Two months flashed by. Autumn departed, and General Winter ascended his seasonal throne.
The sky in Xuan Xing Sect had been overcast since this morning. Snow clouds gathered but never descended, casting a somber veil over the various immortal mountains.
On the Sword Wind Platform of Tianyun Peak, Five-colored Formation Flags stood around, supported by a spirit protection formation. Pei Lianxue, clad in simple white clothes, sat cross-legged in the center of the celestial platform. She had been preparing for Qi Cultivation for a full month.
Since the Dual Cultivation Ceremony, Ye Anping had brought Pei Lianxue back to Xuan Xing Sect. He borrowed this prime location from Si Xuanji to prepare her for the Nascent Soul Tribulation.
Formations, spirit pearls, pills, five-element earthly treasures… these external items were all millennia-old marvels Ye Anping had obtained from the secret vault in Nancheng City. Now, coupled with the spiritual energy of the Tianyun Peak Sword Wind Platform’s blessed land, everything was seemingly in place.
If measured by a concrete figure, Pei Lianxue’s chance of successfully overcoming the first Nascent Soul tribulation was ninety-nine percent.
However, there was still that one percent possibility of failure.
Therefore, Ye Anping had stayed by her side without leaving these days.
Yet, his junior sister’s tribulation clouds did not arrive as swiftly as he had expected.
They had been waiting for over a month, and still, there was no sign of her tribulation clouds.
“Junior sister, do you feel anything?”
“No!”
“Hmm… calm down and wait. It’s okay.”
“Mhm!!”
Ye Anping nodded calmly, his expression conveying to his junior sister that there was no need to worry too much.
However, beneath his calm exterior, he was actually getting anxious.
The immortal families’ joint attack on the Eastern Domain was imminent. He had originally planned to take Pei Lianxue to the Eastern Domain to prepare after she formed her Nascent Soul.
But his junior sister’s heavenly tribulation was delayed. He couldn’t take his junior sister to the Eastern Domain with the Nascent Soul tribulation chasing after her. The Eastern Domain wouldn’t have any blessed lands suitable for her to undergo tribulation.
Nor could he expect Hantian Kingdom and Wunian Sect to wait for his junior sister to form her Nascent Soul. Winter was approaching, and the demonic spiritual energy in the Eastern Domain was relatively dormant, making it the best time for the immortal families to attack.
Ye Anping lowered his gaze and looked at his severed hand, on which he had absentmindedly painted his fingernails in five colors. He gently stroked the back of its hand.
Mo Chi Ling felt it and immediately flipped its left hand halfway, palm facing up, its five fingers curling like a puppy wanting its belly scratched.
Ye Anping sighed helplessly and scratched its palm with his finger.
“I need to switch to the backup plan.”
— Ask Xuanji to help watch his junior sister, let his junior sister calmly form her Nascent Soul in Xuan Xing Sect, while he goes to the Eastern Domain first to find Mo Chi Ling and meet Mo Chi Ling, preparing for the eventual extermination of Yu Yan.
To exterminate a Void Realm cultivator, there were generally two methods.
One was to, like Ancestor Yuan before, cut off Mei Yunlu and Rong Liu Yan’s escape routes within the formation set up by Si Xuanji and Taishang Wusun, and then destroy them head-on.
The other method was to, like in Nancheng City, first seize or destroy the Void Spirit’s origin, give him a “debuff,” and then have a Void Realm cultivator like Si Xuanji kill him in one blow before he could react.
The Eastern Domain was Yu Yan’s home turf, so the former was naturally not a good idea. Ye Anping could only consider the second method.
However, the “Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal” was passed down from the Dragon Clan to Nangong City. It did not originally belong to Nangong City, so it could be forcibly seized through the Heavenly Dao’s destiny.
As for Yu Yan’s Void Spirit’s origin, it was refined by him through nearly ten thousand years of accumulation. It couldn’t be seized, only destroyed.
With his current Nascent Soul cultivation, it was almost impossible for him to destroy a Void Realm cultivator’s Void Spirit alone.
But if Tian Shu and Tian Sha worked together, with the help of Mo Chi Ling, then there would be no problem.
