Chapter 2765: Unlimited Absorption
Lu Yin had obtained enough stellular liquid from Sapling to reach the peak of the Envoy realm. At this time, he only needed to go back into seclusion to break through.
His actions left Arch-Elder Zen speechless. The older man always felt like Lu Yin treated seclusion as playtime; each time, Lu Yin would only train for a handful of days, or at most, a few years at a time. That was not enough time to even take a nap!
...
One day, a powerful stellular tribulation appeared outside of the Heavens Sect, covering a vast region of the Outerverse.
The jiao looked over and then pulled back its head, quite nervous.
Lu Yin stood just outside the Heavens Sect, frowning as he watched his stellular tribulation spread out.
Of the various stellular tribulations that Envoys needed to face, the most challenging was always the first, followed by the sixth tribulation. While Lu Yin’s seventh stellular tribulation would bring him close to the peak of the Envoy realm, it was not particularly difficult.
Just like how Lu Yin had previously pa.s.sed his second and third stellular tribulations, he quickly crossed his seventh tribulation without encountering any difficulties whatsoever. As he had enough of Sapling’s stellular liquid to reach the next threshold, Lu Yin took advantage of the current situation to immediately trigger his eighth stellular tribulation as well. As long as he survived this one, he would finally reach the true peak of the Envoy realm.
The eighth stellular tribulation did not lead to any qualitative changes in a cultivator, and it meant nothing more than reaching a power level of 1.2 million. Because of its ordinary quality, the tribulation was not any more difficult than the sixth stellular tribulation. This was more a level that cultivators used to prepare for their breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor level, but why had Lu Yin’s eighth stellular tribulation triggered such a ridiculous reaction?
Given the impressive display so far, this tribulation looked like it would be truly dangerous.
Upon realizing his situation, Lu Yin quickly moved away from the Heavens Sect. The further away he got, the better. The Heavens Sect was home to more than one Progenitor who could get caught up in the stellular tribulation, and even Lu Yin could not guess how much more powerful that would make the tribulation.
The commotion near the Heavens Sect instantly drew the attention of the entire Origin Universe, and even some attention from the Sixverse a.s.sociation.
Right now, everyone was paying attention to the Heavens Sect.
The four ruling powers had spared no effort to place their own people within the Heavens Sect, so how could such a ma.s.sive event not draw their attention?
Lu Yin was facing his eighth stellular tribulation. After becoming a peak Envoy, the next step would be for him to become a Semi-Progenitor, which was a ma.s.sive qualitative improvement. After the Semi-Progenitor realm was the Progenitor realm, which was the peak of human cultivation. Just the thought of Lu Yin reaching that level of power was enough to cause the four ruling powers to tremble. Who would be able to stop Lu Yin at that point in time?
Lu Yin moved towards the Astral Beast Domain, and he only stopped when he arrived at the border between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain.
The arrival of the ma.s.sive stellular tribulation atop Lu Yin left the entire Astral Beast Domain nervous, and Leng Qing, who was overseeing the astral beasts, quickly made his way over.
More and more people started watching from a great distance, growing pale when they saw the size of the stellular tribulation.
In the face of a stellular tribulation like this one, how could a human be any more significant than an ant?
Lu Yin looked up and took a deep breath. "Let’s go!"
The stellular tribulation condensed into a swirling vortex that raged as it descended upon Lu Yin.
Lu Yin initially a.s.sumed that he was being attacked by a terrifying amount of power, only to discover that it was nothing more than stellular energy.
Far away, Arch-Elder Zen and the others watching grew solemn. "As expected, the Dao Monarch"s breakthroughs are always the most extreme. This is the most difficult known stellular tribulation that one can face during their eighth tribulation."
Lu Buzheng frowned. "Is this really unlimited absorption? Everyone who has faced this tribulation throughout all of history has died to it."
"What’s unlimited absorption?" Wendy Yushan nervously asked. It seemed readily apparent to her that this particular stellular tribulation was not particularly powerful.
Lu Buzheng"s expression grew ugly. "There are some people who are a challenge for even the true universe. If it is impossible for a stellular tribulation to bring out an appropriate challenge within the challenger’s level, then other methods will be employed. This unlimited absorption is one of those methods. It forces a person to absorb unlimited amounts of stellular energy until they reach their limit, after which they are killed by the energy itself."
Master Shan quietly commented, "In the past, a brilliant genius from our Lu family died when facing his eighth stellular tribulation. This is the rarest tribulation that one can face for their eighth stellular tribulation, and this is also the only time when unlimited absorption can appear."
Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "The most difficult tribulation for most Envoys is their sixth stellular tribulation, and his was so extreme that it almost encompa.s.sed the entire Perennial World. I had a.s.sumed that his eighth tribulation would not be too difficult. I never expected that he would face something like this. I hope that he can survive."
Countless eyes stared at Lu Yin. Some people understood what they were seeing, and others did not. Even so, regardless of whether they understood, before long, the expressions of every person watching started to change.
Lu Yin continued to absorb the stellular energy. Even if he did not want to, the stellular energy continued to surge into his body like a storm.
The thing that Lu Yin was least afraid of was stellular energy. His own reserves were so large that he had stunned even Chu Yuan. Despite that, Lu Yin was still shocked by the terrifying amount of stellular energy flooding into his body.
No matter the person, everyone had a limit, and even Lu Yin had a limit to the amount of stellular energy that he could absorb. If he was forced to take on an infinite amount of stellular energy, then so be it. At worst, he would simply face his Semi-Progenitor tribulation as well. After all, this was a truly abundant amount of stellular energy.
However, the energy that surged into Lu Yin only had one purpose, and it was not to strengthen him. Its sole desire was to surge into him and cause him to burst. It was a truly vicious tribulation.
Lu Yin had already opened his three meridian points, and he had created four stellular energy vortices. They continuously absorbed more energy, but they were already full. The amount of stellular energy that Lu Yin had already absorbed left Lu Buzheng and all the others watching shocked, and Arch-Elder Zen was rendered speechless. All the spectators started to question their own lives, but the tribulation still showed no signs of dispersing.
If this continues, I will really be swept away like this.
Lu Yin looked upwards at the stellular tribulation’s vortex. The true universe was incredibly hostile towards him. He had been forced to repeatedly overcome seemingly impossible tribulations, but the true universe was still making things difficult for him. He had barely survived each of the previous seemingly impossible tribulations, and he had refused to die without putting up a fight.
If the heavens don’t want me to use this energy, all the more I will make it happen! If I don’t fear the Great Sovereign, why would I be afraid of you?
It might be difficult to overpower a strong individual, but it was easy to corrupt them. Cultivators coveted the true universe’s stellular energy, but they could also be killed by that same stellular energy.
This was a common saying in the Heavens Sect era. It meant that, the more powerful the cultivator, the greater danger of the stellular tribulation that they would face. For the eighth stellular tribulation, the most dangerous tribulations were either the humanoid tribulation, Heaven’s Suppression, or unlimited absorption.
The true universe was a stingy guardian of stellular energy, and if a person stole stellular energy away, they would inevitably face retaliation. If that person managed to survive the true universe’s retaliation, it would continue to seek out other means to destroy the cultivator.
An endless sea of stellular energy flooded into Lu Yin"s body, creating a maelstrom that already shocked Lu Buzheng and everyone else.
It was possible that Lu Yin had already absorbed more stellular energy than what even a Progenitor could endure. He had far exceeded the limits of an Envoy.
"Endure just a little longer! Just a little longer..." countless people prayed. Even a stellular tribulation had limits, and they could not indiscriminately kill all who could potentially overcome a tribulation. If that were the case, then no one would ever surpa.s.s their stellular tribulation, and the Origin Universe would have no Progenitors.
Everyone stared at Lu Yin. As long as he could endure for just a bit longer, they believed that he would pa.s.s the tribulation. They wanted to see him endure just a bit more.
Lu Yin looked up at the black hole at the center of the tribulation above his head, and his expression grew worse and worse. If he measured himself by other people"s standards, he should be near the end of this tribulation. However, just how many stellular energy vortices did he possess, and how much more stellular energy could he absorb compared to an average cultivator? While other people might not know, how could the true universe not understand Lu Yin’s limits?
Because of that, Lu Yin knew that he was not even close to finishing. In fact, he could not even begin to guess how long he still had to endure for.
In that case, let’s do it!
Lu Yin took a deep breath, and stars started revolving around his body. He was not using the Cosmic Art or borrowing Progenitor Chen"s power, as Lu Yin did not dare to risk using any outside power. At this moment, he had simply released the power from within his chest.
This was an independent universe. Even when Lu Yin had been ambushed in the Sixth Mainland and a sourcebox array had isolated him from that particular parallel universe, he had still been able to access the power that lay within his chest.
The energies cultivated by the different members of the Sixverse a.s.sociation were rather strange, and they were all quite different from stellular energy. And yet, Lu Yin was still able to integrate them into the power system that he had developed within his chest. At this moment, he wanted to see if he could direct the flood of stellular energy into that same system of power.
