Chapter 245: Chapter 244: The Question that Stumped Po Xiao

Jiang Zuo looked at the questions ahead. To him, they really weren’t difficult.

His understanding of the Dao, his mastery of Arrays, his Realm in Daoist Arts—there was nothing he couldn’t solve.

Jiang Zuo was confident, and the others were full of admiration. They all felt that this Tribulation Crossing was a sure thing now.

However, when the eighth question appeared, Jiang Zuo froze.

Frankly, the question wasn’t difficult—it was just about a Tier Four or Tier Five Cultivation Technique. The key, however, was that it was a Dual Cultivation Skill.

This...

The others all looked at Jiang Zuo, waiting to see how he would solve it.

The Island Lord and Zi Feng could have actually solved it, but seeing Jiang Zuo remain motionless, they thought, ’This question must hold a deeper mystery.’

’What we’re seeing must be just the surface. Otherwise, why would the eighth question be so simple?’

’The first seven questions were all about the Dao or related to it.’

At that moment, Jiang Zuo stepped back. He turned to the Island Lord and said, "Go solve it."

"Huh?" The Island Lord was completely dumbfounded.

’Me?’

Then, Jiang Zuo added, "Just solve it based on your own understanding."

Although he didn’t know what was going on, since the man had spoken, the Island Lord could only brace himself and step forward.

At this point, Blade Master Hai Bian asked, "This... it’s a question about Dual Cultivation, right?"

The three of them then exchanged glances, as if communicating something. ’Fellow Daoist Po Xiao doesn’t understand Dual Cultivation?’

And: ’Isn’t Fellow Daoist Po Xiao married? Hasn’t he ever done Dual Cultivation?’

Finally, they came to a conclusion: ’Could it be that Fellow Daoist Po Xiao... he...’

But on second thought, it made sense. Po Xiao’s wife still thought he was an ordinary person, so how could they possibly use a Dual Cultivation Skill?

Meanwhile, Su Qi quietly asked Jingyue, "Senior Sister, are Dual Cultivation Skills something you can practice once you’re married? Do we have any at the sect? Can I take one back to practice?"

Jingyue shot Su Qi a look. "I wouldn’t know. It’s not like I can get married."

Su Qi pouted. She was thinking about whether she should go back and practice Dual Cultivation with her husband.

’If we could practice Dual Cultivation,’ she thought, ’it would definitely raise Jiang Zuo’s Cultivation. He would be able to live longer, and it would also mean he could officially start his Cultivation. That’s killing several birds with one stone.’

’Looks like I’ll have to do some research when I get back,’ she decided.

Meanwhile, the Island Lord had already solved the Dual Cultivation problem using his own understanding.

He then looked toward Jiang Zuo, completely baffled as to the man’s intentions.

But Jiang Zuo wasn’t about to explain himself.

Jiang Zuo looked at the ball of light, waiting for the final question to appear.

The others naturally looked toward the ball of light as well. This was the final question. If they answered it correctly, they could get out of here alive.

Soon, the final question began to appear. But it was neither about the Dao, nor an Array, nor a Daoist Art or Cultivation Technique.

Instead, it was an ordinary question: "Question Nine: When does a Cultivator begin to cross a Tribulation? Please answer."

Everyone froze. Their first instinct was that the question was incredibly simple. But on second thought, that wasn’t right. There was an anomaly among them who had seemingly broken convention.

Normally, Crossing the Tribulation happened when advancing from Tier Two to Tier Three, but now, someone had crossed a Tribulation to advance from Tier One to Tier Two.

’Have the rules changed?’

They had never heard of such a thing.

So, was the correct answer advancing to Tier Two, or advancing to Tier Three?

What seemed like the most ordinary question had stumped them all.

No matter how they answered, it was a fifty-fifty chance.

’How could they possibly gamble on this?’

Just then, Jiang Zuo spoke up directly. "Of course, the Tribulation Crossing begins from the moment you take notice of them."

Many of the others looked at Jiang Zuo. ’That answer is too vague,’ they thought.

