Chapter 410: Humanity

A cry arose, shaking the ten thousand li of rivers and mountains; the earth spewed forth endless spiritual energy, and every mortal turned their heads simultaneously to gaze beyond the heavens—there, Little Wei Yuan was watching this world.

At this moment, all immortal plants, mortals, and every sentient thing underwent a subtle, indescribable change.

At this very instant, the spiritual sea of the ten thousand li of rivers and mountains began to boil; Little Wei Yuan's mind sea opened, and tiny fragments of spirituality seeped out, beginning to commune with heaven and earth.

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered from all directions, turning day into night in an instant; the thick, leaden clouds sank lower and lower, nearly brushing the peaks of the earth.

The cold, merciless will of heaven and earth gradually manifested, fixing its gaze upon Little Wei Yuan.

Little Wei Yuan's heart stirred—he knew the heavenly tribulation had arrived, the moment for his Dharma Form had come. He looked up at the storm clouds above; their power surpassed even that of the last time he had summoned a Dharma Form tribulation with a single word, and a faint unease stirred within him.

He acted without hesitation, alerting the cultivators of Tai Chu Palace to prepare defenses, then flew northward himself.

At this moment, a colossal dragon's head suddenly appeared in Little Wei Yuan's consciousness, with over a dozen eyes on each side, all fixed upon him. Its aura was both familiar and unfamiliar—familiar because Little Wei Yuan had encountered it twice before, unfamiliar because this time it felt more real, more distant, more terrifying. Merely this single dragon head, if manifested, would stretch hundreds of zhang in size!

"You have one final chance," the dragon head said.

"What do I gain?" Little Wei Yuan asked.

"Without my aid, you will not survive this tribulation. This tribulation cannot be withstood even by a Dharma Form, let alone your humble Dao Foundation."

Little Wei Yuan sneered: "If I forge your Dharma Form, won't I become your puppet? Are there not many stronger than you in the Great Radiant Pure Heshan?"

"Hmph. How could those half-baked beings compare to me? As for the first point, you need not worry—I have already perished. Even if I use your strength to revive, your power is only enough to restore a sliver of my spirituality. But from nothing to something, you shall receive an extra reward."

"For example?" Little Wei Yuan never believed empty promises.

"I'll help you capture three more true dragon bloodlines."

Little Wei Yuan was somewhat tempted, but he now understood the path he must walk—and he would not change it.

The dragon head sensed his resolve and roared in fury: "Let's see how you survive this tribulation!"

At this moment, Little Wei Yuan had reached his destination. He had prepared long ago—and now he landed with a loud laugh.

The ground was covered in black or blue crystalline stones; the soil was all charred, filled with countless tiny crystal grains. Around Little Wei Yuan stood three Lei Lei Jingmu trees—one large, two small—forming a triangle that enclosed him. Beyond them stood four towering metal poles, dozens of zhang high, connected by cables as thick as a bowl's mouth, which extended to a small lake where vast quantities of metal ores lay piled at the bottom.

After his laughter, Little Wei Yuan spoke to the dragon head: "You've never heard of lightning rods? With this divine artifact, why should I fear thunder?"

The dragon head froze, studying the surroundings, then understood. It let out a cold laugh and vanished.

Little Wei Yuan found its demeanor strange, but with the tribulation looming, he had no time to ponder—he activated the pre-set array, placing recovery elixirs at its nodes so they would not be destroyed, for all storage treasures would perish under heavenly tribulation.

That was not enough—he opened his mouth and swallowed several vials of elixirs, holding them in his mouth to take as needed.

Once prepared, Little Wei Yuan straightened his robes and waited silently for the tribulation to descend.

Normally, when a Dao Foundation cultivator ascends to Dharma Form, those of higher rank face one to three lightning strikes—easily handled, called the Minor Heavenly Tribulation.

When a Dharma Form reaches perfection, one must endure the Purple Lei Jie—the very one Little Wei Yuan had endured last time. This time, Little Wei Yuan expected the tribulation to be endless, so he had prepared early, planning to extinguish it with reverse assault once his body was sufficiently tempered.

Now, the human destiny of Qing Ming far surpassed its former state, and Little Wei Yuan was confident.

At this moment, a red glow lit Little Wei Yuan's face, and the surrounding temperature began to rise. He froze, looked upward—and saw the storm clouds had parted, revealing a colossal, blazing sphere within: not an ordinary fireball, but a sun, burning at close range!

Little Wei Yuan stared, dumbfounded.

This was no thunder tribulation—it was the Great Sun Divine Flame Tribulation. A tribulation specifically targeting the heart realm. Its power aside, Little Wei Yuan's entire preparation against lightning was now useless.

Whoever still claims heaven and earth are not deliberately targeting him, Little Wei Yuan would never believe.

At the edge of the celestial sun, a single drop of liquid fire fell— the tribulation had begun.

Little Wei Yuan had no choice but to draw his loaded gunpowder rifle and fired three shots to disperse the drop of solar true fire. But immediately, a second drop fell, then a third.

