Chapter 653: 289. Eighth Heavenly Layer, Divine Court! (Combined Chapters)_2

He had been cultivating in seclusion this time without interruption. After achieving Perfection in his current Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm and tuning his essence, qi, and spirit to their peak state, he launched his assault on the Eightfold Heaven Realm.

Although he had accelerated his cultivation speed in the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm with the Rising Dome Liuhua, Lei Jun had not been impetuous during these past three years. He had been making steady progress, following the course of nature.

Thus, by now, things had naturally fallen into place.

Therefore, he had no reservations.

I can take this step.

Then, today I will set out.

At a certain moment, the rotation of the Taiji Yin Yang Fish suddenly stopped.

The scene within Lei Jun’s Sea of Consciousness then changed.

He seemed to have left his cave mansion, suddenly finding himself in an inexplicable void. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The void was twisted and chaotically layered, like a labyrinth.

The Heavenly Moat Tribulation between the Seventh and Eighth Heavenly Layers had arrived.

Under the Void Tribulation, if one was caught within it and failed to pass through, they would become lost in the swirling, chaotic void.

Thus, the cultivator would perish within, never to return, silently meeting their end.

Throughout the ages, over countless years, a vast number of masters of the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm did not perish in battles with enemies, but succumbed to this Heavenly Moat Tribulation, leaving not even their bones behind.

Countless brilliant cultivators of the Seventh Layer of Heaven, who had once astonished the world and made a name for themselves, had also faced this Heavenly Moat Tribulation. Many faltered, not daring to advance further, and thus spent their entire lives stalled at the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm.

To pass through this labyrinthine void, one’s physical and mental state had to be perfectly optimized. Any encumbrance or distraction would be tantamount to courting death.

Lei Jun entered calmly.

He was in his current peak condition.

If he had a few more years to accumulate, his overall state would have become even more consummate.

At that point, he would have been confident in safely overcoming this tribulation even without relying on any Spiritual Objects.

However, since he now had the Eight Scenic Winds and the opportunity had arrived, there was no need to wait further.

Lei Jun wandered through the chaotic, labyrinthine void. He could sense the disordered and overlapping void around him, like the collapsing walls of a maze, constantly pressing in, threatening to bury him alive.

At that moment, the Eight Scenic Winds—mysterious, peculiar, and condensed as if solid—appeared automatically and then unfolded.

They resembled both an eight-paneled screen and an eight-pillared support, helping Lei Jun fend off the collapsing Spatial Domains from all directions without hindering his advance.

As a result, not only did the labyrinthine void not collapse, but the pathways within it even became clear and smooth.

However, as time passed, the Scenic Winds gradually changed color, taking on a dark cyan hue.

Lei Jun remained unperturbed, continuing forward with a calm mind.

At this moment, all the Divine Skills and spells used for battling external enemies were useless.

The tribulation arose from within.

Only by vanquishing one’s inner evils could one pass.

To break through this Heavenly Moat Tribulation, which was like a void maze, Lei Jun’s foundation lay in his past cultivation, in the Heaven-Connecting Spiritual Light born from his insight into the workings of heaven, earth, and nature, and in his fundamental cultivation method, the True Formula of the Great Way Scripture.

Lei Jun silently recited the scripture, from the beginning of the first volume to the end of the sixth.

Finally, he calmly chanted, "True Dharma is non-dual; the Cave God ascends."

Lei Jun moved as if traversing a spatial maze.

But wherever he passed, the maze vanished, and the void became orderly.

The Eight Scenic Winds surrounding him gradually diminished but did not disappear. Instead, they merged with the orderly void, transforming into what seemed like a tangible palace.

Then, as Lei Jun continued walking, the scene before his eyes suddenly opened up.

The chaotic, layered void finally vanished.

Lei Jun looked back to see a vast and expansive dark cyan void behind him, encompassing all things.

The scene before him changed. He steadied his spirit, feeling as if he had returned from the void to his own cave mansion.

Around his body, the dark cyan Eight Scenic Winds continued to circle.

They were still full of Spiritual Nature but no longer possessed the miraculous effect of helping a Seventh Layer of Heaven cultivator from the Talisman Sect transcend their tribulation.

Lei Jun waved his hand. The Dragon Form Raincoat soared like a coiling dragon, retrieving the solid-looking, dark blackish-cyan Scenic Winds.

He sat down calmly and once again looked within himself.

His Spiritual Soul and physical body were clear and distinct, yet they seemed to have fused into one.

The focal point of this fusion was a mysterious domain that had newly appeared within Lei Jun.

His Dao foundation, Altar Field, Talisman Seal, and other such constructs from his earlier cultivation were long gone.

In their place, Lei Jun’s body now seemed to contain an entire universe.

From the vast revolution of stars and constellations to the burgeoning of myriad beings, everything within it was wondrous and unimpeded.

This was the manifestation of the fusion of his soul and life-force, the focal point of his mana and Divine Skills.

This universe existed between the real and illusory. With a mere thought from Lei Jun, it could expand or contract, vaguely unfolding into a vista of grand halls and palaces.

These halls and pavilions, in turn, seemed to be constructed from countless Daoist Talismans.

This was called the Divine Court.

The Eightfold Heaven Realm of cultivation within the Taoist Talisman Sect was named after this.

With this, Lei Jun had successfully passed the Heavenly Moat Tribulation between the Seventh and Eighth Heavenly Layers today.

He had achieved the Eightfold Heaven Divine Court Realm.

The transformations of the Divine Court within Lei Jun gave rise to an internal universe, currently called the Divine Court Inner Scenery. This marked the first level of the Eightfold Heaven Realm.

As the Divine Court evolved this universe, the void within it expanded, Yin and Yang separated, and external phenomena began to emerge, mirroring and corresponding to the real universe of the Mortal World.

With a thought from Lei Jun, various Dharma manifestations and numerous Daoist Talismans appeared within the Divine Court Inner Scenery.

Even when he was in the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm, he had already cultivated three major Dharma manifestations simultaneously.

But at that time, despite possessing the Dual Polarity Immortal Body and comprehension at the Serene Insight level, he could only deploy one Dharma manifestation at a time.