Scourge Messenger

Chapter 478 Time is about to accelerate (Fifth update)

Deng Guanjian immediately realized Jiang Shi's subtext, and his eyes flashed with sharpness: "You also want to prove the Tribulation Rank? And you already have the Tribulation Rank lineage?"

Countless worldly affairs exist, but only one position of tribulation is attained!

If there is someone above you in the Tribulation Position, then you either ascend to the mortal world, because there is no Tribulation Position to correspond with your Dao Foundation; or you directly pull down the Golden Core and take the position yourself!
There are only so many positions in the world. If two forces want to claim the same position, then there is no other way out except to fight to the death!

“Besides needing to know what position you’re aiming to attain, I also need to know which positions are already occupied,” Jiang Shi said. “This is crucial for our cooperation.”

Deng Guanjian and Gai Qingyun were struck by a thought. They realized that Jiang Shi had grand ambitions and was very likely trying to seize multiple positions.

If Jiang Shi had a clear target, she would only need to ask if the corresponding Tribulation Position was vacant. But she's asking about the details of all Tribulation Positions under heaven, which can only mean one thing... she has multiple Tribulation Position lineages and can adjust her plans according to the situation!
As for whether having multiple Tribulation Positions equates to wanting to seize multiple positions, there's no need to discuss that—the number of Tribulation Positions is limited, and if one's own people have them, it's equivalent to the enemy being gone. If there are enough resources, they will definitely take over all the vacant Tribulation Positions.

Indeed, this is the case. Perhaps due to the update to the Cataclysm version, the Messenger has included the cultivation paths for all the Tribulation ranks. Yan Qing strongly suspects that the core gameplay of the Cataclysm version is concentrated at the eighth level, and that both the Mortal Immortal and Golden Core stages are merely transitional, hence the release of all of them. However, the fact that there are currently vacancies in the Tribulation ranks shows that local players simply do not have the resources to reach the eighth level, so this cannot be verified.

However, if even the resources for the eighth level are lacking, how did the ninth level appear in history? Yan Qing quickly came up with the answer: if a single realm is insufficient, wouldn't combining four realms be enough? As for whether other realms will provide them... wouldn't the messenger's supernatural powers, imperial edicts, the ability to seize positions, and the factions come in handy at this time?

After pondering for a moment, Deng Guanjian said, "According to ancient legends, there are sixteen tribulations in the world. From the time of the Primordial Daoist Venerable to the present, although the number of tribulations has fluctuated, the total number has never increased or decreased."

"The kalpa positions are divided into four kalpas of reincarnation: formation, existence, decay, and emptiness; there are also four positions of myriad phenomena: earth, wind, water, and fire, which are interwoven like warp and weft, making up the sixteen kalpa positions!"

"In the past thousand years, there have only been five major calamity masters on the surface."

"Openly?"

“Yes, many people believe there is another hidden tribulation master,” Deng Guanjian said. “To explain this, we need to first introduce the Heavenly Tribulation of the Mortal Immortal.”

"Immortals of the Mortal Realm must undergo nine Heavenly Tribulations in Blessed Lands, which is unavoidable. Each Heavenly Tribulation involves nine calamities, hence the name Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulations. Immortal Lords revere the Tribulation Masters, not only because the Golden Core Tribulation Masters are far stronger than Mortal Immortals, but also because the Golden Core Tribulation Masters can influence the Heavenly Tribulations of Mortal Immortals!"

"The nine calamities of the Heavenly Tribulation are all variations of the sixteenth tribulation position. They often begin with the [Cheng Tribulation] and end with the [Kong Tribulation]. However, the same calamity may occur multiple times. For example, when the Heavenly Court Immortal Lords undergo tribulation, they can induce three derivative calamities of the [Eternal Flow] to occur within the nine calamities."

"The Regression Deity can directly influence these three [Eternal Flow] calamities. As long as the Golden Core Calamity Master is willing to pay a high enough price, they can either completely eliminate the calamity or even transform it into good fortune, helping the Mortal Immortal resist the upcoming calamities!"

"Besides eliminating calamities, can the Golden Elixir also aggravate them?" Jiang Shi asked.

“Of course.” Deng Guanjian nodded: “Therefore, for all immortals in the mortal world who aspire to transcend tribulation, how to induce changes in calamity is a matter of life and death.”

Yan Qing suddenly understood.

