The Lightning Tribulation

However, progressing too quickly wasn't necessarily a good thing.

After all, the Lightning Tribulation of the Earthly Immortal realm was not easily endured...

Even Su Qing herself had to expend a great deal of effort back then!

Not to mention Gongsun Zhixue, who already harbored a psychological shadow regarding Lightning Tribulations.

Though, to be fair, that shadow was largely Su Qing's own fault...

"I wonder if you can safely endure this tribulation. Well, I suppose it's all up to you now."

Su Qing shook her head with a helpless smile, no longer dwelling on it.

There was nothing she could do to help anyway...

All she could do now was watch the show.

Time ticked by, and in about the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, the sky was completely shrouded in dark clouds.

The moment the sky was covered, a bolt of lightning struck down, hitting the Ginkgo tree directly.

Instantly, the tree began to tremble, every leaf shivering violently...

Then, a shower of leaves fell.

Quite a few even landed on Su Qing's face.

Su Qing was somewhat speechless, but she couldn't do anything about it...

After all, this was the critical moment of someone else's tribulation.

"But looking at it, she shouldn't have much trouble passing this tribulation," Su Qing remarked to herself, nodding as she watched.

Su Qing had experienced many tribulations herself. After gauging the intensity of this one, she had a fairly clear understanding of the situation.

Thus, she had a general idea of whether Gongsun Zhixue would be able to pass successfully.

The Lightning Tribulation continued.

Su Qing retreated under the eaves to watch the spectacle.

The lightning was quite considerate; although the strikes were fierce, they didn't hit anywhere except Gongsun Zhixue...

Perhaps it was because Gongsun Zhixue was so tall?

The lightning could strike her without needing to reach the ground, which spared Su Qing's house from disaster.

In any case, while Gongsun Zhixue was in a sorry state, Su Qing faced no trouble other than a bit of noise.

Time flowed on, and soon the tribulation clouds in the sky began to dissipate, and the thunder gradually ceased.

The tribulation seemed long, but in reality, it hadn't lasted more than a few minutes.

However, for Gongsun Zhixue, every second must have felt like an eternity.

Once the lightning stopped, Su Qing left the eaves and walked over to the Ginkgo tree.

She said, "Now that the tribulation is over, come out quickly! Stop being a tree."

As soon as Su Qing finished speaking, she heard a familiar cold snort. "Who are you? Another one of Su Qing's lovers? Also, where is Su Qing?"

"I am Su Qing... just her clone," Su Qing explained, momentarily speechless at Gongsun Zhixue's words.

"You're Su Qing's clone?" Gongsun Zhixue's voice was filled with doubt. "Then where is her real body?"

"She's refining a new clone," Su Qing said, spreading her hands. "More importantly, don't you plan on showing your transformed appearance? Standing there like that, being so tall, you're a bit of an eyesore."

"You're the eyesore!" Gongsun Zhixue said indignantly. "It's not that I don't want to transform, it's just that I realized my old clothes won't fit anymore. I was planning to wait a bit."

"?" Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "You underwent one tribulation and even your transformed appearance changed?"

"I don't know either... I was in seclusion, and then somehow I received a wave of exceptionally pure Vegetation Spiritual Qi that helped me break through my shackles. Then, when I was about to undergo the tribulation, I realized my physical size had surged..."

"Including your transformed appearance?"

"Mhm..." Gongsun Zhixue said. "But I haven't turned into a giant. Although my original form grew a lot, my transformed appearance shouldn't have changed too much—I've just grown up a bit."

"..." Su Qing nodded.

Although this was somewhat absurd and surprising, there were plenty of strange things in this world. It wasn't impossible.

So Su Qing was surprised, but not particularly shocked.

"Fine, I'll give you a set of clothes. That should solve the problem, right?"

Naturally, Su Qing didn't want a towering tree standing in her courtyard forever, so she hoped Gongsun Zhixue would return to her human form soon.

Besides... she had to admit she was curious to see what the girl looked like now.

Upon learning that Su Qing would provide clothes, Gongsun Zhixue said, "Then leave the clothes by my roots. I'll put them on as I transform."

"Sure, no problem."

Su Qing nodded and placed a set of robes by Gongsun Zhixue's roots.

Once Gongsun Zhixue noticed Su Qing had placed them, she began her transformation.

A gust of wind blew, and leaves fluttered down.

The towering tree vanished instantly.

In its place stood a mature woman.

She looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven, and she wasn't particularly tall—roughly the same height as Su Qing.

However, it was worth noting that she was exceptionally well-endowed... even Su Qing's clothes were being stretched tight.

Su Qing's eyelid twitched at the sight. "The change really is quite significant."

Su Qing had expected a change, but she hadn't expected it to be this drastic.

After all, jumping from the appearance of a child to such a mature woman was quite an extreme shift.

"..." Gongsun Zhixue sighed helplessly. "So heavy... as expected, the old form was more comfortable."

Su Qing's mouth twitched, but she didn't tease her. She only said, "I really didn't expect that undergoing a tribulation would change your appearance like this."

"I didn't expect it either... but I suspect it was caused by whatever helped me break through my shackles." As the one involved, Gongsun Zhixue naturally had her own guesses.

Su Qing nodded. "It likely was that."

"By the way, did you give me that thing?" Gongsun Zhixue asked after a moment's thought.

She knew very well that she had few friends. Her only true friend was Su Qing.

So if someone had helped her, it could only be Su Qing.

Su Qing nodded. "Yes, I brought it back for you. But it wasn't mine; it came from the Osmanthus Tree in the Moon Palace."

"The Osmanthus Tree?" Gongsun Zhixue remembered her. The tree had once given her guidance, so she had a strong impression of her and was very grateful.

