Fang Xuan stood in the void, the black sword Yunchang held horizontally before him as three-colored laws circulated around his body, awaiting the final bolt of the lightning tribulation.
He intercepted it with ease.
Then came the moment to ascend the ladder.
Fang Xuan climbed toward the firmament step by step, his gait incredibly steady.
But during the ascent, nothing happened.
The thunderclouds continued to churn and the lightning flickered, yet the power of the laws that should have descended to temper his physical body seemed to be blocked by something, refusing to fall.
Fang Xuan frowned.
What was going on?
He tried to actively pull the laws into his body.
However, the power of the laws remained motionless.
It wasn't resistance; it was complete and utter indifference.
It was as if his body did not exist at all, and those law forces were simply unwilling to touch him.
"???"
Fang Xuan was stunned.
What did this mean? Had he failed the tribulation?
No, it wasn't a failure. It was... a rejection.
It was the first time he had ever heard of someone being rejected by their own tribulation.
He directly released his spiritual energy, his aura surging explosively.
At full power, his spiritual energy was as vast as the sea, causing all the thunderclouds within a hundred miles to hang suspended in the air, motionless.
Fang Xuan looked up at the eerie stillness above him.
So you won't let me cross, huh...
He gripped Yunchang tightly, and a blood-red baleful energy erupted from the blade as he slashed directly toward the sky.
Boom!
A crimson sword qi soared upward, forcibly carving a massive rift through the thick tribulation clouds.
Golden light poured down from the opening, illuminating the entire Taihuang Valley.
Fang Xuan stood with his sword, his black robes fluttering and his long hair dancing in the wind.
He wanted to see if he could actually make the ascent today.
Then, the tribulation clouds seemed to grow enraged.
They were no longer ordinary lightning bolts; instead, several terrifying streaks of black lightning appeared.
Each one was as thick as a mountain, carrying an aura capable of destroying everything as they smashed down toward his head!
This was far beyond the scope of a normal tribulation.
Fang Xuan's pupils constricted as he instantly unwrapped the bandage on his right hand.
His fair, slender palm opened, and he pushed his laws of space to their limit, tearing a massive rift in front of him.
The lightning tribulation crashed into the rift and was temporarily blocked.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief—
Several alien law forces surged out from the void without warning, drilling directly into his body.
Furthermore, they were not there to temper him.
They were clearly there to take his life.
Fang Xuan let out a muffled groan as the spiritual energy within his body was instantly thrown into chaos.
Those law forces rampaged through his meridians, frantically devouring his spiritual energy.
He gritted his teeth and mobilized the laws of destruction within him to try and counter them.
But the moment they made contact, the laws of destruction were pushed back, completely outmatched.
'It's over.'
Fang Xuan's heart sank.
Then, the pink light he had never really taken seriously suddenly flared up.
The laws of lust.
It was as if they had lazily opened an eye before facing off against the invading law forces.
A single force stood against many.
They forcibly jammed all the invading laws within his meridians, leaving them unable to move.
Fang Xuan was speechless.
He knew it—there wasn't a soul alive who wasn't lustful.
This law was definitely not weak.
Unable to advance or retreat, the invading laws seemed provoked and launched a final desperate counterattack.
His cultivation realm began to be sealed off continuously.
Every ounce of power within his physique was also being drained dry.
Fang Xuan felt as if his body were being emptied; his spiritual energy, blood essence, and even his physical strength were vanishing at a terrifying speed.
He became weak in an instant.
His vision darkened slightly as his body fell uncontrollably from the sky.
The wind whistled past his ears, and a ringing sound began to echo in his head...
Amidst his blurred consciousness, he felt someone catch him.
A warm embrace, a familiar fragrance.
'Senior Sister...'
His head tilted to the side as he nearly lost consciousness again.
...
Ning Xian held him as she slowly landed on the ground.
Her expression turned grave.
She had been hiding within a spatial rift, watching secretly while her junior brother underwent his tribulation.
From the anomaly of the lightning to him slashing the clouds, and finally the laws entering his body, she had seen it all clearly.
Those invading laws were never supposed to be part of a normal tribulation process.
'Is the Heavenly Dao of the Upper Realm... rejecting him?'
No, that wasn't right.
It wasn't rejection; it felt more like... fear.
She took a deep breath to suppress the panic in her heart and sent her spiritual energy into Fang Xuan's meridians to investigate.
Then her heart sank to the bottom of an abyss.
His meridians were still there, but his spiritual energy was so depleted she could barely sense it, and all the power within his physique had been drained.
In other words, the current junior brother was now little different from a mortal.
One could even say he was more fragile than a mortal.
She looked up at the tribulation clouds that were slowly dissipating in the distance.
Now was not the time for sentimentality; she had to find a solution quickly.
The invading laws were still inside her junior brother's body. If they weren't dealt with soon, the consequences would be unimaginable.
There were only two ways.
Either refine them or expel them.
But regardless of the method, she needed a safe environment.
She raised her hand, preparing to tear open a spatial rift to return directly to the small courtyard in Xunyuan Town.
But as the power of the laws gathered, she stopped.
It wouldn't work.
Her junior brother's constitution was too weak right now; he might not even be able to withstand the pressure of spatial turbulence.
If another accident occurred during the transit...
She could only grit her teeth and withdraw her laws of space.
"We're going back to the courtyard first," she whispered, as if speaking to Fang Xuan, yet also to herself.
Then she bent down and carefully lifted Fang Xuan in her arms.
Fang Xuan was much taller than she was, so holding him this way looked a bit strange.
But she held him very steadily and very carefully.
Step by step, she walked quickly toward the exit of Taihuang Valley.
The person in her arms felt very light, so light that it made her heart race with anxiety.
She looked down at Fang Xuan's pale face again, and suddenly—
She swallowed hard.
Junior Brother is now... what one might call frail and unable to care for himself...
'In that case... does that mean he can never leave me again?'
The moment the thought surfaced, she shook her head violently.
Now was not the time for such things; she was a proper Senior Sister.
She had never encountered a situation like this before.
Through her past and present lives, through hundreds of cycles of reincarnation, she had seen countless ways to die and countless types of injuries.
But she had never seen anything like this.
A failed tribulation, sealed cultivation, and law backlash...
'It must be a problem with Junior Brother's physique. I'll just have to return to the courtyard and study him thoroughly...'
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