Chapter 572: Heavenly Tribulation Tempers the Soul; the Ox Returns (part 1)
If there was one truly holy location in the Moonrite Region, it was the Penitence Steppes. It was considered holy in the past because of being the location of the Imperial Sovereign’s palace. It was considered holy now because it was the location of the headquarters of the Red Moon Cathedral.
Though it might sound like the place was just a sprawling plane, there was more. It was more like an island surrounded by a sea of blood.
Towering above the Penitence Steppes was a kneeling statue, taller than any mountain in the Moonrite Region. It was as tall as heaven, and boundlessly astonishing. It was the Imperial Sovereign who had once ruled this region. Though he had died, he still emanated majestic pressure. What was more astonishing was that on his head was a massive palace complex shaped like a crown. It was crimson, and acted like a sealing restraint that forced the Imperial Sovereign statue to stay kneeling. Because of it, the statue sank down a little deeper every year. The palace complex was the headquarters of the Red Moon Cathedral.
Sprawled out around the statue on the ground were a host of church buildings. People strolled about in red robes, all of them quiet and peaceful. There was almost no sound. That was because the godchild didn’t like a lot of noise.
But today, it was going to get noisy. Two prismatic beams of light shot through the air, one from the north and one from the east. They were like two sharp blades slicing the sky, destroying the silence and sending loud rumblings throughout the earth.
The beam of light from the north abounded with death energy. Within it was the daughter of the Imperial Sovereign, clad in her suit of armor. From the east came something like a massive tempest in the form of a brown-robed figure. Full of daring, the two figures closed in, causing the sky to pulsate because of their passage, and shattering the surrounding air. Their arrival caused the sea of blood to churn, and the cathedral buildings to tremble. The moment their terrifying, apocalyptic aura descended, a tender voice spoke from the church complex atop the Imperial Sovereign’s head.
“Well, if it isn’t my big brother the Heir Apparent. And my beloved third sister is here too. I’m honestly surprised you got free.”
As the words echoed out, a figure in a red robe walked out of one of the buildings. His mere presence caused the sky to brighten. A thousand radiant beams of light swayed, sending light out for 30,000 meters, illuminating the world. With a single step, he rose into the air, everything around him pulsating, distorting the air. He headed straight toward his two blood relatives.
The three astounding individuals squared off, then clashed with a boom. Their fight existed on a level that most living beings couldn’t even directly perceive. They could just see the sky shaking, heavenly bodies being disturbed, and landscape elements in turmoil.
Countless church cultivators bowed their heads and piously offered obeisance, all while chanting together.
“The red moon, lady to me; Revered Ancient’s true trustee; the living hosts suffer; they have a blissful guarantee.”
The sound of the lyrics drifted through heaven and earth.
As for how the battle ultimately turned out, it was impossible for anyone to say. However, the fighting caused fluctuations that spread through the canopy of heaven over all of the Moonrite Region. It was almost like Heavenfire Skycrossing was back. Natural laws were influenced, and magical laws were thrown into chaos.
During that time, no living being dared to fly high in the sky. Even the sun in which Xu Qing and the others traveled, which was far to the south, was forced down to a low elevation.
Eventually, the Captain put the sun away, and they landed on top of a mountain. Standing on a boulder, the Captain and Xu Qing looked off into the distance. Wu Jianwu still seemed to be trembling with fear, and Ning Yan seemed to be thinking deeply about something. A long moment passed, and then Xu Qing and the Captain looked at each other.
“They’re at war,” Xu Qing said calmly.
“It’s too early. It’ll be hard to succeed.” Shaking his head, the Captain produced a peach, took a bite, then continued, “That said, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for us. And since we’re not exactly in the position to participate directly, we need to just proceed according to plan. Little Ah Qing, going forward, this territory belongs to your Eldest Brother. Me. Are you ready?”
To the Captain, what was really important wasn’t the fight playing out at the cathedral headquarters. No, it was Mount Heavenly Ox. Once there, he planned to give Xu Qing a glimpse into his own former glory and majesty.
Xu Qing didn’t react visibly. This was at least the seventh or eighth time the Captain had said something like this recently.
Seeing that Xu Qing wasn’t cooperating, the Captain tossed him an apple. Xu Qing grabbed it, took a bite, and then plastered a look of anticipation onto his face.
The Captain immediately looked pleased.
Off to the side, Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan exchanged a glance and sighed. Before Xu Qing showed up, neither of them got to eat any of the Captain’s apples. And after Xu Qing showed up... they still didn’t get any apples.
“Let’s go!” the Captain said energetically, and took a step forward.
Xu Qing was also about to take a step forward, but then he stopped in place and looked up into the sky.
“Eldest Brother, do you think this would be a good spot to provoke heavenly tribulation?”
The Captain knew what Xu Qing was thinking. Looking back at Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan briefly, he replied, “Your violet moon nascent soul?”
Xu Qing nodded. After everything that happened in the northern ice plains, his nascent souls were all in the great circle of the one-tribulation level.
The Captain muttered to himself for a moment, scanned the sky, and then chuckled.
“It’s an interesting idea, little Junior Brother. Because of the high-level battle going on, the magical laws of heaven and earth are in chaos. Although everything looks normal to the naked eye, if you provoked heavenly tribulation right now, I’d say there are two possible outcomes.
