Chapter 1069 - Harbinger of Misfortune

Liu Wuxie stood silently before the thatched hut, feeling the immense pressure radiating from the laws of the Heaven Profound Realm.

This was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Though it wouldn't trigger a breakthrough, it let him attune to the realm's laws, an experience destined for someone who would one day reach that level.

Others weren't as fortunate. Few disciples resided on Heavenly Gate Peak, and his three senior brothers were still deep in seclusion. Only Liu Wuxie stood at the summit alone.

High above, Elder Qu Su and the academy's upper echelons arrived one after another, awe etched across their faces.

"After several centuries, he's finally the one to take that step," Qu Su murmured with a sigh. "He's about to break through to the Heaven Profound Realm."

Though they were all of the same generation, Elder Madman's talent had far exceeded their own.

Had it not been for that lightning tribulation back then, he would've reached the Heaven Profound Realm centuries ago and succeeded the previous grandmaster.

For hundreds of thousands of years, the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy had appointed a new grandmaster every millennium.

However, in the past millennium, no one had managed to make that breakthrough until now.

Elder Madman's rise had once offered a sliver of hope. Yet, his lightning tribulation had shattered his path, and his wife had sacrificed her life in a desperate attempt to save him.

Since then, he had lived in isolation atop Heavenly Gate Peak, cutting himself off from the world.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Logically, he should've broken through long ago," one elder remarked. "But I suspect his state of mind held him back all these years."

His accumulation and cultivation had long reached the required threshold. What kept him from advancing was his incomplete dao heart, shackled by grief and regret.

Now that his dao heart had finally mended, the breakthrough came as naturally as breathing.

Suddenly, the lightning tribulation arrived.

It engulfed the entirety of Heavenly Gate Peak, casting a terrifying aura that forced all the disciples at the mountain's base to retreat.

The power of a Heaven Profound lightning tribulation was enough to obliterate even cultivators at the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Realm.

And yet, Liu Wuxie remained standing at the summit, completely unharmed.

That was because he had refined the Thunder Saint Pearl and cultivated the Divine Thunder Physique, an extraordinary constitution that thrived on lightning.

He welcomed the descending bolts with open arms, absorbing them directly into his body.

The Divine Thunder Physique pulsed with growing might, each strike tempering him further. The laws of the Heaven Profound Realm coursed through him, weaving themselves into every inch of his being.

"The heavens truly favor that boy," one elder muttered, watching Liu Wuxie enviously. "To witness a breakthrough to the Heaven Profound Realm and even use its laws to cultivate..."

"Fortune is a strange thing," Qu Su said with a nod. "You can't explain it, but you know it's real."

Liu Wuxie's fortune wasn't merely a result of luck, but it was something he seized and bent to his will, carving his path through fate and defying heaven's design.

As the Heaven Profound laws entered his body, the overwhelming force nearly caused his physique to collapse, but he was ready.

With a wave of his hand, he summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, which drew the chaotic laws into its depths to refine them gradually. He didn't rush.

Above, thunderclouds rolled in thick waves, darkening the heavens.

Bolts of lightning twisted through the sky like massive serpents, coiling with a will of their own.

The sudden surge of lightning tribulation stirred even the Scarlet Dragon Python from its depths.

It cautiously emerged from Celestial Lunar Lake, only to shudder and shut its eyes in terror.

"Damn it! No one's reached the Heaven Profound Realm in millennia, and now this?" it muttered uneasily. "Too many strange things have been happening lately."

Without another word, it slipped back beneath the lake's surface, choosing to return to seclusion.

The recent repair of the profound talisman atop Heavenly Peak had stabilized the laws of the True Martial Continent. On the surface, it made future breakthroughs easier, but ease often came with consequences.

There was a pattern to such events.

Whenever a continent neared collapse, it would rebound violently, producing a new generation of powerful experts. Ancient treasures buried deep underground would reemerge, unwilling to fade into obscurity.

Perhaps in the coming years, the True Martial Continent would experience such a resurgence, and the Heaven Profound Realm would no longer seem like an unattainable dream.

However, something was wrong right now.

"Why hasn't the lightning tribulation descended?" Liu Wuxie frowned, his eyes locked on the sky above the thatched hut. The delay was ominous.

The elders in the sky sensed it as well.

"Could Elder Madman have run into a problem?" one elder murmured, voice filled with unease.

"It's strange. He should've triggered the tribulation by now. Has he failed to resolve the knot in his heart?" another speculated.

If Elder Madman couldn't withstand the lightning tribulation, the consequences would be fatal. Even though Liu Wuxie absorbed a fraction of the thunderbolts, the overwhelming majority of ninety-nine percent would be targeted at Elder Madman.

If the full force mistakenly struck Liu Wuxie, not even the Divine Thunder Physique would save him. The tribulation would reduce him to ashes in an instant.

Liu Wuxie activated the Ghost Eye, locking his gaze on the thatched hut.

Thunderbolts raged and twisted around the hut like dragons, forming a protective cocoon that blocked all divine sense. Even the elders above couldn't penetrate it.

However, Ghost Eye was different.

Liu Wuxie's vision pierced through the storm, and what he saw turned his expression grim.

Inside the hut, Elder Madman sat cross-legged, his face deathly pale and contorted in agony.

"He's in trouble!" Liu Wuxie muttered, eyes narrowing.

His Ghost Eye probed deeper, locking onto Elder Madman's condition. A pained grimace contorted the elder's face, his entire being trembling violently.

