Chapter 777: Success (Finale)

When Meng Chuan was sixty-nine years old, Fang Dalong, then eighty-eight, passed away peacefully. Born during the twilight years of the Great Yu Dynasty, Fang Dalong had endured immense hardship, steadily rising from a common villager to a high-ranking member of the 'Gold and Silver Gang,' one of Binhai City's three most powerful factions. His fortunes took a dramatic turn at forty-one, when his son, Fang Qi, returned from the capital.

Although Meng Chuan himself had no interest in power, Fang Dalong leveraged his son's influence and the demon-slaying scriptures Fang Qi had authored to establish the 'Fang Family,' which became the most prominent demon-slaying clan in the world.

By the time Meng Chuan was ninety-six, his younger sister, Fang Qian, had reached the venerable age of ninety-three. Despite her lifelong practice of martial arts and her brother's attentive care, the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death remained insurmountable. Fang Qian had truly led a blessed life, nurtured by her father in her youth and later by her elder brother. She also commanded immense status and influence within the empire, largely due to her being the Old Celestial Master's most cherished relative.

Following Fang Qian's passing, the Old Celestial Master, Fang Qi, began to wander the world. If he chose to remain hidden, no one could easily find him.

Despite his age, which surpassed one hundred years and suggested he could pass away at any moment, the Old Celestial Master's occasional reappearances confirmed he was still alive.

The entire world closely watched this Old Celestial Master, now over a century old, who, at the mere age of twenty-nine, had slain nine great Origin Demons, becoming the strongest demon-slaying Celestial Master in history. No one knew what profound realm of cultivation he had attained.

Outside Tianchuan City, atop a towering mountain peak,

A white-haired old man with a missing arm sat absorbed in painting. No one knew how he, with his disability, had managed to ascend such a perilous mountain.

"Hahahaha..."

"I've been in this world for a century, and I've finally seen it clearly," Meng Chuan chuckled, his face etched with age spots, his hair completely white, and his appearance utterly ancient. Though he looked to be around eighty, Meng Chuan was, in fact, one hundred and twenty-one years old.

Despite never having achieved his goal of 'becoming the strongest being in the world,' and often feeling as though he was fumbling blindly in the dark, Meng Chuan had never once given up!

His resolve was unwavering.

He never relaxed for a single day, continuously cultivating and exploring, always pushing towards higher realms.

He had once observed a correlation: the more abundant life was in a place, the more demons were spawned. Did this imply that without living beings, there would be no demons? Did the entity stronger than him also depend on life? Would its power be significantly weakened without living beings?

Despite this deduction, Meng Chuan instantly dismissed such a path.

Eradicating all life for his own benefit? That was fundamentally against his principles; he would rather die than resort to such an act.

In this world, even the mightiest demon-slaying Celestial Masters could only harness the power of heaven and earth indirectly, through talismans, artifacts, and formations. They themselves remained mortal. Despite Meng Chuan’s physical body having reached the peak of mortal endurance, at one hundred and twenty-one years old, he could sense death steadily drawing closer.

Before his destined end, Meng Chuan had entertained numerous alternative ideas.

However, whether due to his steadfast principles or a lack of promising outcomes, he dismissed all of them, his focus remaining solely on the secret arts of demon-slaying.

Then, today, he finally glimpsed a ray of hope.

"Humans in this world are forever mortal, struggling in a sea of suffering. Even I cannot directly perceive the workings of its fundamental rules," Meng Chuan said, smiling as he looked at his painting. "However, the demon-slaying talismans I've created, the artifacts I've refined, and the formations I've devised over the years have allowed me to harness more and more of the world's natural energy... Today, I've finally understood how this world truly functions."

What cannot be seen or sensed does not mean it doesn't exist.

However, inferring the complete workings of the world's rules solely from the superficial manifestations of talismans and formations was an almost impossible feat.

It was akin to a blind person touching an elephant: feeling a single hair, they might conclude the elephant was made of countless hairs.

Feeling its long trunk, they might imagine the elephant was a winding, elongated creature.

Grasping a thick leg, they could perceive it as a pillar-like being.

Since he could neither see nor sense these rules directly, comprehending the world's operational mechanics was thousands, even tens of thousands of times more challenging than a blind person fully discerning the form of an elephant.

