Stranger Danger

Everyone in this unusual world had heard the supernatural resonance and felt its vibrations. They were all looking up at the sky and staring at the direction where it came from.

Some people were envious, some people were jealous, some people were curious, some people were seething with greed, and some people were cooking nasty plots in their brains.

Regardless of their thoughts, the next action they took were synced almost as if they had rehearsed this before: nearly everyone began moving toward the basin.

Ye Qing had no idea that his breakthrough had drawn so much attention, of course. He was busy preparing to face the Heavenly Way’s final trial.

After he broke free from his restraints and pushed open that door, he suddenly felt like he was being watched by someone or something. At the same time, his sixth sense warned him of an incoming danger and trial.

Thump!

There was a thump that sounded like a heavenly drumbeat. As soon as it faded, a huge, dark yellow cauldron appeared in the sky.

The cauldron had three feet and two handles. Runes of Heavenly Way covered its surface, and at its heart lay the breath of all living things and great virtue. It was profound to put it mildly.

As soon as the cauldron manifested, the world was engulfed in dark yellow light. The air suddenly became heavy and suffocating like the weight of a mountain was infused in it.

Pedant Earth trembled with shock and disbelief as he looked up at the cauldron.

“I… I think so.”

Shangguan Hongjin replied shakily, mouth just as dry as Pedant Earth’s. She had heard of the legendary Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation, but she had never witnessed it until now.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation was the greatest tribulation of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations.

The sky was profound, and the earth was yellow. Together, they make up the world. When the world first came into existence, the karmic qi that was born was known as the Profound Yellow Mother Qi.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi was the origin of all qi and mother of all creations. Such was its karmic weight that it defied explanation.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi was born only during the creation of a world. Naturally, it could only be obtained by those with great virtue and destiny.

Those who wished to obtain it despite not being born at the right place and the right time must face a tribulation instead. They must overcome the trials of the mother qi and the obstacles of the earth: the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation promised a great boon for the challengers who managed to overcome it. However, with great boon comes great terror.

The boon was a wisp of Profound Yellow Mother Qi. There was a saying that went something like this, “One wisp of profound yellow to forge a Sage.” It meant that a single wisp of Profound Yellow Mother Qi could transform an ordinary, post-natal mortal with zero cultivation foundation into a natural, flawless, and perfected being. Provided they didn’t purposely ruin themselves, they were guaranteed to enter sagehood[1] one day.

Naturally, the Profound Yellow Mother Qi was a life-changing treasure everyone dreamed of getting. It would not be an exaggeration to say that anyone who obtained it would go from zero to hero in a snap of a finger.

But of course, the one who wishes to wear the crown must bear its weight. To obtain the Profound Yellow Mother Qi, one must overcome the trials of the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation.

This was what the ancients meant when they chose the words “great terror” to describe it.

The Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation was the greatest tribulation of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations. Naturally, its dangers could not be understated. Forget a Grandmaster, even a Sage would shudder at the thought of facing such a tribulation.

“Who in the world is warrior Ye? He’s just ascending to the Grandmaster stage, and he’s drawing the king of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations, the Profound Yellow Mother Qi Tribulation?” Pedant Earth muttered in complete astonishment.

It was said that there were seventy two Fiends on the earth and thirty six Stars in the sky. A Trueman represented the earth, and a Sage the sky. That was why those who wished to become a Trueman worthy of representing the earth were met with the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations.

Just the same, those who wished to become a Sage or living god worthy of representing the sky must face the Thirty Six Heavenly Stars Tribulations.

Not all Seventy Two Heavenly Stars Tribulation were made equal. Some were stronger and loftier, and some were weaker and lower.

The lofty ones were as high as the palace in the heavens. Those who got to see it were few and far between.

The low ones were as common as mountains and waters. They were present anywhere you looked.

The world gave birth to tribulations so as to temper all creations and make eternal the Dao. Naturally, the trials must be balanced accordingly against the challenger’s talent, accumulation, and karma. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a trial.

To put it in more secular terms, the greater a warrior’s natural talent and accumulation, the stronger and deadlier the tribulations they would face when attempting to enter a certain cultivation level.

On the other hand, the lousier one’s natural talent and accumulation, the weaker the tribulation they would trigger.

On that subject, a warrior’s behavior and conduct would result in karmic hindrance or karmic virtue, and that changed the strength and type of tribulation they faced as well. As the people loved to say, what goes around comes around, and you reap what you sow.

