Three Calamities and Three Tribulations

Conscription for the front line was a troublesome affair for the offspring of Pillar Tiankai on Myriad Gods Mountain. During peacetime, going to the front lines to pad their credentials would have been fine. Now, however, even Pillar-level powerhouses were departing for the front, a testament to how brutal the warfare was. Going to the front lines now—was that not courting death? They were not wild rogue True Gods; their bloodlines were noble. Regrettably, even Pillar Tiankai had gone to the front lines, so go they must. The gathered True Gods held worry in their eyes, thoroughly resistant to heading to the front. The Eleventh Prince, Tong Xun, spoke up: "We have received the gifts of heaven and earth and the sustenance of Myriad Gods Mountain. Marching to the front lines to slay the enemy is an inescapable duty for the likes of us." Among all the princes, the Eleventh Prince was among the three strongest. He stood at the peak of the God Lord realm. He had lain low for countless epochs, constantly building his foundation in preparation to undergo the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations. Once he overcame a single calamity and a single tribulation, he would be established as the Crown Prince. When Pillar Tiankai entered seclusion to seek a way through the final calamity and tribulation, he would take over Pillar Tiankai's authority and enjoy limitless power. Even Dao Gods would have to bow respectfully upon meeting him. However, this was merely wishful thinking; among Pillar Tiankai's numerous offspring, not a single one had ever survived a single calamity and a single tribulation. Rather than surviving a calamity and a tribulation, finding an exotic treasure to break through to Dao God was actually more likely than a peak God Lord surviving a single calamity and tribulation. Meanwhile, inside the palace, Feng Ye's expression was laden with worry. "Because of Tan Ying, Your Highness offended the Eleventh Godchild, Tong Xun. This time... it is perilously dangerous." His concern was genuine. If Tong Xun wanted to kill Qi Yuan, it would be far too easy, especially on the front lines. Though Qi Yuan had been cultivating for the past century, even if he had started cultivating in the womb, he would at most still be at the divine oracle realm by now. Just then, a figure appeared. Feng Ye froze, immediately lowering his head. "Greetings, Your Highness." For some reason, seeing Qi Yuan filled his heart with an inexplicable dread, as if he were beholding a terrifying creature. He was a God Lord, after all, whereas Qi Yuan was merely a divine oracle. Could it be because of Pillar Tiankai's bloodline? Was His Majesty's bloodline truly this potent? Pushing those thoughts aside, Feng Ye was preparing his words to report the conscription when Qi Yuan suddenly said, "I have broken through to the God Lord realm." "What?" Feng Ye gaped in astonishment, which swiftly morphed into overjoyed disbelief. "Your Highness has broken through to the God Lord realm?" The True God he served was naturally the stronger the better; for him, a rising tide lifted all boats. His Highness had been cultivating for less than two centuries, hadn't he? And already a God Lord? This... was far too fast. Delight surged in his chest. "Your Highness, upon breaking through to the God Lord realm, you are granted ten thousand years to consolidate your foundation without needing to rush to the front line! This is truly joyous news!" Feng Ye beamed. If Tong Xun had dragged Qi Yuan to the front lines, as Qi Yuan's Dao Protector, he wouldn't have met a good end either. "Ah, right, Your Highness. Any godchild who breaks through to the God Lord realm may receive a drop of divine blood fluid to stabilize their realm," Feng Ye said. A hint of envy tinged his voice. A wild rogue cultivator like him had no access to raw divine blood fluid. Divine blood fluid could rapidly empower a God Lord, boosting their strength in short order. Only the descendants of a Pillar enjoyed such treatment. "Oh? Really?" Qi Yuan stretched lazily. Over the past century in the Abandoned Lands, he had traversed dozens of worlds. In each world, he enacted a divine oracle—either reconstructing the plane spirit or devouring it. His entanglements with the Abandoned Lands grew deeper and deeper. Fortunately, he had the Sword of Oblivion; otherwise, Qi Yuan felt he would have died long ago. Led by Feng Ye, Qi Yuan arrived at the topmost tier of Myriad Gods Mountain to collect the divine blood fluid. "Your Highness has broken through to God Lord? Hearty congratulations," remarked the golden-armored man guarding the divine temple, the astonishment fading from his eyes. Even though he could visually discern that Qi