Chapter 870: Heavenly Tribulation: Questioning the Heart

The glow of the setting sun spilled down, dyeing the two figures on the rooftop red.

Along this journey, many enemies had once felt that Li Fei was "courting death," but in the end, it was they who died.

Today is different.

A peak powerhouse, a sword immortal of the current age, spoke out of kindness to Li Fei—

You will die.

This heavy weight was impossible to ignore.

Li Fei looked at the other, his gaze like a sword, as if wanting to pierce through that cloak to meet the eyes of this sword immortal:

"Previously at the peak of Mount Tiansha, Li Ming also said similar words to me. Does Sword Immortal Ning know how I replied?"

Ning Qingman smiled.

She had been lying in ambush nearby at the time, so she naturally heard Li Fei's words.

"This Marquis has fought more peak powerhouses than you have; what are you putting on an act for in front of this Marquis?"

Li Fei of course knew that Ning Qingman was letting him leave out of kindness, so he brought this up not to provoke her, but to tell her—

He is not someone who would be scared away the moment he hears the name of a peak powerhouse.

"If I hadn't made a move that day, you actually couldn't have changed anything."

Ning Qingman said softly.

Li Fei dared to clash head-on with Li Ming, which was indeed full of courage, and his strength was not to be underestimated.

But if Ning Qingman hadn't struck out with that heaven-shaking sword at the critical moment, Li Fei could not have stopped Li Ming from "swallowing" Ying Jie.

If Li Ming had the intention to retaliate afterward, he could only have escaped by relying on the 【No Distance】 divine ability.

Ning Qingman commented that he had a chance to enter the "top thirty of the current age," but there still existed an insurmountable chasm between him and peak powerhouses!

"Sword Immortal Ning should at least tell me the specific situation; whether to go or stay, I will judge for myself."

Li Fei said earnestly.

Ning Qingman gazed at the young man before her; he was indeed different from the young people she had encountered while upholding justice over these years.

He was not a fledgling bird needing to seek shelter under her wings.

"Fine."

Ning Qingman decided to tell Li Fei the truth:

"The few people we saw in the cell just now are suffering from soul-severing syndrome. I saw this symptom over twenty years ago in a village in a southern province. It was also there that I had a clash with the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River, one of the three great demons."

Old Ancestor of the Underworld River!

Hearing this name, Li Fei understood who Ning Qingman meant by "more than one peak powerhouse."

"The other's natal magic treasure, the Underworld Palace, contains hundreds of thousands of wronged souls. After temporarily storing these wronged souls in the bodies of ordinary people for a period of time, some people with weaker constitutions and insufficient essence, energy, and spirit may contract soul-severing syndrome."

Ning Qingman continued.

Li Fei: "What is the purpose of the other doing this?"

"Regarding this, I later consulted Sister Wen. The Old Ancestor of the Underworld River originally blood-sacrificed an entire city of commoners to achieve the Dao; using the summary provided by Ying Jie, he walks the path of proving the Dao through power.

He relied on the flesh, blood, souls, fates, and karma of those hundreds of thousands of people to defy the heavens and prove the Dao.

But such actions injure the harmony of heaven. If he stays in one place for too long, or releases the ghosts from the Underworld Palace for an extended period, it will invite the backlash of the Great Dao, which is—the heavenly tribulation!"

"Heavenly tribulation? Does such a thing really exist?"

Li Fei expressed doubt about this.

If the Great Dao of heaven and earth truly had some kind of will to punish evil and promote good, then when Qing Xu blood-sacrificed hundreds of thousands of people to quickly form a grand array, why didn't a heavenly tribulation fall down to strike him dead?

Ning Qingman: "Have you read the textbooks passed over from the Western Continent?"

"Hmm?"

"The physics within mentions electricity, saying that current is composed of two types of electrons, positive and negative, which attract each other and annihilate upon meeting."

"Uh, I do know a little about that."

"If you understand that, it's easy to grasp. You can treat things like luck, fate, and karma all as a type of current, also divided into two types of electrons, positive and negative."

"This..."

"Back then, the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River blood-sacrificed hundreds of thousands of people in a city, borrowing their luck, fate, and karma to achieve the Dao, while also accumulating a massive amount of negative electrons. Because those hundreds of thousands of ghosts have always existed in his natal magic treasure, this massive amount of negative electrons has also always accompanied him."

"..."

"When the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River stays in one place long enough, or releases those hundreds of thousands of ghosts for long enough, the massive amount of negative electrons he carries will attract a large amount of positive electrons from heaven and earth. These positive electrons are the so-called heavenly tribulation. Can you understand if I explain it this way?"

Li Fei fell silent.

He had not expected that as a transmigrator, he would one day have metaphysics interpreted for him in such a "scientific" way.

But you have to say, you really have to say.

After hearing this interpretation from Ning Qingman, Li Fei felt a sense of sudden enlightenment!

"I heard that the Buddha of the current age at Pudu Temple once swore to kill the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River. Besides promoting Buddhist teachings, is it also because if he wipes out that huge pile of negative electrons on the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River, it would be of great benefit to that Buddha? For example, being able to harvest a bunch of positive electrons?"

