Lu Xuan sensed her own obsessive pursuit of the ultimate in formations and the Dao of alchemy, as well as the trace of fear deep within her heart at being unable to become a king, and seemed to gain some understanding.
Lu Huang, meanwhile, comprehended his own responsibilities as the leader of his race and his excessive reliance on “stability” (the clinging self, the original self)…
The entire upper echelon of the Golden Crow Clan fell into an unprecedented frenzy of Dao enlightenment.
Though severing the three corpses was by no means easy, and the slightest carelessness could bring the danger of damaging one’s Dao, it was undoubtedly the most resplendent beacon illuminating the path ahead for them!
Lu Xuan’s creation of this method did not directly raise his clansmen’s cultivation by even the slightest bit, but it gave them the key to breaking their shackles and surpassing themselves.
This was not only for the sake of the Golden Crow Clan, but also for his future response to the source of darkness.
It was a crucial move he had laid down—only by giving rise to more true Immortal King-level combatants could the alliance truly become stable, and only then could they have greater odds of victory in the ultimate storm to come.
The chaotic palace slowly returned to calm, and the phantasmal images of the three corpses that had reflected across the heavens gradually faded as well.
But the Dao resonance of the “Severing the Three Corpses” method had already been deeply branded into this heaven and earth, and into the hearts of every expert who had sensed that scene.
A brand-new era of cultivation, opened by Eastern Emperor Lu Xuan, seemed to have begun from this moment. And the fate of the seven quasi-Immortal Kings of the Golden Crow Clan—as well as countless beings throughout the myriad heavens and worlds who were trapped at bottlenecks—had all welcomed a new turning point because of this “Severing the Three Corpses” method.
The calm before the storm was finally shattered by the thunderclap of this created method, and what would follow would be a new round of transformation and impact.
The Dao resonance of the “Severing the Three Corpses” method spread like ripples, yet before everyone could savor and comprehend it in detail,
a suffocating pressure that made the soul tremble suddenly descended, sweeping across the myriad heavens and worlds!
It was not killing intent, nor was it coercive pressure.
Rather, it was a furious wrath originating from the very source of the Great Dao of the heavens, enraged by an act that defied common sense and challenged order!
“Rumble!!!”
An indescribable explosion did not come from the material world, but instead erupted directly on the level of the laws of the myriad Daos!
The Immortal Realm, the Primordial Ancient Realm, and even the vast, boundless Realm Sea—every existence at the Immortal King level and above clearly heard that thunderous sound, and felt the violent spasms and roars of the laws of the Great Dao!
A tribulation of method creation!
And one that was unprecedented, unheard of—a Great Dao tribulation of method creation!
When ordinary Immortal Kings created methods, they might draw down lightning punishment, or stir up heart demons, but those were mostly directed at the method itself or at the creator personally.
But the core of the “Severing the Three Corpses” method Lu Xuan had created lay in “clarifying the true self and opening another Dao path.” This fundamentally shook a certain “definition” and “restraint” that the existing rules of the Great Dao imposed upon the cultivation paths of all beings.
It had touched upon one of the fundamental logics by which the universe operated!
This tribulation targeted the method itself, and even more so sought to erase this anomaly that might give rise to endless variables!
Above the Golden Crow Clan’s territory, the originally clear skies of the Immortal Realm were instantly devoured by an impenetrable darkness.
Those were not clouds, but materialized tribulation clouds manifested from the laws of the myriad Daos!
Within them, one could see that the thunder was not electric light, but chains of divine order shattering and re-forming.
One could see that the storm was not airflow, but boiling threads of karma.
One could see that the flames were not heat, but flames of nothingness burning the trajectories of fate!
Earth, water, fire, and wind were also madly reenacting creation and ending within them, as though one miniature universe after another was emitting its final wail amid birth and destruction!
The range of these tribulation clouds was so vast that they enveloped the entire Immortal Realm, and even spread toward the Realm Sea!
Their overwhelming might caused even Immortal Kings to change expression, feeling as though they were a tiny boat amid a raging storm!