Meng Chuan had delved into nearly all of this world's invaluable demon-slaying texts. For a century, he applied his insights from the Dao of Painting to meticulously deduce and repeatedly verify his theories through practice. As a mere mortal, he had finally deciphered the underlying mechanics of this world.

"I see it."

"So, this is how this world truly functions," the white-haired Meng Chuan murmured, gazing at the diagrams in his sketchbook. "With this understanding, I can now construct a grand formation capable of harnessing the power of the entire world."

At twenty-nine, he could already mobilize the power of heaven and earth within a hundred miles, relying only on a few magical artifacts.

By sixty, using artifact formations, he could command this power across an eight-hundred-mile radius.

By ninety-six, his artifact formations could draw upon the power of heaven and earth within a thirteen-hundred-mile range, capable of devastating that entire area if he so chose. It was no wonder the empire increasingly held this Old Celestial Master in such high regard; the power he had first displayed at twenty-nine, when he slew the nine Origin Demons, was already enough to unsettle all major factions.

Over the years, Meng Chuan's comprehension of this world had grown profoundly, allowing him to harness an ever-increasing amount of its inherent power.

Today, he harbored a grand ambition!

He aimed to wield all the power of the entire world—a feat truly worthy of being called 'enforcing divine judgment.'

"The ultimate application of harnessing the power of heaven and earth is to borrow *all* of it. I refuse to believe that even with this grand formation, I won't be able to find you." With this conviction, Meng Chuan began his work, refining artifacts and establishing his formations.

It took him a full decade to refine the numerous components of this grand formation, meticulously placing them in strategic locations across the entire world, from north to south, east to west.

"It's done."

Standing atop a towering mountain peak, Meng Chuan, his face deeply lined and hair completely white, was now one hundred and thirty-one years old. Despite his perfect mastery over his physical form, he knew his lifespan was limited to one hundred and thirty-five years.

Yet, he had finally completed the construction of this grand formation just before his fated end.

The colossal formation comprised thirty-five distinct sub-formations, scattered across the globe. Its overall span stretched thirteen thousand miles from east to west and nine thousand eight hundred miles from north to south.

This grand formation inherently drew upon the world's energy, instinctively creating a vast barrier. This barrier suppressed all demonic energy, making it exceedingly difficult for even minor devils to manifest within its bounds, while the possibility of powerful great demons or Origin Demons appearing was virtually nil.

This was merely its passive function; if Meng Chuan, the formation's creator and refiner, were to fully activate it, the power of heaven and earth he could harness would be truly terrifying.

"Come on."

"Let's fully unleash the power of the entire world." Meng Chuan felt a mix of excitement and trepidation.

That he could mobilize all the world's energy was merely a conjecture.

It was the culmination of countless analyses and deductions from his Dao of Painting, yet it lacked empirical proof.

"Boom."

As Meng Chuan's mental energy activated the central hub of the grand formation beneath him, his physical body, though aged to the point where his mental power was only twenty percent of what it had been at thirty, was ready. This activation aimed to harness *all* the world's energy; even if his mental power were ten times stronger, he couldn't draw forth a single additional wisp, for this was the absolute limit.

"Rumble!"

Heaven and earth quaked, the firmament boomed, and the clouds scattered.

In that instant, numerous demon-slayers looked up, sensing the profound changes sweeping across the world.

While previously he could only summon power within a thousand-mile radius at most, at this moment, the energy Meng Chuan unleashed through the grand formation was immeasurably vaster.

"It's successful! I've harnessed all the power of heaven and earth." In that moment, Meng Chuan perceived the farthest reaches of the four seas, every mountain, desert, and forest, every city, and even the deepest ocean trenches and the core of the earth.

The full power of the world was now at his command.

The entire world held no secrets from him.

While mortals were said to merely borrow the world's energy, to command *all* of it was to truly 'control heaven and earth' on an entirely different scale.

"I've seen the entirety of the world."

"But where is the lifeform stronger than me?" Meng Chuan wondered, then realized, "Wait, demonic energy!"

Meng Chuan discovered that the demonic energy suffusing the world originated from the earth itself. Deep beneath the surface, vast networks of demonic energy pulsed like roots, extending into the planet's extreme depths.

"It's there."

"The ultimate source of all demonic energy is a single location. It's there. And to my senses, that place is an expanse of utter darkness." Meng Chuan had found it.