Li Fei asked suddenly.

Ning Qingman looked at Li Fei with an approving gaze; she had not expected this Marquis of Jing'an to not only accept new theories extremely quickly but also be able to draw inferences.

"I think it should be like that; Buddhist martial arts and cultivation always have some unique aspects in this regard."

Ning Qingman said, "Let us continue back to soul-severing syndrome."

"Right."

"To resolve this hidden danger of his own, the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River made an attempt: he temporarily stores the ghosts from the Underworld Palace in ordinary people for a period of time, then uses certain means to transfer the contaminated karma and fate—that is, those negative electrons—to these people, hoping to deceive the heavens and have others bear the heavenly tribulation for him.

The time I encountered it should not have been the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River's first attempt, but I think his method must have failed."

Li Fei nodded.

If it were truly feasible, the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River would have long since wreaked havoc everywhere and harmed people all over the place in the past years.

And the imperial court would certainly have taken action.

"Now the other has new results and wants to try it again in Tancheng?"

Li Fei asked.

Ning Qingman: "No, the other is aiming specifically at me; this is a meticulously designed trap."

Li Fei: "How so?"

Ning Qingman: "Under the heavenly tribulation, ordinary people possessed by ghosts and contaminated with karma and fate will all be implicated and die suddenly. The other using such means against Tancheng is to force me to have no choice but to step in and save people."

Li Fei frowned: "If one wants to save people, how does one save them?"

"Hard-carry the heavenly tribulation."

Ning Qingman said it lightly, her tone calm.

"..."

Li Fei did not ask why the other had to take such a big risk for a group of unrelated people.

That young girl who could use the Ning family sword techniques was perhaps part of the answer.

Ning Qingman looked at Li Fei: "Now do you know why I told you to leave? If it were just facing Li Ming and the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River, with Li Ming's combat power not yet recovered, you could indeed help a little, and we would indeed have a chance to win.

But while I am actively carrying the heavenly tribulation, I must also deal with the attacks of two peak powerhouses; even for me, this situation is a nine-deaths-and-one-life gamble!"

"What about Pavilion Master Wen? Won't she help? Doesn't she want Li Ming to die?"

Li Fei asked.

Ning Qingman shook her head: "The Dao that Sister Wen cultivates requires avoiding karma; her striking at Mount Tiansha already severed the karma between herself and Li Ming. The reason she helped me calculate Li Ming's whereabouts was to sever the karma between herself and me.

From here on, regardless of whether I or Li Ming die, it has nothing to do with her. So in this round, she will not participate."

"..."

Li Fei sensed a kind of desolation and loneliness in her tone.

This situation was indeed different from what he had imagined.

Ning Qingman smiled: "You might think in your heart that I am very stupid, knowing it is a trap and still stepping into it. But in a person's life, one must always do a few stupid things."

She turned to look at the sunset in the distance that was becoming dim bit by bit, her hands behind her back:

"Go quickly. With your status, as long as you do not actively get involved, they will not make a move against you."

"..."

"By the way, in return for me teaching you sword techniques during this time, take that little girl named Nie Susu away as well; she is not contaminated with karma or fate. If I die and my Dao dissipates today, I hope the Marquis of Jing'an can keep her safe for a lifetime."

"... lright."

A moment later, only one person remained on the rooftop.

Sensing that Li Fei had left, Ning Qingman was not surprised; she came to the edge of the rooftop and sat down, her legs dangling outside.

She took off her cloak, supported herself with both hands on either side, and looked up into the distance.

When she was young, she liked sitting on the roof of her home just like this, her legs constantly swinging as she watched the sunset.

Watching the sunset falling bit by bit in the distance, Ning Qingman remembered many things from the past.

She had extremely high talent from a young age, and her family also placed high hopes on her.

At the age of thirty-two, she broke through to become a Martial Arts Master.

Such speed, even in this current era where heaven-gifted geniuses emerge in large numbers, could be considered a peerless genius!

But a newly broken-through Martial Arts Master was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of the grand trend.

In the year Ning Qingman was thirty-three, the Ning family was destroyed.

The main reason for the Ning family's destruction was their participation in factional strife, leading to them being killed by their opponents.

Part of the reason for this was also that Li Ming, with the help of the 【Demonic Fetus Soul Seed】, secretly controlled a portion of the Ning family members, profiting from it and creating chaos.

That is why Li Ming also knows the Ning family sword techniques, enabling him to teach them to Nie Susu.

Those who harmed the Ning family back then were all killed off by the new Emperor after he ascended the throne.

The only enemy left for the Ning family was Li Ming.

But in the second year after the Ning family's destruction, Li Ming broke through his realm and became a Martial Saint.

Although the new Emperor appreciated Ning Qingman, he would not go so far as to exhaust the nation's strength to forcibly kill a peak powerhouse for the sake of a Ning family that had already been destroyed.

Therefore, revenge could only rely on herself.

After learning the truth, Ning Qingman's cultivation base began to advance by leaps and bounds!

At forty, she became a Grandmaster.

At fifty-six, she reached the peak of the Dao-Establishing Realm and prepared to break through her realm.

