Chapter 504 Fox State

Going to the Outer Realms—no need to think to know it's extremely dangerous.

After all, the Outer Realms are truly a lawless free-for-all, where Emperors traverse the void from time to time, and Quasi-Emperors scour the world in search of the path to prove their dao and ascend to Emperorhood.

Who knows, a Celestial Lord might even take a whim and descend into the mortal world for a stroll, putting on a show of a wolf in sheep's clothing act.

Actually, the Outer Realms are somewhat safer now.

Why?

Because there have been precedents before.

You can do outrageous things, but if you go too far, what awaits you might very well be a full-scale purge.

What if another figure like the Great Sage of the Nine Heavens appears? You'd be utterly screwed.

In the Sixth Heaven, Lu Ye has been invincible for a long time. With his current power, even if all the top cultivators of the Sixth Heaven united against him, they'd still be no match for him.

His daily life consists of grinding for resources and cultivating, grinding for resources and cultivating.

So now, when the Dark Origin suggests going to the Outer Realms, Lu Ye can’t help but feel tempted.

As for whether the Dark Origin is trying to lure him out to kill him—that’s impossible, because the Dark Origin should understand very well that Lu Ye doesn’t just have one life.

And Lu Ye controls half of the Dark Origin’s power.

If it really tried to trick him, Lu Ye could trade one life for half of the Dark Origin’s energy—a hell of a deal for him.

"How will you conceal me?" Lu Ye asked.

"With the same Divine Ability I normally use to hide myself—called 'Endless Night.' This method creates a domain of darkness where not even Providence could sense it. If used to conceal you, no one would be able to see your true identity," the Dark Origin explained.

"But the condition is that I must stay by your side at all times."

Lu Ye recalled the terrifying forbidden lands and countless hidden treasures of the Outer Realms, and couldn’t help but feel tempted.

"I’ll think about it."

"Fine, I’m in no hurry." The Dark Origin gave Lu Ye a coy smile.

Lu Ye was speechless...

"Stop looking at me like that all the time. Can’t you change your form? Maybe into an animal or something?" Lu Ye said, his patience wearing thin.

The Dark Origin looked puzzled. She couldn’t help but twirl, making her skirts swirl, her scent lingering.

"I’ve already settled on this form. Don't you like it?" the Dark Origin asked in confusion.

Lu Ye didn’t answer that question.

"You could take the form of a spirit beast too—it doesn’t have to be human."

The Dark Origin thought to herself, *The advisor's plan works!*

With a spin, a sleek nine-tailed black fox appeared before Lu Ye.

Its luxurious tails swayed hypnotically, and the Dark Origin’s first action was to give its paw a delicate lick before cocking its head to look up at Lu Ye.

Her voice turned sickly sweet, her allure amplifying tenfold at the very least.

"Nine Lives, is this acceptable?" Dark Origin asked.

*Lu Ye???*

Can't you cut the act and be normal for once? You're so damn flirty all the time!

If this nine-tailed black fox were to follow him around daily, seriously, look at those eyes—either aiming for Lu Ye's embrace or his shoulder.

If Dark Origin truly turned into a fox, she'd probably spend every day either perched on Lu Ye's shoulder or cradled in his arms.

Seeing Lu Ye remain silent, Dark Origin took graceful steps toward him, rubbing against his leg like a cat.

*Lu Ye...*

"Keep this up—I'll kick you flying."

Dark Origin transformed back into human form, putting on a pitiful act. "Then I'll just stay in human form. Since everyone around you is human, any other form would make it inconvenient to stay by your side."

"After all, if I turned into a fox, *not like you'd actually hold me...*"

Lu Ye didn’t even know what to say anymore.

Was he supposed to suggest Dark Origin turn into a wild boar instead?

The hell? Dark Origin wasn't originally like this! Who turned her into this?

Right now, Lu Ye felt absolutely nothing toward Dark Origin’s forms—his *Dao* heart was unshakable AF.

It was just... *weird*.

At that moment, Taoist Qingxuan’s Heavenly Tribulation descended.

The first to arrive was fire!

Flames laced with thunder rained from the sky, the temperature between heaven and earth rapidly rising. Crimson flames warped the very air.

Taoist Qingxuan threw up a shield, standing firm within the flames, resisting with all his might.

These flames scorched *True Essence*, burned the soul, and seared the flesh.

Intense tribulation energy surged, but Taoist Qingxuan was, after all, stupidly strong. Waves of energy continuously emanated from his body, using *True Essence* to extinguish the flames.

Though his body was charred black, his foundation remained unshaken, leaving him largely unharmed.

The flames burned for an hour, turning the earth into molten glass, the void remaining distorted all the while.

Before the fire tribulation had even passed, an Annihilating Wind began to blow.

Wind fueled the flames, and fire fed on the wind's fury.

One could see Taoist Qingxuan’s flesh being flayed off, his soul growing increasingly scattered.

This was pure agony.

Almost no one in the Sixth Heaven could hope to survive these fourfold heavenly tribulations.

If it had been like the previous thunder tribulation, someone as powerful as Taoist Qingxuan might have even walked it off without a scratch.

But now, enduring the tribulations of earth, wind, water, and fire, Taoist Qingxuan finds himself in a perilous situation.

The sole purpose of earth, wind, water, and fire is to return cultivators to the cosmos.

Fire burns, wind scours, water drowns, and earth buries—these are the most primal manifestations of the four calamities.

Taoist Qingxuan gulps down elixirs nonstop. The deluge, like heavenly waters, instantly extinguishes the flames and tempests. The clash of these two opposing forces nearly kills him on the spot, as his very existence threatens to dissolve into the currents.

Taoist Qingxuan holds on doggedly.

His body shatters only to reconstitute, then shatters and reconstitutes again—the pain defies description.

In the end, his body is buried.

The boundless power of the earth merges with the water, forming a suffocating sludge that entombs him layer after layer, endlessly.

It's a harrowing sight.

Taoist Qingxuan is like a mortal trapped in a mudslide, his True Essence useless against the engulfing mire.

He thrashes wildly, his entire will focused on survival.

A smirk plays on Lu Ye's lips.

He's pulling through!

Seeing Taoist Qingxuan still fighting like a cornered beast, Lu Ye knows the tribulation will be overcome.

A lesser cultivator would've succumbed by now, helplessly watching as the endless mud buries them completely.

But this is Taoist Qingxuan.

He still has strength left; inch by agonizing inch, he breaks free from the mud and escapes this horrifying state.

His True Essence, forged in the crucible of elemental tribulation, undergoes a transformation—the annihilating presence of the Broken Realm now emanates from him.

The tribulation dissipates, and sunlight pierces the heavens once more.

Divine radiance cascades down from the heavens, enveloping Taoist Qingxuan.

Unable to contain himself, he lets loose a heaven-shaking roar.

Success!

At last, success!

Hahaha! This Daoist is ascending!