I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

boom!!!
A deafening purple lightning bolt was born from the void and struck down, crashing onto the body of that immortal being.

"what!"

This formless, shapeless, and seemingly transparent immortal being let out a scream as its entire body instantly collapsed and shrank inward, shrinking into a transparent sphere of light.

But the Purple Heaven Thunder Punishment in the sky did not stop, continuing to bombard and fall, smashing onto the transparent sphere of light, causing it to continuously crack and disintegrate, while filled with pain and screams.

Wu Ming watched this scene from the side, his eyes shining.

It wasn't that he had any sadistic tendencies, nor that he felt pleasure from seeing the immortal beings who had used their methods against him suffer the lightning punishment; rather, it was because he had glimpsed some of the mysteries of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning within this lightning punishment.

That immortal being, whose body was formless and shapeless, could not escape the lock of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning. This contained the ultimate truth of the law of thunder, that no living being could escape this calamity!
Quietly,
Wu Ming retreated more than a hundred miles and sat cross-legged in the void, observing the lightning punishment.

Even after the lightning punishment ended, he remained seated in the void, as if he were still immersed in the lightning punishment, his soul completely silent, like a stubborn rock in the void.

One year,
Two years,

Three years,

……

In the seventeenth year, Wu Ming suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes.

His eyes reflected the light of thunder, and that light already vaguely carried a hint of the Purple Heaven's essence!
"The Three Pure Ones are also known as Zixiao."

He muttered something to himself, then suddenly reached out and made a hand gesture, pointing forward.

hum!
Lightning instantly sprang up in the void, intertwining and spreading, gradually giving rise to a hint of purple!
"Is this the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder?"

He stared at the streak of lightning, but quickly shook his head slightly.

It appears to contain a hint of purple, but it is merely superficial and far from being the true Purple Heaven Divine Thunder. At most, cultivating to this level would be considered as mastering a 'Minor Purple Heaven Divine Thunder'.

but,

In the process of comprehending the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, his understanding of the laws of thunder has made great progress!

Previously, Wu Ming had traveled and comprehended the Thunder Prison Abyss for a hundred years, and his understanding of the Thunder Law had already made great progress. Now, with his profound understanding of Zixiao, he has taken another step forward in his understanding of the Thunder Law. He is not far from the third step of completely comprehending the Thunder Law, and is almost just one step away!

at last,

Wu Ming slowly stood up and dissipated the lightning from his fingertips.

He turned his gaze to the third star, then stepped across the void and strode toward it.

Upon reaching the sky above the third star, he looked down upon it and saw the immortal being imprisoned there. Yet, his eyes showed neither sorrow nor joy, revealing no surprise whatsoever.

The third immortal being imprisoned in the 'Great Luo Prison' was an extremely dark mass!

It also has no form, but it is pure black, filled with endless destructive power, as if it were the end of the world.

"The three immortal beings are: the first is formless and shapeless, ever-changing, symbolizing the creation of heaven and earth, the beginning of all things, and everything coming from nothing; the second is humanoid, covered in hair, symbolizing the teaching of life and the salvation of living beings; the third is as black as ink, a chaotic mass, utterly destructive, symbolizing the end of heaven and earth, the destruction of all things, and the return to chaos."

"And all of this is under the control of the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder."

"Yuqing, Shangqing, Taiqing... three divine thunderbolts. The first breaks through the chaos, creating heaven and earth and all things, from which everything comes into existence. The second creates all things, opening up life in the world, thus creating all living beings and all teachings. The third, at the end of heaven and earth, destroys all things, causing everything to return to chaos."

"When these three are combined, they become Zixiao."

Wu Ming murmured to himself as he gazed at the immortal being on the third star. Before coming here, he had already guessed what the immortal being on this star symbolized, and now that he saw it, it was indeed exactly as he had guessed.

As inspiration surged within him, he gradually gained a deeper understanding of the realm of immortality.

The third step in mastering the laws is to survive nine cycles of decay, which leads to immortality!

The laws exist in relation to heaven and earth, and are the manifestation of the origin of heaven and earth. Therefore, after becoming immortal, if one wants to further cultivate and progress, one must return to the origin and condense the laws into the origin. In this way, one can ascend to the realm of kings and become an immortal king!
Once you grasp the origin, you can trace it back further and comprehend a universal path, thus achieving the Immortal Emperor Realm!

After understanding the profound mystery of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, Wu Ming finally saw the path beyond immortality more clearly. Although he was still some distance away from immortality, the gap was already within sight.

"..."

After taking a deep look at the immortal beings on the third star, Wu Ming did not linger and turned to leave.

He had already witnessed all the mysteries of the Thunder Prison Abyss, so there was no need for him to see them again. For him, it was only a matter of time before he could fully comprehend the Thunder Law and take the third step. As long as he mastered the third step of the Thunder Law, overcoming the tribulation would be just a matter of a thought.

Silently

Wu Ming disappeared into the void.

A fearsome and peerless Dao Saint thus departed from the Thunder Prison Abyss. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed, and there was no further news of Wu Ming throughout the entire Northern Continent.

Only the Qingming Peak Master knew that Wu Ming had returned to the Holy Land and was in seclusion in his cave.

……

This was an extremely long period of seclusion, the longest period of enlightenment and meditation that Wu Ming had ever undertaken since he began his cultivation journey, lasting for more than 130 years.

