"Ice!"
"Snow!"
Snow Empress and Ice Empress reunited. They hugged and cried, tears dripping from their beautifully snow-white faces.
If a certain worm were to witness this moment, he would cry out in jealousy.
Huo Yuhao let them have their moment.
He was busy comprehending the remaining memories of the Dragon Kings. He specifically filtered through the most important bits, looking for information about the Heavenly Tribulation.
It just felt weird to him. That bolt of heavenly tribulation lightning had acted too suspiciously, it didn't act like it was a force of nature at all.
It was like someone was controling it!
And those words he heard earlier... Is a God watching him?
'If so, then I'm screwed. All of my plans would be exposed.' Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed slightly as he sifted through the fragmented memories of the Dragon Kings.
He inwardly sighed in relief. Turns out, the strange behavior of the Heavenly Tribulation lightning bolt and the voice he heard was all part of the 'ascension' process of those becoming Gods.
While the Heavenly Tribulation(Punishment) did come from the God Realm, and was controlled by the Sea God, its origins was innately tied to the Universal Law or the Heavenly Dao as it's also called.
It's primary function would always be to test or exterminate cultivators advancing to higher realms. It represents the universe's resistance against individuals defying natural limits!
However, the heavens never sealed off all paths of hope.
The Heavenly Dao was a completely contradictory concept. Even though it tried to destroy all those existences that dared to violate its Laws, it would also allow them a faint chance of survival.
Unfortunately, the existence of heavenly tribulation was not to temper and give lucky chances to those monstrous geniuses that had dared to violate the edicts of the Heavenly Dao.
Rather, it was the ultimate command to destroy them!
Heavenly tribulation was not easy to overcome!
Although it could be said to be an injustice to perish beneath heavenly tribulation, it wasn't uncommon at all.
Huo Yuhao shook his head, a sharp gleam in his eyes as he muttered,
"It's really not worth going through the Heavenly Tribulation unless I am actually becoming a God. Because the more I get struck by it as a mortal, the more difficult it's going to become when I truly ascend to Godhood."
"The Heavenly Tribulation would leave marks within my body and soul that I can't easily erase, unless I get a new body and cleanse my soul. The marks accumulates the more I get struck, the stronger the next Heavenly Tribulation becomes."
It was why the Heavenly Tribulation is so formidable. It doesn't just strike at one's body, but everything.
From the body to the soul, everything would be destroyed before the might of heaven!
Normally it wouldn't be a problem for most ascenders because they would be only experience it once and the accumulated heavenly tribulation marks would be washed away after they become a God(immortal).
But in Huo Yuhao's situation?
It wouldn't be strange if he receives a Heavenly Tribulation that could destroy the entire plane in one shot.
So what about getting a new body and cleansing his soul? It wouldn't be easily achievable in a short amount of time.
The body is self-explainatory enough. As for cleansing his soul of the marks? Yeah, that would be easy if he had a normal soul.
His soul was complicated, like a messed up yarn. It contains dozens of different souls filled with numerous lifetimes of memories and experiences.
The only reason it's all holding together was because of the true origin of each and every soul — Indra Ōtsutsuki.
If he cleanses his messed up soul, which he has the appropriate magic spell for that courtesy of the Divine Law of Necromancy, then it wouldn't simply be cleaning out gunk and impurities.
No. It would mean removing every foreign thread woven into it.
Huo Yuhao's gaze turned distant as he examined the tangled structure of his own soul.
If an ordinary soul master's soul was like a clear stream, then his was more like a vast, chaotic ocean filled with countless undercurrents.
Memories, emotions, fragments of will: all layered over one another across lifetimes that were never meant to coexist.
At the very center of that storm was a single anchor.
Indra Ōtsutsuki.
He appeared like a phantom, more transparent than even the oldest incarnation. Though his true sense of "self" has long dissipated, with only a remnant soul that has gone missing, he still holds the highest authority among them.
Every soul fragment bound to him ultimately traced back to that origin. It was the only reason the entire structure hadn't collapsed into madness long ago.
'If I cleanse my soul forcibly...'
He wouldn't be Huo Yuhao, Sasuke Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, etc.
He would be Indra Ōtsutsuki.
It would be a true reincarnation.
Huo Yuhao obviously didn't want that.
'It seems like I have to do more research on the cleansing soul spells and modify them. Or failing that, I have to find another way.' He took in a deep breathe, eyes closed for a moment as he calmed down.
So many problems, so little time.
Any other person would've given in to despair.
Anyone else would've been in a daze, lost in deep thought, and would only hope that luck would carry them through this tribulation.
"Heh."
He gave out a chuckle, hand on face as he started laughing out loud, surprising Ice Empress and Snow Empress.
"Hahahaha! Even the universe is trying to obstruct my path to success. How laughable! Have I, Huo Yuhao, accumulated so much bad karma that the universe is specifically targeting me?"
"No. That isn't it. That's not it at all! But that my cultivation has been smooth sailing in a short period of time! The Universe doesn't like that. All things in this world must be balanced, Yin and Yang, as I achieve success then I also must suffer to the point that death is preferable!"
"Balance is the law of existence! Equivalent exchange!"
Huo Yuhao's laughter echoed. Both Ice Empress and Snow Empress looked at him in confusion, surprise and wariness.
His expression and actions made him seemed as though he had gone insane.
"But to hell with that! You think pain would be enough to deter me from my goal? Pain is a familiar feeling ever since I was a child." Images of his childhood flickered through his mind.
From six years old, after the reveal of his mutated martial soul and weak innate soul power, he was put to work: hands raw and bloodied from scrubbing, hauling, endless toil until his small frame trembled.
Bones ached constantly, brittle from starvation; meals nothing more than scraps or empty air when punishments struck.