The ball of light, however, pulsed for a long time, as if judging the accuracy of the answer.

Then, the radiance vanished, and the ball of light shattered.

The Celestial Tribulation clouds in the sky transformed into endless Spiritual Qi that surged into the bodies of the four Tribulation Crossers. Every one of them had successfully passed their tribulation.

The others received far less, but it was better than nothing.

Such were the downsides of accompanying someone through their tribulation: high risk, low reward.

If it weren’t for Jiang Zuo, it was likely that not a single one of them would have survived.

Before they could even come to their senses, everyone was once again split into four groups and began to gradually fade away.

The Island Lord was the first to disappear, followed by Zi Feng’s group, and then Jingyue’s.

Jiang Zuo’s group, however, disappeared very slowly. Jian Shisan was the first of them to vanish.

Jiang Zuo was the last to begin fading.

As he did, Jiang Zuo stared ahead. ’Something else should be happening right about now,’ he thought.

And sure enough, a bolt of lightning suddenly split the sky. The bolt formed a smile in the heavens—an exceedingly cruel smile. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Upon seeing this smiling thunderbolt, a smile also touched the corners of Jiang Zuo’s lips.

’As I thought,’ he mused. ’My "old friend," the Celestial Tribulation, remembers me.’

’No wonder I was forced to undergo a Tribulation Crossing when advancing to Tier Two. It seems this was its way of saying hello.’

One day, he would beat the Celestial Tribulation until it cried.

He’d make the Celestial Tribulation understand that there was a price to pay for greeting him ahead of schedule.

Not long after, Jiang Zuo vanished as well.

The Tribulation Crossing was finally over.

Jiang Zuo had successfully advanced to Tier Two, becoming a Tier 2.1 Cultivator.

But when Jiang Zuo re-emerged, he felt a wave of scorching heat.

Looking closely, he saw that countless Fire Elements were waiting for him.

The next moment, Jiang Zuo saw the Fire Elemental Leader. His opponent was thrilled to see him, but when they all saw that Jiang Zuo had successfully advanced, they froze.

The Fire Elements: "..."

The Water Elements: "..."

’So, did we really come all this way for nothing?’

The Fire Elemental Leader’s answer was a resounding yes. If not now, when was a better time to escape?

’We couldn’t beat him at that critical moment, and now he can annihilate us with ease.’

Then, the Fire Elemental Army, leading the Water Element troops, beat a hasty retreat. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late.

An Element’s revenge could wait a hundred years. As long as there’s life, there’s hope. They would retreat and recover for now.

Jiang Zuo, for his part, had no intention of stopping them. Fighting Fire Elements was time-consuming, and he had no time to waste on them now.

’Though there are many benefits to be gained from beating them up,’ he thought. ’I’ll just have to wait for next time.’

Once the Fire Elements had retreated, Jiang Zuo also returned to his normal state.

Jian Shisan asked in surprise, "Were those Elements here for you just now?"

Jiang Zuo nodded. "Yeah. I beat them up once, and they’ve been relentless ever since."

"..."

Jian Shisan didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he pointed toward the Abyss. "Something’s wrong over there."

Jiang Zuo looked over and saw an abyssal tendril extending from the Abyss Core. The other end of this tendril was connected to a person—none other than Yin Li.

The Yin Li of this moment was no longer the pure person she once was.

An inscrutable smile played on her lips. Her body now radiated the aura of the Abyss, and her Tier Five strength was just enough to support the power of an Abyssal Being.

Even Jian Shisan couldn’t say for sure if he could overcome the aura she now exuded.

It was then that Jiang Zuo discovered that Yin Li actually possessed the Heart of the Abyss.

’This is practically the power of the Abyss Core itself,’ he realized. ’No wonder the Abyss was so completely suppressed by Jian Shisan before.’

’It seems the previous Abyssal Being didn’t possess the Heart of the Abyss at all.’

Yin Li was beginning to transform, taking on the appearance of the Yin Li that Jiang Zuo had known in his past life. The Yin Li of today had already become a part of the Abyss.