As soon as Xue Yueliang stepped into the next room, she saw a long passageway leading to another door. The corridor was bare but spacious, and it only had some oddly flickering lights that lined the walls. There was nothing worthy of note other than the colour of the ground. It was a reddish shade of black, with many footsteps having stepped on it before. It appeared like dried blood and caused Xue Yueliang to increase her guard. She took a deep breath; before firmly stepping forward.
Shortly after taking that first step, Xue Yueliang's body couldn't help but bend down, she felt as if she was under a giant mountain, trying to put her on the same level as the ground regardless of whether or not that killed her. Though this pressure was extreme, she believed that she would be able to handle it, regardless of the pain it caused her.
Xue Yueliang fixed her posture and took another step. She made sure to circulate her inner Qi to protect her organs and fortify her bones. Although she could have also used her spiritual powers to protect her external body, she did not know how long this pressure would last.
Her main concern was that she was still a Qi refinement cultivator, and she felt it was best to be cautious and not overspend her Qi. When Xue Yueliang was halfway, she felt her vision turn black and began swaying unstably. Many parts of her skin had exploded underneath this monstrous pressure.
This added another coat of red to dye the floor of this hallway as she shakily walked on. Though her blood loss made it hard to see, she did not stop. She took out a healing pill, the Blood Recovery Pill, swallowing it, which allowed for the injuries on her body to heal and her blood to recover.
Which returned to her, her sight. Sadly for her, as soon she was three-quarters done, the pressure quadrupled, not allowing her to move any further.
"I, Xue Yueliang, will not be harmed by some invisible force." She roared as she reaffirmed her will between her gritted teeth. Her eyes had no more resemblance to that of a human's, appearing more like a mad beast's.
At that moment, she felt her spiritual Qi turn berserk and began to frenziedly attack the last barrier between her and Foundation Establishment. But as the energy was frantic, it damaged her meridians, and it would cause her losses if she let it work alone. Xue Yueliang carefully sat down and began to calm and circulate her spiritual Qi.
Though cultivating in a place where she could not withstand the pressure was not the brightest idea, she did not have a choice. There was a high chance of her dying before she exited the hallway if she ignored the crazed Qi.
She swallowed a Foundation Establishment Pill and distributed its medical energy to her meridians before leading it into her dantian.
The pill calmed Xue Yueliang's Qi, and it began an organised attack on the last barrier, causing it to thin and dim - she was close to breaking through. Xue Yueliang clenched her teeth as the pressure outside had never let down, harming her body even as she tried to break through.
Thankfully, the pill healed the injuries as soon they appeared, but that meant it would be less helpful when she faced her tribulation. Her body used the pressure it was under as a catalyst to increase her strength. Her physique, cultivation and even soul transformed into something beyond mortal capabilities.
She became a being on the path to immortality. She was much more powerful, more durable and much faster than before.
Xue Yueliang kept her attention on her dantian and saw her streams of spiritual Qi beginning to freeze and solidify. It slowly formed her foundation and gave her capabilities beyond what she could have imagined. As it froze, the pill helped refine her platform, ridding it of any impurities and making it appear like it was made of pure gold.
Though this process happened quickly in Xue Yueliang's mind, it had taken her over two years. Her eyes still frowned in concentration as the pill's effects slowly faded away.
The foundation establishment stage was divided into nine stages, each making a new platform, and its colour indicated its grade. There were five levels of classification; red, green, blue, gold and finally purple. A purple platform had not been seen in the past hundred thousand years, and its entire existence was seen as nothing more than a myth.
Xue Yueliang did not believe that she a rare genius once in a hundred thousand years genius but was still slightly disappointed to see that her dantian didn't even have the slightest sign of purple. She sighed and began to look up, though she had reached the foundation establishment, whether she could stay in her realm or turn into a pile of ash depending on what happened next.
"Crackle!" Lightning sounded from the previously clear skies, heading right into Xue Yueliang. The lightning struck her, further damaging her already ruined clothes.
Xue Yueliang looked at the sky from the hole that appeared on the roof and smiled at the heavenly tribulation, "Come on, then."
She grinned and rode her sword to the sky. The lightning furiously landed on her body again but could not cause any actual harm to her body. It felt slightly comfortable compared to the torture she had been under in the past two years. After tempering her body, her physical body had reached a level beyond other Foundation Establishment cultivators.
She could even stand toe to toe with body cultivators, even when comparing physical prowess alone. This level of lightning could not cause any real damage to her.
Xue Yueliang stood there, waiting until the lightning had struck her seven more times, making a total of nine and began to finally relax. She thought that her tribulation was finally over. However, the clouds that covered the sky had turned red instead of dissipating, which shocked her. From what she knew, this phenomenon only happened when demonic cultivators tried to transcend tribulation. But she had not done enough to be considered an evil practitioner. While she was still in shock, she noticed multiple people emerge from the castle. They stood a safe distance from her and stared at the sky in awe. This level of tribulation was enough to heavily injure a Golden Core practitioner.
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"Who knew you would be so evil that even the heavens wish to smite you down!" Her brother yelled, trying to distract her, but the current Xue Yueliang was incapable of that. She stared heavily at the clouds that were preparing for a lightning strike but could not think of a way to survive.
Qin Yundi had a playful glint in his eyes and was more than ready to watch her suffer. The sadistic cultivator said his thoughts out for him, "This would be a good show to watch," he smiled viciously. In his mind, her dying for his entertainment was the reason for her entire existence. The only person left who did not say anything was the princess.