Though invisible, Meng Chuan was vaguely certain that the terrifying creature resided there.

"Hmm?"

Meng Chuan looked up at the sky.

In the ethereal vastness, the power of infinite spacetime rules descended once more.

"I succeeded?" The instant the immense power of infinite spacetime rules descended and enveloped him, Meng Chuan finally saw the entity that had been concealed and isolated deep beneath the earth.

He beheld the colossal creature, the origin of all demonic energy.

"So, all the demons in this world originate from it," Meng Chuan realized. "It was truly the strongest lifeform before this. Obscured by the rules of infinite spacetime, I could never see it or find it throughout this tribulation. Only by surpassing it, at the very moment of my successful tribulation, could I finally perceive it."

"So, magical artifacts and formations also count as part of my strength," Meng Chuan confirmed at that moment.

Relying merely on hand seals or void-drawing talismans would have been insufficient to threaten this terrifying entity.

Only the grand formation, which harnessed the power of the entire world—a power akin to controlling heaven and earth—could kill that entity.

"Whoosh."

Meng Chuan's physical body dissipated, and his consciousness was whisked away to his distant home universe. In that moment, he felt a profound sense of relief.

This tribulation had invalidated all other cultivation systems, leaving only the path of demon-slaying secret arts, which he had to master from the ground up. The world's existing system was merely a foundation; to reach the level of 'enforcing divine judgment' upon it was unimaginably difficult. Yet, Meng Chuan, gifted in the Dao of Painting and having absorbed the hundred wisdoms of the Chaos Lord Sages, never faltered. He cultivated for over a century without a single moment of complacency, ultimately succeeding in creating that colossal barrier formation.

How brief was a mortal lifespan? He had been nineteen when he arrived in that world, and he had spent a full century cultivating his wisdom there.

If he had neglected his physical body, shortening his lifespan.

If he had wavered in his chosen path, delaying his mastery of the demon-slaying arts.

If his accumulation in the Dao of Painting had been even slightly less profound, he likely wouldn't have conceived the grand formation before succumbing to old age.

Any one of these possibilities would have resulted in failure.

"If I had located this terrifying entity early on and had a clear objective, it would have been easier. But I had no clear target at all," Meng Chuan sighed, reflecting on the arduous journey.

Not knowing what kind of lifeform it was meant he could never pinpoint its location.

It forced him to grope in the dark...

And as his lifespan neared its end, the pressure intensified dramatically.

"Throughout my life of cultivation, I've always been considered exceptionally talented, progressing swiftly. Even ascending to an Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm lifeform only took me a little over thirty thousand years. I've never before experienced the feeling of 'impending doom'," Meng Chuan lamented. This time, he had truly felt it: his end drawing near, his body steadily weakening, a persistent lack of hope, and the gnawing doubt about whether his chosen path was the correct one.

He had entertained many distracting thoughts, yet he dismissed them without hesitation. Some alternative paths, even if they led to success, were ones he would rather die than pursue.

"Looking back now, those distracting thoughts were all mistaken. To slay such a terrifying entity, harnessing all the world's power was the only way—the sole path," Meng Chuan mused with a sigh. "At one hundred and thirty-one years old, on the brink of my demise, I finally achieved success."

Back in his home universe, the Cangyuan Realm.

In the quiet room, Meng Chuan opened his eyes, his consciousness having fully returned to his body, which was seated cross-legged.

"I succeeded," Meng Chuan murmured, clearly sensing the profound changes within himself. Previously, the boundless spacetime had exerted a suppressive force upon him; daring to step outside the river of time, to deviate from the timeline, would have immediately triggered a terrifying tribulation.

Now, the tribulation was over.

He was now free, boundless as the sky itself.

"Rumble!" Meng Chuan's consciousness perfectly merged with the Cangyuan Realm—a feat only possible with one's home life world.

The instant this perfect fusion occurred, Meng Chuan entirely isolated a branch of the 'River of Spacetime' from the cosmic expanse of the universal River of Spacetime.

In that moment,

The Cangyuan Realm began to vigorously draw in external energy. The power of the entire universe surged towards it, causing the realm to expand rapidly. Landmasses stretched, oceans widened, and new continents even emerged from the seas.

"Hmm?"

