Golden Core Three Tribulations (Part Two)

"As you command, Master."

Pang Yue said in a respectful tone.

Yuwen Bi chuckled with schadenfreude. "Ping Taiyan asked me to groom you to become his human tribulation, but who would have expected... things have turned out like this. When the time comes, you must surely give him a surprise!"

With a flick of his sleeve, a pot of blood-leaf magic grass materialized before Pang Yue.

"You can use the Yellow Springs Heavenly Demon as a cover!"

"As for those who previously knew you refined the Space-Time Heavenly Demon, find a way to handle them yourself."

The Yellow Springs Heavenly Demon ranked eighty-ninth among the three thousand heavenly demons. It excelled at corrupting vital energy, commanding all myriad techniques, and was the ultimate nemesis of Xuanmen cultivators.

As for those who knew he had used the Space-Time Heavenly Demon to forge his Dao and advance to the Golden Core, there were only three: Luo Qingyuan, Ye Xue, and Ye Bing.

When the four of them had previously toasted and celebrated, Ye Bing had deliberately urged Pang Yue to keep a low profile, concealing the matter of the Space-Time Heavenly Demon and the supreme-grade Golden Core.

Luo Qingyuan and Ye Xue naturally posed no problem, but Pang Yue did not entirely trust the Ice Demon Palace Master in his heart.

He accepted the blood-leaf magic grass with both hands and expressed his gratitude.

Yuwen Bi said indifferently, "Think nothing of it. This seat may have use for you in the future; when that day comes, do not refuse."

This was karma.

Pang Yue thought to himself.

He spoke in a deep voice, "If Master has any commands, just give the word."

Yuwen Bi gave a noncommittal response, then changed the subject. "Do you know about the Three Tribulations of the Golden Core?"

Pang Yue answered truthfully, "I only know of the human tribulation, the fate tribulation, and the heavenly tribulation, but I do not know the specifics."

"Cultivators of our generation must undergo the nine revolutions and three tribulations of the Golden Core before our cultivation can reach perfection, breaking and then establishing ourselves to attain the Primordial Spirit."

Yuwen Bi looked at Pang Yue and slowly explained.

"These three tribulations refer to the human tribulation, the fate tribulation, and the heavenly tribulation."

His voice grew slightly heavy, as if recalling something. After a brief pause, he continued, "Among the three tribulations, the human tribulation is the easiest, the fate tribulation is hard to guard against, and the heavenly tribulation is inescapable."

"That Ping Taiyan wanted to take a shortcut and chose you as his human tribulation, prematurely condensing tribulation fate. In truth, he underestimated the Three Tribulations of the Golden Core, and he underestimated you... Little does he know, countless cultivators throughout ancient and modern times have fallen because of these three tribulations."

"Now that you have newly entered the Golden Core realm, because of Ping Taiyan, you have also prematurely condensed tribulation fate. For you, it is truly hard to tell whether this is a blessing or a curse..."

Intending to guide Pang Yue, Yuwen Bi elaborated a bit more on the Three Tribulations of the Golden Core.

Generally speaking, many cultivators only began to come into contact with the three tribulations during the mid-to-late stages of the Golden Core realm.

The three tribulations typically began to manifest tribulation fate and send out ethereal resonance in the dark when the Golden Core reached the seventh or eighth revolution.

The human tribulation might be a cultivator's sworn enemy, or it might be a stranger met by chance on the road, sparking a dispute and murderous intent over some matter, temporarily resulting in a life-and-death struggle.

The reason the human tribulation was said to be the easiest boiled down to a single word—kill!

According to Yuwen Bi, Ping Taiyan possessed immense ambition. After breaking through to the Golden Core realm, upon hearing that Luo Qingyuan and Pang Yue had formed a dao-companion bond, not only did he not feel angry, but he seized the opportunity to prematurely condense his tribulation fate.

By killing Pang Yue, he could take a crucial step forward on his Golden Core path ahead of schedule!

The fate tribulation was a predestined tribulation ordained by destiny.

Throughout a cultivator's life, any minor event could potentially lay the groundwork for future tribulations.

Truly, it was impossible to guard against!

When the fate tribulation descended, it was far from being as simple as the human tribulation; it involved the operation of the Heavenly Dao and the karma of all things in the world.

All disasters eventually converged into one place, forming the fate tribulation and driving people to their deaths.

Yuwen Bi had spent nearly a hundred years of painstaking effort on his fate tribulation before barely managing to survive it.

