Volume 5, Chapter 310 – Heavenly Tribulation

Qi Huang was no fool, so she noticed the anomaly immediately. However, given the chaotic times, where yin energy flourished and yang energy waned, abnormal weather was hardly unusual. The only inexplicable thing was that inexplicable, oppressive pressure.

“What terrifying pressure!”

At that moment, Yaoyao also sensed something amiss and couldn’t help but speak up.

“Where is this pressure coming from? Could an enemy be approaching?”

The thought instantly put Qi Huang on high alert. Her divine sense had already reached the late-stage Divine Realm, yet even she felt waves of unease. If this pressure truly came from a person, then their strength must far surpass the Divine Realm.

“Could those imperial consorts have actually summoned a Heavenly Tribulation Realm expert to deal with me?”

Her expression darkened as she muttered to herself. At the same time, she unleashed her divine sense, meticulously scanning every inch of land within dozens of miles. Yet, she found nothing.

“Did you detect any enemies?”

Suspecting that the opponent might be concealing their aura, perhaps like Thousand Shadows, who wore garments crafted from the fur of Nine Nether Demon Cats, Qi Huang turned to Yaoyao for confirmation.

“No! The only hidden expert nearby is Thousand Shadows. He has neither the reason nor the capability to emit such overwhelming pressure.”

Yaoyao’s reply was grave.

“How strange… Then where is this pressure coming from?”

Qi Huang was utterly baffled.

As time passed, the dark clouds above grew thicker, densely packed together, blotting out the sky until not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate. The thunder grew louder, the lightning within roaring like a ravenous beast, eager to devour its prey.

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The small town was plunged into complete darkness. In broad daylight, it became so pitch-black that one couldn’t even see their own hand. Panic spread among the residents as people rushed into their homes, lighting candles and refusing to step outside. The cries of children echoed everywhere.

Simultaneously, the oppressive pressure in the world grew increasingly palpable. Ordinary people with weaker constitutions were the first to collapse, kneeling on the ground and trembling uncontrollably.

“S-Something’s not right! I… I feel s-scared.”

Yaoyao’s voice was stammering now.

“I… I feel it too. But w-what’s the source?”

Qi Huang’s voice shook as she responded. Despite her divine sense having reached the Divine Realm and having shed most of her fear, she still felt as vulnerable as a newborn baby, utterly devoid of security.

At that moment, Chief Steward Zhong, standing in front of the inn, suddenly paled.

“Damn it! Could it be…?”

“C-Chief Steward Zhong… C-could it be what?”

A middle-aged man dressed as a military officer—Feng Hui, the Left Martial Guard of the Imperial Army, commanding three hundred soldiers and the main force of the imperial consort escort—asked with trembling lips.

“Heavenly Tribulation! This situation resembles the legendary Heavenly Tribulation!”

Chief Steward Zhong’s expression was grim.

“What? Heavenly Tribulation? But our Western Radiance Dynasty has no Heavenly Tribulation Realm experts! Chief Steward Zhong, have you ever witnessed a Heavenly Tribulation?”

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Feng Hui found it hard to believe.

“How could I have seen one? I’ve only heard rumors. But we bear heavy responsibilities, better to err on the side of caution.”

After replying, Chief Steward Zhong raised his voice in the shrill tone unique to eunuchs:

“May I ask which esteemed senior is undergoing tribulation here? We are envoys of His Majesty the Emperor of the Western Radiance Dynasty, tasked with escorting the imperial consort into the palace. Any mishap would make our mission impossible to fulfill. We implore you, for the sake of the imperial family, to choose another auspicious site for your tribulation!”

“W-What? H-He said… Heavenly Tribulation? The kind only a Heavenly Tribulation Realm expert can summon?”

Qi Huang stuttered upon hearing Chief Steward Zhong’s words. As a late-stage Divine Realm expert, she had already researched the Heavenly Tribulation Realm. The so-called “Heavenly Punishment” consisted of two parts: “Heavenly Calamity” and “Mortal Misfortune”. Heavenly Calamity, also known as Heavenly Tribulation, manifested as divine thunder striking from the heavens.