She maintained a neutral expression and looked on. She knew nothing of what Xue Yueliang did to deserve this but the heavens would not punish people indiscriminately. Regardless of how she felt, she could not participate in the heavenly tribulation because that would only confirm her death.
Xue Yueliang did not know any defensive techniques, so even as she readied herself for the lightning bolt, she did not have much of an idea of what to do. She had no choice but to rely on the only technique she knew - the Wind Blade technique - and use it to create as many barriers between her and the bolt as possible.
She performed multiple Wind Blade barriers around herself, hoping to slow down or maybe even stop the lightning bolt from attacking her. The blood lightning struck against her and destroyed multiple of her barriers in succession. Xue Yueliang, however, did not lose hope and continued to create more barriers. At this point, she knew she could not defend against it no matter what she did. She instead opted to weaken its strength so that when it inevitably struck her, she could withstand it. Like that, a comical sight appeared in the sky.
From afar, it appeared as if a small red dot was running away from a red line, and they released red shockwaves as they chased each other around the sky of the mystical realm. Needless to say, this was nothing funny to the red dot involved - the bloody Xue Yueliang.
Even though she performed many Wind Blade barriers and absorbed spiritual Qi from her surroundings to replenish herself, her rate of exhaustion was much higher than the lightning bolt. By the time, it took three incense sticks to burn, Xue Yueliang was unable to hold on longer and was struck down by the heavenly lightning. Xue Yueliang fell into the ruins below her like a kite with its string cut; she frailly fell without any resistance or preparations to soften her fall.
Her body sizzled and crackled with lightning and made it appear to others that she had died without the tiniest bit of doubt. In the eyes of her observers, this marked the finale of this show, as well as the ending of Xue Yueliang's life. Two peals of laughter and a sigh were simultaneously heard as the trio headed back into the castle, hoping to complete this inheritance.
As far as this inheritance went, it exceeded their expectations as its trials were almost impossible to surpass. Even after two years, they felt that they were only closer, but not all the way there, and most of their companions had given up, leaving a winner to be chosen amongst the three of them.
Out of the three, the sadistic cultivator, Sha Ren, had the best chance of succeeding in this legacy, as it fit his character most. Of course, Yao Niang had no intention of letting that happen, as although the Sha Clan was currently loyal to the crown, they were known for their treacherous nature, and if they had the chance, they would rebel.
The only reason the royal family allowed them to live was that they were one of the kingdom's top clans - along with the Lei and Qin Clans - and their death would deal a blow to the Qinxia Kingdom's overall strength. Their bloodthirsty nature also made them a perfect candidate to send out in times of war and strike fear into their enemies hearts.
Letting him inherit this path was like giving an enemy tiger wings, an extremely foolish thing to do.
Qin Yundi agreed with her, except his reasoning was that the power naturally belonged to him. The three of them had already passed the initial trials, and all that awaited them was mastering the technique left on the wall, and the one who masters it first would inherit the path of murder from the expert. It was also why they were so leisurely and left to see some of the entertainment. This last step relied on inspiration and it was nothing they could force.
Yao Niang led the group as they headed back to the secret chamber; she gently placed her hands on the murals on the wall and traced them with her fingers. The drawing was of an ancient monster. It was an emancipated being, with silvery skin that was unable to hide its protruding bones. It carried a man between its claw-like hands, breaking him in half and drinking his blood. The crazed look in its eyes showed that no matter how much blood it drank; it would not be satisfied as it was destined to feel a never-ending hunger.
The many broken corpses surrounding it proved this conjecture to be accurate. In contrast to this aberration, the figure of a man stood there, his messy red hair and amber eyes somehow gave off a feeling of serenity and peace. He held a flute in his hands, seemingly using it to fight the horrific being. The coldness in his eyes showed he had no regard for the people that surrounded him.
Next to this drawing, there were characters in an ancient language lost to time, and perhaps it was the key to understanding this puzzle, but there was no way to know. Yao Niang sunk her divine sense into the painting, arriving into the world of the mural.
Gods and demons clashed, leaving humanity to run and hide, their pain and loss heard but ignored. The sky was ripped asunder, the earth was flipped, the oceans raged, and forests burned. It was an apocalyptic sight, something beyond what people could comprehend, and she was only there for a few breaths before being forcefully pushed out.
She vomited out a mouthful of blood, her face paled, and her strength was weakened. She carefully stepped back and found a corner to sit, recuperating her strength and allowing the others to try and comprehend the painting. This was how it had been since they passed the last two tests, and they were beginning to feel that it was an impossible venture, but they still persevered. Every time they were pushed back, they felt their divine sense strengthen, causing them to be unwilling to leave.
As Yao Niang recuperated, she couldn't help but recall the sight of Xue Yueliang fighting the heavens. She felt that if she could understand her emotions at that moment, it would help her break through this bottleneck. She summarised all she knew about Xue Yueliang.
She broke through the shackles of her family, stepped into the cultivation path and finally broke into the Foundation Establishment Realm - all of this while still only fifteen. Though she had lived two years longer than her, she found it hard to understand her emotions.
She seemed neither angry nor heartbroken, only releasing unending confidence and determination.
Never retreating.
Yao Niang felt at a loss and decided to focus on something else as she could not get her answer.