“One is that the heavenly tribulation won’t even come. It’ll be stuck on the outside, and you’ll be able to get your hands on the heavenfate without going through the tribulation. But the second possibility is that the heavenly tribulation will come down with stupefying force. And it might even affect your true soul. Have you put all that into consideration?” The Captain looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing mulled it over briefly. “If it’s the latter, it would probably result in even more heavenfate than average. And it would be good soul tempering.”
The Captain’s eyes gleamed. “Well said. Especially the part about soul tempering. Heavenly lightning is great for that.”
Xu Qing thought about it some more, then calmly said, “Let me give it a shot.”
The Captain licked his lips. He found this idea of Xu Qing’s very amusing. “You know, there’s another possibility. You could always hide out in your minor world as well!”
Realizing that what the Captain said made sense, Xu Qing discussed a few particulars, then found a valley to start making preparations.
Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu almost couldn’t believe what they were hearing. And once they were in the valley, they couldn’t hold back from talking about what was going on.
“Why does it feel like they’re once again feeling suicidal?”
“You should trust yourself more,” Ning Yan said with a sigh. “Just take out the part about ‘why does it feel like,’ and you’re on the money....” As a very bad premonition built in Ning Yan, he turned to flee. Unfortunately, before he could get very far, his premonition became a reality.
A massive gravitational force erupted from the valley, grabbed Ning Yan, and pulled him back inside.
“We still have tools at our disposal, right little Junior Brother? With the right tools, we’ll have a much better chance at success.”
As the Captain’s words rang out in the valley, Wu Jianwu shivered and accelerated. About 3,000 meters away, he quickly hid in a ditch. Peeking back at the valley, he heard intense rumbling in the sky. The thunderous booms were like the enraged roars of a god. Wu Jianwu inhaled sharply and fled another 3,000 meters. Only then did he start to feel a bit more at ease.
The transformations up above became more terrifying. A massive vortex appeared, within which crackled endless bolts of lightning, which gradually converged into a massive lightning dragon.
To the astonishment of Wu Jianwu, the lightning dragon roared and then shot toward the valley. The ground shook violently as the lightning dragon smashed into the valley. Boulders shattered as an infinitude of sparks showered out, creating a lake of lightning.
It was just barely possible to make out the screams of Ning Yan.
So terrified his scalp was tingling, Wu Jianwu fell back even further. The vortex above grew larger, and a second convergence of lightning tribulation descended. At the same time, the lightning from the lake below shot upward, connecting to the sky. From a distance, all of the lightning seemed to converge, then form one solid mass that smashed into the valley.
Soil exploded in all directions. The shock wave sent Wu Jianwu’s hair into disarray as he fled for his life.
Lightning fell over and over again, the range widening, sending out deafening noise everywhere. It lasted for seven days. Eventually, everything for 500 kilometers became scorched earth. The final round of lightning was immensely terrifying. A huge spear formed of lightning pierced through the dome of heaven and toward the earth below. Lands shook, and mountains were rocked.
500 kilometers away, Wu Jianwu trembled as he observed. As of now, he came to the firm conclusion that Xu Qing was just as crazy as Chen Erniu, even more so in some ways.
No. I have to get out of here! Traveling with Chen Erniu feels like walking constantly on the edge of death. And then if you add Xu Qing, it’s like strolling in the middle of death! I’m freaking walking directly down a path of death!!
Eye shining with determination, Wu Jianwu turned and fled. He shifted directions back and forth numerous times in order to avoid detection. After running for a few days, though, he suddenly heard a very familiar voice behind him.
“Don’t run, Big Jianjian. Fear not. Hahaha! It’s over now!”
Howling inwardly with grief, Wu Jianwu pretended not to hear, and just started running away faster. But he couldn’t outpace the Captain. About four or five breaths of time later, the Captain whizzed past him and grabbed him by the shoulder. Scowling on the verge of tears, Wu Jianwu looked up at the Captain’s wickedly smiling face.
Ignoring the look on Wu Jianwu’s face, the Captain amiably wrapped his arm around his neck. “What are you running for, Big Jianjian? I thought the two of us were good friends! This is a dangerous place, and though we’re strangers in a strange land, we’re not strangers to each other. Sticking with me will be the safest thing to do. If it weren’t for Little Ningning being able to track you down, you might have ended up wandering around all alone.”
Hearing that, Wu Jianwu glared at Ning Yan.
The Captain had Ning Yan in his other hand. Ning Yan was smiling at Wu Jianwu in a way that said, ‘Don’t even think of trying to leave me behind.’
As Wu Jianwu fumed, he suddenly realized that Xu Qing was behind the Captain, looking pale and quite weak. Though his clothes were in tatters and his hair was disheveled, he seemed to be in good spirits. Also, his aura was much stronger than before. However, he trembled as he walked, and he occasionally let off small bursts of sparks.
The tribulation lightning had been so formidable that, thinking back on it, Xu Qing trembled in fear. Thankfully he had a minor world, so when things got really bad, he went inside to recover briefly before going back out to face the lightning. What was more, he had the Captain there to provide assistance. Despite all that, Xu Qing had been pushed to his limit several times. Although it was pure torment, he eventually passed the unusually intense heavenfate tribulation. As a result, he acquired more heavenfate than was normal. Most importantly, his soul had been baptized by the lightning, and was now a lot stronger.
Xu Qing steeled himself mentally. If things keep going like this, then when I finally pass the fifth heavenfate tribulation, my soul will no longer be so weak and feeble!