The tribulation wave of Heavenly Decay had barely subsided, and Tang Xiaoqi's pervasive vitality and that mysterious aura transcending Nascent Soul had yet to stabilize, when the terrifying pressure between heaven and earth suddenly changed once more!
The previous three tribulations—whether the destructive energy of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, the insidious erosion of the Ten Thousand Manifestations Heart Demon, or the law-based extinction of Heavenly Decay—still carried some trace of "form" or "substance." However, at this moment, the tribulation clouds spanning ten thousand li seemed to have completely merged into the sky's backdrop, no longer flashing with thunder light, no longer flowing with energy, even the suffocating oppression quietly retreating.
What replaced it was an absolute "stillness."
Not the disappearance of sound, but a silence of all sounds, as if time and space themselves had frozen into stillness. Within this ultimate silence, an even grander, deeper "True Meaning of the Dao"—as if originating from the dawn of the universe's creation, threading through past, present, and future—began to spread like quicksilver across the ground, silently pervading everything.
The fourth tribulation: not concerning energy, not concerning the soul, not concerning the physical body, but directly pointing to the root of the Great Dao—the Voice of the Dao!
This was not sound heard through ears, but a questioning that resounded directly in the very source of the soul, in the deepest depths of the Dao heart! Its voice was neither male nor female, neither old nor young, detached and lofty, carrying no trace of emotion, yet containing the absolute power to pierce through all illusion and point directly to essence.
"Tang Xiaoqi."
That voice called his name, as if the entire heaven and earth were questioning him.
The first question—like an icy sword—instantly pierced the core of his seemingly flawless Dao heart that had just undergone life-and-death transformation:
"You have established the Dao of 'Protection.' However, protection comes at a cost. The sacrifice of loved ones, the fall of fellow cultivators, even your own incomplete suffering—all arose from your protection. This cost, heavy as mountains, endless and unceasing. Are you willing to bear it for eternity?"
The moment the voice fell, within Xiaoqi's sea of consciousness, uncontrollable visions again emerged—the blazing fires of Xu Lan Mountain Manor, his father Xu Zhan's decisive gaze before dissipating, Master Xuan Lin's back turning to starlight, the countless fallen fellow disciples in the defense of Qingxu Temple, the perished alliance cultivators in the void battle... Those vivid faces, those final words of commission or silent disappearances—accompanied by heavy sacrifice and indelible pain—like a tide crashed against his just-stabilized Dao heart.
This was not the distortion and amplification of heart demon illusions, but the most direct questioning based on cold facts! Protection indeed came with sacrifice, and many sacrifices indeed had direct causal connection with his establishment of protective conviction and his path.
That voice was asking him: was he willing to forever carry forward this "guilt" and "cost" brought by "protection"—heavy enough to crush any soul?
Xiaoqi's Dao heart trembled slightly, but his gaze remained calm, not evading. He recalled Chieftain Batu's resolve when going out to search in the Northern Frontier—not for him Tang Xiaoqi, but for the tribe's survival. He recalled Hassan slaying the traitor on the Western Desert merchant route for maintaining the caravan's foundation of faith and righteousness. Sacrifice was not the purpose of protection, but a cruel choice that had to be faced in specific situations for the "life" of a larger scope.
He took a deep breath—not using spiritual sense, but using his flawless Dao heart as guidance—to respond to that question of heaven and earth:
"I know the cost. I endure the pain. However, if I abandon protection from fear of cost, allowing darkness to devour hope—that is the greatest betrayal of all sacrifice! Though this path is bristling with thorns, though the cost is heavy, I—AM WILLING!"
Dao heart firm, without regret or complaint!
That grand Voice of the Dao seemed to pause slightly, then the second—even deeper question touching the very essence of existence—like thunder from the Nine Heavens, exploded against his Dao heart:
"Even if you bear the cost and protect with all your strength. However, all things in heaven and earth must be born and must die, must form and must decay. Stars will fall, worlds will return to nothing, your loved ones, sect, civilization, and even this world you protect will one day perish, returning to eternal extinction."
"Since all will eventually perish, what is the meaning of your protection?"
"If protection is ultimately futile, is your Dao not illusory?"
This questionthe moment, as if the ultimate void and extinction of the entire universe were compressed within these few words! It directly denied the long-term value of "protection," placing it under questioning by the absolute law of time and death! Indeed, even the universe has an end date—what meaning does protecting these "fleeting" existences hold? Is it merely to delay destined oblivion? How is that different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot?