Yuan's realm was indeed that of a God Lord, he still brought out a divine artifact to test Qi Yuan's realm as protocol dictated. Once the test confirmed it, the golden-armored God Lord's smile grew much warmer. "Your Highness, this is the divine blood fluid belonging to you, sealed within a White Jade Celestial Dew Bottle. Once unsealed, please consume it within three breaths of time; otherwise, the divinity of the divine blood fluid will dissipate completely." The golden-armored God Lord handed over a jade bottle, emanating biting cold and coiled in divinity. "Thank you." Taking the jade bottle, Qi Yuan looked on with curiosity. Shrouded by the bottle, the divine blood fluid was hidden from view. Feng Ye watched with envy. He remarked, "For gods like us, bloodline matters immensely prior to becoming a True God. Some beings are born as Void Gods, while others are frail, pitiful mortals. But from Void God to the God Lord realm, bloodline becomes less decisive; what matters is... talent. Yet after reaching the God Lord realm, advancing any further once again hinges on bloodline, as well as... opportunity." Someone like Feng Ye, possessing an ordinary bloodline and devoid of heaven-defying opportunities, would likely remain stuck at God Lord for the rest of his life no matter how fine his talent was; pushing ahead was nigh impossible. As for the so-called Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, it wasn't even worth considering—that was a dead end. "Divine blood fluid can enhance a True God's bloodline and physique, drawing them ever closer to an almighty constitution, thereby increasing the odds of surviving the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations by a microscopic sliver," Feng Ye explained. "The Three Calamities and Three Tribulations?" Qi Yuan lapsed into silence. In present-day Myriad Gods Mountain, True Gods were beyond counting, yet only one had ever survived the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations: the Emperor God. What was more, the Emperor God had done so with the body of a Dao God. For an ordinary God Lord, braving the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations was harder than ascending to heaven. Even so, epoch after epoch, countless God Lords charged forward one after another in bids to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations. Such was the pursuit of the Dao. Perhaps living a single epoch was not enough; but after living through endless epochs, those God Lords would still throw themselves forward like mantises trying to stop a carriage wheel. Hear the Dao in the morning, die content in the evening. Returning to his quarters, Qi Yuan opened the jade bottle. In an instant, a dragon-shaped streak fled from the bottle at astonishing speed. An invisible giant hand caught the dragon-shaped divine blood fluid, and Qi Yuan examined it closely. [Divine Blood Fluid: Crafted in imitation of Primordial Blood; capable of improving physique.] That was all the information displayed to his eyes. Free of the bottle, the fluid was rapidly disintegrating. Without hesitation, Qi Yuan swallowed the divine blood fluid in one gulp. Instantly, he felt his own bloodline bubble once. Yes, just a single bubble. "Hmm... my strength rose a tiny bit, and my bloodline... seems to have gotten slightly murkier." "Not bad, though. It saved me several decades of bitter cultivation," Qi Yuan appraised. To him, it meant cutting down decades of painstakingly grinding monsters for EXP. But to a God Lord like Feng Ye, it might equal hundreds of thousands, or even a hundred million years of arduous cultivation, along with a minuscule boost to physical constitution. "Looking at it this way, I've received a gift from Pillar Tiankai, which means I owe him a small favor?" Qi Yuan muttered. He had always been one to repay kindness and avenge grievances. Just then, an invitation fluttered into Qi Yuan's hands. "An invitation from God Lord Heitian?" This invitation came from God Lord Heitian. Heitian had presumably learned of his breakthrough to God Lord and invited him over to celebrate. Had it been anyone else, Qi Yuan wouldn't have bothered. But last time, he had used a favor from God Lord Heitian to meet An Nan. "I should go pay a visit." Qi Yuan yawned. ... Endless divine radiance poured down as three thousand divine maidens danced gracefully, red sleeves billowing, their lotus-root white arms flashing in and out of view. It was an exquisite spectacle, yet God Lord Heitian watched it with profound boredom. "Heitian, I never imagined... you would invest so heavily in this Qi Yuan. Spending that favor with An Nan last time was one thing, but this time... you're even taking out the Original Manuscript of Taiqing Yicha. Remember, back