Chapter 119: The Tribulation Clouds Disperse

Tribulation clouds?

Ruan Xing looked toward the sky.

The thick, grey-black mass of clouds had already begun to gradually disperse.

She furrowed her brows, "Something doesn't seem right. Is a Golden Core Tribulation this fast?"

She remembered that when she underwent the tribulation in her simulation, the three bolts of Tribulation Lightning did not fall that quickly; it took nearly two hours from start to finish.

Although every person's Golden Core Tribulation cannot be judged by the same standard, Meng Hui shouldn't have finished her tribulation this quickly, unless...

Qintai He clearly also thought of this possibility; his complexion instantly turned a few shades paler, and he stood up and stumbled as he rushed outward, gathering his energy for a light leap, and the white wolf tacitly lowered its head to let him mount, after which it ran without hesitation toward the direction where the tribulation clouds were dissipating.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" Ruan Xing also hurriedly followed on her Sword.

When the two arrived, a circle of people had already gathered on the peak.

Aside from the fellow disciples Meng Hui had originally invited to guard the array and others who were observing the ceremony, there were also some nearby disciples who had come to check on the situation.

They stood in groups of two or three on the outer perimeter, leaving the ground in the center empty; the smooth stone tiles had become pitted and scarred after being ravaged by the lightning tribulation, and a charred figure lay there without a sound, the clothes on her body completely destroyed, and amidst the mangled flesh and blood, tiny electric sparks still flickered, while the snow-white soft smoke gauze lay tattered and draped over her wrist.

Two disciples were squatting to one side checking Meng Hui's physical condition; a tall, round-faced male Cultivator tapped his hands in mid-air a few times, and a mirror-like Dharma Artifact hovered at a low altitude for a few circles before he retracted it, then he shook his head and said to the Tianyan Peak disciples standing on the side guarding the array, "It's no use, all her Meridians are shattered, and her Spirit Bone seems to be broken too; she cannot be saved."

The two Tianyan Peak disciples lowered their heads, the female Cultivator among them having slightly reddened eyes, "Can she still live?"

The round-faced Cultivator paused and said, "But there is no need; she is already nearly seventy years old. If she lives as a mortal without Cultivation, her natural lifespan will end in a few more years. Why let her be a cripple lying in bed suffering for a few more years?"

If the Spirit Bone is damaged, one cannot absorb Spirit Qi, and Cultivation cannot advance; if the Meridians are shattered, it requires a long period of slow nourishment by Spiritual Power to recover. If both are destroyed, one can only be a mortal without Cultivation.

A mortal without illness or disaster can live at most a hundred years; for a woman nearly seventy, even if a large amount of resources were spent to save her, she would not live long.

Cheng Bi showed an expression of unbearable pity and turned to the round-faced Cultivator, "Senior Brother, at the very least... let her say goodbye to her fellow sect members; don't let her leave so wretchedly."

"You are quite generous." The round-faced Cultivator glanced at him, thought for a moment, and took out a Pill, "Huiyang Pill; it can block pain and allow a person a final moment of clarity. It is effective for at most two hours. You can call those close to her to come and speak a few words to her."

The Tianyan Peak female Cultivator said with a choked voice, "Many thanks, Junior Brother Cheng Shuo. Once we have organized Junior Sister Meng's belongings, we will send the payment for this Huiyang Pill to Chenshui Peak."

Cheng Shuo nodded, "Mm, then I will take Cheng Bi back first and not disturb you all."

Cheng Shuo and Cheng Bi had happened to be nearby; seeing the tribulation clouds disperse, they knew the person undergoing the tribulation had failed, so they came over to see if they could save her.

There are two reasons for failing a tribulation: one is external force, where someone interferes while a Cultivator is undergoing the tribulation, in which case they are basically unsalvageable. The second is insufficient personal ability, or the preparations before the tribulation were not done well, leading to a miscalculation of the Tribulation Lightning's power, resulting in an inability to resist. This situation can still be saved; at most, one's Cultivation will regress by a few minor realms, and one can just nurse their injuries and cultivate again.