The next moment, everyone stared on, dumbfounded, as the surge of stellular energy started not decreasing, but rather increasing. It grew to the point where Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors all felt certain that they would be crushed by such a flood. However, even at this moment, Lu Yin appeared calm, and even eager.
The true universe was a layer of the Origin Universe, and the conglomeration of different powers and energies in Lu Yin’s chest could also be regarded as its own universe. The stellular energy that entered Lu Yin’s body from the tribulation refused to be controlled by him, which meant that it did not actually belong to him. However, Lu Yin was currently merely treating his body as a bridge that connected the flood of stellular energy to the power in his chest.
He refused to believe that this tribulation could overwhelm an entire universe.
For the next period of time, everyone gained a new understanding of how to pa.s.s the eighth stellular tribulation, as well as what Lu Yin was capable of.
Even if a person faced unlimited absorption for their eighth stellular tribulation, how could the flow of energy continue for so long? Just how much stellular energy had entered Lu Yin’s body?
Was it possible for a single person to absorb that much stellular energy? This actually seemed to be more than what even Progenitors could endure.
Arch-Elder Zen asked himself if he could perform the same feat as Lu Yin, but he knew that it was impossible. His Progenitor’s world could hold a tremendous amount of stellular energy, but even Arch-Elder Zen had his limits.
How long had Lu Yin been absorbing stellular energy for? He had already taken in enough to kill two Progenitors.
How was Lu Yin doing it? This was going far beyond merely absorbing stellular energy.
On the other side, Leng Qing watched from the Astral Beast Domain as Lu Yin continued to survive his tribulation. Shock filled the Semi-Progenitor’s eyes. In the past, he had been willing to listen to Lu Yin for the sake of the reestablished Heavens Sect, as well as because Lu Yin wielded the Origin Progenitor’s sword. Also, Lu Yin had led the fight against Aeternus and acted as the vanguard for humanity.
However, it was at this moment that Lu Yin’s personal abilities shocked Leng Qing.
Is it really possible to absorb an unlimited amount of stellular energy? How can anyone remain unharmed after receiving such an incredible amount?
In Leng Qing’s eyes, other images seemed to overlap with Lu Yin’s. They were images of Progenitors whom Leng Qing looked up to and who had triggered his own desire to become a Progenitor.
However, how could he ever succeed?
The gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were supposed to be guaranteed to become Progenitors. Each of them were among the strongest within their realm, and they had all opened all three of their meridian points. They were truly the best of the Semi-Progenitors. However, being the best Semi-Progenitor was not a requirement to become a Progenitor. The most important thing was to be able to question one’s own heart, and despite his level, when Leng Qing questioned his heart, he knew that he would not be able to successfully break through to the Progenitor realm. He would undoubtedly die during his Progenitor’s tribulation, which was why he had been waiting and tempering himself.
Far away, Lu Yin was feeling unjust. The stellular tribulations had rewarded him with a burst of stellular energy which would strengthen his physical body and improve his cultivation. It was unquestionably a benefit. However, all of his stellular tribulations had nearly killed him.
After his first stellular tribulation, Lu Yin had found a way to forcefully seize stellular energy, and he had done so four times to form four stellular energy vortices. Once again, he was unwilling to let all this stellular energy slip out of his grasp.
After thinking of this, he tried to use the power within his chest to suppress the stellular energy that was surging into his body.
The flood of stellular energy had been directed into the energy system within Lu Yin’s chest, but it subsequently left as soon as it entered. This stellular energy did not truly belong to Lu Yin.
However, the power system within his chest could use any energy that Lu Yin encountered. Since it was able to truly endure what seemed to be an unlimited amount of stellular energy, why could that energy not be used?
He decided to try just that.
The black and white mist started to swirl, allowing stellular energy to enter, but then they rotated in a manner that prevented the energy from leaving. As Lu Yin did this, his personal energy reserves started to pull in the tribulation’s stellular energy, as though actively stealing the energy.
Even so, this energy could not be absorbed.
There had been countless geniuses throughout history, and those who were forced to endure unlimited absorption were the best of the best. Lu Yin was far from the first to consider absorbing the energy of the stellular tribulation and using it for his own cultivation, but every attempt thus far had failed.
It’s impossible to use my own stellular energy to absorb the tribulation’s energy. If that’s the case, then...
Lu Yin"s eyes narrowed as he started to suppress the stellular energy into submission.