During this period, many Dao Saints and Martial Saints from the Great Jin Holy Land sought him out, either asking for his help, inviting him to explore the secret realm together, or wanting to discuss the Dao with him, but all their messages disappeared without a trace.

More than 130 years.

Even for Dao Saints and Martial Saints, it was a considerable amount of time. The world paid less attention to Wu Ming, but no one forgot him, because ever since Wu Ming traversed the Thunder Prison Abyss, invincible and unstoppable, countless eyes had been on him.

In the eyes of many, Wu Ming is perhaps the most likely person in this era to survive nine tribulations and attain immortality!

even,

Even some immortal beings cast their gazes at Wu Ming.

But these observations were few and far between. After all, Wu Ming's rise to power was too short-lived for them, lasting only a few hundred years. In their long lives, a few hundred years was but a fleeting moment.

These peerless geniuses have seen countless people throughout their long lives, but as long as they cannot achieve immortality, they are all just ants, and in the end, they will only turn into a handful of yellow earth and perish in the mortal world.

……

This is a clean stone chamber.

The interior was not spacious, only about two zhang in diameter, and there was nothing on any side except for a figure sitting cross-legged in the very center, floating motionless in the void.

That figure was Wu Ming, who had maintained this state for over a hundred years.

As time passed, the entire stone chamber became filled with dust, but his body, floating in mid-air, remained spotless.

suddenly,

His eyelids twitched slightly.

More than 130 years later, Wu Ming finally opened his eyes again. For the first time, a sense of vicissitudes appeared in his eyes. He was no longer the small Taoist or martial artist who rose to prominence in a region, but a Dao Saint who was only one step away from immortality!

In those eyes, which held a hint of vicissitude, was reflected a streak of dark purple lightning. The lightning seemed still, yet also infinitely varied, having already merged into one, perfectly complete.

"If one hears the Way in the morning, one enters the Way in the evening; a morning or an evening, a hundred years pass in the blink of an eye..."

Wu Ming murmured softly, as if sighing or lamenting.

He slowly stood up and stretched his limbs.

What he obtained in the Thunder Domain, the Thunder Emperor's Palace, the Nine Heavens Thunder Pillar Secret Realm, the Thunder Prison Abyss, and the Purple Heaven Thunder Law... all of these formed bricks and stones, and he spent countless years finally piling them up one by one, and step by step walked up to touch the highest point of the laws.

The third step of the Thunder Law has been mastered!

"We've finally reached this point."

Wu Ming's eyes shone with a clear light.

Long ago, he was able to sweep away the Seven Tribulation Dao Saints and fight against the peak Dao Saints by fully activating the Divine Firmament Thunder Technique and combining it with the primordial spirit suppression of the supreme array. Now, the third step of comprehending the Thunder Law is a qualitative leap.

Although he hadn't tried it, he was well aware that he could probably unleash an eighth-level tribulation power with a casual lightning spell!

Even with all his might, killing an Eighth Tribulation Dao Saint would be as easy as flipping his palm.

With such strength, overcoming the tribulation of decline is an incredibly easy task. If he were in a hurry, he could even start actively drawing in the tribulation right now, passing through nine tribulations in a row, and instantly becoming immortal!

Calamities occur once every thousand years, but they can also be actively triggered; it's just that no one has ever done so.

Unless one is absolutely certain that they can survive the ninth tribulation and achieve immortality, it is meaningless to trigger the tribulation prematurely; it only shortens one's lifespan and the time available for further accumulation of resources.

But Wu Ming is already capable of doing so.

The path to immortality was right before his eyes, and even Wu Ming could not suppress the slight ripples in his heart.

But finally,
He managed to suppress the turmoil within him.

"Don't rush."

"Besides the Law of Thunder, there is also the Law of Slaughter. I also need to comprehend the third step."

Wu Ming's eyes were filled with determination.

Whether it was the Thunder Emperor or the Black Emperor, as immortal emperors, they had already reached the end of the world, immortal and indestructible, but they still fell, falling into the long river of time.

Although we don't know how they fell, merely imitating their path will likely lead to the same fate.

If it were a long time ago, Wu Ming would not have had these thoughts, because that would have been unrealistic. But now, he has already stepped one foot into the gate of immortality. Whether he crosses it or not is just a matter of a single thought. Only now that he has reached this point does he have the confidence to plan his future and seek a longer path.

What is known at present is that although the two immortal emperors, the Thunder Emperor and the Black Emperor, have fallen, they both made some arrangements on him, and he cannot see through these arrangements at the moment.

It could even be said that his current level of cultivation and achievement are deeply influenced by these two immortal emperors.

Trying to force seedlings to grow faster will not lead to enlightenment.

Wu Ming knew very well that if he could not forge his own path and step into immortality here, he would likely stop at immortality in the future, because even an immortal emperor could not promote him all the way to become a new emperor.

Moreover, even an immortal emperor has enemies and will fall. Therefore, whether for his own sake or to break free from the Black Emperor's schemes, he needs to forge his own path. Cultivating both thunder and killing techniques and fusing the two paths is his choice.

"Next, it's time to cultivate the Law of Slaughter."

"This will also be the final cornerstone I need to achieve immortality." (End of Chapter)