262: Chapter 260 Tianhu survives the tribulation

In the evening, the fox suddenly jumped from Ah Yuan's arms and ran to the center of the courtyard, looking up at the sky.

Its eyes were no longer their usual amber color but had turned gold, with pupils contracting into vertical slits. Yun Ming set down his teacup, stood up, and walked over. He reached out to stroke the fox's back; its fur stood on end and its body trembled slightly—not out of fear, but excitement, or rather, resonance.

"About to have a Breakthrough?" Yun Ming asked. The fox turned its head, glanced at him, and then nodded.

Flying was prohibited in Tianyuan City, but one could not undergo a tribulation within the city limits.

Yun Ming did not hesitate, leading Ah Yuan and the fox out of the city. He didn't use the Teleportation Array, finding it too slow.

He brought out the flying boat outside the city; with Ah Yuan on board, the fox flew ahead on its own. The three headed north for nearly an hour before finding a deserted range of barren mountains. The mountains weren't high but were steep, with exposed rock and sparse vegetation. There was no sign of human life for a hundred miles around; it was perfect.

The fox landed on the highest Peak and looked back at Yun Ming. Yun Ming took Ah Yuan several miles back to another hilltop and set up a simple protective array. He sat cross-legged, while Ah Yuan crouched beside him, her palms slick with nervous sweat.

"Master, will Xue Ji succeed?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Yun Ming looked at the white figure in the distance. "Of course she will."

Standing atop the mountain Peak, the fox let out a long howl toward the heavens.

It wasn't its usual low whimper, but a sharp howl that pierced through the clouds.

The sound echoed through the valleys, vibrating so intensely that loose rocks tumbled down the slopes. Then, its body began to change. From a palm-sized little fox, it instantly expanded, transforming into a massive Nine-Tailed Fox over a hundred feet tall.

Its entire body was snow-white, with fur shimmering like silver threads, each strand emitting a faint spiritual glow. Nine tails unfurled behind it like nine white battle flags, blotting out the sky.

Its eyes were no longer gold but had turned ice-blue, with pupils slit into lines, cold and majestic. Beneath its feet, rocks shattered and the very mountain Peak trembled.

Ah Yuan's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

She had never seen Xue Ji like this. Yun Ming was also momentarily stunned.

He knew Xue Ji's true form wasn't small, but he hadn't expected it to be this large. Over a hundred feet tall, with nine tails spread out, she was nearly two to three hundred feet wide.

Standing there like a mobile mountain of snow, she radiated an overwhelming Spiritual Pressure.

For dozens of miles around, the vegetation bowed low, and birds and beasts scattered in flight.

The sky changed.

Dark clouds gathered from all directions, piling thicker and thicker, pressing down so low it felt as if one could touch them by reaching out.

Lightning flickered within the clouds, and the dull roar of thunder rumbled, making one's heart race with unease.

A massive vortex formed at the center of the Tribulation Clouds, with purple lightning brewing deep within, as if something were churning inside.

The air was thick with the scent of scorching, making every breath feel dry in the throat.

Xue Ji howled at the sky, and the Void Realm behind her began to warp. A massive phantom emerged from behind her, thousands of feet tall, pure white, with nine tails swaying gently.

It was an ancient giant fox, exuding a primordial Aura, its eyes like two bright moons looking down upon the earth. The moment the phantom appeared, wild winds rose, whipping up sand and stones.

Yun Ming's protective array flapped loudly in the wind, and Ah Yuan could barely keep her eyes open. Yun Ming reached out to shield her, struggling to steady himself.

At the center of the Tribulation Clouds, the first bolt of the Lightning Tribulation fell.

It wasn't just a flash of lightning, but a purple pillar of light as thick as an arm, striking straight down toward the top of Xue Ji's head. Everywhere the pillar passed, the air was torn asunder, emitting a piercing shriek.

Xue Ji did not dodge; an ice-blue shield manifested out of thin air before her. The shield was hexagonal and layered like a honeycomb. The purple pillar slammed into the shield, exploding in a shockwave that made the shield tremble violently, yet it did not shatter. The lightning was blocked, turning into countless tiny arcs of electricity that dissipated into the air.

A flash of disdain crossed Xue Ji's eyes.

The second, third, and fourth bolts fell. The Lightning Tribulation struck one after another, growing thicker and more ferocious. Xue Ji no longer defended passively. She swung her front claws, sending out blades of ice that were several meters long, thin as cicada wings, and gleaming with cold light. The ice blades collided with the lightning, exploding into a sky full of ice crystals. She lashed her tails, the nine tails weaving into a massive white net that ensnared and crushed several bolts of lightning. She opened her mouth and exhaled a stream of cold air; wherever the cold current passed, the air froze, and the incoming lightning was turned into ice crystals before shattering.

Ah Yuan watched, dumbfounded. She never knew Xue Ji knew so many Spells.

Yun Ming also nodded slightly. As expected of a Nascent Soul cultivator undergoing re-cultivation; though she had dispersed her power, her combat instincts remained.

By the thirtieth bolt of the Lightning Tribulation, the power was completely different. It was no longer arm-thick pillars of light, but lightning dragons as thick as water buckets, pouncing down with bared fangs and claws. Xue Ji's ice blades could only blast away small patches of electricity upon contact. Her cold current could only slow the lightning dragons down, not stop them. One lightning dragon slammed into Xue Ji, sending her flying off the mountain Peak. Xue Ji tumbled several times in the air before hitting the ground, creating a large crater. She climbed back up, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, but her gaze remained resolute.

