Awakening
The sky darkens and the wind howls as a formless heavenly power lifts Tai Bai Yun Sheng into the air. He laughs maniacally, his face showing no usual warmth or benevolence, only a crazed and distorted look. Panic seizes the sacred palace. The Gu Masters flee as a huge stream, stopping only after an immense distance. Expert Gu Masters climb hills or fly up to watch with investigative Gu worms, as news of his advancement to Gu Immortal has spread. Though he has used no Gu worms, the weather changes and the ground begins to shake, with vast smoke and dust rising. ch. 606
Ye Lui Sang, Hei Lou Lan and others from super tribes know from tribe records that a Gu Master must first break the aperture. This step uses primeval essence to completely shatter the aperture, and Tai Bai Yun Sheng has already taken it. Gu tribe leader Gu Guo Long sighs that this step alone needs extremely great courage, since there is no turning back. Nie tribe leader Nie Ya Qing, deeply moved, calls the chances of success miniscule and says Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s courage leaves them in admiration. Hei Lou Lan thinks his own provocation probably helped drive Tai Bai Yun Sheng, in a crumbling mental state, to this risk. He wants to observe it personally. He frowns, unsure how to treat Tai Bai Yun Sheng after a success. ch. 606
Fang Yuan’s luck inspection Gu shows Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s luck blazing like an inferno, so Fang Yuan expects success, as in his previous life. Unlike Hei Lou Lan, he already has a plan for facing the Gu Immortal. Luck inspection Gu is injured by the extreme pressure and his eyes burn, so he stops, not surprised. Using Gu worms within the range of qi Tai Bai Yun Sheng attracts triggers a backlash, so Fang Yuan has not considered plotting against him now. ch. 606
Two giant vortexes form, dark clouds in the sky and yellow-brown dust on the ground, and Ye Lui Sang is shocked that this exceeds the advancement of his tribe’s supreme elder. Tai Bai Yun Sheng shouts for them to come, shaking with fear, excitement and relief. Even failure would free him from this nightmare. The vortexes rotate like millstones, raining clear heaven qi and raising golden earth qi, while his white human qi forms a dense cocoon around him. The three qi converge and begin fusing, which is the second step, taking in qi. ch. 606
Ye Lui Sang laments how crucial and tightrope-like this step is. If human qi is slightly in excess the Gu Master self-detonates, slightly more heaven qi dissolves him into the sky, and slightly denser earth qi turns him into a fossil that suffocates to death. Many rank five peak stage Gu Masters avoid it unless as a last resort, the danger being extremely high. Fang Yuan, who became a blood path Gu Immortal in his previous life, notes the step tests nature even more than control. The Great Dao’s wonders can make a Gu Master lose himself, and greed for more qi unbalances the three qi and kills him. Tai Bai Yun Sheng controls the three qi perfectly. ch. 606
Then Eighty-Eight True Yang Building shakes intensely, and the sacred palace, its cornerstone, shakes too as many courtyards collapse. Fang Yuan sneers, well aware of the cause. Inside, the land spirit is furious, because Tai Bai Yun Sheng is draining the heaven qi and earth qi of Imperial Court blessed land, the source of its strength. It had planned to wait while Gruel Mud corroded its shackles, but Tai Bai Yun Sheng is sure to awaken Giant Sun’s will, which would suppress the land spirit again. So the land spirit, Frost Jade Peacock, strikes while the will still hibernates, crying out as the green paste melts below its neck and five to six black chains break. A light mumble echoes from the depths, and a giant will resembling the sun wakes, asking who dared awaken it. Its light, bright enough to pierce ten layers of the underworld, wipes out Fang Yuan’s will that had refined the guest halt stele, and his glass owner token turns boiling hot. ch. 606