then, the Eleventh Godchild, Tong Xun, asked you for this very original manuscript, and you flatly refused him." The speaker was Heitian's sworn brother. Having known each other for nearly an epoch, they were closest companions. "This Qi Yuan might possess fine talent, but compared to Tong Xun, his accumulation is far too deficient and his foundation shallow. From what I know, Tong Xun has already gathered ten kinds of divine blood; when it comes to the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, he actually possesses a sliver of a chance of breaking through. Moreover, he reached the God Lord realm long ago and made copious preparations; he will certainly attempt the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations much sooner than Qi Yuan. Wouldn't investing in Tong Xun be far more worthwhile than Qi Yuan?" God Lord Tunxing said, looking thoroughly puzzled. Regardless, veteran God Lords like Tong Xun were far more worthy investments than newcomers like Qi Yuan. While Qi Yuan had advanced from the Divine Kingdom realm to the God Lord realm in just over a century, what one must realize is that for beings striving to survive the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, the God Lord realm was merely the starting line. Talent... was not even worth mentioning. No matter how defying of heaven one's talent was, without a powerful bloodline or physique, it could never be converted into the foundation required to weather the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations. God Lord Heitian dismissed the notion: "Tong Xun is selfish, self-serving, and ungrateful. If I help him, once he becomes Crown Prince, he won't necessarily speak up for me—after all, that risks offending a Dao God. Qi Yuan's temperament, on the other hand... is open, upright, and clear on debts of gratitude and enmity. If he weathers the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations one day, even if a Dao God intervenes, he will stand up and say a word on my behalf." "Hmph," God Lord Tunxing scoffed coldly. "You know a person's face, not their heart. What if he turns out to be the next God Lord Zhonglang?" At the mention of that name, God Lord Heitian's expression shifted slightly. In the past, he had befriended God Lord Zhonglang as well. More than once, he had praised Zhonglang to Tunxing as an honorable, loyal man worthy of friendship. Yet when Heitian once fell into mortal peril, God Lord Zhonglang hadn't uttered a single word before turning tail and running. "He's different," God Lord Heitian muttered awkwardly. Had Qi Yuan heard this, he would undoubtedly have retorted: *My suped-up moped is already parked downstairs.* God Lord Tunxing shrugged, picked up his wine pot, and vanished. He had no desire to meet Qi Yuan. Aside from Heitian, he had little fondness for any of those second-generation scions. Dozens of breaths passed. A smile broke across God Lord Heitian's face: "Brother Qi Yuan! To think that after barely a century apart, you've already broken through to the God Lord realm. Even on Myriad Gods Mountain, such speed is as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns." Such cultivation speed was indeed terrifying, enough to stun an ordinary True God. Yet in the eyes of Dao Gods and certain exceptional God Lords, it was nothing extraordinary. Without overcoming the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, one was not worth paying attention to. "What is it? Did you run into trouble that requires my help? I still remember the favor from last time and am ready to pay you back whenever." Qi Yuan was blunt. Such direct words could sometimes sting. Yet hearing them, God Lord Heitian was not upset at all; rather, he felt a touch of warmth. But at the thought of his troubles, his expression darkened. Even a Dao God would likely be hard-pressed to grant him peace. "Let us set that aside for now. To celebrate Fellow Daoist's breakthrough to the God Lord realm, I have a gift for you." As God Lord Heitian spoke, he brought out the Original Manuscript of Taiqing Yicha, a smile on his face. "This is?" God Lord Heitian's smile widened. "Fellow Daoist must know that the future path for a God Lord is either finding a divine treasure to break through to Dao God and then enduring the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, or braving the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations head-on while still in the God Lord realm." "Right." Qi Yuan nodded. "Divine treasures are limited and have mostly been exhausted by Dao Gods. Even the Emperor God likely possesses only one or two at most. Thus, the path of breaking through to Dao God is practically blocked. Braving the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations