Chapter 60 Tribulation

Su Yunyu, who was racking her brains but had no ideas, simply gave up and slept soundly. Just as she was sleeping soundly, a thunderous roar suddenly sounded in her dream.

My consciousness seemed to split in two, one half immersed in a hazy dream, the other half somewhat hesitant about whether the thunder was too real.

As the sound of 111 cracking sunflower seeds grew clearer in her dream, Su Yunyu realized it wasn't a dream, so she struggled to wake up.

After escaping the dream, as expected, 111 was eating sunflower seeds in her consciousness. Just as Su Yunyu was about to scold it for making too much noise and waking her up, another rumble of thunder sounded—

He jolted awake, rolled off the bed, and groggily walked to the window. He saw the cold sky torn open with a gaping white gash, and amidst a deafening roar, dark clouds brewed a storm, with streaks of blue lightning flashing one after another.

It turns out the thunder in my dream was real.

But why didn't 111 wake him up?

"Why is it thundering?" Su Yunyu asked 111, observing the dark clouds in the sky.

111 Calm and Composed: [Because Long Aotian is about to undergo a tribulation of lightning!]

"!"

Su Yunyu was extremely shocked. As far as he knew, Long Aotian had recently entered the Foundation Establishment stage, and now he was about to reach the Golden Core stage.

Moreover, what kind of Golden Core cultivator could attract a lightning tribulation?

111 said in a calm tone: [Actually, Long Aotian has already reached the Nascent Soul stage. One reason is that his physique is inherently bug-like, and the other is the bonus from the Crimson Flame Phoenix.]

"..."

This terrifying speed is comparable to riding a rocket; no wonder there are always a bunch of villains in these kinds of novels who resort to underhanded tactics out of jealousy.

While marveling at his leap from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul, Su Yunyu also felt a strong sense of crisis. At this rate, Long Aotian would eventually surpass him.

If I couldn't kill Long Aotian when my cultivation was at its peak, wouldn't I be at an even greater disadvantage if my cultivation level couldn't match his later?

The thought that all her hard work and scheming would likely fail made Su Yunyu pace anxiously. Suddenly remembering something, she asked 111:

"Is this tribulation dangerous for Long Aotian?"

[What do you think? If it were dangerous, I'd still be here eating sunflower seeds.]

The creaking sound made it hard to imagine how many times 111 had been bumped.

"..."

Regardless, even if it's not dangerous, this tribulation is still an opportunity for him.

So, seeing the crack in the sky grow increasingly menacing and lightning faintly striking down, Su Yunyu forcibly suppressed her electric shock and ran towards Xiao Shuying.

Lightning flashed frequently, illuminating the vast peak in a stark white light. Half an hour ago, Xiao Shuying realized that her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, which was the effect of contracting a divine beast.

Instead of staying in the Northern Underworld Palace, he came to a vast, empty place covered with a thin layer of snow and looked up at the dark clouds.

Despite the thunder brewing a storm, Xiao Shuying remained calm and composed, guessing that with his status as a spirit of the three realms, the tribulation would not be difficult for him to withstand.

A deafening clap of thunder echoed, plunging the distant mountains into darkness, leaving only churning clouds in the sky. Then, a bolt of lightning, as thick as a tree branch, lashed down—

As Xiao Shuying had predicted, it was indeed not dangerous.

At this level, he has absolutely nothing to worry about.

Just as he was gathering his strength for defense, the lightning bolt that struck down was unexpectedly intercepted by a stream of icy blue spiritual energy!

A semi-transparent, light blue barrier suddenly rose up around me, like half a glass dome, blocking out all the lightning and storms.

This is……

Xiao Shuying's originally calm gaze suddenly rippled, stirring up a wave of emotion within her.

When he looked up, sure enough, there was a figure as white as a night-blooming cereus.

Under the moonlight, in this starkly bright world, Su Yunyu waved her sleeve, and spiritual energy suddenly appeared. The barrier blocked several bolts of lightning, and she seemed completely unfazed.

In fact, after Su Yunyu appeared here, the lightning bolts that were originally only the thickness of tree branches suddenly became the size of a bowl, and their power was immense. He only managed to withstand a few of them while supporting the barrier before his forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat.

While feigning composure, Su Yunyu was simultaneously writhing in fury at the impotence of the Heavenly Dao within her sea of ​​consciousness.

"What do you mean! What you did to Long Aotian was just a minor skirmish, but when it comes to yourself, it's a devastating blow? Is that right?!"

The thunder roared as if it had been provoked, its low rumble causing the entire landscape to tremble. The dark clouds grew thicker, as if brewing an even more devastating attack.