“Hoo…”
Ye Anping exhaled softly and looked up at the overcast sky. He suddenly remembered that while he had been guarding his junior sister all this time, Xiao Yunluo would occasionally come to check, but Feng Yu Die had never shown up.
He wondered what kind of mess she had been getting into these past two months.
He should bake her a roasted chicken and send it over to see…
Just as Ye Anping was thinking about this.
Suddenly…
Thunderclap—!!
Accompanied by a deafening roar, gales raged.
A golden lightning bolt writhed like a snake in the clouds above Tianyun Peak.
The tribulation clouds condensed into a hurricane hanging in the sky, and the spiritual energy from the earth materialized into specks of fireflies, converging towards the center of the vortex.
— His junior sister’s heavenly tribulation had arrived.
Ye Anping reacted immediately and quickly looked at Pei Lianxue in the center of the formation, reminding her:
“Junior sister, do you remember what senior brother said before? Don’t be nervous, don’t overthink, just clear your mind and undergo tribulation.”
Xiao Yunluo, who was not far away, also arrived on her flying sword, landing beside Ye Anping. She asked:
“Anping, Lianxue is undergoing tribulation. Do you want to take shelter outside?”
“It’s alright, the formation around here will protect me…”
“Then I’ll also…”
However, at this moment, Pei Lianxue looked up at the tribulation clouds above and frowned slightly. She did not feel the “rapid heartbeat” or “meridian tremors” of Nascent Soul formation that Ye Anping had described. Furthermore, the water-element spiritual energy in her Golden Core remained as calm as before, showing no reaction to this Nascent Soul tribulation.
Pei Lianxue immediately frowned and shouted:
“Senior brother, something’s wrong!”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Ye Anping immediately became serious. “What’s wrong?”
“This is not my Nascent Soul tribulation cloud. I don’t feel what senior brother described…”
Ye Anping frowned upon hearing this. A rare hint of panic flickered in his deep purple eyes. He quickly looked up at the dark cloud vortex that covered the sky.
Perhaps it was because the tribulation clouds shrouded Tianyun Peak, he hadn’t looked closely just now.
After staring for two breaths, he vaguely saw that although the tribulation cloud vortex indeed enveloped the entire Tianyun Peak, its center was not above the Sword Wind Platform of Tianyun Peak.
Xiao Yunluo frowned slightly, not understanding, and murmured:
“Ah? Lianxue, this is a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul tribulation. If it’s not your tribulation… among the cultivators in Xuan Xing Sect who have formed their Golden Core and are in the late stage of Golden Core formation, besides you, me…”
At this point, all three of them understood.
— Feng Yu Die!
Xiao Yunluo and Pei Lianxue said in unison: “Second idiot!!”
Ye Anping’s brows furrowed slightly, and he looked at Xiao Yunluo, asking: “Yunluo, where is she now?”
“Ah, Elder Qin said she seemed to be cultivating in the Spirit Gathering Grotto of Tianyun Peak these days…”
“Hoo…” Ye Anping took a deep breath and said calmly, “It should be fine. She has the Saint Emperor Dragon Body and the Spring aspect spiritual energy. Forming a Nascent Soul shouldn’t be a problem. Yunluo, stay here with my junior sister. I’ll go take a look…”
Pei Lianxue and Xiao Yunluo had no objections and nodded.
Then, Ye Anping re-hung Mo Chi Ling’s hand on his waist, summoned his flying sword, stepped on it, and slowly rose into the air in front of the two, appearing unhurried.
However, after Ye Anping flew out of their sight, he immediately poured spiritual power into his flying sword, unleashing a surging wave of energy. It transformed into a golden light and flew along the Tianyun Peak mountain body towards the disciple Spirit Gathering Array on the mountainside.
Many Foundation Establishment Stage disciples walking on the mountain path were almost blown over by the wind he stirred up.
Ye Anping’s attention had been entirely on his junior sister during this time. He thought that since Feng Yu Die’s cultivation was slightly lower than his junior sister’s, her Nascent Soul tribulation should come a bit later.
He never expected that after two months of not coming to find him, Feng Yu Die would suddenly undergo tribulation.
What he had said to his junior sister and Xiao Yunluo earlier about Feng Yu Die having no problem forming her Nascent Soul was just to avoid alarming them.
