Crossing the Tribulation

When Chu Ning opened his eyes, his white hair cascaded like snow over his shoulders.

In the bronze mirror, nine blood-red lightning patterns were reflected on his shoulder blades, moving as if alive whenever he circulated his energy.

"Chaos Tribulation..." he murmured, tracing the lightning patterns, his fingertips feeling the stinging pressure of the Heavenly Dao.

Outside the window, dark clouds churned, and thunder rumbled like the low growl of a colossal beast. A giant eye of lightning opened within the vortex of blood-red clouds.

"He who steals heavenly secrets shall suffer the Chaos Tribulation."

An ancient pressure descended with the thunder, and the nine lightning patterns on Chu Ning's shoulder blades simultaneously blazed.

He raised his hand and made a grasping motion, fusing Frost Lightning with the Mysterious Sun Fire into a purple-gold blade light that slashed towards the giant eye.

The blade light annihilated itself the moment it touched the pupil, but a single drop of blood-like tear fell from the giant eye:

[Tribulation Arrival: Thirty days and nights later]

Chu Ning brought his fingers together like a blade and lightly sliced across the Profound Iron Sword-Testing Stone. There was no clang of metal, no sparks flew, but the stone quietly split in two, its cut surface as smooth as a mirror. In the reflection of the cut surface, the golden patterns in his pupils swirled, appearing like a god or demon.

Chu Ning gazed at the blood-red lightning patterns in the mirror, not yet recovered from the aftereffects of his breakthrough, when a burning pain suddenly erupted from his dantian. Upon internal inspection, he saw a wisp of golden-red flame swimming in his qi sea. It was the unrefined core essence of the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit, now coiled like a venomous snake, devouring his newly formed body.

"Impossible!" He gripped the edge of the table with his fingertips, and the obsidian table, forged from profound iron, was imprinted with five finger marks. The golden light of the Chaos Body Refining Method circulated through his meridians, attempting to suppress the flame, but it was like pouring oil onto a raging fire, instead causing the essence to churn violently.

"Ugh—!"

The golden-red fiery line exploded from his dantian, surging straight up his spine to the crown of his head. Chu Ning stumbled to his knees, the nine lightning patterns on his shoulder blades twisting violently, transforming into chain-like blood marks that spread towards his heart. The sun-like golden patterns in his pupils bled crimson, and as far as his vision could reach, even the air ignited with fine sparks.

He heard his bones crackle like shattering porcelain; his newly formed Meteorite Dragon Spine was already seared with cracks. His blood boiled in his veins, and the steaming blood mist erupted from his pores.

"Damn it... even the Divine Command can't suppress it..." Chu Ning struggled to form hand seals, attempting to activate the Chaos Body Refining Method, only to find his spiritual energy like a runaway wild horse. The lightning outside seemed to sense this, the blood-red cloud vortex spun faster, and a tribulation lightning bolt struck down with a roar!

"Boom—"

The dome of the separate courtyard was torn open by the lightning, and Chu Ning was thrown by the shockwave, crashing against the wall. His scorched right arm hung limply at his side, but it rapidly regenerated under the power of the Mysterious Sun. However, with each regeneration of flesh and blood, the golden-red flame grew stronger. He suddenly realized that this physical body was becoming fuel for the Mysterious Sun Fruit.

"Could it be... that all of this was a miscalculation in the end?"

He thought he had meticulously planned every step, using the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit to break through his cultivation in one go, forcing himself to grow through extreme measures, all so he would have enough strength to save Elder Sister.

But...

Human calculations were ultimately no match for heaven's.

Now, he had become a victim of the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit.

Chu Ning's spine let out a brittle crackle like a dragon's roar, the Meteorite Dragon Spine breaking and reassembling inch by inch, blood-red lightning patterns appearing on each segment. Violent energy instantly spread through his meridians, and at the same time, Chu Ning's cultivation began to climb wildly!

Eighth Rank Superior: His pores spewed blood mist, condensing behind him into the phantom image of a three-headed, six-armed demon god, holding a burning sun in its palm.

Seventh Rank Inferior: The golden patterns in his pupils split into nine layers; wherever his gaze fell, the bronze medicinal cauldron melted into molten iron, and defensive formations tore like thin paper.

Seventh Rank Intermediate: His white hair turned to fiery gold, inextinguishable golden flames burning at the tips. He laughed, shattering the pillars, "Wang Chen, you can still kneel down now..."

"Hahaha..."

