Facing the Tribulation

"This body really is unbearably uncomfortable."

It took Su Mu ages to carry the rubbish downstairs like an old man, throw it away, then totter back upstairs.

By the time he returned to his room, Su Mu was utterly exhausted. He lay on the bed, unwilling to move for a long while.

"I've been keeping an eye out for jobs for you lately. Some look pretty suitable. If you have time, why not go for an interview?"

As Su Mu lay on the bed, he received a message from Wang Peng.

The sight of it gave Su Mu a headache. Ever since he had resigned, Wang Peng had gone to considerable trouble to keep an eye out for all sorts of jobs for him.

But in Su Mu's current condition, how could he possibly work?

Even getting up and making a trip to a company would take tremendous effort. He might not even manage to squeeze onto a bus.

"I've got some things going on lately, so I won't be working for now."

Su Mu sent a reply. When Wang Peng followed up with more questions, he did not answer.

Some things were difficult to explain even to his best buddy.

After resting for a while, Su Mu opened his phone and looked up some information, hoping to find something useful.

When darkness fell, Su Mu ate a little before lying down again. In the blink of an eye, he returned to the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

Here in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, the moon was already hanging high in the sky as well.

He had not felt much before, but after spending more time here, Su Mu found basking in the moonlight particularly comfortable.

Perhaps it was because, as people often said, the moon belonged to yin, which happened to be the same attribute Su Mu currently possessed.

Su Mu turned back to look at the calligraphy on the table beside him and felt another headache coming on.

He had only wanted to learn a few characters, but that maid had discovered him. Now learning to read was out of the question.

He had been away for a day. Counting the time, there were six days left.

In six days, the eldest princess would undergo Tribulation Transcendence.

This concerned Su Mu as well. If the eldest princess successfully completed Tribulation Transcendence, he would naturally be fine.

But if the eldest princess failed at Tribulation Transcendence, Su Mu would have to accompany her to the grave.

At that thought, Su Mu grew a little nervous again.

He turned back and picked up the calligraphy to examine it closely, hoping to discern some pattern or something unusual about it.

Several days passed in a flash.

In just one more day, the eldest princess would undergo Tribulation Transcendence.

By now, the matter could no longer be kept secret.

Fortunately, when someone underwent Tribulation Transcendence, everyone else had to keep their distance and could not approach to interfere.

Otherwise, the Heavenly Tribulation would think someone was helping the person undergoing Tribulation Transcendence and send down two Heavenly Tribulations at once.

This would have no effect on the person undergoing Tribulation Transcendence. Instead, it would expose anyone who approached to the threat of a Heavenly Tribulation for no reason.

Over the past few days, Su Mu had not seen that maid either. Presumably, what had happened before had made her rather unwilling to see him.

Even the three sticks of incense he had originally received were gone.

"Excuse me, where is the maid named Xiao Wu who serves the eldest princess?"

Su Mu counted the time, walked to the doorway, and saw the other maids passing by. He hurriedly stopped one of them to ask.

"Xiao Wu? What do you want with her?"

The maid he had stopped responded with a question.

"It concerns the eldest princess. Sorry for the trouble, but please ask her to come here. There are some things that aren't suitable to discuss openly."

At her words, Su Mu could only steel himself and drag the eldest princess into it.

The maid could not help frowning. She wanted to reprimand him, but considering that he had mentioned the eldest princess, she could only nod and run off to find Xiao Wu.

Su Mu did not wait long before a graceful figure entered through the doorway.

"If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, don't blame me for teaching you a lesson!"

Xiao Wu walked in and frowned at Su Mu inside.

After hearing that it concerned the eldest princess, Xiao Wu had rushed back, her face full of wariness.

"The eldest princess is about to undergo Tribulation Transcendence, isn't she? Take me to the place where she'll undergo it first."

"What would you go there for?"

Xiao Wu frowned, rather unwilling.

"In any case, I can't harm the eldest princess. If anything happens to her, I certainly won't fare well either, right? Just take me there."

Su Mu was unwilling to say more and merely urged Xiao Wu to take him straight there.

Hearing this, Xiao Wu looked at the extremely serious expression on Su Mu's face, gritted her teeth, and led him out.

She was still rather unwilling to trust Su Mu, but he kept bringing up the eldest princess every few words, striking her right in her weak spot.

Besides, what Su Mu had said was true. Whatever happened, he posed no threat to the eldest princess.

"The eldest princess will undergo Tribulation Transcendence in a valley outside the city. Although there's no fear of anyone interfering, not just anyone can enter now."

Xiao Wu explained beside him. Perhaps because she was deeply trusted by the eldest princess, when they reached the valley entrance, she led Su Mu through several checkpoints and into the valley.

The layers of inspections alone were enough to make one's heart pound with fear.

At the very front stood another party, whose imposing presence was even greater.

Before Su Mu even drew near, his body had already begun to go weak, showing signs of dispersing.

Noticing this, Su Mu's expression instantly filled with horror.

"That is His Majesty's imperial carriage. Don't go near it, or your soul body will disperse outright."

Xiao Wu noticed this and led Su Mu farther away from the imperial carriage.

On the imperial carriage, a middle-aged man dressed in dragon robes seemed to sense something and glanced toward Su Mu.

When he saw Su Mu, his brows involuntarily furrowed.

"That is the incomplete soul body summoned by the eldest princess on the day of the ritual. Shall I drive him away?"

The personal guard beside him had served His Majesty for many years. A single glance was enough for him to understand, and he immediately explained Su Mu's identity.

Although this guard had never seen Su Mu before, he remembered everything that happened within the imperial palace clearly, which was why he could provide an explanation now.

Hearing this, the Emperor of Liang's expression remained unchanged. "No need. If the eldest princess fails at Tribulation Transcendence, let him accompany her."

"Yes!"

The guard acknowledged softly and said no more.

Su Mu made his way forward and saw the eldest princess sitting cross-legged ahead. Her dress was as bright and immaculate as ever. He did not know whether she had listened to him and bathed and changed.

At this moment, countless people's gazes were focused on this place.

Although some could not enter, they could still follow the eldest princess's Tribulation Transcendence from outside the valley.

As one of the most gifted members of her generation in Great Liang, whether the eldest princess could successfully complete Tribulation Transcendence had a bearing on many things.

If the eldest princess failed at Tribulation Transcendence, it would pile snow upon frost for Great Liang, which was already teetering on the brink.

Under such circumstances, the number of people watching what happened here was beyond counting.

Great Liang's countless court officials were even more tense.