Malnutrition carved deep hollows in his cheeks, left him frail and shivering.
His only solace was his mother, who toiled beside him, shielding him from beatings until exhaustion and illness claimed her slowly.
Then his journey of becoming a soul master.
The training of a Shinobi.
The assimilation with Ice Empress and the Ice God's Bone.
Having his arm severed to save himself from being possessed by Ice God.
The Heavenly Punishment...
So much pain and misery, yet, continued on standing.
"Pain...is proof that I'm still alive. So, heaven, hell, Gods? Give your best shot in killing me, because I won't be going out without a fight." Huo Yuhao looked up, as if he was looking straight at his enemies' faces.
He would keep on living. No matter what.
"Well, at least I got something good from this so called False Heavenly Tribulation."
He raised his hand and executed a familiar one-hand seal.
*Craackle!*
A sound akin to thousands of birds chirping simultaneously.
"Chidori, huh. It's been a while since I used this jutsu." Huo Yuhao curiously looked at the dark-crimson lightning dancing across his palm.
The crackling mass of energy in Huo Yuhao's hand had turned a deep crimson, streaked with faint threads of black and gold.
"No, this should be the first time I've ever really used it in "my" life."
He never really had the opportunity to use it.
The academy? He kills a student and gets captured by a teacher whose at least a Soul Sage. Interrogation and false narratives would soon send him either prison or death.
At Dai Huabin? Eh, he wanted him to die a dog's death. Using Chidori on him feels too easy.
And other times, he wanted to use and test new abilities he got to get a feel on them. After all, there's a difference between mastering how to use a domain and learning how it could inflict damage on his enemies.
'This is obviously different than the normal Chidori. Hmm. Should I call it Heavenly Chidori?'
It was infused with the power of the Heavenly Tribulation.
Even a God Officer wouldn't be able to shrug this off.
....
Unbeknownst to Huo Yuhao, a month quietly went by in the outside world.
In the Immortal Herb Garden, everything seemed quiet and peaceful. The immortal herbs were either absorbing their needed energies or sleeping, awaiting for the time to be collected.... transferred to another safer place.
At the shore of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, on the area in which the divide between the extreme icy-Yin and fiery-Yang waters met, two figures silently waited.
Jianxin sat in a cross-legged position, eyes closed and hands rested on her lap. Her posture calm and unmoving, as if she had merged with the surrounding environment.
Thin streams of Yin–Yang energy drifted around her body like slow-moving ribbons. Every breath she took subtly synchronized with the rhythm of the Ice and Fire Yin–Yang Well, drawing in just enough natural energy to sustain herself while simultaneously reinforcing the formation she had erected.
The Yin–Yang Five Elements Concealment Formation continued to operate flawlessly.
To outsiders, the Immortal Herb Garden looked exactly the same as it had for tens of thousands of years.
Although she wasn't using the spring for cultivation, its immense Yin-Yang energies still nourished her continuously.
Even without actively cultivating, simply sitting at the point where the icy Yin and fiery Yang energies met allowed her to absorb faint traces of both forces. The two opposing currents flowed past her like an endless tide, subtly tempering her spiritual body.
Her soul is nearing 400,000 years old now.
"Hm...Hehehe...Bing'er, you can't do that~ Hehehe..." Skydream slept soundly on a smooth rock near the shore, completely sprawled out like the lazy worm that he is.
One of his arms hung off the side of the stone while his other hand clutched the edge as if he were hugging it. His face carried a strange grin, and every few seconds he let out another dreamy chuckle.
"...." Jianxin ignored him and continued on maintaining the formation, and waiting for Huo Yuhao to come out.
Skydream's eyes snapped opened, bright golden light flickered across his eyes. He quickly sat up, his golden shining eyes staring up at the sky.
His unexpected actions quickly drew Jianxin's attention.
She turned to him, brows furrowed in visible confusion.
"What's—"
"Someone's coming." Skydream sharply said, all traces of sleepiness gone. "And they're strong."
The lazy, joking demeanor he usually carried had vanished completely. His golden eyes shone sharply as his spiritual sense expanded outward like an invisible tide.
Jianxin's expression immediately turned serious.
"From where?"
"Above."
His gaze remained fixed on the sky above the valley, as if he were trying to pierce through layers of space itself.
His eyes widened, as his spiritual sense caught the sight of two figures.
One was an extremely muscular and well-built middle-aged man who was over two meters in height. He had a head full of short, prickly hair that resembled steel needles, and a very grand appearance.
He had tough, chiseled facial features, while his eyes were brownish-yellow and flickered faintly with golden light. His long grey robe couldn't mask his bulging muscles.
The other was handsome young man with a golden-blue three-prong trident mark on his forehead with long, flowing blue hair that seemed as though one could see the seas. His luxurious blue robes seemed to contain rippling water. If one were to carefully look at it, their gaze would instantly be drawn to his deep-azure coloured robes; their entire soul might even be absorbed into the deep and boundless blue colour that seemed to resemble an ocean.
His eyes were like black holes, yet at the same time, they seemed all-embracing. Occasionally, a purple flash would flicker through his eyes, which would astonish one's soul. This would instantly create a beautiful feeling, one that could determine one's life or death.
Strangely, however, Skydream could sense that this man's existence was....off. He couldn't feel an ounce of life force from him.
Skydream's eyes widened.
'T-That's...It can't be!'
At that moment, the entire valley shook and the sound of a myriad powerful soul beasts could be heard.
The faces of Skydream and Jianxin changed.
"Shit!"
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AN: Imma be honest here, I'll be taking some liberties of the ascension process in the near future because I didn't read DD4. It was interesting but the plot was too predictable with how OP Tang Xuanyu was.