Chapter 768: Stepping into Second Stage


    In the Illusion Domain, the Dragon Ancestor casually crushed gods and demons while guiding Cang Fen the secrets of the Azure Dragon lineage.


    Meanwhile, Heaven Killing Asura had also in all the gods and demons outside the domain. As he watched his Daughter Pabluo fight against gods and demons beyond her level, a hint of satisfaction flickered in his eyes.


    Liu Jianli, amidst a battle pushing herself beyond her limits, gained an even deeper understanding of the principles sheprehended during her battle with the Asura n.


    At that moment, the sky underwent a sudden transformation.


    Everyone’s attention was drawn to it.


    “Someone is undergoing a tribtion.”


    Sun Qi looked at Qin Feng, who was surrounded by surging energy, with a strange expression. “Senior Brother, how old were you when you stepped into Second Stage?”


    “Forty-three.”


    “And how old are you now?”Shen Li pondered for a moment. “Forty-three.”


    He had been stuck at the peak of the Third Stage of the Literature Saint Dao Lineage, and it was only this year that he was able to enter the Second Stage with the help of the opportunity brought about by the world’s transformation.


    Sun Qi sighed, “Junior Brother has only been in the Literature Saint Dao Lineage for a few years, and he has achieved such a feat. Even the Senior Brother can’t catch up with him. He is truly amazing.”


    Shen Li’s expression darkened slightly as he asked calmly, “Second Brother, how old are you?”


    Sun Qi did not answer but instead pointed to the sky and said, “Senior Brother, look at that. Have you ever seen a Heavenly Tribtion like that?”


    This method of changing the subject was immediately seen through by Shen Li, but the Heavenly Tribtion in the sky did capture his attention.


    In the past, the confirmation of the hegemony of heaven and earth could not avoid the word “Thunder Tribtion”. It was a matter of strength and weakness.


    However, the tribtion that Junior Brother was facing now seemed to have nothing to do with thunder and lightning.


    In the sky, five distinct regions emerged.


    In the east, on arge tree branches were swaying in the wind.


    In the south, a small point of bright fire expanded with the wind.


    In the west, golden light shone brightly. It resembled a sharp weapon, changing shapes between a sword, a knife, a spear, and a halberd.


    In the north, it was like a vast ocean with waves crashing.


    Above the head, an imposing mountain loomed.


    “The tribtion of five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth?” The Divine Guardian muttered to himself.


    “That boy is undergoing the tribtion,” the old grave keeper said as he looked at Qin Feng, who was surrounded by a bright white light.


    The originally tense atmosphere with the me Lord had temporarily eased.


    Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes, then paused slightly in surprise.


    He was ustomed to tribtions and had not given them much thought. After all, he could just let Chi Qi handle it.


    However, this time the verification of the world’s dominance seemedpletely different from before.


    Feeling the increasingly terrifying pressure, Shen Li and Sun Qi immediately moved away. “Qin Feng, may you find your own fortune.”


    When they need me, they call me junior brother; when they want to avoid me, they call me by my full name. Truly, our brotherhood is as flimsy as stic. Qin Feng’s expression stiffened, then he exhaled. “Never mind. I never expected anything from the two of them anyway.”


    Looking up at the sky, it was clear to see that the five regions represented gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.


    “At the beginning of chaos, Primordial Qi was born, separating the heavens and the earth into yin and yang, creating the five elements, and evolving all things. The emergence of this five-element tribtion corresponds with your current transformation,” Xuan Yi said in the Divine Sea.


    “After sessfully oveing the five-element tribtion, yourprehension of the principles of yin and yang will reach a higher level. This is a great opportunity.”


    Xuan Yi’s words had barely fallen when the golden light in the western sky transformed into a spear that shot through the air.


    Qin Feng did not dare to be careless; he activated his energy and transformed it into the Heavenly Mirror to shield himself.


    There was a loud ng, a sharp piercing sound, and small cracks quickly spread across the white light barrier like a spider’s web.


    “The power is so domineering.” Qin Feng’s expression turned grim.


    The golden attack, having failed, transformed into a sword and a knife. The sword aura was fierce, and the knife energy was aggressive, resonating throughout the heavens and the earth.


    Qin Feng struggled. The Heavenly Mirror was gradually disintegrating bit by bit, but fortunately, after several shes, he was barely able to withstand the attack.


    The golden light transformed back into a beam and returned to the eastern region where therge tree resembling a willow swayed its branches, striking down like a whip.


    Bang!


    The Heavenly Mirror could no longer withstand the weight and shattered with a loud boom.


    Qin Feng immediately drew upon the power of the Annihtion Thunder to counter the whipping branches.


    But the power of the branches was heavy, and their angles were tricky. In a short period of time, Qin Feng was whipped until his skin split open and his blood flowed freely.


    Green healing thunder surged over his body, quickly healing the wounds.


    Merely defending would leave him in a passive state. A true man should be aggressive!


