The Heavenly Tribulation Comes Again

“That pill tribulation… I fear it triggered Xuan Ya-jie’s Immortal Ascension Tribulation ahead of schedule!”

Xuan Mo stared at the sky with extreme gravity, her fingers rapidly calculating. “A five-bolt Heavenly Tribulation… Senior Sister, are you confident?”

Xuan Ya did not answer.

Her gaze swept back and forth between the bottle of crystalline medicinal liquid in her hand and the tribulation cloud churning with world-ending might above her head.

Finally, a resolute flame suddenly ignited in her eyes, which were as deep as a cold pool.

She was in a desperate situation with no way back.

Only with this do-or-die determination that could incinerate everything could she carve out a faint path to life against the ruthless Heavenly Dao!

“Xiao Mo, stand back.”

Xuan Ya’s voice was calm and steady, yet it carried an unquestionable authority. Her moon-white Daoist robe billowed without any wind, and her aura surged.

“…Be careful!”

Xuan Mo knew well that the heavenly tribulation was merciless and all external forces were futile. She said no more and her figure retreated rapidly.

The moment Xuan Mo moved back.

—BOOM!!!

The first heavenly thunderbolt, wrapped in a ferocity that could tear the sky apart, descended like a waterfall from the nine heavens, heading straight for Xuan Ya.

Xuan Ya formed a seal with her hands, and the vast spiritual energy within her body poured out, forming a massive shield of light as solid as reality.

The lightning exploded. The light shield trembled violently, but ultimately held firm. The dust and smoke dissipated, revealing a slender figure standing proudly, her clothes fluttering.

Crack! Sizzle—

The second tribulation bolt followed closely behind. Its color had turned to a deep purple, its power increasing sharply. The thick pillar of lightning instantly engulfed Xuan Ya completely.

The light shield only held for an instant before shattering with a roar. The immense force, like a collapsing mountain, slammed her from mid-air to the ground.

“Pfft—!”

A sweetness rose in Xuan Ya’s throat, and blood stained her lips. She endured the excruciating pain throughout her body, and without even looking at her injuries, she pushed herself up and downed several healing pills. Her spiritual energy once again surged wildly.

A larger shadow brewed in the center of the tribulation cloud. Xuan Ya’s eyes were resolute. Her hand seals changed like a butterfly’s dance as layers upon layers of spiritual energy barriers were frantically constructed before her.

However… it was all in vain.

The third tribulation bolt, as thick as a water tank and glowing with a chaotic dark light, struck down like a judgment spear from the Heavenly Dao.

Those seemingly sturdy barriers were as brittle as paper before this torrent of destruction! They were instantly pierced and annihilated.

Xuan Ya’s figure was once again mercilessly swallowed by the vast sea of lightning.

“Master!” “Xuan Ya-jie!!”

In the distance, Gan Tang’s shrill cries and Xuan Mo’s furious roars exploded simultaneously, their eyes nearly splitting with rage.

The lightning slowly dissipated… and the figure reappeared, but she was no longer elegant.

Her moon-white Daoist robe had become tattered, blood-soaked rags, covered in scorch marks. Her long black hair was disheveled, her face pale, and her aura was at its weakest.

She knelt on one knee, supporting herself with her arm, gasping for breath, each breath pulling at the pain of her fractured bones.

“Damn it! Xuan Ya-jie can’t withstand the next bolt!”

Xuan Mo’s heart sank to the bottom. The knuckles of her clenched fist turned white, and her heart was filled with unwillingness and helplessness. All she could do now was hope that Little Qiancha’s medicine would have some effect.

Xuan Ya struggled, and once again, she stubbornly stood up. Her blood-stained spine was ramrod straight. Even if her body were to be ground to dust, she would never bow down to the Heavenly Dao!

She tilted her head back and, without hesitation, drank the bottle of pale purple medicinal liquid.

—Weng.

A strange fluctuation instantly swept through her.

In her eyes, the speed of the wind suddenly increased a thousandfold. The churning of the clouds left afterimages. Even the fourth tribulation bolt, which was about to strike, seemed to be pulled instantly before her eyes. The entire world was as if someone had hit the fast-forward button a hundred times.

“!!!”

Xuan Ya was caught off guard. But what astonished her even more was—when the lightning that had suddenly “accelerated” and struck before her eyes actually landed, its world-destroying might… had bizarrely dissipated by eighty percent!

The remaining weak arcs of electricity that landed on her body only brought a slightly stronger numbing sensation.

“This…!” Xuan Ya’s mind was violently shaken. ‘That child, Qiancha… where did she find such a heaven-defying divine medicine?!’

Before she could think further, the strange sensation of accelerated time suddenly faded, and the world returned to normal. The effect of the medicine… was gone.

Xuan Ya’s gaze fell upon the jade bottle in her palm, which contained the last glimmer of hope.

‘Perhaps… I can truly defy the heavens and change my fate?!’

No longer hesitating, Xuan Ya took out the pill and swallowed it.

Without another moment’s hesitation, she crushed the jade bottle and swallowed the Soul-Returning spiritual pill, which flowed with a gentle light and seemed to contain the life force of all things.