But this was not without problems; it was a huge problem!
Forming a Nascent Soul was different from forming a Golden Core. It wasn’t something Feng Yu Die could easily pass through relying on her own aptitude.
Even his junior sister needed many heavenly treasures, pills, and suitable blessed lands, and even the right season, to have a ninety-nine percent chance of successfully undergoing tribulation.
But Feng Yu Die didn’t have those things now.
And judging by Xiao Yunluo’s reaction just now, she likely hadn’t asked Xiao Yunluo for those Nascent Soul earthly treasures and pills either.
If she underwent the Nascent Soul tribulation without any preparation, Ye Anping estimated that even for Feng Yu Die, the success rate would be less than forty percent.
Moreover, the former owner of the Heavenly Scroll of the Dao had not died under a Nascent Soul tribulation…
Rumble—!
Thunder rumbled across Xuan Xing Sect. The elders of Xuan Xing Sect had also appeared in the main halls of their respective peaks. Spirit Walls, used to protect the low-level disciples from being affected, rose from the peaks of each mountain.
The entire sect fell silent at this moment.
Because Si Xuanji had informed the elders in advance that Xiao Yunluo and Pei Lianxue would be forming their Nascent Souls within the sect in the coming days, all the disciples in the sect quickly went under the protection of their respective elders.
Ye Anping watched as the tribulation clouds above showed signs of descending, feeling anxious, but his mind remained relatively calm.
He was already considering what to do if Feng Yu Die failed her tribulation.
As long as he used the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal to stamp her before her soul and body were completely obliterated by the heavenly tribulation, he could barely save her life.
However, even if her life was saved, she would be half crippled…
Ye Anping’s brow was tightly furrowed, his teeth clenched. Before, he had been looking forward to his junior sister’s tribulation arriving sooner. But now, he wished Feng Yu Die’s tribulation could be postponed for a few days or half a month…
Crack—!
The flying sword, bearing the Nascent Soul spiritual energy, exploded into fragments with a loud bang.
Ye Anping glanced at it but didn’t bother, switching to body-flight techniques and accelerating towards the mountainside again.
The platform in front of the Spirit Gathering Grotto on the mountainside of Tianyun Mountain was now empty. The disciples guarding there had evacuated to seek protection from the elders.
Ye Anping landed before the Spirit Gathering Hall and quickly walked to the notice board at the entrance.
His gaze swept rapidly left and right, and instantly, among the more than a hundred wooden plaques, he spotted the one with the words “Tianyun Peak Disciple Feng Yu Die.”
The wooden plaque was hung in position “Jia-grade No. 3.”
“Jia-grade three…”
Ye Anping murmured, then instantly transformed into a golden light and rushed into the grotto, moving at lightning speed along the corridor. In less than two breaths, he arrived in front of the Spirit Gathering Grotto with the “Jia-grade No. 3” plaque hanging above it.
He formed his hand into a sword finger, drew out his spirit sword, and waved out three beams of spiritual light.
Boom—
The grotto door exploded with a roar.
Ye Anping rushed in.
But at the same time, a golden lightning bolt descended vertically from the tribulation clouds directly above the cave, dyeing Ye Anping’s vision a dazzling gold.
Boom—!!!
Ye Anping raised his hand to cover his eyes, unable to hear anything over the booming sound of the tribulation lightning. He knew the heavenly tribulation had descended and quickly protected himself with spiritual energy to avoid being affected.
The majestic Heavenly Dao spiritual energy turned the stone door frame into molten lava.
Ye Anping immediately took out the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal from his storage bag, held it in his left hand, and prepared to rush forward the moment the golden lightning dissipated, to directly imprint his name on Feng Yu Die’s chest.
However, after two breaths.
Both the golden lightning and the deafening roar instantly vanished.
Ye Anping slowly lowered his right arm, which he had used to block the spiritual light, and tightened his grip on the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal in his left hand. Just as he was about to rush forward, he took a step and then abruptly stopped.
Feng Yu Die sat cross-legged in the center of the grotto with her eyes closed. Her clothes had vanished under the bombardment of the tribulation lightning. Her long silver hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her entire being seemed to be enveloped in a veil, emitting a gentle silver-white radiance.
