Chapter 185
Heavenly Tribulation
In the middle of the Untouchable Marshes, some effort had been made to clear a space more conducive for training. Today, grinding and polishing were the words. Dark Elves in their black clothes were punching the air with both legs in horse stance. They had been doing this for two hours. The third set of training since dawn.
“One!” Lihua shouted, followed by shouts of effort by her students. “Two!”
In her hand was a piece of stick, which she used to hit and fix their postures.
She spotted a Dark Elf that had begun to surrender to the temptation of sleep, and hit her on the back. “Arms up! Buttocks clenched! Eyes straight! One! Two!”
The poor Dark elf immediately turned alert and continued her set.
This was not an isolated case. Most of the Dark Elves were experiencing this. Exhaustion and lack of sleep had made them unable to do anything other than follow the training regimen prepared by the Madame blindly. Even thinking had become a chore.
Which was the very thing the Madame was aiming for. She had plans. Oh yes. She had plans.
The Dark Elves were gifted in many ways. Excellent materials that she could mould into something greater than the sum of the parts. She also knew of the awkwardness that her Mistress’s main lover had with them. But Lihua was – in all sense of the word - a woman who had lived in turbulent times, where friends can become enemies; and vice versa.
Well, this one suppose that this one could have a talk with the Mistress. See if this one can convince her to let this one to go further with -
Suddenly, the sound of thunder overhead interrupted her thoughts.
Not long after, Akula and Illumca came over to the training field. They had just finished sparring to break the monotony of their current life when they saw the dark clouds in the sky. Just from one look, they could see that they were unnatural. The cloud was swirling and twisting around a central point.
“There was no sign of rain in the sky the whole day, and suddenly thunderclouds?!” Akula said. “This is an evil portend!”
“Not just that, the Mana in this area is in chaos,” Illumca added. Her sensitivity to mana was usually a boon. But at this time, that very trait made her feel like she was standing on a rickety ship on a turbulent sea.
This were also happening to the other Dark Elves, who were moaning and puking. Arryn, who was sweating like a pig nearby, signed to her. The mana, disturbed. Make head hurt.
While she was training with the other Dark Elves, Illumca learned the basic of their sign language. Just enough to communicate properly.
More and more clouds joined the conglomeration until they became a few times bigger than Greyvault. Within the span of a few minutes, the light of day turned to dusky grey. Lightning crackled, flashes of lightning slithering in the clouds like snakes. The sound of thunder layered upon each other like the sound of a mighty army marching across the battlefield.
Out of the blue, a powerful lightning crashed into the direction of the Dungeon. Followed by another and another. The second one came within a few seconds of the first one, while the third one came a few minutes after that.
“Did you see that?! The lightning’s striking at the same spot three times!” Akula shouted. “That’s not normal!”
“Uh, Madame? Your body…is glowing…!” Illumca said when she noticed what was happening to Lihua.
The Contracted Beast lost her train of thought when she heard her. “This…the Stage Suppression is loosening? Then could that lightning be…a Heavenly Tribulation Lightning?!” Lihua cried out loud. Her initial joy of returning to her former stage turned into worry. “How is this possible? This is a different world, running under a different Law!”
If this was any other time, the Queen of Frozen Cave would have pondered this for longer. However, this was not the time for philosophies. “The Mistress! We need to go to her!”
“You two!” the woman pointed at Akula and Illumca. “Follow this one to the Dungeon! The rest of you, stay put and try to regulate your Energy flow as this one had taught you, it will lessen the nausea!”
“W-what’s happening? Is Connie in danger?” Illumca asked as she dashed to follow Lihua.
“This one doesn’t know. Heavenly Tribulation is something that happens when a person is breaking through to the next Cultivation realm. This is a way for the Heavens to punish us Cultivators. As we are breaking the Law of Nature.”
They spoke as they ran towards the Gate Rune.
“This is another world with different Gods and different Laws. And yet a Heavenly Tribulation still happened,” she bit her lips in impatience as she looked at the direction of the darkening sky. “What concerns this one the most is the size of the clouds. It’s bigger than anything this one has ever seen. Perhaps this is connected to the method the Mistress is using. Things regarding breaching the Law of Death and Rebirth has always been a taboo in many cultures.”
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Using the Gate Rune, the three of them were transported to the Fifth Floor. There, they were greeted by a thick, cloying stench of flowers and insects. Fragrant while at the same time laced with a hint of ammonia.
When they got to what used to be Bet-Zebek’s chamber, they found that the stone door had been blasted apart. By how the pieces of it were spread around the entrance, they could surmise that it had been blown open from inside the chamber.
“How in Sud-Ghazid?”
From the dimly lit chamber, purple mist flowed freely, its tendrils caressing their feet.
When Illumca stepped forward to enter the chamber, she stepped back in surprise as she saw some things – a lot of things – hiding in the mist. “What the -?!”
Centipedes and poisonous insects crawled out from the mist. Instinctively, Akula pulled Illumca back and stepped on them. However, the insects vanished with a poof when her hoof touched it.
