Xie Zhaolin slammed her head up, her gaze like lightning, locking onto the two beasts fleeing in panic. Finally, her focus zeroed in on the sprawling… maze of Bewitching Beast Yam Flowers hurtling toward the valley's mouth.
"Trying to run?" She licked the blood from her lips, a gleam of bloodlust flashing in her eyes. "You enjoyed sucking my blood just now, didn't you? Now… it's your turn!"
Before she could even finish speaking, she slammed her foot down with all her remaining strength. Ignoring the shredding pain tearing through her body, she poured every last bit of the newly recovered energy and the pill's awakened potential into her legs.
Whoosh—!
Her body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, not fleeing from the falling heavenly tribulation, but…
Charging straight toward the fleeing Bewitching Beast Yam!
"Mas—ter—!"
Inside the jade slip, You You let out a scream sharper than ever, almost tearing her soul apart.
"Are you crazy?! That's a heavenly tribulation! You're supposed to prepare for it, not chase it! That thing's going to kill you!
The tribulation's coming down! If you run over there, you'll get struck too! And that Demon Yam will tear you apart! Stop right now!"
Crazy! Absolutely crazy!
Not only did she refuse to dodge the tribulation, she actively chased a Golden Core stage demonic plant?
You You had completely lost it. She couldn't comprehend Xie Zhaolin's suicidal move. Chasing a powerful demon plant under a heavenly tribulation?
That wasn't just reckless. That was… creative suicide!
Not content with just risking the three-stage tribulation, she wanted to drag someone else into it, potentially making the tribulation even stronger!
But Xie Zhaolin ignored You You's screaming. Her eyes were locked on the frantically fleeing flower sea. Her heart held only one insane thought—
"Since my path is "to live through death," then… let this death come with even greater force! I'll take you with me… through the tribulation!"
Her actions obviously enraged the heavenly dao itself.
Rumble—!
The vortex of thunderclouds in the sky suddenly spun faster.
The once-silver lightning now shimmered with a terrifying trace of… purple. An even more violent, terrifying pressure locked down on the valley below. This pressure didn't just target Xie Zhaolin, it enveloped the fleeing Bewitching Beast Yam as well!
Bzzz—!
The massive flower sea froze instantly, releasing a high-pitched, piercing, terrified buzz.
It could feel it! The destructive force had marked it as a target too! The heavenly dao is impartial and strict!
When cultivators undergo tribulation, they defy the heavens and accept the world's test. If outside forces intervene, or if the cultivator drags the innocent into the tribulation zone, it's seen as a provocation against heaven itself!
The tribulation's strength multiplies based on the power and number of interlopers…
Xie Zhaolin's actions were an open challenge to the heavenly dao!
"It's over… over over over!" You You wailed in despair inside the jade slip. "The embryonic form of the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder?! Heaven's angered! The tribulation's power will double! Master! Stop now! It might still be possible if you stop!"
Purple Heaven Divine Thunder!
Hearing the name, Xie Zhaolin's charge faltered slightly. She glanced at the terrifying purple lightning in the sky.
But instead of fear, a cold, familiar curve lifted the corner of her lips.
More than that, a stubborn, rebellious fire flared deep in her bones.
Purple Heaven Divine Thunder… she knew it all too well. In her previous life, she died under this thunder. Back then, the tribulation was far stronger, and she had withstood seven waves before finally falling.
Now…
It was just a Golden Core stage tribulation. How could it scare her?
"Dream on!"
The familiar thunder didn't make her retreat; it only fueled her fighting spirit and… a near-deranged excitement!
You You's shouts reminded her of another fact—
"Practicing the Xuanyin Foundation Technique, Golden Core tribulations normally go from three waves to six… Now with Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, the power doubles, but… just what I want!"
She didn't slow down. She pushed herself to the limit, charging headlong at the terrified, slowed Bewitching Beast Yam flower sea, now paralyzed by the tribulation's mark.
Meanwhile, the Bewitching Beast Yam could feel regret crawling through its roots. It came lured by the enticing source aura, hoping to devour a small human cultivator.
Instead, it was first blocked by a Golden Core demon wolf, then discovered the human cultivator was not only a tough opponent but… insane. Someone who could summon a tribulation at the Foundation Establishment stage, and… actively drag it onto others?
"Bzzz—!"
It screamed even sharper in panic, all the flowers trembling violently. It tried desperately to escape, but the law's mark trapped it like quicksand, its massive body now a liability. It could feel the purple thunder in the sky could kill it instantly. Not to mention the human lunatic beside it, staring as if planning to die together with it. This was easily the worst decision it had ever made in all its years!
Crack—!
The heavenly law, seemingly enraged by the provocation, finally acted.
The first Purple Heaven Divine Thunder tore through the sky, carrying annihilating power, not just striking Xie Zhaolin… but also engulfing the massive Bewitching Beast Yam flower sea ahead!
The tribulation's range expanded!
Its power doubled!
Even before the lightning struck, the sheer pressure began cracking rocks across the valley.
"Roar!"
The Golden-Backed Demon Wolf at the valley's edge felt its soul shiver in terror. It didn't dare glance back, sprinting at the fastest speed of its life, tail tucked, body disheveled. That purple lightning stirred primal fear in its blood. Amid the panic, a flicker of… relief crossed its eyes.
"Thank heavens… that crazy human showed up…"
It thought if it had been alone against the lunatic, there was no way to survive. She'd have definitely dragged the tribulation onto herself, taking it all… and it too.
The Golden-Backed Demon Wolf shivered at the thought of being obliterated alongside that insane human under Purple Heaven Divine Thunder.
"Woo…"
it whimpered, throat shaking. It lost its territory, was wounded by the lunatic, but… at least it lived.
"That leaf bastard… really saved me from disaster…"
It even felt a strange gratitude toward the demonic plant. Though mostly, it was just relief tinged with schadenfreude.
One last glance at the valley swallowed by blinding lightning, it shrank back, disappearing into the vast demon wilds without looking back. That valley, that lunatic, it never wanted to see again in this life.
Meanwhile, inside the valley…
Crack—!