Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 1012: The Crucible of Karma

Li Yu tumbled through the burning air and crashed face first into the thick glowing liquid. The heat was instantaneous and relentless. It felt as though a thousand searing needles had pierced his skin all at once. The dense lava-like liquid closed over his head and dragged him toward the bottom of the deep crater. He did not thrash or panic as the extreme environment assaulted his senses. Li Yu quickly steadied his mind and allowed his physical vessel to adjust to the crushing pressure of the fiery liquid.The trial spirit floated near the edge of the rocky ledge and crossed his fiery arms over his chest. He expected the young man to breach the surface within moments while screaming in agony. The Primordial Ember Pool was specifically designed to burn away mortal impurities through a grueling process. Jumping directly into the center without testing the temperature was an act of sheer lunacy.

Yet, the surface remained undisturbed save for the rhythmic bubbling of the hot liquid.

Beneath the glowing lava Li Yu closed his eyes and activated his Devouring Abyssal Leviathan Physique. The physique roared to life and formed a powerful vortex of suction around his body. He did not merely endure the heat but rather he welcomed it. Li Yu began to pull the fiery liquid directly into his pores. The burning energy rushed through his pathways to scorch away lingering impurities and refine it.

His inner foundation trembled as the Koi and Whale souls stirred from their rest. The two beast souls sensed the rich energy flooding his system and eagerly joined the feast. The Whale soul projected a deep resonant hum that stabilized his internal pathways while the Koi soul swam through his Qi rivers to distribute the absorbed heat evenly. They greedily devoured the surplus liquid to strengthen his overall Qi and fortify his soul space against the rising temperature.

Roughly one hour passed in a blur of intense cultivation. Zhan Tian sat comfortably on a flat rock overlooking the crater and took occasional sips from a leather flask. He watched the bubbling surface with a relaxed expression. The trial spirit hovered nearby and kept a very close eye on the volatile lava.

The fiery projection noticed a distinct change in the landscape and furrowed his glowing brow in confusion. He floated closer to the ledge and stared down at the basin. He expected a single cultivator to absorb a tiny fraction of the surplus energy over a period of several days. The pool held enough liquid to temper four separate successors but the glowing lava was already visibly drained by half. A dark ring of hardened stone was now visible along the upper rim of the crater where the liquid had receded.

"How can he handle such a thing?" The trial spirit asked aloud while pointing a trembling finger at the dropping fluid level. "That much energy would make any other cultivator explode by now. His meridians should be tearing apart from the strain of holding that much!"

Zhan Tian chuckled and capped his leather flask. "I told you he needed a proper foundation. The boy is just thirsty and your little puddle is providing a decent drink."

"It is not a puddle!" The spirit argued defensively while pacing back and forth. His fiery robes left trails of sparks on the stone floor. "It is the culmination of twenty thousand years of accumulated power! Even an elder would need to carefully siphon the energy to avoid spontaneous combustion. Where is all this energy going?"

"His needs are vast," Zhan Tian replied calmly. "You are judging a dragon by the standards of a snake."

What the trial spirit did not understand was the transformation occurring beneath the surface. Li Yu was not simply absorbing energy to fill his reserves. His body was undergoing a fundamental evolution and the extreme heat of the pool served as the required catalyst for the change.

The process was agonizing but highly necessary. Everything inside his physical vessel broke down and was meticulously rebuilt. As the liquid drained, it formed a crust on Li Yu's skin which then cracked and peeled away to reveal new flesh beneath. His muscle fibers tore apart under the strain of the foreign energy before knitting back together with enhanced density and resilience. His bones splintered into fragments and then reformed into stronger structures capable of enduring the heavy weight of higher cultivation realms.

His blood roared like a rushing river and the sound was audible even from the top of the crater. His old blood boiled and evaporated only to be replaced by a thicker and more vibrant fluid that pulsed with richer vitality.

The grueling evolution continued without interruption as the hours ticked by. Two hours passed and the pool was only a quarter full. Three hours passed and only a shallow puddle remained at the bottom.

Four hours after Li Yu had tumbled over the edge the crater was entirely empty.

The thick glowing liquid was gone and only a scorched rock bed remained. A brilliant cocoon of light rested at the very bottom of the basin where the boy had been sitting. The shell pulsed with a slow and steady rhythm resembling a heartbeat while radiating a wave of heat that distorted the air above it.

The trial spirit could not even talk anymore. He floated near the edge of the rocky ledge and stared down at the glowing shell in stunned silence and his fiery jaw hung open. He wondered if this boy was some sort of divine beast hiding in the shape of a human child. It was impossible for a normal person to devour that much energy without turning into a pile of ash.

‘What the Dao had just happened?’ The spirit tried to comprehend the empty basin but his logic failed him.

Zhan Tian leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. He watched the pulsing cocoon with a wide grin of obvious pride. His grandson was exceeding every expectation and proving the resilience of their bloodline.

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Inside the luminous cocoon, Li Yu was detached from the physical world. He had reached the ceiling of the Paragon realm and was now stepping into the chasm that swallowed most cultivators whole. He was entering the Karma Severing realm in both his body cultivation and his Qi cultivation.

He remembered the lessons Daiki had shared with him back in the village regarding this exact threshold. Daiki had explained that the Karma Severing realm was unique because it did not just require gathering more power from external sources. It was also a psychological crucible designed to test the stability of a cultivator's Dao Heart. To pass through it he had to undergo a tribulation based entirely on the karma he had sown throughout his life leading up to this exact point in time.

