Chapter 134 Tribulation I think I should go find her.
"Ye Zai, are you sad?" Jiao Jiao's voice came from the doorway.
Bai turned around and saw two little heads peeking in from the doorway, one above the other, their four round eyes filled with worry.
She closed her eyes helplessly and sighed, "You two, don't peek, and don't interrupt other people's sentimentality. Coming in like this has ruined the mood I just got into."
"Oh, I was just worried about you!" Jiao Jiao muttered softly.
"I'm worried too," Xiao Taihuo nodded in agreement.
Seeing the two adorable creatures, Bai sighed, and the sadness in her heart vanished. She got up and walked towards the door.
"Let's go, stop being so sentimental. Zhong Jiuli is still alive and well. If I keep sighing like this, people will think my wife has died."
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Jiao Jiao quickly stuck out her little tongue, imitating the way the grandmothers in the tribe chanted.
"Children speak without thinking, children speak without thinking, the wind blows them away, the bad doesn't come true, the good does!"
Looking at her rambling appearance, Bai also wanted to laugh, "You're acting like you're super senior."
"What do you know, you brat?" Jiao Jiao rolled her eyes at her disdainfully.
"Yes, yes, I don't know as much as Lady Jiaojiao." Bai Ye casually replied, bending down to scoop up the two little ones with one hand each. "It's already dark, let's go out for barbecue."
After leaving the courtyard, she carefully closed the gate and took one last look back at the courtyard that held her entire childhood.
This time I'm leaving, and I don't know when I'll be able to come back.
......
On the drying ground, a huge bonfire roared, and the air was filled with the enticing aroma of meat.
The aunties dug out their treasured smoked meat, dried spirit beast meat, and aged fruit wine buried underground, and laid them out on the long table.
"The young clan leader is here!" an auntie called out, and everyone stood up and looked at Bai Ye.
The aunts watched the young woman approach. The flickering firelight cast a long shadow on her. Although her face still looked somewhat immature, she had already grown into a young clan leader who could provide shelter and protection for her people.
"Young chieftain, you must eat more today. You've been gone for so many years. Where else can you find such authentic roasted meat from our tribe?" Aunt Wu said with a smile, pulling her to sit down beside her.
"Of course." Bai sat down and took the roasted meat offered by the other party, taking a big bite and chewing it carefully.
After swallowing the roasted meat in her mouth, she smiled and said, "Roasted meat from the tribe is the best. Roasted meat from outside can never compare to the taste of home."
"Then eat more, it'll be perfect with the fruit wine your auntie makes." Aunt Wu poured her a bowl of wine.
Bai also picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp, then asked, "Is there something you want to ask me, Auntie?"
"Oh, it's nothing serious." After a moment of hesitation, Aunt Wu asked, "How is your mother?"
"Mother should be doing well..."
Bai stopped abruptly, suddenly realizing that his mother might also be possessed by the Shadow Demon.
Seeing that her expression was off, Aunt Wu quickly asked, "What's wrong with her?"
"It's alright, it's alright. My mother is safe with her grandmother protecting her. I'll go to Guzhou to see her after I've settled you all in," Bai said with a smile.
"I'm relieved that everything's alright." Aunt Wu said, standing up and going to her old friends to whisper to them.
As soon as she left, all the younger generation in the tribe swarmed around her, asking questions about the grand occasion of the Nine Provinces Grand Competition.
They watched the entire competition that shook the entire land, witnessed Bai Ye's rise step by step, and personally experienced the changes in the Wilderness State after the arrival of the Heavenly Fortune.
The most obvious change is the increasingly rich spiritual energy in the mountains. Spiritual herbs and medicines that could only be found in the deep mountains in the past can now be found occasionally in the outer forests.
Young people are naturally very interested in this and want to know what happened during the Kyushu Tournament.
The bonfire party lasted until late at night.
The young people sat around Bai Ye, listening to her recount her experiences across Kyushu while drinking her homemade fruit wine. Later, many of them, bleary-eyed from the alcohol, were dragged home by their mothers, who would pull them by the ears.
The next morning, as dawn broke.
The bonfire that had burned all night on the threshing ground had gone out, leaving only smoldering ashes. The spirit boat was moored outside the tribe, and the aunties, carrying their belongings, boarded the spirit boat, looking back every few steps.
