Chapter 37

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Fang Qinglan, watching from afar with the other disciples, wore a grave expression.

Though he said nothing aloud, he had already prepared himself for the worst.

Since ancient times, ascending to immortality had been as difficult as climbing the heavens. Cultivators tempered their bones and cleansed their marrow, crossed mountains and seas, sought out spiritual artifacts, and endured trial after trial. Yet before the Heavenly Gate, they still had to cross one final peak that was all but impossible to surmount.

That was the heavenly tribulation.

If even Zhu Xuanguang were to perish, would anyone in this world ever survive beneath the heavenly tribulation?

Fang Qinglan could not help asking himself.

In truth, he had known the answer for a long time. He simply dared not say it aloud.

The Heavenly Dao stood majestic and sublime, its divine might impossible to fathom. Countless had died bearing hatred; those who defied it had perished.

Who could contend with it?

Xie Changan sat cross-legged halfway up the mountain.

Chenhua Peak was jagged and precipitous. What was called halfway up the mountain was in fact merely a slab of rock jutting abruptly from the face of a cliff.

Her cultivation was limited. She could not remain at the summit, for once the heavenly lightning descended, Zhu Xuanguang and Perfected Sheyun might perhaps withstand it, but she would bear the brunt of the attack. Thus, she waited halfway up the mountain, ready to respond should the need arise.

Xie Changan lifted her head. The daylight was fierce, making her narrow her eyes slightly.

From where she sat, she could see only two figures standing motionless amid the howling wind.

Shen Xi and the others had yet to return.

Perhaps something had happened in Limo City, or perhaps they had encountered some other trouble along the way. Such accidents occurred often enough among cultivators. Given Shen Xi’s cultivation, however, the likelihood of anything happening to him was small, so neither Perfected Sheyun nor Xie Changan and the others were especially worried.

But after today, Red Frost Mountain might well become an entirely different place.

If Zhu Xuanguang failed to survive this heavenly tribulation, his body and soul would certainly be destroyed. Perfected Sheyun and Xie Changan would suffer as well—at best, grievous injuries; at worst, death. Red Frost Mountain would lose two cultivators of the Sword Immortal realm, along with the foremost disciple of Chongming Peak. The losses would be devastating, and the sect’s standing would plummet.

When Shen Xi and the others returned to find that the heavens over their home had changed, no one knew how shocked they would be.

Xie Changan’s thoughts wandered freely. The cloudless sky gradually darkened. Shadows from the leaves fell across her face, and she abruptly came back to herself.

It was beginning!

At the summit, Perfected Sheyun had disappeared.

Only one person remained there.

Zhu Xuanguang.

His presence was quiet, yet impossible to ignore.

The wind billowed his sleeves and carried his words, summoning the heavenly tribulation, into the highest reaches of the sky and awakening the Heavenly Dao.

Clouds gathered more and more densely, but only above Chenhua Peak. Everywhere else remained bright beneath a clear sky, making the contrast stark.

Throughout Red Frost Mountain, near and far, everyone held their breath and focused their minds, waiting for the earth-shaking roar they had expected.

Boom!

At last, it came!

With that thunderous sound, darkness swept across the heavens and earth. Even the daylight of moments before was swallowed completely, and the world fell into a darkness in which one could not see one’s own hand.

Suddenly, the light overhead flared brilliantly—brighter than thousands upon thousands of torches ignited at once.

Three bolts of heavenly lightning descended together!

Shock appeared on Xie Changan’s face. Without thinking, she summoned the Heaven-Staying Sword and grasped it in her hand.

Three bolts at once, rather than in succession—the difference between the two was like heaven and earth.

For the tribulation to begin with such cruelty meant that its intensity would far exceed that of Perfected Canmiao’s.

Zhu Xuanguang received the three bolts. He had not even drawn his sword; the formation surrounding him had already blocked the lightning beyond his body.

But six bolts followed immediately. The sky of endless night became as bright as day. Without giving the one undergoing the tribulation even a moment to catch his breath, the lightning shattered his formation and struck him directly.

Xie Changan’s heart leaped.

For an instant, she could not even make out the figure within the lightning. Its brilliance stabbed her eyes, forcing them shut. When she opened them again, Zhu Xuanguang was still standing, but his sword had appeared as well, hovering beside him and trembling faintly.

