Chapter 102: Rapid Progress

Tribulation Crossing Stage.

Both the Supreme Empire and the Mountain River Pagoda Sect had cultivators at the Tribulation Crossing stage.

But in the current situation, attempting tribulation was no different from seeking death!

A world war was raging, the Dao itself was unstable, and heaven and earth were in upheaval.

The battle had only just begun, and already three cultivators had made the resolute decision to undergo their tribulations.

It was known—three had attempted it, and all three perished.

Now, everyone was trapped within the imperial capital. And you're going to attempt tribulation inside the city?

The very first heavenly lightning would annihilate the city’s defensive formation.

Heavenly Dao wasn’t some fool—there was no way it would allow you to undergo tribulation while shielded under a protective array.

You could use an array to aid in your tribulation, yes.

But only based on your own estimation of the first lightning strike’s intensity.

If you estimated it to be equivalent to the strongest blow of a fifth-layer Tribulation Crossing cultivator, then your array had better be able to just barely withstand that level of attack.

In that case, the heavenly tribulation would start at the intensity of a fifth-layer blow.

But if you constructed an array capable of resisting an eighth-layer Tribulation Crossing blow, then the first tribulation strike would be set at that level.

In other words, the lightning would scale accordingly.

Of course, if you used your own Dao of Arrays to construct a formation purely for the tribulation, that didn’t count.

This was the situation.

Now, attempting tribulation at the Tribulation Crossing stage was nothing short of a suicidal bid to drag enemies down with you in mutual destruction.

Shangguan Huanling claimed she could successfully undergo tribulation. Naturally, Shangguan Hongtian didn’t believe her for a second.

But the cultivation technique she had just demonstrated was too mysterious, too astonishing.

Shangguan Hongtian was a man of great learning.

He thought back through every book he’d ever read—never had he seen a method like this.

Advancing a full realm in a matter of minutes???

Maybe... maybe what Shangguan Huanling said was true. Maybe she really was the reborn Great Emperor!

Maybe... a miracle was truly possible!

The Mountain River Pagoda Sect had already brought over numerous spirit treasures, but even for a sect specialized in artifact forging, the total number remained under a hundred. Some had been sold, and others—plundered by Lu Ye.

When a loose cultivator died, when a Tribulation Crossing cultivator fell—another spirit treasure was lost!

Shangguan Huanling was overjoyed.

She seized the treasures and resumed her frenzied absorption. Streams of radiant light poured into her body. As the brilliance on each treasure faded, they crumbled into powder.

Seventh Layer of Nascent Void!

Master Danqing was trembling inside. This cultivation speed—was terrifying.

Even in the chaotic days of the Nine Heavens era, no one had advanced this quickly.

This technique... was far too domineering.

More evil than evil arts. More demonic than the demonic path.

And yet—when Shangguan Huanling absorbed the treasures, there was not the slightest trace of evil or chaos emanating from her. Only pure origin essence transformed into purified true essence, endlessly cycling, endlessly refining.

A reincarnated Great Emperor—she truly was a reincarnated Great Emperor.

If she could truly do what she claimed—survive tribulation and resolve this crisis—then perhaps even the Mountain River Pagoda Sect could cling to her coattails.

So what if the Grand Dao Sect had latched onto Lu Ye?

He might be ranked number one on the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking, but Shangguan Huanling—she was a reborn Great Emperor.

She had been a Great Emperor in her past life. Reborn now, she might very well become even stronger than she once was.

Only...

There was something about Shangguan Huanling—something faintly... foolish.

Was it just his imagination?

Her identity aside, even if she wasn’t a Great Emperor, she was still a princess of the Supreme Empire. Surely she couldn’t actually be stupid?

Yes—it had to be a misperception. Just a misperception!

Eighth Layer of Nascent Void!

Too fast!

Shangguan Hongtian had already cleared out everyone else—only he and Master Danqing remained.

“What a terrifying cultivation method... Truly a heaven-bestowed opportunity, boundless fortune. Emperor, you’ve truly given birth to a remarkable daughter,” Master Danqing said with emotion.

Opportunities—half of it comes down to fortune.

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To obtain such an overbearing cultivation method in the first place—was already a testament to supreme fortune.

Shangguan Hongtian couldn’t help but let a smile show on his face.

For now, there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with Shangguan Huanling. Her aura was steady, her true essence pure.

It was viable. Absolutely viable!

Ninth Layer of Nascent Void!

In such a short span of time, she had already reached the peak of the Nascent Void stage.

Shangguan Huanling remained entirely focused.

She continued expanding her reservoir of true essence without pause.

Step by step, she advanced toward the Path Integration Stage.

Compression!

She was actually starting to compress her true essence!

Both Shangguan Hongtian and Master Danqing had stars in their eyes at the sight.

To begin compressing true essence at such a critical moment—Shangguan Huanling clearly had full confidence in herself.

Master Danqing finally relaxed a little.

She knew to compress her essence before breaking through in order to stabilize her foundation. Then, that sense of “foolishness” he’d felt earlier—must have just been an illusion.

In fact, he’d even had a passing thought—if he could seize this technique for himself, pair it with his artifact forging... he'd be invincible.

Sadly, the timing and circumstances were all wrong.

If it weren’t for the foreign armies pressing down from outside, and if he were sure he could even cultivate this technique, he might have actually made a move.

Compressing!

Compressing!

She consumed three full spirit treasures just for compression before finally looking satisfied.

Breakthrough—Path Integration Stage!

Path Integration (He Dao)—the stage where one begins to truly anchor their Dao.

In her past life, when Shangguan Huanling achieved Path Integration, she hadn’t yet acquired the Origin-Swallowing Heaven Scripture. This cultivation method... even Lu Ye had been driven half to death trying to create it. Early on, he couldn’t pull it off.

So back then, she had reached Path Integration by her own means.

At the time, the Dao she chose was the Dao of Emotion.

Familial love, romantic love, friendship—those were the ideals she yearned for. Her Dao of Emotion had closely aligned with Lu Ye’s former Dao of Protection.

When she underwent Path Integration, her Dao of Emotion had been weak. Lu Ye had assumed it was because of the Supreme Empire’s destruction.

But in the end, she had still succeeded in integrating her Dao.

Yet afterward... whether it was because Shangguan Huanling lacked innate aptitude, or perhaps because her feelings for Lu Ye weren’t deep enough...

Her progress along the Dao of Emotion became increasingly difficult.

Eventually, it ground to a complete halt.

Lu Ye tried to help her, finding all sorts of techniques to cultivate. The one that worked best was a partial copy of the Swallowing Heaven Demon Method—a technique originally created by the Swallowing Heaven Mayfly based on its own divine abilities.

Lu Ye first adapted it into a human-compatible version called the Swallowing Heaven Scripture, only to discover it merely boosted true essence but didn’t cultivate the Dao. How could that be acceptable?

So he revised it again, transforming it into the Swallowing Heaven Heart Scripture. But that still didn’t work.

He revised it once more into the Swallowing Heaven Dao Scripture.

Still wrong.

Lu Ye had practically broken the system from how hard he was pulling Shangguan Huanling along while simultaneously refining the technique.

And finally—the Origin-Swallowing Heaven Scripture was born.

This technique didn’t cultivate the Dao...

...but it could if one wished.

That is, it could function with or without cultivating a Dao.

Even without a Dao, it could force breakthroughs—though it required an utterly insane amount of resources.

As for combat strength?

There were records from real battle to prove it!