The Transcendent Tribulation, a metamorphosis surpassing the Empty Expanse and the Void Calamity, differed greatly from the Celestial Tribulation. It did not descend in the singular form of lightning, but rather, manifested in a unique and personal manner upon each cultivator, precipitating their repeated collapses.

To fail the Transcendent Tribulation meant utter annihilation of both body and spirit. Thus, many cultivators at the peak of the Empty Expanse held it in great trepidation, preferring the stagnation of their current state to the terrifying prospect of facing the nine trials that awaited.

Lord Azure Dream, for example, lingered for an age at the pinnacle of the Empty Expanse, never daring to step into the realm of Tribulation.

To enter the Transcendent Tribulation was akin to enduring nine mortal deaths. Such an ordeal, such courage, was not a common virtue. Most cultivators of the Void Calamity spent millennia gradually weathering these trials, one at a time.

Lacking the confidence to overcome all nine in swift succession, they would forcefully sever the connection whenever danger loomed, forsaking the potential boons of the Tribulation.

For the Transcendent Tribulation was not merely a trial, but also a font of creation.

To survive three trials consecutively would double one’s nascent soul, and to overcome six would triple it. Should one conquer all nine in unbroken succession, the nascent soul would grow manifold! The precise extent of this increase remained unknown, for only two beings in all of history had accomplished such a feat, and both ascended to the rank of Grand Empyrean.

They spoke of it not, leaving the secrets guarded. Yet, the peril and difficulty of the trials were plain to see. Whispers claimed that both Grand Empyreans emerged from their nine tribulations gravely wounded, retreating into lengthy seclusion.

Even a common cultivator, should they survive six trials in a row, could immediately stand as a formidable figure among those newly arrived in the Void Calamity. Barring the use of magical artifacts, they could hold their own against those at the peak of the Void Calamity’s intermediate stages!

But such a boon was exceedingly rare. To conquer the nine tribulations in a continuous flow differed vastly from slowly accumulating victories over millennia.

Moreover, the Transcendent Tribulation possessed an eerie quality: no outside aid was possible; success rested solely on one’s own shoulders.

Take Du Qing, for instance. Though he had weathered several trials, he had done so separately, and with increasing difficulty. It was likely he would advance no further. Yet, hope remained, for he had time to prepare, a small solace compared to facing the tribulations in rapid succession.

However, each successive trial brought him closer to the brink of life and death, morphing into a living nightmare that haunted his waking hours. For once one stepped into the Transcendent Tribulation, even against their will, it could descend at any unexpected moment, a grim harbinger of mortality.

On the Immortal-Astral Continent, scholars had attempted to quantify the odds, although with dubious accuracy. It was believed that the first trial held a one-in-ten chance of death, with the probability increasing with each stage, culminating in a nine-in-ten chance of demise during the ninth.

Extrapolating from these estimates, it was evident that conquering all nine trials in unbroken sequence required not only immense power, but also a considerable measure of fortune.

Wang Lin stood deep within the scorpion edifice, his expression serene. He stepped forward, his form blurring as he left that place, appearing atop the scorpion temple, upon the scorpion’s tail that curled toward the heavens.

His white hair billowed, giving Wang Lin a spectral appearance, as if he might be carried away by the wind. He gazed at the sky, awaiting the arrival of the Transcendent Tribulation.

“Transcendent Tribulation, what form will you take? I eagerly await your arrival…” Wang Lin’s eyes shone with a fierce light. He now possessed the confidence to face whatever trials lay ahead!

The energies within him surged, accelerating to a dizzying pace, emanating the aura of one who had reached the perfect pinnacle of the Empty Expanse. This aura coalesced and exploded forth from Wang Lin’s body, transforming into a tempest that swirled around him, reaching towards the heavens, connecting with the firmament in an awe-inspiring display!

The moment this tempest appeared, an unseen pressure began to form, centered on Wang Lin, sweeping outwards in all directions, engulfing hundreds of miles in an instant, and expanding with relentless speed.

Within those hundreds of miles, all living beings were forced to retreat under the crushing weight of this power, forbidden from entering its domain.

This was the Tribulation, forbidding any aid from the outside world!

The oppressive force continued to spread, soon encompassing thousands of miles, reaching the outskirts of the scorpion temple, where a dozen cultivators from the Green Devil Continent had gathered to witness the Green Devil’s resurrection.

These cultivators, their faces contorted in awe and fear, retreated in unison. Without even needing to use their divine senses, they could feel it: someone was undergoing the Transcendent Tribulation!

“The Transcendent Tribulation?! How can there be such a display of tribulation pressure here?!”

“Could it be that Lord Green Devil’s cultivation has waned after his resurrection, necessitating a return to the Transcendent Tribulation to recover his power?”