Chu Ning suddenly laughed, his laughter tinged with a hint of madness.

"Isn't this the power I've always dreamed of?"

Now, it had fallen into his hands with ease, but what about him?

He was about to die!

The intense pain gnawed at his sanity, his pupils beginning to take on a blood-red hue, his aura like an out-of-control ancient ferocious beast.

"Am I... going to turn to ash..." As his consciousness blurred, a scene of Elder Sister drying herbs in Qingyang County suddenly appeared. The stray hairs at her temples were lifted by the breeze, and her fingertips still carried the fresh scent of dried medicinal herbs.

"No—"

In a deathly roar, a wisp of icy blue light pierced the blood mist.

The extreme heat tore at his sanity, his consciousness began to blur, the world became illusory, his senses peeled away bit by bit, as if his entire being was slowly sinking into an endless deep sea.

In an instant, the world fell silent, only the sound of his rapid heartbeat echoing in the darkness.

However, just as he was about to be torn apart by this terrifying energy, a light slowly emerged in the depths of his consciousness.

At first, it was just a faint point of light, but gradually, the point grew brighter and larger, and slowly, at the end of the light, a graceful figure appeared.

She walked lightly, her robes fluttering, exuding an unparalleled charm.

She drew closer.

The next moment, her soft lips gently pressed against Chu Ning's mouth.

At that moment, he felt as if he were in the deep sea, being given a mouthful of sweet oxygen, his cold body gradually warming. Chu Ning's chaotic sea of consciousness was infused with a clear spring, and the rampaging Mysterious Sun Fire was briefly halted.

Suddenly, a peculiar suction force emanated from the woman's body, frantically drawing the out-of-control energy from within him.

The woman's lips brushed across Chu Ning's cracked lips like a dragonfly touching water, and the Mysterious Sun energy transformed into golden-red threads, entering her mouth. As the Mysterious Sun energy was continuously drawn out, Chu Ning's aura rapidly descended.

Frost condensed with her breath, and a strand of golden-red fire was drawn from Chu Ning's seven orifices, forming a crimson snake in the air.

Chu Ning's spine hummed like a taut bowstring, and the Seventh Rank Intermediate spiritual power dissipated like a receding tide.

His face, swollen like a demon's, rapidly shriveled, and a layer of ice crystals covered his charred bones. In the bronze mirror, the blood-red lightning patterns receded three inches from his heart. Her furry tail swept across his festering right arm, and tender flesh grew at a visible rate.

Before Chu Ning could respond, the woman suddenly grabbed the back of his neck.

Her crimson lips pressed down hard, her pearly teeth biting his lower lip, the taste of blood filling the space between their mouths. Nine fox tails coiled around his limbs like chains, and the golden-red fire poison flowed like a stream into her throat.

The golden patterns in Chu Ning's pupils shattered inch by inch, and the cracks on the Meteorite Dragon Spine were filled with icy blue spiritual energy. He "saw" his own dantian, a black hole where the Mysterious Sun flame was being tightly strangled by the nine-tailed phantom.

"It tastes so good," the woman panted, releasing him. Her lips were stained with blood, as if painted with cinnabar.

Suddenly, the woman pushed Chu Ning down onto the melting blue bricks.

The nine-tailed phantom pierced his major acupoints, and her crimson lips sealed all his pained cries. This time, instead of drawing out, she was pouring icy blue demonic energy back into his body!

The golden-red flames and demonic energy intertwined into a vortex, condensing into ice and fire at his dantian.

Chu Ning's white hair moved as if in a wind, the golden flames at his hair tips intertwining with frost. The woman's phantom weaved through his lightning patterns, the final kiss mark branded on his collarbone.

The nine tails tightened abruptly, and Chu Ning let out a muffled groan. The fire poison in his throat completely dispersed. His skin carbonized and peeled away, revealing fresh, tender flesh. His aura finally stabilized at Eighth Rank Intermediate!

His consciousness struggled to return from the chaos. He could feel his body slowly rising, his senses gradually recovering.

He strained to open his eyes, which were filled with a bloody mist. His blood-red eyes gazed at the face so close to his, seeing a snowy figure suspended before him.

The woman's silver hair cascaded down to her waist, and her deep blue eyes, as profound as an ice lake, held an intoxicating allure. An icy blue fox pattern flowed on her brow, and her crimson lips were gently sucking the golden-red fire essence that escaped his mouth.

Chu Ning was stunned.

Her appearance...

It was the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox!