Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan Chapter 1897 - 1417: Triggered (2)

Explosions rang out endlessly for a moment, with enormous boulders crumbling off the peak. The colossal mountain was clearly diminishing in height and scale.

However, Li Mingyao simply observed, taking no action to step in.

He wasn't refusing to halt the chaos in order to speed through the Thunder Tribulation; instead, he simply had no strength left to intervene.

After employing the Secret Technique, Li Mingyao appeared ashen and feeble, his energy drained. He was grasping this chance to rapidly restore his mana.

With his personal security guaranteed, he could hardly spare focus for what was happening beyond.

After half an hour passed, the tribulation thunder had diminished greatly, yet the lofty mountain was now merely a modest mound, on the verge of total ruin!

Right at that instant, though, Li Mingyao had regained a substantial portion of his mana, so the little mound didn't vanish; rather, it swiftly expanded in stature.

Even though it still fell short of the former massive mountain, it could at least endure for a while longer, and the might of the tribulation thunder had been notably weakened.

In this manner, the pair returned to equilibrium, or more precisely, a deadlock.

That said, Li Mingyao had already replenished multiple layers of his mana, enabling him to steadily bolster the mountain's resilience, while the tribulation thunder, detached from the tribulation cloud, resembled a plant without roots, steadily depleting its own force.

As moments dragged on, the tribulation thunder's intensity faded further until it was finally overwhelmed and pulverized by the tumbling stones.

The vast tribulation cloud then morphed into a grand, untainted flow of spiritual energy that poured down from above into his form, coursed along his meridians, settled into his dantian, and propelled his cultivation to its concluding phase.

Boom!

The sudden surge of pressure from the immediate breakthrough washed over every clan member, weighing upon them like the earth's burden; those with weaker cultivation even struggled to draw breath.

"I didn’t expect to see such a happy occasion just after returning."

A voice absent for ages echoed over Mount Wanxian, gentle as a spring wind, lifting the heavy burden from all.

"Jiu!"

"Ancestor Rui!"

Amid the crowd's eager cries, Li Zhirui's form gradually materialized.

"Congratulations to Mingyao on attaining Heavenly Immortal!"

Li Mingyao offered a respectful bow and replied, "Thank you for Ancestor Rui’s guidance."

While Li Zhirui had been cleansing the corruption in the Earth Core terrain, he inevitably encountered various Earth Laws. Though he hadn't deliberately studied them, he instinctively retained many insights from that period.

Once finished and back with the family, he inscribed those Earth Laws onto a Jade Slip and handed it to Li Mingyao to study.

Without this Earth Law, he might not have ascended to Heavenly Immortal so soon, so his thanks to Li Zhirui came from the heart.

"It has nothing to do with me; it's all due to your own efforts."

Li Zhirui dismissed it with a wave and added, "Go stabilize your realm and cultivation first."

Li Mingyao gave another salute before heading to his cave mansion.

"The Tribulation Transcendence is finished; everyone, go your ways."

With those words, he disappeared as well.

Xiaoqing and Cang quickly trailed after him.

The report of Li Mingyao's advance to Heavenly Immortal swiftly circulated through Shanhai State, reaching the ears of countless cultivators.

Naturally, the Li family aided in disseminating this information, as publicizing such a milestone boosted their clan's standing.

Hearing the tidings, folks were stunned anew and once more admired the Li family's incredible growth pace, now boasting yet another Heavenly Immortal.

"Ha! Can the Li family even be called a cultivation family anymore? The might of a Divine vastly outstrips that of a cultivator; maybe they've evolved into a Divine Dao Family already." Still, some cultivators resentful of the Li family sneered in derision.

The others stared at him in sheer disbelief, as if questioning his boldness in voicing such thoughts.

The cultivator sensed the trouble and hastily rose to depart.

...

At the same time.

Up on Mount Wanxian, the subject was under discussion too.

"It's odd. They're plainly an Immortal Tao family, but the Divines' power eclipses the cultivators' by far," Li Zhirui remarked, reflecting on Li Mingyao's triumphant Tribulation Transcendence and rise to Heavenly Immortal.

Furthermore, the Li family now counted four with real chances of reaching Heavenly Immortal: Xiaoqing, Cang, Li Zhixuan, and Jiang Fengwu—exactly two Divines and two cultivators.

Should they all succeed, the Li family would still see the Divine Path holding dominance in strength.

Xiaoqing and Cang, seated in front of him, stayed quiet, just listening without a word.

"What is it? Feeling envious of being outdone by the younger ones?" Li Zhirui pierced their hidden feelings instantly.

They wouldn't confess to jealousy toward the juniors, of course, and instead steered the conversation elsewhere, inquiring, "Jiu, do you have any ways to aid our swift breakthrough?"

"Cultivation holds no easy paths."

Were shortcuts possible, Heavenly Immortals wouldn't number so few, nor would the world hail them as Great Abilities.

Li Zhirui shook his head and noted, "You two seem overly eager these days; why the rush?"

For an instant, neither knew how to reply.

Looking back over the years, they saw they had indeed hurried too much, neglecting deep Dao comprehension or proper Divine Position duties, chasing every trick for rapid progress.

Plenty of those choices were reckless moves they'd later berate themselves over.

"Cultivation offers no bypasses. You might grab one today, but it could crumble unexpectedly someday without warning," Li Zhirui warned earnestly.

They'd experimented with numerous approaches earlier, and the results showed plainly: none succeeded!

Now, the consequences of their past haste were catching up.

"Once you're back, avoid hasty cultivation; ponder deeply. If you can't settle your mind, seek Da Qing's counsel; he's sharper on these matters." Li Zhirui instructed, sending them off.

Truth be told, he could assist them both somehow, but in their present state, forcing aid might only complicate things further.

Besides, the ideal route lay in each overcoming their inner barriers, tough as it was and rare in success.

"Fine, we'll head out now," Cang said, tugging Xiaoqing along.

"Why pull me like this?"

Xiaoqing grumbled unhappily, "Jiu obviously knows a way to assist us. Why just watch and not act?"

"What's gotten into you?" Cang's face shifted, suspecting a heart demon's sway over Xiaoqing already.

"I'm okay."

After some time, Xiaoqing replied evenly, though he recognized his problem too, and didn't dare delay on the path, afraid of the influence returning.

Cang paused, eyeing Xiaoqing's swift retreating form, then glanced at the sealed cave mansion door, as if grasping a truth.

"Is this a test for Xiaoqing?"

Li Zhirui caught Cang's query, pondered briefly, and answered, "Indeed, from my dealings with Xiaoqing, I sensed his heart demon's hold ran deep, though he didn't realize it."

"So I nudged it a bit. Now, it's on him to surpass it, forging anew from the ruins!"

Cang's brow furrowed in concern as he said, "But should he falter, won't the heart demon devour Xiaoqing?"

"No need to fret; I've concealed a Purification Lotus Seed deep in his Sea of Consciousness. If the heart demon proves unbeatable, a backup will activate on its own."

Li Zhirui went on steadily, "That said, it'll render future breakthroughs far harder for him."

As though the peril belonged to some outsider, unrelated to him, not a longtime family companion.

In truth, the peril loomed larger than described; absent rare chances, a shattered Dao Heart nearly sealed one's path forever!

Having heard this, Cang lingered silently for ages, uttered nothing, and departed soundlessly.