Just as the group exchanged a few pleasantries, a small squad suddenly emerged from a side path. When the leading disciples saw Yin Ruobai, their eyes lit up, and they hurried over.
"Eldest Senior Brother!"
"Jiang Wen? Lin Qiu? Why are you here?"
Seeing the newcomers, Yin Ruobai was somewhat surprised.
After the situation at the Demonic Beast Cliff had settled down, he had handed over the task of driving the beasts into the cave to his fellow disciples from the same peak.
Why were they now near the forbidden grounds?
"Did something happen?"
"Eldest Senior Brother, you don't know?" Jiang Wen was also a bit surprised.
Seeing Yin Ruobai's bewildered expression and realizing he truly didn't know the reason, he hurriedly gave a brief explanation.
"The ancient ferocious beast Xiushe in the forbidden grounds is about to undergo its lightning tribulation!"
"The Peak Master is afraid that the lightning tribulation will spread and affect the medicinal gardens and buildings near the forbidden grounds, so he ordered us to quickly scatter our manpower and set up defensive formations."
"We need to rush to the east side of the forbidden grounds right now!"
As they spoke, a massive, rumbling clap of thunder suddenly echoed from above.
Everyone looked up one after another.
They saw that the sky, which had just been clear and boundless, was suddenly churning with dark clouds, slowly enveloping the forbidden grounds ahead and the nearby mountains.
Everyone's expression changed.
"It really is the lightning tribulation of a ferocious beast!"
"Heavens, the scope of this lightning tribulation is so vast! It feels like it's covering several mountains!"
"No wonder even the major Peak Masters were alarmed. What terrifying tribulation clouds!"
The junior disciples of Lingyun Peak began to discuss animatedly.
At the same time, the communication jade talismans of Shen Qi and Yin Ruobai lit up simultaneously.
Frowning, the two opened their jade talismans.
It was a summoning order sent simultaneously by the Peak Masters of Qingyun Peak and Lingyun Peak.
Yin Ruobai had been in the forbidden grounds earlier where his communication jade talisman was ineffective, so he hadn't received the message. Only now did he receive the resent message from his Peak Master.
After hastily reading it, the expressions on their faces instantly grew solemn.
Shen Qi spoke up, "The Xiushe lightning tribulation is imminent. The Sect Leader is summoning the disciples of all peaks to head to Broken Dragon Peak. There's no time to lose, let's depart immediately!"
Yin Ruobai nodded in agreement and turned to look at Yuan Shu, his eyes hiding a trace of tenderness that the others couldn't quite understand.
"Junior Sister Yuan, I'm afraid we will have to part ways with your fellow disciples from Qingyun Peak for this trip. Will you come with me, or go along with your senior brothers?"
His gentle and intimate tone caused the four people opposite them to look over in unison, their eyes holding various expressions.
"Senior Brother Yin, Shushu is a disciple of our Qingyun Peak. Naturally, she will follow us up the mountain."
Before Yuan Shu could speak, Shu Linyuan stepped forward to make his stance clear.
He didn't understand. What was this Yin Ruobai trying to imply?
Was Shushu very close to him?
Beside him, Shen Qi also nodded, "Junior Sister Yuan will naturally stick with us from Qingyun Peak."
Yin Ruobai turned his head to glance at the two anxious men but said nothing, simply waiting quietly for Yuan Shu's response.
"I'll go with my senior brothers," Yuan Shu said.
A visible trace of disappointment flashed across Yin Ruobai's face, but he quickly concealed it. "Alright, then I will come find you when I have time."
Yuan Shu nodded in agreement.
After all, he possessed the top-grade gold spiritual root she had her eyes on. Even if Yin Ruobai didn't come looking for her, she would find a way to go look for him!
After the two finished speaking, Yin Ruobai cupped his hands in farewell to the group and led the disciples of Lingyun Peak briskly down the adjacent path.
...
"Shushu, are you very close to this Yin Ruobai?"
On the way up the mountain, Shu Linyuan held back again and again, but ultimately couldn't resist leaning closer to ask.
To the side, Shen Qi also pricked up his ears.
As Eldest Senior Brothers of different peaks in the Falling Immortal Sect, Shen Qi and Yin Ruobai had interacted during certain sect affairs.
He had never heard of Yin Ruobai being so pleasant and amicable toward any female disciple!
"Oh, we're not close. We just met in a cave and helped each other out during a dangerous moment."
Yuan Shu smiled breezily.
These words were not a lie.
They had indeed "helped each other out"!
Seeing her speak so casually with a composed expression, Shu Linyuan finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Their brief meeting at Ten Thousand Pine Cliff the other day had somewhat eased his lovesickness, but he found that he seemed even more unable to let go of Yuan Shu.
Whenever he calmed his mind outside of cultivation, all he seemed to see was Yuan Shu's silhouette!
He had originally planned to look for Yuan Shu today after completing his sect mission, but he hadn't expected something to happen over at the Demonic Beast Cliff.
He had rushed over as soon as he heard the news, deeply worried about her all along.
It was only when he saw that she was safe and sound that he felt relieved.
On the side, the hand Shen Qi had clenched in his sleeve also relaxed slightly.
Although he didn't believe that Yin Ruobai and Yuan Shu could have developed any sort of relationship in just half a day.
He instinctively did not want Yuan Shu to have any more contact with other men!
