With vast amounts of human fortune continually pouring in, Wei Yuan grew extravagant, pouring massive quantities of karmic luck into his research.
Sure enough, his mind cleared considerably. Many minor problems that had plagued him for ages unraveled effortlessly, and he found himself naturally arriving at the right answers by intuition.
In the blink of an eye, winter gave way to spring, and spring yielded to summer. After more than a year of effort, Wei Yuan finally calculated the first orbit.
After repeatedly verifying the calculations without finding a single error, Wei Yuan sketched out the orbit's trajectory with his Dao power. Then he retrieved the Earthfire Heartstone and began infusing it with karmic luck. The tiny Earthfire Heartstone unexpectedly swallowed a hundred cubic measures of azure qi in a single breath, its entire body glowing with azure radiance, brimming with karmic luck.
This step had not originally been part of the plan, but Wei Yuan possessed an abundance of karmic luck now, so he added it just to be safe.
Flying out from the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, Wei Yuan stood in the void and arrived at his chosen position. With a gentle push, the Earthfire Heartstone flew forward at its preordained speed and trajectory.
This first step was the most crucial of all and could not brook the slightest deviation. Wei Yuan had calculated out to seven decimal places, convinced that the precision was sufficient.
Yet high above in Immortal Heaven, variables were infinite. The Earthfire Heartstone had traveled only a short distance when a spark of light suddenly flared within it. Immediately afterward, a heavy snort resonated from immeasurable heights, followed by a bolt of immortal thunder that tore through the void and struck the Earthfire Heartstone viciously!
In an instant, the azure radiance shattered. One million strands of human fortune dispersed into nothing under the strike of immortal thunder! Wei Yuan was startled, but relaxed slightly when he saw that the Earthfire Heartstone remained undamaged.
Had he not infused it with karmic luck to ensure smooth initial development for this small grotto-heaven, that strike hurled across space by the immortal would have pulverized the stone, erased the orbit, and disrupted the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World with residual immortal power.
Had that happened, calculating a replacement orbit would have become exponentially more difficult.
Before Wei Yuan could rejoice, the immortal high above sneered coldly, "Do you think that was my only move? If I do not ruin your path of Dao today, I shall— Watch closely!"
Tribulation clouds coalesced out of nothingness in the void! A heavenly tribulation had arrived at this exact moment!
This was Wei Yuan's first step in the Heart Aspect Realm. Originally, a heavenly tribulation was entirely optional here, but under the immortal's instigation, what was once optional became mandatory.
Gazing at the lightning tribulation in the void with a grave expression, Wei Yuan waved his sleeve and infused the Earthfire Heartstone with another hundred cubic measures of azure qi.
Nine bolts of lightning tribulation crashed down one after another, exhausting the azure human fortune. The Earthfire Heartstone endured only the tempering of the shockwaves, and its quality actually improved by a fraction.
"Still not dead?" The entity perched high in Immortal Heaven was mildly surprised, then sneered, "Whenever this seat acts, I always keep a contingency in reserve. It pained me somewhat, but consider it an extra gift to you!"
Tribulation clouds reappeared in the void. This time, they glowed with a crimson-gold hue—the Flowing Fire Heavenly Tribulation Wei Yuan had faced before.
Things having reached this point, there was only one path left to walk. Wei Yuan waved his arm, bestowing another million strands of azure qi!
A moment later, the voice rang out again, tinged with unmistakable fury: "Junior, you court death! This seat will grant your wish!"
A third layer of tribulation clouds formed in the void, pure blue in color—the World-Extinguishing Torrential Glacial Celestial Water Tribulation. Combining celestial water and profound ice, this tribulation was designed specifically to eradicate life and spirituality.
Wei Yuan had no choice but to sweep his arm once more.
When the Glacial Celestial Water Tribulation subsided, Wei Yuan stood expressionless, a sphere of azure light gathering in his palm.
The voice in Immortal Heaven had turned furious. "Good, good, good! For a junior to possess such karmic luck—do you fancy yourself the contemporary Human Sovereign? Let us see whether your karmic luck will run out first, or—"
His voice abruptly grew hoarse, and the terrifying pressure surged backward like a receding tide. No new heavenly tribulation formed in the void, leaving it entirely clear.
