Chapter 462 (2)
Suddenly, Lu Qing’s gaze sharpened as he stared at the swirling tribulation clouds.
He noticed that something unusual was occurring within the vortex.
Within the golden tribulation clouds, bolts of lightning were trying to converge, but another force seemed to be obstructing them.
That force was also a golden light, but its hue differed slightly from the golden lightning.
If one did not examine carefully, it would be easy to overlook.
“That power is… the Light of Merit!”
Lu Qing recognized the source of the golden light after a brief observation.
It was none other than the power of Merit Light.
Earlier, his master had poured all his strength into a single sword strike, unintentionally unleashing the vast amount of Merit Light he had accumulated over the years. The strike had surged into the tribulation cloud vortex.
Now, it seemed that the Merit Light had not dissipated immediately. Instead, it was preventing the tribulation clouds from gathering lightning?“Could the Light of Merit have such an effect?”
Lu Qing stared at the sky intently. At the center of the tribulation cloud vortex, the golden clouds churned, desperately trying to form a lightning bolt.
Yet, they never succeeded. Eventually, the tribulation clouds began to slowly dissipate.
By the time the clouds had completely faded, a stream of light shot out from the vortex and landed on Doctor Chen. With that, the entire tribulation cloud vortex gradually vanished.
Before long, the sky returned to its former tranquility—clear and serene, as though nothing had ever happened.
Lu Qing was momentarily stunned.
“The tribulation clouds have dispersed… Does that mean Master has successfully overcome his tribulation?”
After a while, Lu Qing regained his composure and chuckled.
“To think that the power of merit could dissolve a tribulation… This must be the greatest reward for Master’s lifetime of kindness and good deeds.”
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
Based on the movement of the tribulation clouds earlier, it was clear that his master was supposed to face a ninth tribulation lightning bolt.
However, in that previous sword strike, his master had exhausted all his strength, along with the Merit Light he had accumulated over his lifetime.
Unexpectedly, the Merit Light possessed such miraculous properties.
It had dissolved the final tribulation bolt, preventing it from descending. As a result, his master, after enduring many hardships, had successfully overcome his tribulation.
In the end, this was karma at work.
Had his master not spent his life as a benevolent healer, saving lives and helping others, he would never have accumulated such dense Merit Light.
And without it, he wouldn’t have been able to avert the final tribulation bolt.
Thus, everything was ultimately a result of his master’s own virtuous deeds.
“The Light of Merit… can actually dissolve a tribulation?”
Inside the Li Huo Cauldron, Yan was also dumbfounded.
Just moments ago, he had believed that Doctor Chen would not be able to withstand the final tribulation bolt.
He had even prepared to work with Lu Qing to rescue Doctor Chen from the tribulation’s wrath.
But to his astonishment, the final tribulation bolt had been neutralized by the very Merit Light Doctor Chen had released with his sword!
Such an event was unheard of.
There was no record of this phenomenon in the ancient texts of Li Huo Sect, nor had Yan ever heard of anyone achieving this, even in the Ancient Cultivation Era. Ɽ𝘈Ｎ𝖔ʙĘ𝙎
“No… wait!”
Yan suddenly shuddered as a possibility crossed his mind.
“The monks of Xuankong Mountain might know this secret!”
He recalled that if there was any sect in the Ancient Cultivation Era that understood the power of Merit Light the best, it would be Xuankong Mountain.
Indeed, during that era, the Xuankong Mountain lineage had been fervently devoted to the study of Merit Light.
Every accomplished monk would travel the world, accumulating merit whenever possible.
At the time, most cultivators believed Xuankong Mountain did this because of their doctrines and cultivation techniques.
Furthermore, those who possessed Merit Light did indeed have smoother cultivation paths and were more favored by fate.
As a result, many righteous sects also engaged in slaying demons and practicing acts of virtue, though none pursued it as zealously as Xuankong Mountain.
Now, it seemed things were not so simple.
Xuankong Mountain likely discovered that Merit Light could weaken and dissolve tribulations, which was why they pursued it so fervently.
With this realization, Yan recalled several peculiar occurrences from the Ancient Cultivation Era.
For example, among the top-tier sects of that era, Xuankong Mountain was known for having an unusually high number of Golden Core Realm cultivators, far surpassing other sects.
At the time, people assumed that Xuankong Mountain’s unique cultivation methods greatly increased the success rate of tribulation transcendence.
But in hindsight, it was highly likely that they had been leveraging the power of Merit Light.
“It’s a pity that the present-day Xuankong Mountain’s Hidden Realm seems to have abandoned their ancestral practices. Instead of accumulating merit, they even shelter evil organizations like Wujian Tower. Truly, they have fallen.”
Yan quickly shared his speculation with Lu Qing.
“That might not be entirely true,” Lu Qing mused. “I heard from Zhi Yue that over ten thousand years ago, Xuankong Mountain was still well-regarded.”
“Back then, high monks would frequently appear in the world, traveling and performing good deeds.”
“But at some point, their behavior changed, becoming domineering and aggressive. They even severed ties with Qingyang Temple and other sacred sites.”
“Thinking about it now, the biggest use of Merit Light is to dissolve tribulations.”
“But over the past tens of thousands of years, the world has been suffering from Spiritual Energy Depletion.”
“No one could cultivate beyond the Peak Innate Stage.”
“Even in the Four Great Secret Realms, the highest cultivation level achievable was Peak Foundation Establishment Realm, meaning tribulations never even descended.”
“With the primary function of Merit Light lost, it naturally became obsolete.”
“Moreover, accumulating Merit Light is not easy.”
“One must dedicate a lifetime to selfless acts of virtue and kindness.”
“Not everyone has such perseverance and benevolence.”
“So, when one considers the difficulty of accumulation and the lack of usefulness, it’s understandable that Xuankong Mountain eventually abandoned or disregarded this path.”
Yan nodded in agreement after hearing Lu Qing’s reasoning.
In fact, even during the Ancient Cultivation Era, Xuankong Mountain had been known for its overbearing methods.
Their benevolent reputation stemmed from their monks’ merit-seeking travels.
But Yan remembered several incidents where Xuankong Mountain had brutally eliminated sects that threatened their interests.
Their methods included wiping out entire sects and forcibly converting others—practices infamous within the cultivation world.
So, in truth, the modern Xuankong Mountain was merely following its historical pattern. It was not necessarily a case of decline.
“Enough of that—Master is about to condense his Golden Core!”
At that moment, Lu Qing’s expression turned serious.