Chapter 232 | I, Liu Xian, Am Not a Divine Dragon

"Fine, fine. I've handed the item over to you, so my job here is done."

"As for whether you choose to practice this secret manual... that’s your business."

The old troupe leader clearly had no intention of discussing the matter further. After handing the item to Xu Xuan'er, he placed his tobacco pipe back in his mouth and strolled away.

After he left, Xu Xuan'er looked at the thin book in her hand. Though her mind was full of doubts, she tucked it away nonetheless.

Whether it was real or fake, she might as well take it back and look at it first.

What if it really was some powerful martial arts manual?

After all, she had nothing to lose by practicing it!

However, as she stuffed the book into her pocket, it suddenly dawned on her:

"Wait... I only spent fifteen days learning to write. I still don't recognize half of these words! If I want to understand this thing... don't I have to learn how to read first?"

For a moment, Xu Xuan'er began to doubt Su Qing's motive for giving her the item once more.

—

In the courtyard.

Su Qing looked up at the sky...

She pondered when the Three Calamities would be avoided.

At the same time, she was curious whether Xu Xuan'er would be able to understand the item she had given her.

In truth, the secret manual she gave to Xu Xuan'er wasn't a sham intended to deceive her; it was the real deal.

That manual was, in fact, a cultivation technique.

It was the same manual Su Qing had found for the monkeys when she went to the Moon Palace.

Though it wasn't anything extraordinary, its strength lay in its low difficulty; it was simple and easy to learn.

Of course, being simple meant the upper limit of the technique was quite low...

Still, once mastered, living for three hundred years would be no problem at all.

The only issue was simply whether one could actually master it.

As for Xu Xuan'er's talent for cultivation...

Well, it was slightly better than nothing!

Actually, Su Qing's purpose in giving the manual to Xu Xuan'er wasn't really to ensure she mastered it...

Rather, it was to give her a goal to strive for.

It would prevent her from overestimating herself and seeking revenge against someone before she possessed any power.

Of course...

If her luck was truly heaven-defying and she actually mastered the technique...

What else could Su Qing do but offer congratulations?

"Sigh, in any case, this is all I can do... The rest really depends on your own destiny."

Su Qing retracted her wandering thoughts and stroked Yuer, who was sleeping in her arms, talking to herself.

The days...

Passed one by one just like that.

In the blink of an eye, Su Qing had been in the mortal world for over ten years.

During these ten years, many things had happened in the realm of men.

Perhaps the most significant event was Long County changing hands?

However, although Long County no longer belonged to the original imperial court, the local residents didn't feel much of a change.

This was because their lives hadn't been significantly impacted by the shift.

At most, it was just that county magistrates were being replaced more frequently.

Long County was remote, after all...

The mountains were high and the Emperor was far away, so naturally, it didn't have a large effect.

Additionally, over these ten odd years...

There had been a few minor demonic disturbances in Long County.

With Yuer around, those troublemaking demons were eventually cleared out, but it still made Su Qing vaguely worried about the future.

As for Xu Xuan'er...

She had left the county town six years ago.

Su Qing wasn't entirely sure where she had gone...

The only thing she knew was that Xu Xuan'er seemed to have actually made some progress with the cultivation technique she'd been given.

Regarding that matter...

Besides thinking Xu Xuan'er was lucky,

Su Qing could only express her congratulations.

This summer.

Su Qing sat in the courtyard, drawing talismans.

After over a decade of practice,

Su Qing's originally weak talisman-crafting skills had grown much stronger.

As for what specific level she had reached, Su Qing had no baseline for comparison, so she wasn't certain of the specifics.

Soon.

After finishing another drawing, Su Qing set down her brush.

She looked up at the sky...

She had a vague sensation that something was coming.

This thing seemed to be aimed at her... yet it also seemed unable to perfectly pin down her location.

Feeling this, Su Qing couldn't help but rub her chin.

"As expected... the Three Calamities are bound to descend eventually. It's just that since I'm hiding, they haven't been able to fall on me."

With a hypothesis in mind,

She turned to look at the Bodhi Tree and asked, "So, what was the purpose of you asking me to bring you down here?"

Shortly after, the Bodhi Tree transmitted information back.

This time, it didn't say much.

It was only two words: 'Safety net.'

"A safety net? Thank you... that certainly puts me at ease."

Su Qing couldn't help but smile, looking back up at the sky.

By now, the previously clear sky had turned into a thick blanket of dark clouds. A bizarre power was constantly brewing within the layers of cloud.

The strange part was that

One second it was a clear sky, and the next it was overcast with black clouds, yet not a single mortal found it strange.