The Tianyan Peak female Cultivator took the Huiyang Pill and went to the side to use her Sect Jade Token to send messages to call people. Meng Hui was kind to others and had a spirited personality, getting along with everyone, so her popularity was quite good; there were many disciples from Yaoguang Peak and Tianyan Peak who were familiar with her.

Another Tianyan Peak male Cultivator stood in place guarding Meng Hui's body to keep people from getting close. Meng Hui's body still contained many flickering lightning sparks; when Cheng Shuo checked just now, he didn't dare to touch her easily and could only use a Dharma Artifact to check, precisely because Meng Hui was extremely fragile now, and a slight touch could cause secondary damage from the lightning sparks, or worse, the person touching her, if their Cultivation was not high, would also be harmed by the lingering power of the tribulation.

Qintai He stepped forward a few paces, slowly opened his mouth, and after a long while said, "... Senior Brother Hu, when she was undergoing the tribulation, what happened?"

The Tianyan Peak male Cultivator was named Hu Zhun; he naturally knew Qintai He, though they were not familiar, but he knew Meng Hui had invited Qintai He to join them in guarding her array, only for Meng Hui to suddenly receive a message from Qintai He before the tribulation, saying his master was looking for him and he could not come.

Hu Zhun shook his head and said softly, "Although you didn't come, the three of us were enough to guard Junior Sister Meng; we wouldn't let anyone have the chance to break in. Besides, this is inside the Xuanbing Sect; how could anyone be so bold as to disturb a fellow disciple's tribulation? I was watching at the time; when she took the first bolt of Tribulation Lightning, the situation was still fine, she just lacked experience and suffered some minor injuries, which didn't affect the subsequent lightning."

"But... before the second bolt of Tribulation Lightning, while she was circulating her energy to heal, she suddenly showed a pained expression, as if something went wrong with her Spiritual Power circulation. I shouted from outside the array for her not to push herself, and if she felt she couldn't resist, she should self-destruct her Cultivation, drop a minor realm or two to let the tribulation clouds disperse, and then cultivate again to undergo the tribulation later. But she said she was fine and wanted to continue. When the second bolt of Tribulation Lightning came down, she had just used her Dharma Artifact to resist when suddenly lightning exploded, her soft smoke gauze broke, and lightning arcs wrapped around her body in a dense mess. She rolled on the ground in pain, and after that, the tribulation clouds dispersed."

"There was no external force involved... Later, after she takes the Huiyang Pill, you can ask her what exactly happened. It's just that even if we know, it's already too late. Sigh..."

Hu Zhun sighed, his gaze filled with sorrow.

Soon, one after another, hurried sword lights flew toward this side.

Except for those who were away and not in the Sect, all the disciples who received the news and were familiar with Meng Hui came to see her off on her final journey.

The small peak was crowded with Golden Core Stage and Foundation Establishment disciples. Ruan Xing looked around; most of them were somewhat familiar, being disciples from Tianyan Peak and Yaoguang Peak, and there were also a few from Artifact Refining Peak. Counting them, there were actually fifty or sixty.

She sighed in a low voice, "Senior Sister Meng has so many friends."

She actually admired people with Meng Hui's personality, who could get along with everyone wherever they went, whereas she couldn't. Not to mention the backstabbing in the world of Cultivation in this life, she hadn't made any good friends in her previous life either; giving one's heart to someone is a very difficult thing.

"Yes, she has many friends." Qintai He said in a very small, ghostly voice, "That's why I didn't want her to die in my place. If she dies, many people who care about her will be sad and heartbroken, but if I die, no one will cry for me."

Qintai He lowered his head, his crow-feather-like eyelashes drooping to cover the emotions in his eyes.

His identity was truly awkward in the eyes of the Xuanbing Sect's upper echelons. His master had openly requested the Sect Master in the main hall to use Meng Hui to replace him at the space-time rift; could it be that no one hoped for this?

He asked Ruan Xing, "Do you think her tribulation failure was an accident, or... because of me?"

His voice was light as a feather, yet he spoke every word with extreme hesitation.

He seemed to have fallen into a trap of his own making; if his master hadn't insisted on protecting him in the main hall, then would Meng Hui have been able to successfully undergo the tribulation and become a Golden Core Cultivator? Thanks to high school student Zhou Yingting for the tip~(End of chapter)