Outside the Divine Tree Secret Realm.
Jiang Zhi’s spiritual qi had already obscured the sky and sun. The Dao Seal Spirit Sword she conjured was now repeatedly slashing at the Secret Realm Entrance. However, this only caused the entrance to shake, creating a minuscule gap and nothing more.
Lin Qing’s prediction was accurate. It would take at least half an hour to tear it open. At this moment, the cultivators below had already followed Jiang Zhi’s command, each using their Daoist magic to try and destroy the Secret Realm Entrance. Yet, even with all their might, their efforts were like a drop in the bucket.
Jiang Zhi’s expression, usually very calm, was now tinged with ferocity. Her face was slightly pale, her tongue bitten, and her vital blood was boiling and burning within her body, boosting her strength. The vast purple spiritual qi brought forth a dense fog, as if to engulf the world. Streaks of sword light descended like immense heavenly might, but ultimately, they only left small sword marks on the entrance.
She had thought she was indifferent to everything in the world, her heart beating in a rhythm as if already predetermined, no longer pounding erratically like it was now. But at this moment, she seemed to hear her own heartbeat beside her ear.
“Live on.”
She whispered in prayer to the projected image of Jiang Huai.
Within the Divine Tree Secret Realm.
With a roar, Jiang Huai’s clothes instantly shredded, and his body transformed into its true form, the Silver Dragon. However, suppressed by the rules within the Divine Tree Secret Realm, his massive body was not as awe-inspiring. In an instant, like a constricting python, his entire dragon body tightly bound Lin Qing. The dragon head opened its cavernous maw, lunging for Lin Qing’s head. But Lin Qing simply stood there, watching him with a calm expression.
“Break.”
In that instant, Lin Qing’s body suddenly transformed into a wooden branch. Innumerable thorns erupted from the branch, piercing Jiang Huai’s scales. The excruciating pain prevented him from tightly constricting Lin Qing’s body. Lin Qing’s hand was then freed. He reached out, grabbed Jiang Huai’s head, and, like swinging a whip, slammed him heavily onto the ground. After being flung around several times, Jiang Huai, having reverted to his human form, was now on the verge of death.
Everything before his eyes blurred. He slowly rose from the ground, contemplating potential survival in his mind. The Soul Secret Technique taught by Mu Yao, the sword skills taught by Chu Xianning, the Dragon Emperor Bloodline bestowed by Jun Anshui—all were as fragile as white paper before Lin Qing, whose cultivation level had reached the Fifth Level of the Ninth Realm.
Jiang Huai used his sword to support himself as he stood up. He was severely wounded externally, but the spiritual qi from his Dragon Heart was also raging within him. Even if Lin Qing did not kill him now, he would likely die from the turmoil of his Dragon Heart. After cultivating swordsmanship for many years, he had never placed himself in such mortal danger. Yet, in this situation, Jiang Huai could not think of any way to break through.
Lin Qing did not directly attack Jiang Huai anymore. Instead, he lightly tapped his finger, sketching in the air. It was a Pill Formation Daoist magic used for refining pills. Streaks of green spiritual qi converged into threads, now binding Jiang Huai, like a cage that had fallen from the sky. These green threads penetrated his acupoints, beginning to absorb his life force. He, Jiang Huai, was the core of this Pill Formation; Lin Qing intended to refine him into a spiritual pill.
Jiang Huai wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth, attempting to sever the threads with his sword, but it was futile.
“In sixty breaths, you will die. You might as well speak your dying words now,” Lin Qing said calmly. These words finally shattered all of Jiang Huai’s fighting spirit. The Yening Sword in his hand slipped to the ground as he slowly asked, “Why?”
“Why what?” Lin Qing seemed puzzled by his question, so he calmly replied, “Survival of the fittest, it has always been this way.”
“I only ask, with your cultivation level, you are clearly capable of being a king or emperor in this region, becoming the domain lord of a realm. Why do you still wish to go to the upper realm? To compete for opportunities with countless others?”
“Because I am tired of it,” Lin Qing replied indifferently. “Once you are invincible in the world, you will feel weary. Standing at the highest point brings only loneliness and cold; everything becomes fleeting. Only when there is a pursuit once again will the heart, which is already close to death, come alive.”
Jiang Huai sneered, “Even if you’re kicked to death like a stray dog in the upper realm, and have to shamefully tuck your tail and be reborn here?”
Lin Qing was not angered by Jiang Huai’s analogy, still calmly replying, “Even so, it is better than the endless void and emptiness. Besides, when I refine your body and obtain that Myriad Chaos Dao Fruit, and then retrace the path to the upper realm, I will be able to go further and reach more than I did last time.”
“Why do you speak of emptiness? Why emptiness? Do you not have a lover?”
“Women are but illusions; only by seeking the Dao with a focused heart can one find peace.”
“It is merely a ceaseless pursuit of power. After obtaining the strength of a domain lord, your desires are satisfied, yet you begin to feel empty again, thus you must fall into this cycle. Even if you command the heavens and earth in the upper realm, emptiness will still follow closely…”
Lin Qing looked at him, confused, “What is the point of you telling me this?”
“I was wondering if it could disgust you a little. That’s all,” Jiang Huai shook his head, his eyes fixed on Lin Qing’s. He knew that all his trump cards were used up, with no possibility of striking back. Despite his unwillingness, he seemed to have no choice but to accept this outcome.
“After cultivating for over six thousand years, my Dao heart is already stable and clear. Your few words are meaningless. Are you truly not going to say any final words?”
“I don’t know what to say,” Jiang Huai shook his head.
