While combat raged in the cities, a strange phenomenon occurred in the Clear Waters Mountains. The tide of beasts, which hours earlier seemed unstoppable, was thinning out. Surprisingly, many spiritual animals, now free from panic, were returning to their territories.
This supernatural calm did not go unnoticed. The gradual relief on the walls was replaced by an uncomfortable doubt. Something was wrong. Many experienced cultivators felt a strange premonition, believing that the initial earthquake was merely the herald of something much larger.
—------------------------------------------------
A hundred of kilometers away, the earth that had been trampled was now pulsing with life. Trees and plants grew before one's eyes. Animals that had previously fled were now grazing peacefully. A strange and vital energy filled the flora and fauna, restoring nature at an accelerated pace.
It was in this setting of rebirth that space undulated. Tang Chun Xi emerged, falling onto the damp ground. The sensation of tearing and nausea hit her again, but it was lighter this time.
'The sensation still sucks! I hope it improves!' — she commented mentally, standing up and stabilizing herself with the Lunar Umbrella.
She barely had time to recover. She followed her routine: [Luminous Concealment], and along with the wood aura, she hid her figure. But before she could take a step, anxiety became a discomfort that crushed her chest:
— 'This isn't just a feeling... it's a premonition. Exactly like the one in the illusion!!!'
She understood and took off! Without hesitation, she activated the [Phoenix Wings], which surprisingly did not cancel her Concealment!
A pair of massive wings of a silvery-blue tone, ethereal but surprisingly almost indistinguishable from real wings, appeared on her back, and her speed increased exponentially.
The Lunar Umbrella felt her emotional instability:
— 'Master, remember! Control your emotions!!' — The blade and hilt of the artifact acquired a burning golden tone. The [Yang Flame Sphere] was already struggling to prevent the absorption of Yin energy from beginning!...
But Tang Chun Xi barely heard him as she dashed through the forest, leaving only a series of intense icy air streams that agitated and froze leaves, flowers, and small debris. As if that weren't enough, her 1-meter-wide wings contracted and behaved like real wings; one could even see the effect of wind and debris hitting her feathers!!
Anyone seeing her at that moment would be stunned, momentarily mistaking her for a transformed spiritual bird!! But fortunately, her figure was still hidden.
At this moment, nothing was more important than the feeling in her mind. She felt the changes in the two skills, but all she had in her head was that she had felt this omen before, so she shoved everything to the back of her mind!!!
In seconds, she heard the sounds of battle coming from the direction her senses pointed. She pushed her body to the limit, and as she approached a rock formation, a series of loud noises erupted in front of her. Her hair stood on end!!
Coming from the formation ahead, an energy attack came slashing in her direction!
Before anything else, her instincts kicked in. She suppressed all emotions, and unable to stop in time, she moved the Lunar Umbrella; the energy cut grazed the blade of the canopy. Using her instincts and in a clumsy manner, she controlled the wings, managing to perform a slanted leap with extreme flexibility by flapping both wings!
The attack continued forward, slicing the tops of growing plants behind her. She gasped and thought: 'That was close...' — but something interrupted her thought and brought back the emotions even more intensely:
— "Bastard! You killed my brothers... I heard you love your daughter, what a waste! I don't usually have fun with women, but I'll make an exception..." — the voice came from the rock formation.
Hearing this, she manipulated the wings and ran until she saw something dozens of meters ahead. It was her father! He was extremely wounded, his aura chaotic and worn out, while an evil cultivator approached, also wounded.
—"Father!!!' — The scream tore from her throat. Her wings closed around her, glowing, and in the blink of an eye, the scene changed. She was in front of her father!
Lost, she reacted instinctively. She launched her new skill, [Matrix Condensation]. Flaming energy, amplified by the other four elements, was drained into the umbrella's canopy and released as a cone of pure destruction. The environment's energy was sucked into the attack, which increased in size and power before hitting the shocked cultivator.
— "BOOMM!!" — The explosion surpassed the power of the 7th level of the Body Tempering Realm! The evil cultivator, caught off guard, was incinerated.
Tang Wei's face went through a series of changes: first surprise, then fear, and finally shock and happiness at what he was seeing. But before he could speak, the poison in his heart reacted violently, and he collapsed!
