The second stage was the Immortal and Mortal Stage.
Standing in the second lightning palace, Ning Fan's heart sank. He was no longer confused by any illusions in this place.
The second lightning palace was a world of birds and flowers. Within the sea of flowers, there were two paths that led to two different exits.
One of the paths was filled with spiritual qi, immortal music and mysterious cranes dancing in the sky. At the entrance of the path, there was a monument named 'Immortal Path'.
The other path was quiet and peaceful. There were only lonely night butterflies flying in the sky. At the entrance of the path, there was a monument named 'Mortal Path'.
The two paths led to two different exits. Both exits were covered by mist and lightning, making it hard to see them clearly.
However, Ning Fan sharply sensed that the Dao Aura of the two paths were different.
This was … the difference between immortals and mortals!
"Do I have to choose one of these two paths …?" Ning Fan pondered for a while. The difference between immortals and mortals was an extremely common topic in the cultivation world. It was set up here by Lightning Emperor Tai Su as a test.
If I pass the test, I will be able to obtain the other third of the lightning star.
If I fail, I will probably face a lot of dangers. After all, with the first stage as a warning, Ning Fan could imagine that there must be an elderly world spiritist plotting against him in the dark.
As expected, when Ning Fan was pondering, that sarcastic voice rang again.
"Junior! The path of immortals and mortals is filled with life and death. If you can choose the right path, you will be able to enter the third stage. If you fail, you will die! "
"…"
Ning Fan ignored the elderly world spiritist. His eyes flashed with a hint of mockery.
He did not believe that the elderly world spiritist would be so kind as to tell him the method to pass the stage.
The elderly world spiritist said that one of the two paths was life and death. However, in Ning Fan's eyes, these two paths were not that simple.
If he chooses the path of immortality, he would have to abandon the mortal world. To ordinary cultivators, it might be the right path. However, Ning Fan had experienced the mortal severing in the sea of clouds. He already understood that the so-called mortal severing was not to cut off his mortal past but to cut off the weakness of mortals.
The path of immortality must not be chosen! Ning Fan was very confident that once he chooses the path of immortality, he would most likely die! It was the path of death!
If he chooses the path of mortality, he would have to abandon the Immortal Dao. To cultivators, abandoning the path of immortality meant abandoning their cultivation base. The outcome of choosing the path of mortality was self-evident … They would also die!
With Ning Fan's intelligence, he had already seen through the vicious intentions of the elderly man.
The old man tricked Ning Fan into choosing one of the paths to enter. However, no matter which path he chose, it would still be a dead end. It was impossible for the elderly man to warn Ning Fan out of kindness in the first place. He was just trying to lure Ning Fan to his death!
"I won't choose either of the two paths!"
Ning Fan sneered. With a flick of his sleeves, a gust of wind appeared and he clawed at the air with his five fingers. Purple-golden smoke rose and the two paths collapsed in front of his eyes. They were eroded by the wind and eventually … disappeared!
"What?!"
The elderly man was greatly astonished. He had never expected that Ning Fan would be able to see through the tests of the Mortal and Immortal Paths with just a single glance.
Following the collapse of the immortal and mortal paths, the old man spat out several mouthfuls of blood. His injuries worsened, and the backlash was extremely severe!
This was the price of murdering Ning Fan.
That's right, you can't choose any one of these two paths. Choosing immortals and abandoning mortals, choosing mortals and abandoning immortals, are both wrong!
The elderly man had never expected that Ning Fan, a mere Divine Transformation Realm ant, could actually see through the difference between an immortal and a mortal!
What shocked him even more was that not only did Ning Fan see through the difference between the two Dao paths, he even used a strange method to directly erode the Immortal Dao and Mortal Dao!
No one had ever been able to completely destroy the two Dao paths!
What kind of power is that purple-golden smoke?! It's actually so terrifying!
Even that arrogant woman in the past barely managed to pass through this stage after using some tricks. She could not destroy the Immortal Dao and Mortal Dao at all.
"You've destroyed both the Immortal Dao and Mortal Dao. You've destroyed the lightning door. You can no longer enter the third stage!" The elderly man forced himself to calm down and said.
"Is that so …?"
