Chapter 88: Reunited

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Reunited

While chaos continued to unfold outside, Sui Sui, who was missing, was actually inside his own dimension.

He lay unconscious on the ground, his body completely motionless. He had no idea how much time had passed, nor did he know what was happening outside. It was only when he felt something gently tapping against his face that his consciousness gradually began to return.

Sui Sui felt something heavy sitting on his chest. When he slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was MuMu’s face hovering right above him. The little beast had placed both paws against Sui Sui’s cheeks and was gently tapping him, apparently trying to wake him up.

"Sui Sui! Sui Sui, wake up!" MuMu cried out loudly, almost making Sui Sui deaf.

The familiar voice finally pulled Sui Sui back to his senses. He remembered what had happened just before he entered the dimension and immediately sat up, almost knocking MuMu off his chest in the process.

"Wah! You scared MuMu!" MuMu complained, puffing out his cheeks before quickly moving closer to Sui Sui again.

Sui Sui blinked several times, still feeling groggy from everything that had happened. His thoughts were sluggish, and for a moment, he could barely make sense of his surroundings.

"Where am I? What am I doing here? Who...?"

"You’re back in the dimension, silly," MuMu said.

Sui Sui finally realized that MuMu was right. He let out a quiet sigh of relief. So he really had managed to escape into his dimension before the formation completely engulfed him. It had been a close call, but fortunately, he had remembered his dimension at the last moment and activated it in time.

"Sui Sui, you’ve been gone for four days now! MuMu thought you were gone for good!" MuMu complained.

Sui Sui raised an eyebrow at him.

What do you mean, gone for good?

This little one’s mouth really knew how to irritate people.

Still, he did not have time to argue with him.

"Wait. You said four days?" Sui Sui asked, unsure of himself.

"Yes, four whole days," MuMu replied confidently.

Sui Sui froze.

He clearly remembered that the last time he had entered the dimension was only three days ago. If MuMu was telling the truth, then only about a days had passed since he entered the illusion.

Yet inside the illusion, it had felt like he had lived through an entire lifetime.

But this was actually good news.

If so little time had passed in the outside world, then there was still a chance to salvage the situation outside.

He immediately stopped thinking about everything else and got to his feet. After briefly washing his face and drinking to refresh himself at the lake, Sui Sui quickly left the dimension again.

—

Outside, the confrontation between Yizhou and the Qingmei Demon was still ongoing.

The Qingmei Demon was confused when she heard Yizhou’s words.

Who was he talking about?

And who was missing?

She genuinely had no idea.

Wait...

Could he be talking about that young man who had been with him earlier?

But she hadn’t seen that young man beside Yizhou when the battle resumed. So even after thinking about it for a while, she still couldn’t be certain who Yizhou was referring to.

Seeing that she still did not answer, Yizhou was about to thrust the sword in his hand forward. If she could not even give him an answer, then there was no point in keeping her alive.

He was just about to strike when the thunder that had been brewing in the sky for so long suddenly stirred.

It was as though the lightning tribulation had finally found its target.

A bolt of lightning descended from the clouds and struck directly toward Yizhou.

Yizhou’s expression changed. He barely had time to react before the lightning struck him, sending a sharp wave of pain through his entire body. He winced and instinctively lost focus on the Qingmei Demon standing before him.

The lightning tribulation had finally begun.

Lightning tribulations usually descended in nine strikes, with each strike becoming progressively more powerful. Their strength generally depended on the cultivation and potential of the person attempting the breakthrough. The Heavenly Dao would not deliberately leave cultivators with no chance of survival, so the power of the tribulation was usually kept within the limits of what the cultivator could withstand.

There were also different grades of lightning tribulations, ranging from low-grade to mid-grade and high-grade. The higher the grade, the greater the power contained within each strike.

Currently, Golden and purple lightning danced wildly among the clouds, illuminating the darkness with an oppressive brilliance, and judging from the terrifying power gathering in the heavens, it was undoubtedly the highest level of high-grade lightning tribulation.

