Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

Chen Xueru sat at a stone table under the tree, engrossed in reading a thick book with a worn cover. It was a compilation of He Damin's alchemical insights over the years, titled "He's Alchemy Canon".

Hearing footsteps, Chen Xueru looked up, saw He Damin, and smiled gently: "Is everything arranged?"

"Yes, everything is arranged." He Damin walked over and sat down next to her, picked up a pomegranate from the table, peeled it open to reveal the crystal-clear seeds inside, and offered a few to Chen Xueru's lips.

Chen Xueru opened her mouth to catch it, the sweet juice melting in her mouth. She closed the book and stood up: "Ready."

"Where are the children?" He Damin asked. More than three hundred years have passed, and they now have a house full of children and grandchildren.

"They're all in the small world." Chen Xueru pointed to the spot on He Damin's chest, where an inconspicuous black jade pendant hung—the entrance to his small world. "Yuanping, Yuanan, Yuanning, Yuanjing, Yuanqing, Yuankang... and their wives, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren... Our He family, big and small, more than three thousand people, are all settled. The small world is full of spiritual energy, and with the spiritual rice and vegetables you planted before, they won't suffer in there."

He Damin nodded, a huge weight lifted from his heart. This was his greatest concern. With a thought, the entrance to the small world opened before him, forming a small vortex. Chen Xueru took one last look at the valley and the pomegranate tree, then transformed into a stream of light and flew into the vortex.

He Damin closed the entrance to the small world, took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky again.

coming!

Almost the instant the thought crossed his mind, the once clear and cloudless sky suddenly changed color.

Dark clouds, as if forcibly gathered from all directions by an invisible hand, quickly blotted out the sun. The once azure sky instantly turned inky black, as if the entire world was shrouded in a massive shadow.

Within the clouds, silver snakes danced wildly; that was the raging thunder gathering its power, emitting a crackling sound. The muffled thunder rolled in, like the low growl of an ancient beast; with each boom, the earth trembled slightly, and even the air seemed to freeze.

An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended from the sky, as if it were a tangible force, making it difficult to breathe. This pressure was a hundred or even a thousand times stronger than the full-force aura released by a peak Tribulation Transcending cultivator! If an ordinary cultivator were to be under this pressure, they would probably be instantly crushed to the point of annihilation, leaving not even ashes behind.

He Damin stood in the middle of the valley, his clothes fluttering, his body as straight as a pine tree, motionless. His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, fixed on the rolling dark clouds in the sky.

Here it comes! The first thunderbolt!

"Snap!"

A deafening roar ripped through the sky!

A golden bolt of lightning, as thick as a bucket, carrying an aura of annihilation, struck down from the depths of the dark clouds, its target He Damin below! The lightning was so dazzling that it was impossible to open one's eyes, as if it would split the entire valley in two!

He Damin's eyes narrowed, but he did not choose to confront it head-on. With a thought, the jade pendant on his chest lit up slightly, a flash of silver light appeared, and the silver-gray flying saucer instantly flew out of the small world and hovered above his head.

The UFO's outer shell was smooth and cold, shimmering with a metallic luster under the lightning. With He Damin's will, a light blue energy shield instantly unfolded, enveloping the entire UFO and He Damin below.

"boom!"

Golden lightning struck the energy shield with tremendous force!

A deafening roar shook the heavens and the shockwave spread outwards, causing trees in the valley to be blown about and rocks to be thrown into the air.

The energy shield fluctuated violently, its pale blue light flickering, but ultimately it steadily blocked the heavenly lightning. The energy of the lightning was absorbed and neutralized by the shield.

He Damin connected with the UFO through his mind and clearly sensed that the energy reserves inside the UFO had dropped from 87% to 86%.

"One bolt of lightning consumes 1% of the energy." He Damin quickly calculated in his mind, "Eighty-one bolts of lightning, theoretically, require at least 81% of the energy. I currently have 87%, which should... be enough." He felt a little more at ease.

However, things were not as simple as he thought.

The second, the third, the fourth... one bolt of lightning after another struck down like a raging storm! Each bolt was thicker and more violent than the last!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The loud noises continued incessantly, and the entire Tianzhu Mountain trembled.

The UFO's energy shield was hit repeatedly, trembling violently. He Damin could clearly feel the energy reserves steadily decreasing: 86%, 85%, 84%, 83%...

He stood beneath the flying saucer, protected by a shield, completely unharmed; not even his clothes were stirred. But his brow gradually furrowed.

He discovered that starting from the twentieth bolt of heavenly lightning, the power of the lightning had significantly increased! It was no longer consuming only 1% of the energy per bolt as before, but instead became 1.5%, then 2%, and even 3%!

"Damn it! The power of the heavenly lightning after this will double!" He Damin cursed under his breath. He had only experienced the Nascent Soul Tribulation before, and although he knew that the Immortal Tribulation was extremely powerful, he didn't know the specific details. This was troublesome.

When the seventy-second bolt of lightning struck, the flying saucer's energy reserves had dwindled to only 15%!

"Not enough! Absolutely not enough!" He Damin's heart sank. At this rate, the remaining nine bolts of heavenly lightning would each be several times more powerful than the previous ones, consuming an astronomical amount of energy! Conservatively speaking, at least 30% of their energy reserves would be needed to withstand the attack!

But right now, he only has 15%!

"I'll risk it all!" A fierce glint flashed in He Damin's eyes. He couldn't rely on the flying saucer anymore; he had to rely on himself!

With a thought, the flying saucer transformed into a streak of silver light and swiftly returned to its small world.

