Divine Punishment

In the dead of night, Long Chen ascended to the peak of a mountain. A bright moon hung high in the sky, offering a view of the surrounding landscape for hundreds of miles.

The Long Chen of now was no longer the same Long Chen who had been hunted by Lord Ying. He had fewer reservations now, and this place was an excellent location for cultivation.

Deep within the primeval jungle, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was several times denser than in the Imperial Capital. He needed to utilize this unique environment to attempt a Breakthrough to the next Realm.

After assassinating Xia Changfeng last time and then encountering Lord Ying, the continuous battles that left him teetering on the edge of death had rapidly elevated Long Chen's state of mind.

He could feel his Bottleneck beginning to loosen; this was the perfect opportunity to attempt a Breakthrough to the next Realm.

At the mountain peak, surrounded by steep cliffs, he did not fear wild beasts disturbing him. He sat cross-legged on a giant boulder and activated his twelve Qi cyclones.

Space trembled, and twelve massive vortexes appeared behind Long Chen, each reaching a terrifying diameter of a hundred zhang.

This was the first time since Long Chen advanced to the tenth level of Qi Gathering that he had gone all out, releasing his Qi cyclones outside his body.

Previously, he feared his manifestation would alert enemies, but now, here, he could finally let go and absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi with full force.

The twelve hundred-zhang-wide Qi cyclones were like the maws of twelve wild beasts, greedily devouring the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi like a great whale drinking water, channeling it into the Fengfu Star beneath Long Chen's feet.

The space, visible even to the naked eye, began to slightly warp due to the suction of the twelve Qi cyclones. Spiritual Qi from hundreds of miles around surged toward Long Chen like a torrent.

"Boom."

In just three hours, Long Chen's Fengfu Star emitted an explosive sound; this was the manifestation of the Spiritual Qi reaching a critical point, about to enter the next Realm.

However, Long Chen felt not a shred of excitement, for he knew this was merely the beginning; a long and arduous process still awaited his efforts.

When condensing the tenth Qi cyclone, he had already learned of its near-perverse difficulty. The Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was simply too bizarre, but he had grown accustomed to it.

Typically, when a Martial Artist attempts to break through a barrier, they usually succeed on the first try. Those with greater Aptitude might require more attempts, but even for the most gifted Genius, a Breakthrough in Qi Gathering would absolutely not exceed nine attempts.

Yet when Long Chen was attempting to break through to the tenth level of Qi Gathering, although he had not counted, he conservatively estimated it had been at least a thousand times.

As for the two subsequent Breakthroughs, Long Chen could not even remember how many times he had tried; he simply kept pushing until he finally broke through.

Therefore, when the Fengfu Star emitted its first muffled sound, Long Chen had no reaction at all and continued to absorb the Heaven and Earth energy.

Following Long Chen's actions, more and more Heaven and Earth energy poured into the Fengfu Star. It began to spin rapidly, accompanied by continuous explosive sounds.

Long Chen ignored it, continuing to desperately absorb the Heaven and Earth energy. Clouds gathered, and like all rivers flowing into the sea, energy from all directions surged toward him like a stampede of ten thousand horses.

On a high mountain hundreds of miles away from Long Chen, atop a towering tree, a woman in white was looking toward him.

"Such a powerful Foundation Establishment aura. It seems humanity is about to produce an extraordinary figure." The woman in white murmured before her figure slowly vanished.

The Fengfu Star within Long Chen's body trembled incessantly. It was no surprise to Long Chen that he still could not enter the next Realm; this was the perverse nature of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art.

It was not until three days later that the Fengfu Star inside Long Chen began to spin slower and slower, eventually coming to a complete stop. Long Chen could not help but feel a surge of joy; this was the true sign of a Breakthrough.

"Boom."

Suddenly, the world trembled. The twelve Qi cyclones behind Long Chen slowly parted, and a thirteenth Qi cyclone appeared.

Once the thirteenth Qi cyclone appeared, the previously clear sky was instantly blanketed by dark clouds. Thunder roared and lightning flashed, casting a gloom over thousands of miles.

"What is going on?"

Long Chen was greatly alarmed. He discovered that the overwhelming dark clouds resembled a massive vortex, and the center of this vortex was aimed directly at him.

It was like the giant eye of a demon, staring ruthlessly at Long Chen, while a terrifying will of destruction pressed down directly upon him.

Long Chen immediately realized he could not move a muscle; he could not even move his eyeballs, and his heart was filled with terror.

"What the hell is going on?"

Long Chen cursed inwardly. Watching the dark clouds continuously condensing in the sky, and the lightning constantly flashing within them, all converging toward the center of the clouds, he knew this likely boded no good.

"Is it going to strike me?"

Even if Long Chen were foolish, he knew something terrifying was about to appear, and he struggled frantically.

Yet his body felt as if it were being pressed down by a massive mountain. He tried desperately to stand up, but could not stop his body from trembling.

"Crack."

The rock beneath Long Chen's feet cracked open. Such a solid boulder could not even withstand Long Chen's weight.

Even as bold as Long Chen was, he could not help but tremble with fear. He wanted to run, but it felt as if a giant mountain was pressing down on him, making every step difficult; he simply could not escape.

"This is a Heavenly Punishment. You cannot escape it; focus all your strength to resist it."

Just as Long Chen was secretly anxious in his heart, a voice reached his ears.

"Forest Goddess?"

Long Chen recognized the voice; it came from that woman from the Spirit Realm. Clearly, she was warning him.

Heavenly Punishment? Long Chen could not help but feel increasingly angry. There were so many bad people in the world, why did it not punish them instead of punishing him?

