The spirit manor was complete, standing one hundred and twenty zhang tall—lofty, solemn, and steeped in ancient antiquity, exuding the primeval aura of boundless wilderness.
The entire spirit manor was roughly divided into three tiers. The lowest tier was home to countless living beings in every conceivable form, many of which Wei Yuan had never seen nor heard of before.
The middle tier featured countless ritual diagrams that flickered in and out of sight, serving as concrete manifestations of the Great Dao of this world.
The upper tier was a realm of primal chaos, continually evolving, resembling the state when heaven and earth first opened and chaos had just parted, before all living things had begun to sprout.
The upper, middle, and lower tiers were distinctly demarcated and progressive in meaning, drawing steadily closer to the origin of heaven and earth. The conception behind this spirit manor was absurdly lofty.
What kind of true spirit could possibly be worthy of such a manor?
Wei Yuan did not immediately recognize the absurdity of that thought. Seeing that the spirit manor was finished, he stepped inside, eager to explore and uncover its secrets.
The interior was an expanse of primal chaos, as though even the Great Daos of heaven and earth that had already formed had dissipated and shattered. Surging plumes of primal chaos qi roiled everywhere. When Wei Yuan swept his divine sense outward, he found it could cover only a few zhang around him, leaving him no choice but to fly about and inspect everything piece by piece.
He failed to notice that as he flew higher and higher, a young maiden slipped quietly out through the entrance of the spirit manor and vanished without a trace.
After searching for a full hour, Wei Yuan even resorted to traps and ruses—feigning east while striking west, pointing south while heading north, exhausting every tactic in his arsenal—yet he still saw no sign of where the true spirit was.
In the end, Wei Yuan was forced to give up and crept out of the spirit manor in dejection.
At this moment, throughout Central City and across a cluster of inhabited islands out at sea, pillars and ripples of spiritual radiance surged continually into the air. Some beams were so dense they seemed tangible, some flowed like rivers, while others dispersed into heaven and earth, drifting and bobbing. Each aura of light meant someone had achieved a dharma idol, and nearly half of them turned out to be various primeval strange beasts.
Yet inside the Holy Battle Hall, all was quiet; Lei Ling and Dugu Cangqiong still showed no sign of movement.
Wei Yuan had no intention of waiting any longer. The two clearly had not accumulated enough foundation yet; waiting another ten days would yield the same result and accomplish nothing. It was far more important to release the heavenly demon quickly, rekindle the spark of the Heavenly Demon Tribulation, and re-enter the state of undergoing tribulation.
As for opening a seam in the heavens—if hope was granted to all living beings every day, it would cease to be hope; that would simply be throwing open heaven's gates.
The astonishingly decadent squalor seen on Paradise Island out at sea had already proven the wisdom of the old saying: one thrives in hardship and dies in ease.
With a thought, Wei Yuan appeared in the secluded courtyard where Yin-Yang dwelt.
Xihe sat upright beside the table, holding a teacup in one hand while immortal swords formed continuously at the fingertips of the other. She flicked them out one by one, sending them streaking toward the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven to seal the heavenly demon.
A final patch of violet still lingered in the air, the remaining ember of the Heavenly Demon Tribulation. Though small, a single spark could start a prairie fire. As long as the heavenly demon was unsealed, the Heavenly Demon Tribulation would gradually restore itself, and Wei Yuan would re-enter the tribulation state, nominally returning to the perfection of the Dharma Idol realm.
Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, Xihe smiled faintly, and a jade-colored immortal sword suddenly coalesced at her fingertips!
A dreadful premonition seized Wei Yuan's heart. He only had time to cry out "Don't!" before the immortal sword shot forward, darting straight between his legs!
Within his mindscape world, Wei Yuan was exceedingly powerful; as long as his divine sense could keep pace, he was virtually omnipotent. Thus, he teleported a step aside, evading the strike by a hair's breadth.
Only after dodging did Wei Yuan realize: why had he dodged at all?
The corners of Xihe's mouth curled slightly. "Indeed, why did you dodge?"
In an instant, the jade flying sword reached the beyond, skimming past the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven and severing something intangible with a single slash. Within the seal, the heavenly demon suddenly felt as though a part of herself was missing, and the enigmatic connection tying her to her birthplace and source ground vanished!