It was as if...

They couldn't see the weather change at all.

Suddenly,

A bolt of black lightning shot straight down from the clouds.

It slammed right onto the roof of Su Qing's house...

However, strangely...

What appeared to be an incredibly terrifying lightning strike left absolutely no mark on the roof it hit.

It was as though...

it had been nothing more than a passing breeze.

In fact, a passing breeze might have left more of a trace than that black tribulation lightning.

Yet...

Even though Su Qing saw this scene, she didn't dare underestimate the bolt in the slightest.

Though she hadn't tested it...

She was certain that

If she were hit by that tribulation lightning...

She would either survive by sheer luck, or... her soul would be shattered, never to be reborn again.

Because even just looking at it...

she felt a lingering fear in her heart.

"So this is the Lightning Tribulation of the Three Calamities?" Su Qing whispered to herself, taking a sharp breath. "No wonder... Master told me only to hide and never to resist. How could I even face that?"

Su Qing didn't know exactly what kind of existence this tribulation lightning was...

But there was no doubt that this wasn't something a human could withstand.

"Mother? What happened?"

Yuer stepped out of the house and looked at Su Qing's horrified face, confused as to what was going on.

She followed Su Qing's gaze...

And saw only a clear blue sky with white clouds drifting by. There wasn't a hint of anything wrong.

Su Qing exhaled slowly, patted Yuer's head, and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing..."

Su Qing didn't know how to explain something to Yuer that the girl couldn't see...

So she could only tell her nothing was wrong.

"Go back inside. Don't come out until I say so," Su Qing said, her voice trembling slightly.

Yuer was baffled... but she still couldn't disobey her mother's words.

She nodded and trotted back inside.

She sat indoors, looking out...

Deciding in her heart that if anything happened, she would take her mother and run.

Her mission was to protect her Little Master; even if the threat was invisible, she couldn't relax her guard.

Once Yuer was gone,

Su Qing looked at the dark clouds in the sky...

They still hadn't dispersed.

She knew the lightning tribulation wasn't over...

"How many more times?" Su Qing swallowed hard and asked herself, "I hope that first one was just a guess on its part. Otherwise... I might be in trouble."

Thinking this, Su Qing turned her head to look at the Bodhi Tree next to her.

She only hoped that the Bodhi Tree would indeed be able to help her as a safety net!

As she was thinking,

Suddenly...

Another bolt of black lightning dropped from the sky...

Slamming directly into the ground outside the courtyard wall.

Although this strike missed her again,

Su Qing could clearly feel that

the distance of the black lightning was getting closer and closer.

For a moment, a subtle dread surfaced in her heart.

This was a feeling of fear she hadn't experienced in a long time...

And it was a dread that made her feel deeply... uncomfortable.

She gritted her teeth, formed a hand seal to maintain her transformation, and considered other countermeasures.

At that moment, the Bodhi Tree's consciousness flowed into her mind.

"Don't panic... Don't fall into the trap of the Lightning Tribulation."

Su Qing was momentarily stunned.

She then vaguely realized her emotional state was off...

She quickly sat down, suppressed the fear in her heart,

and began to chant the Heart-Clearing Incantation.

Soon...

The third.

Fourth.

Fifth bolt of lightning fell one after another.

And the tribulation lightning was just as she predicted—it was striking closer and closer.

She took a deep breath...

Then picked up the nearby brush and started drawing talismans.

She used this to divert her focus,

letting herself enter a normal state.

As if she, too, couldn't see this eerie lightning tribulation.

The lightning continued to fall...

One strike after another...

Countless claps of thunder exploded in Su Qing's ears.

But miraculously, while these strikes kept falling,

not a single one landed on Su Qing herself.

Sometimes they fell outside the courtyard, sometimes inside...

But no matter how they fell, there was always a fixed distance between them and Su Qing.

This Lightning Tribulation was terrifying...

Yet equally mysterious.

When the thunder finally ceased...

Su Qing eventually let out a sigh of relief...

She put down her brush, a smile blooming on her face.

Her theory... was correct after all.

"I suppose I've successfully dodged the Lightning Tribulation, right?" Su Qing muttered to herself.

But when she looked up...

She found that the lightning clouds still hadn't dispersed.

Moreover, there was another bolt of tribulation lightning brewing.

Suddenly.

The bolt crashed down.

Su Qing was horrified.

Instinctively, she tried to use a spell to teleport away.

But the moment she tried to manifest her magic, her internal spiritual energy suddenly vanished... Then, she fell onto the table with a soft thud.

At the same time, the lightning tribulation fell.

