In the Lightning Tribulation illusion, time and space lost their meaning.
Xue'er felt her consciousness being violently torn apart by an invisible giant hand, instantly shattering into countless tiny fragments, scattering everywhere in the endless darkness. These fragments carried her past memories, emotions, and thoughts, drifting helplessly in the Void Realm.
When Xue'er "opened her eyes" again, the biting cold wind, like sharp ice blades, mixed with swirling snowflakes, mercilessly slapped her face. The familiar scent of the snowy mountains assailed her, carrying a biting chill and a faint freshness, instantly awakening long-sealed memories deep within her.
This was her Snow Fox Clan's territory, which she had been away from for a thousand years—Snow Cloud, deep within the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.
"No... no..."
Xue'er trembled uncontrollably, her voice tinged with a tremor and fear. She knew too well what was about to happen. This memory was like her deepest nightmare, an eternally unhealed crack in her Dao Heart.
"Your Highness! Go!"
The clan elder's white beard was stained with blood as he stumbled and threw himself in front of her. Behind him, dark Devilish Qi surged like a raging tide over the snowy mountain. Wherever it passed, the millennium-old profound ice cracked inch by inch, emitting crisp and horrifying sounds. The Devilish Qi was like a demon from Hell, devouring and destroying everything in its path.
Xue'er looked down at her body and found that she had reverted to her fragile three-tailed form of yesteryear, her demonic power pitifully weak.
"Mother... Mother, where is my mother?"
Xue'er knew that everything before her was merely an illusion, but the longing and desire for her mother surged like a tide in her heart, making her yearn to see her mother one last time.
The clan elder did not answer her question, because the next second, his head flew high, and blood gushed like a fountain from his neck, splattering a gruesome and tragic painting on the pristine white snow.
Xue'er's face was splattered with warm blood, and the pungent smell of blood made her stomach churn. She watched in horror as the clan elder's headless body, still in the posture of protecting her, slowly fell.
"I found you, little Snow Fox."
The Undying Demon Lord's whisper seemed to come from the Nine Nether Hell. Xue'er stiffly turned around, and the figure shrouded in black mist was slowly approaching.
Wherever he passed, the bodies of the Snow Fox Clan members fell like stalks of wheat, a tragic sight that shattered Xue'er's heart.
Just at this critical moment, a towering figure, like a majestic mountain, blocked Xue'er's path.
"Mother!"
A glimmer of surprise and hope flashed in Xue'er's eyes, immediately followed by endless sorrow.
Bai Jinling's seven tails unfurled like a snow waterfall, blocking the Undying Demon Lord. Her body was wreathed in Devilish Qi, which coiled around her like venomous snakes, constantly eroding her body and Soul. Her face was twisted and pained; this was the last image of her mother in Xue'er's memory.
"Run! Xue'er, never look back!"
Bai Jinling formed hand seals, and her essence blood drew a Soul-burning forbidden art in the air—the Snow Fox Clan's Soul-annihilation technique to perish with their enemies. Her eyes were filled with determination and reluctance. She knew what this meant, but to protect her daughter, she had no choice.
The Undying Demon Lord laughed, his laughter like the hoot of a night owl, sending shivers down one's spine. He merely raised a finger and flicked it lightly.
"Pop."
With a soft sound like a bursting bubble, Bai Jinling's body, Soul, and even the space around her vanished like erased ink. There was no grand explosion, no final words, only an endless Void Realm, as if she had never existed in this world.
There was no grand explosion, no final words, only... the Void Realm.
"Mother—!!!"
Tears streamed from Xue'er's eyes, gushing out like a broken dam. Her feet felt as heavy as lead, and she stood rooted to the spot, as if under a freezing spell.
Xue'er seemed to have seen through this illusion long ago, directly disregarding its outcome, merely using this opportunity to see her mother one last time. Her heart was filled with pain and self-blame. If she were strong enough, could she have protected her mother, protected the entire Snow Fox Clan?
Before long, Xue'er's eyes gradually changed from sorrow to coldness. The nine snow tails behind her slowly unfurled silently, each tail shimmering with a crystalline light, as if containing endless power.
"Are you done playing?"
Xue'er's voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable authority that made the entire illusion tremble.
The Undying Demon Lord's phantom suddenly froze, and fine cracks appeared on his black mist-like body, as if attacked by an invisible force. The snowy ground began to collapse, and countless memory fragments emerged from the cracks—all scenes she had deliberately sealed away for a thousand years. These scenes were like sharp blades, piercing her heart again and again, but at this moment, she was no longer afraid.
"You think repeating this pain can break me?" Xue'er took a step forward, and a giant ice lotus bloomed beneath her feet. The ice lotus emitted a cold light, as if it could freeze everything in the world. "These memories have been chewed over millions of times by me; they can no longer harm me."
When Xue'er took her second step, the snowy mountain in the illusion collapsed with a roar, revealing the pitch-black Void Realm. Terrifying Lightning Tribulation crashed down like roaring dragons. The lightning flashed, illuminating the entire dark Void Realm, as if it were the most terrifying judgment between Heaven and Earth.
