All things considered, it had been a bit more than thirty years since the death of Emperor Weide and Empyrean Asura. Cao Yun's Soul Embryo had healed faster than he had thought. But, to be fair, he had let it heal without using it at all. He had stopped most of his soul cultivation, focusing only on soft meditation. Moreover, his peaceful time with his family had helped a lot, despite some difficult moments here and there when he had discovered the immense joy of raising kids. Those moments had made him regret the terrifying battlefields he had known in the past. However, he never regretted having kids. To be honest, he did regret it when Cao Bei did something bad, but Cao Yun quickly remembered the good moments and stopped regretting it.
Thankfully, Cao Bei wasn't too terrible either. But he really behaved like a spoiled brat, shielded from any consequences. That being said, this wasn't true at all. Cao Yun had made sure that he suffered the consequences of his actions. Unfortunately, many people always treated him differently because of his name, and Cao Yun couldn't do much outside of the Wubei Sect, where the disciples knew exactly what to do, which was the reason Cao Bei didn't like the Wubei Sect.
Cao Yun caught himself looking toward Cao Bei. The young man was in the audience surrounding Cao Yun, of course. All his children were present with their mother. The important officials of the Hongchen Kingdom and the demon kingdoms were there as well. Even Emperor Lixing herself was attending this event. This was a lot of pressure on Cao Yun. Strangely enough, he didn't feel it at all. He was extremely serene. It wasn't because he was certain of his success, but because he was genuinely serene. In fact, he was absolutely ready to fail, even though he obviously thought that he would succeed. Otherwise, he wouldn't even try this Greater Tribulation. What really appeased him was that he was certain he wouldn't be injured in the least, especially with Sun Liao's array formations helping him.
Sect Leader Cao looked at everyone one last time and completely immersed himself in his sea of consciousness. It was time.
A few times already, Cao Yun had observed a Greater Tribulation. As such, he knew exactly what would happen, but he had never experienced it as the cultivator starting the tribulation. Unlike all those before him, he also had a Demon Soul in addition to his Soul Embryo.
Slowly, Cao Yun focused both his Soul Embryo and his Demon Soul. He made them work in harmony with one another. With his knowledge of the Hun and the Po, it was easier to fully control his Demon Soul. Since his Demon Soul was also stronger, he controlled it to stay at the level of his Soul Embryo. It shouldn't eclipse the Soul Embryo which was the master of ceremony. Outside, it was boring for most cultivators, but the late Spirit Warriors and a few middle Spirit Warriors could sense what was going on. All of them were astonished. To be fair, the mere fact that Cao Yun had those two souls in him was incredible to begin with.
Finally, he began to summon the Greater Tribulation. His Demon Soul and Soul Embryo both began to leave his body through his Bai Hui, the Gate of the Hundred Convergences. Above his head, high in the sky, dark clouds began to form. They got bigger and bigger. Lightning crisscrossed those clouds and caused violent thunder to be heard. Although it was the middle of the day, the Wubei Sect was in complete darkness as if it were night. But those clouds kept on growing and growing, bigger and bigger, larger and larger.
A powerful aura could be felt. It was intimidating and heavy, as if the Dao itself was trying to suppress Cao Yun and everyone present. Balls of lightning exploded from the clouds and hurtled toward the ground below. Defensive array formations blocked them before they could damage any building. The demonic beasts were running away from Heidai Peak. The weakest cultivators were sincerely afraid, but no one else seemed terrified, so they hid it as much as they could. On the other hand, the more powerful cultivators were fascinated.
Suddenly, a pillar of light erupted from Cao Yun's skull and collided with the black clouds. A sudden shock wave shook the entire Wubei Sect and the very foundation of Heidai Peak. Cao Yun's body began to float while the pillar of light expanded and encompassed his entire body.
Around the pillar of light, people started to see something else. There were bloody golden chains. No, they were silver chains bathed in the golden hue of the pillar. The blood was fresh. The Accomplished Demons present could smell a deep fragrance from this blood. This was Golden Blood. Those chains clearly came from Cao Yun's 'Soul Chains'. At this moment, they were a physical manifestation of his Demon Soul while the pillar of gold was a physical manifestation of his Soul Embryo.
As the tribulation kept going, the heavy pressure slowly faded away. In its stead, people could feel Cao Yun's presence. It was powerful, but it wasn't crushing them at all. Instead, it made people feel safe and protected. Of course, it was partly because they knew Cao Yun, but it was also his aura itself that contained a deep serenity.
Cao Yun basked in this phenomenon for some time. While he was genuinely trying to feel everything that was going on, he was also preparing himself for the most brutal part of the Greater Tribulation. Not only did he have to break through the black clouds, but he also had to get around the Withering Fusang Tree's branches and leaves.
His golden pillar was lighting up the entire area. For the audience, it was almost as if it were day again. Of course, it was actually day, though.
Finally, Cao Yun acted. A surge of energy traveled through the pillar of gold and collided with the black clouds. Another shockwave spread throughout the Wubei Sect. Sun Liao activated several array formations to protect everyone and everything. He wouldn't intervene in the Greater Tribulation unless it was necessary, as it would make it bigger and more dangerous. However, protecting the people around him had no impact on the tribulation. The Dao seemed to become angry only when someone was trying to help the cultivator going through the tribulation.
Several impacts struck the black clouds until something began to become visible. Now that everyone knew what to look for, the branches of the Withering Fusang Tree were easier to find. However, this time was different. Indeed, the branches were not larger than usual. In fact, they were thinner than in other tribulations. However, there were so many of them that they were spread throughout all the black clouds and were in several layers. Cao Yun wasn't dealing with a few branches but with an entire canopy able to blot out the Sun. Obviously, the branches were covered in large leaves.
