Two, Metamorphic Tribulation

  Two, Metamorphic Tribulation

  The sound that rose from the bottom of his heart echoed three times before disappearing, and the oppressive feeling in the air also retreated.

  Sheng Tian felt himself in a daze, having made all sorts of assumptions, even imagining himself as that monkey. He had also thought about the Desolate World, but hadn't given it much thought because in the Desolate legends he knew, there wasn't a stone like this one. Neither Yu Ding nor Shi Ji seemed to match, Yu Ding was said to be a tooth of Pangu's, with a noble identity, and didn't have dark, human-like teeth. Shi Ji also didn't fit, her Skull Mountain didn't resemble this mountain either. After being refined back into its original form by Tai Yi, it still didn't have a human shape. In the Desolate legends Sheng Tian knew, there wasn't a stone that matched, so he hadn't given it much thought. Yet, unexpectedly, he had arrived in this primitive society at the dawn of time. But he had no idea what his origins were as this stone.

  Sheng Tianke sometimes gets headaches, this is a dangerous world, an unreasonable world, it's not easy to survive in this world, if you're not careful, you'll be doomed, and even if you die, there's no one to complain to. Of course, there are also opportunities hidden, if you can find a powerful backer, maybe you can still live a comfortable life, is there such an opportunity?

  Sheng Tian was entangled for a while, and then thought: I'm just a broken stone, can't move or speak, what's the point of thinking about those things? It's better to continue living my life as usual and not think about it.

  Sheng Tian once again embarked on a life of diligent cultivation, occasionally glancing at the mountain scenery and listening to the wind in the intervals between practice. Life had become increasingly stressful, fearing that one day some powerful being would pass by and crush this broken stone with a single kick, leaving no place to cry. The only hope was that diligent cultivation could bring about some changes, such as: being able to move slightly, or being able to speak, so that when crisis came, he wouldn't die unjustly.

  The changes brought about by diligent cultivation are indeed present, the most direct being that one's perception reaches over a hundred miles, seeing and hearing more clearly. However, one still cannot move or speak. Nevertheless, if someone were to examine this stone closely, they would discover that it resembles a human, especially in its eyes, which seem to possess a certain spirituality. This is merely the external appearance; if one could see through to the interior, they would behold the meridians and channels emerging, on the verge of forming a complete microcosmic orbit, seemingly also on the verge of giving rise to various internal organs.

  Within the hundred-mile radius of Sheng Tian's perception, it is common to see blue lions and white elephants strolling about, apes and deer frolicking, and various rare birds and beasts appearing and disappearing. Sometimes, Sheng Tian would be so startled that his heart would skip a beat, and he would feel even more reverence for this world, lamenting the uncertainty of his own future.

  The years of cultivation have passed unknowingly, and Sheng Tian felt refreshed and invigorated as he woke up from his cultivation today. Looking far away, the sky was high and the clouds were light, with a gentle breeze and beautiful sunshine. Good mood and good weather, everything is so wonderful.

  Sheng Tian was thinking of relaxing himself properly, as his cultivation had been too strenuous lately. Sheng Tian worried that being overly anxious would harm his mental state, although he wasn't quite clear what the so-called "mental state" in legends referred to, but being cautious wouldn't go wrong, right?

  In the blink of an eye, the bright sky turned into a stormy one, with dark clouds gathering from all sides, layer by layer, growing thicker and darker. The ground shook as various animals scurried about in panic.

  Before long, the sky turned pitch black and thunder rumbled, as if it were the end of the world.

  Ink-black clouds were thick and heavy as mountains, pressing down on the mountain peaks.

  Sheng Tian was truly stunned, having never seen such a scene before, and had no idea what would happen next.

  The dark clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, gathering towards Sheng Tian's head, the thunder grew louder and louder, swirling above Sheng Tian's head, but there was no lightning, as if brewing something.

  At this time, Sheng Tian was a bit frightened: Would the heavens know that I'm a transmigrator and want to get rid of me?

  Actually, if there were great powers of the Primordial Chaos here, they would naturally understand what's going on now. This is the transformation tribulation of the Primordial Chaos spirits, and it's also a test and help from the Primordial Chaos heaven and earth for the transformed spirits. Except for a few great powers of the Primordial Chaos, when the Primordial Chaos spirits reach a certain level and transform into "Dao Bodies", they must go through this trial. "Dao Body" refers to the form based on Pangu, which is also the human form in later generations. After all, this world was opened by Pangu, who sacrificed himself to create it, so this world has deeply imprinted with Pangu's mark. The Pangu form naturally has its uniqueness in this world and is known as the Dao Body.