“H-He did say that… B-But I’ve never seen a Heavenly Tribulation before.”

Yaoyao struggled to transmit her voice. Her current strength was only at the mid-stage Divine Realm, and her divine sense was now inferior to Qi Huang’s, making her more susceptible to the oppressive pressure.

“S-Still, I suggest you recall your doppelgänger immediately and flee!”

Qi Huang knew the wisdom of caution, so she prepared to summon Huang Ling back and escape. But what happened next made her hair stand on end, the world’s oppressive pressure had intensified so much in such a short time that it felt like killing intent, leaving her utterly disoriented. She couldn’t even release her Soul Tether, and she stumbled mid-air, nearly crashing to the ground.

“How is this possible? I’m a late-stage Divine Realm expert!”

She wailed inwardly in frustration.

Back at the inn, Chief Steward Zhong had fully realized the severity of the situation. He wanted to order his men to protect the imperial consort, but his subordinates were all kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. He was suddenly alone.

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“No! I must protect the imperial consort!”

Not daring to delay, he rushed toward the inn. But the oppressive pressure had now peaked. Despite his cultivation being equivalent to a Divine Realm cultivator, fear had completely scattered his focus. His limbs refused to obey, and he staggered like a toddler.

Then—

A brilliant azure bolt of lightning descended from the clouds, carrying the power to annihilate all creation. It pierced straight through the inn where Huang Ling was staying, lingering like an unyielding sword of destruction thrust between heaven and earth. Though its color was not vivid, its brilliance was enough to blind anyone who saw it.

Chief Steward Zhong stood frozen. Despite his formidable strength, his legs trembled violently, the lightning had struck just three meters in front of him, boring a bottomless black hole through the inn’s main hall. Had he been a step faster, not even a strand of his hair would have remained.

Having narrowly escaped death, his scalp tingled, and stars danced before his eyes. He collapsed to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

Then, as swiftly as it had come, the oppressive pressure receded like the tide.

Qi Huang, outside the town, seemed unharmed, but her face had turned deathly pale. That lightning had clearly targeted the inn where her doppelgänger was.

She immediately released her divine sense, only to see that the inn had been pierced clean through. The room where her doppelgänger had been was completely obliterated, leaving only Huang Ling’s trembling spirit floating in the air.

Fearing further disaster, Qi Huang immediately recalled Huang Ling into her spatial container.

Meanwhile, Chief Steward Zhong had regained his senses. Ignoring the inn’s precarious state, he rushed upstairs, only to find the imperial consort’s room completely erased.

“It’s over…”

His face was as pale as a corpse that had been dead for three days.

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Qi Huang sat dumbly on the ground for a long while before snapping back to reality. Looking around, she felt as if she had been reborn, as though an entire lifetime had passed.

She knew full well, if she hadn’t used the Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell technique beforehand and remained in that room, it wouldn’t have been Huang Ling’s spirit floating there now.

It would have been hers.

“Now I finally understand where that sense of impending danger came from. It wasn’t a person… It was The Heavenly Dao itself.”

The thought sent chills down her spine.

“Thank goodness you used Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell in advance. Otherwise, we’d both be doomed.”

Yaoyao’s voice trembled. Though she had no fleshly body, her form was condensed from yin energy. If struck by lightning, her strength would suffer greatly.

“Yeah. If I’d been hit, I wouldn’t have died completely, but my physical body would’ve been destroyed, and my seven corporeal souls would’ve been lost. I’d have had to return to my ‘mother’ for a fresh start.”

Qi Huang wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. The “mother” she referred to was, naturally, Cheng Hongling.

“What rotten luck! Who in that inn committed such heinous acts that they got struck by lightning, and dragged me into it?!”

Now that she had calmed down slightly, she couldn’t help but complain bitterly. After all, she had spent an entire night cultivating that doppelgänger, only for it to be reduced to nothing. The sheer waste made her chest ache.

“Hah! Maybe it was your misdeeds that brought disaster upon them!”

Yaoyao immediately retorted.