“Lord Green Devil was personally suppressed by the Immortal Ancestor. His cultivation must have been formidable. However, after being suppressed for so long, his power may have indeed diminished…”

The dozen Green Devil Continent cultivators, lost in thought, retreated further from the pressure, their gazes fixed upon the center. However, the oppressive force prevented their divine senses from penetrating too deeply, obscuring the events within.

As the oppressive pressure spread thousands of miles, at the center, upon the tail of the scorpion temple, Wang Lin stood calmly, his eyes fixed on the heavens. And he saw it: the sky was filled with falling snow.

The white snowflakes descended from the heavens, rapidly obscuring the sky, creating a scene of delicate chaos that permeated the surroundings.

“Snow?” Wang Lin muttered, watching the phenomena unfold.

The snowflakes multiplied, soon dominating the entire sky and earth, becoming the only movement within these thousands of miles. As they fell, a wave of frigid air spread, and the ground was soon covered in a thick blanket of snow.

The dozen Green Devil Continent cultivators reacted with surprise, their eyes gleaming. They felt the biting chill and witnessed the snowfall within the distant reaches of the area.

“The first trial of the Transcendent Tribulation… a Snow Tribulation! Such a trial is rarely seen!”

“Of the nine tribulations, the first three are external trials, the middle three are internal trials, and the final three are trials of the soul!”
“Let us observe how the Green Demon Lord weathers this tempest of ice!”

Wang Lin watched the falling snow, his expression serene. He did not rush to confront it, but instead, contemplated the unfolding blizzard as if it were a scenic wonder.

The snowflakes grew ever denser, their descent deepening the surrounding chill. Then, without warning, the snow in the heavens froze, suspended as if time itself had been captured within its icy embrace.

In that frozen instant, the countless snowflakes transformed into blades of frost, sharp beyond measure. From every direction, they hurtled towards Wang Lin, a silent, sweeping onslaught of icy daggers.

“This… this is the first trial?” Wang Lin shook his head, disappointment flickering in his eyes. He raised his right hand, and as the snow-blades screamed towards him, he unleashed his power.

With that gesture, the very essence of his being, the Five Elements Avatar, fractured. A shimmering, ethereal echo of himself peeled away from his body and stepped forth.

Content, Wang Lin settled himself upon the massive scorpion tail. His white hair cascaded down his back as he raised a jade flask, brought from the distant Heavenly Bull Continent. He tipped it back and drank deeply of the earthly liquor it contained.

A wave of bleak solitude washed over him as he sat there, white-haired, drinking strong spirits. He bore a striking resemblance to a black-clad figure who, long ago, had sat upon a broken statue within a desolate wasteland far, far from the Immortal Astral Continent.

Solitude, melancholy, and a heart grown cold.

The Five Elements Avatar roared, unleashing a raging sea of flames. The fiery expanse erupted from its form, spreading outwards in a torrent of scorching heat. From the inferno, ninety-nine fiery dragons manifested, each one a bellowing, scaled inferno. They surged forth, tearing through the air to meet the oncoming snow-blades in a cataclysmic clash. Heat collided with icy cold, creating a deafening roar that reverberated through the heavens.

Though the snow-blades were sharp, though their chill bit deep, they proved no match for Wang Lin’s Five Elements Avatar. Great clouds of steam billowed as the snow melted, quickly enveloping the surroundings. As each snowflake was consumed, the ninety-nine fiery dragons coalesced into a single, colossal fire serpent, its body a thousand fathoms long. It charged towards the heavens, dragging a sea of fire and scorching air in its wake.

With a thunderous boom, it pierced the sky like a burning sword, incinerating the very heavens above.

And in that fiery conflagration, the first trial of the Xuan tribulation, the Snow Calamity, utterly collapsed.

“Too weak…” Wang Lin murmured, taking another swig of his liquor and shaking his head.

As the heavens burned, they suddenly lurched, as if seized by a powerful hand. A mournful wind howled, and nine gargantuan whirlwinds materialized, sweeping across the sky. The sea of fire was scattered, leaving only the nine spiraling tempests in their wake.

An overwhelming force of nature emanated from the maelstroms. The wind’s mournful wails sounded like the wrath of the heavens themselves, a terrifying symphony that drowned out all other sound for thousands of leagues.

With a terrifying roar, the nine tempests descended upon Wang Lin, their furious currents attempting to rip him from the earth, to tear him apart.

In a blinding flash, the first whirlwind slammed into him.

The Five Elements Avatar remained motionless, standing guard behind Wang Lin as the howling gale bore down, instantly engulfing his form.

The wind wrapped around him, spinning with maniacal frenzy, generating an immeasurable force of attrition. The air screamed as Wang Lin was buffeted and torn, yet upon the scorpion tail, he continued to drink, his robes whipped around him, his white hair dancing in the tempest. His expression remained unchanged, serene.

He drank deeply as the second, third, fourth… until the ninth whirlwind crashed into him, one after another. When all nine had combined into a single vortex that connected the scorpion temple to the heavens themselves, Wang Lin finally raised his head.

“Still… too weak!” (To be continued…)