No wonder Golden Core cultivators are so revered; no wonder super powers are built around Golden Core cultivators; no wonder Deng Guanjian and his group are willing to pay such a high price to cultivate a Golden Core cultivator.

Even though Yan Qing didn't know the difficulty of the Heavenly Tribulation, he could tell that without the help of a Golden Core Tribulation Master, the tribulation of a Mortal Immortal would be extremely dangerous.

The reason is simple: the Heavenly Tribulation in "The Messenger" is designed to test whether players' game skills, equipment level, and even character build are up to standard. However, there are less than a hundred immortal lords in the entire world, and they are scattered in various places due to the boundary. They also cannot use the conscription order to fight together. How can their equipment level be improved?
According to Yan Qing's estimation, ordinary immortal lords might be able to survive the first few tribulations by luck, but there will definitely be a stage where mortal immortals will need to be fully equipped to pass the tribulation with their own strength. For immortal lords in the world, this is a difficult challenge with no chance of survival!
Simply put, the Heavenly Tribulation is like an exam, and all the mortal immortals are candidates who cannot pass. The Golden Core Tribulation Master is the proctor who can help them cheat.

It can be said that the number of Golden Core cultivators a faction has determines the upper limit that its Mortal Immortals can reach!

“Every time a Red Dust Immortal undergoes a tribulation, the corresponding Golden Core Tribulation Master will sense any calamity involving their own tribulation level,” Deng Guanjian said. “However, due to the distance, unless there is a deep-seated hatred between them and the one undergoing the tribulation, or it is a major catastrophe like the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation or the Seven-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, the Golden Core Tribulation Masters of other forces will mostly not interfere. Even if they do interfere, they will only slightly aggravate the calamity or alleviate it to form a good relationship.”

"So you discovered signs of a sixth Tribulation Lord during the tribulation?" Jiang Shi asked.

“It’s not just us; the immortal lords of Changshengtian, Yuliuting, and the Fire Worship Sect have also noticed something amiss,” Gai Qingyun said. “We believe that this hidden calamity master is the [Calming the Wind] of the Calamity Wind position.”

"Whenever a Celestial Lord encounters the [Calming the Storm] calamity during the Heavenly Tribulation, the difficulty is significantly reduced. For example, it comes later, and there are clear warnings when it erupts. This calamity master is most likely... a successor of the World Honored One."

"World Honored One?" Jiang Shi asked, "The last Nine-Turn One in history?"

Deng Guanjian nodded: "The [Calming the Storm] has always been managed by the lineage of the World Honored One. Even though there was a period of blankness when the Golden Core Immortal died, no one could prove the [Calming the Storm] tribulation position and it was sealed in a secret realm."

"It can actually block the thief's position?"

"All the forces founded by the Nine Revolutions Immortal Venerable have sealed off one or more tribulation positions. The Heavenly Court's [Eternal Flow] and the Eternal Heaven's [Earthly State of Kun] are both remnants of the Immortal Venerable. However, such sealing is not unlimited. Over time, the tribulation position will return to the world. For example, the tribulation position that the Fire Worship Sect sealed off in the past was [Dark Room Bright]. Because it was lost for too long, it was gone and the Heavenly Court seized the certificate. Therefore, the Fire Worship Sect could only switch to the certificate of [Eternal Candle].

He paused for a moment: "The Dragon Lord once sealed two Tribulation Positions, but now they have all been lost, and one Tribulation Position inheritance has also been lost."

"Lost?" Jiang Shi asked, "Isn't the inheritance of the Tribulation Realm knowledge? How can it be lost?"

“Kill all those who know the truth,” Gai Qingyun said coldly. “How can one allow others to sleep soundly beside one’s bed? Torturing someone to reveal the Tribulation Position inheritance might not be feasible, after all, the inheritance involves dozens of Heavenly Stars and Earthly Fiends, and making a mistake on even one could mean missing out on the Tribulation Position; but destroying the Tribulation Position inheritance is as easy as turning one’s hand. The Tribulation Position inheritance is related to the Golden Core cultivator himself, and one can seize it with a single move using the Life Divine Power. Why did the Fire Worship Sect dare to bid for the [Eternal Candle] lineage at the auction? Because if the Candle Lord is really still alive, he can find a seller at any time!”

"Let's return to the topic of [Calming the Storm]," Deng Guanjian said. "The lineage of the World Honored One has always been benevolent, and usually only appears when the successor of the Demon Lord wreaks havoc on the world. Even if no one has seen it, it can be assumed that the position of [Calming the Storm] already has an owner."