Even Sun Liao became anxious. He wasn't sure whether his array formation could help. After all, the current way humans were able to break through was to get around the branches. Right now, Sun Liao was simply unable to find any viable path at all. Either there wasn't any path, or it was hidden through all those branches and leaves.
As Cao Yun was experiencing the exact same thing, he felt something stir within him. Throughout his entire body, there were vibrations. This was the seed of the world tree. Apparently, it was reacting to this giant black canopy. Images of the actual world tree that had covered an entire planet came back to Cao Yun's mind. What he was seeing above his head reminded him of the world tree Cleansed Asura had discovered. So it wasn't too surprising that his own seed of the world tree would react.
As his internal tree stirred, the canopy above seemed to move a little. A few people were able to discern some movement, in particular Sun Liao himself. It was as if a light breeze was blowing through the branches and leaves. Although it wasn't impressive, it had never happened before. Unfortunately, it didn't open any path for Cao Yun.
Anyway, Cao Yun was done looking for a way around. After all, he was determined to go and face the actual Withering Fusang Tree. As such, he couldn't be afraid of its mere shadow. This canopy wasn't the actual Withering Fusang Tree, but a mere manifestation of its presence as it was slowly devouring the fate of the Piaolu planet. Either the Piaolu planet would wither and die, or the Withering Fusang Tree would be true to its name. And Cao Yun had already chosen which option he preferred.
The silver chains darted out toward the canopy. Like terrifying snakes of metal, they collided brutally with the leaves and were able to move them a little. Besides, Cao Yun wasn't straining his Soul Embryo. Only his Demon Soul was under a lot of pressure. As such, his Soul Embryo could still move forward while conserving its full vitality. More and more blood covered the silver chains, helping them slide against the leaves and move further and further.
Leaf by leaf, Cao Yun was using all of his Demon Soul to push them slightly to the side while his Soul Embryo was moving forward. On the ground, Sun Liao finally triggered his array formation in order to help his brother. Indeed, it was obvious that his Demon Soul alone wouldn't be enough. However, using too much of his Soul Embryo would prevent a thorough breakthrough. Not only did Sun Liao and Cao Yun want a breakthrough, but they also wanted the best breakthrough possible.
At the same time, cultivators began to sing. Among them was Wang Mei, Ren Chao's wife. Their voices, accompanied by beautiful instruments, helped soothe Cao Yun's soul. Moreover, they were also helpful for Sun Liao and the array formation masters. The songs and music increased their focus and strengthened their minds and souls.
It lasted for almost half a day. Cao Yun was moving forward very slowly, and the clouds were much thicker than anyone had ever seen before. Sect Leader Cao was covered in sweat. His skin had turned white, contrary to his usual red. After all, he was conserving all of his strength so his blood wasn't racing through his body. The array formation masters were also exhausted, as were the artists. Everyone, including the audience, was watching every small movement of Cao Yun's bloody chains.
After more than eighteen hours, someone screamed. It was a middle-aged woman who immediately suppressed her scream so as not to distract anyone. A tiny ray of light was visible. It was so faint that barely any cultivator saw it. Fortunately for her, that woman was a middle Spirit Warrior and was standing at the perfect spot to see anything from that angle. Above the clouds, the Sun had set and risen again.
More and more people were able to see those faint rays. Cao Yun was clearly on the verge of a breakthrough. However, he was also on the verge of collapse. He couldn't continue for more than an hour. Thus, he would have to finish this breakthrough here and now. This was his last chance. If the leaves moved again and hid the sky, he wouldn't be able to wait for another opportunity.
In an instant, Cao Yun poured everything he had into his Demon Soul and Soul Embryo. Hundreds of chains darted out and crashed against the canopy. Like snakes or eels, they slid through the leaves and branches, going toward the light. Cao Yun's soul was under extreme strain. Luckily, his Demon Soul was sturdier than his Soul Embryo. Dozens of chains went through the tiny spaces between the leaves and suddenly pushed against all the leaves around. As soon as he sensed an opening, Cao Yun pushed his Soul Embryo through it.
The very moment his Soul Embryo went into the light, he felt an incredible sensation. Suddenly, his Soul Embryo was connected to the Dao. Since he was expecting this, he wasn't too surprised. But knowing and feeling it were completely different. So he was a little distracted. Immediately, he regained his composure and tried to feel the Dao. He particularly focused on the aspects of the Dao that he had already studied. Nothing was concrete, but he felt as though he was touching upon some deep understanding of the nature of reality itself. In his mind, it was like sensing that he was on the verge of figuring out something, but it still eluded him. Right now, his Soul Embryo was in fact stealing from the Dao, obtaining secret knowledge. The more Cao Yun could get, the easier his study of the Dao would be.
Suddenly, this feeling passed as if it had never existed. Before Cao Yun could be disappointed, his sea of consciousness became completely white. His mind was absolutely empty. It lasted a mere instant, but it felt like a lifetime. Outside, a powerful boom echoed. When Cao Yun came back to reality, everything had changed. He was now officially a Sage, a 1st-grade Sage. To his surprise, it was very different from being an Exalted Demon.
The world around him had fundamentally changed. Even without opening his eyes, he could see things. Besides, he wasn't using his soul to spread his spiritual senses. No, his mind was able to perceive things through the nature of the Dao itself. It was much stronger than mere spiritual senses. Everything felt deeper. It felt as if the reality he had experienced before wasn't really real. He had been observing shadows, but now he was looking at the real world. And it was magnificent!
In the sky above, the dark clouds were already dispersing. Without realizing it, Cao Yun had brought his Demon Soul and Soul Embryo back inside his body.
His sea of consciousness suddenly expanded, even though it was already infinite. Everywhere in the sea, space expanded. There was now an infinite land lost in the infinite ocean.