Boom——!
The thunder didn't just roar across the skies, it felt like it exploded deep inside the Primordial Soul itself. mIt carried an unquestionable authority of heaven and earth, a blazing, all-consuming might capable of destroying everything.
Blinding lightning twisted and writhed across the firmament like furious silver dragons, locking onto the valley below.
An indescribable, terrifying pressure pressed down as if it had substance.
The air in the valley instantly froze. The raging spiritual energy grew calm and obedient, as if bowing before the supreme sovereign.
The golden-backed beast wolf, poised to deliver its final strike against Xie Zhaolin, froze mid-air. Its crimson eyes constricted sharply, filled with disbelief and…
A fear that gnawed deep into its bones.
An instinctual warning surged from its bloodline—it was a heavenly tribulation.
A judgment of the Heavenly Dao against those who defy fate.
Anyone daring to interfere would be seen as challenging the heavens and would invite an equal or even stronger lightning tribulation.
"Ugh…"
A low whimper of terror escaped its throat. Its crimson eyes were wide with panic and unwillingness. It could only stare helplessly at the barely-living Xie Zhaolin, then nervously glance at the thunderclouds gathering above. Its massive body instinctively shrank back, unwilling to step forward another inch.
Its territory mattered little compared to its life.
Meanwhile, the vast sea of flowers from the mind-bending mystic yam shuddered violently. All the swaying blossoms instantly recoiled. The earth-shattering might of the thunder was especially terrifying to a plant-type spirit beast.
Though it craved Xie Zhaolin's energy, the threat of the heavenly tribulation was far more immediate and dreadful.
Countless vines and roots withdrew rapidly. The flower sea began retreating from the valley at a speed even faster than when it first arrived, trying desperately to escape the area marked by the tribulation.
Before the might of heaven and earth, the two beasts who had been locked in life-and-death combat now simultaneously chose retreat and fear. In just a few breaths, both beasts made the same choice—escape. Away from the heart of the heavenly tribulation.
And lying in a pool of blood, her consciousness nearly gone, Xie Zhaolin, stimulated by the overwhelming celestial pressure, managed to stabilize the faint thread of life in her body.
Her shattered body instinctively felt… a summons?
A resonance born from her unwilling, defiant, heaven-contesting will.
The thunderclouds above swirled violently, forming a colossal vortex. At its center, lightning crackled, brewing a destructive energy.
The first tribulation lightning was about to strik.
And its target was the seemingly powerless Xie Zhaolin below.
You You, watching from the jade slip, was utterly stunned. Even the burning of the soul energy had halted.
"Hea… heavenly tribulation?!" she stammered, disbelief and shock lacing her voice. "It… it really came?! In… in this state?!"
It was unheard of!
A foundation-stage cultivator, mortally wounded, on the brink of death, even with a foggy mind, had triggered a Golden Core heavenly tribulation?!
This wasn't a miracle—it was… defying heaven!
But immediately, greater worry filled her heart.
"B-but… how… how can she survive it in her current state?!" You You's voice quivered with fear.
If the tribulation struck, it would probably reduce Xie Zhaolin, barely clinging to life, to ashes instantly. A chance… but also a near-certain death trap.
The thundercloud vortex descended lower, lightning crackling ever denser. The aura of destruction spread throughout the valley.
"Master! Wake up! The heavenly tribulation is here!" You You shouted urgently, trying to rouse Xie Zhaolin's consciousness.
If her mind slipped completely, there'd be no hope at all!
Perhaps it was You You's calling, perhaps the overwhelming celestial pressure, or perhaps the indomitable will inside her still held…
Xie Zhaolin's scattered pupils twitched. Pain washed over her like a tidal wave, almost knocking her out again. But she forced herself upright. With immense effort, she rolled her eyes toward the heart-stopping storm above.
Heavenly tribulation…
There was no fear in her heart, only… an indescribable exhilaration!
It had come! Finally!
She struggled, trying to summon even the tiniest bit of strength. But her meridians were empty, her dantian exhausted, baleful qi dissipated, her body shattered like a sieve.
How could she survive this tribulation?
Normal cultivators preparing to face heavenly tribulation are always in peak condition. Who faces a tribulation like this, on the brink of death? It was pure suicide.
Yet in her eyes, in the face of this absolute desperation, the familiar, unyielding flame of defiance flickered again.
Shaking hands rummaged through her storage ring. She grabbed a handful of pills and shoved them into her mouth without looking. The pills dissolved instantly, unleashing a wild or gentle medicinal force, tearing through her broken meridians with agonizing pain, barely granting a hint of strength.
Using that, she staggered, barely managing to support herself and rise. Blood gushed from her wounds, staining the ground crimson.
Her face was pale as paper, her breath shallow, as if she could collapse any moment. Yet the corners of her mouth curled into a smile. It grew wider, twisting into a near-crazed, silent laugh!
"Heh… hehe… hahahaha…"
Her laugh was hoarse and broken, but filled with a crazy, insightful delight!
"I understand… I finally understand…
My baleful qi… it's not for killing… not for destruction…
Plunge into death to rise… break to rebuild…
My Xuanyin baleful qi… I walked this path because… of death!
Its essence isn't slaughter or destruction… it's… life through death!"
Only by facing death repeatedly, shattering at the edge, and reconstructing with greater strength, could one break through again and again! That's my Path!
This thought struck her like lightning, clearing all fog in her mind. She shot up, eyes blazing, staring at the two beasts fleeing toward the valley's edge, her madness and excitement palpable!
"Hahaha!"
She laughed out loud, the sound echoing eerily through the thunderous valley!
"Master? What's wrong with you! Don't scare me!"
In the jade slip, You You's soul practically shattered at the sudden laughter. "Did you damage your Primordial Soul?!"
She thought Xie Zhaolin had collapsed under pressure.
But the next moment… something even more terrifying happened!
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For more information about 'Dao' as path, you can find it on chapter: Tao (道, Dào) on my The Xianxia Handbook: A Guide to Cultivation and Beyond