"Why would the successor of the Demon Lord wreak havoc on the world?" Jiang Shi asked curiously. "The Demon Lord, is he the Nine-Turn Immortal Lord who was famous throughout history for his battles?"

"This is a very long story, and our clan's heritage has been lost many times. Much of the history is just speculation and embellishment by later generations, and may not be the truth."

"Keep it short."

“Yes, you know that a large portion of the demons in the secret realm are no different from us. Even in the Blissful Immortal Palace that we just fought, the Demon King ‘Weeping Daoist’ was much larger than us, but he was still human in essence.” Deng Guanjian said slowly, “And among them, there must be female demons.”

Yan Qing immediately guessed what he was going to say; in fact, this was one of the questions he sometimes thought about when he couldn't sleep at night.

Jiang Shi said, "You might as well just say it."

"It is said that the Demon Lord is half-human and half-demon, with a human father and a demon mother," Deng Guanjian said. "This is a long-standing study, and it is certainly still being conducted today, perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps out of lust, or perhaps to obtain the secret of the immortality of demons in the secret realm... In short, because of his experiences and bloodline, the Demon Lord is filled with hatred for humans. During the nearly ten thousand years he roamed the land, Golden Core cultivators disappeared without a trace, and Immortal Lords vanished. It is said that the human race was almost wiped out, but because the Immortal Lords had already relocated many humans to blessed lands, after the Demon Lord disappeared for many years, the human race quickly became the masters of heaven and earth again."

"But every few thousand years, a successor of the Demon Lord will appear and slaughter the world. The True Fire Sect was wiped out as a result, and the Fire Worshiping Sect reappeared later. Our Dragon Poetry Twelve Clan's gangs also died out as a result, and there have been no new gangs to this day."

"The world lived in fear of the Demon Lord's successor until the World Honored One was born, defeated the Demon Lord's successor, and cultivated all the way to the ninth level. From then on, whenever the Demon Lord's successor wreaked havoc on the world, the World Honored One would travel to subdue the demons and eliminate evil."

Deng Guanjian paused, "Although that's what they say, I can't be sure it's true. After all, the last time the Demon Lord's successor and the World Honored One clashed was five thousand years ago. We neither knew each other nor witnessed it firsthand." "The World Honored One has reached the Golden Core Tribulation stage, doesn't the Demon Lord's successor have it?" Jiang Shi asked.

"It's highly likely, but the Demon Lord's successor has never affected the calamity. In addition, the calamity position that the Demon Lord's successor holds is said to be the Void Calamity Fire Position, which is a calamity position that we never attain, so we don't know anything about it."

Why not prove the emptiness of calamity?

Yan Qing had just discovered that the tribulation positions controlled by the super powers were basically all [Form] and [Dwell], with not a single one being [Destruction] or [Void].

"【Cheng】 represents the establishment of all beings in the world, which can help blessed lands and grotto-heavens to come from nothing; 【Zhu】 represents the continuation of all beings in the world, which can help blessed lands and grotto-heavens to grow from something to something." Deng Guanjian said, "【Huai】 and 【Kong】 can only increase killing and are of no benefit to management. If one can only choose one tribulation position, whether for one's own considerations or the interests of the sect, 【Cheng】 and 【Zhu】 are far superior to 【Huai】 and 【Kong】.

Yan Qing could understand the locals' thinking. Unlike gamers, in this real world where it can take years, decades, or even hundreds of years to farm, people naturally value management skills more than strengthening their own combat power to enter secret realms. The former is more profitable and safer, while the latter... you might not even be able to find suitable teammates for the latter.

"Please name all the positions that are currently occupied or may be occupied," Jiang Shi said.

Deng Guanjian casually pulled out a piece of paper and wrote it down:
"The water level of the Imperial River Court is at its peak [Jade Purification Bottle]",

The status of the Eternal Heaven in its formation and tribulation [Earthly condition: Kun]

The Heavenly Court's abiding tribulation water position [Eternal Flow] and completing tribulation fire position [Dark Room Bright]

The Buddha's lineage's abiding in the wind phase [stable wind and waves]

Zoroastrianism is suspected of having lost the position of the eternal flame, the "Eternal Candle."

The Void Tribulation Fire Position of the Demon Lord's lineage [Tathagata Ashes].

