"Patriarch Chi Xian is ready to cross the Ascension Tribulation!"
"It's been two thousand years, and finally someone from Mingxiao Continent has reached the level of ascension!"
Soon, the major fairy peaks of Kun Yuanzong were crowded with monks who came from all over the world to watch the ceremony.
"Who would have thought that Patriarch Chi Xian was just a beggar in the world back then. He climbed to the foot of Kunyuanzong Mountain after going through untold hardships, but unfortunately fell ill and was in danger. Heart, fed him a disease-dispelling pill, and brought him to the disciple acceptance ceremony."
"It's a pity that he only found out a five spirit root in the end, and he was able to stay in the outer sect of Kunyuanzong as a servant. It was because the young master of the Zhao family thought of him by chance and sent someone to ask for help from the steward of the outer sect of Kunyuanzong. ."
"The Ceremony of Accepting Apprentices in the Cultivation World is held once every ten years. I still remember that his group of newly promoted monks is almost the most qualified group that is rarely encountered in hundreds of years."
"That's right, I still remember that the new disciples recruited by the two sects, three sects and four sects back then, there were six of them with single spiritual roots alone, including the head of the Zhao family who had mutated a single fire spiritual root, Qiankun who built the foundation at the age of thirteen. The head of the young sect, and Li Tianyue, the daughter of Elder Li of the Lingbao Sect... and there are no less than two hundred disciples of Shuanglinggen."
"As a result, along the way, the young master of the Zhao family died young, the young master of the Qiankun sect stopped Yuan Ying, and the Lingbao faction tried their best to push Li Tianyue to the position of the real person of Huashen, and her old man, too. In the battle between righteousness and evil four hundred years ago, unfortunately he died in battle."
"Only Patriarch Chi Xian, without the support of a teacher, established the foundation at the age of two hundred, the golden core at the age of four hundred, the Nascent Soul at the age of five hundred and forty, the transformation of the gods at the age of six hundred, and the transcendence of the calamity at the age of six hundred and fifteen. , is going to soar."
"Most of the lifespan of a monk below the foundation establishment period is only 150 years old. If it were me, if I couldn't establish the foundation before the age of 130, I'm afraid I would give up. To die, that is, Patriarch Chi Xian, who can be as tenacious as a day for a hundred years."
"What is this? I'm ashamed to say it. Back then, when Ancestor Chi Xian first started, I was already at the Nascent Soul stage, so when Ancestor Chi Xian saw me, he had to kneel down respectfully and call me "sincerely." Jun, of course, I didn't pay attention to a small servant of the outer sect at all at the time. Now that eight hundred years have passed, Patriarch Chi Xian has become the number one person in the cultivation world. I also stayed in the middle stage of transformation for four hundred years because I was addicted to pleasure."
"So in terms of Dao Xin, Patriarch Chi Xian can be regarded as the first person in all ages."
"Otherwise, how could he have come to this day with a mere body with five spiritual roots."
...
At this moment, the main hall of the Kunyuan Sect in the distance, which was originally closed, suddenly opened.
"Come out, they're out."
As soon as the voice fell, the originally bustling fairy peaks fell silent in an instant.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Chi Xian stepped out of the Kunyuan Hall.
He was clearly an invincible existence in the realm of comprehension, but when the harmless sunlight shone on his face, Chi Xian's expression was in a trance for an unprecedented moment.
"In the past eight hundred years, I have broken through fifty-three secret realms, experienced thirteen battles between righteous and evil, nearly died thirty-three times, and changed arms and legs, and even my heart twelve times... Now, I It's finally here!"
Everyone in the world said that he was born with tenacity and a solid heart, but they didn't know why he was able to do this.
-Because he is not from this world at all.
He came from the earth.
He is Chi Xian, a native of Qianshi City, Wu Province, Huaguo. He has a younger sister, whose father died young, so the two of them were raised by their mother, who went to the vegetable market from morning to night to buy goods for others.
But in the third month after he graduated from university, when his mother could finally enjoy her old age, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Fortunately, it was only in the middle stage, and the cancer cells had not metastasized, so the possibility of being cured was very high.
Both he and his sister chose to raise money for his mother's operation.
But just when he was scraping together, looking for all his relatives and friends, he managed to get together the 250,000 surgery fee, and when he rushed to the hospital with the money, he had a car accident.