Out of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations, the lower thirty were common, the middle thirty were uncommon, and the upper twelve were very rare.

To put it from a different perspective, the lower thirty of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations were the weakest and least threatening. Only warriors with weak talent but were still good enough to become a Grandmaster would attract them, and that applied to most people.

The middle thirty of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations were average tribulations. It was reserved to those who were guaranteed to become a Grandmaster, but were unlikely to ever become a Sage. About one in one hundred warriors would attract such a tribulation during their breakthrough. They were uncommon, but they definitely weren’t rare.

The upper twelve tribulations were the strongest and most dangerous tribulations of them all. They were reserved only for the exceedingly talented and hardworking. Only one in one hundred million warriors would have the fortune—or misfortune, depending on how you looked at it—to face such a tribulation, and the actual ratio was likely lower than that.

On top of that, jianghu warriors commonly believed that another hierarchy existed in the upper twelve tribulations. There was a saying that went something like this, “Those of the lower four would enter the Earthly Champions Ranking, those of the middle four might dream of Sages, and those of the upper four would roam the heavens as they pleased.”

To put it in more secular terms, the warriors who overcame one of the lower four tribulations was guaranteed to be named on the Earth Champions Ranking, those who defeated the middle four tribulations was very likely to become a Sage in the future, and those who prevailed over the upper four tribulations was guaranteed to become a Sage and “roam the heavens”.

But of course, it was just hearsay. Nothing was certain, and anything was possible. Still, it illustrated just how rare the upper twelve tribulations of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations were.

In any case, Ye Qing hadn’t just attracted an upper twelve tribulation of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations, it was also the greatest of them all. Naturally, Pedant Earth was beyond speechless.

He was also worried. The upper twelve tribulations of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiends Tribulations were famous for a reason. If Ye Qing succeeded in overcoming it, he would surely gain an unimaginable boon and soar to the heavens.

The current ninth warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking, Nin Liuyun the “Wandering Celestial”, had met the seventh Seventy Two Earthly Fiend Tribulations known as the Yu Qing’s Boundless Tribulation of Primordial Beginning. After he overcame its trials, the heavens had bestowed him an Auspicious Primordial Beginning Cloud.

Legend had it that the Auspicious Primordial Beginning Cloud was one of the auspicious clouds that appeared around the head of Yu Qing, the Primordial Beginning Heavenly Sovereign, when he was proving his Dao. It could maintain the purity of the mind, protect it from foreign influence, and ensure that one’s heart would always stay true to oneself.

The current sixth warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking, the “Heaven Turning Great Sage” Yuan Zhantian, had met the fifth Seventy Two Earthly Fiend Tribulations known as the Twelve Capitals Heavenly God Fiend Tribulation. After he overcame its trials, he was bestowed a wisp of demonic intent belonging to the Progenitor Demon, Rahu himself.

It was thanks to this wisp of true intent that Yuan Zhantian successfully mastered the “Heaven Turning Scripture” and gained unparalleled fighting power. It was also how he managed to climb to the sixth spot of the Earth Champions Ranking.

Examples like these were a dime a dozen. In fact, the large majority of warriors dominating the Earth Champions Ranking right now had overcome a middle thirty or upper twelve Seventy Two Earthly Fiend Tribulation during their ascension. The warriors just didn’t publicize the fact for one reason or another.

All tribulations shared one common characteristic, however. Without exception, the ultimate price of failure was true death.

When the people looked up into the night sky and found the moon and the many stars that hung around it, they really should be looking down at their own feet where countless bones lay.

It was never an easy thing to break free from one’s mortal restraints and join the celestial bodies themselves. The number of people who failed their tribulation and died far, far exceeded the number of those who succeeded.

This was doubly true for the upper twelve tribulations of the Seventy Two Earthly Fiend Tribulations. Even the most frivolous, uncaring warrior would not dare to underestimate them.

There were only two outcomes when one was facing a great terror: either they emerged victorious and gained a new lease of life, or they failed and died right there and then.

There was no judge fairer than the Heavenly Way. Blessing and life lay on one side of its coin, and disaster and death on the other![2]

1. So er, this isn’t quite what was promised when the Profound Yellow Mother Qi was first introduced… but I guess the Profound Yellow Mother Qi the Earthly Sovereign got was of completely different quantity and quality. He WAS born during the creation of the fucking world itself apparently, so… you know what they say, “I was born in it, molded by it.” ☜

2. Jesus this is easily one of the most tiring chapters I’ve ever translated even though it’s not the hardest. ☜

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