This was only the second wave, yet his formation had already been destroyed, forcing the person within the light to draw his sword.

The sword beside Zhu Xuanguang had split into six: one primary sword and five divided blades. Together, they guarded their master and transformed the lightning descended by the Heavenly Dao into nothingness.

It was much like the way Perfected Canmiao had once summoned the Cloud Sword to dispel the heavenly tribulation. The difference was that Perfected Canmiao had been protected by many fellow cultivators at the time, and only at the very end had she been forced to summon the Cloud Sword she kept as her final trump card.

Now, however, this was merely the second wave of lightning, and Zhu Xuanguang had already used the sword shadows divided from his life-bound sword.

No…

It seemed not quite the same after all.

Xie Changan strained her eyes, trying to see clearly what was happening within the light. Today she was not merely serving as a protector; she was also here to observe and learn. Zhu Xuanguang’s methods for confronting the heavenly tribulation were an invaluable lesson.

With your present sword realm, you cannot afford to let a single opportunity to learn pass you by.

Zhu Xuanguang had said those words to her only a few days ago.

I have little time left to teach you personally. This tribulation will be the final lesson you can turn to your own use.

His words still echoed in her ears. Xie Changan narrowed her eyes and did everything she could to observe how he dissolved the successive waves of heavenly tribulation.

Each round of lightning contained more bolts than the last.

Sometimes there were three, sometimes six, even nine. The Heavenly Dao was governed by the number nine, while humanity was governed by the number six. Every bolt of lightning proclaimed the authority of Heaven through its number, reminding mortals to respect Heaven and fear the Dao.

Cultivators believed they had transcended ordinary mortals. Yet in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, cultivators were still mortals—mortals who stood only a little closer to Heaven, yet remained separated from it by an immeasurable distance.

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Each time she witnessed a heavenly tribulation, Xie Changan gained this brutally lucid understanding.

Even Zhu Xuanguang—

Nine bolts of lightning descended together, carrying the force of punishment from the highest heavens and wantonly venting Heaven’s fury!

The mountains trembled. The vegetation withered. Even the rivers in the distance were caught up in it, their waves surging into monstrous floods.

Yet Zhu Xuanguang endured.

His back did not even bend. The sword shadows trembled only slightly before stabilizing once more. Under the incredulous, even horrified gazes of the onlookers, they dissolved the thunderous wrath of Heaven and turned to face the next wave of tribulation light.

This was the true strength of the foremost cultivator beneath the heavens!

He had no need to summon cultivators from across the world to protect him as Perfected Canmiao had done. Standing there alone, he could withstand a force equal to ten million cultivators.

The disciples of Red Frost Mountain watching from afar all recalled old tales.

It was said that Zhu Xuanguang had once challenged the hundred thousand demons and ghosts of Yellow Springs Valley alone. On another occasion, he had entered the True Word Abbey by himself and fought two Sword Immortal realm cultivators simultaneously, ultimately annihilating their entire sect. Though the years had passed and the legends might have been exaggerated, witnessing his battle against the heavenly tribulation with their own eyes made everyone believe those stories a little more deeply.

He had once been a dazzling prodigy whose brilliance had shaken the Six Directions and Eight Desolations. In recent years, however, he had grown quieter, leading people to believe that his radiance had dimmed.

Now they saw the truth. Zhu Xuanguang had spent the years refining an even more formidable cultivation and power in silence, waiting only for this day to unleash it completely.

Yet his overwhelming performance earned no mercy from the Heavenly Dao.

On the contrary, the stronger he proved himself, the stronger the tribulation became. A new wave of heavenly lightning soon appeared, lashing and crushing the one who was meant to endure it while the world watched in awe, terror, and worship.

Before the lightning from the previous wave had completely faded, the next surged forward like a rising tide. Above Zhu Xuanguang, the heavenly lightning interwove into an inescapable net, enclosing his entire body.

The lightning that followed continued without end. Many bolts no longer struck only the person undergoing the tribulation, but smashed into the surroundings of Chenhua Peak as well.

A section of the mountainside was carved away. Even the clouds and mist that had lingered around the peak for years were forcibly dispersed beneath such heavenly might.

