Chapter 328: Kept in the Dark

"In truth, being able to survive the tribulation and ascend, achieving the True Immortal realm, is naturally seen by cultivators below the Great Vehicle stage as attaining immortality and perfecting one's merits. But we know in our hearts that the True Immortal realm is merely stepping through the threshold of immortality; beyond it lie boundless vistas... Although we now possess endless longevity, we are not coeval with heaven and earth, nor do we share the brilliance of the sun and moon. The reason for this is precisely the Three Decline Tribulations." Qi Liang, while half-listening to Baili Yan's lecture, transmitted his voice to Han Li to explain.

"Oh, I wonder if these so-called Three Decline Tribulations are similar to the Great Vehicle ascension tribulation? How can one resist them?" Han Li frowned slightly and asked.

"Although the Three Declines are called tribulations, they have nothing to do with the ascension tribulation. They are three calamities that True Immortal realm cultivators encounter during their long cultivation years. The first decline is the Immortal Decline, where immortal spiritual power within the body is lost without reason, cultivation base greatly damaged, until the realm falls... The second decline is the Body Decline, where the physical body gradually decays, the physique weakens, eventually unable to contain immortal spiritual power, leading to explosive death... As for the third decline, it is the Aperture Decline, related to immortal apertures. There are many methods circulated to counter these three tribulations, but their effectiveness varies from person to person. However, if one can achieve something in a certain law, it can greatly help resist the decline tribulations." Qi Liang continued to explain.

"I see. No wonder all True Immortal realm cultivators pursue comprehending or mastering the power of laws. Besides enhancing their own strength, it is mostly to counter these Three Declines. But I wonder when these Three Declines will descend, or if they require certain conditions to trigger?" Han Li said after a moment of thought.

At this moment, his expression was as usual, but his heart was quite shaken. Perhaps due to his previous memory loss, he was completely unaware of this matter. Only today, after Qi Liang's explanation, did he realize that True Immortal cultivation was not entirely free from worry, and there were still such dangers.

"The descent of the first two decline tribulations varies from person to person and depends entirely on heaven's will. Some are lucky and may not encounter them for millions of years; others are unlucky and may face them in tens of thousands of years... Brother Li, do you still remember Elder Fang Zhuan from the Transmission Hall? He was previously a mid-stage True Immortal cultivator, even only one step away from the twenty-fourth aperture. But unfortunately, he encountered the Immortal Power Decline, his cultivation base plummeted, and he was forced back to the Great Vehicle stage." Qi Liang continued to transmit, his tone revealing a hint of helplessness.

"Brother Qi, you mean that the descent of the first two declines is related to cultivation time? If a cultivator cultivates quickly enough and advances to the Golden Immortal realm as soon as possible, could they possibly avoid them?" Han Li asked after a moment of thought.

"Heh, that's true. If one can achieve Golden Immortal within ten thousand years, the possibility of encountering the first two declines is naturally very small. But looking at the entire immortal realm, how many can do it? To break through to the mid-stage True Immortal within ten thousand years is already a great fortune. Moreover, even if a True Immortal cultivates throughout and never encounters the first two decline tribulations, if they want to冲击 the Golden Immortal realm, the third decline is unavoidable." Qi Liang shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"What do you mean?" Han Li's heart stirred.

"I only know that anyone who wants to冲击 the Golden Immortal realm must inevitably experience this third decline. Moreover, once this decline descends, its consequences are no less severe than the first two. This is also why Golden Immortal cultivators are so rare. As for the specific reasons, I do not know." Qi Liang shook his head.

"Then what about the two other declines in the 'Five Declines of Heaven and Man' that Dao Master Baili mentioned?" Han Li nodded thoughtfully and asked again.

"It is said that once one becomes a Golden Immortal, they will face two more declines, collectively called the 'Five Declines of Heaven and Man.' As for the specifics, I am not clear. In short, the path of immortality is vast and obscure..."

Before Qi Liang could finish his words, a sudden change occurred on the white jade platform.

Among the twelve Golden Immortal Dao Masters of the Candle Dragon Dao sitting on the left side of the round tripod, eight suddenly slapped their sitting cushions and stood up, flicking their wrists.

"Clank, clank"

A sound of chains shaking pierced the tranquility.

Led by Ouyang Kuishan, these eight Golden Immortals had golden light shining from their sleeves. Eight arm-thick golden chains flew out like spirit snakes, shining with golden runes, winding from the left side.

Their target was none other than Baili Yan, who was giving the lecture!

Baili Yan's expression did not change, but his lecturing voice abruptly stopped.

Without any visible movement, a layer of crimson light suddenly lit up around his body, enveloping him like a fiery red light curtain.

The chains wound around him, clashing with a series of sparks and producing a continuous 'clang' sound, but they could not approach Baili Yan's body, only winding layer upon layer outside the light curtain.