As for the heavenly tribulation, he did not say much more.

For Pang Yue, that was still far too distant a matter.

Pang Yue vaguely guessed that the favor Yuwen Bi wanted him to perform in the future was likely related to his heavenly tribulation.

With the Three Tribulations of the Golden Core, after passing each tribulation, one's strength became incomparable to before.

Throughout the entire Demonic Talisman Sect, perhaps only the Sect Master—someone at the half-step Primordial Spirit stage—had completely passed all Three Tribulations of the Golden Core.

This was also why Ye Bing had said that when she fought the Demonic Talisman Sect Master back then, she was defeated in the blink of an eye.

...

Half a day later.

Inside the main hall of the True Demon Palace.

Over thirty desks were arranged in two rows, behind which sat cultivators of extraordinary demeanor and refined temperament.

If anyone with extraordinary insight and discernment were to see these cultivators, they would undoubtedly be struck with shock and panic.

For these thirty-odd cultivators were none other than the top-tier Golden Core grandmasters of the Demonic Talisman Sect!

The masters and vice masters of the five palaces, along with the heads of the six major clans, rarely gathered in such complete attendance.

All of this stemmed from Vice Sect Master Yuwen Bi.

In the absence of the Demonic Talisman Sect Master and the other two vice sect masters, the entire Demonic Talisman Sect respected Yuwen Bi above all.

For nearly three hundred years, all major affairs within the sect had been decided and judged by him.

Now, he had personally summoned the upper echelons and prominent figures of the Demonic Talisman Sect to hold a grand Golden Core ceremony for his personal disciple, which naturally carried profound significance.

The assembly waited for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

Only then were two figures seen walking out from the side hall.

Both wore grey robes. One of them had an ordinary build, with grey mist swirling around his face, obscuring his features.

The other was tall and handsome, resembling a youthful Daoist priest, and his aura appeared vastly weaker compared to the other cultivators in the hall.

These two were naturally Yuwen Bi and Pang Yue.

Upon seeing them enter, everyone immediately stood up in unison, looking solemn and respectful.

"Greetings, Vice Sect Master."

The crowd spoke in unison, their voices echoing within the grand hall, the sound waves lingering.

Yuwen Bi walked up to a purple-jade chair at the center and head of the hall, sat down, and waved his hand to signal everyone to be seated.

Pang Yue walked over and took his seat behind the first desk on the left.

He turned his head to survey his surroundings. Aside from Ye Bing, the Luo family head, and the elders not far away, everyone else was a stranger.

Looking at the assembly, Yuwen Bi smiled slightly. "It seems that apart from the Primordial Demon Palace Master and the Gu family head, everyone else is here."

"Summoning you all here today is to hold a grand ceremony for my disciple Pang Yue, in celebration of his breakthrough to the upper-grade Golden Core. This is a joyous occasion for our Demonic Talisman Sect."

As Yuwen Bi spoke, gazes fell upon Pang Yue one after another.

Some were curious, some indifferent, some benevolent, some envious, and even... hostile.

"The person sitting opposite you is the Lightning Demon Palace Master, Ping Hongshen."

A soft and melodious voice sounded in Pang Yue's ear. He turned his head and saw that it was Ice Demon Palace Master Ye Bing transmitting her voice to him.

Directly opposite him, in the first seat on the right side of the hall, sat a middle-aged man wearing white robes with a ceremonial sash, wearing a stern expression.

The Ping family was one of the six major clans of the Demonic Talisman Sect, and the family's foremost figure was none other than this Lightning Demon Palace Master before him.

This man's strength was unfathomable, not the least bit inferior to Ye Bing's.

Ye Bing continued her voice transmission, introducing the others in the hall to Pang Yue: "To the right of Ping Hongshen is the Wind Demon Palace Master, Xu Yi..."

In the blink of an eye, Ye Bing had introduced everyone in the hall to Pang Yue.

The Lightning Demon Palace, Ice Demon Palace, Flame Demon Palace, and Wind Demon Palace had all sent both their palace masters and vice palace masters.

The Primordial Demon Palace had sent only a vice palace master.

Among the six Golden Core clans, aside from the Gu family head, all the other clan heads were present in person.

Luo family head Luo Zhiyu and Elder Luo Zhiqiao had come, while the Luo family's top expert, Law Enforcement Palace Master Luo Zhiyin, had not attended.

On the day Pang Yue challenged He Miao and the others, Luo Zhiyin had appeared once aboard the Thousand-Degree Cloud Sea Ship. Afterward, Pang Yue had never seen this supreme elder of the Luo family again.