"There's a crack in his dao heart..." Liu Wuxie quickly identified the source of the problem.

A fierce internal battle seized Elder Madman. Though centuries had passed, the trauma of his past still clung to him like chains.

At this critical moment, those long-buried emotions surged to the surface, threatening to shatter everything.

How could anyone bear watching the one they loved die before their eyes?

Time might dull the edges of grief, but for someone as deeply emotional as Elder Madman, the wound had never truly healed. The tribulation fractured his dao heart, and it had never healed since.

If he couldn't overcome it now, his breakthrough would fail.

And worse, he would fall into madness, consumed by despair.

He would stray from the righteous path entirely and plunge into the demonic way.

Liu Wuxie stood before the thatched hut, unmoving, as the oppressive power of the Heaven Profound Realm's laws surged around him. He transmitted his voice through his primordial spirit, letting it flow into the hut like a sacred chant.

"When cultivators practice dao, they share the world with all. Leaders choose the worthy and able, and cultivators uphold trust and harmony," his voice echoed like a great bell, shaking the walls of the thatched hut with each syllable.

"Therefore, people do not only treat their relatives as family, nor do they raise only their children. Disciples care for the elderly until life's end, assign roles to adults, and nurture and educate the children..."

The classical passage resonated with Elder Madman's soul. His expression, once twisted in pain, began to ease.

The sages had composed these verses to guide the cultivation of moral clarity, and each word struck at the heart of Elder Madman's confusion.

Outside, Liu Wuxie turned pale. The backlash from the tribulation was immense, and even from a distance, it surpassed what he had endured while reforging the Heretic Blade. After all, stepping into the Heaven Profound Realm was a trial on an entirely different level.

Elder Madman remained conscious yet trapped in the prison of his mind. However, Liu Wuxie's calm, steady voice became a guiding thread, helping him cast aside distractions and focus entirely on his breakthrough.

The instant Elder Madman untied the knot in his dao heart, the skies roared in response. Lightning crashed down like a torrential storm.

Seeing this, Liu Wuxie retreated to a safe distance. Though he could use lightning to cultivate, the Heaven Profound Realm's tribulation was far beyond his current strength. Even so, just absorbing a portion from afar was enough to temper his Divine Thunder Physique.

Lightning dragons roared through the storm clouds, which hung low over the peak like a suffocating shroud. The sky looked as if it were on the verge of collapse, and countless disciples below watched in shock and awe.

"What's going on? Ever since Liu Wuxie joined the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, we've known no peace," many disciples whispered among themselves.

For centuries, the academy had existed in tranquility. But ever since Liu Wuxie's arrival, events had unfolded one after another, each more astonishing than the last.

Thunderbolts pierced into the thatched hut, engulfing Elder Madman. If he could endure this final stage, his breakthrough would be complete.

Many had failed at this step, perishing under the tribulation and being obliterated.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Still, the lightning storm raged on.

Only on the fourth day did the tribulation finally begin to weaken. The overwhelming bolts gave way to flickering pulses of light, signaling that Elder Madman had entered the stabilization phase of his breakthrough.

He stepped into the Heaven Profound Realm.

His breakthrough caught the attention of nearly every elder of the sect, even those who had stayed in seclusion for decades. For those at the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Realm, witnessing such an event could offer invaluable insights for their future breakthroughs.

As the tribulation faded, Liu Wuxie cautiously approached the hut.

The door creaked open.

Elder Madman stood at the threshold, transformed. The deep lines and weathered features had vanished. In their place was the calm and dignified face of a man in his prime with a steady presence.

"Thank you for guiding me at this critical moment," Elder Madman said, his voice deep but composed. "I still need time to consolidate my cultivation. Once I'm done, I'll thank you properly."

"That's my duty as your disciple," Liu Wuxie said respectfully, though inwardly he was thrilled.

With a Heaven Profound expert now backing him, even forces like the Black Plume Pavilion and the Golden Cauldron Pavilion wouldn't dare to act against him so brazenly.

"You're planning to leave the Central Plains?" Elder Madman asked, his tone light but probing. He had long studied divination, and Liu Wuxie had witnessed the power of his predictions before.

"Yeah. I'm heading to the Eastern Domain," Liu Wuxie answered honestly.

"The Eastern Domain... to find the Barefooted Elder?" Elder Madman asked after a brief pause, seeming to divine Liu Wuxie's purpose.

"Master, you know the Barefooted Elder?" Liu Wuxie's eyes lit up. He had long felt uneasy about the journey. If his master knew something, it could prove invaluable.

"Not much. But I do know your path will be dangerous." Elder Madman tossed a token toward him. "Take this. It may protect you at a critical moment."

He made the gesture subtly, but his message was clear: the Eastern Domain was far more dangerous than it seemed.

Liu Wuxie frowned slightly. For someone like Elder Madman to offer a warning before the journey had even begun was an ominous sign.

"I know what you're thinking," Elder Madman said, reading the concern on Liu Wuxie's face. "But don't be careless. The Barefooted Elder is also known as the Harbinger of Misfortune. Those who encounter him often suffer great calamities. Think carefully before you commit to this path."

With that, Elder Madman turned and quietly shut the wooden door behind him. He had said all he could.

As for what the future held, even he could not foresee it.

"The Harbinger of Misfortune..." Liu Wuxie murmured, brows furrowed. He had never imagined someone like that could truly exist.

However, he didn't dwell on it long.

His mind was set. No one could sway him as he couldn't delay Han Feizi's rescue any longer.