— "Father, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me!" — Chun Xi ran to him and, before he could respond, she used [Stellar Detection]:
Status:
Name: Tang Wei (47)
Condition: Deep poisoning. Life force fading. (On the verge of death) …
— "No... no, no, NO! Father, how can you be poisoned and dying??!!" — She didn't want to believe it, so she kept testing again and again…
With each new test, the Lunar Umbrella fought with all its might to keep the [Yang Flame Sphere] skill functioning, but it was failing. — 'Master, please calm down, there must be a way to save him!'
The voice enlightened her: — "Yes, the lunar energy!" — Holding his hand, she was about to inject lunar energy to try and save him when the Lunar Umbrella stopped her:
— 'NO!!.. Master, don't be rash! Remember, lunar energy seems to nourish EVERYTHING; it doesn't differentiate between good and evil! It might nourish the poison and kill him even faster!' — Before he could finish, they were interrupted by a cough.
— "Cough-cough... My little Chun Xi..." — Tang Wei coughed, his voice weak. — "It's no use... the poison has already covered my heart... there is no cure..." — He raised his hand to hug his daughter, who broke into tears in his arms.
— "There has to be a way! You can't leave! You have to avenge Mom, you have to stay by my side..." — Sadness and refusal tore her apart inside.
He raised his hand and gave her his storage bag. — "Take it... I need to tell you... cough-cough..." — He needed to say everything his daughter needed to know, but the poison was acting, running through all his veins, and it wouldn't be long!
The Lunar Umbrella finally managed to speak again amidst the total failure of the [Yang Flame Sphere]; now it was a matter of time before his master exploded!!
— "BOTH OF YOU, LISTEN TO ME!!!" — he exclaimed in his serious childish tone. This time, even Tang Wei could hear the voice coming from the artifact beside his daughter, but before he could be shocked:
"Master! One of the stars' gossips! It said: 'Even if she manages to ripen it, he will need to pass through the tribulation to have a chance to save him!'" — He finished the phrase he heard among the many useless ones and said: — "Master, it must be a plant! There is only one plant in storage that could be of any help... Master, what are you waiting for?!"
Tang Wei began to cough more and more and couldn't even ask or speak.
His loud voice seemed to wake her from her lamentation, and her heart filled with hope! — "Yes, it can't be the Qi tree, nor the others I collected and know... it can only be..." — Her mind focused on the contents of the ring, specifically the Lotus-shaped flower.
This lotus-shaped flower that grows directly in the earth had barely changed since it was placed in the ring's space, and so much had happened that it had been pushed to the back of her mind.
With hope, she activated [Stellar Detection] once more:
Name: Ten Thousand Mountains Lotus
Level: Undetermined / Treasure of Heaven and Earth
State: About to ripen
Description: Formed by the gradual condensation of terrestrial energy accumulated under a vast chain of spiritual mountains. It is not exactly alive but possesses dormant consciousness. To ripen, it must be connected to the mountain chain.
Effect: Symbiote. Upon merging with a host, it converts part of its essence, evolving or creating an earthen talent…
That was it, it had to be!! With a thought, she moved the entire piece of earth the size of a bowl.
With a swift movement, she took a third-level formation disk from her father's storage bag. She placed the disk on him and activated it.
— "Father, hold on!" — With the urgency growing with each of her father's coughs threatening to be the last, she ran, and after opening a considerable distance from her father, she made a hole in the ground, placed the earth, and waited for any change—but nothing!!
— 'Master, now! Inject the lunar energy! Quick, the dark energy is accumulating!' — he urged and reminded her, seeing her distracted and feeling her emotions becoming increasingly unstable. He already felt the dark energy accumulating in her body with increasing speed!! They needed to be fast before it piled up and he couldn't handle it!!…
Where they couldn't see, various auras were attracted from different parts... The multiple filaments of black energy continued to enter Tang Chun Xi's body while being diverted by the Lunar Umbrella, and the [Yang Flame Sphere] consumed itself to purify this energy!!!
Tang Chun Xi crossed her fingers as she injected all the lunar energy, which began to be sucked in instantly by the Lotus. And then, it happened!