Not only Su Yunyu, but also Xiao Shuying noticed the abnormality of the Heavenly Dao. He stared intently at the obviously unusual lightning, his heart filled with inexplicable emotions.

In all his previous lives, he already knew that Su Yunyu had been abandoned by the Heavenly Dao, which was why she had died so many bizarre deaths.

Even in her previous life, being pierced through the heart by a sword that had recognized its master was an extraordinary experience that only Su Yunyu could have.

It should have been a sarcastic remark, a laughable display of discontent with fate.

But why, even now, does his heart feel gripped by a hand, filled with a somber pity?

All the events of the past few days, and the myriad things happening today, such diametrically opposed feelings made it impossible for Xiao Shuying to ignore them any longer.

His feelings for Su Yunyu must be—

"Boom!"

An unparalleled bolt of lightning tore through the dark clouds, ripped apart the sky, and disrupted all thoughts. This lightning bolt, carrying a world-destroying strike, crashed down heavily!

The barrier was already covered in cobwebs. Su Yunyu wanted to cry but had no tears. She thought to herself that she had made a decision and she would grit her teeth and go for it. So what if she was struck by lightning? She would just treat it as if she had been struck by lightning 111!

Just as Su Yunyu was about to forcefully resist, a voice came from behind her:

"Master!"

The next moment, along with the lightning bolt, came a slightly cool embrace—

His waist was held tightly, and a hand pressed down on his head, forcing Su Yunyu to bury his face in a broad chest. The hand also covered his left ear, seemingly trying to lessen the roar of thunder.

!!

Su Yunyu's pupils contracted, firstly because of Xiao Shuying's sudden action, and secondly because she thought of the incredibly powerful lightning, which Long Aotian, with his current cultivation level, simply couldn't withstand!

Just as he was distracted, Xiao Shuying pulled him into her arms, turned her back to the lightning bolt, and coldly looked around. With a wave of her hand, pure spiritual energy from the Three Realms surged forth.

Just moments before the raging lightning was about to strike Xiao Shuying, it sensed the spiritual energy and abruptly changed direction.

In an instant, lightning flashed, tinged with blue and gold, and boundless, pure white spiritual energy from the three realms. Accompanied by Xiao Shuying's fluttering black robes, a long wind howled, and an ancient tree beside her collapsed with a crash.

The storm had not yet subsided, raising clouds of smoke, but the dark clouds had stopped churning, and even the thunder had fallen silent.

At this moment, the night, however deep, could not be deeper than the depths of Xiao Shuying's eyes, and however fierce, could not match the aura of metal and stone emanating from him.

The tribulation ended just like that.

"Master..."

Xiao Shuying had barely begun to speak when Su Yunyu, as if startled awake, preemptively spoke:

Are you alright?

Su Yunyu broke free from Long Aotian's hand, looked up and stared at him. Only after hearing Xiao Shuying say that everything was alright did he react and look at the fallen ancient tree.

"..."

What happened is self-evident: the lightning bolt struck off course, causing this tree to suffer this unexpected misfortune.

As expected of the Chosen One, even the tribulation of lightning was just a formality for him...

Just thinking about how Heaven seemed ready to strike him to death, Su Yunyu felt a chill run down her spine.

Xiao Shuying sensed something, her eyes showing worry, and asked:

"Master, are you alright?"

"I……"

Su Yunyu was about to say that she was fine, but then she thought, if she had taken the lightning tribulation for Long Aotian and was completely unharmed afterward, wouldn't that be a lack of profound experience?

Su Yunyu immediately feigned pain, swaying as if a sick horse had stopped to rest, and then, seemingly by accident, stumbled onto Xiao Shuying, weakly saying:

"I...I'm fine..."

Xiao Shuying reacted quickly and caught his limp body. The soft, snow-white hem of his clothes fluttered in her palm, and below that was his warm body.

Hearing Su Yunyu's feignedly weak voice, he frowned and silently unleashed the power of the Three Realms Spirit, a spiritual energy coveted by countless people, which flowed into Su Yunyu's body as if it were inexhaustible.

"Master, are you feeling better now?"

Su Yunyu felt a surge of spiritual energy flowing in, and she was very gratified. She thought to herself that she had been the one to provide spiritual energy to Long Aotian in the past, and now Long Aotian was repaying her kindness.

However, her feigned illness continued unabated, and Su Yunyu's voice remained weak:

"I feel much better now, please help me back."

After the dark clouds dispersed, under the cold, cloudless sky, Xiao Shuying saw the pain flickering in Su Yunyu's eyes, his pale lips, and his low, slow voice.