After everyone boarded the spirit boat, Ahua arrived with the Iron-Eating Beast tribe. The two groups met, exchanged a few brief greetings, and the spirit boat slowly rose into the air, heading towards the capital city in the direction of the rising sun.
......
Several days passed, and the outline of the imperial capital appeared on the horizon.
The aunties were all leaning over the gunwale, peering out, their reactions exactly the same as Bai Ye's when he first saw the capital.
"Young clan leader, is that the imperial capital? My goodness, the city walls are huge and incredibly high, do they reach all the way to the sky?"
"This is equivalent to how many White Tiger tribes..."
"Don't city people hunt?"
The aunties chattered amongst themselves, saying that they had spent most of their lives in the mountains and that the largest city they had ever seen was not much bigger than the border town.
Now that I've suddenly come across such a huge city, I can't help but feel a little lost about living here in the future.
Some of the women were already quietly tidying their clothes, and they had rolled up their sleeves and let them down, just like children who were visiting the city for the first time. Their eyes were filled with expectation and a little nervousness, which was very endearing.
Bai watched quietly, and after the aunties calmed down, he smiled and said, "This is the capital. Aunties, don't worry, the city is very safe. It's protected by a city-protecting formation, and our food and lodging have been arranged."
Of course, this was definitely not her arrangement. When Li Chengfeng came to pick them up, he had already contacted Li Shoumo in advance and prepared a place for the people from the two tribes to stay.
In fact, as early as when the turmoil in the outside world first appeared, the capital of Dali had already opened its doors to the outside world and accepted refugees from all directions.
However, the Wilderness State is vast and its territory is frighteningly large. This news spreads extremely slowly among mortals. In addition, people are reluctant to leave their homeland and the journey is long. As a result, very few people actually went to the capital of the Great Li Dynasty to seek refuge.
The spirit boat quickly approached the capital. When the city guards saw Li Chengfeng standing with his hands behind his back on the spirit boat of the Heavenly Sword Sect, they stepped forward to verify his identity and then directly opened the city's protective array to let everyone in. It seemed that they had received Li Shoumo's oral order in advance.
After entering the city, Li Chengfeng led the group to a mansion, familiar with the area.
As she walked, she explained, "This is the Grand Princess's private residence. The aunties are temporarily staying here. There is currently a large-scale construction project in the city to build new homes. Once the new houses are completed, everyone can move in."
When they entered the city, Bai had already noticed the area in the distance that had been leveled and was being rebuilt. She hadn't expected that Li Shoumo would be so farsighted, having already planned ahead and built refugee shelters in preparation for the future.
"Is this the person who will become emperor in the future? He seems even more thoughtful than I, a modern person, imagined." She sighed softly to herself.
[Of course, the art of rulership is far beyond what a mere college graduate like you can compare to. From a young age, Li Shoumo learned how to govern a vast empire and protect its people.]
"Okay, my head is so itchy, it's getting bigger." Bai muttered softly.
Just then, footsteps came from outside the courtyard.
Everyone turned to look, and Li Shoumo strode in from outside the door with several servants. Today she was only wearing a simple set of casual clothes, the hem of which was still a little dusty, and she looked travel-worn.
"Li Chengfeng, you've finally arrived! Little Tiger is here too?" Li Shoumo greeted him with a smile.
"Yes, I came here specifically to see you." Bai replied, a golden light flashing in her eyes. After confirming that there were no signs of shadow demon parasitism on Li Shoumo's body, she felt a little relieved. It seemed that she didn't need to travel around anymore.
It seems that the people of the Wilderness State gathered together and set up a protective array, which is how they managed to escape this calamity.
“Since you’re here, don’t leave. The outside world is not peaceful right now, but the capital of the Great Li Dynasty has a protective formation passed down from our ancestors, making it much safer than the outside world,” Li Shoumo said.
Bai also declined her suggestion, saying, "I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay in the capital indefinitely. By the way, I would like to enter the Tower of Babel for cultivation again. Would you be so kind as to do me that?"
"What's the big deal? You little tiger, when did you learn to be so polite?" Li Shoumo laughed heartily, pointing at Li Chengfeng and saying, "They also need to use the Tower of Babel to break through on this trip. After dinner, I'll send you to your secluded cultivation."
As they talked, the servants had already settled the aunts in. The kitchen had also prepared a sumptuous feast to welcome everyone.
