No demons in all realms

Chapter 38 True Immortal

A sliver of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon.

Su Yang suddenly thought of Ye Jing—not just thought of her, but he had never forgotten her.

For the past ten years, he has thought of her every day—while meditating, eating, walking, and sleeping.

Her voice, her smile, the playful yet gentle tone in which she called him "Little Blind Man"—all of these were etched into his mind as clearly as if they were engraved there.

It's been ten years.

Is she still waiting for him?

Su Yang didn't know, but regardless of whether she was waiting or not, he was going to the Upper Realm, not only for her but also for himself.

Three months after breaking through to the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm, the tribulation of lightning arrived.

That afternoon, Su Yang was meditating on the mountaintop when he suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure descending from the sky.

The oppressive aura did not come from any individual, but from the very heavens. He raised his head, facing the sky.

Although he couldn't see it, he could sense it. There were no clouds or wind in the sky, and not a single sign, but the oppressive force was getting heavier and heavier, like a mountain pressing down on his head.

"They're here." Qian Jiuri's voice came from down the mountain, tinged with tension. "True Immortal Tribulation."

Su Yang stood up, held the Thousand-Pound Fan in his hand, faced the sky, and waited quietly.

When the first bolt of lightning struck, the entire mountain trembled. It was no ordinary lightning; it was heavenly lightning, the purest and most violent force in the world.

The lightning was blinding, as thick as a giant dragon swooping down from the sky and crashing down on Su Yang, enveloping him in a white light.

Su Yang's robes turned to ashes in the thunder and fire, his flesh sizzled as it burned, and his bones creaked inside his body.

He gritted his teeth, and his righteous energy surged from his body, blocking the power of thunder and fire outside his heart and dantian.

It hurt much more than the tribulation I went through ten years ago. The power of the True Immortal Thunder Tribulation is more than ten times that of the Heavenly Immortal Thunder Tribulation.

When the second bolt of lightning struck, Su Yang knelt on one knee. The Thousand-Pound Fan was stuck in the rock, and he held the handle with both hands, barely supporting his body.

The lightning and fire burned on his body, causing him pain from every inch of his body.

The third, the fourth, and the fifth.

When the fifth bolt of lightning struck, Su Yang collapsed to the ground. His back was burned beyond recognition, the bones exposed. He tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't obey him, like two limp noodles unable to support his body.

Before the sixth bolt of lightning struck, there was a brief pause. Su Yang lay on the ground, panting heavily, his fingers digging into the soil until his nails were torn off, blood and mud mingling together.

He remembered what Ye Jing said before she left: "Don't die, I will always wait for you."

"I won't die," he gritted his teeth and said to himself, "She's still waiting for me."

When the sixth bolt of lightning struck, Su Yang stood up.

He didn't know where the strength came from, but he did stand up. He stood straight, facing the sky, with the Thousand-Pound Fan unfolded in his hand. The dark red light on the fan surface was like a blood moon, confronting the lightning in the sky.

Then came the seventh and eighth rounds.

When the eighth bolt of lightning struck, blood was flowing from all seven of Su Yang's orifices, and blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth, but the corner of his mouth was turned up, and he was laughing, laughing madly.

When the ninth and final bolt of lightning struck, the entire sky lit up.

Everyone within a hundred miles saw the lightning bolt, as thick as a mountain and as bright as a thousand suns rising at the same time. The lightning struck the mountaintop directly, flattening the entire peak.

Qian Jiuri stood at the foot of the mountain, and was so shaken by the aftershock that he took several steps back. He looked at the white lightning on the mountaintop, his palms sweating profusely.

As the lightning subsided, a person knelt on the ground atop the mountain.

Su Yang stood on the flattened mountaintop, covered in blood and wounds, with not a single patch of unscathed flesh on his body.

His back was ramrod straight, the Thousand-Pound Fan held in his hand, its dark red light shining even brighter after the thunder and fire.