in the God Lord realm is our only remaining hope. Yet how could the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations be so easily survived? Myriad Gods Mountain has existed for countless epochs... and from antiquity to the present day, among those who faced the tribulations in the God Lord realm, only three ever survived a single calamity and a single tribulation. Two of them ended up dying in subsequent trials." Mentioning this, an enigmatic emotion flickered in God Lord Heitian's eyes. "The odds are extraordinarily low," Qi Yuan remarked. Across countless epochs, the number of God Lords on Myriad Gods Mountain who sought to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations was innumerable. And yet, only one remained alive today. "Across this entire great world, fewer than a hundred individuals have successfully endured the calamities and tribulations with a God Lord's body." "Put that way, isn't that quite a lot?" Qi Yuan chuckled. As the saying went, if the enemy could go, so could he. If others had succeeded, maybe with a little effort, he could too. "The Original Manuscript of Taiqing Yicha records numerous... methods for handling the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations. Reading this book might offer Fellow Daoist some assistance in surviving them." "Oh? Sounds like this book is quite precious." A spark of curiosity appeared in Qi Yuan's eyes. For almost all godchildren, as well as any True God with lingering ambition, the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations were an unavoidable subject. One could say that in this great world, two-thirds of all fallen God Lords died to the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations. Even with such a staggering mortality rate, God Lords threw themselves at it one after another. The Three Calamities and Three Tribulations could truly be called the nightmare of all living beings. Even Dao Gods found them extraordinarily difficult to survive, with many perishing in their wake. Qi Yuan took the Original Manuscript of Taiqing Yicha and began perusing it attentively. "The so-called Three Calamities and Three Tribulations are formless and substanceless. Mortal minds cannot describe or encapsulate them, for every individual's calamities and tribulations are distinct. It could be choking to death on a mouthful of water, sudden emotional collapse ending in death, or dying of sheer terror upon encountering an anomaly. Symptoms and causes of mortal demise manifest upon God Lords, and even upon True Gods of the Dao God realm. The sole commonality is that they are disasters and tribulations—trials capable of slaying even immortal and indestructible Dao Gods." "The method with the highest rate of success in averting the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations is..." The subsequent characters were entirely blank. Qi Yuan looked up, confusion in his eyes. Seeming to anticipate Qi Yuan's puzzlement, an inexplicable sorrow surfaced in God Lord Heitian's gaze. "This method does not manifest in the world. Even Dao Gods cannot lay eyes upon it; only powerhouses of the Emperor God's caliber know of it." His meaning was simple: this method had been monopolized. Aside from supreme beings like the Emperor God, it was impossible for anyone else to know. In truth, he had his suspicions about this method. However, he could not speak of it, nor had he the means to speak of it. Even if he uttered the words, what Qi Yuan heard might not match what he meant. This method was obscured by an inexplicable force. "Black-hearted monopolists—straight to the lamppost with them!" Qi Yuan couldn't resist snarking. He continued reading. The subsequent contents of the Original Manuscript of Taiqing Yicha were extraordinarily complex. Listed within were various powerful physiques and bloodlines. According to the manuscript, acquiring various physiques and bloodlines to strengthen oneself, using raw individual fortitude to withstand the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, was another method. This was also the route chosen by most God Lords. However, its success rate was equally abysmal. As recorded in the book, prior to its writing, only fifteen people in the entire world had ever survived the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations through this method. When Qi Yuan flipped to the very last page, a line of characters caught his eye: "There exists in this world the Three Pure Ones Method, which may allow one to survive the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations. Ever since the Heavenly Emperor vanished, the Three Pure Ones Method has been lost to the mortal realm." The Three Pure Ones Method? The phrase immediately set Qi Yuan's thoughts racing.