All things between Heaven and Earth fell silent and rigid with fear, as though even a single breath might provoke Heaven’s wrath.

Under such circumstances, Perfected Sheyun could no longer refrain from acting. If the tribulation continued to spread unchecked, the surrounding peaks might well be drawn into the disaster.

He blocked three bolts that struck behind Zhu Xuanguang. But soon, the heavenly tribulation seemed to notice the presence of an “uninvited outsider” beside Zhu Xuanguang, and bolt after bolt began falling toward him as well.

A strange scene unfolded.

Perfected Sheyun was clearly not the one undergoing the tribulation, yet he seemed to have become someone sharing the burden with Zhu Xuanguang. Though his cultivation had also reached the consummate Sword Immortal realm, he was still slightly inferior to Zhu Xuanguang. Beneath a tribulation of such power, he began to struggle and was forced to offer up the Radiant Sovereign Sword.

Seeing that something was wrong, Xie Changan flew forward to help him withstand the lightning.

“You should not have come!”

Perfected Sheyun rebuked her angrily. It was the first time Xie Changan had ever seen him lose his temper.

The Radiant Sovereign Sword already hovered above his head, its dazzling golden light dissolving one fierce heavenly punishment after another.

At that moment, the phrase “Heaven’s might is impossible to fathom” became a tangible reality.

No one could predict when this tribulation would end. Zhu Xuanguang could not easily sacrifice his life in the hope of appeasing Heaven, and neither Sheyun nor Xie Changan could stand by and watch such a thing happen.

“Martial Uncle, the Radiant Sovereign Sword must not be used unless absolutely necessary. My strength may be limited, but I am willing to lend you a hand!”

Perfected Sheyun gave her a deep look and, as expected, said nothing more. Their swords built another barrier beyond Zhu Xuanguang. The three of them stood like the legs of a tripod, maintaining a delicate balance beneath the heavenly tribulation.

Only then did Xie Changan realize that the lightning Zhu Xuanguang was enduring had long since surpassed the tribulation Perfected Canmiao had faced.

She raised her head toward the layers of black clouds that seemed to stretch on without end, unable to imagine how this calamity could possibly come to an end.

…

Xu Zhen was Perfected Sheyun’s second disciple.

In other words, whenever Perfected Sheyun and Shen Xi were absent, he was the temporary decision-maker for the affairs of Tianyi Peak.

When the Great Wing Wandering Immortal opened the last time, he had already gone to Limo City and passed the trial. Thus, he had not descended the mountain with Shen Xi and the others this time, but had remained behind at Tianyi Peak to help Perfected Sheyun handle the sect’s miscellaneous affairs.

Compared with the other great sects, Red Frost Mountain was somewhat unusual.

Several years ago, an internal upheaval had claimed the lives of the sect master and several elders. As a result, even now Red Frost Mountain had no elders holding official authority. Only the leaders of its three peaks upheld the sect’s strength.

Although it possessed the foremost cultivator beneath Heaven in Zhu Xuanguang, as well as mighty Sword Immortal realm cultivators such as Perfected Sheyun and Fang Qinglan, there were still only three of them. That was why, when Daoist Wenqin had spoken of Red Frost Mountain’s strength, he had said that it was far inferior to the past and survived only because Zhu Xuanguang held up its reputation.

Xu Zhen’s talent was considerable. Though he could not compare with Shen Xi—there was only one true genius, after all, and even Xie Changan was inferior to Shen Xi in some respects—Xu Zhen had strengths of his own. For instance, the sect’s countless complicated affairs became orderly in his hands with remarkable speed.

Thus, people said that Tianyi Peak had Wen the Scholar and Xu the Warrior. Those fond of gossip had placed Senior Brother Shen and Senior Brother Xu side by side and given them a harmless nickname.

Yet even though Xu Zhen could be considered Perfected Sheyun’s right-hand man, his emotions had risen and fallen sharply throughout the day.

He had not learned that Perfected Zhu was preparing to undergo the tribulation until barely half a day before it began.

It was difficult to imagine such a hurried and baffling arrangement coming from Perfected Sheyun, who had always been so cautious and composed.