  At the beginning of the vast and primordial world, there were no living beings, but many innate consciousnesses that emerged simultaneously with the creation of heaven and earth. These innate consciousnesses gradually strengthened as the world grew and matured, and when they reached a certain level of power, they took shape and became the first batch of tangible or intangible, shaped or shapeless living beings in the primordial world.

  As each consciousness took shape according to its own imagination, the first batch of living beings in the primordial world was incredibly diverse, with all sorts of plants and animals. Among them were many powerful figures with great abilities, such as Fu Xi and Nu Wa, who appeared in human form with snake tails, while Emperor Jun and Dong Huang appeared in the form of three-legged golden crows, and Kun Peng manifested as a giant fish and bird with dual forms.

  It was during this time that all things had spirits, and even a cloud in the sky, a wisp of wind in the air, or a stone on the ground could be a manifestation of an innate consciousness. Some consciousnesses were together, familiar with each other, and chose to take shape in the same form. Others took shape later, saw the forms that had already been taken by others, and thought some forms suited them, so they also chose those forms. These living beings with similar shapes became a single tribe.

  The more living beings chose a particular form, the stronger their tribe would become. Among the most representative tribes in the early primordial world were the dragon, phoenix, and qilin. This batch of living beings was extremely powerful, but they constantly fought each other, causing many to disappear in the dust. Many weak tribes also disappeared in the continuous fighting.

  However, some living beings hid themselves away, no longer participating in the battles, and secretly cultivated their powers, continuously strengthening themselves.

  Of course, the first batch of shaped souls who have undergone the tribulation of shaping are not many, because their first form is not a "Dao body". Only after cultivating to a certain level in the first form and then transforming into a Dao body can they transcend the tribulation of shaping and become a Dao body. However, the resulting Dao body cannot be called a pure Dao body, as it still retains some properties of the first form and can transform between the Dao body and the first form. These properties will affect their cultivation, and whether it is good or bad is not uniform.

  The true Dao bodies in the vast expanse are those souls who chose to take on the Dao body form from the very beginning, but such souls are extremely rare, for example, the Three Pure Ones transformed from Pangu's primordial spirit. Of course, the Three Pure Ones will not have tribulations when they transform, as it is a blessing from the heavens of the vast expanse. As for the rest who chose to take on the Dao body form as their first transformation, they will undergo this trial, and this trial is usually stricter than those who had a first form before transforming into a Dao body. However, the rewards after passing through are also much more abundant.

  In the vast wilderness, most living beings cultivate and live in their first form. Only a few choose to transform into a second form. Some high-level living beings also choose to live in an illusory form, but this is just a change in appearance, and they are still essentially in their first form. Many of them retain the characteristics of their first form after transformation. For example, dragon clans often appear with a dragon head and human body, while some plant spirits may appear as branches and leaves with a human body.

  After these innate consciousnesses took shape, the vast expanse of heaven and earth began to give birth to new consciousnesses. Since heaven and earth had already taken form, these consciousnesses were also known as acquired consciousnesses. These consciousnesses often attached themselves to some unconscious objects. When they grew strong enough, they would take shape and emerge, with diverse forms. After taking shape, they would retain some properties of the objects they had attached to. Those who chose to take shape through the Dao body would also undergo the trials of the tribulation of taking shape. After passing through it, they would achieve the Dao body and receive rewards from the vast expanse of heaven and earth.

  Now Sheng Tian is in this situation, and tomorrow's consciousness will be transformed into a tribulation. He just doesn't know it yet.

  Sheng Tian's consciousness is attached to a human-shaped strange stone, and in his usual cultivation, he also cultivates with human consciousness. Now that his consciousness has grown to the point of taking shape, the vast heavens and earth recognize his choice to take shape through the Dao, and they send down a trial by fire to test and assist him in taking shape.

  It's actually a bit unexpected, this strange stone wouldn't have produced consciousness if it hadn't been possessed by the Sheng Tian consciousness. Even if it had given birth to consciousness, relying on its own instincts to slowly grow stronger, who knows how long it would take for it to grow strong enough to reach the realm of taking shape? And even if it did reach that realm, who knows whether it would choose to take shape as a Dao body or not. In short, this is just an unexpected turn of events.

  Perhaps it's because it was unexpected, if someone with great ability were to see the magnificent transformation of heaven at this time, they would also feel unimaginable, and this is different from past transformations. Exactly how it's different, for the moment, can't be put into words.

  The clouds in the sky also stopped gathering, and the dark clouds covered the entire sky, rolling continuously, as if brewing some mysterious power.

  Finally, a loud crash, a thick and large lightning bolt burst out of the cloud layer, dragging its long tail, and struck down towards Sheng Tian's stone slab...