    Qin Feng gritted his teeth, ready tounch an attack, but the willow tree pulled back its branches.


    “Is this a war of attrition?” Qin Feng paused for a moment. In the high sky, water vapor cascaded down like a waterfall, forming a fierce, roaring water dragon.


    Facing this new threat, Qin Feng quickly activated his Domain Technique. Red and green thunder formed a Doamin, and unlike before, a ck and white pair of Yin and Yang fish appeared and swam around inside the Domain.


    The water dragon rushed into the Domain and shed with the manifested Chi Qi. After several collisions, it was defeated and whimpered back into the sky.


    Before Qin Feng could catch his breath, the southern bright fire transformed into a fire phoenix that dived down for a new round of attacks.


    After repelling the fire phoenix, the towering mountain above crashed down like the end of the world.


    Exerting all his might, Qin Feng defended against round one, leaving his body and soul utterly exhausted. However, seeing the golden light readying itself for another attack, he knew the second wave of assaults was imminent.


    “These cycles of the five-element tribtion, when will they end? If this continues, I’ll be exhausted to death.” Qin Feng’s expression was grim.


    “Yin and yang transform into the five elements, mutually generating and controlling one another. As the saying goes, lone yang cannot live, and lone yin cannot thrive. The same principle applies to the five elements.”


    “To safely ovee the five-element tribtion, it’s useless to deal with any one element individually. You must find a way to bring them together and defeat them as one.” Xuan Yi advised.


    Qin Feng pondered on Xuan Yi’s advice. He understood it, but he still had no clue how to bring the five elements together when the tribtion was clearly trying to wear him down through an endless series of attacks.


    “Wait, the Heavenly Tribtion is an embodiment of the will of the heavens, so the five-element tribtion must also have its own will,” Qin Feng thought.


    He remembered how he had used mockery to provoke a trace of the Dao tribtion during Su Tianyue’s own trial. He decided to employ a simr strategy.


    The golden element transformed into a sharp de and began its assault once more.


    However, this time, Qin Feng made a surprising move. Before the de could strike his Domain, he shouted loudly, “The five-element tribtion indeed possesses boundless power, but in my opinion, the most powerful element should be the golden tribtion, which is overpowering mepletely.”


    As soon as he said this, the golden element paused in mid-air and quivered slightly, as if finding his words agreeable.


    But then, Qin Feng continued, “But even the sharpest de will eventually fall prey to being melted down by intense fire. So, considering this, the fire element must be the most formidable among the five elements.”


    The southern fire phoenix pped its wings and let out a piercing cry.


    “No, no, wait. I almost forgot, no matter how intense the mes, they can be extinguished by water. Perhaps the water element is the true head of the five elements.”


    The water dragon roared in agreement.


    Qin Feng continued, “However, the most ferocious water will ultimately be blocked by towering mountains.”


    Just as the mountain above began to move, Qin Feng feigned frustration. “But everything that grows from the earth doesn’t fear towering mountains.”


    The willow tree’s branches swayed.


    “Yet, all will ultimately be cut down by a sharp de. Hmm, it seems that of the five elements, the golden element is the most dominating.”


    The golden element emitted a piercing metallic sound, reminiscent of a human’sughter.


    The fire phoenix, unwilling to back down, spat out a burst of mes, heating up the golden element until it turned red-hot.


    The water dragon, offended by this, unleashed raging waves upon the fire phoenix, which dimmed its mes and weakened its energy.


    Before the water dragon could celebrate, the towering mountain unleashed a peak that mmed down and suppressed it.


    The massive willow tree fought back, its branches growing through the cracks in the mountain, leaving it full of holes.


    The golden element, now recovered, transformed into a sharp axe and chopped the willow branches into pieces.


    The powers of the five elements shed violently, grappling with one another in a spectacr disy.


    Everyone present fell silent.


    The weakest among them were at the third rank, so they had all experienced their own Heavenly Tribtions and had seen their share of them. But who had ever witnessed a situation like this?


    The Heavenly Tribtion wasn’t trying to strike down the person undergoing the tribtion; instead, it was shing internally.


    “This boy has some interesting ideas,” the old grave keeper murmured after a long pause.


    A gleam of satisfaction crossed the Divine Guardian’s eyes, but he suddenly sensed something and frowned. The incense stick’s time was almost up.


    Qin Feng floated in the air, the one who was facing the tribtion was now an observer. Every now and then, he would even advise, “We’re all on the same team here, let’s not go too far.”


    Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, all thinking the same thing.


    And just when the Five Elements Tribtion was in dire straits, a bolt of thunder streaked across the night sky, and the heaven and earth trembled violently


    As soon as the five-element tribtion stopped, it seemed to settle down. The sudden appearance of the thunder seemed to have been the embodiment of the will of the heavens.


    Qin Feng was momentarily stunned, but then he saw the five-element tribtion rallying itself and beginning to unite in hostility against amon enemy.