"Little Junior Sister, have Sixth Junior Brother and Junior Sister Yuan... reconciled?"
At the back of the group, Long Yunhui, who had been quietly observing everyone's expressions, poked Su Lingxi with his silver fan and asked in surprise.
He remembered that previously, Sixth Junior Brother seemed to avoid Junior Sister Yuan like the plague. Why would he proactively approach her now?
And this attitude... was quite intriguing.
Resentment brewed in Su Lingxi's heart, but on the surface, she still had to feign an understanding and gentle demeanor.
However, the words she spoke were highly ambiguous.
"Seventh Senior Sister has a strange temper, and Sixth Senior Brother is helpless against her, so he can only coax her more."
Long Yunhui raised an eyebrow, his gaze deepening slightly.
...
The forbidden grounds of the Falling Immortal Sect.
Lead-gray clouds churned and pressed down, piling up layer upon layer across the firmament.
The spiritual energy between heaven and earth suddenly became erratic and violent.
Faint purple lightning visible to the naked eye roamed and collided deep within the clouds, emitting muffled, drum-like rumblings.
A suffocating sense of oppression filled the air. Even the flying birds had tucked their wings and lay dormant in hiding places, not daring to make a single sound.
The gigantic ink-blue Xiushe was coiled in the center of the valley. Its scales looked as if they had been forged from deep-sea cold jade, gleaming with a dark, freezing luster.
Its long tail wound around a half-broken mountain peak, and its serpentine pupils narrowed into two icy silver slits, staring intently at the churning leaden clouds in the sky.
Around the valley, the Falling Immortal Sect's Leader Qu Qing, Qingyun Peak's Master Lu Guichen, Lingyun Peak's Master Shen Jingyuan, and Yaoyun Peak's Master Yao Qianci stood at their respective posts.
Behind them were the disciples of the various peaks.
At this moment, everyone raised their heads, staring unblinkingly at the massive Xiushe right in the middle of Broken Dragon Peak.
The tribulation clouds had been brewing for nearly half an hour. They had turned completely pitch-black, and the energy spilling from them even blotted out the surrounding daylight.
The entire land was dim and gloomy.
Standing among the Qingyun Peak disciples, Yuan Shu looked up at the Xiushe in the valley, which she had met once before, her brows furrowing slightly.
There was a familiar energy on the Xiushe's body that made the Divine Acacia Tree tremble.
Needless to say, it had likely successfully nurtured the Profound Yin Flower and swallowed it.
And the reason it had nurtured the Profound Yin Flower was probably to prepare for today's lightning tribulation!
"Sect Leader, the scope of these tribulation clouds is so massive. Can you tell what this Xiushe is trying to do?"
Lingyun Peak Master Shen Jingyuan frowned, asking with a solemn expression.
Having been the Master of Lingyun Peak for many years, Shen Jingyuan possessed vast experience, yet he had never seen tribulation clouds large enough to cover three or four mountains.
The intimidation exuding from these tribulation clouds felt as if it wanted to blast a hole right through the earth!
Qu Qing slowly shook his head. "As far as I know, this Xiushe is over a thousand years old and has already passed a realm-advancement lightning tribulation once."
"It is now a fully mature entity. This time, it is unlikely to be an advancement lightning tribulation."
"Then it's..."
"It is a lightning tribulation for human transformation!" Before Shen Jingyuan could finish his sentence, Yao Qianci's gentle voice sounded from beside him.
Shen Jingyuan and Qu Qing turned their heads to look at him simultaneously, their eyes filled with astonishment.
"Human transformation? Are you saying this Xiushe is about to take on a human form?"
Yao Qianci nodded slowly. "Look at the scales between its brows. They have already shed to reveal a patch of crystal-clear skin. This is the omen of a beast transforming into a human."
"Moreover, to be able to trigger such a massive lightning tribulation, I am afraid there can be no other explanation than a fierce beast taking human form."
His words not only plunged Qu Qing and Shen Jingyuan into silence but also caused the disciples below to look at each other in dismay.
Legend had it that once a divine beast reached the mythical realm of a super divine beast, it could transform into a human.
From then on, it could cultivate and advance using a cultivator's physical body, and even ascend to become an immortal!
Yet, no one had ever actually seen it happen!
This ancient fierce beast was actually an existence on par with ancient divine beasts.
Could it be that this Xiushe had truly reached the realm of a super divine beast and was about to transform right before their eyes?
If that were true, it was no wonder the laws of heaven and earth would send down such a terrifying lightning tribulation.
A demonic beast taking human form was a defiance of the natural order that heaven and earth could hardly tolerate!
"Shushu, is this Xiushe really going to transform into a human?"
Hearing all of this, Shu Linyuan could not help but turn his head to speak with Yuan Shu.
He saw Yuan Shu staring unblinkingly at the Xiushe, her tone carrying a calm and unhurried composure, as if she had weathered the vicissitudes of life.
"A super divine beast transforming into a human is a trial with a ninety-nine percent chance of death. It is not that easy."
In her past life, Yuan Shu had the fortune of witnessing a super divine beast attempt the human transformation.
However, that super divine beast was blasted to ashes on the spot by the ninth bolt of heavenly lightning, losing all signs of life.
"Pfft."
A soft chuckle came from the side as Su Lingxi covered her mouth. "Seventh Senior Sister, don't tell me you have actually seen a super divine beast transform into a human before?"