"Crack!"
The first fox tail ice pillar developed cracks, and black lightning snakes drilled into her Meridians along the fissures. Xue'er's entire body convulsed, every inch of her flesh boiling in the lightning. This was not an ordinary Heavenly Tribulation at all, but a Heart-Slaying Lightning Tribulation containing the will of the Heavenly Dao—it did not destroy the Physical Body, but specifically corroded the Dao Foundation!
"Ugh ah—!"
Another bolt of Lightning Tribulation struck, and Xue'er knelt on one knee, blood oozing from her seven orifices, a shocking sight. She trembled as she raised her hand, gathering the last bit of ice light on her fingertips, but it disintegrated inch by inch in the lightning.
"Is it over...?"
Just as Xue'er's consciousness was about to dissipate, a blazing golden light tore through the Void Realm, like the dawn of the rising sun, suddenly spanning between her and the Lightning Tribulation! The light was dazzling, making her involuntarily squint her eyes.
"Xue'er! Hold on!"
A familiar voice pierced through the roaring thunder, and Xue'er's scattered pupils suddenly contracted.
She saw that tall figure arriving amidst the sky-filling lightning and fire, his black robe flapping, as if he were a war god from the Heavenly Realm. Where his sword pointed, the Lightning Tribulation actually retreated, as if sensing and fearing the powerful Chaos Qi emanating from him.
Li Dage, he actually forced his way into her Lightning Tribulation?
Xue'er felt both touched and worried. However, she was Undergoing Tribulation to become a Demon Emperor, and Li Mu forcing his way in undoubtedly put himself in an extremely dangerous situation as well.
"Who allowed you to bear it alone?"
Li Mu's sword-like brows furrowed, and the long sword in his hand burst forth with a heaven-shaking sword hum. Ten thousand feet of sword light rolled back like a galaxy, forcefully shattering the striking Lightning Tribulation.
Amidst the reverberating aftershocks, Li Mu grabbed Xue'er's wrist, and Chaos True Essence surged into her nearly depleted Meridians like a torrent. That True Essence was warm and powerful, like parched land receiving sweet rain, giving Xue'er's already weak body a chance to breathe.
"No, Li Dage, I'll implicate you!"
Xue'er's voice was hoarse, and she struggled to push him away, but Li Mu's palm was as unmoving as an iron clamp. The light of Chaos surged in his eyes, and the Chaotic Dao Domain appeared behind him.
"Chaotic Dao Domain—Open!"
In an instant, the entire Lightning Tribulation illusion violently twisted. A phantom of Yin and Yang rotation appeared behind Li Mu, and black and white Qi intertwined into a vortex, swallowing all the raging lightning. Xue'er's shattered Meridians actually began to heal rapidly under this power, and even her corroded Dao Foundation radiated new vitality.
"This is..." Xue'er looked at the surging Chaos Qi around her in shock: "Li Dage, you have cultivated the Chaotic Great Dao!"
"Of course, otherwise how could I be worthy of being your Dao Companion?" Li Mu smiled calmly, confidently stating.
However, the Heavenly Dao seemed to be thoroughly enraged. The dark tribulation clouds suddenly turned blood-red, and the originally scattered lightning actually condensed into nine ferocious lightning Dragons! Each one radiated an aura of destruction—the Heavenly Dao Law sensed someone interfering with the Undergoing Tribulation, and the power of the Lightning Tribulation instantly increased several times over!
"Boom!"
The first blood lightning Dragon swooped down, and the Chaos vortex was immediately torn open. Li Mu grunted, and several blood marks burst open on his sword-wielding right arm.
Seeing this, Xue'er's nine tails bloomed again, and the ice crystal barrier perfectly fused with the Chaotic Dao Domain, forcefully withstanding this world-destroying blow.
"Interesting."
Li Mu wiped the blood from his lips, pointing his sword at the sky: "Then let me see, is the Heavenly Dao ruthless, or is this Lord's Dao sword sharper!"
When the second lightning Dragon struck, Li Mu actually took the initiative to meet it, releasing 'Myriad Swords Mountain'. Ten thousand swords unsheathed, transforming into a giant sword that collided with the Dragon's head.
Xue'er clearly heard the sound of his bones shattering, but that figure did not retreat a single step. Chaos True Essence was injected into the Myriad Swords, transforming into thousands of Sword Qi, grinding the lightning Dragon into a sky full of light rain.
...
When the third lightning Dragon lunged, Xue'er suddenly bit the tip of her tongue, and her essence blood transformed into nine ice lotuses, which then turned into countless ice shields. The two's Spiritual Dao Domains intertwined, and together they struggled to resist the Lightning Tribulation.
...
In the real world, on the Tribulation Transcending Platform, Xue'er's massive nine-tailed fox body struggled painfully under the Lightning Tribulation. The vast demonic power condensed by her nine fox tails was beginning to disappear from the ends. Her eyes were tightly shut, as if she had fallen into a predicament.