However, listening to the woman's voice, she seemed to know the origin of this terrifying manifestation. Since she was warning him, she definitely would not harm him.

Setting aside his shock and anger, he swiped his ring, and a broadsword appeared in his hand. He channeled his power to the limit.

At this moment, thirteen Qi cyclones were neatly arranged behind Long Chen, surrounding him like a halo, setting him off as if he were a Heavenly Emperor Reincarnation, looking down upon the firmament with arrogance.

The woman in white watched from afar at the thirteen Qi cyclones within the halo behind Long Chen, falling into deep thought.

Long Chen condensed the thirteen Qi cyclones, and the power of Heaven and Earth flowed endlessly into his body. His meridians, having been remodeled by the woman in white, could withstand even greater energy.

At this moment, the dark clouds in the sky grew thicker, and the lightning became increasingly dense. Suddenly, a deathly silence fell upon the world, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a water vat shot down from the very center of the dark clouds, heading straight for Long Chen, its momentum threatening to destroy everything.

Watching the terrifying thunderbolt plummeting down and feeling the endless will of destruction within it, Long Chen gripped his broadsword with both hands, a bizarre light emerging on the blade.

"Heaven Opening!"

"Boom."

Rubble collapsed, and the hundreds-of-zhang-tall mountain peak was struck down. That single strike of thunder leveled the entire mountain.

Long Chen spat out three mouthfuls of blood in succession. His entire body was charred, and he could even smell the scent of cooked meat emanating from himself.

His full-force strike was like an ant waving its antennae against an elephant's hoof; it could not shake it in the slightest and was completely futile.

This left him extremely frustrated. Before that lightning, he felt so insignificant, and the joy of having just advanced to the thirteenth level of Qi Gathering was instantly extinguished.

"You did very well."

At this moment, the sky had returned to clarity, and the overwhelming dark clouds had dispersed, as if everything just now had been a hallucination. A woman in white appeared before Long Chen.

Just as Long Chen was about to speak, another mouthful of blood spewed out. That strike just now had caused severe trauma to his internal organs.

The woman in white waved her hand, and a drop of green liquid floated toward Long Chen, falling into his mouth. Long Chen felt a sweet sensation slide down his throat, rapidly spreading through his body. He discovered that his injuries were actually beginning to heal rapidly.

The charred skin on his body was slowly peeling off. In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, his body had recovered by seventy to eighty percent, more miraculous than any healing medicine.

"Do not be surprised. The first Heavenly Punishment is mainly to destroy a person's will. If your will is not firm enough, you would have been annihilated, body and Divine Soul, under the Heavenly Punishment," the woman in white said.

"What exactly is Heavenly Punishment?" Long Chen asked.

"It is the will of the Heavenly Dao. Anyone who threatens the Heavenly Dao will invite punishment from the Heavenly Dao when they advance."

Upon hearing this, Long Chen's heart could not help but race. Threatening the Heavenly Dao? Could it be referring to the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art?

"There are some things I cannot tell you too much about, as it would be disadvantageous to you. Rest for a while and consolidate your cultivation; I am returning."

After speaking, without waiting for Long Chen to answer, the woman's figure transformed into a wisp of smoke and slowly vanished before him.

Watching the woman in white disappear, then looking at the leveled mountain peak, and then looking at the cloudless sky, it felt as if everything just now had been a dream.

Recalling that bolt of lightning, Long Chen suddenly awoke to the realization: that lightning was simply not something he could withstand, so why did it not kill him?

Could it really be as the woman said, that the first Heavenly Punishment was only targeting his will, and if his will had collapsed, he would have died under the Heavenly Punishment?

Earlier, he had felt that the Heavenly Punishment was irresistible and had wanted to flee. It was the woman's reminder that gave him the courage to face the Heavenly Punishment.

If it had not been for the woman's warning, he would likely have been struck into nothingness, body and soul. Thinking about it sent a shiver of fear down his spine.

At the same time, he understood how important a strong will was for a Martial Artist; cultivation was fundamentally a path of no retreat, only advancement.

Taking a deep breath, having received the woman's warning today, he felt as if he had seen an even broader sky.

"Hum."

Space trembled. Long Chen summoned the thirteen Qi cyclones outside his body; he wanted to see if there were any changes to his Qi cyclones.

"Huh?"

Long Chen discovered that the thirteen Qi cyclones were still a hundred zhang in diameter and had not grown larger. However, what surprised him was that after the Heavenly Punishment, there was now a bond between the thirteen Qi cyclones, completely connecting them together.

Now that the thirteen Qi cyclones were connected, they formed a halo. They were no longer operating independently but had become a single entity, with Spiritual Qi flowing back and forth among the thirteen Qi cyclones.

"Whoosh."

With a thought from Long Chen, the thirteen Qi cyclones trembled slightly. The cyclones spun rapidly, and the halo behind him rotated swiftly, forming a massive vortex that frantically absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The speed was more than ten times faster than before, which greatly surprised and delighted Long Chen. With this absorption speed, even if he encountered intense battles, he would not suffer from a lack of Spiritual Qi.

Back when he and Aman fought Lord Ying, it was because of the excessive consumption that led to a lack of Spiritual Qi, making it impossible to sustain the fight. Now that the thirteen Qi cyclones were connected, he basically would not have to worry about the issue of endurance in the future.

Furthermore, he discovered that when the divine halo condensed from the thirteen Qi cyclones appeared, his body experienced another condition: it was filled with power.

Slowly closing his eyes to inspect his own body, Long Chen suddenly jolted, his face filled with wild joy.