Chapter 424: Heart Demon Tribulation

After achieving the Demonic Infant, Qin Ming shattered the limits of a cultivator's physical body in one stroke.

Not only did he reach the realm of Martial Breaking the Void and Physical Body Becoming Saint,

but he also deduced and fused two extremely domineering body-refining techniques into one.

Feeling the violent and surging power within his body, Qin Ming sensed a strength unprecedented.

This Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation could be said to be the most perilous trial Qin Ming had faced since stepping onto the path of cultivation.

Boom-crack! The final three bolts of heavenly tribulation fell in succession.

Behind Qin Ming, the blood-colored eight-armed demonic ape radiated soaring demonic qi; the purple-gold demonic patterns all over its body lit up, its face twisted ferociously, its demonic body shaking the heavens, resembling a Demonic God.

Roar! The demonic ape pounded its chest with both hands, let out a furious roar toward the sky, leaped up, and once again charged to meet the heavenly tribulation!

Boom-rumble! The world-destroying heavenly tribulation slammed fiercely onto the demonic ape; the purple-gold demonic patterns flashed explosively, and it actually relied on its physical body alone to withstand the three strongest bolts of heavenly tribulation.

The Lei Jie transformed into silver arcs of electricity, coursing through the demonic ape's entire body, only to be completely absorbed by the demonic manifestation behind it.

The crowd observing the Tribulation Crossing from afar saw only that above Wangyue Lake, everything was shrouded in a pillar of blood-light reaching the heavens and a blank white heavenly tribulation.

Apart from being terrified, no one could see clearly what was happening.

Even the divine sense of a Jin Dan True Person, once it approached within a thousand li to investigate, was instantly swallowed and shredded by the aftermath of the heavenly tribulation, daring not to pry further recklessly.

Amidst the gazes of the crowd, filled with extreme shock and horror,

the terrifying gray tribulation clouds finally slowly dispersed.

"Brother Jing Qing, d-did he successfully pass the heavenly tribulation?" asked the gaunt cultivator from the Li Li Huogong, staring at the dissipating tribulation clouds in the distance with an expression of disbelief.

Jing Qing, the Nascent Soul seed of the Li Li Huogong, was completely numb; from his initial disdain and schadenfreude, he had progressed to deep shock and envious jealousy.

Now, seeing the other party successfully pass the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation, a profound sense of powerlessness rose within him.

"Hehehe! Naturally, he has successfully passed it."

"I'm afraid we'll have to go over and address him as Senior soon."

"Junior Brother, remove the restrictions from those two people you captured, comfort them properly, and ensure they are treated well."

The gaunt cultivator hurriedly replied, "Yes! Brother Jing, I will go do it immediately."

He could hardly believe that on the face of Jing, this famous Nascent Soul seed of the Li Li Huogong, he saw a trace of fear.

Indeed, he was truly afraid.

Just as the gaunt cultivator was about to leave to handle the matter, he paused, turned around again, and asked hesitantly,

"By the way, Brother Jing, doesn't that person still need to undergo the Heart Demon Tribulation?"

"Since this person could safely survive such a terrifying Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation, his mental fortitude naturally cannot be weak; he must have other means at his disposal, so overcoming the Heart Demon Tribulation is merely a matter of time," Jing Qing said with a bitter smile.

The gaunt cultivator trembled all over, then dared not speak further, and briskly went off to act according to the instructions.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the spiritual energy Archipelago, the three pets of the Shi Tian Shu were equally excited.

"Did you see that? Second, Third!"

"I told you! Master's strength is so terrifying; he would definitely pass this tribulation safely."

"We are about to have a great backer who is a Nascent Soul True Person, hehehe!"

"This time is really secure!"

On Wangyue Island, Qin Ming withdrew his divine ability.

After passing the heavenly tribulation, a force of new life descended from the tribulation cloud cluster, healing the injuries he sustained during the tribulation and restoring his depleted magic power.

In an instant, Qin Ming suddenly felt a mysterious, endlessly regenerating force from between heaven and earth descend upon him, making his body and mind feel incredibly comfortable.

