Chapter 148: Battle! Come!

Chapter 148: Battle! Come!

Tu Zhe communicated with Erlang Shen via divine sense, saying, "Second Brother, please keep an eye on little Su later. My coverage area is a bit large, haha."

Erlang Shen didn't care at all. What kind of scenes had his Second Brother not witnessed?

Even if you were to smash a planet to pieces with a single punch, what of it?

Could it possibly harm your Second Brother, haha?

However, the moment Tu Zhe made his move, Erlang Shen instantly regretted it. Damn it, why was the威力 (might) so immense? It was practically an indiscriminate attack. Forget it, I'd better stand further back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

With a flick of Tu Zhe's divine sense, a "whoosh" sound echoed as the Three Demonic Maidens, Little Leilei, and the twenty-three Demon Dragon Guards all appeared on the scene.

What was even more terrifying was that with the appearance of these individuals, boundless tribulation clouds and lightning poured forth like a overwhelming tide, instantly blanketing the entire sky of the Meteor Continent.

Erlang Shen was startled. He cast a glance and made a rough estimation: if this heavenly tribulation were to strike down, he himself could withstand it, but what about little Su? How could her petite physique possibly endure it? A frantic bombardment like that would surely destroy her delicate form.

Without a second thought, Erlang Shen retreated thirty to fifty thousand miles instantly, moving well beyond the range enveloped by the tribulation clouds.

Tang Youyou's retainers were terrified out of their wits upon seeing this. What the hell? Where on earth did such a massive expanse of tribulation clouds come from? Let alone mortals undergoing tribulation, even deities would struggle to survive this. Without another word, they scattered in all directions, fleeing as far from the tribulation clouds as possible.

Only Tu Zhe and Tang Youyou remained standing in confrontation upon the Meteor Continent.

Meanwhile, Little Leilei and the others gazed up at the starry sky—cough, damn it, the starry sky was completely invisible—with expressions of profound solemnity and sorrow.

Aside from Little Leilei, who had already experienced a heavenly tribulation, wouldn't it be fine for this group of fellows, who had never witnessed one before, to feel a bit sorrowful and indignant?

They weren't quite in despair yet, were they?

Tang Youyou no longer dared to look down upon Tu Zhe. Although he firmly believed that his own divine abilities far surpassed those of the white-clothed fellow before him, the tribulation clouds summoned by this guy were terrifying enough.

However, Tang Youyou had no intention of running away.

Are you kidding me? Did a Heavenly King at the True Monarch realm need to flee from an ant at the Divine King realm? Even if this guy had summoned such a terrifying heavenly tribulation?

At this moment, Tu Zhe felt the turbulent Brahman Qi within the tribulation clouds in the sky, and he sensed the boundless Brahman Qi inside his own body stirring uneasily as well.

He had a bad premonition: he, too, would be triggered by this unimaginably majestic heavenly tribulation and undergo his very first heavenly tribulation.

Within the thick tribulation clouds, which were still continuously brewing boundless tribulation lightning, lightning of various colors twisted and intertwined like countless dragon-serpents, pregnant with boundless might.

Rumbling thunder and the sharp cracking of lightning intertwined, sounding like the roars of dragons and flashing like swimming dragons. A boundless pressure of heaven and earth gathered overhead, creating an oppressive atmosphere that made one feel nearly driven mad.

The little puppy in little Su's arms anxiously tugged at her hair, pulling so hard that little Su winced in pain.

The puppy anxiously cried out, "Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, will Rogue Brother be alright..."

How could little Su possibly answer such a question? Though she herself had experienced heavenly tribulations several times, the might of this one was countless times greater than anything she had faced during her own tribulations.

Little Su looked at Erlang Shen for help.

Erlang Shen smiled, patted the puppy's little head, and said, "Don't be afraid, Second Brother is here, haha..."

The puppy let out an "oh" and calmed down slightly.

The existence of this great deity, Erlang, was indeed enough to reassure both people and dogs.

Feeling that the true qi within his body had surged to the brink of explosion, Tu Zhe suddenly took a step forward to the heads of Little Leilei and the others, shouting in a deep voice, "Gather together, don't leave me too far—"

Then, with a burning gaze, Tu Zhe roared furiously at Tang Youyou:

"Battle—"

It should be noted that the "qi" originally within Tu Zhe's body belonged to Brahman Qi. Let us briefly popularize the types, similarities, and differences of "qi".