Ning Fan did not say much. He walked through the sea of flowers with each step. Each of his steps carried the tremendous strength of a Fourth Level Jade Life Realm cultivator, causing heaven and earth to tremble.
Step by step, he forcefully crushed the sea of flowers and carved out a path in the sea of flowers!
"I have already understood the difference between immortals and mortals. Immortals are people who stand on the mountain while mortals are trapped in the point of samsara. If the Dao is like a mountain, I will be an immortal when I go up the mountain and a mortal when I descend the mountain. If samsara is like a cage, I will be a mortal when I enter it and an immortal when I break it. Immortality and mortals are also separated by a single thought! "
"My Dao is not that of an immortal, nor is it that of a mortal. The path that I walk on is my Dao! "
Ning Fan walked through the sea of flowers step by step, carving out his own path.
At the end of the path, a lightning door slowly emerged. That was the real exit!
Ning Fan nodded. He already had some guesses about the stages of Tai Su's Three Questions.
This stage was left behind by Lightning Emperor Tai Xu. The first stage was to test a cultivator's ability to distinguish between true and false Dao.
The second stage was to test whether a cultivator had his own Dao.
The third stage was called Dao and Life. Perhaps the cultivator would have to make a choice between Dao and Life.
When he first entered the first stage, Ning Fan was still confused. That was why he was trapped in the illusion for half a day.
After entering the second stage, Ning Fan's mind became clear. The test of immortals and mortals could no longer hinder him.
Next, he wanted to enter the third stage!
Inside the lightning door, another trace of blood-red lightning power flashed and went into Ning Fan's glabella.
Under the nourishment of this trace of lightning power, the incomplete and illusory Tai Su Lightning Star slowly condensed to two-thirds of its original size.
With two-thirds of the lightning power remaining, Ning Fan felt that the lightning power in his body was boiling.
The amount of lightning power did not change but its destructive power increased by a few times again!
On his palm, blood-red lightning arcs crackled like the shrill cries of thousands of birds.
Ning Fan's eyes turned cold. His hand was surrounded by blood-red lightning. Without using any lightning techniques, it would only take him a second to kill any Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator with this lightning power!
Even if it is a Void Glimpse Stage cultivator, he or she would certainly suffer severe injuries after being attacked by Ning Fan's lightning arcs!
"This is just two-thirds of the full power of the lightning star, huh? If I have the complete lightning star, some weaker Void Glimpse Stage cultivators would probably be severely injured by the lightning arcs or even die from it!"
After condensing two-thirds of the lightning star, not only did it increase the lightning might in Ning Fan's body, but it also gave him a strange feeling.
At this moment, he felt like he had become the lord of lightning!
This feeling was not particularly obvious when he condensed one-third of the Tai Su Lightning Star.
However, after breaking through the second stage and condensing two-thirds of the lightning star, Ning Fan's control over the lightning power became even more domineering.
He recalled the experience when Hong Yi casually snatched his Spirit Shattering Whip.
At that time, what Hong Yi relied on was her control and command over lightning.
At that time, Hong Yi could easily snatch away Ning Fan's lightning treasure. Now, however, she could no longer do it!
"I'm afraid that Hong Yi also has the Tai Su Lightning Star, but it's most likely only two-thirds of it. If I break through the third stage, my control of thunder power will be even higher than hers!"
With a single step, Ning Fan entered the lightning door.
Amidst the roaring thunder, he passed through the layers of lightning and appeared in the third thunder palace.
This Thunder Palace was the final test to get out of the palace.
If he were to pass this trial, not only would he be able to form a complete lightning star, he would also be able to kill the World Spirit for revenge.
The third trial, the trial of Dao Fate!
The elderly man's eyes were filled with fear. He had seen Ning Fan pass two stages consecutively with his own eyes and witnessed the terrifying destructive power of Ning Fan's blood lightning.
Currently, his injuries were extremely severe. Even though he had an Early Void Refinement Realm cultivation base, he certainly could not withstand the ferocious might of Ning Fan's blood lightning.
As the spirit of the White Lightning Realm, he knew very well how terrifying the might of a two-thirds condensed Tai Su Lightning Star was.