And before he passed out, he vaguely saw the driver running away.
When he woke up again, he was already in the cultivation world.
This is not the most important thing, the most important thing is that he still has the 250,000 operation fee in his arms--
One can imagine what would happen to his mother without the 250,000 operation fee!
So he has worked hard and endured for so many years, with only one purpose, that is to ascend through the tribulation, leave this world, and return to Earth.
Even though his mother may have died of illness or old age because she could not raise another operation fee, after all, he has been in this world for 800 years...
But as long as there is still a glimmer of hope, he will never give up.
Thinking of this, Chi Xian's expression regained clarity in an instant. He took a deep breath, turned his head to look at the master of Kunyuan Sect and the other great powers behind him, and clasped his fists with both hands: "Today, I'll leave it to you all." !"
"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Chi, even if I risk my life, I will definitely protect you."
They also looked tough, almost speaking in unison.
For this day, they have waited hundreds or even thousands of years.
Five thousand years ago, Mingxiao Continent broke out the tenth Great War between Righteousness and Demons. Just like the previous battles between Righteousness and Demons, this time it was still their Righteous Way that prevailed.
The most surprising thing is that the junior of Kun Yuanzong met the Eighteenth Young Master of the Demonic Dao who secretly came to the monk world to have fun in a small town on the border by accident, and killed him easily- -Because he deliberately left all the high-level magic weapons on his body that would reveal his position in the magic ground in order to avoid the guards.
Although the demon king has more than one hundred sons, and countless grandsons, and most of them are brave and good at fighting, they are the mainstay of the demon way, but this eighteen young master, because of his poor aptitude and natural disposition, is not allowed to Demon Lord dotes on.
But in any case, he is also the son of the demon king, and his death will still greatly encourage the morale of the righteous way.
However, they never expected that after the news reached the Demon Dao, the Demon Lord, who was recovering from his injuries, coincidentally happened to be his lifeblood, and went mad immediately.
He began to lead the evil way to attack the righteous way frantically.
The Demonic Dao was not the opponent of the Righteous Way in the first place, so the price paid by the Demonic Dao was often twice or even three times that of the Righteous Way. Later, even the Demonic Dao himself was afraid.
Seeing that he was gradually unable to control the demon, the demon became more and more insane.
As a result, he took advantage of the ascension of the ancestor of the Lingbao Sect at that time, and even fought with his life to break the ascension channel.
You must know that the ascension channel is not only the only channel for orthodox monks to ascend to the upper realm, but also the only channel for feeding back the aura of the lower realm last time.
It was only later that they found out that the Eighteenth Young Lord of the Demonic Dao that the group of Kun Yuanzong's juniors killed by accident was actually the only son of the Demon Lord.
--That's right, none of his other hundred or so children were his own.
Because he took advantage of the time when the previous demon was seriously injured, he usurped the throne and became the demon, and the previous demon could be regarded as a hero, so after he became the demon, most of the demons refused to listen to him. , nor accept his solicitation.
The demon king was naturally aggrieved, and the way he thought of was to expand the harem, have a large group of sons, and train them to be the mainstay of the demonic way. After all, he is so powerful, he thinks his genes should not be far behind.
As a result, he worked hard for hundreds of years, but failed to give birth to a man and a woman.
Then he thought of another way, that is to open a brothel, let all the concubines in his harem change their appearance, go to the brothel to pick up customers, and this brothel only accepts rich and powerful demons...
In this way, after hundreds of years, he had more than one hundred sons and daughters.
--It is said that this is the inspiration he got from a prince who seized power and usurped the throne in the mortal world. ①
Under his full training, his sons and daughters with excellent genes grew up to be braver and more talented than each other.
With their help, he slowly secured his position as Demon Lord.
But his only son couldn't be supported by the mud no matter what.
In order to protect his safety, he kept pretending to look down on him.
Fortunately, the lifespan of a senior monk is long, and he still has enough time to pave the way for him.
He had already planned to get rid of his ambitious fake sons one by one after conquering the righteous way, so as to ensure that what was left to his own son would be a country as stable as an iron bucket.
Unexpectedly, before he could defeat the Righteous Way, his precious only son died in the hands of the Righteous Way monks first.
So can he not be crazy?
