Archean Eon Art

Chapter 721: Eighth Tribulation Realm’s Lifespan

Whoosh!

Meng Chuan and Daolord Evodia continued advancing through the distorted spacetime tunnel.

I’m getting further and further away from my home universe. Through his connection with his homeworld’s true body, Meng Chuan could sense that they were going further and further away. It was so far that it was difficult for him to estimate the distance. He only knew that it would be impossible for him to travel so far with his Seventh Tribulation strength, even if he traveled for ten billion years or even a trillion years.

“Daolord,” said Meng Chuan. “How much longer until we reach Dry Origin Mountain?”

“About an hour,” Daolord Evodia said. “Only by becoming Master’s disciple can I activate a spacetime tunnel that leads to Dry Origin Mountain, allowing me to arrive in slightly over an hour. If I weren’t Master’s disciple, I would need at least 300,000 years to reach Dry Origin Mountain from our home universe.”

“At least 300,000 years?” Meng Chuan was shocked. An Eighth Tribulation Eminence needs 300,000 years just to travel there?

How many years was a Seventh Tribulation Eminence’s lifespan?

“Therefore, the Chaos is just too vast. It’s not easy to travel,” said Daolord Evodia. “We can only explore the nearby universes. It’s already impressive if we can explore dozens of universes. As for distant universes? There’s no way to explore them at all. This is because the journey will take too long. Time for Eighth Tribulation Eminences is very precious. After all, our lifespans are limited.”

Meng Chuan asked curiously, “How long can an Eighth Tribulation Eminence live?”

“An Eighth Tribulation Eminence’s lifespan doesn’t have a clear fixed number; it depends on one’s willpower,” explained Daolord Evodia. “Time is terrifying. Over time, one’s willpower will wear down and weaken.”

Meng Chuan fell into deep thought. The mind was like a mirror, one that needed to be wiped often.

“If it were just 200,000 to 300,000 years, one would have a goal in their cultivation. If they worked hard and advanced, their willpower would naturally improve. But even so, the closer they are to the Eighth Tribulation realm’s threshold, the harder it is for their willpower to improve,” said Daolord Evodia. “After reaching the Eighth Tribulation realm, it’s extremely difficult for one’s willpower to improve by even a tiny bit. Furthermore, one will discover that there’s no hope of ever reaching the Eternal realm. The difference is too great! Lastly, the lonely and comfortable days will gradually corrode one’s willpower.”

“It’s fine for a short period of time. But over long periods, one’s willpower will decline instead of advancing,” said Daolord Evodia. “When that happens, an Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation Eminence’s willpower will regress, and their Essence Soul World will become weak. Once they are unable to withstand the laws of spacetime, their Essence Soul World will collapse… and they will die.”

“It’s the same for Physical Body Tribulation Eminences. As they cultivate, their bodies become stronger, making them powerful in all sorts of aspects. But once their willpower regresses, they won’t be able to control an Eighth Tribulation body. Instead, their consciousness will be completely crushed by their powerful bodies, turning them into corpses. Power that exceeds one’s willpower brings about destruction,” Daolord Evodia said.

Meng Chuan fell silent.

One’s willpower was like a blade. It needed constant tempering to be sharp. After a long period of peace, the blade would rust.

“For example, those Chaos creatures,” Daolord Evodia said. “They are rather special lifeforms. Their Life Cores are eternal, but their power comes from their innate talents. Their minds are too weak. After a long period of time, their consciousness will eventually decay and collapse. In the end, their Life Cores will give birth to new consciousness.

“An Eighth Tribulation Eminence’s consciousness won’t decay and collapse. But as long as it falls to the point of being unable to withstand their Essence Soul and body, they will die,” said Daolord Evodia. “Therefore, the lifespan of an Eighth Tribulation Eminence is uncertain. It depends purely on one’s willpower. In the face of endless time, no Eighth Tribulation Eminence can ensure that their willpower never regresses.

“That’s why Eternal existences are very mighty,” Daolord Evodia said. “Not only have they reached the apex of power, but their willpower has also reached the Eternal level.”

Meng Chuan nodded in understanding.

“Therefore, most Eighth Tribulation Eminences are in a deep slumber most of the time,” said Daolord Evodia with a smile. “This is because sleeping is the slowest when it comes to corroding one’s mind and will.”

Sleeping was another way to extend one’s lifespan.

Meng Chuan listened. He learned many secrets about Eighth Tribulation Eminences from Daolord Evodia. Eighth Tribulation Eminences typically couldn’t be bothered to tell Seventh Tribulation Eminences too much about these secrets. It was only because Meng Chuan had grasped the six-stroke runic seal mystic technique and obtained the opportunity to become an Eternal existence’s in-name disciple that Daolord Evodia thought so highly of him.