That Tai Su Lightning Star actually contained all of Lightning Emperor Tai Su's comprehension towards the Dao of Lightning!
Other than Tai Su, no one else had ever obtained a complete lightning star.
If Ning Fan obtains it, none of the cultivators of the Dao of Lightning at the same level as him would be his match in the future!
"I must never let you pass the third trial!"
The elderly man's eyes were filled with madness. He controlled the formation and summoned lightning spirits from the Wild Beasts in an attempt to attack Ning Fan.
However, before these Wild Beasts could even get close to Ning Fan, they were all killed by Ning Fan's lightning finger. It was as easy as taking something out of his pocket.
The elderly man could not stop Ning Fan from passing the trial!
Ning Fan did not pay attention to the elderly man. He scanned his surroundings with his eyes. There were countless lightning rays in the sky and they condensed into two heavenly paths that led to two exits in the sky.
At one of the exits, there was a stone tablet with the word 'Dao' written on it!
On the other path, there was a stone tablet with the word 'Fate' written on it.
This trial was obviously very similar to the second one.
However, the topic of this trial was far more difficult than the second one.
Dao or Fate. Which one was more precious to a cultivator? The path of Dao or the path of Fate. Which one was the correct path?
Ning Fan's brows were tightly knitted together. He stood there for half a day.
He had once comprehended the difference between an immortal and a mortal. That was why he was able to pass the trial in a single step.
However, he had never thought about the difference between Dao and Fate.
Throughout his journey, he would sometimes uphold the Devil Dao. Sometimes, he would disguise himself as the righteous Dao. Sometimes, he would go against the Demon Dao. His Dao was complicated and messy.
Throughout his journey, he regarded human lives as worthless. To him, the only thing he could do was to kill his enemies. The only difference was whether he would kill one generation or ten thousand generations.
By killing one generation, he would give the enemy a chance to reincarnate. This kind of enemy might have a different Dao but there was no deep hatred between them.
By killing ten thousand generations, he would eliminate any possibility of the enemy seeking revenge. This kind of enemy would certainly have a grudge against Ning Fan.
Ning Fan closed his eyes and his mind gradually calmed down.
Be it Dao or Fate, they might be precious to cultivators. However, to him, they were not worth mentioning at all.
Seeing Ning Fan fall into a predicament, the elderly man naturally heaved a sigh of relief. Inwardly, he sneered.
No one had ever broken through this trial before.
Some cultivators chose Dao but lost their lives because of it. They died in this place.
Some cultivators chose Fate but lost their Dao because of it. Even so, they could barely avoid death.
The elderly man sneered. If he had to choose, he would naturally choose Fate.
It was because someone had once told him:
If I punch you, your life will be scattered. If you lose your life, why would you still cultivate the Great Dao? Life was the supreme Great Dao!
"In this stage, if you choose your Dao, you will die. If you choose your Fate, you will live. However, even if you choose your Fate, you will definitely not be able to pass the third stage and come outside to seek revenge on me. It's impossible for you to kill me! "
The elderly man sneered, but Ning Fan remained unmoved.
Life was very important. If one lost their life, they would naturally be unable to cultivate.
For cultivators who wholeheartedly pursued higher realms, preserving their own lives was the most important thing.
But to an ordinary person, there were too many things in life that were more important than one's life. In fact … they were even more important than dao!
Ning Fan did not agree with the elderly man's opinion.
In his eyes, the World Spiritist elder was even inferior to the ferocious beasts in the lower Black Lightning Realm that did not fear death.
Those ferocious beasts were willing to die to protect the Teleportation Formation. Even though he was afraid of Ning Fan, he did not take even half a step back.
As his enemies, Ning Fan had to kill them. However, he still had a trace of respect for these ferocious beasts. He would only kill them once.
These vicious beasts had a Dao in their hearts. In order to protect this Dao, they were willing to die even though they knew they would die!
To them, as long as the Dao existed, they would exist. If the Dao died, they would die!
Ning Fan recalled the past. He had seen and killed too many of these enemies who had their hearts attached to the Dao.
He was deep in thought. Dao Comprehension was born.
The first step of cultivation consisted of seven realms. The cultivators of these seven realms struggled bitterly just to achieve longevity. That was life.