It struck right next to her.

Only half a meter away from where she sat.

Seeing this, Su Qing sucked in a cold breath...

This time, she really was almost hit.

Luckily, that last one went wide; otherwise... she'd be finished.

After all, just as she tried to flee, her spiritual energy was suddenly drained.

But she was curious...

Why did the Lightning Tribulation have a hidden strike, and why was her mana suddenly sucked dry?

Su Qing glanced at the Bodhi Tree. The sudden mana drain was most likely its doing...

But why did the Lightning Tribulation intentionally hold back a strike?

Did the Lightning Tribulation have its own consciousness?

Was it playing mind games with her?

Su Qing was stumped. She looked up at the sky and saw the lightning clouds completely fade away...

Only then did she slowly start to absorb ambient Qi to recover her mana.

"But still... that was a close one," Su Qing said to herself as she recovered. "I haven't been in such a pathetic state for a long time..."

This time was truly terrifying...

If even a tiny thing had gone wrong...

she probably would have lost her life right here.

However...

Despite the embarrassment, Su Qing didn't hate it.

For some reason...

Although she had been scared out of her wits, she felt a strange... thrill of being alive.

She let out a long breath and then saw Yuer guarding her with a panicked face, ready for battle, with an aura of killing intent so thick it was frightening.

Without a doubt, whether as a daughter or as a weapon, Yuer was absolutely competent.

Seeing this, Su Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry... it's over now."

"But..."

"Don't worry! There are no enemies!"

"Then why did Mother suddenly collapse?" Yuer said nervously. "Don't worry, Mother, as long as I am here, no one can hurt you."

Su Qing smiled helplessly, reaching out to stroke Yuer's head. "There really aren't any enemies... I was just undergoing a tribulation!"

"Tribulation?" When Yuer heard this, her killing intent dissipated, and the short sword in her hand vanished. She returned to her usual well-behaved self and asked, "Is it one of the Three Calamities?"

"Yes... the Lightning Tribulation from the Three Calamities," Su Qing replied. "I suppose because it's part of the Three Calamities, I am the only one who could see it?"

"So... that's how it is?" Yuer sighed with relief. "Mother, you should have told me earlier! You scared me to death."

"My apologies!" Su Qing rubbed her head. "Alright, go boil some water for me. I’m soaked in cold sweat and feel terrible; I need to take a bath."

Yuer nodded and went off happily to boil water for Su Qing.

After Yuer left, Su Qing turned to the Bodhi Tree.

She asked, "Do you have anything you want to say?"

In response to Su Qing's query, the Bodhi Tree quickly answered her.

"You're so useless!"

Su Qing: "..."

"Was it you who sucked my mana away just now?"

"I saved your life."

"So, the safety net you mentioned was that?"

"Of course. If you had used a spell just now... you would be dead already."

"I see... then thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Why did the Lightning Tribulation intentionally save a final bolt?" Su Qing thought about it and felt the Bodhi Tree might know something, so she asked.

"I don't know..." the Bodhi Tree answered. "But if you had counted how many strikes you had already faced, you wouldn't have been scared by that last one."

"So... you counted? How many were there?"

"Eighty-one strikes."

"The expected amount." Su Qing wasn't too surprised to hear that number.

However, the Bodhi Tree was right...

She hadn't bothered to count the number of strikes while she was enduring it.

"Any other questions?"

"If... I had been hit by that black lightning, what would have happened?"

In response to this question, the Bodhi Tree sent a sensation of rolling its eyes.

It also sent back a single sentence.

"Just as you thought: your soul would be scattered, never to be reborn... Not even Master could save you."

After saying that, the Bodhi Tree fell silent.

Leaving Su Qing sitting there with thousands of thoughts swirling through her head.

After a long while, Su Qing smiled and muttered to herself, "No matter what, the Lightning Tribulation is dealt with... for the next few centuries, things should be a bit easier, right?"

Thinking this, Su Qing clenched her fist and stretched her stiff body.

"A pity though... I didn't find the catalyst to enter the Heavenly Immortal stage as Laojun said I might."

This was probably Su Qing's greatest regret.

After all, if she could have reached the Heavenly Immortal stage after this tribulation...

many troubles would be avoided.

She shook her head and chuckled. "Sigh, I shouldn't be too greedy."

A while later, Yuer had boiled the bathwater and even helped prepare the tub.

"Mother, the bath is ready!" Yuer ran over. "Oh, Mother, can I..."

"No..."

"Huh?? Truly not?"

"No! Unless you want more math problems."

"Mother... your math problems can't stump me anymore! They don't scare me at all!"