Gao Wu: From Martial Arts Student to Star Emperor

Upon hearing the old man's words, Shen Jiuxi did not rush to express his gratitude. Instead, he asked, "When I first visited you, senior, you said that I might not be able to enter the True Essence Domain."

"I bear the hopes of my family, and within Canglong Star, my foundation and talent have never been inferior to anyone else's. May I ask, senior, where exactly do I fall short?"

The old man replied, "No one can guarantee that they will become a True Yuan Martial Artist in the future."

Your foundation and aptitude are not bad, but there are too many variables in the future. No one can predict whether you will fall at a difficult hurdle on your martial arts path.

The Canglan Starfield should have recorded data showing that out of 100,000 Celestial Grandmaster level martial artists, perhaps only one might reach the True Essence Domain. Is it because these people are of poor aptitude? Not at all!

"To reach this point, how could someone lack talent? It can only be explained by a lack of fortune, shallow fate, or simply not being destined for it."

"Then may I ask, senior, do I seem like someone with little fortune and a short lifespan?" Shen Jiuxi asked immediately.

The old man stroked his beard: "I used to dabble in physiognomy, and I can vaguely tell that you are not a person with little fortune or destiny."

"Then... about my future breakthrough to the True Essence Realm..."

"I didn't say you can't break through to the True Essence Realm in the future, but the difference between the True Essence Realm at thirty, forty, and fifty years old is like heaven and earth. I won't go into details, but that old bastard Shen Ji should have reminded you of that, right?"

"Yes, my grandfather did tell me that."

"Does that mean I'll have a hard time breaking through to the True Essence Domain in my thirties?" Shen Jiuxi asked.

"More or less correct!" the old man said.

"If this is because my fate is unkind, and I lack blessings and affinity, then do you have any methods to help improve one's destiny?"

"I don't know anything about this old man, but you can ask that kid." The old man pointed at Chen Lie.

Shen Jiuxi immediately glanced at Chen Lie: "Ask him?"

"Don't underestimate this kid. I see a hint of auspicious energy coming from the east between his brows."

Although I only have a superficial understanding of physiognomy, I shouldn't be mistaken. This kid's destiny is actually quite high. Observing his eyebrows, I can see that the auspicious purple aura coming from the east is gradually increasing and never stopping.

According to the art of divination, someone like him, as long as he can smoothly and quickly overcome his initial setbacks, will have increasingly good fortune in the future, and might even break through to the True Essence realm in his thirties.

"this……"

Shen Jiuxi was somewhat indignant that she couldn't even compare to this bastard.

"The senior asked me to consult him. Do you mean... his destiny was improved through his own efforts?"

"It looks like it, but it doesn't quite look like it."

Judging from his appearance, he was just a person with little fortune, but for some reason, there was an endless stream of auspicious purple energy between his eyebrows.

He must have done something to bring himself good fortune.

Shen Jiuxi asked, "May I ask, senior, what does the degree of one's fortune, whether shallow or deep, signify?"

The depth of one's fortune is a direct reflection of whether one's destiny is noble or not.

Some people are born with noble destinies, while others are born with lowly destinies.

Just like an ant versus a dragon, the ant's fate is lowly, and it faces countless difficulties to become stronger.

True dragons possess noble destinys; they only need to grow steadily to reach the pinnacle of the universe.

This is the difference between different destinies.

Chen Lie watered the spirit field with spiritual water and listened attentively to the old man's explanation.

Upon hearing the old man speak of destiny, Chen Lie marveled at how knowledgeable this True Essence Elder was, even being proficient in physiognomy.

His defying fate and improving his destiny is indeed an act of acquired skill.

Shen Jiuxi added, "I have heard some things about the depth of one's fortune, but it is all too vague and unreliable."

My grandfather once said that cultivation is about fighting against fate, and good fortune is not something you are born with, but something you have to fight for.

"That old man Shen Ji's words do have some merit, but whether he can win it or not depends on the individual," the old man said.

"Many of my elders have analyzed for me that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will be able to break through to the tenth level of Celestial Master before the age of 27, and I firmly believe this."

"Is it possible that after ten years, I still can't advance from the tenth level of True Qi to the True Essence realm?"

"Little girl, do you know what you will face after you step into the tenth-level Yuan Power Seed realm?"

There are still ten years left. Some people, even if they had a hundred years, wouldn't be able to take this step.