Seizing the opportunity, he circulated the 'Green Emperor Art' to recover as quickly as possible, because next, he would immediately have to face the trial of the Heart Demon Tribulation.

A person's greatest enemy is their own heart; the trial of the Heart Demon is also extremely difficult to pass.

The Heart Demon Tribulation amplifies a cultivator's innermost fears and obsessions countless times, interfering with and confusing the mind, causing one to sink into it.

If one fails the Heart Demon Tribulation, all previous efforts will not only come to naught and be wasted, but there will also be the danger of death and the extinction of the Dao.

However, if one passes the Heart Demon Tribulation, it can greatly temper the cultivator's mental nature, causing a huge improvement and sublimation of their state of mind, allowing better mastery of the cultivation power of the Nascent Soul realm and reducing the generation of heart demons in future cultivation.

After a short rest, the wounds on Qin Ming's body were healed, rapidly returning to their original state.

Above the firmament,

not long after the gray tribulation clouds dispersed, they began to condense again into a strange patch of blood-colored tribulation clouds.

Within them, ten thousand ghosts wailed, and sounds of Heavenly Demons confusing the heart came in waves.

The blood clouds churned and surged.

Suddenly! A pair of huge demonic eyes opened between the clouds, casting a cold gaze of looking down upon all living beings toward Qin Ming, as if it had already inspected his entire person from top to bottom.

In the unseen depths,

Qin Ming suddenly felt an assault originating from the level of the soul abruptly arrive.

Immediately, he took out a stick of Soul-Cleansing Spiritual Incense and lit it.

The spiritual incense curled upward in wisps; the spiritual energy it emitted instantly invigorated his spirit.

Then, reaching out and flipping his hand, he took out another strange spiritual pill of yin and yang dual colors, on whose surface exactly twelve Dao patterns clearly floated.

It was precisely the spiritual medicine used for passing the Heart Demon Tribulation—the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill.

Without hesitation, Qin Ming directly sent it into his stomach.

In that instant,

the world before Qin Ming's eyes suddenly changed; he entered the Heart Demon illusion realm of Qingyang Market. Qin Ming, carrying a spiritual hoe on his shoulder, came to his small plot of land as usual and began tending to the spiritual fields.

"Sigh! When will days like this ever end?"

"Tomorrow is the day to pay the spiritual rice tax again..."

"Cultivation? Not even a dog would cultivate!"

He endured the scorching sun overhead and wiped away a layer of sweat. Just then.

Cai Laojiu ran up from below, beaming with a grin as he asked him, "Little Qin, do you want a wife?"

"I can bring you a wife even more beautiful than your neighbor Li Yan, hehehe!"

"Furthermore, she comes from a wealthy family and can save you decades of detours."

"Huh? There's such a good thing?" The spiritual hoe in Qin Ming's hands trembled slightly, his heart stirring immensely.

"Wait here; I'll personally bring her over for you to see before you decide."

Before he could reply, Cai Laojiu had already run back to fetch the person.

After a long while.

Cai Laojiu had actually brought back a female cultivator of breathtaking beauty, gentle and graceful; it was none other than Gu Qingzhao! Gu Qingzhao seemed to have taken a fancy to him as well, being extremely satisfied with Qin Ming; immediately, a blush of shyness appeared on her face, her gaze becoming hazy and bewildered.

"Hehe! Little Qin, what do you think? Just nod your head, and tonight she can be sent into the bridal chamber." Cai Laojiu's words were filled with tempting tones.

Hearing this, Qin Ming was instantly delighted; he was about to put down the spiritual hoe in his hand and hastily agree to this marriage proposal.

Yet, amidst the void, within his heart, a thread of insight and enlightenment suddenly arose! The next moment.

Qin Ming fiercely raised the spiritual hoe in his hand and, with a single strike, violently knocked both people before him to the ground.

He spoke indifferently, "Women will only affect my speed of digging earth! I want to farm!"

Immediately, the world before Qin Ming's eyes perished rapidly like foam. Following that, the heart-demon world suddenly changed.