The violet patch in the sky abruptly began to fade, shrinking at a visible pace until it disappeared entirely.
And so, before Wei Yuan's dumbfounded gaze, the Heavenly Demon Tribulation came to an end. Wei Yuan officially advanced into Scenery Command, leaping directly into the mid-stage Spirit Manor realm.
"Wait a moment, Senior..."
"Call me Elder Sister! Where are your manners?"
Wei Yuan looked at the aloof, sharp-edged maiden before him, who appeared under eighteen years old. He felt calling her "Senior" was only proper, whereas calling her "Elder Sister" was downright embarrassing; calling her Xihe directly would have been preferable.
Being someone of an unyielding spirit, he immediately said, "Sister Xihe..."
Only then did Xihe look satisfied. "Speak."
A figure caught the corner of Wei Yuan's eye. Looking closely, he saw Maiden Yin-Yang standing in a corner of the courtyard, trimming an ornamental rockery.
For some reason, Wei Yuan felt something was off about Maiden Yin-Yang, yet he could not put his finger on what it was. But with far more pressing matters at hand, he could only push the doubt aside and offer Xihe a wry smile. "...Sister, why did you sever the heavenly demon's karmic ties? Now the Heavenly Demon Tribulation has ended."
Xihe rolled her eyes at him. "Always resorting to these petty, underhanded tricks—I've put up with you for long enough! My Palace of Grand Beginning has always operated upright and aboveboard, crushing enemies through overwhelming might. How did it end up with so much flashy nonsense in your generation? Your strength isn't lacking now. Why skulk and shrink back? If something displeases you, just strike back! Had I still been alive, slaying a second-rate immortal like Cangwu wouldn't have required a second sword!"
Wei Yuan wore a helpless expression. "Yes, yes, quite right, everything Elder Sister says is true! But I'm not you; I'm not invincible..."
Xihe probably remembered that she was, after all, only a spirit body. Her tone softened slightly. "Jialuo has already done enough for you. She refuses to speak of her suffering and hardship, but I couldn't bear to watch it. I simply seized this chance to set her free. From now on, she is no longer a heavenly demon, but Jialuo of this place."
Xihe stood up, patted Wei Yuan's shoulder, and said, "You are fine in every regard, except your temperament is a bit soft, lacking decisiveness and grandeur. You must understand that living in this world, hardships and obstacles are inevitable. When faced with them, there are only two words: charge in, do them!"
Wei Yuan's thoughts suddenly went into the gutter.
Xihe planted a kick squarely on his backside, sending him flying—clearly knowing his mind had wandered.
Maiden Yin-Yang looked up at Wei Yuan flying into the distance, appearing lost in thought—though whether she was truly thinking was anyone's guess. In any case, she always wore that cold, contemplative expression.
Xihe glanced back at her and said, "I'll head back to build my house first. Once it's built, I'll come find you again."
She leaped into the air and stood beneath the vaulted dome of heaven in the blink of an eye. Just as she was about to return to the Fourth Grotto-Heaven, she suddenly saw an eerie, vivid crimson emerge on the horizon!
Even with Xihe's resolute will, her expression shifted slightly!
Wei Yuan also sensed something was wrong. His divine consciousness instantly withdrew from the Flourishing of the Many Realms and flew straight into the sky above Qingming. There, thin clouds resembling fish scales had appeared at some unknown moment, each scale flickering with light of differing hues.
This blanket of clouds stretched across thousands of li, resembling a sea of pearls hung upside down across the heavens, dazzling beyond description. As this sea constantly shifted, its colors flowed and swirled, like a living primeval giant kun writhing its massive body as if to upend heaven and earth.
Wei Yuan's expression changed drastically. He recognized these as tribulation clouds, yet he had no idea what kind they were!
The Daoist scriptures of the Palace of Grand Beginning contained no record of such tribulation clouds, so naturally he did not know which heavenly tribulation they portended.
Wei Yuan never expected that the moment the Heavenly Demon Tribulation ended, a new heavenly tribulation would arrive instantly. Far from giving him time to prepare, it did not even grant him a single breath of respite.