“They’re not real insects,” the more experienced Lihua said. “This is a form of illusion created from Killing Intent. Eat your Antidotes, and be prepared for anything.”
Behind the stone door, they found that the floor too, had crumbled from a great impact. “This…this is crazy. The lightning broke through five Dungeon floors?” Lihua mouthed. Many Cultivators of the past had utilized many protective Artifacts to help during their breakthroughs. But a Tribulation that could break through Dungeon floors was a first.
Lihua brought Illumca down into the misty hall beneath. Akula followed from behind, spotting the top of a broken pillar and used it as a stepping stone to land safely on the ground below.
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“I can’t see anything,” Akula complained. Out of the two, only she could not see without light.
“Fireball.” Illumca called out and held the butterfly shaped flame aloft to accommodate her.
When the Centaur laid eyes on the giant cocoon, she murmured under her breath. “Hurgul’s beard…”
“Yao-er, Chen…” Illumca called upon the Contracted Beasts. When they spotted her, the two of them came to her and nuzzled her legs lovingly.
“Madame, is that…Connie?” Illumca asked. She knew the answer, but could not help but ask for affirmation as she found the scene incredibly foreign. Lihua nodded as an affirmation.
“That…is much bigger than the one I was in.”
They saw phantom images of a large horned snake and a centipede coiled around the cocoon. The former’s tongue lapping the air. The stone floors around the giant cocoon were black.
“It looked burnt,” Akula said upon laying eyes on the charred spots. “She’s inside there? How is she breathing?! Are we sure Connie is really a human at this point?” Akula tried to joke to alleviate her nervousness. “She seemed more and more like a Beastfolk to me.”
“Hush, do you feel that?” Lihua put one finger on her lips.
Suddenly, The Dark Elf smelled the air burning and the ground rumbling beneath them.
“W-what is this?”
“Heavenly Tribulation! It’s not finished yet!!” The knowledgeable Lihua said out loud. “Step back or you’ll be involved!”
A lightning so thick it looked more like a pillar of light stroke down with vengeance towards the cocoon.
The snake and the centipede roared and soared up to meet the lightning head on. The impact let out a deafening sound that made their ears ring. After a fierce back and forth, the two phantom images vanished into thin air and the pillar of lightning disappeared.
Mesmerized by the miraculous scene that she had just experienced, Akula light-headedly asked. “Is…is it over…?”
No sooner than the end of the Centaur’s sentence, a deep foreboding came over Illumca’s heart. The mana flow was going crazy.
“No…another one is coming,” Lihua felt her heart sink. “And this one will be much stronger than the last one!”
“We have to do something!”
“No. The Heavenly Tribulation is to be overcome by one’s own might. Using Artifacts and protective amulets are fine. But if one is protected by another, the tribulation will become more dangerous,” The white-robed lady explained in distress. “For the Path is lonely.”
“But she’s going to die if this continues!”
“And if you try anything, the Mistress will really die. If this is just a normal Tribulation, perhaps we could have done something. But this…this is something beyond even this one’s knowledge,” Lihua said. “The only thing we can do is hope that the Mistress can get through this safely.”
In a split second, a tricolored lightning crashed towards the cocoon.
At the same time, two hands covered in gooey green goop broke through the cocoon, right palm overlapping the left; out-thrust in defiance of heaven’s fury.
A faint image of a mighty immovable mountain appeared and faced the lighting head on.
This was Lifting Mountain, Stilling Sea. Numbered fifth of the Denying the Nine Heavens Technique.
Upon impact, everyone except for Lihua coughed up blood. It felt like the inside of their stomach was fighting to exit through their mouths. In an instant, Lihua slapped on Akula’s back.
“Illumca! Focus on your flow of Energy. Do not let it flow in reverse or you’ll get hurt!!”
The power contained within the fulmination was so great that all those who saw it had their breaths taken away. This was no mere lightning; this was a warning. A warning towards the one who dared to go against the Law of Death and Rebirth.
“Mydirr’s Spear of Judgment,” Akula spoke, her voice trembling with childhood fear.
Mydirr’s Spear of Judgment. A fearsome natural phenomenon that happened very rarely in the Grasslands and the Dwarves’ Mountains. Each occurrence would be followed by a tribute of meat and wine to Mydirr for fear of his might. The name came from the three-pronged spear that the God of Thunder wielded.
This was something Akula had seen once when she was but a foal, too naughty to be controlled. It was when she ran away from home after being punished for beating up other children. During her escapade, she saw a great and mighty Khanugi, an Elk-shaped Monster with horns of iron and hooves of steel that could decimate a whole hunting party of veterans, stricken down by the tricolored lightning. That one strike was enough to burn the mighty monster into charcoal.
She was found later, sobbing and crying in cave dug into a mound. After that, she refused to come out of her tent for weeks, afraid that Mydirr would punish her for being naughty. It was only later after her grandmother coax her into coming out that she knew of the legend and the name.