He Damin suddenly looked up at the seventy-third bolt of heavenly lightning brewing in the sky. That bolt was more terrifying than any of the previous ones; the lightning rolling in the clouds almost solidified, its gold tinged with a blinding purple, like a thunder dragon about to devour its prey!

"Come on!" He Damin roared, unleashing his true energy without reservation!

His body was instantly enveloped in a layer of dazzling golden light, and his primordial spirit in his Purple Mansion was operating at full power, with the Nine-Rank Lotus Platform radiating boundless brilliance. He stretched out his right hand, palm facing upward, and a stream of extremely refined true essence gathered in his palm, forming a constantly rotating golden vortex.

"boom!"

The seventy-third bolt of heavenly lightning finally struck! A bolt of lightning thicker than a bucket, carrying a world-destroying force, crashed down on He Damin!

"Break!" He Damin roared, forcefully pushing the golden vortex in his palm outward!

Golden light and lightning collided fiercely in mid-air!

Instead of a deafening roar, there was a strange, annihilating energy. He Damin felt an immense force surge through his arm, as if he had been struck head-on by a mountain! His arm instantly went numb, his hand split open, and blood splattered everywhere! He was thrown backward, the force crushing several rocks beneath his feet!

But he managed to block it in the end!

He managed to block that violent bolt of lightning at the cost of sacrificing his own true essence!

Just then, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind:

"Ding! The host is enduring the seventy-third heavenly lightning strike, energy absorption and conversion in progress... Small world energy +5%."

He Damin was stunned for a moment, then his eyes burst with wild joy!

"So that's how it is! Heavenly lightning is not only a calamity, but also energy! As long as we can withstand it, it can be transformed into energy for our small world!"

He looked down at his palm and saw that the remaining lightning was still wandering on the surface of his skin. Then, as if it had found its home, it slowly seeped into his body and eventually flowed into the small world deep in his Purple Mansion.

"Great! There's always a way out!" He Damin's spirits lifted, and his previous fatigue vanished.

The seventy-fourth bolt of heavenly lightning followed in quick succession! This time, He Damin did not defend himself, but instead took the initiative to meet it head-on!

"Come on! Let the storm rage on!"

He circulated all his true energy, pushing his physical strength to the limit, and used his bare body to withstand the heavenly lightning!

"boom!"

The lightning engulfed him once more! He Damin felt as if his body had been thrown into a furnace, every inch of his skin burning, every bone groaning. But he gritted his teeth, stubbornly persevering, guiding the energy of the heavenly lightning towards the small world.

"Ding! Small world energy +6%."

Question 75!

"boom!"

"Ding! Small world energy +7%."

The seventy-sixth question!

"boom!"

"Ding! Small world energy +8%."

……

He Damin withstood the bolts of lightning one after another. His clothes were already torn to shreds, his body was charred black and covered in blood, and he looked utterly wretched. But his eyes grew brighter and more determined!

Each bolt of heavenly lightning that struck his body caused immense pain, but the energy of his inner world increased rapidly: 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%...

After the eightieth heavenly lightning strike, the small world's energy reserves had reached an astonishing 85%!

He Damin had also reached his limit. His legs were trembling uncontrollably, his vision was blurry, his ears were ringing, and there wasn't a single undamaged spot on his body, making even standing extremely difficult.

But he knew it wasn't over yet! There was one last challenge! The eighty-first challenge!

The dark clouds in the sky had thinned considerably, but this final bolt of lightning, gathering all its remaining power, exuded an aura of despair! The lightning pillar itself was an eerie black!

"This is... Annihilation Divine Lightning!" He Damin was shocked. He had seen a record of this kind of lightning in an ancient book. It was said to destroy the soul and was extremely domineering!

He took a deep breath, gathering the last bit of true energy in his body, and sat cross-legged on the lotus platform, preparing for the worst.

"Xueru, children, wait for me!"

"boom--!"

The final bolt of black lightning, like the scythe of death, roared down!

He Damin neither dodged nor defended; he opened his arms to meet the destructive light!

Excruciating pain! Unimaginable pain! It felt as if my soul was being torn apart!

He Damin's vision went black, and he almost fainted. But at that moment, he felt a warm power coming from the small world, protecting his primordial spirit that was about to dissipate.

"Ding! Small world energy +15%! Current energy reserve: 100%!"

"Ding! Detected that the host has undergone the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. Both the physical body and primordial spirit have reached the ascension standard. Automatic sublimation has begun..."

"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have broken through to the Celestial Immortal Realm!"

A series of notification sounds rang in his mind, and He Damin felt his body undergoing earth-shattering changes. The charred skin peeled off, revealing new, more resilient skin; the broken bones were rapidly healing, becoming stronger; the true essence in his dantian was transforming into purer immortal essence; and the primordial spirit in his purple palace was becoming more solid, emitting a faint immortal light.

An unprecedented sense of power filled his entire body!

At the same time, the dark clouds in the sky completely dispersed, and a dazzling golden beam of light descended from the heavens, enveloping He Damin. The beam of light contained countless profound runes, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

This is... the passage to the Immortal Realm!

He Damin was overjoyed. It had finally arrived! He suppressed his physical discomfort and stepped into the pillar of light.

The pillar of light slowly rose, carrying him through thick clouds, through the atmosphere, and into the distant starry sky. He Damin looked down, and the Xuan Tian Continent grew smaller and smaller in his eyes, finally becoming a blue dot of light before disappearing from sight.

He raised his head and looked towards the unknown, mysterious fairy realm.