Desperate Straits! Celestial Master Save Me

Above the Pope Palace, purple-black Tribulation Cloud gathered frantically, layer pressing upon layer, mass swallowing mass.

Within the rifts of the clouds, lightning rolled; every time it flashed, every spirit master in Martial Soul City felt as if their bones had been struck.

It was no ordinary thunder.

That aura of destruction was too pure.

It was so pure that even the Rakshasa God power within Bibi Dong began to churn, as if encountering something of the same origin but far more violent, pushing outward inch by inch along her meridians.

Bibi Dong's expression shifted.

"This is..."

For the first time, her voice lost its composure.

"Divine Punishment lightning tribulation?!"

Hu Liena stood by her side, the Severing Thought Sword mark on her wrist turning abruptly icy.

The coldness darted from her wrist bone to her shoulder, then pierced from her shoulder into her chest.

She looked up at that mass of purple-black Tribulation Cloud, her throat feeling as if it were blocked, unable to utter a single word.

Divine Punishment lightning tribulation.

She had heard these four words before.

When Bibi Dong spoke of the Rakshasa God inheritance, she had mentioned that the most dangerous part of the final step to godhood was not the fusion of divine power, but the heavenly tribulation—the Divine Punishment—the judgment passed by the high and mighty gods upon those in the lower realm attempting to ascend.

But she had not yet become a god.

She was only at level eighty-eight.

On what grounds?

Hu Liena's fingers curled tight, bit by bit.

Her nails dug into her palms; the pain was faint, so faint it could not suppress the sense of death looming overhead.

This lightning was not a stray strike.

It was coming specifically for her.

As soon as this realization surfaced, a chill ran down Hu Liena's spine.

It was not the kind of cold that made one's legs go weak from fear, but rather a sudden, excessive clarity of mind.

She could even clearly feel the warmth of the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment against her skin, the starlight lingering in her meridians from the Star River Map, and the steady aura of fate from the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron still supporting her destiny.

Yet, in the face of the Tribulation Cloud above, all these things seemed too thin.

So thin that she wanted to laugh.

Shen Yichen had only delivered the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment three days ago.

And the Asura God had already brought down the Divine Punishment.

Was he unable to wait?

Or was he afraid?

As soon as this thought emerged, Hu Liena herself found it absurd.

Afraid?

Would the gods of the God Realm fear a Celestial Master from the lower realm?

But if he was not afraid, why strike before she had even attained godhood?

Bibi Dong turned abruptly.

She looked at Hu Liena, her gaze terrifyingly heavy.

"Nana!"

This shout dragged Hu Liena back from her thoughts.

Bibi Dong stepped down from the dais, reaching out to grab her wrist.

"Get out of the way!"

Hu Liena heard her.

She wanted to move, too.

But her feet felt as if they were nailed to the ground, her shoulders locked by that Divine Punishment, and even her fox tails were stiff behind her, the tips trembling slightly.

It was not that she did not want to run.

It was that she could not.

That Divine Punishment had already locked onto her Divine Soul.

Hu Liena's eyelids twitched, and her lips moved.

"Teacher..."

Her voice was so soft that even she could barely hear it.

Bibi Dong's hand had already reached out before her, her fingertips a mere half-inch from her wrist.

Half an inch.

Just half an inch away.

Purple-black lightning flared violently from the depths of the clouds.

The entire ridge of the Pope Palace was bleached a ghastly white in that instant, and the shadows of everyone in Martial Soul City were crushed beneath their feet, shrinking into mere blobs of black.

"Retreat!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan shrieked, his voice cracking.

Yet the Martial Soul Hall spirit masters on the plaza could not retreat at all.

Below the Title Douluo level, some were kneeling, others were sprawled on the ground, their spirit rings in complete disarray.

Someone tried to manifest their martial soul, but the moment they raised their hand, the sheer pressure of the lightning forced their entire arm back against the ground, their joints popping audibly.

Ghost Douluo braced himself against a pillar, his face ashen.

"This is not lightning that should exist in the lower realm..."

In all his years, this was the first time he felt death so close.

It wasn't even the lightning striking him.

The mere residual pressure leaking out before the Tribulation Cloud descended made even the thought of fleeing feel like a luxury.

Ye Lingling stood behind Hu Liena, the bowl of ginseng soup in her hands shattering with a snap.

Hot broth splashed onto her hem.

She didn't feel the heat.

Her eyes were locked onto the mass of purple-black lightning above, only one thought remaining in her mind.

It's over.

If this thing actually strikes, let alone Lady Hu Liena, the entire Pope Palace will be obliterated.

No.

What about Celestial Master?

Celestial Master must see this.

He must see it!

Ye Lingling's throat tightened; she wanted to call out Shen Yichen's name, but felt she had no right.

He was her master, the heaven of Taixu Temple, a man who shouldn't even take Divine Punishment seriously.

But the lightning was already descending.

Too fast.

Too fast to even call for help.

"Lady Hu Liena!"

The moment the scream escaped her lips, Ye Lingling lunged forward.

She wanted to shield her.

Even though she knew that as a Nine-Heart Begonia Title Douluo, she wasn't even worth as much as paper in the face of Divine Punishment.

Yet she moved regardless.

Celestial Master had ordered her to obey Hu Liena's commands.

Celestial Master had ordered her to remain in Martial Soul City.

If Hu Liena died before her eyes, what face would she have to return to Taixu Temple?

Bibi Dong moved as well.

Nine spirit rings exploded beneath her feet, and the power of the Rakshasa God surged wildly from within her.

The dark purple divine power coalesced into a barrier, hovering above Hu Liena's head.

It had barely formed.

Crack.

The barrier fractured.

It wasn't shattered by the lightning strike.

