Rewards

The Heavenly Dao

had actually manifested!

Everyone around was visibly moved, their gazes somewhat blank. None of them had likely expected this to happen.

Looking back at the writing, they felt somewhat reassured.

Indeed, everything written in this piece concerned the Dao. It was only natural that the Heavenly Dao would respond.

Once the writing was finished, the characters in midair slowly descended and imprinted themselves on the paper. A strand of Righteous Qi emerged with them.

The Righteous Qi surged upward fiercely, shooting straight to a height of seven inches.

Eight inches.

Nine inches.

Everyone's expression changed dramatically at the sight. This Righteous Qi was actually so concentrated!

But then, the Righteous Qi abruptly stalled and began plummeting.

What was going on?

Everyone found it strange. Could Righteous Qi actually fall?

Before they could think further, the Righteous Qi began receding even faster. Yet when it dropped to four inches, it surged again, then plunged once more.

The rises and pauses were almost more than their hearts could bear.

None of them noticed that a mysterious Dao fortune was slowly emerging around Su Mu.

As time passed, the Dao fortune slowly began to solidify.

An azure lotus took shape, but only one of its petals slowly unfurled.

Then it stopped.

Afterward, the Righteous Qi in the distance also stopped fluctuating, finally settling at six inches.

Six inches. Some felt somewhat disappointed. Seeing the phenomenon earlier, they had thought the Righteous Qi would reach its peak of nine inches.

They had never expected it to fall back down to a mere six inches.

But on closer thought, six inches was already extraordinary!

This was six inches! In the past hundred years, the Academy of Righteousness had produced only eight or nine pieces of six-inch calligraphy!

Moreover, with this six-inch calligraphy, the eldest princess's Tribulation Transcendence was as good as secured!

At that thought, everyone's spirits lifted, and joy filled their hearts once more.

An inscrutable look also appeared in the eldest princess's beautiful eyes. She glanced at Su Mu, who stood in the distance with his head lowered, not daring to look directly over, and gently waved her hand.

Su Mu's body rose into the air, then gently landed beside Xiao Wu.

"Take good care of him."

The eldest princess transmitted her voice to Xiao Wu's ear, then raised her head and focused, preparing to face the heavenly tribulation.

She now had a ninety-nine percent chance of overcoming the Heavenly Tribulation, but she still dared not slacken in the slightest.

Xiao Wu's face flushed with excitement. Though her cultivation realm was not high, even she could tell that the eldest princess's Tribulation Transcendence should be assured!

What she had thought would offer only one chance of survival in ten had now undergone such an enormous reversal. She truly had not anticipated it.

As she looked at Su Mu beside her, her expression softened considerably.

Boom!

The old man's image in midair slowly dispersed, replaced by streaks of lightning crisscrossing one another.

Su Mu did not raise his head, but he still knew that this heavenly tribulation was exceedingly fierce.

He wanted to see just what the heavenly tribulation looked like and satisfy his curiosity.

But that seemingly inborn fear left Su Mu unable to overcome the barrier. He did not dare raise his head at all.

After trying for a long while, Su Mu ultimately failed to lift his head. All he heard was the ceaseless rumbling of thunder, interwoven with other sounds.

From time to time, cries of alarm also rang out.

So these were the weaknesses of a soul body. It belonged to yin, feared lightning and all forms of forceful yang Qi, and might even dissipate along the way.

Su Mu pondered the various weaknesses that left him vulnerable now that he had become a soul body, but there was nothing he could do.

Would he ever be able to have a body here someday?

Suddenly, a strange thought arose in Su Mu's mind.

After spending these days here, he no longer thought of returning to Earth as he had before.

Instead, he was thinking that perhaps he could have a body here too.

"How is the eldest princess doing now?"

Forcing down the fear in his heart, Su Mu asked Xiao Wu beside him.

Since this world had immortal cultivators, it should have ghost cultivators too. But Su Mu reckoned he would not take that path.

Given his fear of the heavenly tribulation right now, if he became a ghost cultivator, he truly had no idea how he would overcome one.

"She's doing very well. The fiercest strikes of the heavenly tribulation have already passed. The remaining ones are no longer anything to fear."

Hearing his voice, Xiao Wu hurriedly answered.

"How did you do it? Were you a scholar at the Academy of Righteousness before?"

Seeing that the eldest princess should be fine, Xiao Wu turned back and questioned Su Mu curiously.

Su Mu could certainly be said to have rendered a great service this time!

"I felt something in my heart, so I wrote it down."

Su Mu gave a vague answer.

Xiao Wu did not press him further when she heard this, merely nodding gently.

A little more time passed, and the thunder finally ceased. At last, Su Mu dared to raise his head and look.

In the distance, craters of all sizes had appeared around the eldest princess. Some of the surrounding ground even bore glasslike crystals.

Only extremely high temperatures could have caused the sand and soil to turn to glass.

Su Mu understood the reason with a single glance, and his heart pounded even harder.

At that moment, the eldest princess was resting with her eyes closed. It seemed she had safely overcome the heavenly tribulation.

"The eldest princess needs to stabilize her cultivation realm and settle her spiritual power next. Come back with me for now. Once she awakens, you will naturally be rewarded."

Seeing this, Xiao Wu spoke softly, then left with Su Mu.

Some experts would remain here to guard her, so there was no need to worry.

Su Mu objected as well. Seeing that the eldest princess had successfully completed her Tribulation Transcendence, he let out a complete sigh of relief.

After their interactions over these past days, Su Mu more or less felt that, having helped her overcome this heavenly tribulation, at the very least she should no longer make things difficult for him.

That meant his life was saved.

Xiao Wu brought Su Mu back to the palace grounds and had him wait a moment, then hurried over with three sticks of incense.

These three sticks were somewhat different from the previous ones. The earlier incense had merely been an ordinary dark red, whereas this incense was golden.

Its appearance alone was far more refined than before. It looked like it should be top-quality goods.

The three sticks were lit, and the drifting scent of incense drew Su Mu's body over involuntarily.

An indescribable delight filled his entire body, and his soul body gradually began to condense.

Compared with the previous incense, this kind made Su Mu feel as though this was true incense.

A hint of apology appeared on Xiao Wu's pretty face. "We've neglected you these past few days, and even misunderstood-"

"Oh, it's nothing. I didn't know whether those ideas of mine would actually work either."

Hearing this, Su Mu casually waved his hand. She was right to say that, but if he made an issue of it, he would seem to have grown tired of living. Besides, it was hardly a major matter, and there was no need to take it to heart.

Seeing that Su Mu had no intention of blaming her, Xiao Wu felt relieved.

"You've helped the eldest princess so much this time. You can start thinking carefully about what reward you want, so you won't be caught scrambling and unable to decide when the time comes."

Xiao Wu offered the reminder, a slightly playful look on her face as she spoke.