Still wary, Wei Yuan kept half of the azure light in his hand and flicked the remaining half onto the surviving Earthfire Heartstone.
Having endured immortal thunder and three heavenly tribulations, the Earthfire Heartstone absorbed the azure human fortune and suddenly blazed with blinding radiance, shaking heaven and earth!
Countless gazes from Immortal Heaven instantly focused upon a tiny handful of yellow earth within the light.
This earth was pure yellow, not a shade more, not a grain less. Seven-colored immortal resonance swirled around it, and concentric rings of hazy brilliance illuminated the surrounding void, bearing the wondrous power to manifest reality out of nothingness.
Across Immortal Heaven, several divine intents crisscrossed in conversation.
"That is Central Wuji Apricot-Yellow Earth, the pinnacle of innate earth. To think it would manifest just like that... That lad is blessed with extraordinary fortune."
"Could this be Yanshi's scheming?"
"...Yanshi? I doubt he possesses such skill."
"Are you afraid?"
"What a joke. What would I fear? If anyone should fear, it is the one who just struck."
"True enough. He invoked the supreme divine ability of Law Follows the Word and failed. That backlash... tsk."
"How does this lad have so much human fortune? Even if we intervened, we would likely suffer a heavy loss."
"It is indeed strange. There are only thirty million mortals in his realm. Even with ten times that number, he shouldn't have amassed this much human fortune."
"Even the wise sovereigns of the Nine Kingdoms might not possess as much."
"Among the Nine Kingdoms, where would you find a wise sovereign?"
"Mind your words!"
Naturally, Wei Yuan could not hear the discussions in Immortal Heaven, but he could tell the grade of this small handful of earth was terrifyingly high. It constantly radiated concentric halos of light, drawing forth wisps of primal chaos qi that seeped from the illuminated void, absorbing them and slowly expanding.
It drifted along its designated orbit. Wei Yuan watched it for a time, and seeing that it did not deviate in the slightest, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, though a lingering dread washed over him.
That ball of azure light in his palm had been the very last of his azure qi. Though it looked substantial, only two hundred thousand strands had actually remained.
Wei Yuan had made a show of dividing it in half for the observer in the sky to see. In truth, the portion he kept held only ten thousand strands of azure qi; the other one hundred and ninety thousand had all been poured into the Earthfire Heartstone.
Intervening across realms came at a tremendous price for that immortal, who had then driven three consecutive heavenly tribulations without success. Wei Yuan estimated that the backlash of the Heavenly Dao would give him more than enough trouble to swallow.
The immortal had originally intended only to vent his spite, never expecting Wei Yuan to summon such a vast reservoir of human karmic luck. Humiliated by his initial failure, the immortal had resorted to the supreme divine ability of Law Follows the Word, only to find himself riding a tiger and unable to dismount, forced to conjure tribulation after tribulation.
The immortal had not expected Wei Yuan to possess so much human fortune, nor had Wei Yuan expected his foe to unleash three tribulations in succession. In an instant, a battle of spite had turned into a fight to the death. In the end, Wei Yuan had narrowly won solely because his stock of human fortune was absurdly vast.
The sphere of innate earth had begun orbiting the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. With it as the core, the future grotto-heaven would reach an extraordinary caliber, perhaps even achieving the golden grade on its own.
Wei Yuan looked back toward the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. In terms of grotto-heaven ranks, it remained dark green, yet within that green lay faint traces of five-colored immortal resonance, bearing a resemblance to the grotto-heaven of Immortal Monarch Yanshi.
In this clash against an immortal, Wei Yuan had prevailed entirely on human fortune. Looking closely, the hundred cubic measures of human fortune gathered by the Towers of Yuan had played the decisive role in sealing his victory.
Only after crossing hands with an immortal did Wei Yuan truly understand: though Immortal Heaven towered high above, when humanity united with one heart, they could triumph even over heaven.
Chapter 811