“Daolord,” asked Meng Chuan, “I know that there are three thresholds for the Eighth Tribulation realm in the Essence Soul lineage. The first threshold is the spacetime law, the second one is willpower, and the third threshold is the Tribulation Transcendence. Information regarding the Tribulation Transcendence can’t be found in my home universe. Do you know about it, Daolord?”

“Don’t ask, and don’t search,” Daolord Evodia said.

Meng Chuan was slightly stunned.

“Regarding the Essence Soul Eighth Heavenly Tribulation… I can only tell you that knowing about it in advance doesn’t give you any help. Instead, it will mess up your mental state. Therefore, the best way is not to investigate. When you are strong enough and have enough willpower, you can transcend the tribulation easily.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Daolord.” Meng Chuan fell into deep thought.

Since he knew that it was harmful and useless, there was no need to investigate. He had to grasp the laws of spacetime and have his willpower reach the Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation realm’s threshold.

Whoosh~

As he advanced, they got closer and closer to Dry Origin Mountain.

“Dry Origin Mountain was created by Master to test cultivators,” Daolord Evodia said. “Normally, there are no cultivators there. Only Senior Brother Thousand-Hands is in charge of guarding it.”

“Senior Brother Thousand-Hands?” Meng Chuan looked at Daolord Evodia.

“Senior Brother Thousand-Hands is one of Master’s three servants. All the in-name disciples and even his eight personal disciples have to respectfully address him as Senior Brother Thousand-Hands,” explained Daolord Evodia. “Master’s three servants aren’t ordinary cultivators. They are special existences that Master paid a huge price to create. They have remained alive ever since they were created. All of them are comparable to peak Eighth Tribulation Eminences.”

Meng Chuan understood. They were similar to the Eye of Eternal—puppets.

“In-name disciples like us, and even personal disciples, will eventually die over time, but Senior Brother Thousand-Hands and the others will continue to live. Master is especially biased toward Senior Brother Thousand-Hands and the others,” Daolord Evodia said.

Meng Chuan nodded and asked, “Did you just say personal disciples?”

“The Eighth Tribulation Eminences that have entered Master’s tutelage are in-name disciples at the beginning. Only by cultivating to the limits of the Eighth Tribulation realm can they become personal disciples and receive Master’s careful guidance,” said Daolord Evodia. “Once they become personal disciples, Master will personally refine an entire set of Eternal treasures for them. In the endless spacetime, the personal disciples of Eternal existences have extremely high statuses. Even someone like Dragon Ancestor isn’t willing to provoke them.”

“Dragon Ancestor didn’t acknowledge an Eternal as his master?” asked Meng Chuan.

“No,” Daolord Evodia said. “Eternal existences take in disciples more based on luck than strength. They don’t necessarily accept disciples just because they are strong. Master only has a hundred or so in-name disciples.”

Meng Chuan understood that an Eternal’s acceptance of disciples depended on their preferences.

For example, an Eternal existence had left behind 3,000 illusory arrays in the black book. It required an Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation Eminence to crack all 3,000 illusory arrays to become his disciple. Meng Chuan didn’t know how difficult these 3,000 illusory arrays were.

For example, the one that Daolord Evodia became a disciple to had taken him in purely on a whim. He left behind the six-stroke painting, and only those who could learn it was considered fated.

“We’re here.”

As they chatted, they finally arrived at Dry Origin Mountain.

Meng Chuan looked into the distance. A beautiful mountain appeared in front of him. It existed in the Chaos, but it made Meng Chuan instinctively desire it.

Whoosh.

Daolord Evodia led Meng Chuan through the invisible spacetime barrier and landed on the mountain.

At a glance, Meng Chuan saw a black-and-white beast sleeping soundly. It had eight claws, and six of them were hugging itself while two of its claws occasionally scratched its head.

“Senior Brother Thousand-Hands,” Daolord Evodia called out softly.

The black-and-white beast opened its eyes wide. Its round eyes were dazed as it looked around blankly. Only when it saw Daolord Evodia and Meng Chuan did it snap out of its reverie.

“Evodia, do you have anything to eat and drink?” asked the black-and-white beast lazily.

“Yes, yes, yes. I prepared it long ago.” Daolord Evodia waved his hand in a very practiced manner, having prepared many fragrant delicacies. Clearly, time stopped the moment he stored them.

When he took them out, they still tasted the best.

The black-and-white beast grinned happily and glanced at Meng Chuan. “You’re new. Didn’t you bring anything to eat or drink?”