Ling Ju was so shocked by Jing Pu that she couldn't even put it into words.
Tribulation thunderclouds!!
This was the power of heaven and earth!!
What was tribulation crossing? Across the entire lower-realm continent, tribulation crossing was the great mountain every cultivator had to climb. It was like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate: cross it, and you might reach the Mahayana Stage—or even ascend to the Upper Realm.
But if you failed to cross the tribulation, you would be stuck at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Stage for the rest of your life.
And why did people fail? Because the tribulation thunderclouds contained the violent power of heaven and earth. If you could endure it, you succeeded. If you couldn't, you would be gravely injured at best—or die on the spot at worst.
Such violent energy had actually... retreated just because Senior... casually cursed at it?!!
Senior... just what kind of strength did Senior have? She couldn't fathom it at all!!!
At that moment, the thunderclouds were rapidly dispersing. Sunlight gradually filled the world, and Jing Pu looked up at the clouds, furrowing his brow as he muttered:
"Is this weather sick or something? It suddenly does this, then suddenly goes away..."
At Jing Pu's next curse, the thunderclouds, which had already been retreating quickly, scattered even faster. In barely three seconds, the black clouds that had blotted out the sky vanished entirely.
Ling Ju looked at the clear sky and swallowed. She quickly came to her senses. Never mind the weather—Senior had suddenly dispersed the tribulation thunderclouds, stopping that Demonic Beast from crossing its tribulation... Didn't that mean Senior was planning to get involved?!
At the thought, Ling Ju's heart surged with excitement. As expected of the Senior she revered! How could Senior not intervene in something like this? Someone as kind as Senior couldn't bear to watch all life in this world be laid waste.
Ling Ju immediately turned to Jing Pu, who was staring at the sky in confusion, and said:
"Senior, those thunderclouds gathered because that Demonic Beast was crossing its tribulation. It must be nearby. I sensed roughly where it is just now. Shall we go find it and kill it?"
A Demonic Beast??
Crossing its tribulation??
Jing Pu suddenly understood. No wonder those thunderclouds had been so strange. But...
Jing Pu raised an eyebrow. Which was stronger, tribulation crossing or the Golden Core Stage?
He'd only been here for a week. He hadn't looked into the cultivation levels of this world. He couldn't cultivate anyway, so what was the point? He'd never paid attention.
Still... thinking about it as hard as he could, Jing Pu figured the Tribulation Crossing Stage had to be stronger than the Golden Core Stage, right?
Could Ling Ju handle it? Wasn't she only at the late Golden Core Stage?
But then Jing Pu thought again. Maybe Ling Ju meant something else by "crossing tribulation"—not the Tribulation Crossing Stage, but some kind of breakthrough cultivators went through that could also be called crossing a tribulation.
Anyway, Ling Ju didn't look scared or troubled at all. Jing Pu figured that must be it. With Ling Ju protecting him, what did he have to worry about? The ADC wasn't afraid, so why should a support—no, to be precise, he wasn't even a minion—be afraid?
Jing Pu nodded casually and said:
"Sure. Let's hurry, then."
Jing Pu didn't know much about the cultivation world, but he did know about this lower-realm continent. It was home to three races: the Human Race, the Demon Race, and the Devil Race.
The Demon Race and the Human Race were allies who fought together against the powerful Devil Race. The Devil Race was bloodthirsty, and it often wiped out human villages—or even entire towns.
If they arrived too late, a lot of people might die.
Jing Pu immediately slapped the Dragon Horse on the rump. It broke into a furious gallop, moving so fast that within seconds, Jing Pu could see all of Qinghe Town.
But the Demonic Beast clearly wasn't in Qinghe Town. The Dragon Horse kept racing ahead.
Ling Ju wasn't afraid either. Since Senior had agreed to go, she figured that even if their opponent was merely a peak Spirit Transformation cultivator who hadn't yet crossed the tribulation, it wouldn't be a match for Senior—not even if it had crossed.
But... Ling Ju thought it over carefully. It seemed Senior's intentions might not be so simple...
If Senior had truly wanted to kill the Demonic Beast personally, then with Senior's strength, it would have been dead the instant the thunderclouds appeared—even from a thousand li away.
So why had Senior only dispersed the tribulation thunderclouds?
Ling Ju thought it over and suddenly jolted. Senior meant for her to make the move!!
But could she do it? Ling Ju thought it through. She was only at the late Golden Core Stage, with the Nascent Soul and Spirit Emergence stages still between her and the peak Spirit Transformation Stage. The gap was huge!
But Ling Ju carefully considered it again... Maybe there really was a tiny chance!
When a peak Spirit Transformation cultivator gathered tribulation thunderclouds, the True Qi and Spiritual Power in their body would be drained in an instant, leaving them extremely weak.
Of course, no matter how weak a peak Spirit Transformation cultivator was, they could still crush someone at the late Golden Core Stage. But Ling Ju considered that she had the divine artifact Senior had given her: that palace fan.
Besides... Ling Ju didn't think she actually needed to defeat the peak Spirit Transformation Demonic Beast. She only needed to hold it off.
The tribulation thunderclouds had stretched for hundreds of li. The Divine Sword Sect must have noticed them too, and all the experts in the sect were surely already on their way. Ling Ju only needed to hold off the Spirit Transformation Demonic Beast until the Divine Sword Sect's powerful cultivators arrived, then they could join forces and kill it.
At the thought, Ling Ju decided that this must be what Senior meant. That way, Senior wouldn't have to act, and the Demonic Beast would still be dealt with—a perfect solution for both sides.
She might get hurt in the fight, but she wouldn't die. After all, Senior was coming with her. If her life were truly in danger, Senior would surely save her. Why else would Senior have come along? Senior would protect her...
At the thought, Ling Ju's face flushed red again. But she quickly composed herself, because they had reached a stretch of mountains that went on and on.
Ling Ju could sense that the Demonic Beast was somewhere in these mountains. She just didn't know exactly where, so they would have to search.
At the edge of the mountains, quite a few ordinary people who had gone in to gather firewood or hunt were scrambling out, terrified.
The Dragon Horse landed. The moment the ordinary people saw Jing Pu and Ling Ju—especially their Daoist robes and the flying Dragon Horse—they crowded around them, fearfully recounting the terrifying scene they'd just witnessed.
There were too many people, and they were all scared half to death, babbling over one another. Jing Pu could only make out one thing: the Demonic Beast was inside.
Ling Ju thought for a moment, then turned to Jing Pu behind her and said:
"Senior, I'll go in by myself. Could you stay here and look after these mortals?"
This was a test from Senior, so she only needed to go in. With Senior's strength, if anything really happened to her, Senior would surely appear at once and save her.
Though Ling Ju had spent less than three days with Jing Pu, she trusted him completely.
Jing Pu agreed without a second thought, then jumped down from the Dragon Horse. He was useless, after all. There was no point following Ling Ju inside and getting in her way.
After dismounting, Jing Pu looked at Ling Ju astride the Dragon Horse and couldn't help warning her:
"Be careful. If you can't handle it, run first."
Ling Ju nodded, then rode the Dragon Horse into the mountains, a long blue-green sword appearing in her hand.
At the same time, deep in the mountains, a pale-faced figure glared at the sky and shouted furiously through clenched teeth:
"Where the hell are my tribulation thunderclouds?!!"
Before you continue