It was on that very day of her breakthrough that she realized Li Ming had also been secretly observing her all along.

Li Ming had been waiting for Ning Qingman to break through her realm so that he could complete his own Great Dao.

However, at the most critical moment, Wen Xuexian of the Red Dust Pavilion intervened to save Ning Qingman, causing Li Ming's efforts to fall short and allowing Ning Qingman to successfully break through her realm, becoming the youngest Martial Saint in history!

After becoming a Martial Saint, Ning Qingman began to hunt down Li Ming.

The grudge between the two had lasted for decades, right up until today.

It was finally time for a conclusion.

As the last glimmer of the setting sun vanished on the horizon, twilight surged in from the distance like a tide.

Ning Qingman sat on the rooftop, facing the entire world alone, gradually being swallowed by the twilight.

"Li Fei has taken that Nie Susu out of the city."

In the dark room, the voice of Old Ancestor Minghe rang in Li Ming's ears:

"Ning Qingman stayed behind and did not leave, but it is also possible she stayed behind on purpose to wait for me to trigger the heavenly tribulation, so she can seize the opportunity to strike."

"Heh."

Li Ming sneered, "Even without those arrangements, I had a thirty percent certainty she would stay to save people. With those arrangements, I have at least seventy percent certainty! Now that she has let Li Fei take Nie Susu away while she stays behind, it shows she has already decided to face the heavenly tribulation head-on!"

The most brilliant part of this scheme was not using Old Ancestor Minghe to trigger the heavenly tribulation.

It was the questioning of the heart!

Li Ming wanted to force Ning Qingman to face one thing—

When the Ning family was destroyed back then, you were powerless and could change nothing.

Now that you have reached the peak and become a Sword Immortal, are you still unable to change anything?

The destruction of the Ning family had always been the deepest scar and knot in Ning Qingman's heart.

Li Ming was using Nie Susu to make her face this knot once again.

For this, he had Old Ancestor Minghe attach yin spirits to everyone in the city, but he spared only Nie Susu.

So if Ning Qingman wanted to, she could have completely escaped by taking only Nie Susu with her.

But doing so would be equivalent to letting Ning Qingman personally watch Nie Susu experience the same fate she had suffered back then!

If Ning Qingman would truly do that, she would not have become a Sword Immortal, nor could she have practiced such sword techniques.

This was Li Ming's confidence.

Sometimes, the one who understands you best is your enemy.

"I hope you are right."

Old Ancestor Minghe left behind one last sentence.

In an underground secret chamber somewhere, a white-haired old man wearing white robes, looking like an immortal with a refined air, sat cross-legged.

Floating in front of him was a small, exquisite-looking palace.

This palace emitted a ghostly light, causing the old man's face to flicker in and out of the shadows.

This old man who looked like an immortal was one of the Three Evil Demons, Old Ancestor Minghe, and he was also the one among the Three Evil Demons who had killed the most and possessed the deepest sins!

"Ning Qingman."

Through secret arts, Old Ancestor Minghe used the possessed yin spirits to secretly observe this Sword Immortal.

Li Ming had contacted him secretly over a dozen years ago, wanting to join forces with him to deal with Ning Qingman.

But for Old Ancestor Minghe, the risks of this matter outweighed the benefits.

In any case, the person Ning Qingman had sworn to kill was not him, so he was not in a hurry at all.

It was not until Li Ming found Nie Susu and discovered that Ning Qingman had once guided her, deciding to set up this heart-questioning trap, that Old Ancestor Minghe finally became interested.

If Li Ming miscalculated this trap today, Old Ancestor Minghe could just bear the heavenly tribulation himself; after all, he had only released a few tens of thousands of yin spirits, so the power of the triggered tribulation would not be at its maximum.

Afterward, he could blood-sacrifice the tens of thousands of people in Tancheng to recoup some of his losses.

And if Ning Qingman truly did as Li Ming predicted and chose to face the heavenly tribulation head-on, then Old Ancestor Minghe would profit immensely.

Not only could he eliminate a portion of his own karma and fate without much cost, but he would also have the opportunity to join forces with Li Ming to kill Ning Qingman.

The flesh, blood, and soul of a Sword Immortal were a great tonic for Old Ancestor Minghe!

In the secret chamber, Old Ancestor Minghe formed seals with his hands, no longer using secret arts to conceal the karma and fate tainted by the people of Tancheng.

Between heaven and earth, invisible energy began to converge toward Tancheng.

More than an hour later.

Rumble—

Above Tancheng, angry thunder tore through the firmament!

Black clouds and mist began to gather, covering the entire city.

Dark clouds pressed down on the city.

A terrifying, suffocating sense of impending doom descended upon the tens of thousands of people in Tancheng!

On the main streets, many people suddenly screamed loudly.

Some fell to the ground foaming at the mouth, some ran around wildly, roaring and smashing things nearby, while others clutched their heads and trembled all over.

It was a scene of chaos!

On the rooftop of the Inspection Academy building.

A figure in green robes stood up, looking up at the sky with a calm expression.

The heavenly tribulation was coming!

(End of chapter)