Chapter 429: Then Let’s Fight

The person outside didn’t hear a response from Cangming and asked in confusion, "...Sect Leader?"

Cangming’s gaze lowered. He hesitated for only a moment before his mind was made up.

’She needs me.’

’This is the first time she’s ever needed me.’

"Send word. Everyone is to follow Fa Shan’s commands."

"This time... I will not be going."

After a moment of stunned silence, the person outside understood Cangming’s meaning and said urgently, "But Sect Leader, if you don’t go, I’m afraid you’ll suffer backlash from the Power of Contract! You..."

Cangming cut him off before he could finish. "I have something more important to do this time. Just follow my orders. Why are you wasting my time with questions?"

Cangming’s subordinate opened his mouth, wanting to say that the backlash from the contract was no laughing matter. But then he had a thought... ’Surely the Sect Leader knows that, right?’

’No, the Sect Leader understands the consequences far better than I do.’

’But he made this choice regardless. Maybe he really does have something more important to attend to.’

Taking a deep breath, he finally bowed toward the door. "I understand."

Once it was quiet outside, Cangming set up layers of Barriers inside and outside the room, then piled Demon Essence Stones all around himself.

He raised a hand to his chest. The Mother Gu was transmitting its urgent feelings to him.

"Gu Huang... past or present, whenever you need me, I’ll be there."

’She said I didn’t understand love.’

But Cangming knew that no matter what mistakes he had made, the one thing that had never changed... was his love for her.

He closed his eyes and began to furiously pour his Spiritual Energy through the Mother Gu!

In the seven hundred and forty-second lifetime of the Thousand World Tribulation, more than two months had passed in the outside world.

Ye Zhiyao had originally thought that retaining her memories would give her an advantage here.

But amid the endless reincarnations, she gradually discovered that wasn’t true. The one who truly remembered was the one who suffered the most.

She thought she finally understood why only enlightened monks of great wisdom ever dared to guide someone through the Thousand World Tribulation.

An ordinary person... someone like her... would likely break down long before they could ever hope to enlighten their target.

Now, she didn’t even care about Lu Sangjiu anymore. She just drifted aimlessly from one life to the next, with no end in sight.

No, that wasn’t quite right. She knew where the end was. When she reached it, she would die.

...She couldn’t pass the Heart Inquiry. No matter how many times she was reincarnated, as long as she saw Lu Sangjiu, she would never be able to pass.

’Maybe this is for the best... Once I’m dead, I won’t know anything. I won’t have to suffer like this anymore.’

But Ye Zhiyao never expected that what would come for her first wasn’t the end of the Thousand World Tribulation, but a bolt of lightning that descended from the heavens, shattering the entire world to pieces!

Lu Sangjiu’s eyes snapped open. A flood of countless memories rushed into her mind, threatening to make her head explode.

She had no time to sort through the chaotic memories, however. The roar of thunder in her ears and the searing pain wracking her body told her one thing: she was in the middle of a Heavenly Tribulation!

Before she could even begin to process the situation, the next tribulation bolt came crashing down!

’This intensity... Something’s not right. Is the Divinity Transformation Stage’s Heavenly Tribulation supposed to be this powerful? It’s almost as strong as the one I faced with Duoduo and that Female Cultivator from the Upper Realm!’

’Wait... facing a tribulation together?’

In that instant, Lu Sangjiu remembered Ye Zhiyao.

’That’s right, Ye Zhiyao pulled me into that Immortal Artifact, so now...’

Her gaze swept the area, and sure enough, amid the blinding flashes of lightning, she saw another figure!

...Ye Zhiyao!

The moment she saw Ye Zhiyao, Lu Sangjiu felt a strong urge to curse. ’Someone has to be targeting me, right?’

’How else could I end up facing a Heavenly Tribulation with an Integration Stage Cultivator for the second time in a row? Are they not going to stop until I’m dead?!’

Still, Ye Zhiyao’s presence wasn’t entirely surprising to Lu Sangjiu.

Perhaps from the day she was reborn, her fate and Ye Zhiyao’s were destined to be intertwined.

No one else could interfere. It was a final reckoning destined to be settled between the two of them alone.

A Heavenly Tribulation of this intensity was an immense challenge for Lu Sangjiu.

Fortunately, both Xie Ningyuan and Cangming were dependable. The moment they sensed the Heavenly Tribulation truly descending, they cut off the power they were sending her.

Otherwise, the Heavenly Tribulation would have judged them as two additional participants, and Lu Sangjiu would have been obliterated without a trace.

Even as it was, Lu Sangjiu was in immense pain.

She used every technique at her disposal to resist the Heavenly Tribulation, but it wasn’t long before she was covered in wounds.

But just then, something completely unexpected happened. Ye Zhiyao, who could barely fend for herself, suddenly went berserk and launched an attack on her!

Fortunately, Lu Sangjiu had spotted her earlier and was somewhat on guard, allowing her to dodge the surprise attack just in time.

"What are you doing?!"

Lu Sangjiu was cursing up a storm internally. Fighting the Heavenly Tribulation was hard enough, and now she had to deal with Ye Zhiyao’s meddling.

’Is she really not going to be satisfied until she drags me down to Hell with her?!’

Now that Ye Zhiyao was closer, Lu Sangjiu got a clear look at her.

’Well... she looks pretty wretched.’

Although Ye Zhiyao was in the Body Integration Realm, her cultivation had been artificially inflated.

First, she’d relied on dual cultivation to increase her cultivation, then on absorbing and devouring the Nascent Soul of the Seven Emotions Sect’s old ancestor.

This had all been accomplished in a short amount of time, and unlike the more experienced Lu Sangjiu, her cultivation was actually quite unstable.

On top of that, her mental state had shattered during the Thousand Leaf Bodhi Tribulation, leaving her in even worse shape.

As a result, all her weaknesses were now on full display amidst the Heavenly Tribulation.

When it came to withstanding such a high-intensity Heavenly Tribulation, she was even struggling more than Lu Sangjiu, who was only at the Nascent Soul Stage.

So at this moment, she was an utterly wretched sight, her face and body a mess of scorched black marks and fresh blood.

Yet her expression showed no weakness. On the contrary, it was utterly savage.

As if possessed, she stared fixedly at Lu Sangjiu. "Die! Just die!"

"I finally escaped that hellhole! I refuse to believe I still can’t kill you!"

Lu Sangjiu was speechless.

’Looks like she’s completely lost her mind.’

But Lu Sangjiu felt no pity for her.

While the Pseudo Heavenly Dao was certainly a factor in her reaching this point, Ye Zhiyao had ultimately brought this upon herself.

Gu Jue’s fate had also been manipulated, yet he’d managed to break free from his shackles. She, on the other hand, had chosen to wallow in her misery. Who else was there to blame?

’Since she’s so insistent on fighting me right now, then... let’s fight!’

’If I can actually kill Ye Zhiyao now, the intensity of my Heavenly Tribulation will automatically decrease. Getting through it would be a breeze.’

She glanced at the next tribulation bolt brewing in the sky. This would be the fifth one.

’As things stand, I can probably withstand two more bolts. If I can kill Ye Zhiyao before they fall, I’ll have this Divinity Transformation Thunder Tribulation in the bag!’