Directly above her head, Xiao Tian, with a sword scar on his left eye, also floated cross-legged with his eyes closed. And on the spirit gathering array surrounding them, over ten earthly treasures had fulfilled their duties. Their original spiritual essence was gone, leaving them as ordinary objects.
“Hoo…”
Feng Yu Die parted her lips slightly and exhaled. Her tightly closed eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of clear, golden eyes.
She looked at Ye Anping standing at the entrance, stunned. The light in her eyes immediately intensified:
“Young Master Ye!!”
With a cry, Feng Yu Die stood up on the spot. As if not noticing she was unclothed, she spread her arms and lunged towards Ye Anping.
Perhaps due to excessive excitement, Feng Yu Die rushed too quickly.
Ye Anping, about to sidestep, was directly hugged by the waist and thrown to the ground.
“Young Master Ye, I’ve formed my Nascent Soul!!”
Feng Yu Die sat on Ye Anping’s stomach, propping her hands on either side of his face, a brilliant smile on her face, like a child seeking praise. Ye Anping didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Seeing Feng Yu Die successfully form her Nascent Soul, Ye Anping’s previous anxious mood finally subsided, and he relaxed onto the ground.
After a while, he finally asked:
“Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
“Young Master Ye, you were accompanying Junior Sister Pei, so I didn’t want to disturb you,” Feng Yu Die said with a smile, her eyes narrowed. “So I went to ask Mr. Qi about forming my Nascent Soul, and Xiao Tian helped me prepare too.”
“… …”
“Didn’t Young Master Ye say before that you wanted me to like you first? I thought about it afterward, how could I make you like me? So Xiao Tian and I discussed it. Xiao Tian said that when you and I first met, you saved me because I was the Heavenly Pivot destiny, so… if I’m the Heavenly Pivot, will Young Master Ye like me?”
Ye Anping was silent for a moment, then glanced at the earthly treasures she had used for her Golden Core formation and asked:
“Where did you get these things?”
“I bought them!” Feng Yu Die replied immediately. “I’ve saved a lot of spirit stones over the years following Young Master Ye! Hehe—”
Hearing this, Ye Anping felt somewhat relieved, as if it were true. He had been worrying unnecessarily, worrying about this girl for nothing…
Then, Feng Yu Die asked:
“Young Master Ye, do you remember the message you wrote for me in Donghuang back then?”
“The one asking my junior sister to kiss you?”
“Mhm!” Feng Yu Die raised her hand, pulled her storage bag from the corner of the cave, and took out the blood-stained note. She said, “There’s another sentence written on the back…”
She showed one side of the note to Ye Anping:
— “Feng Yu Die, you are the Heavenly Pivot destiny in this world. Don’t rely on me, a rogue star, too much. I can help you for a while, but I can’t help you for a lifetime.”
“Young Master Ye, I am the Heavenly Pivot.”
“Hoo… Regardless, congratulations on forming your Nascent Soul.”
Ye Anping sighed with some helplessness. He hadn’t expected Feng Yu Die to remember. His gaze moved from her face downwards, and seeing her naked body, he felt a bit awkward and couldn’t help but look away.
Feng Yu Die smiled, her cheeks suddenly blushed, and she whispered:
“Hehe… Young Master Ye, so do you like me now?”
“… …”
Ye Anping did not respond, but in his heart, he felt…
Just as Ye Anping was feeling this, Feng Yu Die, who was on his stomach, suddenly pouted like a pig, closed her eyes, and leaned towards his face:
“Young Master Ye~~ Mwah—”
“Hiss—”
Ye Anping took a deep breath. He felt as if he had gone from the North Pole to the equator, and now suddenly returned to the North Pole. His heart was filled with a mix of emotions – sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy…
“””
Ye Anping raised his hand and directly grabbed Feng Yu Die’s face, flinging her off him.
“Ouch!”
Ye Anping sat up, a vein throbbing on his forehead as he looked at Feng Yu Die, who was lying to the side. He then raised his hand, pinched the bridge of his nose, and looked at Xiao Tian, who was floating in the sky with his left eye closed, looking at him pitifully. He sighed:
“Ah… put on some clothes first.”
Feng Yu Die sat up wistfully, lowered her gaze, and pursed her lips:
“Okay…”
… …