She hadn't expected that her breakthrough was thanks to the Osmanthus Tree's help.

"Mhm. She asked about you, so I told her your situation. She gave me that item to bring to you," Su Qing said.

"Huh? She asked about me voluntarily?"

"Yes, because she has something to discuss with you."

"Discuss something with me? What is it?"

"Can you please switch your voice? You're using your old voice, and it feels very jarring with your current look."

"..." Gongsun Zhixue's mouth twitched. "I don't know how... I'll tell you after I learn."

"Fine then..." Su Qing nodded helplessly, then said, "She actually wants to take you as her disciple!"

"Take me as a disciple? Why?" Gongsun Zhixue was stunned, completely unable to fathom why the other party would want her as a disciple.

After all, they didn't have much of a connection, and had only crossed paths briefly when she received that guidance. She couldn't understand the sudden desire for a master-disciple relationship.

"I didn't ask about that. If you're curious, I'll take you to the Moon Palace so you can ask her directly," Su Qing said after some thought.

"Huh? You didn't ask?"

"No... I forgot."

"Alright..." Gongsun Zhixue nodded helplessly. "Then take me up there in a couple of days."

"Not going now?"

"I'm too tired. I want to have a good sleep."

"Then sleep in my room. The other rooms are already taken by others."

"What about you?"

"I'm a clone. Once things are settled here, I have to return to Linzhou City," Su Qing said. "I'll come back for you in two days when you're ready to leave."

Seeing Su Qing say this, Gongsun Zhixue didn't say more.

She nodded. "I understand..."

"Alright, I'm off then... I'll be back in two days." Seeing that Gongsun Zhixue understood, Su Qing didn't linger. She turned to leave.

After all, her clone couldn't leave Linzhou City for too long...

And staying here, there truly was no place to sleep.

It was better to go back.

Before long.

Su Qing returned to the medical clinic.

As soon as she returned, Ao Yiyi came over to ask about the situation on Changbai Mountain...

She knew Su Qing had gone back to help and thought there was a major problem. Seeing Su Qing return so quickly, she was much relieved.

However, she was still curious about what had happened.

Su Qing didn't hide anything and told her everything.

"Huh? Who is Gongsun Zhixue?" Ao Yiyi understood the events, but she was still confused.

She didn't know Gongsun Zhixue at all...

Fortunately, she understood the gist of what had occurred.

Seeing Ao Yiyi's dazed expression, Su Qing rolled her eyes helplessly. "A former little girl, now a big girl."

"......?"

Ao Yiyi indicated she still didn't understand.

But Su Qing clearly didn't intend to explain further...

She turned around, sat down, and closed her eyes to rest.

Seeing that Su Qing wouldn't say more, Ao Yiyi stopped pestering her.

She simply turned back to her own work.

Two days passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was time to take Gongsun Zhixue to see the Osmanthus Tree.

Su Qing found an excuse to leave Linzhou City early in the morning and returned to Changbai Mountain.

Gongsun Zhixue was already waiting outside.

She looked to be in excellent spirits...

Clearly, she had rested well over the last two days.

"Ready?" Su Qing stretched as she looked at Gongsun Zhixue. "By the way, have you gotten used to your new look?"

Gongsun Zhixue nodded. "Naturally... besides, this is my body, so I'm sure to get used to it quickly. The only thing I'm still not used to is this heavy feeling... the old form was more comfortable; it was much easier to move around."

Su Qing spread her hands. "Who told you to take this new form after transforming? You'll just have to keep getting used to it."

Gongsun Zhixue sighed helplessly, having nothing to say to that...

It wasn't like she had chosen to become like this.

She had turned out this way for no apparent reason, and she was quite frustrated about it!

After suddenly growing up, she felt embarrassed to throw a child's tantrum; it just felt weird.

Su Qing looked at her and said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about that. Let's set off! The Somersault Cloud is very fast; we'll be at the Moon Palace in no time."

Gongsun Zhixue nodded. "Then let's go."

Su Qing formed a hand seal, grabbed Gongsun Zhixue's hand, and sped off toward the Moon Palace.

The speed of the Somersault Cloud went without saying.

In the blink of an eye, they were at the gates of the Moon Palace.

However, because Su Qing was in a different form now, the guards didn't recognize her at first and blocked her path.

Su Qing had no choice but to produce her Celestial Official Seal, which allowed them to pass smoothly.

It had to be said that while there were many rules to being an official in the Heavenly Court, this official status was extremely useful.

It saved Su Qing from a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Once inside the Moon Palace.

Su Qing didn't go to explain the situation to Chang'e; she took Gongsun Zhixue directly to the Osmanthus Tree...

She could explain later anyway, so she went straight to the point.

Arriving under the tree.

Su Qing shouted toward Wu Gang, "Guihua, come out for a moment. I've brought the person you wanted."

As soon as Su Qing finished speaking, a barefoot fairy slowly descended before them. This person was Guihua.

"Stop shouting. I knew the moment you arrived at the Moon Palace," Guihua said calmly.

Su Qing spread her hands. "Then why did you only show up now! Whatever, I've brought her here. As for whether she wants to be your disciple, that's not for me to decide."

Guihua nodded and fixed her gaze on Gongsun Zhixue. Then, she slowly reached out her hand and said:

"I am the spirit of the Osmanthus Tree. You may call me Guihua. Well, do you want to be my disciple?"

Guihua didn't waste any words, nor did she brag about how powerful she was. She simply gave her name and asked if Gongsun Zhixue wanted to be her disciple.

One could see how casual she was being.

Gongsun Zhixue looked at Guihua, hesitating for a moment...