Chapter 00228: Departure
# Departure
Chapter 228
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 228: Departure
The True Immortal Realm's heavenly tribulation is usually a one-nine thunder tribulation.
However, Lan Xiaobu was well aware that whether he cultivated the Great Desolate Art or the Longevity Art, he wouldn't face a one-nine thunder tribulation.
Boom! Boom! With the sound of thunder, two thick arcs of lightning, as thick as an adult's arm, descended.
Lan Xiaobu immediately sensed a dangerous aura.
Without hesitation, he summoned the Heaven-Reflecting Seal to block one of the lightning arcs.
The second arc struck him directly.
Even though Lan Xiaobu's physical body was far more tempered than that of his peers, the massive lightning arc still cracked his spine.
If he hadn't blocked the first arc, both arcs striking him would have left him no chance to activate the Longevity Art.
This kind of massive lightning arc was terrifying.
After activating the Longevity Art, the purest thunder essence was something Lan Xiaobu had never encountered before.
In just three cycles, his strength surged forward once more.
When the third and fourth lightning arcs descended, Lan Xiaobu had gained some experience.
He knew that although there were fewer arcs, their power far exceeded that of previous tribulations.
At this moment, both the Undying Art and the Longevity Art were in full operation.
After the fourth lightning arc passed, Lan Xiaobu felt the barrier to the True Immortal Realm.
Thanks to his preparation, these two arcs didn't cause severe injuries but instead pushed his cultivation further.
The fifth lightning arc descended, and Lan Xiaobu, without any surprise, used it to break through the shackles of the True Immortal Realm.
Once the shackles were broken, an endless stream of immortal spiritual energy rushed in.
The Longevity Art acted like a massive millstone, transforming all the incoming spiritual energy into true immortal essence, becoming part of Lan Xiaobu's strength.
The sixth, seventh, and eighth lightning arcs fell simultaneously.
Lan Xiaobu didn't even need to summon the Heaven-Reflecting Seal.
With the Longevity Art operating at its peak, the thunder essence from the three arcs merged with the immortal spiritual energy forming mist in the Divine Essence Valley, stabilizing his cultivation and pushing him to the peak of the first level of the True Immortal Realm.
When the ninth lightning arc descended, Lan Xiaobu smoothly advanced to the second level of the True Immortal Realm.
By now, the injuries from the first lightning arc had already healed.
Feeling the nourishing spiritual energy after the tribulation, Lan Xiaobu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Upon entering the True Immortal Realm, he had indeed faced a one-nine thunder tribulation.
Regardless, today he had finally become a celestial immortal.
Although he was still at the lowest level of cultivators in the Five Realms Immortal World, he had at least become an immortal.
In the Five Realms Immortal World, cultivators were divided into three levels: Celestial Immortals, Great Immortals, and Positional Immortals.
All cultivators in the True Immortal, Golden Immortal, and Profound Immortal Realms belonged to the Celestial Immortal level.
He was now a second-level True Immortal, the lowest level of Celestial Immortals.
As long as he didn't encounter a Great Yi Immortal or stronger, he could still escape if he couldn't win.
At this moment, his divine sense could sweep over fifty thousand miles.
Lan Xiaobu knew this was due to the influence of the heavenly rules in the immortal world.
If he were in the mortal world, his divine sense could easily cover over a million miles.
Having reached the second level of the True Immortal Realm and with a body nearing the level of an immortal physique, the blade-like energy in the Divine Essence Valley no longer posed much of a threat to Lan Xiaobu.
However, the spiritual damage inside was becoming increasingly severe.
Despite being at the sixth level of the Soul Tempering Technique and possessing a Soul Shield, he still couldn't block the growing spiritual attacks.
Clearly, this damage increased with the cultivator's level.
He had just entered the True Immortal Realm; if a Great Yi Immortal or an Immortal King came here, they might not survive.
Fortunately, over the past few months, he had gathered nearly a hundred Nine-Leaf Transcendence Flowers.
Even if he stayed inside, the number of these flowers was dwindling.
It was better to leave and search for the Time Formation Disk.
Lan Xiaobu, covered in wounds, rushed out of the Divine Essence Valley.
He noticed that the number of people at the edge of the valley had significantly decreased.
The cultivators lingering at the edge of the valley were stunned.
How could someone rush out from inside the Divine Essence Valley? No one had dared to enter the valley for a long time, mainly because the Nine-Leaf Transcendence Flowers were becoming increasingly scarce.
Even at the edge, near the largest boulders, it was now difficult to find these flowers.
"I remember now! This person entered the Divine Essence Valley five months ago. I can't believe he made it out," someone exclaimed.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu's retreating figure, several Golden Immortal cultivators exchanged glances and silently followed him.
Lan Xiaobu had initially planned to bid farewell to Lian Yinping before leaving the Divine Essence Valley market, but his divine sense had already detected that Lian Yinping had left.
Without hesitation, he used the Earth-Shattering Golden Light technique and disappeared from the outskirts of the market.
The Golden Immortal cultivators who had been following him were left dumbfounded.
He had just vanished like that? They hadn't even caught a glimpse of his shadow.
Soon, rumors spread through the Divine Essence Valley market that a cultivator had obtained at least ten Nine-Leaf Transcendence Flowers from the valley and hadn't sold them to any of the market's shops.