The very moment Meng Chuan isolated the Cangyuan Realm's spacetime branch,

In a distant corner of spacetime, an ancient dragon-headed elder, cloaked in ornate black robes, turned his gaze towards the Cangyuan Realm and exclaimed with delight, "Hahaha, Meng Chuan's successful tribulation is a great boon for our universe! An Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm expert, and an Eternal Disciple... I now have a formidable ally, and our universe's foundation is significantly strengthened." Among this universe's Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators, the Dragon Ancestor had always been the preeminent leader. With Meng Chuan's eventual ascension to the pinnacle of the Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm, coupled with the unique advantages of the Essence Soul lineage and the network afforded by an Eternal Disciple, his influence would rival even the Dragon Ancestor's.

"Our universe has a new Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm expert, and an Eternal Disciple at that," a majestic, benevolent figure awoke and remarked, "Moreover, he shares a certain connection with my Eternal Tower."

"Dongning, an Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm expert, and he's even joined Green Mountain Peak?" a woman enshrouded in starlight observed from afar.

The status of an Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm expert was inherently slightly superior to that of a physical body Eight-Tribulation Realm, and his apprenticeship at Green Mountain Peak further elevated his standing.

In terms of influence alone, Meng Chuan now rivaled the five top-tier physical body Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist Dongning, since we last met, you are now one of us," the Master of Demon Mountain remarked, observing from afar with a slight smile.

"Fellow Daoist Dongning's wife also possesses the Phoenix bloodline, which gives us a certain affinity," a red-clad woman, stirring from her slumber within flames, opened her narrow eyes and gazed at Meng Chuan.

Of the five top-tier Eight-Tribulation Realm experts in this universe, all but the Black Demon Ancestor extended their goodwill towards Meng Chuan. This was natural, as sharing the same home universe fostered a close bond amidst the infinite reaches of spacetime, promoting unity and mutual support. Without such solidarity, their home universe would long ago have been infiltrated, eroded, or even consumed by Eight-Tribulation Realm experts from other universes.

"He actually succeeded?"

The Black Demon Ancestor found it hard to believe.

"He began his tribulation after just over thirty thousand years of cultivation. While rapid progress indicates high talent, such a short cultivation period suggests limited time for accumulating wisdom, which should have made his chances of success very low." In the Black Demon Ancestor's estimation, had Meng Chuan's mental and spiritual growth been slower, leading him to undertake the spacetime evolution at one hundred and fifty thousand years, he would have had far more time for cultivation and accumulation of wisdom, certainly far exceeding what he gained in just over thirty thousand years.

Could wisdom accumulated in merely thirty thousand years truly overcome the Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation, a trial of one's mind and wisdom?

The Black Demon Ancestor's speculation was indeed accurate. Before this tribulation, Meng Chuan had acquired the hundred wisdoms from the Chaos Lord Sages, which profoundly enhanced his accumulated knowledge in the Dao of Painting, ultimately enabling him to overcome that arduous trial.

Such was the nature of tribulations.

Various factors contribute to success, and every victorious Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivator felt a sense of both arduous struggle and fortunate escape.

Yet, every successful individual had distinct reasons for their triumph. It was only when all necessary conditions were met that the tribulation could be overcome.

"Dongning despises evil as he would a mortal enemy. So be it, so be it," the Black Demon Ancestor muttered, knowing full well he could never align himself with Meng Chuan. With a thought, he reached out his hand.

He then swiftly retrieved the inherited secret treasures, the 'Black Demon Hall' and the 'Nightmare Hall,' and with a single step, departed from that universe.

"From today, the Black Demon Hall is disbanded."

A voice resonated within the minds of the Black Demon Hall Master and the Nightmare Hall Master.

Lord Lihong, the Black Demon Hall Master, and Hall Master Xueyu of the Nightmare Hall, first sensed that the inherited secret treasures under their command had vanished into thin air. The accumulated treasures of the Black Demon Hall headquarters, amassed over many years, had also disappeared, followed by that singular voice: "From today, the Black Demon Hall is disbanded."

"The Black Demon Hall... disbanded?"

The two current Hall Masters were utterly dumbfounded. The Black Demon Hall, an organization with a long and storied history, backed by the terrifying Eight-Tribulation Realm entity, the Black Demon Ancestor, had simply dissolved?

"What do we do?" they both wondered, momentarily stunned.