The pill entered her stomach, but strangely, there was no unusual warm current.

Xuan Ya no longer allowed herself to be distracted. She gathered the last remnants of her power and formed a final, thin but incomparably resolute shield of spiritual energy before her. Even if she were to die and her Dao to dissipate, she would bloom with one last brilliance under this fifth heavenly might!

—Rumble!

Deep within the clouds, the lightning, as if it had accumulated ten thousand years of wrath, descended with a supreme pressure that could end all order. Its power far surpassed the sum of the previous four bolts!

Xuan Ya straightened her back, ready to meet this final bolt of lightning!

As expected.

The thin shield only lasted for a moment before melting away like ice and snow.

The destructive pillar of lightning struck Xuan Ya’s body fiercely.

However—

The anticipated pain of her soul being scattered did not come. The vast and unparalleled power of the lightning, like a clay ox entering the sea, did not destroy her body. Instead, in an incomparably profound way, it all entered the sea of consciousness between her eyebrows.

At the same time, the innate immortal spiritual energy that her body had generated from withstanding the tribulation was drawn by some invisible force, transforming into a gentle, trickling stream that also flowed into the depths of her sea of consciousness.

“What is happening??”

Xuan Ya looked inward in astonishment—

In her sea of consciousness, a brilliant light shone.

The part of her soul that had been missing due to a severe injury years ago was being repaired and condensed by the pure immortal spiritual energy at a visible rate. In an instant, it was whole and flawless!

An even more vast and majestic divine soul power churned, condensed, and sublimated in her sea of consciousness. A feeling of “attaining the Dao and ascending to immortality,” as if she could control the laws of heaven and earth, arose spontaneously. Her divine soul… had actually, under the combined effect of the tribulation lightning and the medicinal pill, stepped into the realm of an Earth Immortal in one go?!

But why… was her body still mortal?

“Congratulations, Junior Sister, on attaining the Dao and ascending to immortality.”

A voice filled with gratified laughter sounded by her ear. Xuan Ping had appeared by her side at some unknown time, a wide smile on his face.

“Senior Brother… I don’t think I’ve become an immortal.”

Xuan Ya sensed the strange state of her body and was stunned for a long time. She spread her fingers slightly, and a vast amount of spiritual energy surged from her body.

“Hey, what are you talking about? Your divine soul has attained the Dao, ascending to the rank of a Loose Immortal. And a Loose Immortal is still an immortal.”

Xuan Ping’s smile did not change, but his eyes held a hint of teasing depth.

“I’m a Loose Immortal?”

Xuan Ya looked at her own body with a bewildered expression.

“Mm, but Junior Sister, your mortal body has not been refined by immortal energy. When you wish to ascend to the true rank of an Earth Immortal, you will need to undergo a complete immortal ascension lightning tribulation once more.”

Xuan Ping chuckled, his tone full of teasing, “At that time, you’d better be prepared. A clever trick like today’s won’t work then!”

Xuan Ya suddenly remembered the heaven-shaking scene of the pill tribulation just now, and the pill and medicine in her hand that had reversed heaven and earth… and in her mind, they all connected in an instant!

“So that’s how it is…”

Endless emotion and lingering fear welled up in her heart, then transformed into an indescribable warm and bittersweet current that stung her eyes.

She faced the direction of the small courtyard and gave a deep, solemn bow. The corners of her slightly red eyes could no longer hold back a few moist streaks.

At this time, the sound of tearing through the air was heard one after another. Elders from various peaks with whom she had good relations, and old friends she hadn’t contacted in a long time, all rushed over, their faces filled with surprise and congratulations.

Xuan Ya quickly composed herself and put on a proper, gentle smile, skillfully dealing with everyone’s congratulations and exchanging pleasantries of reunion. The weight on her brow finally lifted, replaced by the warmth of survival and this belated camaraderie. A genuine smile, long absent, bloomed on her lips once more.

Xuan Mo did not join the bustling crowd. Seeing that Xuan Ya was safe, the taut string in her heart suddenly relaxed, and she quietly retreated to the alchemy room on the back mountain.

Her gaze fell on the small blue figure on the cold floor—she was curled up in a small ball, drenched in sweat, her clothes wrinkled and clinging to her body, her small face as pale as paper, and even her breathing was so chaotic it was heartbreaking.

“It’s all… thanks to you.”

Xuan Mo’s voice was unprecedentedly gentle, filled with endless gratitude and lingering fear. She bent down and, with extreme care, gently picked up the limp little wolf cub, as if holding the most fragile treasure in the world.

“Ngh…”

Feeling the warmth of the embrace, Lu Qiancha’s furrowed brow slowly smoothed out, and her rapid breathing gradually became steady and long.

“All this sweat… must be very uncomfortable, right?”

Xuan Mo looked down at the precious little one in her arms, who was like a little kitten. She lovingly brushed away the sweat-dampened blue hair from her forehead, and a thought naturally popped into her head, “Come on, Martial Aunt will take you to our home… and give you a nice, hot bath.”