Chapter 42 Another Breakthrough?!

Inside the formation, the forest was deep and dark, with no trace of birds. A low roar broke the silence, and then a large number of fallen leaves were sliced ​​off by pale red sword energy.

Shen Lixia dodged frantically, occasionally raising her sword to block oncoming attacks, her body already covered in dust. Although the sword recognized her, she was ultimately not a sword cultivator, and given the extremely short time they had spent together, it was difficult for her to achieve complete unity of mind and thought; it remained an external object.

Moreover, although the tiger in front of them looked huge, it was surprisingly agile. Several sword energies slashed through it, but only the grass and trees suffered damage, while its fur remained unharmed.

The two figures circled among the trees for a while, and Shen Lixia gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. A tiger's claw tore open her sleeve, and her arm was instantly torn open, with blood flowing freely.

Spirit beasts also possess cultivation, though their intelligence is not as high as that of advanced demon beasts. However, they still understand how to break through defenses and kill their prey.

Waves of pain washed over her, and Shen Lixia raised her hand to cover her wound. She intended to circulate her spiritual energy, but the smell of blood instead made her mind active, sharply piercing her nerves.

The boy glanced at the wound, its surface oozing bright red blood. She released her hand, letting the slippery liquid, initially warm, turn icy cold as it flowed between her fingers. Then, she clenched her teeth, a radiant smile blooming on her already flamboyant face. She clenched her fists, her spiritual energy surging powerfully through them, sending the surrounding rubble flying three feet.

Before the beast could attack again, Shen Lixia threw down her longsword, took a step back, and leaped forward, catching the tiger's claws squarely. The cold golden light seemed to contract as if it were engorged with blood, and her pupils narrowed to slits. She was almost indistinguishable from the tiger, and even exuded a chilling aura.

Her heels were forced back several steps by the tiger's claws, sinking into the mud about a finger's width deep. She used all her strength to fling the claws to the sides, ignoring the bloodstains that reappeared on the back of her hands. She bent her knee and thrust it upwards, striking the tiger's soft abdomen. Then, she twisted her body and delivered a side kick. The light of spiritual energy flowed between her breaths, actually singeing off part of the tiger's fur and knocking it back three inches.

The tiger roared in pain, its eyes suddenly closing tightly, its single vertical eye on its forehead widening to its limit, flashing a hot, bright light. Shen Lixia held her breath, not relaxing for a moment, and thus managed to dodge the bright flash of light from its eye. Unfortunately, the patch of grass behind her was doomed; a large area burst into flames.

The light was clearly condensed from spiritual energy, and it exploded into clouds of smoke and scattered fragments of stone the moment it touched something.

Given this, could she achieve the same effect?

Shen Lixia pondered for a moment, her hands still resisting the attack, but her mind gradually sank into comprehending the tiger's attack techniques. She retreated a distance, realizing that if she wanted to learn more, she must first force her opponent into a corner.

The tiger was intently aiming the beam of light at Shen Lixia when the boy suddenly changed direction, summoned his sword to his feet, and plunged into the dense forest, disappearing from sight in an instant.

It walked slowly, its vertical pupils open and its ears perked up, listening intently to the sounds around it. A rustling sound reached its ears, and it turned in that direction. A flash of fire swept across, but all it heard was the crackling of burning leaves, and the heat intensified.

Not far from it, in a tree, Shen Lixia nocked an arrow to her bow. The cold air from the bowstring seemed to seal away the burning pain in her arm. As she released the arrow, the wound reopened, but the boy seemed oblivious, his gaze fixed on the wary beast. The arrow's trajectory aligned with the vertical eye on its forehead, instantly forming a line, half of it piercing the eye, eliciting a frenzied roar.

The boy licked the thick, fishy taste from the corner of his lips, wiping away the cold sweat with his hand, leaving behind large patches of blood. The cloying, sweet-smelling stench overwhelmed his senses, causing his veins to throb and his blood to boil. She put away her longbow, jumped down from the branch, and faced the glaring tiger. She extended her hand in a guiding gesture, her fingers raised, which further enraged the spirit beast, causing it to pounce fiercely.

Shen Lixia instinctively stepped back to the same distance as before, but a searing pain shot towards her face. In the nick of time, she raised her hand to block, the scalding heat slicing through her skin, leaving large, gruesome wounds. The smell of blood wafted through the air. She bit her lower lip, her brows furrowed, and then she realized that the tiger's claw was different from before; it now carried a golden glow. This golden glow spread out with its attack, like sword energy, expanding its range and becoming exceptionally sharp.

The boy was covered in wounds and looked quite pitiful, but his eyes were incredibly bright, like two flames or an inextinguishable star, shimmering with golden light in the scarlet sky.

She suddenly burst into laughter, wiped the blood from her lips, and said lightly, "So that's how it is!"

The next second, Shen Lixia lunged forward, making no unnecessary movements, and punched the tiger straight in the face. The spirit beast blocked with its claws, so she quickly adjusted her position and swept her leg out, seemingly holding back her strength, as if it were a feint, to make the tiger lower its guard and put all its pressure on its claws, opening its mouth to bite.

Suddenly, it froze, its fur stood on end, and it instinctively looked down to see that a large area of ​​flames had already started burning where it had been aimed at.

Shen Lixia narrowed her eyes, used her spiritual energy to shake off the tiger's claws, and launched another attack. Then, with every move she made, flames gathered and burned fiercely, exploding upon contact with the spirit beast's surface, forcing the tiger into a corner, its skin torn and bleeding, emitting a foul burnt smell.

Fire became a part of her body, her limbs that could reach further and strike more painfully, controlled by her and integrated with her physical skills.