When old friends reunite, drinking and chatting are inevitable. At the dinner table, after a few drinks, the conversation shifted from reminiscing about the past to the current situation in the outside world.
When the topic of the outside world came up, Li Shoumo frowned. With chaos looming, her greatest worry was for the people of Dali.
Bai also mentioned the altar made of skulls and the spatial rift he saw on his way back.
“Similar altars have also been found within the territory of Dali.” Li Shoumo put down his wine cup and said in a deep voice, “Fortunately, the Xuanjia Army patrolled in time and destroyed them quickly, preventing a large-scale tragedy.”
She sighed with a hint of helplessness, "The territory of the Wilderness State is boundless. The territory occupied by Dali is less than one-tenth of it. The rest of the vast area is mostly unclaimed land, either occupied by sects or by bandits and rogue cultivators."
"Even if I wanted to protect more people, I was powerless to do so."
“My Heavenly Sword Sect has long since opened its gates to mortals,” Li Chengfeng continued. “But many other sects keep their gates tightly shut, activate their protective formations, and remain secluded from the world.”
"Come on, let's drink." Bai also raised his glass and said, "When we drink, let's not talk about unhappy things, otherwise the wine won't taste good."
“That’s right, let’s drink.” Li Chengfeng understood and raised his glass to clink with hers.
The group exchanged smiles, tacitly avoiding the topic. The world was on the verge of collapse, and the great edifice was about to crumble. They were too insignificant to stop the collapse, but they wanted to do everything in their power to protect a piece of pure land.
After finishing his meal, Bai said goodbye to the aunties in the tribe and left the mansion with Li Chengfeng, Ayu, and the others, heading towards the Tower of Babel.
A curfew had been imposed in the capital, and the long streets were deserted, with only their footsteps echoing in the night.
The Tower of Babel was not far from Li Shoumo's private residence, and the group arrived quickly. They entered their respective towers according to their cultivation levels.
Bai also stepped into the Tower of Babel. The internal structure of the tower was the same as the tower she had entered when she was building her foundation.
The old man guarding the entrance saw her come in, but he only slightly raised his eyelids to glance at her. He didn't say anything, but simply raised his chin to indicate that she should go inside.
Bai also bowed respectfully, said nothing, silently greeted her, and stepped through the gate of light to begin another climb.
With one step, the world changes.
The surrounding scenery changed rapidly. There were no Nascent Soul stage demonic beasts as Bai Ye had imagined, but rather a void space.
The vast sea of stars slowly revolved around her. Each star contained a law, falling towards her.
Bai was slightly taken aback, but quickly understood. This tower could actually adjust the experimental content according to the magic she cultivated; it was indeed extraordinary.
She strode forward, her face serene, as stars fell from the sky, only to be shattered one by one by her palms or fists.
"It feels pretty strange. I used to be the one throwing stars at people, but now it's my turn to be thrown stars at me," Bai muttered to himself as he walked and took pictures.
The stars kept shattering, and she quickly walked a long distance, but the surrounding scenery did not change. The shattered stars re-condensed, turning into a meteor shower that fell to the ground at the same time. Their trajectories became much more unpredictable, trying to disrupt Bai Ye's rhythm.
"A sneak attack? Do I look like someone who can be sneaked up on?" Bai muttered to himself, a thought flickering in his mind.
Behind her, countless dazzling stars also appeared, their brilliance even surpassing the original starry sea inside the tower.
The next second, the two star systems collided with a deafening roar.
Inside the Tower of Babel, it was as if the scene of the beginning of the universe was being reenacted, with countless stars being destroyed and reborn in violent collisions.
Bai witnessed all of this and gained a deeper understanding of the Way of the Stars and all laws. Each birth and death of a star made her understanding of her own Way more complete and thorough.
This is precisely what makes the Tower of Babel extraordinary. No matter how far you have honed your foundation, once you arrive here, it will always help you forge ahead and reach even greater heights.
With Bai Ye's current cultivation at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, passing the trial of this space would be a piece of cake. However, she did not break through there. Instead, after leaving, she went to the next tower.
That towering and larger tower, which only cultivators undergoing tribulation can enter.
She wanted to see where her limits truly lay.
The moment you step inside, the world changes.
The difficulty of the Tribulation Transcending stage increases dramatically.