He could not tell whether this tribulation targeted his true spirit or the newly erected spirit manor, though it was most likely provoked by his achievement of the spirit manor.
Wei Yuan's divine sense transmitted instantly into the consciousness of every living being within the Flourishing of the Many Realms, ordering them to halt their cultivation and breakthroughs immediately and seek shelter near immortal flora.
A great heavenly tribulation was at hand; cultivating now was a direct path to doom. The multitudes had been vigorously pressing forward when they suddenly perceived Wei Yuan's will, throwing them into chaos. Instantly, Wei Yuan felt millions of distinct waves of panic, bewilderment, and terror.
Confronted by this unprecedented tribulation, Wei Yuan assumed a solemn demeanor and activated the divine ability of the Qingming boundary stone, preparing to resist it with the full power of the domain.
In the air, the fish-scale tribulation clouds grew brighter and increasingly phantasmagorical and resplendent. Then, wisps of pale pink spring light drifted down like falling catkins. As they descended, they transformed into scenes of springtime splendor—wildflowers, tender grass, fresh sprouts, clear brooks, and more.
Even the wind carried the crisp, refreshing scent of vegetation.
Suddenly, Wei Yuan knew the name of this heavenly tribulation: the Sweeping Spring Mist Phantasm Wind Tribulation.
What kind of tribulation was this?
While Wei Yuan was still bewildered, the first gust of wind brushed against his body, blowing straight into his sea of consciousness and entering the Flourishing of the Many Realms. It circled along the shoreline once before dissipating.
Wherever the breeze passed, specks of wildflowers blossomed. Even atop the surging ocean waves, tender grass and spring blossoms sprouted, bobbing with the swells and proliferating continuously until they covered an entire expanse of the sea.
The subsequent gusts completely ignored Wei Yuan's dharma body—unrivaled across the world even among Scenery Command cultivators—and blew directly into his sea of consciousness. Each breeze was gentle, yet each carried a different effect. For a time, Wei Yuan was thrown into flustered disarray, knowing that if these gentle winds were allowed to continue blowing, catastrophe would surely follow.
Many pedestrians had been lingering near the seashore; when several were brushed by the gentle breeze, they froze in place. Flowering vines sprouted from their eye sockets and nostrils, followed by branches and leaves creeping across their limbs, freezing them into human-shaped flowering trees that swayed in the wind.
Out in the sea, Paradise Island was struck by multiple phantasm winds at once. Spring warmth and blooming flowers swept the island in an instant. Countless flowering trees and green branches sprouted everywhere; everything on the island—whether high-rises and skyscrapers or birds, fish, and humans—became nutrients and rootstocks for the flowering trees.
These flowering trees stood densely packed in layered tiers, releasing bizarre pollen that drifted farther on the wind, silently permeating every corner.
The entire island fell instantly silent. The power supply flickered intermittently; the lights in most skyscrapers went dark, swallowed up and tightly swaddled by vegetation. As though possessed of life, the tendrils broke in from the outside, reaching into windows, corridors, stairwells... patrolling, churning, and silently consuming everything they touched.
Only a few roadside shops still kept their lights on, yet even these flickered weakly, looking extraordinarily desolate in this world teeming with vibrant life, as though tapping out a final death knell.
Those who lived in drunken stupor and blissful oblivion on the island lost their lives without ever knowing it.
Anxiety gripped Wei Yuan's heart. He moved to seek Xihe to discuss a countermeasure, only to find she had vanished without a trace; search as he might, he could not find her. With no other choice, Wei Yuan could only mobilize the domain's power in an attempt to resist the heavenly tribulation.
Yet this Phantasm Wind Tribulation was formless and immaterial. The domain power of Qingming was entirely useless, grasping only empty air. The sky grew increasingly brilliant and vivid, and the descending winds turned from pale pink to luminous pink.
As more and more phantasm winds gathered, their target was finally revealed: the spirit manor!
This heavenly tribulation had descended for no other reason than to destroy the spirit manor, specifically countering a true spirit that had already formed and established a manor. Wei Yuan could not quite fathom what kind of true spirit he had cultivated to require the most plain, unadorned, and common spring vitality to counter it.
Which meant that Wei Yuan's true spirit was very likely countered by the earth's return to spring.
Chapter 1122