Chapter 257: Red Lotus Tribulation Flames

The Red Lotus Prison Fire Tribulation, much like the Annihilation Lightning Tribulation just now, was a dual-layered tribulation.

It was only that many people did not recognize the previous lightning tribulation; after all, lightning is just lightning, with only minor differences in color, lacking the distinct visual identity of these red lotuses. The Red Lotus Prison Fire Tribulation, however, was extremely well-known, simply because it was beautiful.

Very few heavenly tribulations were as aesthetically pleasing as this one. Born from the lotus platform to manifest the prison of death, it was known as the Red Lotus Prison Fire.

The reason it was also a dual-layered tribulation was that, beyond the normal scorching flames, it contained a very explicit intent of judgment and purification.

It judged that one’s demonic intent was too deep, thus requiring judgment and purification.

Yet, according to experience, not everyone who encountered this tribulation was a heinous demonic cultivator; often, it was good people who had committed some mistakes who were more likely to encounter this tribulation than the truly wicked.

The truly evil ones usually encountered other types, where the intent of annihilation was far stronger than the intent of judgment.

To give you judgment meant that it believed you were still worth saving.

Consequently, this tribulation did not bring people the impression that "this is an evil person"; instead, they all whispered, "So his nature is good? But what mistake did he commit to lead to this?"

A-Nu poked her head out from behind the Book Mountain.

Ye Tinglan lowered her head, and Bai Mao narrowed her eyes.

In everyone’s heart, the mistakes he had made were different.

A-Nu had truly witnessed the period when he was at his most dark and ferocious; how many demonic deeds had he committed? And he had forgotten his disciple for the sake of his master’s wife—encountering this tribulation was not strange at all. Heaven had eyes; let’s see if you dare to forget your disciple again!

Ye Tinglan felt that he harbored thoughts for Yuan Muyu, who had adopted him—this was a violation of human ethics, and he deserved this tribulation. But this was more Yuan Muyu’s fault... he was only a few years old then; Yuan Muyu, are you even human?

Dugu Qingli felt that what he violated was not necessarily human ethics; wasn't the master his teacher? Wasn't this a classic case of a disciple rebelling against his master?

And then, all three of them reached a consensus that he was a philanderer and not a good person.

Yeah, this tribulation fire was right; judge him severely!

"If even these minor matters of mine require judgment and purification... then what have you been doing all this time?" Amidst the tribulation flames, Lu Xingzhou spoke softly: "In Danxia Mountain, when tyrants ran rampant and villagers died unjustly, where was your judgment? In Menggui City, when infants were refined into ghosts and ten thousand households wailed, where was your purification?"

Following his words, his hands moved lightly, creating heavy afterimages within the flames, as if forming a dharma seal.

The residual clouds in the sky suddenly appeared, as if the tribulation fire had manifested in the heavens, trapping the setting sun within it, once again performing the shape of a fire prison, only this time, it was the sunset being imprisoned.

The dharma seal transformed into a palm, slowly striking toward the ground.

Despite the seemingly gentle movement, his long hair flew wildly, his hair tie snapped, and within the fire prison, he looked like a god and a demon alike.

In the eyes of the onlookers, it was as if the entire sky’s rosy clouds were enveloping them, forming a new prison outside the red lotus, trapping the red lotus within an even larger tribulation fire.

"I am merely crossing a small heavenly tribulation, yet you dare to judge me? How about this... do you think I am easier to bully? Well, I’m sorry, I don’t buy that." With his words, the rosy clouds gradually tightened, and the red lotus seemed to be plucked into the palm of a giant flame hand, swaying and struggling.

"It should be you... who comes to taste my furnace fire, to see what you can be refined into?"

"Boom!" The Red Lotus Prison Fire clashed with Lu Xingzhou’s imagery of the Burning Prison Residual Sun, and it was actually suppressed entirely, turning into a fire seed in the shape of a red lotus, trembling in his palm.

"A fire seed!" An Elder exclaimed in shock: "He refined the heavenly tribulation into a fire seed!"

"Red Lotus Tribulation Flames, that is how they come to be. He is not the first to do this," Ye Tinglan said softly, her eyes filled with love that she could only hide by lowering her gaze: "But those who can succeed, throughout the ages, are few and far between."

There was another sentence she didn't say aloud—in fact, Lu Xingzhou was never meant to be a supporting character; his desire for dominance was extremely strong. He wanted to make the heavens and earth his alchemy furnace, and his alchemy fire to refine the universe. How could such a person ever be content to remain a mere assistant?

Yet, regarding matters between men and women, because of the mood, he was actually quite willing to eat soft rice and play the part of a little puppy. Even so, he often revealed, "I don't eat soft rice." If you ever mistook his mood or concessions for him being a little puppy forever dependent on you, you would be wrong...

"Suppressing a heavenly tribulation into a fire seed might be doable, but subduing it? Can he really succeed in subduing it?"

"Anyway, with my strength at the threshold of the Third Realm, I certainly couldn't do it."

"Regardless of whether he can subdue it, in terms of this second heavenly tribulation, he can already be considered to have passed it. Even if he can't subdue the fire seed, he can hand it over to others to deal with."

"Then why hasn't it ended yet? Is there a third layer?"

If others had a triple tribulation, although rare, it wasn't unseen; Dugu Qingli had one.

But if Lu Xingzhou had another, it would be very bizarre.

Because his first two tribulations were both dual-layered; having passed two, it should count as four layers. This already exceeded many people's understanding. If another one came, a fifth layer, it was unheard of. If this last one was also dual-layered, that would be a six-layer tribulation. Throughout history, no one had ever heard of a lunatic crossing a six-layer tribulation during the Small Ascending Cloud Tribulation. This wasn't an Ascension Tribulation; was it really necessary?

Ye Tinglan watched the Red Lotus Tribulation Flame fire seed struggling in Lu Xingzhou’s palm and said softly: "Can’t you all see? He has already begun crossing the Heart Demon Tribulation."

The Elders were shocked: "Is there really a fifth layer? Could it be a sixth?"

Ye Tinglan stared intently, shaking her head slightly.

The Heart Tribulation was the most impossible for others to observe. She could only judge that it had begun, but it was very difficult to judge what type it was, or if it was dual-layered.