His aura changed; the aura of the Celestial Realm disappeared, replaced by a higher, more distant, and more profound aura.

A true paradise!

Su Yang stood on the mountaintop, facing the sky, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

The spiritual energy within him, which should now be called immortal energy, surged and was as unfathomable as the ocean.

Ten years, a full ten years, and he has finally reached this point.

Su Yang stood on the mountaintop for a while, waiting for the immortal energy to circulate through his body for a full cycle, before slowly walking down the mountain.

Qian Jiuri waited for him at the foot of the mountain.

Su Yang's robes were burned away by the lightning tribulation, so he took out a new set of clothes from his storage ring and put them on. The clothes were red and black.

His hair was mostly singed by the lightning, hanging unevenly over his shoulders, making him look somewhat disheveled, but the aura he exuded was completely different from what it had been ten years ago.

"You've broken through?" Qian Jiuri asked.

Su Yang nodded.

"Yes, a true paradise."

Qian Jiuri looked him up and down, then suddenly smiled. "Ten years, from the early stage of Celestial Immortal to the True Immortal Realm. Old Jin was right, you truly are a genius."

Su Yang didn't respond to that. He looked at Qian Jiuri, not really looking, but sensing. His perception range had now expanded to fifty miles. Everything within a fifty-mile radius was within his perception, clearer than what he could see with his eyes.

Su Yang called him "Old Qian". In recent years, he no longer called him "Friend Qian" but "Old Qian".

The two of them have lived in these mountains for ten years. They don't talk much, but their tacit understanding has become so strong that it doesn't need words to maintain it.

"Um?"

"It's time to return it to you," Su Yang said.

Qian Jiuri was taken aback. "Give me back what?"

"Haven't you been waiting for this day?" Su Yang faced Qian Jiuri, his tone calm, but every word carried an undeniable weight. "I promised you that when I had the ability, I would help you kill Xu Ritian."

Qian Jiuri fell silent.

Of course he remembered. It was more than ten years ago. At that time, Su Yang was still a blind scholar in the Core Formation stage, and he could barely stop even a bully.

He found Su Yang and said that Lao Jin had sent him to find him, saying that only he could kill Xu Ritian.

At the time, Su Yang thought he was talking nonsense, but now he doesn't think so anymore.

"You are currently in the early stage of the True Immortal Realm," Qian Jiuri said. "Xu Ritian was at the peak of the True Immortal Realm. His cultivation was unstable after he fell into demonic possession, but he was still at the peak of the True Immortal Realm. Each major realm of the True Immortal Realm is vastly different."

Su Yang understood the implication in his words: he was still no match for Xu Ritian.

"I can wait until you reach the peak of the True Immortal Realm, or the Great Perfection Realm."

"How long can you wait?"

"I'm willing to wait as long as I want. I've waited for over forty years, a few more days won't make a difference."

Qian Jiuri stared at him for a long time.

This person has changed, not in terms of cultivation level, but in terms of temperament. Ten years ago, although he was still calm, he carried a pessimistic streak in his bones, as if he didn't care about anything or anyone, and just went with the flow.

Now, his pessimism is gone, replaced by something very heavy, like a piece of iron that cannot be broken or bent.

"How do you plan to train?" Qian Jiuri asked.

Su Yang drew the Thousand-Pound Fan from his waist and held it in his hand. The fan was entirely black and red, gleaming with a dark light in the sunlight.

After ten years of refining, the second restriction has been completely broken, and the third restriction is half broken. The Thousand-Pound Fan is now of a higher grade than a top-grade immortal artifact. As for what level it has reached, Su Yang himself is not quite sure.

"Shall I spar with you first?" Su Yang said, trying to dispel Qian Jiuri's doubts.

Qian Jiuri raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Sure."

"I am at the early stage of the True Immortal Realm, and so are you. But I have cultivated for over sixty years, while you have only cultivated for ten. Do you think you can defeat me?"

"able."