"I know that the step from the tenth-level Celestial Master to the True Essence Domain must be extremely difficult. The elders in my clan were also worried that if I knew the difficulty of this step in advance, I would feel hopeless about the future and lose my perseverance. So no one told me exactly where this step is difficult."

The old man with the True Essence said, "Knowing that the road ahead is rugged and difficult, and feeling hopeless about the future, is the mark of a mediocre person. Today, this old man has nothing to do, and for the sake of this jar of spiritual wine, I can tell you exactly what the gap is between the tenth level of True Qi and the Celestial Master. I wonder if you dare to listen?"

"Since you're willing to speak, Senior, Jiuxi will naturally listen!"

"Alright, then I'll explain it to you properly today, old man."

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As he spoke, the old man looked at Chen Lie, who was busy in the spirit field, and said, "Young man, you've taken good care of the spirit field these past few days. Come and listen to what's happening!"

"Thank you, senior!"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Chen Lie immediately stopped watering the plants and went to the old man's wooden chair.

In his previous life, Chen Lie attended the Martial Arts Academy in Tai'a Star Province. The courses for students at this level were all closed, so he hadn't heard much about the specific difficulties of going from a tenth-level Celestial Master to the True Essence Realm. In addition, he knew that he had no hope of breaking through to the True Essence Realm, so he was too lazy to bother to inquire.

He vaguely remembered the "five signs of decay, three calamities and three tribulations" of the gods, but he had no idea what they were.

He was determined to break through to the True Essence Domain in this lifetime, so he should naturally know in advance the difficulties between the Tenth-Order Celestial Master and the True Essence Domain.

Chen Lie and Shen Jiuxi each sat down on a stone stool, waiting for the old man to speak.

"Little girl, as you just said, martial arts cultivation is about fighting against fate."

In the universe, there is an invisible law: the individual strength of all life forms within a race or species has an upper limit. Just like in the martial arts of our human race, the tenth-level Celestial Master is the upper limit of an individual's strength. If you want to break this limit, you are violating the natural laws of the universe, and the heavens will send down many difficulties to restrict you. You must then struggle forward under the tempering of these difficulties, which is to fight against fate.

Breaking through to the True Essence Domain from the Tenth-Order Celestial Master means that you will transform from an ordinary person into an extraordinary one, and begin to possess all kinds of incredible powers that ordinary people cannot imagine, and your lifespan will be three hundred years.

It's like a person taking up power that doesn't belong to them, seizing the creation of heaven and earth, and encroaching on the mysteries of the sun and moon—this is something Heaven will not allow.

"When a tenth-level martial artist cultivates to the late stage of the tenth-level True Qi Yuanli Seed realm, every morning at dawn, he will feel a sense of fear and dread, like an animal facing its natural enemy, or an ordinary person being targeted by a poisonous snake."

This is because the power you wield as a human has approached the limit allowed by Heaven. It is a warning from Heaven, reminding you that if you want to acquire more power, Heaven will send down a great calamity and terror that will shatter you to pieces and cause your death.

This great calamity and terror will wipe out over 99.99% of the tenth-tier Celestial Master level martial artists who are attempting to break through to the next realm.

If you heed the warnings of Heaven and cease your cultivation, then this great calamity will never befall you; otherwise, Heaven will send down calamities and punishments.

Shen Jiuxi couldn't help but ask, "What calamity?"

The old man continued, "A tenth-level martial artist who wants to break through to the True Essence Realm will experience the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, and the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations."

The first warning from heaven is the five signs of decay in a celestial being. A tenth-level martial artist is already quite powerful and, under normal circumstances, will not feel any fatigue, irritability, or other negative states.

However, once the five signs of decay of a person occur, they will become listless, exhausted, and their body will begin to deteriorate. Their consciousness will become hazy, and they will often feel sleepy and fall asleep.

It can cause anxiety and boredom. With the superposition of multiple negative effects, the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man can cause a person's martial arts progress to stagnate or even regress, no matter how much they cultivate.

It's like a person rowing against the current in a turbulent river.

The very first warning from Heaven—the Five Signs of Decay—could trap a Grandmaster of Celestial Beings for over a decade.

"The Five Signs of Decay of the Celestials? Calamity?"