When the Qingmei Demon saw the lightning strike and noticed that Yizhou’s attention had finally been drawn away from her, she immediately retreated from the area. This time, she even used her most precious life-saving item. There was no reason to hesitate anymore. Her plan had already been ruined, and she had not gained as much as she had hoped, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Fortunately, she had already obtained the most important things she needed—the souls of the people with Yin Attributes. There was just one soul she was still missing.

The City Lord Xu’s.

Since Yizhou would be occupied with his lightning tribulation, the Qingmei Demon decided to make one last attempt before leaving. She quickly searched through the unconscious people scattered across the ground, looking for City Lord Xu.

When she finally spotted him, her eyes lit up. She immediately darted toward his position.

This was still a high-grade Yin soul with three Yin-Attribute, it might not be an Extreme Yin soul, but it was still better than nothing.

The Qingmei Demon quickly took out the Soul Bell, intending to use it to draw City Lord Xu’s soul out of his body.

However, just before she reached him, the Qingmei Demon failed to notice that someone was watching her.

Yizhou’s gaze was still locked onto her.

He was still enduring the lightning tribulation, and every part of his body felt as though it were being burned from within. Yet despite the searing pain, his eyes never left the Qingmei Demon. There was something almost obsessive in his gaze, as though a single thought had completely taken over his mind.

She must know where he is.

Where did she take him?

Where did she take him?

Give him back.

Give him back.

Give him back!

The thought repeated again and again in his mind like a mantra, drowning out everything else.

Then Yizhou saw the bell-shaped artifact in the Qingmei Demon’s hand and his eyes suddenly sharpened.

Yes.

He had seen that thing before.

It was used to collect Yin souls.

Then this must be the thing that had taken Sui Sui away!

A strange certainty surged through Yizhou’s mind.

He must get that thing

Despite the heavenly thunder still striking his body, Yizhou did not hesitate. He tightened his grip on his sword and launched an attack.

In the blink of an eye, Yizhou pushed his speed to the absolute limit his body could withstand. His figure blurred through the air, and before the Qingmei Demon could react, he had already reached her.

Without any warning, his sword stabbed straight into her back, the blade piercing through her body and directly into her heart.

The Qingmei Demon’s face contorted in pain, and blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. She slowly turned her head, looking back at the person who had just pierced through her heart.

How could this be?

Why was this person still able to move and attack in the middle of a lightning tribulation?

This was simply monstrous.

She had never seen anyone who could remain so active while enduring heavenly thunder. Yet at this moment, she no longer had the strength to think about it.

The earlier battle had already exhausted most of her strength, and she had used her precious life-saving artifact to escape. Now that Yizhou had caught her off guard and pierced her heart, she could feel her life force rapidly slipping away.

There was nothing she could do anymore.

Seeing the demon fall dead, Yizhou took the bell from her hands.

This should be it, right?

He already had it. But why wasn’t Sui Sui here yet?

Yizhou felt as though his mood had sunk to an even lower point. However, he did not have time to think about it any further because the second bolt of lightning struck again.

It was far more powerful than the first.

The heavenly thunder struck his body, and Yizhou cried out in pain. His entire body trembled as the lightning coursed through him, and his thoughts became increasingly chaotic.

His mind had already fallen into chaos. On one side, he remembered being betrayed by the people he had trusted. He remembered the accusations, the punishment, the pain, and the loneliness, but on the other, he saw someone standing up for him. He could no longer distinguish which was the illusion and which was reality.

Another bolt of lightning struck.

Then another.

And another.

Each strike was more powerful than the last, relentlessly tearing through his body and further disrupting his consciousness.

Yet amid the chaos, there was only one thing that remained clear.

That person’s face.

Yet the more he thought about him, the more he felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness.

Ah...

He really missed that scent.

Then came the final bolt of lightning.

Its power was far more violent than all the previous eight strikes. When it descended, Yizhou felt as though he was going to die. He could no longer withstand it, and his body fell from the sky.

However, the expected pain never came, instead, he felt as though he had fallen into someone’s arms.

Then he smelled that sweet and fragrant scent again.

"Senior Brother..."a soft and worried voice said.

That was the last thing Yizhou heard before he fell unconscious.