In the Cangyuan Realm.

Liu Qiyue waited silently in the study. From the moment Meng Chuan began his tribulation, she had been waiting, keeping the secret from her parents and children.

One day, two days, three days... then eleven days passed...

As the sun rose from the east on the twelfth morning, Liu Qiyue sensed a shift in the world. Looking up, she saw a figure emerge from the morning light, walking towards her, and a radiant smile blossomed on her face.

"Qiyue," Meng Chuan said, walking over to gently embrace his wife. How wonderful it felt to have successfully passed the tribulation.

Liu Qiyue, who had been consumed by worry for the past eleven days, finally felt peace and joy as she embraced her husband.

"Achuan, you're now an Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm expert. Please, don't make me worry so much again, alright?" Liu Qiyue asked.

"I promise," Meng Chuan nodded.

Sensing the Cangyuan Realm's spacetime river branch, Meng Chuan felt the realm expanding and transforming. The spacetime river branch had become independent and was fully under his control. Within it, Meng Chuan saw many familiar figures.

He saw his great-aunt, 'Immortal Meng,' who had dedicated her life to humanity and cared for him deeply. He saw Venerable Li Guan, who had sacrificed for the human race, and Venerable Luotang, who hadn't initially held high hopes for him, along with many other venerable figures. He saw Senior Brother Xue Feng, whose death at the hands of demons remained an eternal sorrow for Yan Jin—a contemporary talent whose potential rivaled Meng Chuan's. He also saw Senior Brother King Zhenwu, who had bravely sacrificed himself to prevent the demon race from invading through a world rift; without his intervention, the demons would have successfully invaded, and the Cangyuan Realm would have faced a grand catastrophe long before Meng Chuan had matured. And he saw countless generations of gods and demons who had fearlessly stepped forward, one after another...

Meng Chuan had carried many regrets, having witnessed numerous comrades fall in battle, their names etched into the Scarlet Blood Cliff.

This was also a primary reason he had never relaxed his efforts, striving tirelessly to achieve the Eight-Tribulation Realm—because he could now mend those past regrets. He could draw those heroes who had endured immense suffering from the river of spacetime and allow them to fully enjoy a peaceful and prosperous world.

The Cangyuan Realm was a relatively young world, with a human history spanning merely thirty million years. Beyond those he personally cared for, Meng Chuan resolved to retrieve any historical figures from the river of spacetime who had made significant contributions to humanity.

After all, in the young Cangyuan Realm, many divine positions remained open. While they might become scarce far in the future, for now, there were still plenty.

"I'll get to see those old friends again."

"Being able to share drinks and conversation with Senior Brother Xue, Senior Brother Wang, and the others again, one by one, brings me more joy than any grand opportunity," Meng Chuan mused, feeling utterly content.

All regrets now mended, he could fully savor his time with his dearest family and friends.

Moreover, he could dispatch several Essence Soul avatars to explore other spacetimes alongside other Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators, discovering new unknowns.

What more could he possibly desire from such a life?

"Oh, and now that the tribulation is complete, I should immediately go pay my respects to my master," Meng Chuan mused, and with a thought, he manifested an Essence Soul avatar.

"Boom."

Utilizing the Eternal Mark to activate a spacetime secret technique, a spacetime tunnel materialized. Meng Chuan's Essence Soul avatar then journeyed along this passage, leaving his home universe for the distant Green Mountain Peak. The journey itself would take approximately ten years.

"Meng Chuan, all the Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators in our universe have awakened to celebrate your successful tribulation. Come quickly," a voice resonated from afar.

Meng Chuan sensed the call and looked up.

In a specific pocket of spacetime, he saw the Dragon Ancestor, the Master of Demon Mountain, the Phoenix Ancestor, the Master of the Eternal Tower... True Monarch Chining, the Starry Sky Ancestor, and Dao Lord Shanwu...

All the Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators sensed Meng Chuan's gaze and smiled back.

This was an Essence Soul Eight-Tribulation Realm expert, and an Eternal Disciple to boot. His current status already rivaled that of the top-tier Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators, and in the future, he was poised to become a leader alongside the Dragon Ancestor in this universe. Thus, they all radiated goodwill.

"Coming," Meng Chuan replied with a smile, his Essence Soul avatar already en route.

(The End)

(Concluding remarks to be posted later)