Of course, these are not important. The important thing is that even when a monk sleeps, he will unconsciously consume spiritual energy. Now that the ascension channel is broken, the spiritual energy in Ming Xiao Continent is getting thinner and thinner, and it is becoming more and more difficult for monks to cultivate.
In fact, it is very easy to rebuild the ascension channel. Only monks in Mingxiao Continent successfully survived the ascension catastrophe. The upper world sensed that there was a fairy born in Mingxiao Continent, but they did not ascend in time, so they would descend the ascension channel again. Guide the newly promoted immortals to ascend to the upper realm.
But in that battle between righteousness and demons, the high-ranking monks of the righteous way almost lost all of them, and after the Demon Lord broke the ascension channel and found that he could not escape the pursuit of the righteous monks, he sacrificed his soul and cursed that no one in the righteous way would be able to ascend.
In the following three thousand years, although monks crossed the catastrophe every one or two hundred years, they all failed due to various reasons, and there were not a few people who died tragically under the thunder disaster.
As a result, in the next two thousand years, no one would dare to easily cross the catastrophe of ascension unless his lifespan was about to expire.
Until Chi Xian was born out of nowhere, and he was not afraid of death.
Nowadays, the aura in Ming Xiao Continent is getting thinner, and it is becoming more difficult for monks to cultivate, whether it is to recast the passage of ascension, leave a legacy for future generations, or to increase their own chances of ascension in the future-after all, most of their lifespans are also fast At the end of the day, if you can't ascend, then you will only have a dead end. Thinking about it, I can't be reconciled.
Or to repay Chi Xian for donating his cultivation experience to them-this time, they all have to help Chi Xian survive the catastrophe of ascension.
"good."
Hearing this, Chi Xian clenched his fists violently, and immediately let go of his suppressed cultivation without hesitation.
With the boundless coercion sweeping around, before the monks present could react, the sky changed.
Groups of robbery clouds filled with dismaying energy instantly appeared in the sky above Kun Yuanzong, and then gathered into a giant vortex.
"coming!"
Everyone present looked solemn.
The lord of Kunyuan Sect issued an order: "Mount protection formation, start!"
The elders behind him immediately retreated with the others, took out a jade tablet from their arms, and threw it in all directions.
I saw white lights flashing one after another, and the jade plaques were instantly submerged into the surrounding giant stone pillars, followed by an invisible barrier as thick as a city wall rising from the ground, covering the entire main peak of Kunyuan Sect .
At almost the same time, a bolt of lightning pierced the sky.
In the next second, a bucket-thick light blue thunder mixed with energy that could destroy the world directly blasted on the mountain guard formation.
boom!
In an instant, the world paled.
Surrounded by flying sand and rocks, the aftermath of the impact rushed towards the crowd of onlookers in all directions, forcing them to retreat several miles.
Before they could react, a second thunderbolt with a darker color came suddenly.
boom! boom! boom!
In the mountain guard formation, Chi Xian stared closely at the whirlpool above his head.
Outside the big formation protecting the mountain, everyone's hearts also slowly rose.
"Tell me, how many thunderstorms can this mountain protection formation help Patriarch Chi Xian resist?"
"It is said that Kun Yuanzong exhausted all the treasury and borrowed from other sects to build this mountain protection array. I think it should be able to help Patriarch Chi Xian resist the first forty thunderstorms. ."
There are a total of 108 sky thunders in the Ascension Tribulation, one is stronger than the other, maybe the first 40 sky thunders combined may not be able to compare with the last five sky thunders.
In the past, Mingxiao Continent was rich in aura, and there were many treasures in heaven and earth. If the monks who crossed the catastrophe were well prepared, there were also examples of using magic weapons to survive the entire catastrophe of ascension.
It is also because of this that after this, the Ascension Thunder Tribulation became more and more terrifying. It would be difficult for ordinary cultivators in the Transcendence Tribulation Period to survive the first eighty thunderstorms if they only rely on their own strength without the help of foreign objects.
Although Ming Xiao Continent's aura is withered now, the two sects, three sects and four sects are the mainstays of the righteous way. The mountain protection formation they have built with all their strength should be able to help Patriarch Chi Xian resist the first forty thunderstorms.
But they never expected that just after the thirtieth thunderstorm passed, a crack visible to the naked eye appeared on the mountain guard formation.