Qin Ming's consciousness gradually blurred, and when he awakened again, he found himself at the Qi Condensation stage.

He was being frantically hunted down by an old man at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Qin Ming, your crime has been exposed! You dared to kill my son Jiang Kun; I shall tear your corpse into ten thousand pieces! I will use your soul to light a lamp to sacrifice to my son's spirit in heaven!" roared Elder Jiang of the Spirit Feather Sect, his face twisted ferociously.

As a small cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage, Qin Ming seemed like a leaf trembling in a storm before Elder Jiang, a great expert at Foundation Establishment, filled with terror.

But suddenly, thinking carefully in his mind, he realized: That's not right? How could I possibly leave behind clues or tails when I act?

Looking across the entire Immortal Realm, no one understands destroying corpses and erasing traces better than I do. "Laogui, you dare to deceive me?!"

"Perish!"

The illusion before his eyes vanished immediately once more.

The scene shifted; Qin Ming was now at the Jin Dan stage, and standing before him was an old man in feathered robes, possessing the bearing of an immortal and the bones of a sage, with five-colored divine light above his head and golden lotuses surging from the earth wherever his steps landed.

He was unmistakably a real immortal!

"This venerable one observes that your talent is extraordinary and your bone structure amazing; you and I share the fate of master and disciple."

"I can bestow upon you the Dao Fruit of Longevity, guide you into the Dao Court Immortal Sect, and from now on you shall roam freely and live eternally; are you willing?"

However, in the next instant.

The medicinal effect of the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill began to activate, and his mind rapidly became incredibly clear.

Qin Ming couldn't help but purse his lips and say, "This heart-demon is too absurd; it even conjured up an immortal."

Yet, thinking about it, Qin Ming realized it made sense; his greatest pursuit in this life was cultivating immortality and achieving longevity, so he hadn't expected it to be used to test him.

Had he agreed, he would have immediately fallen into an endless sinking of obsession...

The heart-demon world changed once again.

Qin Ming felt as though he had experienced the vicissitudes of the Immortal Realm, undergoing various trials within illusion realms.

All of them were resolved and seen through by him one by one.

As various bizarre and motley scenes continuously flashed by.

Time slipped away in a flash.

When Qin Ming came to his senses, he discovered he was still undergoing the Nascent Soul heart-demon tribulation.

It was just that, after experiencing all manner of inhuman temptations and the stirring of desires.

His state of mind began to show signs of loosening; gradually, he sank deeply into it, unable to extricate himself. "The Tribulation Crossing has failed; a hundred years of cultivation have been wasted."

Immediately following.

The Nascent Soul cultivation he had just condensed began to dissipate continuously, and his entire person became manic.

What he feared losing most was exactly what came.

Just as Qin Ming was about to believe it as truth, a thread of coolness swept through his mind once more.

In an instant, he abruptly woke up to reality.

It was as if a single thought had always remained watchful.

"A mere illusion realm dares to try to frighten me?"

Crack! Qin Ming waved his great hand, and instantly, the final heart-demon illusion realm shattered and scattered like a mirror.

Whoosh! The blood-colored tribulation clouds hovering over Moon-Gazing Island quietly dispersed, and that pair of giant pupils also vanished without a trace.

Suddenly.

With the heart-demon tribulation passed, auspicious signs descended from heaven; like clear skies after rain, rays of rosy light rose up.

High in the firmament, a massive Nascent Soul phantom was projected, identical in appearance to Qin Ming.

Immediately, the Nascent Soul glanced around the surroundings and soon vanished.

Beneath his life-spirit plant, the Yin-Yang Xuanteng Tree.

Qin Ming, feeling the surging, immense Nascent Soul magic power within his body, was filled with confidence.

"After ascending to the Nascent Soul stage, one can project one's primordial spirit, comprehend void divine abilities, and employ the technique of instant teleportation; as long as the Nascent Soul is not destroyed, one can casually seize a body to be reborn."

"After cultivating for so many years, I have finally reached the ceiling of the Immortal Realm."

(End of Chapter)