Chapter 377: Chapter 338: Preparations Before the Tribulation

In the early winter of the Chenxi Calendar year 9422, a sudden piece of news sent shockwaves across the entire Dawn Continent.

The Blood Roar Fortress, the Heart of the Mountains, the Freedom Alliance, and the Jade Royal Court—four major factions—launched a joint surprise attack on the Sea Race’s camp on the southeastern flank of the Holy Dragon Mountain Range.

The fierce battle raged for an entire day and night. Suffering heavy casualties under the multi-pronged assault, the Sea Race was ultimately forced to abandon their beachhead. They retreated into the lake and fled frantically along the waterways, evacuating the area surrounding the Holy Dragon Mountain Range.

Thus, the war over the Holy Dragon Mountain Range, which had dragged on for over a decade, finally saw its first true elimination.

When the news spread, almost everyone who heard it reacted with disbelief. The five major factions had fought for over a decade, constantly wearing each other down and guarding against one another, yet no one had ever managed to force an opponent out of the game. But against all odds, the Sea Race became the first faction to be swept off the board. The crux of the matter was that they had been driven back by the combined forces of the other four factions.

Speculation immediately spread like wildfire. Many secretly wondered if the four factions had reached some covert agreement to divide the Holy Dragon Mountain Range equally among themselves. Others guessed that they simply wanted to team up to eliminate a competitor first. However, no one truly knew the truth behind the scenes.

The direction of the war became increasingly shrouded in mystery.

...

Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the continent, within the Taichu Spirit Realm.

Inside the Celestial Essence Hall of the Ninefold Celestial Tower, the warm glow of the Magic Crystal Lamp bathed the room in a quiet, stable halo. Romance leaned back in her chair, reading the intelligence report in her hands, and could not help but sigh.

"I didn’t expect the Sea Race to be the first to bow out. I just don’t understand how the other four factions, after fighting and killing each other for so many years, could suddenly join forces. It just feels a bit unreal."

Eleanor set down her pen and spoke slowly. "Actually, if you think about it carefully, it’s not that surprising.

"The Sea Race’s home turf is in the water. Their strength on land is naturally restricted, which is why their army has always been the weakest among the five major factions. Predators always prey on the weak, so it’s not unusual that the other four wanted to clear them from the field first.

"Furthermore, whether it’s Elves and humans, or Beastmen and Dwarves, even though they fight each other tooth and nail, at the end of the day, they are all terrestrial races.

"The Sea Race is different. Their roots are in the water, which naturally creates a barrier between them and the land-dwelling races.

"In essence, this surprise attack can be seen as the terrestrial races rejecting the Sea Race."

Romance let out a thoughtful hum and sighed. "It looks like the war is going to get even more intense from here on out."

Eleanor nodded in deep agreement. With the Sea Race gone, there was one less faction vying for the Holy Dragon Mountain Range. But this did not mean the war would cool down. On the contrary, without the Sea Race, the remaining four factions had one less layer of restraint on the battlefield. The intensity of the upcoming conflicts would likely only escalate.

"In fact, the very day after the Sea Race retreated, the other four factions couldn’t wait to start fighting each other again." Eleanor’s gaze fell on the desk, where a newly delivered intelligence report lay. Its contents detailed the renewed warfare among the four factions. "There might even be further shifting alliances ahead. It’s entirely possible that a two-on-two situation could emerge."

Romance clicked her tongue and shook her head. "What a hassle. They fight back and forth without ever getting a result. They’d be better off just sitting down and having a proper talk."

Eleanor chuckled. "If they could reach an agreement, they wouldn’t have been fighting for all these years."

Romance nodded, dropping the topic. She shifted into a more relaxed posture and asked about something else. "By the way, how has your cultivation been going lately? Now that the Thundering River Basin has stabilized, you should have plenty of Time to cultivate, right?"

"I do have more Time to cultivate than before." Eleanor nodded, then shook her head. "But the realms of the Golden Core Stage are much harder to break through. I’m still only at the first tier of the Golden Core."

Not long ago, Eleanor had used the Thunder Prison Pillar left by Anton to set up a Thunder Cage in Wulei Valley, utilizing the Power of Thunder Tribulation to refine her Pill Poison. The results had been excellent. Yet even so, she had only refined sixty percent of her Pill Poison so far. She was still a long way from breaking the Shell Barrier. Once a Cultivator reached the Golden Core Stage, every step forward required ten or a hundred times more Time and effort than before.

"What about you?" Eleanor asked in return. "How is your cultivation progress lately?"

Romance shrugged. "Same as always."

During the First and Second Transitions of Force, as long as one had enough resources, they could rapidly improve their cultivation base. But upon reaching the Third Transition of Force, the situation was entirely different. The main reason was that the Third Transition of Force demanded a much higher quality of Cultivation Resources, which were exceedingly rare and difficult to find. Obtaining a small amount was fine, but acquiring them in bulk was a pipe dream. Therefore, she had to rely mostly on accumulating progress bit by bit over Time.

Moreover, breaking through from the Third to the Fourth Transition of Force not only required the physical body’s tempering to meet the standard, but it also imposed strict requirements on one’s comprehension of Divine Techniques and state of mind. It was not something that could be achieved merely by burying one’s head in cultivation.

The Fourth Transition of Force could be considered a crucial watershed in Power Dao cultivation. It was equivalent to the Nascent Soul Realm of the Qi Dao, a realm also known as the "Indestructible Golden Body." Those who cultivated to the Fourth Transition of Force would have skeletons tougher than refined steel, making them difficult to injure even with flying swords. Furthermore, they would awaken a Divine Technique, which varied depending on the lineage of their Cultivation Technique.