"not good!"
Sure enough, as soon as the thirty-second thunderbolt, which was already dark blue, fell, the mountain protection formation suddenly shattered.
The master of Kunyuan Sect and the others reacted in an instant: "Old Ancestor, I wish you a helping hand!"
They didn't expect that the power of the sky thunder would be so much more powerful than they expected.
But that doesn't mean they're bound to fail.
As they said that, they sacrificed their housekeeping treasures one after another, the Mountain and River Cauldron, the God and Ghost Banner, and the Immortal Extinguishing Sword...
In the beginning, one magic weapon was enough to resist a thunderstorm, but soon, two or three magic weapons might not be able to withstand a thunderstorm.
Seeing this, the others said one after another: "There are us."
With that said, the high-ranking monks present sacrificed their magic weapons one after another and threw them out.
...
"I still have it here."
"Fifty-eighth thunderstorm."
"My magic weapon has been exhausted."
"The poor monk also has a bunch of relics left by the former master."
"I also have..."
However, as soon as the sixty-fifth thunder fell, the voices of the crowd changed again.
"My magic weapon has also been exhausted."
"I also......"
"No, we have to help Fellow Daoist Chi overcome the eighty-five lightnings in front of us, so that Fellow Daoist Chi can successfully ascend."
"what to do?"
The further you go to the back, the slower the thunder will fall.
Seeing the black vortex of thunder brewing in the sky again, Patriarch Zhao took a step forward behind the Patriarch of Kunyuan Sect: "We have no way out."
Not only for Mingxiao Continent, but also for Chi Xian's previous efforts to save the Zhao family from danger several times-just to repay the kindness that the young master of the Zhao family never cared about back then.
"The matter has come to this, we can only use our bodies to help the ancestor carry the remaining twenty thunders."
The others heard this, and immediately said in a deep voice: "Anyway, the Demon Dao has been almost wiped out by fellow Daoist Chi these years. Even if we old people die here, there will be nothing wrong with the Righteous Dao..."
"Fight!"
Before the words were finished, at the moment when the sixty-sixth thunder fell, Patriarch Zhao made a dodge and appeared directly above the main peak of Kunyuan Sect.
"bring it on!"
boom!
However, there was only a flash of white light, and under the gaze of everyone, Patriarch Zhao fell straight down like a rag bag.
After all, he is just a monk in the early stage of crossing the catastrophe.
"Patriarch Zhao!"
The people below quickly caught him.
Patriarch Zhao, whose arm had been blasted into pieces, spat out a mouthful of blood before he could open his mouth, and then passed out.
The eyes of the old man in blue who supported him turned red instantly, and he suddenly turned his head: "I'm coming!"
"I come!"
"I'm coming too!"
...
Countless people stepped forward, and countless blood spattered on the spot!
But they never hesitated.
Seeing this scene, the eyes of everyone present were red.
"Fight!"
In the next second, they unanimously sacrificed their magic weapons, and with all their strength, they attacked the sky thunder that was rushing down.
Listening to these words, and looking at the monks who fell from the sky one after another to help him resist the thunder disaster, the expression on Chi Xian's face has not changed at all, except that the hand hanging by his side is slowly clenched. outside.
He was waiting, waiting for the time when he should make a move.
And he didn't have to wait too long.
As the eighty-fifth thunder fell, the master of Kunyuan Sect, who had survived the thunder, looked at Chi Xian while spitting blood, and said, "Old Ancestor, I can only do this. It's all up to you."
Almost at the same time, the monks present, whether it was the great power who was seriously injured nearby, or the little monk who was half kneeling on the ground and panting while leaning on the magic weapon in the distance, all looked at Chi Xian with red eyes.
Chi Xian took a deep breath, and suddenly raised his head to look at Tianlei above his head.
The next second, he directly pulled out the long sword in his hand.
Immediately afterwards, the next thunderbolt as thick as ink blasted down.
Chi Xian swung his long sword in front of him.
boom!
As the gunpowder smoke dissipated, Chi Xian's complexion changed slightly, and the flat ground under his feet sank directly.
Immediately afterwards, the eighty-seventh, eighty-eighth... ninety-first thunders fell.
The corners of Chi Xian's lips were completely closed.
This Ascension Thunder Tribulation was indeed much more powerful than they expected.