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The Lightning seemed intent to burn whatever heretic dared to defy the Heavens and grew even stronger.
At this time, the cocoon burst open and out came Connie, her serpentine eyes full of indignation and spirit. The surface of her skin was being burned away by the heat and then healed within seconds.
“Incredible!” Lihua said with surprise. “Is she using the Tribulation Lightning to forge her newly born flesh and bones?”
When she could not bear it anymore, Connie shifted her hand position, pressing palms and finger together as if praying.
“HAAA!!!” With a powerful shout, Connie thrust her hand towards the sky.
A giant skeletal torso came into being. Upon its chest was the image of woman made of bronze, with her head bowed down as if in mourning; her hands covering her face. From between her bronze fingers, tears of poison fell.
Thick plum branches grew along the skeletal right arm, culminating to a beautiful tree of plum blossoms on its right shoulder. As the right arms moved, the blossoms shed their ethereal petals.
The rest of the phantom’s body were blurry and incomplete.
“A Dao Avatar…!” Lihua cried out loud.
Within its hand was a giant ancient sword that was bonded to its fingers by plum branches. With a powerful wind up, it swung the sword towards the sky. The slash rose through the tricolored lightning.
Outside, the Dark Elves staying in the camp saw the fearsome lightning being split halfway up before exploding with a thunderous sound, their jaws slackening from the unbelievable scene. The power of the impact broke through the clouds and scattered them. The light of the sun returned and once again its warmth shone over the lands of Untouchable Marshes.
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“Hehehehe…hahahaha…HAHAHAHA!!!” Connie let out a joyful laugh as she gazed at the heavens, her body still sizzling and smoking from her bout against the effort of the Heavens to erase her from existence. The phantom image of the skeletal arm behind her dispersed into mist.
Her burst of power disappeared and she was almost fully spent, but her elation trumped her tiredness.
“Finally, finally, I have achieved Punarmtryu! Behold, O heavens! Behold!! My rebirth! HAHAHAHA!!!”
Connie lightly floated from above like an immortal descending to earth; a chilling smile upon her face. A cruel and haughty one.
There was sharpness in her gaze. Like a sword, bared in defiance of the Heavens. A sword made of delusion, attachment, and aversion. Clad in gold incorruptible. Her skin, white and milky as a polished nephrite jade. Her hair, glittering like the sins of angels.
Her shell of innocence had been shed, and replaced by the mature depth of one who had experienced life and death.
“Congratulations, Mistress,” Lihua congratulated her with a heartfelt kowtow. “With your ascension to Treading Earth, this one could not be any happier!”
Contrary to the more level-headed Madame, the other two were still processing what had just happened.
“I’m back, everyone. Better than ever!” the earlier sense of majesty disappeared, replaced by a warm-hearted smile that disarmed them.
Illumca was relieved, and happy, and worried, all at the same time. She had half a mind to get angry, with choice words to throw at her, but seeing her well and good, she just lost the drive.
“You…got taller,” the Dark Elf stuttered, unable to put her current feelings into word.
Illumca saw that the last vestiges of Connie’s past innocent appearance had been shaved off, as her jawline had become more pronounced. Just like her personality, proud and unabashed.
Her breasts had grown to a modest size, enough to accentuate her womanliness. However, her manly gesture still gave her the reassurance that she was still the person she fell in love with.
“I did, didn’t I?” Connie replied.
“I…uh,” Akula’s eyes looked around. When she saw Connie’s clothes on the ground, she quickly handed it over to Connie. “Your clothes!”
“Thanks,” Connie replied with a smile. Somehow that smile managed to make Akula’s heart jump. A mighty blush came over her face. W-what’s going on with me?
“Ehem, Mistress, perhaps you should rein in your Energy. These children are not used to experiencing the alluring effect of a successful ascension.”
“Oh, yes. That’s my fault. I forgot.”
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When she put on her clothes, Connie realized that they were now too short by a few centimetres. I need to get some new wardrobes.
“So, what did I miss?” Connie asked after she was properly dressed. Yao-Er and Chen jumped onto her happily.
Lihua reported everything concisely and precisely to Connie. Who nodded and wrinkled her brows at times. “You’ve all done a great job. Now…why the long face, Akula?”
“I…still can’t believe you just…cleaved through Mydirr’s Spear of Judgment,” Akula said, still in disbelief. “How am I supposed to protect someone who is stronger than me?”
“You just need to train more. You are still too brash and impatient,” Lihua commented. “And so do you, Illumca. You need to be able to get to the Dagger Comprehending first if you want to accomplish more with the Phantom Monarch Butterfly Art.”
“Alright, alright, Lihua. Training is all well and good. But I think practical application is also important. In fact, let’s do it now. I need to get used to this reborn body.”
“What do you mean, Connie?” Illumca asked.
“What I mean is, let’s get this Dungeon down to its metaphorical knees. Make it know that there’s a new boss in town,” the golden-haired teenager smirked. “Two birds with one stone.”