As soon as Bai entered, he was almost pierced through by the chains of law here. This place was composed of countless chains of law, each chain flashing with Dao runes and traversing the void. Every strike caused space to shatter and the heavens and earth to tremble.
"This is so difficult," Bai thought to himself.
When the chains of law begin to move, they are impossible to detect with divine sense, and by the time the naked eye can see them, it is already too late to avoid them.
Bai had only taken a few steps forward after entering when he was almost riddled with bloody holes, his body riddled with countless translucent bloody wounds, all caused by the chains of law.
"The Nascent Soul stage and the Tribulation stage are indeed a significant dividing line." She had also heard that many talented cultivators, but unable to comprehend the laws of the Great Dao, would find it difficult to cross this threshold in their entire lives.
Entering the Tribulation Transcendence realm is half a step towards immortality; it's not just a saying. At this level, a cultivator has already stepped one foot onto the path of immortality.
However, those are just legends of the past. Now, this world is flawed, and the path to immortality is severed. Not to mention transcending tribulations, even Mahayana cultivators cannot open the gates of heaven and seek immortality.
"Little Tiger, don't try to tough it out." Xiao Jin reminded her, "Concentrate your mind and carefully comprehend it. Use your Star Dao to draw the chains of law into your body."
Upon hearing this, Bai instantly focused his mind, his eyes flashing with golden light as he tried to discern the trajectory of those chains of laws.
"I see, I understand now." Starlight flowed within her body, and starlight lit up simultaneously in all 365 major acupoints. Each acupoint was like a miniature universe. She was simulating the order of the Great Dao within the tower, trying to resonate with it.
Soon, several chains of law were drawn to her, slowly merging with the starlight within her body. Bai also actively guided these chains of law, carefully integrating them into the stars within her body.
This is undoubtedly a high-stakes gamble. If those chains of law that have entered her body were to explode, it would have extremely terrible consequences, but the benefits would also be enormous.
The fusion of the laws of law rapidly enhanced her understanding of the essence of the Great Dao, and her Dao foundation became increasingly perfect and complete in the process.
Bai was completely absorbed in this fusion. After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly opened her eyes. Stars swirled in her eyes, and the Daoist essence emanated from them.
She no longer suppressed her cultivation, which had already reached its peak. Her spiritual power surged, and she instantly broke through the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage, stepping into a completely new realm.
Almost the instant she broke through, the sky above the capital changed color, thunderclouds surged and gathered, and the muffled thunder roared like a giant beast, awakening many sleeping people.
Bai also directly vanished into the void, and the next second, she appeared outside the city. She glanced at the rapidly gathering tribulation clouds and headed towards the desolate mountain range outside the city without hesitation.
We must stay far away from the capital to undergo this tribulation; otherwise, the heavenly lightning might break through the city's protective array, which would be disastrous.
Many cultivators in the city were alarmed, and Li Shoumo was the first to leave the city, following Bai Ye at a distance to protect her.
Above the desolate mountain, Bai stood suspended in mid-air, his slender figure appearing incredibly small against the backdrop of the endless lightning.
"boom!"
The long-awaited lightning finally struck. This time, the tribulation lightning was strange; it was no longer simple lightning, but had transformed into a long spear.
The gun was wrapped in countless law patterns, like a blade that would destroy the world, and it slashed down at Bai Ye.
Bai also raised his hand, and a golden star appeared in his palm, which he used to block the attack by crashing into the spear.
But this was just the beginning. The subsequent tribulations were stronger and more bizarre than the last. The tribulations not only transformed into various weapons, but also into various creatures, such as a phoenix rising from the ashes and a soaring azure dragon, all rushing towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye's figure floated in the sea of lightning. At first, she could resist with various spells, but later she simply had to withstand it with her bare body.
Her body was charred black once more, her bones shattered, and her fur withered. Only her golden eyes shone brightly in the darkness, like two divine lamps.
This brutal tribulation of lightning lasted for several hours until dawn broke, the golden sun rose from the horizon, and the churning thunderclouds in the sky finally began to dissipate.
As the morning light bathed the earth, a beam of vibrant, seven-colored rosy light descended from the sky, enveloping the white sky.
Within the pillar of light, Bai's eyes were closed, her breath faint, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep. She hovered motionless in mid-air. After enduring a whole night of lightning tribulation, her body and soul were utterly exhausted.
