The Unprecedented Tribulation

Heavenly tribulations never manifested lightly; each instance represented a trial of life and death.

“I don’t understand,” Su Mo muttered. “How can forming a Dharma Body involve a heavenly tribulation? Could it be related to my modifications?”

She had merely added ‘a billion’ tiny details, or so she thought.

For instance, she had attempted to alter the characteristics of Skinny Horse.

Even with her first opportunity to manifest an Incense Dharma Body, she had made sweeping changes.

She recalled once asking Skinny Horse if it could soar into the sky and become a divine steed.

Now, unexpectedly, that chance had arrived.

As a deity, it was only natural to ride the clouds with greater grandeur. Su Mo directly transformed the ethereal blue ghost flames on Skinny Horse, adorning its four hooves with wisps of drifting clouds.

Yet, merely a horse felt somewhat lacking in majesty, so she endeavored to incorporate the characteristics of a Qilin.

She subtly adjusted Skinny Horse’s bones, causing dense, intricate scales to emerge from its skin, along with a pair of branched horns resembling a Qilin’s on its head. To complete the look, she added a mane around its neck.

After it bore a striking resemblance to a Qilin, Su Mo found further adjustments incredibly strenuous, though she knew not why.

Did Skinny Horse truly possess Qilin bloodline then? No, it was merely an illusion, meticulously crafted by the power of incense.

However, she later understood that the arrival of the heavenly tribulation signified her unintentional modifications had successfully paved a path of possibility for Skinny Horse.

It now held the potential to transform into a Qilin, an unprecedented feat.

Yet, this was only a minor detail. For her own comfort, Su Mo had specifically fashioned a seat cushion, draping it over Skinny Horse’s back.

For its design, she chose a black-and-white Fuxi Bagua Taiji diagram.

As someone from Huaxia, she felt an inexplicable reverence. The moment she considered its profound and awe-inspiring symbolism, she casually added it.

Her first time creating an Incense God naturally brought a surge of excitement.

This was not all; Su Mo made minor alterations to the Stillness Sword. One side depicted the sun, moon, and stars, with the stars specifically arranged in a seven-star constellation.

The other side featured continuous mountains and rivers, a successful nod to a touch of the ‘Xuanyuan Sword’ aesthetic.

Turning her attention to herself, Su Mo mused that since her dress was already red, why not simply add a phoenix motif?

Upon her dress, a phoenix and a luan bird danced in unison, encircled by patterns of nine-heavenly clouds. The hem of the skirt resembled a phoenix tail, complementing her own nine tails.

For the blood-red earrings, she decided on blood lotus carvings.

As for the hairpins, she envisioned patterns of nine-heavenly thunder and clouds.

Then, noticing Zhang Jingmeng clinging to her, Su Mo realized the girl was practically a little immortal child herself.

She decided to design a luan bird attire directly for her, as this divine bird shared a close kinship with the phoenix. Conveniently, she was quite fond of the adorable Jingmeng.

That Jingmeng could now follow her, even becoming a part of her Path of Incense Godhood, was truly a matter of fate.

The seven-colored iridescent light that enveloped her was condensed into a halo, resting behind her head.

Thus, Su Mo had gathered the following elements:

Qilin, Bagua, Taiji, Phoenix, Luan Bird, Seven Stars, Xuanyuan, Cloud Heavens, Blood Lotus, and Thunder.

“No, that’s not too many, is it?” Su Mo swallowed, raising her head to gaze at the furious lightning flashing across the sky.

Ordinarily, inadvertently designing such patterns wouldn’t invite any unforeseen consequences.

However, this was Su Mo’s first time manifesting an Incense Dharma Body, a process that inherently connected her to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Furthermore, her past studies in traditional Chinese medicine had inexplicably veered into the realm of metaphysics, leading her to consume numerous myths and related ancient texts.

This nascent understanding, combined with the confluence of auspicious timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony—the three crucial elements—had triggered a peculiar karmic reaction.

It was no exaggeration to say that Su Mo was currently ‘applying for a patent,’ petitioning Heaven and Earth for the right to delve into this profound aspect of the Great Dao.

The book she had transmigrated into depicted a relatively traditional Xuanhuan world, one that intrinsically incorporated many Huaxia elements.

As the sole transmigrator, she possessed far too much knowledge.

‘But what of the consequences? “Virtue unbefitting of one’s position”—was a backlash imminent?’

“Could it be that I’m about to bite the dust again?” Su Mo clicked her tongue, her fox ears drooping.

Meanwhile, the immense trouble Su Mo had stirred up was not lost on the various immortals and gods.

To conceal Su Mo’s ‘Ninth Resonance,’ they had hastily conjured a multitude of ceremonial Incense Gods. The price paid for this was far more than a simple nod of approval.

Though they understood there were worlds beyond their own, this current world was finite, and its resources were not limitless.

The sudden appearance of such a large number of Incense Gods carried significant implications, imposing a considerable burden on the world.

Since they were willing to accept such a cost, could they truly stand by and watch Su Mo perish?

“What’s happening? What in the world is happening?!” Yun Mo, the immortal deity secretly assigned as Su Mo’s protector, felt utterly numb.

From their background, they hailed from an ordinary cultivator family, one that had never produced a single deity.

Theoretically, it should have been impossible for them to ever come into contact with the Dao.

