Beyond the Sky Above Chapter 1

The sunlight was blocked out, and the sky and the earth were gloomy.

Between the overlapping layers of sea of clouds, wind and thunder surged.

This is a sign of a heavenly calamity.

Since ancient times, practitioners of Taoism or magic, no matter they have needed to go through the stages of refining Qi, building foundation, forming elixir, Nascent Soul, and transforming into a god, progressing step by step, layer by layer, and finally breaking through to the state of transforming into a god, reaching the state of refining emptiness, and becoming immortals in the upper realm.

Heaven and earth treat all things equally, and birth, aging, sickness and death are the laws that no one can escape.

The pursuit of immortality by cultivators is inherently contrary to the laws of heaven and earth, so every time they advance to a higher level, they naturally have to go through a heavenly tribulation. If they succeed, it's fine; but if they fail, their souls will be shattered and disappear into thin air between heaven and earth.

From Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation, the heavenly tribulations that one experiences are naturally more severe than the previous ones. When one reaches the Spirit Transformation stage, if one wants to refine the spirit and return to emptiness and achieve the Great Dao, the difficulty is no longer comparable to the previous stages.

Ever since Yu Zhang Zhenren successfully passed the Spirit Transformation Stage and ascended to heaven five thousand years ago, there has not been another cultivator on the Taichu Continent who successfully passed the Spirit Transformation Stage.

On a thousand-foot-high cliff, on the steep rock, a man was sitting cross-legged.

His face is like jade, his body is as straight as a pine tree, he wears a tall hat and a wide belt, and he looks like a god.

It’s just that he is not a god, nor even the most common Taoist.

But a demon cultivator.

Since the beginning of the world, there has never been a demon cultivator who could successfully enter the God Transformation Stage.

Ethan not only passed the Spirit Transformation Stage, but is now about to break through to the Void Refining Stage.

If successful, he would be the first person in tens of thousands of years to transform from a demon to a Taoist and achieve enlightenment.

The whole world was watching.

The wind was very strong and there was a faint sound of thunder in the clouds.

The heavenly calamity is imminent.

The green robe fluttered in the wind, but the man on the rock remained motionless and sat steadily.

It happened so quickly that in an instant, the sky seemed to be split open.

Thunder and lightning rushed out from the crack and struck down fiercely.

The light was so bright and dazzling that it almost illuminated the entire sky.

The sound was deafening and echoed throughout the world, so that everyone on the continent could hear it.

The cultivators were surprised, and the mortals were terrified. They looked up at the sky in awe, knelt down and muttered something.

Even when Yu Zhang Zhenren survived the tribulation and ascended to heaven five thousand years ago, there had never been such a massive thunder tribulation.

The sound seemed to be able to split the heavens and the earth asunder.

Lightning struck from near or far, all around him, but it could not strike him.

However, as a result, the thunder became louder and louder, and the lightning became more fierce, one after another, from a moment's interval to no interruption, with several or dozens of lightning bolts falling at the same time.

Wherever it went, all the grass and trees died.

In the light and shadow, Ethan had a blank expression on his face, his eyes were closed, and the rain fell on his face, reflecting a cold stone-like texture.

His mind was empty, as if he was not thinking about anything, yet it seemed as if countless thoughts were surging in his mind.

All things in the universe are constantly multiplying, from nothing to something, and then returning to nothing.

The way of heaven is ruthless. It does not exist because of people, and it does not die because of people.

Such a natural tribulation has never happened before in history. Even though he is a master of magic, he still finds it very strenuous.

Anyone who has achieved success in cultivation must learn to endure pain. Once they get used to it, they will become numb to it. Ethan is no exception.

He mobilized all the consciousness and energy in his body to build a barrier around him to resist the powerful thunder that brought death to heaven and earth.

Time passes by little by little.

Energy is also consumed bit by bit.

But the thunder seemed endless, increasing instead of decreasing.

A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Ethan's mouth.

A feeling of unwillingness suddenly welled up in my heart.

Just because he is the first demon cultivator to pass the tribulation and reach the Void Refining Stage, so the tribulation is more difficult than for others?

This heaven and earth-shaking thunderbolt lasted for three days and three nights. Even the cultivators did not dare to get close to it. They could only watch from afar and guess the fortune of the person going through the thunderbolt based on the center of the thunderbolt.

Three days later, after a flash of purple-white lightning, the thunder stopped abruptly.

Peace returned to heaven and earth, the clouds cleared and the sun shone, illuminating the world.

Only the ravaged grasses and trees show the traces of the earth-shaking events that once took place here.

There is a heavenly calamity, but there is no celestial phenomenon to successfully overcome the calamity.

This means that another person who has survived the tribulation has fallen.

Some curious people ran to the top of the thousand-foot cliff to look for any traces of the remains, but all they saw were charred rocks and dead trees, no trace of life.

Five thousand years later, Zhoujia Village.

The sun shines down unevenly between the branches and leaves. Green leaves and vines, swaying flowers, tree roots winding down, gurgling streams passing through, and even the swaying water plants and swimming fish underneath are clearly visible.

In the distance, there are undulating mountains and the sky is blue. As far as the eye can see, the tops of the highest peaks are covered with mist and clouds.

This is just a common scene in a small mountain village on a summer afternoon.

"Boa, Boa!"

Brian Zhou shouted as he stepped deep and shallow on the stone road in the mountains.