If it weren't for her extraordinary physical body forged from the White Tiger bloodline and the Star Body, she would have been reduced to ashes by the endless lightning tribulations long ago.
She floated in the air, slowly transforming. Her charred old skin peeled off, revealing new, jade-like, translucent skin underneath. Her broken bones were also reforged under the nourishment of the rosy light, becoming more resilient, with starlight flowing within them.
After a long while, all the rosy light entered Bai Ye's body, and she opened her eyes.
At this moment, the world in her eyes was different.
"So this is what it feels like to truly master the laws of the Great Dao," Bai murmured to himself.
The world is still the same world, but it is no longer the same world.
The air is filled with the laws of nature, and the mountains and rivers are brimming with vitality—it's a completely new experience.
Although she had been able to defeat cultivators who had undergone tribulation before, she had never felt the origin of the world so deeply as she did now, as if she had become one with this world.
It evokes a profound sense of "seeing mountains not as mountains, seeing water not as water, being myself as the world, and the world as myself."
The most direct feeling was power; she had a sensation as if she could shatter the heavens and earth with a single punch.
"How are you feeling, you stinky tiger?" Li Shoumo flew forward and asked with concern.
Bai Ye waved his fist and said, "I feel like I could smash your capital into ruins with just one punch right now."
"Go to hell, you dare to smash one and see what happens." Upon hearing this, Li Shoumo laughed and punched her.
"Let's go, that's enough." Bai Ye chuckled, grabbed Li Shoumo's sleeve, and took a step back into the Imperial Capital Mansion.
The two returned to the mansion, and Bai picked up Jiao Jiao and Xiao Tai Huo. After a brief farewell to everyone, they went straight to the Wanxiang Pavilion and used their teleportation array to head to Guzhou.
Upon arriving in Guzhou, Bai did not rest for a moment and continued on his way to Baidi City without stopping.
Within the ancient state, the situation is much better than in the desolate state. This may be related to the fact that this place has always been controlled by various powerful families. As the saying goes, everyone sweeps the snow from their own doorstep, and now that the snow has fallen in front of their own door, they naturally have to sweep it clean.
Bai traveled swiftly and soon arrived at Baidi City.
The checks at the city gate were much stricter than before, and the procession was moving rather slowly. Bai didn't want to waste any more time, so he simply vanished into the void and broke into the Bai family's old residence.
Inside the Taiwang Hall, the space rippled, and Bai Shu and Old Madam Bai, who were discussing matters, looked over at the same time. They stood up almost simultaneously, ready to take action.
Only after they saw Bai Ye emerge from the void did they stop their attacks simultaneously.
Bai Shu scolded irritably, "You brat, you have a door but you won't use it, you insist on forcing your way in. What would you have done if your great-grandmother hadn't stopped in time?"
"In times of emergency, one must act expediently! Mother, please stop scolding and sit down." Bai quickly walked towards her mother and pressed her back onto the stool.
"Next, it will hurt a little, just bear with it."
Bai Shu looked up at her, asking with a puzzled expression, "I've also been parasitized by the Shadow Demon? Strange, I don't feel anything at all, and your great-grandmother didn't notice anything either."
"It might be related to my eyes. Others can't see it, but I can." As Bai spoke, he suddenly made a move and pulled out the lurking shadow demon.
Before the Shadow Demon could struggle, Bai Ye crushed it with starlight flowing in his palm.
"Ouch, you brat, you really hit me hard, it hurts like hell." Bai Shu groaned, clutching her throbbing forehead.
Bai chuckled softly, released her hand, squatted down in front of her, and looked up. This angle was very familiar to both mother and daughter. When she was a little tiger cub, she had nestled on her mother's lap countless times, looking up at her.
The mother and daughter looked at each other in silence. After a moment, Bai also spoke up: "Mother, I have settled all the aunts in the tribe. They are in the capital and are under the protection of Li Shoumo. They are safe for the time being."
"With Great-Grandmother here, I can feel a little more at ease. The Three Pure Ones Sect has Liu Xianyue guarding it; she must have already broken through and can keep the situation under control. Although the Nine Provinces are in chaos now, they haven't completely descended into turmoil."
"Now, she's the most dangerous person. I think I should go find her."
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