When he saw Long Kui's expression, a thought flashed through Lu Yin's mind. He understood that Long Kui wanted Lu Yin to turn a blind eye to this matter. Even if they found out that there were spies, Lu Yin had to keep it a secret and not ruin the White Dragon Clan's reputation. However, Long Kui could not say these things out loud, which was why he had patiently reminded Lu Yin.
"Do you understand?" Long Kui asked.
Lu Yin answered, "Yes."
"You really do?"
"I definitely understand," Lu Yin replied.
Long Kui nodded, and his expression relaxed. This kid wasn't that stupid.
There were some things that could not be revealed, or else it would be a source of gossip, especially when it came to the Humble School and the spies. After all, it concerned the entire human race, and not every ancestor was as shameless as the Liu family's ancestor.
A day later, Tian Hou had completely flown into the Grey Mountain Range. This was the border of the Flying Armor Pass. Half a day ago, they had encountered a patrol of the Flying Armor Army, who had bowed to Long Kui from afar.
Just as Tian Hou was flying towards the Flying Armor Pass, Long Kui shouted, "Stop!"
Tian Hou paused, and his two large heads suddenly looked towards the south. His gaze was confused at first, but it soon turned to fear.
Long Kui's expression turned serious. "Let's go take a look."
Tian Hou changed directions and headed south.
Lu Yin was confused. "Elder, what's wrong?"
"Someone is undergoing an origin tribulation," Long Kui said.
Lu Yin's eyes trembled. Origin tribulation? What a familiar term, and he seemed to have heard of it before. Wait, origin tribulation, origin crystal.
"You know about origin tribulation?" Long Kui looked at Lu Yin strangely.
Lu Yin answered honestly, "I've heard of it, but I don't really understand it."
In the distance, the sky suddenly changed. The void distorted, forming a vortex that spiraled up into the sky like a giant monster. It rumbled as the entire void boiled.
Lu Yin's pupils shrank, and the star energy in his body flowed out uncontrollably. His fingers trembled, as he could no longer control his own strength.
"The universe is divided into two parts: the representation of the universe and the reality. The representation of the universe is the starry sky that we see, while the reality of the universe is even purer. The biggest difference between an Emissary and an Enlighter is that an Emissary can break through the constraints of the representation of the universe and come into contact with the reality of the universe. The energy in the reality of the universe is called an astral source, and star energy is emitted by an astral source that can be used for cultivation."
"When you reach the level of an Emissary and come into contact with the real universe, you will be able to cultivate Astral Sources. The Astral Sources in the real universe are not endless. Emissaries use their bodies as shells and Astral Sources as Qi to absorb the Astral Sources of the real universe into their bodies, forming Astral Sources and Cyclones. Every Astral Sources that a cultivator absorbs from the real universe will be reduced by a bit. In order to seize Astral Sources, the real universe will form Origin Tribulations. The purpose is to destroy the shell, which is the cultivator's body."
"This is the Origin Tribulation," Long Kui explained.
Lu Yin was shocked. How could there be such a thing? The astral energy vortex formed in one's body, but was the star energy just an overflow of star energy?
He thought back to when he had fought against an Emissary from the Sixth Mainland. That Emissary had been able to directly dissolve his star energy. His opponent had used an astral source, which had rendered his star energy useless.
From Lu Yin's perspective, the Origin Tribulation was similar to the relationship between the Mother Tree and those monsters from the Mortal Realm.
One side plundered while the other destroyed. They were mutually reinforcing and counteracting. Cultivators were like the Mother Tree, and the Origin Tribulation was like those monsters. Both had the same goal, which was to return everything to the universe.
From this perspective, the universe was more like a virtuous cycle of life.
Then, Bi An stopped as the Origin Tribulation in the distance took shape.
"Can't we avoid it?" Lu Yin asked.
Long Kui shook his head. "No, we can only block it. The Origin Tribulation senses the Astral Sources within a cultivator's body. The more Astral Sources there are, the more terrifying the Origin Tribulation will be. If a powerhouse helps to block it, the Origin Tribulation will also be able to sense it, and its power will increase accordingly. Any Astral Source within the Origin Tribulation's range will be attacked, no matter who it is."
Lu Yin looked into the distance and saw an old man with a crazed expression. He was roaring at the sky, and there were quite a few people watching, but no one dared to approach.
"Come, Origin Tribulation, come! I'll definitely survive it!" the old man bellowed as he pulled out a weapon from his cosmic ring. There were even defensive power vessels placed around him, and there were all sorts of strange items.
Above his head, the Origin Tribulation stirred the void and distorted the void. Following that, a stream of air descended from the center of the vortex and blasted towards the old man.
The old man's face paled, and he roared as boundless star energy surged into the sky. At the same time, nine-lined battle force was imprinted on his palm, and he struck out with a palm strike that was extremely powerful. Even Lu Yin raised his eyebrows, as this old man was no ordinary Enlighter.
The descending stream of air collided with the old man's palm, causing the world to rumble. A violent stream of air swept out in all directions, and the old man was directly pressed into the ground as blood splattered everywhere. At this moment, the vortex above his head twisted. This time, it was not a stream of air that appeared, but rather a rope-like shape that whipped towards the old man.
"Origin Tribulations come in all sorts of forms, and no one knows what kind of tribulation they'll face. However, one thing is certain: the form of the Origin Tribulation is something that has appeared in outer space before. It's like a replay, but it's also like a rebirth," Long Kui said in a low voice. Every expert who had become an Emissary had faced an Origin Tribulation before, as it was a disaster that could not be erased.