Whether the rumors were true or not, the Divine Essence Pill Pavilion had already sent people to search for Lan Xiaobu.
The pavilion had released a fragment of the Nine Revolutions Transcendence Pill formula, offering high prices for the Nine-Leaf Transcendence Flowers and attracting everyone to the Divine Essence Valley.
What was their goal if not to obtain these flowers? Now that someone had gotten the flowers and left without even entering the market, this couldn't be allowed.
...
Lan Xiaobu didn't care if anyone was looking for him.
He summoned the Extreme Sea Cloud Boat and sped towards the Pengyue Immortal Artifact Sect.
Following the location sphere given by Lian Yinping, Lan Xiaobu stopped after about half a month.
This was the location Lian Yinping had provided, but he couldn't see any sign of the Pengyue Immortal Artifact Sect's dao charm plaque.
Lan Xiaobu was puzzled.
He felt that Lian Yinping hadn't lied to him; her words seemed genuine.
Besides, she had no reason to deceive him.
Lan Xiaobu began to carefully scan the area within a fifty-thousand-mile radius with his divine sense.
After half a day, he finally found the words "Pengyue Immortal Artifact Sect."
These dao charm characters were so faint that they were almost on the verge of dissipating.
If Lan Xiaobu hadn't reached the True Immortal Realm, with a powerful soul sea and divine sense far beyond ordinary cultivators, he wouldn't have been able to see these characters.
They floated in the void, barely visible.
Lan Xiaobu quickly realized that although these characters were left by a sage, the rules of the Five Realms Immortal World were completely different from the Nine Heavens.
The sage's dao charm characters would eventually dissipate here.
He had arrived just in time; any later, and the characters would have completely vanished.
Even now, his divine sense could barely detect them.
Lan Xiaobu stood beneath the dao charm characters, spreading his divine sense outward.
He was in a desolate plain.
Due to the dense immortal spiritual energy, weeds had begun to grow, though they weren't very tall yet.
Among the weeds were some low-grade immortal spirit grasses.
Lan Xiaobu stood in place for three full days but couldn't make any progress.
He knew that the Time Formation Disk had nothing to do with him.
How could he possibly find such a disk in a place like this?
"Brother Lan!" Just as Lan Xiaobu sighed and prepared to leave, he heard a voice filled with surprise.
"Friend Lian Yinping," Lan Xiaobu was also pleasantly surprised.
He hadn't expected to meet Lian Yinping here.
However, he quickly understood her purpose.
Inside her flying ship lay her dao companion, Yu Chen, whose face was as pale as paper, his breath weak, and on the verge of death.
Lian Yinping must have wanted to bury her dao companion at the Pengyue Immortal Artifact Sect, which was why she had come here.
"It really is Brother Lan. I waited for you in the Divine Essence Valley for a few days, but then I heard you had entered the valley, so I left," Lian Yinping said, clearly thinking Lan Xiaobu had perished.
Her tone no longer carried much sorrow.
"Friend Yu Chen..."
Lan Xiaobu looked at Yu Chen, hesitating.
Lian Yinping smiled faintly, "Brother Chen is about to leave. I brought him to the sect, planning to stay here with him and never leave again."
Lan Xiaobu understood.
He had seen many forms of love, but few were as profound as Lian Yinping's.
She intended to bury Yu Chen and then end her own life to be with him.
That was why she no longer felt sorrow.
Their departure together fully expressed her emotions.
Having witnessed much betrayal in the cultivation world, Lan Xiaobu was deeply moved by Lian Yinping's love.
He thought of Su Cen.
Perhaps Su Cen's love for him had transformed into familial affection.
But to avoid burdening him, she had stepped out of the protective barrier, which was also a form of departure.
Wasn't that equally heavy?
"Lan Xiaobu, do you think the sky will ever turn blue again?"
He had once been determined to make Earth's sky blue again.
Even the Cosmic Dimension Matrix contained true planetary purification technology.
Perhaps part of this was due to his own stubbornness, but wasn't the greater reason Su Cen's words?
"Brother Lan, you don't need to feel sad for me. I feel very happy. Finally, I don't have to suffer in this world anymore. For me, it's a kind of liberation," Lian Yinping comforted Lan Xiaobu, seeing his sorrow.
Lan Xiaobu looked into the distant void.
In this life, he no longer had any connection with Su Cen.
He only hoped she could live a better life, not as difficult and humble as in their past life.
Perhaps it was this thought that kept him from disturbing her life.
Lan Xiaobu took out a jade box and handed it to Lian Yinping, "Friend Lian Yinping, take this to save your dao companion. It should work."
Lian Yinping opened the jade box in confusion, then covered her mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face.
Inside was a Nine-Leaf Transcendence Flower, the very thing that could save Yu Chen.
She had waited in the Divine Essence Valley for nearly a year, brushing with death countless times, yet never obtaining one.
Now, it was in her hands.
"Brother Lan, I..."
Lian Yinping couldn't express her emotions.
Lan Xiaobu waved his hand, feeling a bit uneasy.
When the Longevity Art had first appeared, he had been ecstatic.
But deep down, was he truly only pursuing the Great Dao? He wondered how many people and things he had missed along the way.
(End of Chapter)