Chapter Sixteen: Return to the Great Xia

The Heart Demon Tribulation lasted an exceptionally long time, yet Patriarch Lü on the opposite mountaintop merely watched silently, remaining calm throughout.

Suddenly...

A sound resonated through heaven and earth—the voice of the cosmos itself, profound and enchanting, intoxicating all who heard it. As the 'celestial music' played, patches of multicolored auspicious clouds appeared in the sky, while golden lotuses surged from the earth. At the center of heaven and earth sat the black-robed girl cross-legged.

Yu Wei had opened her eyes. Deep love filled her gaze, and a smile graced her lips.

Torrents of heavenly-earthly power gathered around her, and her body radiated an aura of celestial immortality.

'Heaven sends down auspicious clouds, earth surges with golden lotuses,' said Patriarch Lü from afar, clapping lightly with a smile. 'Henceforth, you shall be free from the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. What a celestial immortal, what a celestial immortal!'

Yu Wei flew directly from afar to stand before Patriarch Lü.

'Good,' said Patriarch Lü, greatly satisfied. 'This tribulation is the greatest in immortal cultivation. Survive it, and you ascend in a single step. From then on, you shall share the lifespan of heaven.' Though heavenly calamities would no longer trouble her and her life would be truly endless, if she were slain by other powerful cultivators or gods and demons, that would be unavoidable.

Even true gods, patriarchs, and even Pangu himself had fallen.

'Without my master's guidance, I would surely have failed this heavenly tribulation,' said Yu Wei, kneeling and kowtowing respectfully in gratitude. Her past-life strength was formidable, but it could not withstand even the Six-Nine Thunder Tribulation, let alone the Seven-Nine. Her progress under Patriarch Lü's tutelage over the years had been truly astonishing.

Patriarch Lü nodded gently. When Yu Wei rose, he said, 'Yu Wei.'

Yu Wei was startled; Patriarch Lü rarely addressed her by name directly.

'There is something I have kept from you to avoid affecting your tribulation. Now is the time to tell you,' said Patriarch Lü.

'Master, what is it?' Yu Wei asked urgently, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart. To avoid affecting her tribulation? Her Dao-heart was immensely strong. What matter could Patriarch Lü fear would disrupt her tribulation? It must be something major, something that truly touched the depths of her heart.

'Is it about my junior apprentice brother, Ji Ning?' Yu Wei looked at Patriarch Lü. Her parents had died early; her only deep concern was her Dao companion, Ji Ning.

'Yes, it is Ji Ning,' Patriarch Lü nodded.

Yu Wei's expression changed slightly.

Patriarch Lü continued, 'Just as you were preparing to undergo your tribulation, the Xia Emperor of your Great Xia world informed me that Ji Ning fought a battle with the nine celestial immortals of the Shaoyin clan in the Chenyu Mountains. That battle had far-reaching consequences, even releasing some demons and gods imprisoned for endless ages. But primarily, it was a clash between Ji Ning and the celestial immortals of the Shaoyin clan. Two celestial immortals of the Shaoyin clan died: Golden Bell Celestial Immortal and Fire Mackerel Celestial Immortal. Ji Ning, protected by the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, was invulnerable to the Shaoyin clan's attacks, so they resorted to a trick, causing Ji Ning to mistakenly kill ten billion mortals.'

Yu Wei's face instantly turned deathly pale!

She had no time to be shocked that the Shaoyin clan had nine celestial immortals, that Ji Ning had killed two celestial immortals, or that Ji Ning possessed the Eight-Nine Arcane Art. In her mind, only one phrase echoed: 'mistakenly kill ten billion mortals.'

"Accidentally killing billions of mortals?" Yu Wei murmured to herself.

The Heavenly Dao is merciless.

It has its own judgment of sin and merit. Even if it was accidental, one must bear sufficient sin. The sin of killing so many mortals is terrifying to imagine.

"With such immense sin, the flames of karma descend," Lü Zu continued. "The Poisonous Ugly Immortal, the progenitor of the Shaoyan clan, used the innate spirit treasure 'World-Suppressing Pagoda' to send Ji Ning, who was engulfed in karmic flames, directly out of the Daxia world and into a dangerous forbidden land. Now seven days have passed, and Ji Ning has managed to withstand the karmic flames, but he has not been able to return to the Daxia world. He must be trapped in some dangerous forbidden land, unable to return."

Yu Wei's heart was in turmoil.

Hearing that Ji Ning had withstood the karmic flames, she breathed a sigh of relief, but hearing that he had not returned, she grew anxious again.

"Master, do you have any way?" Yu Wei pressed urgently.

"No way," Lü Zu shook his head. "The World-Suppressing Pagoda is an innate spirit treasure with unfathomable power. It can send someone to the endless void beyond the Three Realms. In that endless void, there are many forbidden lands, and many of them cannot be traversed using Great Teleportation. Some places are so dangerous that even I might die if I were trapped there. Ji Ning cannot return now, which means he is trapped somewhere. The longer it takes, the more dangerous it becomes. He might die at any moment."

Yu Wei's body trembled.

"I have no way, and neither do you," Lü Zu shook his head. "Some forbidden lands in the endless void are such that even True Gods and Dao Ancestors dare only to venture into them. But some forbidden lands are so vast that even if a Dao Ancestor personally explored them, it would take tens of thousands or even millions of years to search them thoroughly."

Like a realm of annihilation in the ancient ruins, it surrounded the entire ancient ruins. For the Dao Ancestor to search every part of it would indeed require an immensely long time.

"That, that..." Yu Wei found it hard to accept.