He didn’t know what to say, nor to whom. He had never imagined such a day would come. Perhaps whatever he said would only add to the sorrow. He tried to summon his spiritual qi to draw his sword again, attempting to sever the green threads connected to his body, but it was still futile. The blade simply passed through, as if he were fighting the air.
Finally, he calmly accepted his death, feeling his life force ebbing away little by little. His scarred body could no longer muster any strength, and his skin became increasingly withered, until… he suddenly thought of something.
“I’ve reached the Eighth Realm,” he suddenly said.
Lin Qing’s eyes calmly regarded him, “So what?”
“I can undergo tribulation now,” Jiang Huai suddenly smiled. “I’ve always been curious about what my heavenly tribulation would be like… Now… let me see…”
After the Dragon Heart’s spiritual qi had raged within his body for a long time, it finally propelled his spirit energy, which was at the peak of the Ninth Realm of Body Integration, to the Mahayana stage. He then sensed his lightning tribulation in the obscure depths of the Heavens and thus instantly summoned it.
Outside the Divine Tree Secret Realm, the entire world suddenly plunged into darkness.
Within the Divine Tree Secret Realm, a faint light now existed. Lin Qing said calmly, “This is the Divine Tree Secret Realm. The lightning tribulation must first shatter the entrance of the Divine Tree Secret Realm before it can enter. Your cultivation is at the Eighth Realm, and the lightning tribulation you can summon…”
But in that instant, his words suddenly paused.
Jiang Huai could not sense it, but he could.
Outside the Divine Tree Secret Realm, nearly ten thousand Divine Heaven Lightning Tribulations had gathered and were now suspended in the vast firmament, as if they would descend at any moment.
The Divine Heaven Lightning Tribulation was the lightning tribulation that descended when an Eighth Realm cultivator broke through to the Ninth Realm. Yet, it had suddenly appeared in the sky. If the tribulation were to descend, everyone present, if caught in its sweep, would surely perish! It was likely that everyone in the entire Northern Region would be instantly annihilated, turning into a barren land!
Lin Qing raised his hand, attempting to accelerate the process of refining Jiang Huai. But his previous speed was already at its limit. He had never intended to create complications. With only a sliver of energy remaining, he said slowly, “Truly terrifying… But regrettably, still a step too late. As long as I refine you and cultivate the Azure Water Green Vine Divine Art to perfection, no will in this realm can kill me, not even the Heavenly Way.”
But just as he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning descended from outside the secret realm. It was a thin, gray bolt of lightning, but upon entering the Divine Tree Secret Realm, it suddenly transformed into countless gray mists, completely enveloping Jiang Huai’s body.
Lin Qing naturally recognized it; it was his Tribulation of Inner Demon.
Whenever a cultivator’s Tribulation of Inner Demon descended, it would condense into a cocoon. He would see illusions within the cocoon, and if he could break through the inner demon, the cocoon would naturally disappear.
But at this moment, the gray inner demon tribulation completely enveloped him. His green Daoist magic threads could no longer draw any power from Jiang Huai. Lin Qing’s calm expression finally showed a slight change. He attempted to draw his sword to shatter his inner demon cocoon, but the blade, just like Jiang Huai’s earlier attempts, felt like striking cotton—utterly useless.
Jiang Huai could not distinguish how long he had slept in the darkness.
He only knew he was very drowsy. When he had spoken with Lin Qing earlier, his vision had been completely blurry. He knew he was dying, yet he was powerless.
In his past life, he had died from drowning. He remembered the suffocating feeling of struggling powerlessly in the water. Now, he was dying again, but he knew he could no longer accept death so calmly. The thought of Chu Xianning’s dazed appearance after his death seemed to ignite a raging fire in his chest.
Yet, even if the flames burned everything, only desolation seemed to remain.
In the darkness, someone seemed to be faintly calling his name. He tried desperately to reach out, but he had no strength. After a long, long time, he finally managed to slowly open his eyes.
“Brother?”
A girl in a white dress lay on a lounge chair, swinging her slender, snow-white calf beneath her white dress. Pouting, she looked at him. “Hurry up and get up!”
Jiang Huai slowly sat up from the bed, stunned for a moment. “You…”
His eyes gazed at the girl before him. Her face was beautiful, her skin snow-white, her cheeks delicate and bright. Her black pupils seemed to sparkle, and her expression was full of acting spoiled and playfully demanding. “The college entrance examination scores are out. You promised that if I scored above 600, you would take me to eat that super expensive ice cream. Hurry up.”
The girl in the white dress had already moved from the lounge chair to the bedside, leaning close to his face, reaching out to poke his cheek. She puffed out her cheeks. “Hurry, hurry! That place has a long line.”
Even so, Jiang Huai did not react for quite some time. Jiang Ning waved her hand in front of him, then tilted her head. “What? Do you want to renege on your promise again?”
“No, wait… wait… I…” Jiang Huai’s head was still hazy, but Jiang Ning had already thrown off the quilt. “If we wait any longer, we’ll have to queue for an hour! It’s thirty-five degrees outside!”
At this moment, Jiang Huai was only wearing his underwear. He hastily pulled the quilt back over himself. Jiang Ning, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, laughed at him. “What? Are you shy?”
“If I were to throw your quilt like this, you’d kick me in the face the next second,” Jiang Huai replied almost instinctively. But Jiang Ning crossed her hands on her hips and proudly tilted her head. “I don’t lock my door. Why don’t you try it tomorrow morning? I could sleep naked tonight?”
The next moment, Jiang Huai instinctively gave Jiang Ning another light rap on the head.
“You’re asking for it again.”
Jiang Ning stuck out her tongue at him and turned to go to her room, muttering, “Hurry, hurry, I’m going to change too.”
With that, she ran back into her small room on her snow-white calves and closed the door.