Qi includes primordial qi (yuanqi), ancestral qi (zuqi), initial qi (shiqi), Brahman qi (fanqi), true qi (zhenqi), and so on, with various schools having mostly minor variations.

Primordial qi is the beginning of qi. Before heaven and earth were separated and Yin and Yang were judged, there existed chaos qi. This chaos qi is extremely rare, found only in some mysterious location of a world that has not yet been conceived, is about to be conceived, or is currently being conceived.

The problem is, who has ever witnessed a world in the process of gestation? Therefore, while primordial qi appears ordinary, it is actually exceedingly difficult to encounter, let alone use as the foundation for cultivation.

Then what on earth is ancestral qi?

Ancestral qi is also called the qi of the Great Beginning (Taichu). The *Yiwei Qianzuodu* states: "That which has form is born from that which is formless; hence there is the Great Ease (Taiyi), the Great Beginning (Taichu), the Great Origin (Taishi), and the Great Simplicity (Taisu)."

The Great Ease is when qi is not yet seen; the Great Beginning is the beginning of qi; the Great Origin is the beginning of form...

This theory at least explains the concepts and properties of these two types of qi.

Ancestral qi is precisely the qi at the very beginning of birth. What is meant by birth? It is probably gestation and germination. Laozi said: "Nameless, the beginning of heaven and earth; named, the mother of all things." Since it has been gestated and germinated, it has existence; with existence, it naturally becomes the mother qi of all things, right? The mother qi of all things can naturally be called ancestral qi, correct?

Initial qi, as stated in the text above, is the beginning of form. That means it is the qi that engenders all things with form, possessing miraculous and mighty powers of creation, shaping, and molding.

As for Brahman Qi, it is said to be a kind of qi generated between constellations through mutual borrowing, fusion, and collision. It circulates throughout the heavens; it exists in the Three Realms, but not in the human realm.

And what about True Qi? It is the primordial driving force generated by the combination of congenital primordial qi and the refined qi of water and grain, which sustains the life movements of sentient beings.

It must be pointed out that Buddhist cultivation absorbs Brahman Qi because the essence of Brahman Qi is pure and tranquil, which aids people in comprehending the Dao; thus, Buddhism inquires into the essence of the world.

This is what is called Buddhist cultivation of nature (Xing).

Taoist cultivation, of course, also absorbs the Brahman Qi between heaven and earth, but they treat this Brahman Qi as primordial qi, channeling and refining it into the primordial qi needed by their own bodies, fusing it with the refined qi of water and grain to form a completely new kind of qi. This is true qi.

This true qi helps strengthen and evolve one's own physical body, and can infinitely prolong one's lifespan.

Therefore, this is what is called Taoist cultivation of life (Ming), pursuing longevity or even eternal life.

Because the personal microcosm cultivated by Taoism gradually grows stronger and conflicts with the laws of the world it inhabits, a heavenly tribulation will appear every time there is a major breakthrough in realm.

Heavenly tribulation is the world's laws saying "no" to the cultivator's defiance of those laws, expressing anger and intolerance, seeking to annihilate them.

Therefore, what Buddhists cultivate is not called cultivation, but "comprehension"; it is integration with the laws of heaven and earth, a state of "compliance," and thus they are not punished by the laws of the world.

Taoist cultivation is called cultivating truth or cultivating immortality; it is "defiance," a rebellion against the laws of the world. If the laws of the world don't deal with you, who else would they deal with?

Of course, Taoism also emphasizes the unity of heaven and man. But that is something that only happens at very high realms. If you want the world's laws to recognize you, appreciate you, and even merge into one with you below the realm of a True Person so as to escape the heavenly tribulation, don't even dream about it.

Take Erlang Shen's realm, for instance; it infinitely approached that of a True Person.

A True Person is someone who can basically discern the essence of the world, understand the laws (the so-called Dao) and their operating principles, occasionally manipulate those laws, and infinitely approach that single point of "truth" of the Dao. Naturally, no heavenly tribulation will come looking for trouble with you, determined to kill you and be done with it.

To return to the main point: Tu Zhe wanted to teach Tang Youyou a lesson, and Tang Youyou certainly didn't falter.

Tang Youyou sneered, gesturing idly with his hand:

Come—