence and root structure.

After an Ancient Immortal Great Power [a powerful being who has transcended the mortal realm and cultivated for eons] shatters the Ninefold Heavenly Pass [the nine great barriers to ultimate ascension], the breakthrough into the Great Encompassing Realm [a supreme state of cultivation where one's power encompasses all] requires elevating one's Celestial Immortal Universe [the inner cosmos of a Celestial Immortal cultivator] into an Immortal Domain [a perfected, self-sustaining immortal realm], thereby condensing the Innate Indestructibility Spirit Light [a primordial, unbreakable spiritual radiance that signifies ultimate attainment].

It could be said that the Celestial Immortal Universe is the foundational cornerstone for achieving the Great Encompassing realm. To enable Future to transform his Universe into an Immortal Domain, any initial investment, no matter how great, was utterly worthwhile.

Eldrin Chen facilitated the ascension of his Celestial Immortal Universe. Then, within the newly opened eleventh layer of heaven and earth, he planted the Innate Gale Gourd Vine [a primordial vine that bears gourds containing the power of tempests] and the Innate Enlightenment Purple Lotus [a primordial lotus that aids in achieving spiritual enlightenment], along with nine stalks of Supreme Grade World-Opening Spiritual Root [the highest quality spiritual roots used to anchor and nourish a nascent world]. Once more, he scattered nine strands of World-Opening Energy [the primordial energy released during the creation of a world] to merge with them.

By this point, Eldrin Chen had already consumed twenty-nine strands of Innate Energy [the primordial, foundational energy of creation].

Seeing that only twenty strands of Innate Energy remained, Eldrin Chen could not help but feel a pang of regret. Although the original forty-nine strands seemed plentiful, they were ultimately a one-time windfall.

Without a steady source of income, simply depleting this reserve would see it vanish swiftly. For all its apparent abundance, this Innate Energy was not something to be squandered lightly. Continue your cultivation journey at audio-novel*com.