Shen Jiuxi murmured to herself. Although she was a member of a prominent family on Canglong Star, she had never heard from her elders that a martial artist at the Celestial Master level would experience the Five Decays of Celestial Beings.

Chen Lie had heard of the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, which should be the lightest tribulation for breaking through to the True Essence Realm.

"If one survives the five signs of decay, a second warning from heaven will also descend at the same time."

These are the three difficulties among the three calamities and three tribulations: physical difficulties, fundamental difficulties, and mental difficulties.

It's like the heavens have poisoned you with three kinds of deadly poisons. The physical challenge is so difficult that it can deplete your blood and energy and cause your body to decay. If you can get through it, your physical strength will advance by a lot, and you will have a physique comparable to a martial artist in the True Essence Realm. If you can't get through it, you will turn into withered bones. People who have not built a strong foundation in the blood and energy stage will be eliminated in this stage.

After the physical challenge comes the challenge of the origin. In this stage, the seed of Yuan Power that has been painstakingly condensed begins to dissipate rapidly and then disappears, turning a person from a tenth-level martial artist into an ordinary person in just a few days.

This test assesses the cultivation of true qi. If you haven't built a strong foundation in the true qi stage, you won't be able to pass this test.

However, if one can overcome this hurdle, the Yuan Power Seed will hatch and transform into a True Yuan Seed, beginning to possess some of the power of a True Yuan Realm martial artist.

The third difficulty is the mental challenge. This test is mysterious and unpredictable; even some peerless geniuses cannot overcome it, but some seemingly mediocre martial artists have passed it with ease.

Shen Jiuxi asked, "Senior, what does 'mental distress' refer to?"

"The mental and physical challenge is a test of a martial artist's mental state. Each martial artist's experience in this challenge is different. Some will experience a great terror, while others will spend a long hundred years in the mental and physical challenge, which consumes their energy and wears down their will."

Those who lack great perseverance and willpower cannot overcome this hurdle.

Those who cannot overcome the mental and spiritual difficulties will mostly become living dead, while those who do can be considered half a True Essence Realm martial artist.

Therefore, even among the Celestial Masters, there are distinctions between Lesser Celestials and Greater Celestials.

A Lesser Celestial Grandmaster is an ordinary tenth-tier martial artist, while a Greater Celestial Grandmaster is someone who has survived the Five Decays and Three Tribulations of Celestials and Humans, possessing almost half the strength of a True Essence Realm martial artist.

"So that's how it is. This mental challenge tests one's state of mind?" Shen Jiuxi murmured softly.

After a moment's thought, Chen Lie realized that having lived two lives, his mental state was certainly beyond that of ordinary people, and he should not be afraid of this ordeal.

"Once you reach a sufficient level, that old bastard Shen Ji will naturally arrange for you to cultivate your mind and spirit. You don't need to be afraid of this hurdle," the old man said to Shen Jiuxi.

Shen Jiuxi nodded slightly.

"Boy, aren't you going to ask me anything?" the old man asked Chen Lie.

Chen Lie said, "Please continue, senior. I have no further questions."

The old man nodded: "For a tenth-level martial artist to break through to the True Yuan Realm, they need to go through the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations. Once they have overcome the Three Tribulations of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, they will become a Grandmaster of Heaven and Man, with a physique comparable to the True Yuan Realm, and their Yuan Power Seed will hatch into a True Yuan Seed."

Upon reaching this stage, almost half of one's body has entered the realm of true essence.

Shen Jiuxi thought to herself, this shouldn't be too difficult for her, right?

With some effort, she should be able to overcome the five signs of decay in the celestial being. The physical and fundamental aspects are difficult to overcome, and the cultivation of the Qi and Blood stage and the True Qi stage will be tested, but she is not afraid of any of these.

The only thing that is difficult to control is the mind, but since her grandfather has made arrangements to help her cultivate her mind, there is no need to worry too much.

With half of his body already inside the True Essence Domain, how could he possibly be kicked back?

"Little girl, don't be too happy yet. Do you think I wouldn't guess what you're thinking?"

There are quite a few Grandmaster-level martial artists in the Canglan Starfield, but the number of True Essence Realm martial artists is still the same. Do you think that passing through the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and the Three Great Tribulations makes one a guaranteed True Essence Realm martial artist?

Don't be too happy yet; the real terror is just beginning after overcoming these initial difficulties.