The second step of cultivation consisted of three realms. The immortals of these three realms pursued painstakingly just for the truth of the Dao.
However, Ning Fan did not pursue Dao and Life. They had never been. He had never cared about longevity. Neither did he care about the truth of the Dao.
What he cared about was only the most trivial people and matters.
"Throughout my journey, I naturally cherished my life. However, there were too many times where I had no choice but to risk my life and Dao Sense. I had to fight, fight, snatch and kill my way forward. I had no other choice but to break through my predicament. As long as the Dao exists, I will exist. If the Dao dies, I will die. I can understand this kind of feeling … However, to me, Dao and Life are not the most important things. "
"If she is safe and happy … I don't care even if my Dao and Life are separated! Dao and Life can all be destroyed! "
Ning Fan pointed his finger. Wind and mist covered the sky, carrying the determination to erode everything!
The Heavenly Path of Dao collapsed!
The Heavenly Path of Fate collapsed!
The elderly man was filled with shock and fear. He had never seen a cultivator who was so arrogant to the point of destroying the paths of fate and Dao!
He did not pursue longevity nor the truth of the Dao.
The elderly man could not understand what Ning Fan was pursuing!
However, to his horror, he realized that Ning Fan had actually broken the third stage which no one had ever broken before!
A gigantic door appeared in the middle of the third lightning palace. The third ray of blood-red lightning went into Ning Fan's glabella.
The incomplete and illusory Tai Su Lightning Star was rapidly restored with the help of this last ray of lightning power!
A surge of blood-red lightning power that was as ferocious as monstrous waves spread out from Ning Fan's body. A massive lightning diagram was engraved under his feet and unfolded like a scroll.
That lightning diagram was engraved with mysterious patterns. When this lightning diagram appeared, all the lightning in the myriad worlds seemed to have to submit to Ning Fan's feet!
Ning Fan's body emitted a divine aura that could not be looked at directly. It was earth-shattering. His cold and frightening eyes could move all living beings!
"T-Tai Su Lightning Diagram!"
The elderly man was so shocked that he wanted to die.
This lightning diagram was one of Immortal Emperor Tai Su's trump cards. By summoning this lightning diagram, it could absorb almost all lightning attacks of the same level!
The Three Questions of Tai Su that no one had ever broken since ancient times was broken at this moment! The lightning palace collapsed!
Ning Fan stepped on the lightning diagram in the ruins and stared coldly at an elderly man in grey robes from afar.
That person was none other than the elderly man. He was the despicable person who deliberately made things difficult for Ning Fan and wanted to kill him!
"You can die now."
Ning Fan's eyes flashed with indifference. He raised his five fingers and clawed at the sky. Borrowing the power of the lightning diagram, countless lightning bolts obeyed his command and turned into a gigantic blood-red lightning palm, slamming down on the elderly man.
The destructive power of that palm was definitely comparable to a Void Glimpse Stage attack.
The elderly man's expression changed greatly. If it was any other time, he would be injured after receiving this palm strike but he would not die.
Today, however, he plotted against Ning Fan viciously. Ning Fan broke through the stages three times in a row and he suffered a backlash three times. Due to his severe injuries, his cultivation base had already fallen to the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm.
Being struck by the lightning palm, he did not even have the time to escape. All he could do was to use all of his lightning power to form a faint golden Primordial Lightning Armor in front of his chest.
The golden lightning armor was the second grade of the Primordial Lightning Armor. It was enough to defend against Void Refinement Realm attacks.
This lightning armor was just a faint golden color. There were still some traces of silver color that had yet to fade. It could not completely nullify a Void Glimpse Stage attack but it could still protect his body. It was enough for him to only suffer injuries but not die.
However, as soon as this Primordial Lightning Armor was formed, something strange happened!
The lightning diagram beneath Ning Fan's feet suddenly shone with profound lightning wings as if it was giving an order to the Primordial Lightning Armor.
That lightning armor could not resist it and directly shattered, turning into specks of lightning which were absorbed into the Tai Su Lightning Diagram.
Without the full defensive power of the Primordial Lightning Armor, the elderly man had to forcefully endure the destructive power of Ning Fan's lightning palm.