"Foolish girl, tribulation within tribulation, you fell for the Heavenly Tribulation's trick!"
Beside the Tribulation Transcending Platform, Li Mu sensed Xue'er's state; her demonic power was being severely depleted. A hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes, and he quickly cast a spell.
"Five Elements rotate, Chaos as the guide!"
Li Mu revealed his Chaos Dao Body, formed hand seals, and his low roar echoed like thunder across the Tribulation Transcending Platform.
The next moment, the formation beneath Li Mu's feet suddenly lit up, and streams of Chaos Spiritual Qi surged from the orifices all over his body, like chains woven from five-colored divine light, heading straight for the Five Elements Talisman Treasure on Xue'er's body.
"Whoosh—"
The Five Elements Talisman Treasure, infused with Chaos True Essence, immediately let out a clear Dragon roar. Green, red, yellow, white, and black lights rotated endlessly, like the primordial power from the beginning of creation, forming a slowly rotating Five Elements formation around Xue'er.
Xue'er's nearly depleted demonic essence rapidly recovered under the nourishment of this vast power. The demonic power at the ends of her nine tails, which had been shattered by the Lightning Tribulation, re-condensed, turning from illusory to solid, gradually regaining its spiritual charm and luster.
"Hoo..." Li Mu took a deep breath, fine beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. As he flipped his palm, Chaos True Essence continuously poured out: "Five Elements generate each other, Wood assists Fire, Fire nourishes Earth, Earth condenses Metal, Metal moistens Water, Water returns to Wood—Rotate for me!"
As Li Mu's command fell, the Five Elements formation suddenly accelerated its rotation, and massive amounts of Five Elements True Essence poured into the Five Elements Talisman Treasure without end.
The Five Elements Talisman Treasure on Xue'er's neck radiated a brilliant Five Elements spiritual light, and it even trembled slightly like a living thing, emitting crisp and pleasant bell-like sounds. The five-colored lights intertwined and shone, weaving a constantly flowing Five Elements protective divine light around Xue'er, as if the Heavenly Dao Law had materialized, enveloping her entire figure.
"Boom—!!"
Another bolt of Lightning Tribulation struck, even more violent than before, as if Heaven and Earth were overturning, containing the power to destroy the world.
However, when the lightning touched the Five Elements divine light, it was like ice and snow meeting the sun, rapidly decomposing and transforming into strands of pure spiritual power, seeping into Xue'er's body.
Xue'er's brows moved slightly, her tightly furrowed brow, originally due to pain, slowly relaxed. Under the resonance of the Five Elements Talisman Treasure, her consciousness seemed to have crossed some profound boundary, glimpsing the profound truth of the Heaven and Earth's Five Elements cycle and the mutual generation of Yin and Yang. At the same time, she also became aware of her situation.
Xue'er understood that she had fallen for the trick of the Ultimate Illusion Lightning Tribulation. She thought she had passed the illusionary tribulation, but in fact, the subsequent tribulation with Li Mu was the true illusionary realm.
If Li Dage hadn't acted in time, she would have been exhausted of her demonic essence by the Lightning Tribulation. A trace of lingering fear flashed in Xue'er's eyes.
"Don't be distracted, focus all your strength on Undergoing Tribulation!"
Li Mu's voice, like a morning bell and evening drum, awakened Xue'er from her trance.
Xue'er suddenly snapped back to reality, fully immersing herself in the circulation of her demonic essence. Her internal demonic essence began to circulate in an orderly manner under the guidance of the Five Elements divine light. Her originally shattered Dao Foundation gradually stabilized under the nourishment of the Five Elements power, and she fully refined the Lightning Tribulation that had invaded her body.
The Five Elements divine light slightly twisted amidst violent tremors, but it did not shatter. Between the rotating five colors, the destructive power of the lightning was continuously decomposed and transformed, eventually turning into gentle strands of spiritual power, slowly seeping into Xue'er's body.
Xue'er's depleted demonic essence rapidly recovered under the nourishment of this power, and there was even a faint sign of a Breakthrough. The demonic power at the ends of her nine tails re-condensed into a radiant glow, as dazzling as the first light of dawn.
However, the Heavenly Dao was ruthless, and the Lightning Tribulation had not ceased.
Above the Tribulation Transcending Platform, the majestic and vast scale of the thunderclouds began to shrink rapidly, and Heaven and Earth suddenly fell silent.
The originally surging thunderclouds, after the first wave of Lightning Tribulation ended, began to shrink rapidly; the dark clouds collapsed inwards like a tide, gathering, as if being slowly clenched by an invisible giant hand, condensing into a pitch-black, ink-like, almost solid tribulation cloud.
Within that tribulation cloud, faint purple-gold lightning flickered, like Dragons and snakes coiling, and like deities whispering. Each bolt of lightning contained a certain Heavenly Dao will, a pressure capable of destroying all those Undergoing Tribulation.
Xue'er stood protected by the Five Elements divine light, her nine tails trembling slightly, sensing the power that was condensing, and a primal shiver involuntarily arose in her heart. (End of chapter)