"It’s a pity the Clan hasn’t been involved in any wars recently. I couldn’t find a suitable opponent for a good fight even if I wanted to," Romance sighed.

For her, combat was the best way to elevate her comprehension of Divine Techniques and temper her state of mind.

Eleanor smiled and said, "The Clan’s main priority at this stage is steady development. Unless someone provokes us, the Clan won’t initiate any foreign wars. If you want to fight, you’ll have to go to the Dark Nether Realm."

"I know, but it’s hard to find anyone in the Dark Nether Realm either." Romance was also helpless. With her current strength, only an existence at the Pillar Stone Legendary Level was fit to be her opponent. But even in the Dark Nether Realm, where individual creatures were generally quite strong, such entities were not something one could casually stumble upon. Over the years, she had barely found a handful of suitable opponents.

A moment later, as if remembering something, Romance suddenly asked, "Anton has been in secluded cultivation for a long time this time, hasn’t he? When is he going to finish?"

Eleanor looked upward. "Calculating the Time, it should be soon."

...

Inside the Quiet Chamber, the glow of the Light Source Stone was constant and gentle, like solidified warm light. Anton sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his breathing as long and continuous as an endless thread of silk.

Deep within his Dantian, his Golden Core slowly rotated. Nine distinct cracks were clearly visible on its surface, resembling a ripe fruit on the verge of splitting open, exuding a sense of plump fullness from the inside out. The Nine Times of Fetal Breathing was complete; he had safely passed the Pill Maturity Barrier.

Anton opened his eyes. The sharp gleam in his gaze retracted, returning to its usual profound stillness.

"The next step is the Cognition Breaking Barrier," he whispered, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Compared to the Pill Maturity Barrier—which followed predictable patterns and could be overcome with sufficient resources and Time—the Cognition Breaking Barrier was undoubtedly far more perilous. It could not be compensated for with Pills, nor could a Dharma treasure bear its brunt on his behalf. He could only endure it head-on with his own disposition and willpower, leaving absolutely no room for trickery. Fortunately, he had the Great Dream Formation to let him "rehearse" in advance.

"It’s also time to start preparing to face the Celestial Tribulation."

Among the Three Infant-Breaking Gates, the Celestial Tribulation Barrier was undeniably the hardest. Because of this, Golden Core Stage Cultivators usually made ample preparations before undergoing the tribulation. Every extra bit of preparation added another sliver of hope for a successful breakthrough. They had to utilize every external force available to them. In this regard, Anton already had a plan.

First was the Array. He intended to face the Celestial Tribulation within the Taichu Spirit Realm, using the Primordial Five Elements Grand Array to defend against the Celestial Thunder. Under normal circumstances, the Primordial Five Elements Grand Array, constantly supplied with Spiritual Qi from an Earth Vein Node, was strong enough to withstand attacks at the Nascent Soul Stage level.

However, the Celestial Tribulation was an exception. The essence of an Array was to leverage the Power of Heaven and Earth for one’s own use, whereas the Celestial Tribulation was the very manifestation of the will of Heaven and Earth. When facing the tribulation, the Array’s power would be drastically weakened. At best, the Primordial Five Elements Grand Array could only dampen a portion of the tribulation’s might; its effectiveness would be highly limited. Even so, any help it provided was better than nothing.

Second were his Dharma treasures. If the Heaven-Overturning Seal and the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Shield could be upgraded into genuine Spiritual Artifacts, it would undoubtedly greatly increase his chances of successfully surviving the tribulation.

Third were his Divine Techniques. Through his cultivation over the years, Anton had already successfully integrated the Dao Essence of the Primordial True Gang into his sword light, massively boosting its defensive power. For his next step, he planned to assimilate the Void One Yuan Life Qi into his sword light as well, enhancing its self-healing and endurance capabilities. This way, whenever he commanded his sword light in the future, both its endurance and flexibility would be significantly improved.

Beyond that, he needed to continue improving his Light Splitting and Reunification technique. At Anton’s current level, every additional streak of sword light boosted his combat prowess by a fraction—not to mention what doubling the number of sword lights could achieve. If he could elevate his Light Splitting and Reunification technique to the next level and break through to five hundred and twelve streaks of sword light, Anton was confident he could even go toe-to-toe with a Resonating Saint. Winning wouldn’t even be out of the question.

However, ever since he had divided out two hundred and fifty-six streaks of sword light over forty years ago, he had been stuck at this bottleneck and had yet to break through. Fortunately, his years of comprehension and cultivation had not been in vain. Anton felt he was only one step away from a breakthrough. He was confident he could cross this threshold in the next few years, allowing his Sword Dao to advance even further.

"Once my Light Splitting and Reunification breaks through, I can begin undergoing the tribulation."

In fact, when facing advancement, most Golden Core Stage Cultivators would deliberately stall themselves before the Cognition Breaking Barrier to temporarily avoid the Celestial Tribulation, giving themselves enough Time to prepare. Some spent decades or even centuries of Time traveling around to gather Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to forge Dharma treasures. Others went into secluded cultivation to train their Divine Techniques. Everything they did was to increase their chances of surviving the tribulation as much as possible, even if it only added a half-percent chance of success. They would not begin breaking through the barrier until they could no longer suppress their cultivation base.

Once the Cognition Breaking Barrier was passed, the Celestial Tribulation would descend in an instant.

Anton was naturally no exception. If it weren’t for the fact that one couldn’t rely on Spirit Beasts to endure a tribulation, he would have wanted to wait until the Egg of the Old World hatched and the Divine Creatures inside matured before challenging the Celestial Tribulation.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.