A tremendous sense of emptiness—accompanied by profound doubt about the meaning of existence—like cosmic background radiation, instantly wrapped Xiaoqi's divine soul. His will, just rising triumphantly after overcoming the first three tribulations, seemed thrown into a void of absolute zero, nearly freezing and shattering.
Those guarding outside—Mu Xue, Senior Brother and others—though unable to hear the Voice of the Dao, could clearly sense that Xiaoqi's originally soaring aura had suddenly frozen at this moment, even showing a barely perceptible trace ofscattered and despondence! Their hearts sank instantly. This fourth tribulation, seemingly formless, was more dangerous than any before!
Xiaoqi's consciousness—under this ultimate questioning about the meaning of existence—seemed to drift in boundless dark voidspace. He saw stars being born, shining, dimming, exploding, returning to dust. He saw civilizations rising, flourishing, declining, eventually buried by yellow sand. He saw loved ones' smiling faces gradually blur in the river of time, saw Qingxu Temple's mountain gate become ruins after endless millennia...
Everything seemed to point to that cold conclusion: all will eventually perish, everything becomes empty.
Where is the meaning of protection?
Just as his Dao heart was about to be completely devoured by this ultimate void—
A tiny spark re-lit from the deepest depths of his Dao heart. Not the radiance of the lotus, but what he had witnessed and felt with his own eyes throughout the mortal world—those seemingly insignificant, fleeting, yet extremely real "moments"!
The tear-and-smile-covered smiles of the tribe people in the Northern Frontier, by the campfire after surviving disaster.
The burning hope re-lit in the villagers' eyes in the East Sea fishing village, when the new fishing boat was launched.
The trust between caravan members sharing their last sip of water in the Western Desert, in the face of death.
The first rays of sunlight piercing clouds after the storm in the Southern Frontier rainforest, illuminating new sprouts' vitality.
The light of responsibility in Prince Yi's eyes when he stood up in times of crisis in the Central Plains capital.
The pure longing for the future in young disciples practicing at Qingxu Temple.
These "moments," these "processes," these genuinely existing emotions, hopes, struggles and bloomings—they themselves were meaning! They may not be eternal, but they genuinely occurred, shone, and influenced countless subsequent "moments"!
The meaning of protection was never to pursue an eternally unchanging "result," but to protect the possibility of these "moments" occurring and continuing! It was to allow life, during its existence, to bloom its radiance as fully as possible, to pass on its hope!
Even if stars will fall, they once illuminated the night sky.
Even if civilizations will perish, they once created brilliance.
Even if loved ones will eventually part, the shared time and the heart that protected each other are real and undoubted!
His Dao heart at this moment seemed to break free from the binary opposition of "eternity" and "perish," rising to an even more detached level. He no longer clung to the "final result" of protection, but deeply understood: protection itself was meaning! It was the great practice by which life in this cold universe fought against void, confirmed its existence, and ignited the flame of hope!
He raised his head, his gaze seeming to penetrate the tribulation clouds, seeing the Great Dao's primal source, responding to the ultimate questioning with incomparable firmness and clarity:
"Meaning lies not at the destination, but in the process!"
"The meaning of protection lies in allowing the beauty of 'life' to bloom fully during its existence; allowing the flame of hope to be passed down through generations!"
"Even if all things will eventually perish, this heart's will to protect, this light of the Dao's transmission, once illuminated the universe—is not illusory!"
"My Dao—is solely 'protecting' and 'transmitting'! Protecting the vitality of the present, transmitting the hope for the future! This is the true meaning of my Dao!"
BOOM!!!
The moment his thought containing the ultimate understanding of protective Dao was completely clear and responded outward, the entire frozen world seemed to shake! The center of the tribulation clouds spanning ten thousand li suddenly brightened with a radiance impossible to describe in any color—as if containing the very origin of heaven and earth's supreme principles—like enlightenment pouring down, instantly completely enveloping Xiaoqi's body and soul!
The fourth tribulation, the Voice of the Dao—SHATTERED!
Under the baptism of that light, his Nascent Soul, divine soul, physical body, and even life-bound magic treasure began the final and most essential fusion and transformation! A truly overwhelming aura above this world's laws—like a sleeping ancient deity slowly awakening!
Spirit Transformation was at hand!