"Wait," said Patriarch Lü. "Ji Ning has cultivated the Eight Nine Mysteries; his master must be a Dao Ancestor. Only a Dao Ancestor would have a sliver of hope to find Ji Ning in the endless void. But how long it will take is unknown. I hope he can stay alive before his master finds him."

Yu Wei bit her lip.

"What do you plan to do now?" Patriarch Lü looked at Yu Wei.

"I want to return to the Grand Xia," Yu Wei said softly.

"Mm." Patriarch Lü nodded slightly.

...

In the Grand Xia world, above the city of Anchan, dark clouds churned, fierce winds howled, thunder and lightning slithered through the clouds, occasionally striking downward with constant rumbling, accompanied by torrential rain.

Amid the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain, a black-robed girl tore through the void and appeared above Anchan City.

"Junior apprentice-brother, I've returned, but why are you still not here?" The black-robed girl looked down at Anchan City below, feeling a pang of heartache. Her heart had been frozen in her past life, and after her parents died in this life, she had become even colder. Ji Ning was the only true concern in her heart. For him, she would do anything; even if it meant destroying heaven and earth, she would not hesitate.

Even the 'Heart Demon Tribulation' within the previous Heavenly Tribulation—Yu Wei had relied on her feelings and longing for Ji Ning to endure that lengthy tribulation, which also deepened her emotions for Ji Ning in her heart. During the Heart Demon Tribulation, she and Ji Ning had already spent three thousand years together.

"Whoosh."

Yu Wei flew downward, entering Anchan City, entering the Black-White College.

Her divine sense swept across the Black-White College.

Bang~~~

It collided with another divine sense.

Hua.

Immortal Diancai instantly appeared above his own cave. He looked up and saw the black-robed girl flying from afar, and exclaimed in surprise, "Yu Wei, you've passed the Heavenly Tribulation?" Immortal Diancai couldn't believe it. He wouldn't be surprised if Ji Ning had passed the tribulation, but Yu Wei had actually done so.

Yu Wei had failed in the Brightmoon Diagram of Mountains and Seas during the Immortal Fortune Meeting. Her talent couldn't compare to Ji Ning's. In just a few decades, Ji Ning hadn't even undergone his tribulation yet—how could she have already passed hers? Could it be that Yu Wei's tribulation was very weak, and Patriarch Lu 'Lu Dongbin' was an excellent teacher, so she succeeded?

"Mm." Yu Wei nodded lightly.

Immortal Diancai nodded excitedly: "Good. In these turbulent times, our Black-White College has gained another Celestial Immortal. Wonderful, wonderful." Suddenly he thought of Ji Ning, and of how Ji Ning and Yu Wei had become Dao companions. His smile faded, and he even hesitated.

Should he tell her?

"Uncle-Master Diancai." Yu Wei spoke.

"No need to call me uncle-master." Immortal Diancai said immediately. Given Yu Wei's current strength, they should treat each other as equals. After all, counting age among cultivators was meaningless. For instance, Yu Wei had awakened her past life; counting that, she might be much older than Immortal Diancai.

"You are Ji Ning's master, so I naturally call you uncle-master." Yu Wei said. "Are you going to tell me about Ji Ning?"

Immortal Diancai was startled: "You... you know?"

"Before I returned to the Grand Xia world, my master told me." Yu Wei said.

"Does Patriarch Lu have a way?" Immortal Diancai asked anxiously. "Does he know where Ji Ning has been banished?"

"No." Yu Wei shook her head.

"Then what do we do now?" Immortal Diancai had been worrying about Ji Ning all along.

"Wait." Yu Wei said.

Immortal Diancai thought of something and quickly urged: "Ji Ning killed two Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan. The Youngflame clan is furious. Although they banished Ji Ning, they haven't stopped. Every Ji clan disciple who dares to leave Mount Yan has been killed by the Youngflame clan. You are Ji Ning's Dao companion. Once they know you're back, they might target you too. You've just become a Celestial Immortal; it's not wise to clash head-on with the Youngflame clan."

"Target me?" A cold killing intent flashed in Yu Wei's eyes.

...

The Extinction Zone of the Ancient Ruins world.

Ji Ning was sent flying far away, then steadied himself. He looked around and suddenly laughed, a laugh full of wildness, but his eyes held a trace of reluctance and apology—reluctance and apology for those he cared about.

"I can't be with you anymore." Ji Ning thought silently. His divine power was completely exhausted.

The purple-caped warrior who had been fighting Ji Ning retreated.

The group of purple-caped, horned warriors began to speak.

"Tongtuobi's turn is over. Let me go next."

"Let me go next."

"Why you?"

"It's rare to meet a powerful foreigner who can't be killed—the best training opportunity. Take it slow, no rush." The golden-caped general said. "That foreigner seems to be failing. Let him rest and recover. Then you can challenge him one by one. As long as he doesn't die, you'll all have a chance."

Ji Ning was stunned.

He had thought he was doomed to die. How could they let him recover?

"These warriors of the Broken Horn world are truly fond of battle. Are they treating me as a training dummy?" Ji Ning wondered.

The general and the many purple-caped warriors were actually helpless.

Fond of battle?

Yes, they were fond of battle, but by their innate nature, they would have killed the enemy directly, not dragged things out like this. However, this was the Mother Queen's order. Her will had descended upon them, making them fight Ji Ning one by one. They dared not disobey.

"Whatever. Every day I live is a gain." Ji Ning stood in the void, sensing the two enormous stars—the Sun Star and the Moon Star—deep in the endless void, directly absorbing their power and converting it into divine power.

Inside the Water Mansion, the black-robed Ji Ning sat cross-legged. The yellow-haired bear appeared and said hurriedly, "Ji Ning, Ji Ning."

"Senior Bear." The black-robed Ji Ning looked at the yellow-haired bear.

...