Countless wounds opened on his body, and he didn't even count how many claw marks were added during the fierce battle. The thicker the blood stench, the more fiercely Shen Lixia attacked.

It was as if she were the one more purely and primally engaged in this struggle, exuding an arrogance that disregarded life and death, her eyes burning with a fighting spirit even stronger than that of a tiger.

Finally, the girl took a step back, her hand surging with firelight and a wisp of golden light flowing within it. The golden light grew stronger, intertwining with the firelight, blooming brilliantly, and condensing into a sharp arc of light in her swift attack, instantly severing the tiger's head.

Instead of gushing blood, the tiger dissolved into a misty haze before collapsing. Simultaneously, her wounds slowly healed, the blood disappeared, and her clothes were restored to their original condition. A cool sensation, like spring water poured over her face, brought Shen Lixia back to her senses. The fighting spirit in her eyes subsided, but she lowered her head in utter astonishment.

The spiritual energy surged wildly, like a powerful whirlpool in a vast ocean, swallowing up all the surrounding air currents. In an instant, the spiritual power within her meridians surged, almost overflowing. Veins bulged on Shen Lixia's forehead; she knew this was a sign of breaking through to a higher realm. Recalling her earlier amazement at Qiao Yanshen's rapid breakthrough, she hadn't expected to achieve Foundation Establishment today as well. Instead of being afraid of the gathering dark clouds, she laughed heartily.

"It seems this battle is unavoidable!"

After laughing, she immediately sat down cross-legged and channeled her spiritual power. At that moment, the lightning tribulation did not hesitate and swiftly struck down. The sky no longer displayed purple light, but instead seemed to be swallowed by fire, instantly turning into a deep twilight. Vibrant red and yellow intertwined and merged into an extremely dazzling dusk scene, burning fiercely.

Amidst the deafening roar that nearly shattered her eardrums and the bright flash, she sensed a familiar, scalding heat, but it wasn't directed at her. Instead, it seemed to be quite dissatisfied with the lightning tribulation, spreading out of her body and tightly gripping the falling lightning, wrestling with this thing that should have vanished in an instant.

Not again?!

The girl was horrified, but the excruciating pain gripped her very bones the next second, forcing her to quickly shut down her five senses and focus on dealing with the torment that was almost destroying her consciousness, caused by the combined effects of the violent aura of lightning and the intense pain of the divine fire.

In another part of the formation, Qiao Yanshen held a long sword and looked down at the lifeless body of the giant snake beneath him.

The style of the opponents arranged in the formation felt somewhat familiar—as if it was someone's decision, or rather, only Yan Xueya, their master, could so accurately combine the characteristics of each person to create such a suitable opponent for them.

The battle just now was not intense; rather, it was like the calm before a downpour—crowded, damp, and gloomy, making one's heart feel heavy; or like walking on a rotten log with a sheer cliff below, where one wrong step would send one tumbling into an abyss.

The snake's supple body cannot be overcome by force; instead, one must be delicate and gentle, precisely aiming at the vital point to achieve a decisive victory and gain a way out, thus taking the life of the one held captive by the enemy.

Just as he was rejoicing over his improved physical skills, a chilling premonition suddenly welled up in Qiao Yanshen's heart.

She looked up in a certain direction and saw that the fiery clouds were dazzling, more brilliant than any sunset she had ever seen before, as if the sun had shattered and scattered across the sky.

An unusual white light flashed in the clouds, somehow piercing through the great formation and fiercely stabbing downwards.

not good.

Her expression hardened, and she frantically channeled her spiritual power, driving her sword swiftly towards that direction, her heart clenching.

That was a tribulation of lightning.

And this was no ordinary tribulation lightning—its power surpassed even what she had experienced before. Heaven was indeed deliberately making things difficult for them, showing no mercy to either of them. This was true on the stairs, and it was true in this tribulation lightning, pressing forward relentlessly, making it difficult to suppress one's resentment.

They were clearly people who were forced into this world, so why do they always have to face such dangerous situations?

The formation wasn't very wide; it only blocked out the sounds of their battle. Therefore, Qiao Yanshen quickly located Shen Lixia's position and flew to her side on his sword.

Divine fire burst forth from the girl's body, intertwining and winding with the streaks of crimson brought by the tribulation lightning, leaving her body covered with almost terrifying cracks, as if she would burst open and shatter into many pieces at any moment.

This was the third bolt of lightning to strike, even faster than the one she had experienced before.

Qiao Yan ignored the intense pressure and bent down in front of Shen Lixia, holding her hands tightly. He closed his eyes, and his spiritual energy flowed slowly into her body along with his divine sense. He then began to regulate his breathing as before.

"Don't be afraid," she murmured softly before shutting down her senses and focusing on merging her consciousness with spiritual power.

“I will be by your side. If this tribulation is to harm you or cause your death, you will have to get through me first.”

Consciousness faded into darkness, with only two beams of light carefully touching and embracing each other, moving side by side and deeply feeling each other's breath, as their figures gradually overlapped in the dim sunlight, swaying slightly.

When the fourth, even more powerful bolt of tribulation lightning exploded, Qiao Yanshen seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes.

She had shut down her senses, so she wasn't awakened by the thunder, but rather drawn by a familiar yet strange aura that compelled her to approach it.

The scene before her was no longer one of lightning; the twilight had faded, leaving only pure white. The emptiness of white dissolved the boundary between heaven and earth, leaving her standing there bewildered, utterly bewildered.

A woman's voice sounded from behind her, with a faint smile:

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yan Shen."

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Author's Note: The pacing is so slow, I'm so sorry. I'll try to write more. Oh my god, it's really too slow. I need to carefully consider what to write.