But no matter how terrifying this thunder disaster is, he will never fall to this step!
At the moment when the ninety-second thunder came crashing down, Chi Xian swung his sword violently, and a sword energy that was also wrapped in unparalleled strength directly collided with the sky thunder.
boom!
In an instant, the mountains and rivers paled!
But no one applauded, because the ninety-third thunder came again soon.
boom!
Its fate was the same as that of the last sky thunder, it dissipated directly in mid-air.
Then there are ninety-five, ninety-sixth...
At the moment when the sword energy intersected with the ninety-seventh thunder, after the violent collision, the piercing sword energy disappeared, and the thunder with only half of its power cut directly hit Chi Xianshen, who had no way to dodge. superior.
The gunpowder smoke dissipated, although Chi Xian was still standing on the ground, but there was a trace of blood on the corner of his mouth.
"The patriarch is about to exhaust himself."
But the power of the sky thunder is still increasing.
This moment came sooner than they had hoped.
This also means that the possibility of Chi Xian surviving this lightning disaster is getting lower and lower.
Thinking of this, the hearts of everyone present sank by half.
But what if, what if Chi Xian really succeeded--
But soon, their hearts sank completely.
Because the power of the thunder from behind was getting stronger and stronger, Chi Xian was able to stand at first, but then he half-kneeled on the ground. In the end, as the one hundred and zeroth thunder fell, the sword energy Chi Xian swung out Even half of the sky thunder could not be counteracted, so that he was directly smashed into the flat ground.
And in the sky, the 102nd thunder is about to be brewed.
He seems to be failing!
Feeling the bone-piercing pain coming from the internal organs, Chi Xian only felt his eyes go dark, and he spurted out another mouthful of blood.
No--
He endured for eight hundred years, he waited for eight hundred years!
He must not fail!
Thinking of this, he grabbed the long sword in his hand and stood up with difficulty.
As soon as the sword energy was swung out, the 102nd thunder came crashing down.
"ah!"
The heavenly thunder that was only weakened by a point directly bombarded Chi Xian, and the sweeping power overturned the last stone pillar that was still standing in the original Kunyuan Sect Master Hall. Chi Xian lay on the bottom of the pit, fully Stained with blood, his right hand has already turned into a coke.
"It's over!"
Seeing this scene, the lord of Kunyuanzong who was being supported by others knelt down directly.
no, can't finish--
Chi Xian coughed weakly twice, his right hand was gone, he raised his left hand, and grabbed the long sword.
However, in the next second, another thunder came suddenly.
The smoke dissipated, and Chi Xian's left leg was gone.
Seeing this scene, the suzerain of Kun Yuanzong completely closed his eyes.
They failed!
The hope of Mingxiao Continent was once again shattered!
No, they are hopeless!
After all, there is only one Chixian in the Mingxiao Continent in five thousand years!
So they really had no choice but to wait for death.
As for Chi Xian--
"Old Ancestor!"
Patriarch Zhao staggered and knelt down.
Because once the thunder tribulation starts, it will not stop.
So Chi Xian's ending can be imagined.
The others also saw it, and not only did they have a look of sadness on their faces.
For the fall of a generation of legends.
Even more bleak future.
It didn't know when the sky started to rain, and the icy cold water hit their faces directly, which also aroused Chi Xian's last trace of sanity.
He was gasping for breath!
Is he dying?
But why, he didn't feel any relief--
Because he can't die! !
At least you can't die with the future of the entire Ming Xiao Continent!
What's more, his mother is still waiting for him to bring money back to save his life! !
"I can't die-"
Chi Xian's eyes were red, and his hoarse voice roared heart-piercingly.
Before he finished speaking, he grabbed the long sword beside him and swung it vigorously--
Hearing his voice, everyone raised their heads numbly, but saw a dazzling golden light burst out from the long sword.
Before everyone could react, they saw the golden light rushing straight into the sky, instantly dissipating the rushing sky thunder, and most of the remaining sword energy directly crashed into the robbery cloud.
I don't know if it was their illusion, they even vaguely heard a dull sound coming from the depths of Jieyun, as if something had been pierced through.
Could it be that the breath of everyone present was stagnant, and they suddenly opened their eyes wide, looking at Chi Xian's direction, their heartbeats became faster and faster...