With the strengthening effect of the Tai Su Lightning Star, the destructive power of that palm strike was comparable to a Void Glimpse Stage attack!
It landed on the defenseless elderly man and engulfed him with destructive lightning might.
"You're just a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator but you're actually so strong … Ah!"
The elderly man could not believe what he saw. He let out a miserable shriek and died within the lightning, turning into ashes.
From then on, Tai Su's Three Questions was completely broken.
The lightning palace had already disappeared. From today onwards, no one could receive the reward from Lightning Emperor Tai Su!
Ning Fan dispersed the lightning light and the lightning diagram. He touched the third divine star on his forehead and revealed a satisfied look.
The strengthening effect of the third star was very strong.
If he has the opportunity, with the strength of the third star, Ning Fan would definitely have the chance to become the next Thunder Sovereign Bu Zhou after a thousand years!
"One day has already passed. I can't delay any longer. I should head to the Black Lightning Tower as soon as possible … Condense!"
Ning Fan performed a hand seal with all ten of his fingers. His hand seals were exactly the same as the elderly man's. It was the hand seal of the Primordial Lightning Armor.
Inside his dantian, a palm-sized primordial spirit was enveloped by a slightly illusory silver lightning armor, protecting it from the sneak attacks of the undead spirits in the lightning tower.
Ning Fan's Primordial Lightning Armor was just at the first grade of silver lightning since he had just started cultivating it.
A first grade silver lightning armor could only defend against the primordial spirit attacks of Early Divine Transformation Realm experts.
However, this lightning armor had an advantage. It could advance to the next grade by devouring the lightning in the primordial spirit of a lightning cultivator.
After killing the elderly man, Ning Fan did not leave any corpse behind. Only the lightning light that filled the sky remained.
That elderly man was originally a realm spirit of the White Lightning Realm. He was a unique spiritual body that did not have a physical body. It was just a body of lightning light.
His corpse was the lightning light. Among the lightning light, there was also the lightning light that was transformed from his primordial spirit. It was a great supplement for the Primordial Lightning Armor. Ning Fan naturally would not waste the lightning power of his primordial spirit.
He opened his mouth and swallowed all the lightning light into his abdomen, refining it into his lightning armor.
The lightning power of a Void Refinement Realm expert was extremely powerful. It directly improved the grade of his lightning armor to the second grade of silver lightning armor!
The second grade of silver lightning armor was enough to defend against the primordial spirit attacks of Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts!
"I wonder how much lightning power of the undead spirits can I devour after killing my way to the seventh floor of the Black Lightning Tower. I wonder what grade this Primordial Lightning Armor will reach?!"
Ning Fan's eyes were burning with passion. If he has enough lightning primordial spirit to devour, this Primordial Lightning Armor would definitely be a powerful defensive method that was hard to come by!
…
In the lower level of the Black Lightning Realm, Hong Yi was speechless.
Ning Fan broke through three levels in a row and killed a realm spirit. Every word he said made her unable to let go.
She had really underestimated him.
Ning Fan had actually solved the Three Questions of Tai Su and obtained the Tai Su Lightning Star …
"I didn't expect that such an outstanding talent would appear in the Rain World in just ten thousand years … This kid is very good. He has the Wind Mist Finger and the Tai Su Lightning Star. He can help me achieve great things!" Hong Yi seemed to be convinced of something.
He kept the copper mirror and no longer peeked at Ning Fan. After all, he was unable to continue peeking at Ning Fan.
The Black Lightning Tower concealed the heavenly secrets. She, who was just a copper mirror, could not see what Ning Fan was doing.
But she didn't think it was necessary.
The current Ning Fan had solved the Three Questions of Tai Su, condensed the Tai Su Lightning Star and comprehended the Tai Su Lightning Diagram Technique randomly. With his strength, it was more than enough for him to kill his way to the seventh floor of the Black Lightning Tower. In fact, he could even explore the first ten floors.
It was definitely not a problem for Ning Fan to pick the dark golden bamboo leaves.
Hong Yi had never thought that the helper she had casually picked up would be such an impressive figure.
To her, Ning Fan was of great value!
(3/3 added) (To be continued)
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