In northern Qing Ming, gunshots thundered continuously; fire drops rained from the sky. Little Wei Yuan countered with bullets and sword-needles drawn from his Dao Foundation, trading blows with the tribulation.

As the heavenly flames multiplied, the temperature soared. Little Wei Yuan's magical robe first cracked and ignited, then his hair, eyebrows, and beard caught fire. Soon, the sun's true fire rained down in sheets, and across the ten thousand li of rivers and mountains, flames spontaneously erupted from the ground.

All mortals gathered around their places of worship. Little Wei Yuan immediately ordered those near himself and the Jade Toad statue to urgently flee to the Ice Glass Bingli Bingli Shenmu. In this true fire tribulation, the Ice Glass Bingli Bingli Shenmu and the Moon Osmanthus Immortal Tree both resisted solar true fire—but the Ice Glass Bingli Bingli Shenmu resisted far more strongly. Little Wei Yuan's own statue was now useless.

At the edges of the ten thousand li of rivers and mountains, fire had already begun to spread; vast stretches of earth turned to white ash and vanished. Solar true fire differed from the Cang fire of the karmic curse—it was pure, extreme heat, first melting the earth into molten lava, then burning it to nothing.

The solar true fire fell faster and faster, as if the heavens were pouring molten fire downward.

Beyond the dome of heaven, countless grand and distant wills turned their gaze here. Seeing this tribulation, some were moved.

"When I was but a lowly Yu Jing, I could not have withstood such ferocious heavenly flame."

"This world is becoming less and less hospitable."

"Perhaps not to us—but to him…"

…

How long passed, Little Wei Yuan no longer heard any sound—his flesh and skin began to melt. Everywhere in the ten thousand li of rivers and mountains, heavenly fire raged, merging into one. All immortal plants and living beings had fled near Yushan; from the Gates of All Realms, invisible, intangible soul winds drifted forth—each strand extinguishing vast swathes of heavenly fire.

!.

Thanks to the soul winds, the spiritual essence of the ten thousand li of rivers and mountains endured—but the spiritual sea had grown scalding, nearing a boil.

Little Wei Yuan's vision blurred. He no longer knew how many days had passed. Suddenly, he faintly saw a patch of skin and flesh peel from his head—before it could fall, it burned to ash.

His consciousness was fading. A few indelible figures flashed through his mind. He had never imagined true fire tribulation could be so fierce—this ultimate heat was nearly unstoppable.

Suddenly, Little Wei Yuan heard voices—countless mortals chanting prayers with deep devotion.

Across Qing Ming, people had laid down their work. Under the guidance of Tai Chu Palace cultivators, they prayed with all their hearts, channeling human destiny and willpower to aid Little Wei Yuan in resisting the tribulation. After surviving the karmic curse, those who lived were more resolute than ever, united against the tribulation—even if it meant sacrificing themselves to take its place.

Former residents of Qing Ming, who had once hesitated to join the new ranks, now all prayed with sincerity. Countless beams of blue willpower rose from every direction, flowing into Little Wei Yuan's mind sea.

Another confrontation between heaven and humanity.

Amid the heavenly fire, vast swathes of blue destiny also burned away into nothingness. The shadow within the moon, seemingly suppressed by the true fire, now lay dormant within the full moon, silently enduring the scorching.

A tiny figure pierced the sea of flame and tossed a small stone onto Little Wei Yuan. The stone vanished upon contact—immediately, the temperature around Little Wei Yuan plummeted, and vast stretches of true fire were extinguished.

But in doing so, the tiny figure itself caught fire. It screamed in agony and vanished—then returned moments later, dragging another stone and tossing it onto Little Wei Yuan.

Little Wei Yuan endured the true fire's scorching at every moment, yet he clung to those few figures in his heart, refusing to lose the last shred of clarity in his spirit. As long as his spirituality remained unextinguished, the ten thousand li of rivers and mountains would continue to resist the heavenly fire.

…

After an unknown length of time, Little Wei Yuan suddenly felt the surroundings grow cool—the heavenly fire receded, and life surged forth anew; countless sprouts burst from the charred earth, racing to enter this new world!

In Qing Ming, countless people suddenly noticed others walking around them—some entering shops, others lingering at stalls, haggling over copper coins, or hurrying along.

The familiar streets now overlapped with another layer of streets. But the people in this second layer seemed blind to Qing Ming—they passed directly through Qing Ming residents' bodies.

At this moment, two human worlds overlapped, interwoven, yet utterly disconnected.

This phenomenon appeared everywhere in Qing Ming—the other world's countless lanterns and curling smoke were more prosperous than Qing Ming's own.

Tang Capital, Golden Throne Hall.

The young Emperor Lu Xuan sat upon the dragon throne, listening to ministers' reports. Suddenly, the hall shook—the dais collapsed, the throne overturned!

In the second year of Tang Tianqi of Great Tang, Little Wei Yuan endured the Nine-Day Tribulation, withstood the scorching of solar true fire without falling, and thus attained his Dharma Form: 【Humanity's Smoke and Fire】.

(End of Chapter)