His eyes shone with a light of madness. Roaring, he went all-out, holding back nothing to charge forward. However, in the instant that he stepped into the vortex, a blast of mist shot out from inside. It transformed into a pike which pushed toward Guru Heavencloud. It barely poked him, but he let out a bloodcurdling scream nonetheless as he was sent tumbling backward.
“NO!!” As he fell back, countless lightning bolts descended, completely inundating him.
Fang Shoudao shook his head. “The second tribulation is coming, the Weapon Tribulation. This Heavencloud… has an unstable Dao heart. His essences are not converged, and his willpower is shaky. It’s not likely that he’ll succeed in the Weapon Tribulation.” Guru Heavencloud screamed as the mist pike continued to pursue him. The Heavens trembled, and Guru Heavencloud began to laugh with bitterness as he fought back desperately. At the same time, more mist shot out from within the vortex.
This time, the mist formed into eight sharp weapons: saber, spear, sword, halberd, axe, hatchet, hook and trident. As soon as they appeared, they joined with the pike, transforming into nine beams of light that shot toward Guru Heavencloud.
By this point, the surrounding cultivators were all coming to the same conclusion: Guru Heavencloud… was not going to succeed!
“I refuse to accept this!” he shrieked, fighting back with all his might. He refused to back down, despite the blood spraying from his mouth. With every wound that was inflicted on him, some of the mist of natural law and Essence that surrounded him would merge into his body, restoring him. However… that restoration ate away at his power of natural law and Essence, causing them to grow weaker and dissipate.
When they fully disappeared, then that would indicate… that his attempt to step into the Dao… had failed!
“The third tribulation is coming….” Fang Shoudao said, looking into the vortex.
Almost in the same moment that he spoke, shocking rumbling sounds could be heard from within the vortex, and four figures appeared.
Each of these figures wore a black suit of armor. It was impossible to see their facial features, but all of them emanated indescribably murderous auras that caused the faces of all onlookers to flicker with shock.
“The Mountain and Sea War Generals!” Fang Shoudao murmured, his eyes burning with fervor.
As Meng Hao looked at the four figures, all of a sudden, the Demon Sealing Hexing magic inside of him began to stir.
“Life Death Hexing?” he thought. Almost as soon as he noticed the connection, the four figures suddenly turned toward him. Within their helmets, their eyes suddenly flashed with a strange light.
As their gazes met, Meng Hao’s mind trembled. Suddenly, it wasn’t just the Demon Sealing Hexing magic that stirred inside of him, the Paragon’s blood inside of his Nirvana Fruit was also affected!
Gradually, he realized that there was some strange connection between himself and these four figures.
“It’s almost like… I can control them….” he murmured, shaken.
“What did you just say?” Fang Shoudao asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
In the same moment that Meng Hao was mentally shaken, Guru Heavencloud laughed shrilly, a laughter filled with desperation and madness. By now, he had also realized that he could not succeed. Stepping into the Dao was a difficult thing. To any cultivator of the great circle of the Ancient Realm, it was a deadly test that far exceeded the previous challenges of lamp extinguishing.
The Ancient Realm was a terrifying place for any cultivator to be. After reaching that Realm, they faced one deadly crisis after another. The only way to be free of such an existence was to successfully step into the Dao Realm.
“Meng Hao, all of this is your fault!!” Heavencloud raged. His bitter laughter was tinged with even more madness than before, and his eyes were bright red. As of this moment, he chose… what every person who failed to step into the Dao chose to do.
Instead of hopelessly trying to continue to break through, he sucked the remainder of his natural laws and Essences into his body, which would form his life force in the Quasi-Dao Realm!
Anyone who failed to step into the Dao, and instead became a Quasi-Dao cultivator, would have a severely limited longevity, which usually was linked to how many natural laws and Essences remained after their failure.
The more they had, the more longevity they would possess. If they had too few… then the number of years they had left could be counted on a single hand.
Laughing bitterly, Guru Heavencloud sucked his breakthrough aura back into his body, along with the surrounding mist of natural law and Essence.
As he retracted the aura, the nine mist weapons suddenly halted in place, ceasing their attack.
Guru Heavencloud’s body emitted rumbling sounds as the natural laws and Essence merged into him. Then, his power erupted, passing the great circle of the Ancient Realm and reaching… the Quasi-Dao Realm!!
He was now in