Shen Jiuxi was taken aback and said, "Please enlighten me, senior!"

"After the three difficulties come the three calamities."

After passing through the Three Tribulations and the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, Heaven also understands that conventional methods are no longer effective against you. Therefore, an even greater calamity will descend, which is the final hurdle before the True Essence Realm: the Three Calamities.

The three disasters are: lightning, fire, and wind.

The direct manifestations are: being struck by lightning, burned by fire, and blown by fierce winds.

"Senior, in what order do the Three Calamities arrive? And in what form do they appear?" Shen Jiuxi asked.

"The first calamity is the lightning calamity, also known as the heavenly lightning calamity or heavenly lightning tribulation."

When a lightning disaster strikes, the heavens will send down divine lightning to strike. Those who experience this lightning disaster need to be enlightened and have foresight in order to avoid it.

If one cannot avoid it, they will be reduced to dust by the divine lightning strike and perish instantly.

"After surviving the lightning calamity, the second calamity, the fire calamity, will follow. This fire is not an ordinary fire; it is said to come from the underworld and is called earth fire, or yin fire."

The yin fire will spontaneously generate from the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of your foot and burn all the way to the Niyuan Palace on the top of your head.

"I will burn your internal organs to ashes, scorch your limbs until they rot, and reduce all your martial arts cultivation to nothingness."

"After surviving the fire, the third disaster is the wind."

This wind is not the ordinary wind of the four seasons, but the Bifeng. It will blow into your body through the fontanelle at the top of your head, destroy your dantian, penetrate all the acupoints in your body, and cause your bones to disintegrate and your flesh to crumble.

If you overcome these three calamities, it means that even the heavens cannot stop you, and you will naturally break through to the realm of true essence.

However… the True Essence Realm is just the beginning. After breaking through to the True Essence Domain, every further advancement in martial arts will be accompanied by a great calamity and tribulation.

Hearing the old man say this, Chen Lie immediately understood.

Breaking through from the True Qi stage to the True Essence stage is very difficult. Even the top geniuses of the Central Galaxy Empire only dare to attempt it after making thorough preparations.

Breaking through the True Essence Realm requires utmost caution.

Upon hearing about the numerous tribulations that a tenth-level Celestial Grandmaster must endure to break through to the True Essence Domain, Shen Jiuxi felt a sense of bewilderment.

With so many tribulations, no matter which one falls at, the final result will be a death without a burial place.

No wonder there are so few True Yuan Realm warriors in the Canglan Starfield. How many of them can survive such a calamity unscathed?

"Senior, these calamities all seem to be deadly. How did those True Essence Realm experts manage to survive them safely?" Shen Jiuxi asked.

"Everyone has their own destiny, which is hard to explain and cannot be explained. This is the influence of good fortune."

Moreover, the Three Calamities are different from the Three Tribulations. As a martial artist ages, the Three Calamities that occur after breaking through to the True Essence Realm will become weaker and weaker. The old man said.

"Why is that?" Shen Jiuxi asked, puzzled.

"As a martial artist gets older, his spirit and drive will weaken, and his potential will decrease."

For those True Yuan Martial Artists who break through to the True Yuan Realm after the age of fifty, Heaven will feel that such a person is unlikely to achieve great things in the future, so it will make an exception and withdraw most of the power of the Three Calamities.

If someone is a peerless genius who has overcome the five signs of decay and the three tribulations before the age of thirty, such a person would be considered extremely dangerous by the heavens. Therefore, the intensity of his three calamities would be maximized. If he were to launch an attack on the True Essence Domain, he would be met with the strongest three calamities.

Lightning, fire, and wind disasters will occur simultaneously.

Simultaneously with the strike of lightning, fire and windstorms combine to form a super-enhanced calamity, doubling the power of the yin fire and the fierce wind, known as the "Great Calamity of Wind and Fire."

"There are actually martial artists in the True Essence Realm who are not even thirty years old?" Shen Jiuxi exclaimed in surprise.

"Such a prodigy is definitely not found in the Canglan Star Region, and it's even rarer to find one in the Jianlin Star Region."

"Senior, does that mean that the older a martial artist gets, the easier it is for them to overcome the Three Calamities?"

"You could also say that if you try to break through to the True Essence Realm before the age of thirty, you will face an unprecedentedly powerful Heavenly Thunder Calamity, as well as the infinitely powerful 'Great Tribulation of Wind and Fire'."

