Chapter 1373: Mid-stage Tribulation Realm

At some point, the sparsely scattered stars within Qingming began to increase in number. At the same time, Fang Chen and the others finally saw a living Void Beast.

It appeared without the slightest warning. One moment, it simply materialized in front of the massive fleet, blocking their path. It stood in the void on sheer physical form alone, covered in fur tens of thousands of meters long. Before its vast figure, the entire fleet seemed as insignificant as ants.

When Li Shanzi and the others encountered the creature, they decisively put the fleet on full throttle and fled. The Void Beast had hardly reacted when the fleet suddenly vanished without a trace.

That power radiating from it... is Void Force,

Fang Chen thought, his suspicion confirmed.

These Void Beasts possessed the very same Void Force that Xing Jintuo had obtained when he broke through the void to draw energy from the Void World.

So Brother Xing truly wasn't the first in history to touch it. The power of the Void has always existed, but the Immortal Dao has never ventured into that domain. But for Xing Jintuo to shatter the Void with his mortal body and connect to the Void World... that talent alone stands at the peak of the Nine Realms.

Fang Chen's thoughts began to race.

Judging by Li Shanzi's reaction to the Void Beast, it was clear that the power system of the Void was not inferior to the Immortal Dao. Xing Jintuo's path had not been wrong. There was great potential in it.

By now, the Martial God Division of the underworld had been developing for many years, and under Xing Jintuo's leadership, many had begun following that path. Marshal Xiao Lang, Monarch of the Killing Spiritual Division, was one of them.

Immortal Dao, Yang Spirit, Yin Spirit, Void Force...

Fang Chen couldn't help feeling a bit of awe.

Without realizing it, the powers he commanded now spanned multiple systems.

The Yang Spirits were represented by his elders.

The Yin Spirits, by Stone Dragon and his kind.

The Immortal Dao went without saying.

And the Void Force was taking shape as well, pioneered by a true genius like Xing Jintuo.

"When this is over, I'll have to bring Xing Jintuo here to see a Void Beast for himself. He might gain some insight from it."

***

A year quietly passed.

Since maintaining the Immortal Boat consumed spiritual energy, and because his avatars occasionally sent feedback, Fang Chen's cultivation unknowingly rose to the peak of the early Tribulation Realm. Without any warning, heavenly tribulation descended.

He didn't rely on the Forgotten River to withstand it. Instead, he faced it using his own skills. As a result, his cultivation advanced smoothly into the mid-stage of the Tribulation Realm.

This small episode was hardly unusual in such a large fleet. Before Fang Chen's breakthrough, even Yu Tiange had already crossed his tribulation and entered the mid-stage of the Tribulation Realm earlier than him, likely thanks to an ample supply of high-grade spirit stones and medicine.

Not long after Fang Chen's advancement, Little Immortal Honglian and the others successively entered the Tribulation Realm as well. They had long been on the verge of that step, and after over ten years of accumulation following the assessment, the breakthrough came naturally.

As the group chatted idly, Lin Yuan couldn't help stealing a few envious glances at Fang Chen. "How much farther till we reach the Formless Purgatory? At this rate, if the trip there and back takes a hundred years, wouldn't our captain reach the Ascension Realm by then?"

He hadn't seen Fang Chen train hard at all, yet his cultivation rose so quickly. If that wasn't monstrous aptitude, what was?

"A hundred years is too long," Yu Wuxia estimated. "But a few years at least, I'd say. After all, it's the core region of the 157th Ancient Forbidden Zone."

"At our current speed aboard the Essence Long, it might take a few thousand years," she added dryly.

"So basically," Lin Yuan sighed, "we outer members will only ever be able to explore the outer regions. The core's out of reach anyway. For instance, even this area we're in doesn't appear anywhere on the maps."

Meng Qingling gave a short laugh. "Well, of course. You're still an external cultivator, don't you know what that means? That's why we're trying to become core members! Honglian's dream is to become a core disciple, after all."

Little Immortal Honglian shot her a calm glance. "If I become a core disciple, the first thing I'll do is kick you out."

"You're already thinking about kicking me out before you've even joined?" Meng Qingling snorted coldly. "How about we settle it now?"

"Don't start trouble," Fang Chen warned. "If you damage the Immortal Boat, we'll have to depend on others for survival."

The two women locked eyes, sparks of lightning seeming to clash in their stare-down.

With a harrumph, each tossed their heads aside, ignoring the other.

Seeing them settled down, Fang Chen let his thoughts wander again.

Once I reach the Ascension Realm, I can start consuming immortal herbs. As long as I prepare the proper immortal herb for the first transformation Immortal path, I won't need to overstay in the Ascension Realm. Within twenty or thirty years—or at most sixty if things don't go too smoothly—I should become an immortal.

But... which immortal path should I choose...?

At that moment, a familiar voice rang in his ears. "My disciple, the two core disciples have asked that your generation of geniuses spar with one another to liven up the long, dull journey. Come with me."

Lin Dong appeared on the immortal boat, tossed out that sentence, and immediately took Fang Chen toward the Black Dragon.

"Oh, right, you can all come too," he told the rest.

Yu Wuxia and the others perked up at once. With a mix of excitement and surprise, they followed close behind.

Many cultivators were already gathering toward the Black Dragon, Yu Tiange among them.

"Junior Brother's lucky this time," Wang Xuan said with a grin as he led his group over. "In my batch, none of the core disciples even glanced our way."

"It might not be good luck," Xu Qian replied. "Among Junior Brother's opponents, there will surely be geniuses with silver jade tokens."

"As long as he gets a moment in the spotlight, winning or losing won't matter. Honestly... I wish I could have that chance," Wang Xuan said softly, a hint of longing in his tone.

Xu Qian glanced at him. She knew her senior brother's ambitions well. He didn't want to become a stationed guardian of an expedition star like Lin Dong. From the very start, he had aspired to join the core of the Enlightenment God Palace, to receive true cultivation and endless resources.

As more cultivators arrived, the Black Dragon's deck soon filled. For the first time, Fang Chen saw nearly all of his fellow disciples gathered together. Wang Xuan, Xu Qian, and three others. All of them wore bronze jade tokens at their waists.

Each greeted Fang Chen in turn, though their attitude was polite rather than warm. After all, they hadn't grown up cultivating together; they had been accepted midway into the Enlightenment God Palace as Lin Dong's disciples because he saw potential in them.

In truth, even Lin Dong probably didn't regard them as true disciples. It was more of an investment.

"My disciple," Lin Dong said with a grin, "you must perform well this time. Core disciples Li and Ji both rank quite high within the Enlightenment God Palace. If you can catch their attention, your future will be bright."

"I will do my best," Fang Chen replied.

Lin Dong's grin widened. "Good, that's all I ask. The real competition this time will be between the holders of the silver jade tokens."

The immense deck of the Black Dragon was now crowded with cultivators from various expedition stars. They were all here to watch the event unfold.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

At present, there were over a hundred external cultivators in this generation's expedition. Among them, several clearly bore silver jade tokens.

Li Shanzi's commanding voice rang out. "Bring them all over."