In addition, elders from various palaces and major clans were also in attendance.

Excluding Pang Yue and Yuwen Bi, a total of thirty-nine Golden Core cultivators were present.

Most of them were towering figures in the mid-to-late stages of the Golden Core realm.

After Yuwen Bi spoke a few conventional pleasantries, the gathering of Golden Core grandmasters stood up to offer their congratulations to Pang Yue.

"Congratulations to Elder Pang on achieving the upper-grade Golden Core!"

Everyone first cupped their fists in congratulation and then presented congratulatory gifts.

Once Pang Yue achieved his Golden Core, he became an elder of the True Demon Palace, and everyone uniformly changed their form of address, calling him Elder or True Person.

Once they became familiar with one another, they could switch to addressing him as fellow Daoist or brother in the Dao.

A True Demon Palace boy stood beside Pang Yue, collecting the congratulatory gifts for him one by one.

The matter of his supreme-grade Golden Core had been concealed; Yuwen Bi only mentioned it as an upper-grade Golden Core, leaving room for everyone to speculate.

An upper-grade Golden Core could be a first-grade Golden Core, or it could be a third-grade Golden Core.

Among the crowd, the Luo family and the Ice Demon Palace cultivators were quite benevolent toward him.

The Flame Demon Palace, from the palace master down to the elders, all maintained a standard decorum, showing no unusual behavior, as if Pang Yue had never spent time in the Flame Demon Palace at all.

Only the Lightning Demon Palace and the Ping family cultivators wore indifferent expressions, their words of congratulation lukewarm.

Pang Yue smilingly accepted the congratulations of the various Golden Core cultivators and returned the courtesy to each of them in thanks.

The congratulatory gifts presented by everyone possessed their own unique qualities.

Most were presented inside jade boxes.

There were also some eccentric gifts, such as the head of a Golden Core demonic beast, towering over a zhang in size, which was pulled out all bloody from a storage bag.

The person who presented this gift was a vice palace master of the Flame Demon Palace. He had a short, plump build, a permanent smile on his face, and a gentle, restrained demeanor, yet his style of action carried a distinct demonic sect flair.

The True Demon Palace boy handled matters flawlessly, swiftly and nimbly storing all the congratulatory gifts into a storage bag.

Generally speaking, Golden Core congratulatory gifts tended toward elegance and leisure rather than exorbitant value.

They mostly consisted of spirit tea, spirit wine, anecdotes and oddities, wish-fulfilling dwellings, peculiar materials, calligraphy, paintings, and the like...

Once everyone had presented their gifts and acquainted themselves with Pang Yue, the grand ceremony drew to a close.

Yuwen Bi's true intention was nothing more than to introduce Pang Yue to the upper echelons of the Demonic Talisman Sect, letting everyone know Yuwen Bi's attitude toward him, thus facilitating his future endeavors.

Finally.

Yuwen Bi said to Pang Yue, "Starting today, you shall go to guard the Demon-Devouring Palace!"

With that, a decree flew out from his sleeve and landed in Pang Yue's hand.

"As you command, Master."

Pang Yue accepted the decree, his heart remaining calm and undisturbed.

This had been discussed and agreed upon by the two of them before coming to the main hall.

The Demon-Devouring Palace connected to the outer spatial void and was a vital stronghold of the Demonic Talisman Sect, but it was also a leisurely post.

Guarding the Demon-Devouring Palace would give Pang Yue ample time to cultivate in the outer spatial void and consolidate his cultivation base.

Seeing this, the people in the hall wore varied expressions and said nothing more.

Suddenly, a person stood up, walked to the center of the hall to bow to Yuwen Bi, and then spoke: "Sect Master Yuwen, I have long heard of True Person Pang's exceptional swordsmanship. Having the fortune to meet him today, I wonder if I might take this opportunity to seek some pointers from True Person Pang."

Yuwen Bi sat high upon the central seat at the head of the hall, his face obscured by grey mist, making it difficult for anyone to read his expression.

In fact, throughout the entire grand hall, aside from Lightning Demon Palace Master Ping Hongshen and Ice Demon Palace Master Ye Bing, almost no one dared to look directly at this vice sect master.

"So long as Pang Yue agrees, there is naturally no objection."

Yuwen Bi said indifferently.

Pang Yue looked toward the person testing him as well. As expected, it was a Golden Core initial-stage elder from the Ping family named Ping Shanchen.