If ten Emissaries were born, then a hundred would be erased by the Origin Tribulation.
The old man's cosmic ring shattered, and he gripped a power vessel that resembled a conch tightly in his hand. At the same time, he frantically swallowed pills in an attempt to recover.
The rope that had appeared from the Origin Tribulation whipped towards the old man. He raised his hand, and the conch flew out with a low sound. It pushed open the void and blasted upwards. This power vessel had a power level of over 500,000, which was about the same as the ring that Long Xi had given Lu Yin.
The rope whipped against the soundwave and gradually disintegrated it. It then transformed into a spear that ruthlessly plunged down and pierced through the old man's body, pinning him to the ground.
There was a pained wail as a girl ran towards the old man. She was most likely the old man's granddaughter.
The old man's body had been pierced, and he could no longer live. When he saw his granddaughter running towards him, he bitterly said, "I've been unhindered for my entire life, but I still died to an Origin Tribulation. Silly child, don't cultivate anymore. This path won't work." Then, his body was disintegrated by the spear and completely disappeared from the world.
The girl ran over, but she did not even get to see her grandfather one last time. All she saw was empty air and the shattered cosmic rings on the ground.
Long Kui shook his head and sighed. "Logically speaking, this person should have made sufficient preparations and even had an Envoy-level power vessel, so he should have been able to survive. Unfortunately, his body's star energy surged, and the astral sources he could summon far surpass the average person's. Those Enlighters who were prepared could have protected him, but they couldn't. What a pity." He then patted Ji Hao's back and turned around to continue towards the Flying Armor Pass.
Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine when he heard Long Kui's words.
The Origin Tribulation's power was determined by the amount of star energy in a person's body?
This … this … this wasn't good, and it didn't make sense. Lu Yin's star energy was 200 times that of a normal cultivator's. Even that old man didn't have as much star energy as Lu Yin, and Lu Yin was still a Hunter. How much star energy would he have if he broke through to the Enlighter realm?
How many Emissaries would he have on the verge of breaking through?
He would definitely surpass the old man's by 200 times.
Lu Yin gulped when he thought about the Origin Tribulation that was 200 times more powerful than the one he had just faced. He felt like the universe was filled with malice towards him.
"If someone undergoes an Origin Tribulation here, after a certain amount of time, origin crystals of varying sizes will form in this space. This is why the Flying Armor Pass has origin crystals, and they are essential to help someone break through the lower and middle finger stages. Thus, you should understand the importance of the Flying Armor Pass. You must be careful when you go there," Long Kui couldn't help but remind Lu Yin again, which showed how important the Flying Armor Pass was.
Lu Yin was still thinking about the Origin Tribulation that he had just undergone. Once he failed, his body would scatter.
The Origin Tribulation was both a matter of a person seizing the astral sources of the real universe to cultivate, and it was also a matter of the real universe seizing the astral sources within a person's body.
Not long after, a simple city appeared before Lu Yin's eyes. This was the Flying Armor Pass.
Ji Hao stopped less than 50 kilometers away from the Flying Armor Pass. The area in front of him was restricted from flying, and no one was spared, including the White Dragon elder.
Long Kui said, "I can only send you this far. What you need to complete is the fourteenth mission, so it's not convenient for me to interfere."
Lu Yin replied, "Thank you, Elder."
"Try to delay the completion of the mission as much as possible. The Junior Ancestor will think of a way for you to return to the Upper Realm Dragon Mountain," Long Kui said.
Lu Yin nodded and then leaped down to land on the ground.
The gray ground was incomparably sturdy, and when Lu Yin stepped on it, he found that it was actually comparable to metal ore. It seemed that the erosion of the Origin Tribulation since ancient times had caused the ground to change.
The gray ground was shaped like a cauldron, and the ancients had an abnormal obsession with cauldrons. Anything that was related to a cauldron was definitely not an ordinary place.
Lu Yin thought about the Nine Yang Cauldron Transformation battle technique, and he remembered that it had been a very long time since he had been to the Daosource Sect's ruins. He was still very interested in the Nine Yang Cauldron Transformation battle technique, but unfortunately, he had never had the time.
The Flying Armor Pass was not a place that ordinary people could come to, and as far as the eye could see, there were cultivators everywhere.
The closer Lu Yin got to the Flying Armor Pass, the more people there were around him.
As his field of vision widened, Lu Yin saw a majestic city. There were Flying Armor soldiers patrolling the sky and the ground, and there were also Flying Armor soldiers standing guard at the city gates.
Although there were no more rune lines, Lu Yin's control of star energy allowed him to clearly sense that this Flying Armor Pass had an extraordinary aura. This aura reminded him of a sourcebox array.
This place was constantly being fought over, and any power that controlled this place would definitely set up an extremely powerful defense.
After stepping into the Flying Armor Pass, Lu Yin did not know how to find Guo Shan, but he believed that Guo Shan would definitely have a way to find him. If the two of them could not find each other and thus failed the mission, then that would be a joke.
Lu Yin casually ordered a few dishes from a restaurant and then looked into the distance. With his vision, he could see very far outside the Flying Armor Pass, and he saw quite a few cultivators digging for something underground. There were also some who were using some sort of instrument to probe the area. They were probably all looking for tribulation crystals!
Not long after, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man approached Lu Yin. "Little brother, can I sit here?"
Lu Yin turned around and saw that the man was smiling. He looked very kind, but his clothes were a little plain, and he did not care about his appearance at all. "Please, have a seat."
The middle-aged man sat down, looked at Lu Yin, and smiled. "I'm Guo Shan."