Between the ages of thirty and forty, the three major calamities will occur.

After the age of forty or fifty, the power of the Three Calamities will almost be halved. True Yuan Realm warriors in the Canglan Star Region generally break through to the next realm after the age of forty.

Breaking through to the True Essence Realm is naturally better the sooner the better. Those with profound blessings, who should have passed the Three Calamities after fifty, can break through to the True Essence Realm at forty.

"Wouldn't the power of the Three Calamities be even weaker if we waited until we were sixty?"

The old man glared at Shen Jiuxi: "Didn't that old codger Shen Ji tell you? The older you get, the weaker the power of the Three Calamities becomes, but the harder it is to break through the barrier of the True Essence Domain."

The Three Calamities are formed by the laws of the universe, and even if they are weak, there is a limit. If you still want to wait until you are sixty years old to break through to the True Essence Realm, the probability of breaking through to the True Essence Realm will decrease by one point every year after you are sixty.

Once you reach one hundred years old, it will be impossible to break through to the True Essence Realm. If you are afraid of the Three Calamities, breaking through to the True Essence Realm in your fifties is the best time.

"Go ask around Canglong Star, how many True Yuan Realm martial artists broke through after the age of sixty?"

Shen Jiuxi immediately replied, "It was Jiuxi's fault for being so dull; please don't take offense, Senior!"

The old man didn't say much. He selected some key points for tenth-level martial artists to break through to the True Essence Domain and gave a brief explanation.

After he finished speaking, the old man noticed that Chen Lie hadn't said a word the whole time, so he looked over and said, "Young man, this little girl asked so many questions, why didn't you ask a single one?"

Chen Lie replied, "Senior, I am still far from being a tenth-level martial artist. Even if I ask now, I will inevitably have to find out more later. Let's focus on the present!"

"Not bad!" The old man nodded and said, "You don't aim too high, no wonder you're such a blessed person."

"Little girl from the Shen family, isn't it this brat who confiscated your sword-nurturing box and spirit sword?"

When asked, Shen Jiuxi's eyes flashed with anger, but she forced herself to say, "Yes, it's him!"

"This kid will be responsible for managing my spirit fields from now on. How about this, I'll make the decision to return the spirit sword to you, and you shouldn't cause him any more trouble, okay?"

"As you have spoken, Senior, Jiuxi will naturally obey!"

The old man grunted in agreement, looked at Chen Lie, and said, "Boy, return the spirit sword to her. The Shen family is powerful and influential; few forces on Canglong Star can rival them. Someone like you shouldn't provoke them!"

"yes!"

Since this elder of True Essence was willing to mediate, Chen Lie naturally agreed, knowing that the elder was acting in his best interest.

So Chen Lie took out the sword-nurturing box from his storage bag and gave it to Shen Jiuxi along with the spirit sword inside.

Shen Jiuxi took the sword-nurturing box, her eyebrows immediately furrowing: "Where is the spirit blade inside my sword-nurturing box, which is used to nurture the spirit of my spirit sword?"

Chen Lie said, "You relied on the sharpness of Xiaotianbao to destroy one of my spirit treasure-level swords. Don't you have to compensate me?"

Consider that knife compensation!

"you……"

Shen Jiuxi gritted her teeth, her anger almost uncontrollable.

That bastard, he dares to pull this on her? Is he looking for death?

But now that this senior Mr. Shi has mediated, she can only swallow her anger no matter how great it is.

Shen Jiuxi tried to soften her tone: "That spirit knife is something I use specifically to nurture the spirit of my spirit sword. I can't give it to you. I'll make you another one another day."

"Okay, but the item needs to be held by me temporarily. I'll return it to you when you give me another spirit sword."

Now that you've spoken, I won't ask you for the one million Star Yuan Galaxy Coins in compensation.

"Should I thank you?" Shen Jiuxi's gaze turned cold.

"No need for that."

……

At this moment, the old man got up from the wooden chair and said to Chen Lie and Shen Jiuxi, "I've finished explaining everything. You two can go back now."

"yes!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiuxi immediately replied.

Chen Lie said, "Senior, I have to participate in the freshman martial arts competition tomorrow, so I can't come to tend to the medicine field for the next two days."

The herb field has recovered considerably and no longer requires daily care.