Baili Yan suddenly stomped the ground, and a crimson light blazed beneath his feet. The entire white jade platform shook with a rumble, and his figure shot up into the sky, about to fly into the air.

Seeing this, Ouyang Kuishan and the others looked solemn. They quickly formed hand seals and simultaneously uttered the word 'still.'

The eight golden chains wrapped around immediately shone brightly, tightening suddenly, firmly binding Baili Yan and the crimson light curtain together.

Baili Yan's figure immediately stalled, and he was pulled back onto the platform.

A crimson light lit up on his hands, and he grabbed at the golden chains binding him.

A crackling sound was heard.

A patch of golden electric light sprang up from the chains, like hundreds of golden electric flood dragons, surging up along his arms.

Baili Yan felt a numbness in his arms, temporarily losing sensation.

At the same time, electric lights shot out from the golden chains, interweaving with each other, solidifying into a square golden cage around him, trapping Baili Yan in the center.

Although Baili Yan quickly recovered from the numbness, because of this less-than-a-breath delay, it was not so easy for him to escape.

At this moment, on the golden cage surrounding him, each golden pillar flickered with electric light, covered with layers of scale-like patterns.

On the surface of the patterns, ancient seal runes emerged, emanating obvious law aura.

Clearly, these eight golden chains were a set of high-grade immortal artifacts specifically designed to deal with Baili Yan.

This scene, though long in description, happened in the blink of an eye. The tens of thousands of disciple cultivators in the surrounding square had not yet realized what had happened.

All this had already occurred.

The thirty-six deputy Dao Masters on the white jade platform were greatly alarmed at this sight, looking at each other in confusion, somewhat at a loss. Clearly, they had not received any prior notice.

On the other side, Yuyangzi and the others who had come to observe were even more astonished, standing up one after another.

Some opened their mouths as if to ask, but seeing the strange atmosphere here, they ultimately remained silent.

Han Li sensed something unusual, but like everyone around him, he remained seated on his cushion, looking up with a puzzled expression.

"What happened?" Qi Liang also frowned, puzzled.

On the white jade platform, Huyan Daoren's face darkened as he stepped forward. The golden-haired man and the black-veiled woman, who had not participated in setting up the trapping formation, immediately flashed and blocked his path.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to rebel?" Huyan Daoren roared in anger.

Hearing this, these people showed a trace of shame in their eyes, but none of them spoke. The two blocking him showed no intention of moving aside.

Yun Ni saw this, a flash of anger in her eyes. Although she stood up, she warily distanced herself slightly from these Dao Masters beside her.

From the current situation, it seemed that only she and Huyan Daoren among the twelve Dao Masters had been kept in the dark.

Inside the cage, Baili Yan's eyes slowly swept over the crowd, and crimson light lit up on his arms.

With a 'whoosh,'

an intense blazing flame ignited from his arms, burning the golden chains wrapped around him.

The red light emitted by the raging flames made his already smooth and jade-like skin appear entirely red, like red jade.

"This Golden Scale Locking Dragon Formation can't trap me for long. Don't you have any other tricks to use?" Baili Yan's voice turned cold as he asked.

Ouyang Kuishan and the others, as if they had agreed beforehand, all remained silent, none of them responding.

The inner and outer disciples in the square still did not understand what was happening, only whispering and craning their necks to look into the distance.

As for the elders from other sects who had come to observe, they were all astonished, not knowing what变故 had occurred. But they clearly sensed that things were not simple, so they remained seated and did not make any other moves.

In the high air beside the white jade platform, within the floating giant blue flower, the Cangliu Palace Master had already stood up from the golden grand chair, frowning as he looked this way, a hint of hesitation in his gaze.

"Great Palace Master, should we..." The young man with a clear, handsome face, no less than a woman, stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"Not yet, let's see how things develop. If it's an internal matter of the Candle Dragon Dao, we outsiders should not interfere." The Cangliu Palace Master pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said.

At that moment, his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he looked up into the high sky.

In the deeper sky, a golden line several hundred zhang long suddenly appeared. With a flash of light, it suddenly expanded into a dazzling golden light, within which twenty or thirty figures emerged.

The leader among them had a square face, narrow eyes, a prominent nose, and two thin silver whiskers above his lips. He was quite tall, wearing a snow-white robe embroidered with golden cloud patterns, shimmering with spiritual light, looking very extraordinary.

Behind him, the twenty or so men and women hovering were mostly dressed in snow-white robes, with only a few wearing less uniform attire. But their auras were terrifyingly powerful, and gathered together, they gave a suffocating feeling like a storm about to come, dark clouds pressing down on the city.

The Candle Dragon Dao members, already bewildered by the sudden变故, now erupted in uproar.