At that moment, like the other disciples, he stood gathered at Tianyi Peak, staring into the distance at the changes taking place around Chenhua Peak.

His position was somewhat higher than that of the other disciples, giving him a better view.

“Martial Uncle Fang, how much longer do you think the heavenly tribulation will last?”

Even from so far away, the thunderous inferno that seemed capable of swallowing the human world was enough to leave one’s soul trembling.

Xu Zhen thought that he would never be able to remain standing in such circumstances. Forget half a day—even a quarter of an hour would likely be difficult. It was not merely that failing to withstand the lightning would cost him half his life; the overwhelming power that roared through mountains and rivers was something no mortal could begin to measure.

Even cultivators could only kneel and beg for mercy, imploring the Heavenly Dao to show them a way out.

And yet the sect master and Xie Changan were still there.

“Perfected Shen’s tribulation lasted a full day and night. Perfected Canmiao’s lasted half a day.”

Fang Qinglan gazed toward that place as well, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Lightning flickered endlessly within the clouds, illuminating his face and revealing an almost deathly pallor of helplessness.

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This was the first time Xu Zhen had ever seen Fang Qinglan wear such an expression. In his eyes, the leader of Zhaoxue Peak had always been carefree and elegant, laughing and talking with effortless grace. Even when confronted with difficult matters, he had remained completely at ease. Even after returning injured from Fuguang Mountain the last time, his complexion had not looked this grim.

Hearing those words, Xu Zhen’s heart sank.

Nearly half a day had already passed. In other words, whether Zhu Xuanguang would successfully survive this tribulation would soon be revealed.

Everyone knew how difficult it was to survive a heavenly tribulation. Countless had perished throughout the ages. Yet only when one witnessed it with one’s own eyes did one truly understand how insignificant one was before the Heavenly Dao.

In ordinary times, they might call themselves cultivators, distinguishing themselves from mortals. But Xu Zhen knew that even if he cultivated for another thirty, fifty, or even a hundred years, he would still be unable to survive such a tribulation. His heart surged like a storm-tossed sea, and his complexion became even worse than Fang Qinglan’s.

“Martial Uncle Zhu’s decision to undergo the tribulation was too hurried. He could have made proper preparations…”

Xu Zhen desperately wanted to say something to ease his feelings. He did not care what he said, nor whether Fang Qinglan would answer him.

“Junior Sister Xie has only just reached the Sword Heart realm. I heard that her cultivation is somewhat unstable. If anything were to happen, Chongming Peak would have no successor…”

Fang Qinglan slowly said, “Xu Zhen, all worldly reputations, inheritances, and faith are built upon the foundation of survival. The disciples of Red Frost Mountain advance one after another, seeking only the Great Dao. We have never feared facing wind and rain, nor being shattered into pieces. If jade and stone are not tempered by wind and rain, how could they ever shine with such flawless brilliance?”

Xu Zhen solemnly cupped his hands. “This disciple has understood.”

Those words seemed to exhaust Fang Qinglan’s strength.

After that, he said nothing more. He merely gazed at the distant site of the heavenly tribulation, remaining utterly motionless, like a statue.

Xu Zhen was still young. After standing there for another half an hour, his legs began to ache. He thought the tribulation would not end any time soon, and that the disciples below were probably just as anxious and uncertain as he had been. He decided to go comfort them.

But the moment he took a step, a thunderous explosion erupted in the distance.

Boom!

It was far louder than any previous bolt of heavenly lightning. Xu Zhen’s mind went blank, leaving him unable even to find words to describe it. He only felt that the heavens themselves were about to be split in two.

If lightning capable of cleaving the sky struck a human being—

His expression changed drastically. His body forgot how to move, while his head twisted backward in an almost unnatural motion toward Chenhua Peak.

Xie Changan had wounds of every size across her body, though none were serious. Most had been caused by the aftershocks of the heavenly tribulation; the rest came from fragments of shattered stone flying through the air.

Perfected Sheyun was little better. He had suffered even more wounds than she had.

Though they were so close, they could no longer see Zhu Xuanguang’s figure. He seemed to have been swallowed by an endless sea of lightning, suffering beneath an unceasing tribulation.