Although Su Yunyu was clearly in pain, at this moment, Xiao Shuying felt that she was in a hundred times more pain than him.

Suppressing the throbbing pain in her heart, Xiao Shuying composed herself and whispered to him:

"good."

Upon returning to the Northern Underworld Palace, all should have been peaceful and at peace. However, Su Yunyu, thinking of her so-called plan to win hearts and minds, and the sedative seduction techniques she had hastily prepared, suddenly had a racing thought and said:

"I want to take a bath, but I'm having some difficulty moving around. If you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Shuying, seeing through his intentions, agreed:

"Master, please feel free to give your orders."

This prompted 111, who had been munching on melon seeds in his mind's eye for a while, to let out a sigh:

[Host, you've really gotten better. You can now seduce people with ease without me even giving you psychological guidance.]

"roll!"

To be fair, Su Yunyu was actually quite thin-skinned; most of the time she was just stubborn. But after being teased like that by 111, she immediately regretted it.

But the words had already been spoken, and there was no going back. Su Yunyu could only pretend to be still weak and lead Xiao Shuying to the northernmost part of the Beiming Palace.

The Beiming Palace on this vast peak has an incredibly large area, with no fewer than ten guest rooms, as well as alchemy rooms, array rooms, inner breathing rooms, and even hot spring rooms.

This hot spring originates from the Tianxuan Sect, so its quality is naturally excellent. It is rich in spiritual energy and maintains a comfortable temperature all year round.

The original owner even gave it a rather poetic name, "Drinking Wine and Asking Flowers," but it didn't quite please Su Yunyu, so she changed it to "Seven Parts Warm."

The reason it's seven points is because Su Yunyu could only give it seven points.

Pushing open the door, which was "seven-tenths warm," a humid mist, like thin clouds, rushed out, making one wonder if even the strands of hair would condense if one stayed there for a while.

Nine lamps were placed in the corner, their flickering candlelight shimmering in the mist like stars bathed in cold water. In the center of the lamps was a large, deep, rectangular hot spring.

Su Yunyu walked to the side, pretended to be calm, squatted down to test the water temperature, then turned her back to Long Aotian, quickly took off her clothes, and quickly soaked herself in the hot spring.

Previous attempts at seduction were all like looking at flowers through a fog, but this time, Su Yunyu decided to try something new.

So he beckoned with his finger, like calling a dog:

"come over."

His slender, fair neck, half-submerged in the water, meandered like moonlight down to his snow-white shoulders.

Xiao Shuying's eyes darkened, and a familiar restlessness surged up again. He walked forward without a word, knelt down by the pool, and spoke in a somewhat cryptic tone:

What does Master need me to do?

"..." Su Yunyu pondered for a moment and then said:

"Give me a shoulder massage."

Anyway, he's helped Long Aotian so many times, so it's no big deal for him to ask Long Aotian to do something once.

As soon as she finished speaking, a hot hand covered her shoulder from behind, causing Su Yunyu's eyebrows to twitch. She didn't know if it was just her imagination or something else, but she felt that Xiao Shuying's temperature was even higher than that of a hot spring.

He was restless and, to hide his discomfort, closed his eyes and pretended to relax, tilting his head back slightly and leaning against the protruding railing by the pool.

The steam dampened his dark hair, the ends spreading out in the water like the black tail of a goldfish, while his snow-white skin shimmered slightly in the candlelight, especially his pale face tilted back...

Why couldn't I look away? It was the first time he had appeared before me, and the moonlight made his face appear radiant.

That night, he stood before me in his white robes, his resolute stance reflected in countless flashes of lightning.

The quiet sound of water flowed in her ears, and a cloud seemed to tremble before her eyes. Xiao Shuying reached out to try to catch it, but suddenly woke up with a start.

He looked away, trying to stop himself from looking, but when his hands touched Su Yunyu's shoulders, he felt as if he were sinking into a cloud.

He was at a loss for what to do, just like when he first met Su Yunyu. It was only when he saw Su Yunyu's eyelashes tremble that he slowly began to knead them.

Whether it was due to the high temperature or something else, Xiao Shuying's lips were dry, her upper lip pressed tightly against her skin, feeling astringent.

His eyes were filled with Su Yunyu's beautiful skin and flesh, and his palms were filled with her warm, soft flesh. His heart was in turmoil, and his hand unconsciously touched the shoulder blades of Su Yunyu's shoulder—

"Waaah..."

Soft moans mingled with the mist and spread.

For a moment, both of them were stunned.

-----------------------

Author's Note: I fell asleep and forgot to update. I don't know why my comment seems to have been deleted. Anyway, thank you for the lightning bolts and nutrient solution! [starry eyes]