Chapter 431: Divinity Transformation

Beneath the Heavenly Tribulation, after Ye Zhiyao’s life force had completely dissipated, only Lu Sangjiu remained to face it.

The next brewing bolt of the Heavenly Tribulation quickly subsided, returning to its proper intensity.

Sensing this, Lu Sangjiu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She immediately stuffed a few Elixir Pills into her mouth and sat down cross-legged.

With a top-grade spiritual stone in one hand and a Top-grade Demon Essence Stone in the other, she began frantically absorbing their energy to recover before the next bolt of the Heavenly Tribulation could strike.

In the distance, Xie Ningyuan, who had also sensed the decrease in the Heavenly Tribulation’s intensity, breathed a sigh of relief and waited calmly for her to complete her Tribulation Crossing.

Although Lu Sangjiu was injured, she endured the next few bolts of the Heavenly Tribulation with ease.

This time, she didn’t encounter the Pseudo Heavenly Dao again and advanced smoothly to the Divinity Transformation Stage.

As the Heavenly Tribulation dissipated, Xie Ningyuan immediately rushed to her side.

"Are you alright?"

Lu Sangjiu shook her head. Her previous injuries had mostly healed during her advancement, and she was no longer in serious danger.

Before she could ask Xie Ningyuan anything, her gaze fell upon Ye Zhiyao’s body not far away.

Even though she was dead, as a Body Integration Realm Cultivator, her body had remained intact through the last few Heavenly Tribulation bolts, which were at the normal intensity for the Divinity Transformation Stage.

Lu Sangjiu could clearly sense that the body no longer had any fluctuations of life. She was truly dead.

After fighting Ye Zhiyao for so long, she was finally dead. Lu Sangjiu’s feelings on the matter were complicated.

After staring for a long moment, she reached out, taking Ye Zhiyao’s storage bag and her Flying Sword, which was a Top-grade Treasure. Then, with another wave of her hand, a cloud of dust swirled toward the corpse, quickly burying it completely.

With Bai Heng dead, it seemed there was no one left in the world who truly cared whether Ye Zhiyao lived or died.

’She’s dead, and that’s that. No one will make a special trip to collect her body, so it’s best to just bury her on the spot.’

Lu Sangjiu then opened her storage bag to inspect it. There was a surprising amount of Spirit Stones and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures inside, but that wasn’t what she was concerned with at the moment.

She rummaged through it and finally pulled out an odd-looking Jade Scroll. After sensing it for a moment, she said, "This... seems to be some kind of communication device. Could it be from He Guang?"

Since Ye Zhiyao had dealings with He Guang, there might be a clue to finding him. That was why Lu Sangjiu had specifically searched her storage bag.

Just as Xie Ningyuan reached out to take a look, the Jade Scroll suddenly shattered into countless fragments. A gust of wind blew them away.

Lu Sangjiu frowned. "What the...?"

Xie Ningyuan sighed. "It seems some kind of Magic Spell was placed on it beforehand. It was designed to self-destruct when its owner died."

Lu Sangjiu was instantly disappointed. "So much for any other useful clues."

Only after all this did she remember to ask Xie Ningyuan what had happened.

Xie Ningyuan briefly explained what had happened after she entered the Thousand Leaf Bodhi Tribulation, giving Lu Sangjiu a general understanding of the situation.

"What about you? Did the Thousand World Tribulation affect your state of mind?"

This time, Lu Sangjiu hadn’t left the Thousand World Tribulation by passing the Heart Inquiry in the usual way, so Xie Ningyuan was worried that her mental state might have been disturbed by Ye Zhiyao.

Hearing this, Lu Sangjiu recalled everything she had experienced inside the Thousand World Tribulation and shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I’m fine."

"It’s just... I think I nearly drove Ye Zhiyao insane."

As she briefly recounted what happened, Xie Ningyuan found it rather amusing. "She brought that on herself."

Completely reassured, Xie Ningyuan began to ponder another question.

"Part of the reason you were able to break through to the next Realm in there was because I was sending you Spiritual Energy through the hairpin I gave you."

"But..." he said hesitantly, "you practice Immortal and Demon Dual Cultivation. To advance, wouldn’t your Demonic Qi also need to reach the same level?"

At the mention of this, Lu Sangjiu subconsciously raised a hand to her chest.

When she had regained consciousness, the Heavenly Tribulation had already started, and both Xie Ningyuan and Cangming had withdrawn their power, so Lu Sangjiu had been unaware of their help.

But hearing Xie Ningyuan’s words, her first thought was naturally the Gu that Cangming had planted inside her.

"Maybe... it was Cangming?"

Lu Sangjiu was almost certain of it. She couldn’t help but give a wry smile. "Would you call this a blessing in disguise?"

Xie Ningyuan had guessed as much, of course, so he wasn’t surprised to hear her say it.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Regardless, we should thank him this time."

If it hadn’t been for Cangming, Xie Ningyuan never would have been able to help Lu Sangjiu trigger the Heavenly Tribulation, no matter how hard he tried.

If she had been forced to face the final Heart Inquiry, no one could have been certain she would make it out.

The two had just finished speaking and hadn’t yet had a chance to discuss their next move when they suddenly felt the space around them twist. In the next instant, Cangming stepped out of a rift.

Seeing Cangming, Lu Sangjiu’s heart sank. ’This man... he really won’t give me an ounce of freedom, will he?’

’I was hoping I could use this time to check on Master and the others, and to let them know I’m safe.’

’But with Cangming here... there’s no doubt he’s come to take me away.’

Sure enough, Cangming looked Lu Sangjiu up and down, and after confirming she was unharmed, he said, "Since you’re out, come with me."

This was the condition they had agreed to, and besides, Cangming had just helped her. Lu Sangjiu had no grounds to object.

She glanced at Xie Ningyuan and whispered, "I’ll be waiting for you to come rescue me. Train hard."

Xie Ningyuan nodded. "I won’t keep you waiting long."

The fact that Cangming had helped Lu Sangjiu this time reassured Xie Ningyuan somewhat.

’At least,’ he thought, ’it shows that for now, he won’t just stand by and watch Lu Sangjiu die.’

’He Guang must hate us for ruining his plans. If he gets the chance, he’ll definitely try to kill us.’

’He was still at the Body Integration Realm. He could handle Wudao alone, but what if the enemy had more than one Body Integration cultivator? If they were to swarm him, he worried he wouldn’t be able to fully protect her.’

’So, when he thought about it that way, her returning to the Cold Crow Sect with Cangming might not be such a bad thing after all.’

With that thought, Xie Ningyuan’s mood was not quite as heavy. Watching Lu Sangjiu walk toward Cangming, he shifted his gaze to the other man.

"Thank you for your help. Since you’re taking her with you, I trust you will ensure her safety."

"One day, I will come to your door personally to take her home."

In response to Xie Ningyuan’s blunt declaration, Cangming merely glanced at him, showing no anger. He simply quirked his lips and said, "If you have the skill, I’ll be waiting."

With that, he pulled Lu Sangjiu along and stepped into the spatial rift, vanishing from sight.

In front of Xie Ningyuan, Cangming had maintained the aloof air of a superior master.

But the moment they returned to the Cold Crow Sect, just as he stepped through the gate, he could no longer hold back and violently spat out a mouthful of blood!

Lu Sangjiu jumped in fright and asked in confusion, "What’s wrong with you?"