“This tribulation… cannot be undergone in the Immortal Realm!”
Lu Xuan’s voice rang out calmly, yet carried an unquestionable decisiveness.
If he were to forcibly withstand this tribulation in the Immortal Realm, even if he survived it, most of the entire Immortal Realm would likely be crippled.
Countless trillions of living beings would be plunged into misery, and the Golden Crow Clan’s territory, bearing the brunt of it, would certainly be reduced to flying ash.
Before his words had even faded, the Chaos Bell released a clear, ringing chime. Sound waves spread outward, fixing in place the crumbling void around the Golden Crow Clan’s territory.
Lu Xuan’s true body rose to his full height. With a single step, he crossed endless space-time and appeared directly above the Realm Sea!
He took the initiative to draw the method-creation tribulation toward this boundless buffer zone.
Almost the instant he stepped into the Realm Sea, the Great Dao tribulation of method creation erupted completely!
“Chh-la—!”
The first tribulation was blades of law!
Endless blades condensed from the pure rules of the Great Dao poured down from the tribulation clouds like a torrential rain. Each blade could easily sever stars and annihilate great realms, yet now they fell in a dense, unending mass, solely to tear apart the connection between Lu Xuan and the method he had created!
Lu Xuan’s expression did not change. Above his head, the Chaos Bell lowered billions upon billions of strands of chaotic qi, shielding him within.
The blades of law struck the chaotic qi, erupting into dazzling sparks of Dao law.
They illuminated vast stretches of the surrounding Realm Sea, and countless drifting remnants of ancient realms were reduced to dust in the aftermath.
Immediately after came the karmic tribulation fire!
Invisible flames were born from the void, burning not the fleshly body, but the endless karmic threads entangled upon the cultivator.
Under this fire, an ordinary Immortal King would in an instant be ensnared by karma, their Dao fruit self-immolating until they died.
Around Lu Xuan, dense karmic threads appeared, connecting past and future, and all living beings across the heavens.
They emitted sizzling sounds within the tribulation fire, yet he circulated the embryonic form of the “Severing the Three Corpses” method. The manifested phantom of the “original-self corpse” swayed, actually taking the initiative to absorb, sort through, and even temporarily “sever” a portion of the non-core karma, preventing the tribulation fire from igniting completely.
The third tribulation: the River of Fate flowed backward!
A vast, illusory River of Fate had actually had a segment of its projection forcefully detained by the will of the Great Dao.
The turbid river water carried fragments of the fates of all beings, like the overturning of a heavenly river, seeking to scour Lu Xuan away and erase all traces of him from fate!
The Chaos Bell shook violently. Scenes of the creation of heaven and earth appeared upon its walls, fixing the void around him in place and forcibly propping up a domain of absolute chaos within the backward-sweeping torrent of fate, impervious to all laws.
Because of this method-creation tribulation, the Realm Sea completely boiled over and erupted into turmoil!
The terrifying aura of tribulation was like a beacon in the deepest darkness, instantly awakening countless existences deep within the Realm Sea that had slumbered for who knew how many eras.
“Buzz—”
Within an ancient divine hall surrounded by the wreckage of billions upon billions of stars,
a colossal figure composed entirely of dark-golden bones slowly raised its head.
Its aura was ancient and decayed,
yet it carried a pressure that made even giants’ hearts palpitate.
“A method-creation tribulation… of such scale… who is it? Who dares challenge the order of the Great Dao?”
Elsewhere, deep within a labyrinthine domain formed entirely of twisted space-time, a pair of icy eyes opened. Their gaze pierced through endless void and landed upon Lu Xuan, who was undergoing the tribulation.
“The aura of chaos… it is that Golden Crow. He has actually reached this step… If he passes this tribulation, the structure of the heavens will change.”
Even deeper, near the source of darkness, within several drifting ancient halls of reception, those wills that had originally been plotting against Lu Xuan also produced violent fluctuations.
“The Great Dao is enraged… Good! Excellent! This tribulation will just happen to erase this wretch on our behalf!”