Yet, Su Mo could vaguely grasp a sliver of understanding, and flawlessly design patterns corresponding to the Dao?

“I’ve never even seen these patterns before; how could she possibly know them?” The protector deity nearly tore out their beard, utterly baffled.

Pondering it repeatedly, and recalling how the Supreme Deity, along with another faction of the immortal Dao, all supported her, the protector deity gradually began to understand.

“Could it be that she is an ancient immortal deity from the chaotic era, at the dawn of creation? Has she reincarnated?” the protector deity murmured aloud.

Of that generation of ancient immortal deities, only a select few at the very pinnacle remained alive.

“No wonder,” they affirmed with a nod. “The current situation indeed calls for an ancient god to maintain balance…” With that, they unleashed their full power, shielding Su Mo from the heavenly tribulation.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The single-hued lightning suddenly shifted, transforming into five distinct colors.

A faint aura of destruction emanated, instantly startling powerful cultivators.

Numerous mighty cultivators began to divine, counting on their fingers, employing every possible method. They were determined to discover where absolute annihilation was about to strike!

“Horrifying! I can’t even discern a trace!” A cultivator gasped, sucking in a cold breath.

Hastily, he rushed outside to look. If the sky hadn’t cleared, he would have already prepared to unleash five thousand ‘Ground-Squatting Talismans’ and flee.

While peace reigned here, others caught in severe weather like thunderstorms, who detected that wisp of destructive aura, believed disaster was imminent.

They employed every technique imaginable, regretting only that their parents hadn’t given them two more legs.

“Heavens above, what sin have I committed?! Do you mean to scatter my soul?!” A cultivator, unable to flee, pointed at the sky and cursed loudly.

Little did he know, he was simply worrying himself sick over nothing.

The one truly anxious, however, was Su Mo’s protector deity, Yun Mo.

Their fingers trembled slightly, a hint of bewilderment in their gaze. After a few breaths, they muttered self-pityingly:

“Doesn’t the first intervention usually weaken the heavenly tribulation’s power? My interference shouldn’t have led to this, should it?”

They had already foreseen that enduring this destructive lightning would halve their lifespan.

Indeed, they were considered a five-star protector among deities.

Many who achieved immortal status had been subtly influenced by their presence.

When Yun Mo took action, success was almost guaranteed.

That is, until they met Su Mo, this ‘genius.’ They truly felt that the assembly of immortals had stumbled upon a treasure.

“Hmph! Could my ten-thousand-year reputation as a protector be ruined by you? Behold my Thunder-Fixing Ring, Cloud-Patterned Umbrella, Weakening Bell, Lifeless Ring, Injury-Proof Needle…” Yun Mo, now wiping a cold sweat, flung out thirty-three magical artifacts in one breath.

Just beneath the thunderclouds, Su Mo suddenly sensed the lightning weakening, and her brows furrowed instantly.

As the saying went, ‘an anomaly presages a demon.’ She did not believe the heavenly tribulation would simply dissipate without cause.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The next moment, the lightning intensified ferociously, instantly forming chains of light that coiled around several surrounding mountains.

Whoosh!

The clouds swirled into a vortex, and within the empty center, a field of glittering stars appeared—beautiful yet deadly.

“Perish.”

A merciless voice assaulted them from all directions, as if heaven and earth themselves had resonated to speak.

From within the vortex, five thunder dragons emerged, collectively gripping a colossal purple ball of lightning and fire, slowly lumbering towards Su Mo.

…Lying comfortably on Skinny Horse, Su Mo had already prepared to raise her middle finger at the very last moment.

What virtue did she possess, barely having entered the Path of Incense Godhood and just forming her Dharma Body, to face a heavenly tribulation comparable to ascension?

She had no love left; she might as well lie flat and accept it.

Above the thunderclouds, the hidden Yun Mo watched, on the verge of tears.

Their thirty-three magical artifacts had just been shattered, and now they were being told something even more outrageous was coming?

“Hmph! Is my sacred reputation as a protector merely an empty boast?!” Yun Mo raised their brows, waving a hand in a summoning gesture.

Buzz!

A flying wooden vessel appeared behind them, its massive hull pressing down on the clouds, stirring up a swirl of ethereal mist.

“Behold my Divine Protector Cloud Boat!” Yun Mo’s eyes turned bloodshot as they cried out maniacally.

Buzz!

A colossal transparent barrier materialized, shielding Su Mo.

Su Mo, who had nonchalantly glanced up and remarked on how slowly the five thunder dragons were flying, was already yawning.

“I truly never thought I’d be so calm facing death again,” Su Mo mused casually, stroking the mane around Skinny Horse’s neck.

‘I wonder if the villages below will be affected?’ Su Mo thought, lowering her gaze.

She saw two grandpas embracing each other and weeping, while villagers, oblivious to the power of five dragons bearing lightning, marveled at Su Mo’s composure.

Then there was Xu Qingzhu, who had rushed over from who-knew-where, trembling as he gazed at Su Mo beneath the tribulation.

The lightning ball clutched by the five dragons seemed not to be hurtling towards Su Mo, but rather fiercely crashing towards him.

He collapsed to his knees, crying out with a heart-wrenching wail:

“No!!!”

…

Watching from above, Su Mo was speechless.

‘Wasn’t it just dying one more time? What was there to be afraid of?’

‘Look at Xu Qingzhu, so terrified he was nearly going mad.’