Deng Guanjian drew a table, four columns and four rows, with sixteen squares: "Finally, it is the position of the calamity we want to prove, the position of the dwelling calamity [Mount Buzhou]."

“No.” Jiang Shi shook his head: “Mount Buzhou is mine.”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Gai Qingyun stared at Jiang Shi, his arms, which had been crossed over his chest, fell naturally to his sides, as if he were about to draw his weapon at any moment. Deng Guanjian stared at the paper on the table, without turning around.

“If you insist on proving the [Completion] Kalpa or the [Abiding] Kalpa, I can tell you about the Kalpa lineage of the [Eternal Candle].” Jiang Shi continued, “If there were no such restriction, I could tell you about the Kalpa lineage of the three [Destruction] Kalpas and the [Void] Kalpas. According to your statement, these Kalpa positions must be unclaimed.”

"What about the Chengjie Fengwei [Qingping Mo]?" Deng Guanjian asked.

“That’s mine too,” Jiang Shi said.

"Such ambition, such arrogance." Gai Qingyun laughed in anger: "Two Golden Core Tribulation Stages require at least twelve points of Metal Nature. Do you know how many desperate situations that would take?"

Not just two, I plan to grab four of them at once.

"There's no need for you to trouble yourself with that," Jiang Shi said calmly. "This is my request. Do you want to accept it?"

Deng Guanjian and Gai Qingyun exchanged a glance. After a brief silence, Gai Qingyun suddenly asked, "Do you know all the inheritances of the Tribulation Rank?"

"Yes."

If anyone else had said these words, they would never have believed them, but they wouldn't have asked such a question either... Only Jiang Shi, this madwoman who seemed to have sprung from a stone and led the whole world by the nose from the moment she appeared, without caring about exposing her own secrets, even if she said she knew all the truths of the world, Deng Guanjian and Gai Qingyun had no choice but to believe her.

"So what are your plans for the other positions?" Deng Guanjian asked.

“As long as I have enough resources, I will send people to take over all the positions,” Jiang Shi said without hesitation.

"You're making an enemy of the whole world."

"Then we'll see if the people of the world dare to be my enemies."

“Deng Guanjian,” Gai Qingyun revealed a chilling smile, showing his white teeth, “You’re right… I like this brat.”

"Now it's my turn to hesitate," Deng Guanjian said with a wry smile. "What you've said, Fairy Jubao, is tantamount to asking us to personally cultivate a Celestial Venerable to rule us, which is not much different from swearing allegiance to you. And we've only met three times, so I know almost nothing about you."

"Everyone says I have the heart of a child, but compared to you, I am nothing but a smooth pebble. We clearly have no basis for trust, yet you revealed your secrets and displayed your ambitions. I truly don't know how to deal with this..."

"However, on second thought, why not? A true man should live a life of luxury, even in death. The Twelve Dragon Poem Clans have been dormant for too long, and I see no chance of them rising again in the foreseeable future. It's better to take a gamble. I feel we will get along very well. Whatever the outcome, it will be an exciting and great journey. For the next three thousand years, the Twelve Dragon Poem Clans will follow you to the end of your life!"

Deng Guanjian reached out his hand, Gai Qingyun placed it on, and finally Jiang Shi placed it on. Two seventh-level Immortal Lords and one fourth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator—the disparity in strength was immense, yet this scene showed the two Immortal Lords' determination to follow the Foundation Establishment cultivator!

It's really contrary to Tiangang.

Yan Qing silently took a screenshot. Just then, there was a knock on the door. He put down his game console and opened the door. A sleepy-eyed Shang Xinlei saw him and opened her arms, acting coquettishly. Yan Qing reached out and pulled her into his embrace. Pharmacist Yuan, who had just stepped out of the room, saw this scene and stared at them, her cheeks puffed up with anger. Ying Rushi covered her face and sighed. Why did they have to cause trouble again as soon as she got up?

"I have something very important to announce," Yan Qing said.

"Oh? Really?" Shang Xinlei exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm?" The pharmacist raised her eyebrows.

"Oh?" Ying Ru looked at Yan Qing in shock.

“We’ll be very busy from now on,” Yan Qing said. “I need you to put aside all other matters and devote yourselves wholeheartedly to the secret realm conquest.”

"Time needs to be accelerated."

　The main story is about to end. What kind of side stories would you like to see?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)