He looked around but didn't see the familiar figure by the river where he usually found people, and he couldn't help but start to feel a little anxious.

The teenage boy looked anxious...he raised his voice and quickened his pace.

I heard the rumbling sound of water. It was the waterfall from the nearby mountain falling into the pool at the foot of the mountain, which was also the source of the stream.

The young man's heart moved, and he immediately ran towards the waterfall.

Sure enough, in the waterfall curtain, there was a figure sitting cross-legged on a large rock, with the whole body almost immersed in the water. He was impacted by the falling water, motionless, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.

"Baoer---!"

The boy's face turned pale, and he jumped into the pool desperately and swam towards the stone.

The water in the pool is so deep that you can't see the bottom. It is said that traces of a dragon were seen here many years ago, so the locals called it Longyingtan. But in the boy's memory, not only had his father and grandfather never seen a dragon, but also because people often came here to play in the water and many local villagers were drowned. Over time, no one dared to approach Longyingtan.

But now, he couldn't care less.

The water temperature was not that cold during the dog days of summer, but I still shuddered as soon as I jumped in.

Brian Zhou gritted his teeth and swam hard towards the figure on the stone, shouting as he swam, but gradually he began to lose strength.

His ankles were entangled in water plants and his body suddenly sank. He flapped his hands a few times and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, but it was of no use. Instead, he sank faster and soon even his eyes were submerged in the water.

At the critical moment, my ankle loosened, my hand was held, and another hand grabbed my waist tightly and pulled me up, and I quickly floated to the surface.

The person who rescued Brian Zhou from the water dragged him to the edge of the pool and pulled him up. He looked at the young man with a blue face kneeling on the ground and vomiting water without saying a word.

Brian Zhou held his stomach and gasped: "Bao, Baoer..."

"You are not a good swimmer, why are you going down there?" The implication is that not only is he not able to save people, but he is also a burden.

"I'm afraid you're in danger. The water is deep..."

"I'm not in danger." The child who was talking to him was no more than five or six years old, fair and tender, cute as ice cream, with two buns on his head tied with red ropes. His clothes were soaked from being soaked in water, and he was holding a big carp that was jumping around in his hand. But his face was cold, and he looked more like a jade sculpture.

"Baoer, don't go there anymore. I'm very worried. Dad asked me to call you back..." Brian Zhou stuttered as he was stared at by the child's black and moist eyes until his voice stopped abruptly.

"I am meditating. I am not in danger and I will not fall into the water like you."

"Oh," Brian Zhou scratched his head, "What is meditation?"

The child threw the fish into his arms and turned away.

The boy behind him hurriedly caught the fish, muttering to himself as he followed him.

"Bao'er, wait for me, don't walk too fast, you will fall! Bao'er, where did you catch such a big fish? I have never seen one in the river. Is it in the pond? That pond is too deep, don't go there again!..."

Ethan quickened his pace, his face expressionless, his heart twitching. How on earth had he fallen to this point?

He failed in his tribulation five thousand years ago, and according to reason, his soul should have been scattered and disappeared between heaven and earth. However, he managed to protect a wisp of his soul despite the nine-day thunder tribulation. He thought the best outcome would be for him to attach himself to flowers, plants and trees, live for thousands of years, and then slowly cultivate into a human form. However, by chance, he entered the body of a dead fetus in Zhoujia Village and became a child in Zhoujia Village, namely Brian Zhou's younger brother, Jacob Zhou.

Thousands of years passed in a flash, and the world changed dramatically. The Taichu Continent changed from a unified dynasty to five fragmented big countries and several small countries. The big countries and small countries enjoyed the game of annexation.

But in the eyes of immortal cultivators, five thousand years is actually not too long. Once they break through the Nascent Soul stage and enter the Spirit Transformation stage, it means a lifespan of several thousand to tens of thousands of years.

The several immortal cultivation sects on the mainland still exist, such as Shangxuan Sect and Qinggu Sect, which are among the top sects. They have existed since Ethan's previous life and are still standing strong now, but Ethan only knows these. Zhoujia Village is located in a remote area, in a small country to the east, within the territory of Anyang. It has few contacts with the outside world on weekdays, and the latest news that can be heard is at least several months old.

Cultivating immortals is actually just a macro concept. Many people want to cultivate the longevity they want to achieve in their minds, that is, to enter the upper realm and become immortals and other celestial beings. Therefore, there are not only Taoists in the world, but also Buddhists, demons, swords, plants, monsters, etc. It's just that Taoists have the largest number of people and the largest scale. Almost all the major sects on the mainland are Taoist sects.

Many people are horrified when they talk about magic cultivation, and immediately think of the practice of dual cultivation with female cultivators as the cauldron, but in fact, such magic cultivation is a minority after all. The difference between magic cultivation and Taoist cultivation is that magic cultivation emphasizes following one's heart and not being bound by rules, while Taoist cultivation needs to follow the rules set by the sect from the beginning. In this way, although it follows the rules, it also reduces the risk of going astray.

On the other hand, demon cultivators are also human beings, and as human beings they have seven emotions and six desires. Often the higher their cultivation level, the more temptations they face, and the easier it is for them to be blinded by desires and thus become possessed.

Therefore, from ancient times to the present, there are few who have achieved great success in magic cultivation, but there are countless who have had their cultivation destroyed. When people mention magic cultivation, they often regard them as evil heretics and compare them with the legendary demons.