Chi Xian finally came to his senses. He looked at Jieyun above, and then at the long sword in his hand. Then, as if he had grasped some life-saving straw, he swung the long sword in his hand vigorously.
One sword, two swords, three swords, four swords--
Accompanied by dull sounds, the 105th, 106th, 107th, and 108th thunders instantly turned into clouds.
call!
The air was quiet for a moment!
It was obviously only a minute or so, but everyone felt as if thousands of years had passed.
"Old Ancestor...is this a success?"
They looked at Chi Xian who was also stunned in the deep pit, at the long sword in his hand, and at the Jieyun reluctantly leaving the last roar in the sky and then slowly dissipating.
In the next second, streaks of golden light pierced the sky and fell on everyone's faces and eyes.
"Old Ancestor, this is a success!"
The sudden roar instantly awakened everyone present.
"The ancestor succeeded."
"We made it!"
"We have hope of ascension again!"
"Amitabha, it seems that people in the world usually praise Chi Daoyou for being upright and upright, and there is no adulteration in what he said with a pure heart. Otherwise, how could there be so many meritorious virtues and golden lights to protect him at this critical juncture."
...
So that for a moment, the entire Kun Yuanzong was full of crying and laughing.
Chi Xian finally came to his senses.
He succeeded!
He actually succeeded!
Does this mean that he can finally go back!
Thinking of this, Chi Xian's chest violently heaved up and down.
At this moment, the dark clouds completely dissipated, and the golden light that descended from the sky gradually condensed into a beam, directly shining on Chi Xian.
Immediately afterwards, his body lightened and he flew upwards.
"That is, the ascension channel-"
"Patriarch Chi Xian is about to ascend."
A group of elders and disciples of Kun Yuanzong were the first to react, and they couldn't help but take a step forward: "Old ancestor--"
Chi Xian looked back.
The master of Kunyuan Sect stood up with difficulty, bowed his head and bowed deeply: "Respectfully send off the ancestor!"
Seeing the other monks, they also bowed their heads and said: "Respectfully send off the ancestor!"
No matter how excited he was, seeing this scene, Chi Xian couldn't help feeling a sense of melancholy in his heart. After all, he had lived in this world for more than 800 years and met so many relatives and friends. Now he left I don't know if I can come back.
So he raised his head, cupped his fists and said, "Chi Xian has finally lived up to everyone's trust."
"Everyone, there will be a time later!"
Hearing this, the hearts of all the monks couldn't help stirring. That's right, the ascension channel has been rebuilt. When Mingxiao Continent returns to its former vitality, their chances of ascension will at least double, maybe a few hundred years After that, they will be able to see Chi Xian in the upper realm.
They also arched their hands at the moment: "Fellow Daoist/Old Ancestor, there will be a time later!"
Only then did Chi Xian look away.
Looking at the golden vortex in the sky, his heart beat faster.
Soon, soon!
At this moment, the vortex burst into golden light, and before he could raise his hand to block his eyes, he was plunged into darkness.
After that is a long space-time shuttle.
Maybe four or five hundred years, or one year.
Just when Chi Xian was about to be unable to hold on, a white light suddenly shone on his face, followed by another feeling of weightlessness, and he subconsciously supported the thing that suddenly appeared in his hand.
Immediately afterwards, the dark and dead world suddenly had sounds, footsteps, brakes, quarrels...
Chi Xian suddenly opened his eyes, and his scattered sight slowly focused.
What appeared in front of his eyes was the alley that he had traced in his mind for hundreds or even thousands of years, but it was much dilapidated than what he remembered.
So, he is back?
Chi Xian was in a daze for a moment.
In the next second, he staggered and rushed forward, hitting an unknown number of people along the way.
Until he rushed to a dilapidated five-story building.
A middle-aged woman just came out of the building. When she saw him, she was taken aback for a moment, and said in a voiceless voice, "Chi Xian?"
Then she came to her senses and cursed loudly: "How dare you come back, do you know how your mother and your sister have lived these years?"
Chi Xian stopped in his tracks for an instant, panting heavily, and slowly sat down while leaning against the wall.
The middle-aged woman was still scolding him, but he closed his eyes, calmed down, and even couldn't help laughing.
That's great, his mother, his sister, and Aunt Song in front of him are all still alive!
.
A new danmei that I enjoy, credit goes to the original author~