    “Their strength has been weakened through their mutual conflict. You can strike now,” Xuan Yi advised.


    “Yes.” Qin Feng was of the same mind.


    He took a deep breath and channeled Primordial Immortal Qi into the depths of his pupils. The Primordial Qi transformed into a stream of ck and gold light, which circted around his body in an instant.


    Boom!


    The energy was vast, and the world seemed to stand still as Qin Feng entered a state of Divine Might.


    Although he had entered this state many times before, this time the feeling was entirely different.


    He felt as if he had everything under his control.


    With a thought, the yin-yang fish in his Domain were summoned and began swimming around him.


    “I feel like my grasp of the principles of yin and yang has deepened,” Qin Feng murmured.


    Meanwhile, the five-element tribtion abandoned its strategy of one-on-one battles andunched a collective attack.


    Thebined power of the five elements, generated by their mutual generation and restraint, was naturally much greater than that of any one element alone.


    But this was exactly what Qin Feng wanted, as Xuan Yi had advised him that he mustbine the elements to defeat them.


    The golden de cut through the sky, the willow branchesshed with the sound of the wind, the fire phoenix pped its wings, the water dragon roared, and the mountain descended like the sky was copsing.


    “Perfect timing” Qin Feng’s amber eyes showed no fear.


    Using his Unseen Vision and Divine Might, he easily saw through all of the five-element tribtion’s attacks.


    With a subtle movement of his body, he dodged all the attacks with precision.


    He extended his right hand, and with a gentle twist, the yin-yang fish circled around him. In a moment, a yin-yang taiji diagram materialized.


    A powerful gravitational force, like a ck hole, sought to pull the five-element tribtion into its center.


    The five-element tribtion resisted fiercely, resulting in a temporary standoff.


    Suddenly, a beam of ck and gold light shot out from the taiji diagram, shattering the remaining power of the five-element tribtion.


    Boom!


    The energy waves rolled, and the world lost its color.


    The five-element tribtion disappeared entirely, and a beam of golden light shot out from the crown of Qin Feng’s head, piercing the clouds.


    At that moment, he ascended to the Second Stage.


    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Pce of the Imperial City, within the Floating Dragon Hall.


    Another five-wed golden dragon revived on the Coiling Dragon Pir, breaking through the hall’s roof and shining brightly in the night sky.


    The dragon’s roar shook the heavens and earth, causing the citizens of the Imperial City to tremble in their hearts.


    “What is that?”


    “That’s the direction of the Imperial Pce. Could it be the golden dragon that protects the nation?”


    “Another golden dragon has awakened. How many golden dragons have revived in The Great Qian now?”


    “If I remember correctly, there should now be eight!”


    Outside the imperial study, Chief Eunuch Li hurriedly approached Emperor Ming. He reported excitedly, “Your Majesty, another golden dragon has revived on the Coiling Dragon Pir. This makes the eighth one!”


    The legend of the golden dragons of the Floating Dragon Hall had been passed down through generations since the founding of The Great Qian.


    It was said that once all nine dragons were revived, The Great Qian would usher in a prosperous era of peace and stability, free from the torment of demons and ghosts, and the ravages of war.


    In the thousands of years since the nation’s founding, the only chance to achieve this feat was during the time of Emperor Tianxuan, but it fell short at thest moment.


    The failure came at a great cost, leading to the decline of national fortune and the gradual dormancy of the golden dragons.


    But now, under the reign of Emperor Ming, eight golden dragons had revived, making Emperor Ming a potential figure who could lead The Great Qian into a golden age and secure his ce in history.


    Thinking of this, how could Eunuch Li not be excited?


    “Hmm.” Emperor Ming responded calmly, much less enthusiastic than Eunuch Li.


    Naturally, he felt the magnificent scene of the golden dragon’s resurrection immediately


    Watching the coiling dragon, which roared and disyed its might before returning to the Floating Dragon Hall, Emperor Ming’s eyes held a mix of satisfaction and ambition, as well as a touch of hidden concern.


    The ancient saying that extremes lead to reversals and excess leads to decline was an unchanging truth.


    He recalled what the Heavenly Tower National Teacher and Ya’an had said, and looked at the painting of the Xuanyuan Divine ying Sword. He could only hope that the sword would not be unsheathed.


    On the top of the Heavenly Tower at the Grand Literature Academy, Xu Lexuan said excitedly, “Master, the golden dragon has opened its eyes, and the national fortune is flourishing. If I’m not mistaken, this is the eighth one!”


    Unlike Xu Lexuan’s excitement, the Heavenly Tower National Teacher remained calm.


    In the Imperial City, all the citizens were excited as if celebrating the New Year, but they did not notice the ground beneath them subtly shaking.


    In the ninth level of the Ninefold Prison, a pair of eyes lit up and let out a cold snort.


    The earth returned to stillness.