Many geniuses died here not because of a lack of Qi but rather a lack of self awareness. To sever karma meant to accept one's true nature without delusion. The cosmos did not judge a cultivator for being good or evil. It only tested the unyielding willpower required to walk the Dao.

If a cultivator lived a life of extreme evil, the tribulation would use that heavy karma to create a devil heart within them. It would relentlessly assault their mind and try to drive them into permanent madness. If their will was not strong enough to conquer their own darkness, they would become mindless beasts.

Conversely if a cultivator lived a life of extreme righteousness and good deeds, the tribulation would use that positive karma against them. It would lull them into an illusionary paradise and give them everything they ever wanted. It offered peace, love and safety to trap them in deep complacency. If their Dao Heart lacked the edge to sever those comforting illusions and seek the truth, they would sit smiling in that paradise forever while their physical body rotted away.

Li Yu understood that the grey area in between varied for everyone. His own choices would now be put to the ultimate test. His Dao Heart was not burdened by the impossible desire to save everyone nor was it corrupted by mindless slaughter.

The glowing light shifted and surrounded his consciousness with vivid illusions. The first vision presented a tranquil and flawless paradise. He saw himself sitting in a quiet garden in Silkwood while watching rare crops grow under a warm and gentle sun. He could smell the rich soil and feel the cool breeze on his face. There was no war brewing on the horizon and no heavy burdens to carry across the cosmos.

His parents stepped out of a nearby pavilion. Zhan Tielan and Li Canghai were laughing together and sharing a meal while his friends rested peacefully on the grass. The illusion offered him everything he ever wanted along with peace and safety. It tried to trap him in deep complacency just as Daiki had warned. The hardest part of the paradise illusion was that it felt truly earned.

"Come sit with us, Li Yu," the illusionary version of his mother called out with a warm smile as she offered him a cup of fragrant tea. "You do not need to fight anymore. You can just rest. We are all safe here."

Li Yu watched the beautiful scene and felt a gentle warmth in his chest. However, he did not take a single step forward to join them. The paradise illusions were useless to him because he did not care for a fabricated reality. His soul was strong enough to also easily tell that this was a mere illusion.

Li Yu wanted to be in the present, the struggles he faced and the real family waiting for him outside were worth more than any fake peace the cosmos could offer. He was exactly where he wanted to be right now, at this exact moment in time. With his family and the few friends he had made along the way.

"I do want to rest and spend time with my family and friends." Li Yu said softly to the illusion. "But I will do it in the real world."

He raised a mental blade and shattered the serene garden into a million pieces. The light immediately darkened as the tribulation shifted its tactics. The broken pieces of the paradise morphed into a hellish landscape of fire and blood. The heavy karma of his past actions manifested as a relentless assault on his mind.

He saw the faces of the enemies he had slain and the blood he had spilled to survive the harsh lower realms. The illusion tried to force a crushing weight of guilt upon his shoulders by showing him the people who had died in the crossfire of his battles. The darkness tried to create a devil heart within him to drive him into permanent madness. It whispered terrible accusations and highlighted his every ruthless choice while trying to convince him that his pursuit of power brought only ruin.

"You are a murderer," the shadows hissed as twisted hands reached out to grab his ankles. "You left people to die. You chose yourself over others. You are selfish and cruel."

Li Yu stood firm amidst the swirling nightmare. The bad illusions were just as useless to him as the good ones. He had made pragmatic choices to protect himself and his loved ones. He knew that inaction would have brought even worse ruin to the people he cared about. Li Yu had also avoided actions as well that surely led others to suffer.

He accepted the cost of his actions because he would do whatever it took to be exactly where he was right now. His Dao Heart was firmer than it’s ever been and the karma he had accumulated through his life could not corrupt him or make him waver.

"I survived," Li Yu declared to the shadows. "And I will continue to survive. In my own way and my own path!"

He slashed his intent through the dark visions and cleared the mental fog with a single decisive thought. The bad karma dissolved into smoke and faded away. The final barrier shattered and a clarity washed over his soul. He easily made it through the crucible and cemented his step into the new realm.

This minor tribulation was easy for him because it came to him at the best possible time. Li Yu was completely in love with his current life, his path and his decisions that led him here. He didn’t want to be in a different life or doing different things. Li Yu felt he truly belonged in the here and now. That all of his decisions and karma that he has sowed has gotten himself to where he is now. He wouldn’t change any of it.

Back in the physical world the cocoon of light cracked loudly. A blinding beam of fiery energy shot up from the dry crater and illuminated the sky above the courtyard. The shell broke apart to reveal Li Yu sitting on the stone bed. He opened his eyes and a ring of orange fire flared within his pupils. His body had finished its evolution and the raw power radiating from his new flesh warped the air around him.

He raised his right hand and willed his Qi to gather in his palm. A small flame flickered to life above his skin. It was not an ordinary spell or a borrowed element. By devouring the entire tempering pool and using it as a catalyst, he had birthed a natal fire of his own.

The flame was still relatively weak and probably only capable of burning someone at the King realm to death right now. But it carried the pure essence of his rebirth and it would grow stronger alongside him. A natal fire was a rare and highly coveted asset that would aid him in both combat and secondary professions in the future.

Li Yu clenched his fist to extinguish the flame and stood up from the dry rock bed. He felt a surging vitality coursing through his reinforced body and a deep sense of accomplishment settling into his bones. His full breakthrough was a success. He was now a Karma Severing cultivator in both body and Qi.

He quickly put on a new robe and jumped out of the small crater.