It was cracked merely by the pressure descending from the Tribulation Cloud.

Blood spilled from the corner of Bibi Dong's mouth, her expression hideous to the extreme.

It wasn't enough.

She couldn't block it.

The Rakshasa God position had not yet fully merged; by forcing her hand now, she couldn't even hold on for a single breath.

Yet she could not retreat.

Hu Liena was her disciple.

She was the child she had raised with her own hands.

She could be cold to anyone in Martial Soul Hall, treat the people of the world as chess pieces, and drive herself to this current state for the sake of becoming a god.

But not Nana.

"All of you, back away!"

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, her palms continuing to push upward, forcing the fractured dark purple barrier to hold for another half-foot.

Blood seeped from the gashes in her palms, vaporizing into a black-red mist under the power of the Rakshasa God.

"Teacher!"

Hu Liena was finally able to speak.

Yet her first reaction upon crying out was not to beg Bibi Dong to save her.

It was to tell Bibi Dong to leave.

"Don't block it!"

She knew it all too well.

This lightning was no ordinary attack.

This was Divine Punishment.

The target was her.

If Bibi Dong stood in the way, she would only be crushed along with her.

Hu Liena did not want to die.

Of course, she did not want to die.

She had not yet seen Shen Yichen.

She had not yet been to Taixu Temple.

She had not yet seen the Spirit Crane Valley that Ye Lingling spoke of, nor touched the old pine tree growing outside the Seclusion Chamber, nor asked that man in person—why me?

Only five of the Eighteen Betrothal Gifts had arrived.

There were still thirteen to go.

She had not even had the chance to sincerely say thank you to him.

How could she die?

How could she die here?

But compared to her own death, she could not bear to watch Bibi Dong die for her.

"Teacher, go!"

Hu Liena's voice was completely shattered.

Bibi Dong did not look back.

"Shut up."

Two words.

As cold as when she scolded her during training.

Hu Liena froze, her eyes suddenly burning.

Even at a time like this, Teacher was still being fierce with her.

The thought was absurd, yet it caused the fear in her chest to dissipate just a little.

The next instant, the Tribulation Cloud overhead descended completely.

The Purple-Black Divine Lightning emerged from the deepest part of the clouds.

It was not a thin bolt of lightning.

It was a pillar of lightning so thick it induced despair.

The pillar was wreathed in blood-colored killing intent, and wherever it passed, the space was torn into black fissures.

Those fissures were swallowed by the lightning the moment they appeared, leaving no chance for them to heal.

In Martial Soul City, countless people looked up and witnessed this scene.

Some collapsed directly to the ground.

Some kowtowed until their foreheads bled.

Others stood with their mouths agape, unable to make a single sound.

Divine Punishment.

True Divine Punishment.

This thing was not meant to be looked at.

It was meant for dying.

Hu Liena tilted her head back, and the Three-Legged Golden Toad on her Tribulation-Avoiding Garment suddenly came to life.

The toad's back swelled.

Golden auspicious energy surged from the lapels, cuffs, and hem of her garment simultaneously, condensing into a layer of golden light film around her.

The light film was very warm.

So warm that it made Hu Liena want to cry.

Shen Yichen.

When this name surfaced in her mind, she suddenly felt that she was quite pathetic.

Just a few days ago, she had still been stubborn.

Talking about how it was just a betrothal gift, how they hadn't even met, and how she could only live up to his things after becoming a god.

When she truly reached the line between life and death, however, her mind was filled only with him.

Not Bibi Dong.

Not Martial Soul Hall.

Not becoming a god.

It was that Celestial Master in white whom she had never met.

She wanted to see him.

She wanted to, desperately.

She wanted to ask him if it was true what Ye Lingling said about him being very handsome.

She wanted to see if the Stone Chamber where he had been in seclusion for a hundred years was truly as cold and desolate as they said.

She wanted to return that Pine Needle Leaf to him with her own hands and ask one more question—when you gave me these things, did you ever think that I would be afraid?

The Purple-Black Divine Lightning descended completely.

The Rakshasa Barrier that Bibi Dong had propped up shattered the instant before the lightning pillar touched it.

The backlash sent her flying, her back slamming heavily against the stone steps of the Pope Palace, blood gushing from the corners of her lips.

"Nana!"

Bibi Dong scrambled up, her fingertips clawing bloody marks into the stone steps.

It was too late.

It was truly too late.

Hu Liena stood where she was.

The golden light of the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment shone to its limit.

The Severing Thought Sword mark was ice-cold.

The phantom of the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron emerged behind her, the body of the cauldron trembling as the Image of Mountains and Rivers was twisted frantically by the might of the lightning.

The Star River Map flew out of the cultivation room on its own, the scroll unfurling, and the Twenty-Eight Mansions lit up one by one. Starlight rushed toward that divine lightning, only to be crushed into silver dust across the sky the moment they made contact.

All the betrothal gifts were protecting her.

But that bolt of lightning was too ruthless.

So ruthless it didn't look like a trial.

It looked like a murder.

Hu Liena suddenly understood.

This was not a heavenly tribulation.

This was the Asura God wanting her dead.

The corners of her mouth twitched, wanting to smile, but she couldn't.

So, even a god could be this filthy.

The lightning pillar had reached the top of her head.

The golden light film of the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment was pressed down against the tips of her hair, her fox ears were numbed by the lightning's might, and her five fox tails went rigid one by one.

Hu Liena closed her eyes.

At the very last moment, she did not cry out.

She simply whispered that name in her heart one last time.

Shen Yichen.

Save me...

The Purple-Black Divine Lightning landed precisely upon her.

BOOM—!

A massive roar exploded, and the stone steps in front of the entire Pope Palace split in two down the middle.