The forest, which was recovering, began to shake. But it wasn't an ordinary tremor. It was as if the very heart of the world was being pulled. An unimaginable amount of terrestrial energy began to flow from all directions, violently sucked in by the plant.
Gray clouds, heavy as lead, began to form in the sky, swirling in a furious vortex. In seconds, they expanded, swallowing the sun. Purple thunders began to glow within them, not like lightning bolts, but like the veins of an angry eye…
—---------------------------------------------------
In Moonlit Grove city...
The leaders, scattered along the walls, heard the encouraging reports. The tide that had arrived was smaller than expected, and the city was resisting bravely.
The City Lord, although tense, felt a slight relief. 'It's good the city isn't between one of the forks... Fortunately, this tide will be profitable…'
On the east wall, Liao Chen Wei observed the battlefield, his eyes occasionally lingering on a masked young man: Chen Kai, whose sword handled several beasts of his level. Chen Wei's mind, however, was on his friend. 'I hope those two are alright...'
His thought was interrupted by a sound that didn't come from the battlefield.
— BOOOMMM…
A thunder so deep and resounding that it swallowed all other sounds. Cultivators and beasts alike stopped, looking toward the heavens.
A massive cloud covered the celestial dome and continued to expand. But along with it came an oppression that signaled it was a manifestation of the heavens! In the city, the blue sky could no longer be seen, only a gray layer lit by purple flashes.
—---------------------------------------------------------------
In the hardest-hit cities… Soon, the gray layer covered the skies of these cities, and as if a button had been flipped, all the remaining war was silenced.
The clouds covered at least 1/3 of the Clear Waters Mountains. The cultivators fighting for their lives against the main tide felt the change first. The beasts that still remained lost in their fear, previously frantic to escape something behind them, suddenly froze in terror, looking at the sky.
— "A tribulation... What caused this?" — the question crossed everyone's mind, and many could speculate on two probabilities, one more impactful than the other: either something attracted the wrath of the heavens, or a treasure was being born!!!
—---------------------------------------------------------------
In the center of it all...
The earth shook. All animals had fled. Tang Chun Xi was at the epicenter. Thunders roared with deafening frequency, and the power of the tribulation increased, sensing the presence of someone trying to interfere!
— BOOOMMM… BOOOMMM!
Her father was far away, protected behind a formation barrier; she prayed that everything would work out. She didn't dare look at him, she couldn't be distracted, nor did she dare see the reproach in his eyes. She had to ensure the Lotus survived!
—'Master, the Yin energies are accumulating, I don't know how much longer I can contain them!' — shouted the Lunar Umbrella, while guiding the shimmering energies to contain and direct all the Yin energy to her arm and finally to him.
Her mind began to give way as voices and other emotions surfaced. Chun Xi's aura was being flooded by filaments of black energy, attracted by her physique!
The shimmering energies circulated frantically while wrapping more and more Yin energy and sending it to the artifact, and as time passed, it became so dark that it seemed to drip the darkness it struggled to contain!
It was then that the purple sky opened up. The first bolt of the tribulation descended—a pillar of pure purple annihilation, as thick as a waist, aiming for the Lotus. Its intention was obvious: to obliterate the treasure that dared to be born.
— "I WILL NOT LET YOU DESTROY IT!!!!" — Chun Xi screamed. She didn't defend herself. She raised the Lunar Umbrella, now a beacon of black energy. The lightning's energy hit the layer of darkness. And a unique vision occurred!!
The Yin energy (the darkness) and the Yang energy (the lightning) collided in mutual annihilation.
Only a fraction of the power hit the plant.
—BOOOOM! — The impact forced her to her knees. Tang Chun Xi felt her hair stand on end, blood running down her throat and gushing from her mouth, her body numb and paralyzed!
And for a moment, the negative emotions vanished, only for the numbness to disappear the next moment and new dark filaments to fill the space around her again, rushing toward her body and converging into the Lunar Umbrella, which still tried to contain it!
The Lotus, absorbing the lightning's residual energy, glowed even brighter, and its petals began to open!
The sky roared, insulted. Two more bolts descended simultaneously.
— 'Master, your body!' — His voice sounded in panic.
The only thing that came from her throat was a scream — "Ahhhh —" She raised her trembling arm, trusting in her pure willpower while her arm seemed paralyzed, barely moving with the little lunar energy decreasing the numbness!
—BOOOOM! — It hit the artifact, with more force this time. Her arm seemed to snap while blood gushed from her pores! The shimmering energy coursed through her body frantically, divided between containing the Yin energy or dealing with the electricity. Her body was at its limit, while the lunar energy was contained and controlled by the artifact in an attempt to heal her!
The Lotus at her feet was almost open! But the unyielding heavens churned and swirled for the last time, concentrating all their remaining power into a single, colossal purple bolt—the final punishment of the heavens.
Tang Chun Xi was kneeling, blood staining all her clothes: 'I need to continue... I need to CONTINUE!...' — her mind was taken by the scene of her father's death in the illusion...His aura quickly began to exude nobility, indifference, and as the bolt met her, her gaze turned toward the heavens. Her beautiful violet eyes seemed to contain galaxies…
The world was overtaken by the purple flash.
For a second, there was absolute silence.
And then, the oppression vanished.
The tribulation clouds, now drained of their power, began to break apart. From where the final bolt came, a single beam of pure and soft light descended, bathing the now fully bloomed Lotus.
A rain began to fall. But it wasn't water. It was drops of liquid light, pure condensed spiritual energy. It was Spiritual Rain!
Where it touched, the devastated earth exploded into life. Trees and plants grew in seconds. The dry river flowed again, now with crystal-clear water rich in Qi. Chun Xi's wounded and tired body healed instantly, and once again the feeling vanished.
And then, as the rain fell, sunlight broke through the remaining clouds, refracting in the spiritual drops. A 5-colored rainbow, so bright it seemed solid, stretched across the entire Clear Waters Mountain, visible for thousands of kilometers.
—--------------------------------------
In Moonlit Grove, everyone on the wall watched, open-mouthed. — "The heavens... has a treasure been born?"
— "A spiritual rainbow... A treasure! A treasure that defies the heavens has been born in the mountains!" — shouted an old cultivator, his eyes burning with a mix of reverence and greed.
And so, it seemed a switch had been flipped…
—----------------------------------------
Back in the clearing, which was once again rejuvenated, Chun Xi returned to normal, her noble and mysterious aura vanishing as she observed the Ten Thousand Mountains Lotus detach from the ground and float softly.
Without wasting time, she directed it to her father. It hovered over Tang Wei's chest and, petal by petal, merged into his body, causing him to pass out.
Barely able to wait, she launched [Stellar Detection] again, and after seeing his status as Healthy, she could breathe a sigh of relief.
— "All the black energy was disintegrated by the tribulation!! And the [Yang Flame Sphere] wasn't completely consumed! Phew!! Master, that was way too risky!" — although they were connected, he knew one mistake and everything would have gone wrong.
— "Thunder is one of the most Yang elements in the world; I figured it could handle the black energy!" — she confessed everything, and looking around, she noticed bodies not far from the evil cultivator and, with a thought, sought out and found the storage bags of the three.
Knowing she had little time, she looked inside the storage bags; there were a bunch of confusing and disgusting things, but she ignored them for now and took the talismans they had.
'Luckily there are several earthen wall talismans,' — she thought as she activated and fired them into the crater, using the metallic cut ones to destroy the walls. In a short time, the dozens-of-meters crater was filled, and as she was about to use the wood ones…
— 'That should confuse whoever comes looking for a while,' — he commented in his usual childish voice, seeing her actions, and remembered something: — "Use the fire talismans first to burn the remnants of aura!"
— "That's true." — After throwing all the fire talismans onto the earth around, she also used the water jet ones she had to control the fire, and finally used wood talismans to induce the grass and vegetation to grow.
Now, all that remained was to hope they couldn't be tracked. Aware of the massive impact of the tribulation, she tried to put her father inside the ring. To her surprise, he entered easily, and upon checking, she saw he was fine. Without wasting time, she activated her skills and protected herself as much as possible, diverting her path toward the city.
The childish voice reminded her of something: — 'Master, you need to clean yourself. Your clothes are full of blood, someone might track us!' So she detoured and cleaned herself, and finally continued her way.