Xie Changan had not failed to consider going forward to help, but the lightning had invisibly separated them. Even the Radiant Sovereign Sword had dimmed beneath such heavenly might, its form trembling faintly as though it could no longer endure.

That was Red Frost Mountain’s treasured guardian artifact, bound to the fortune of the entire sect.

Xie Changan suddenly remembered the choice Perfected Canmiao had faced while undergoing her tribulation. Could the Radiant Sovereign Sword be the price her master and the sect master had agreed to pay? Perhaps they intended to exchange it for her master’s successful ascension. That would indeed—

The thought had only just arisen when the bolt of lightning that split apart all the clouds appeared. It was bright as day, and the brilliance stabbed her eyes so fiercely that she could not open them.

In that instant, inspiration came to her. She knew that the Heavenly Gate had opened.

Many people believed that once the Heavenly Gate opened, it meant the tribulation had been successfully overcome and the Upper Realm had accepted the one ascending to immortality.

Xie Changan had witnessed Perfected Canmiao undergo a tribulation twice—once in reality and once within the illusion of the Great Wing Wandering Immortal. Both experiences had shown her that the opening of the Heavenly Gate was merely the beginning of the most difficult stage of the tribulation.

The price demanded by the Heavenly Dao differed from person to person. But for that price to be exchanged for immortality, it had to be heavier than Mount Tai.

Only those willing to offer such a price as a sacrifice to Heaven could obtain the qualification to become immortal.

And this time, what price would the Heavenly Dao demand from Zhu Xuanguang?

The Radiant Sovereign Sword?

Even cultivators found it difficult to open their eyes beneath such blinding light. Xie Changan held her sword in one hand and shielded her eyes with the other, nevertheless straining to look through the gaps between her fingers at the Heavenly Gate.

She wanted to see what would emerge from it.

Zhu Xuanguang and Perfected Sheyun had vanished. Though the three of them were all on Chenhua Peak, the lightning had carved them into separate fragments of existence. Between Heaven and Earth, it seemed that only Xie Changan remained—standing alone atop the summit, sword in hand, facing the unfathomable might of Heaven.

Beyond the layers of cloud, crimson radiance stirred with golden light, while the sun filled the shadowed sea of peaks.

A golden-winged celestial roc spread its wings and flew out from within the light!

It came from the Ninth Heaven. Its wings were vast enough to blot out mountains and seas, its immense body and long tail soaring on the winds for ten thousand miles.

Xie Changan saw the phenomenon that had manifested when she emerged from the Great Wing Wandering Immortal that night and advanced into the Sword Heart realm.

The same great roc. The same radiant clouds. Only now, the sight was far more magnificent and resplendent—too wondrous for words to capture even a fraction of it.

Everyone had said that cultivators capable of manifesting a phenomenon upon advancing realms were exceedingly rare, and that nearly all of them achieved it only upon entering the Sword Immortal realm. Those who manifested one upon entering the Sword Heart realm were practically unheard of.

They had said that Xie Changan was worthy of being the foremost cultivator beneath Heaven’s disciple, and that her future would surely be extraordinary and boundless. They had said that Red Frost Mountain already possessed a young genius like Shen Xi, and now had Xie Changan as well—two jewels within one sect. With successors such as these, the sect would have nothing to fear for centuries to come.

The great roc spread its wings and flew out of the Heavenly Gate, diving straight toward her!

Swift as a gale, flashing past the grasses in an instant, compressing dawn and dusk into a single moment, the golden light arrived before her eyes and crashed directly into her embrace.

Xie Changan had no time to react. The sudden force made her instinctively stagger backward two steps.

She lowered her head.

At some unknown point, the great roc had transformed into a sword. It had pierced straight through her heart, and blood sprayed three feet into the air.

She knew that sword better than any other.

When she had first entered the sect, her understanding of swordsmanship and the sword path had still been shallow, no more advanced than the level of an ordinary mortal wielding a sword to kill.

Zhu Xuanguang had used this very sword to demonstrate to her, again and again, what it meant to ride a sword and ascend as an immortal, what it meant for the heart and sword to become one.

Again and again, with patience and care, never tiring of teaching.

But now, that sword had been used to kill her.

And the hand gripping its hilt belonged to the person she knew better than anyone.