Yun Ming's hand tightened.

The fortieth bolt, the fiftieth. Xue Ji began to suffer injuries. Her fur was scorched in patches, and three of her tails were severed, dripping with blood. She lay on the ground, panting heavily, yet she still did not fall. The phantom behind her had also dimmed significantly, no longer as solid as it had been at the start.

"Master, will Xue Ji..." Yun Ming did not speak. His hand was clenched into a fist.

Before the sixtieth bolt of the Lightning Tribulation fell, Xue Ji looked back toward Yun Ming. There was no fear in her eyes, only a calm light of trust. Yun Ming understood her meaning. He took a deep breath and took out the jade bottle containing the nine-turn jade infant pill from the map of mountains and rivers. Enveloping it in spiritual power, he delivered it precisely to Xue Ji's mouth. Xue Ji opened her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

As the Medicinal Pill entered her stomach, a colossal medicinal power exploded within her. Xue Ji's body jolted, and then her Aura began to climb. Her scorched fur fell away, and new fur grew back at a visible rate, whiter and brighter than before. Her severed tails also regrew. She stood up and howled at the sky, her voice deeper and more powerful than before. The phantom behind her solidified once more, taller and brighter than before, its eyes like torches, like an ancient demon god descending upon the mortal world.

The sixty-first, sixty-second, and sixty-third bolts fell. Xue Ji charged up to meet the Lightning Tribulation. It was no longer defense, but a counterattack. She swung her front claws, her ice blades transforming into ice dragons that battled the lightning dragons. She lashed her tails, the nine tails turning into nine streaks of white lightning that clashed against the heavenly tribulation lightning. The cold current she breathed out became an ice-blue pillar of light, colliding with the purple lightning pillars and exploding into a sky of ice crystals and electrical arcs.

The sixty-fifth, sixty-sixth, and sixty-seventh bolts. Xue Ji endured every bolt of the Lightning Tribulation, though she was left in a wretched state each time. Her tails broke and regrew, regrew and broke again. Her fur scorched and turned white, turned white and scorched again. Her body was slammed down countless times, only for her to stand up countless times more.

The ninety-ninth bolt. The final bolt of the Lightning Tribulation.

At the center of the Tribulation Clouds, the vortex suddenly contracted and then violently exploded. A golden pillar of lightning fell from the Nine Heavens, as thick as a celestial pillar, carrying a force that could destroy everything. Everywhere the lightning pillar passed, the Void Realm trembled. Xue Ji howled at the sky, pushing all the spiritual power, medicinal power, and willpower within her to the absolute limit. All nine tails stood erect as her ice-blue shields, ice dragons, and cold currents rose to meet it simultaneously. The golden lightning pillar slammed into the ice-blue shields.

A blinding white light exploded. Both Yun Ming and Ah Yuan were forced to shut their eyes. Only a deafening roar filled their ears; they could hear nothing else.

The white light faded. The Tribulation Clouds in the sky were slowly dispersing. A ray of golden sunlight broke through the clouds, shining down on Xue Ji. Xue Ji lay on the ground, her body charred black, eight of her nine tails broken, her life hanging by a thread. But her eyes were still open, and they were still bright.

Spiritual Rain began to fall from the sky. It wasn't ordinary rain, but droplets condensed from Spiritual Qi, shimmering with iridescent light. As the Spiritual Rain fell on Xue Ji, her charred fur fell away, and new fur grew in, whiter and brighter than before. Her broken tails regrew one by one. Her cultivation Aura climbed steadily from Golden Core Perfection, breaking through the barrier of the Early Nascent Soul Stage and continuing upward until it finally stopped at the Peak of the Early Nascent Soul Stage.

Xue Ji's body began to shrink. From a giant beast over a hundred feet tall, she changed back into a fox. Then, the fox's body changed again. She transformed into human form.

An exquisite woman stood atop the mountain Peak. Her body was covered by a thin layer of spiritual light, veiling her essential parts. Her hair was pure white like snow, cascading down to her waist. She opened her eyes, her gaze shifting from confusion to clarity. She saw Yun Ming in the distance and a smile graced her face.

Treading barefoot through the Void Realm, she flew toward Yun Ming. Yun Ming stood up. She threw herself into his arms, hugging his neck tightly.

"I'm back." Her voice carried a hint of a tremor—it was joy, and the relief of surviving a narrow escape.

Yun Ming reached out and patted her back. "Welcome back."

Ah Yuan looked back and forth from the side, her mouth wide enough to fit an egg. She couldn't believe that the incredibly beautiful white-haired woman before her was the same fox that spent all day lying on her lap being groomed.

Xue Ji lifted her head from Yun Ming's embrace, looked at Ah Yuan, and smiled. "What, don't recognize me?" Ah Yuan opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

Yun Ming took out one of his own long robes from the map of mountains and rivers and draped it over Xue Ji. Xue Ji wrapped the robe tightly around herself, her face flushing slightly. She looked down at herself, then at Yun Ming, the corners of her mouth curling upward slightly.

"Time to celebrate," Yun Ming said. "Let's go back and have a grand feast." Xue Ji's eyes lit up, and Ah Yuan nodded vigorously.

The three flew back to Tianyuan City. On the way, Ah Yuan finally managed to squeeze out a sentence. "Sister Xue Ji, you're so beautiful..." Xue Ji laughed and reached out to rub Ah Yuan's head. "You're not bad yourself." Ah Yuan's face turned as red as a cooked shrimp.

Yun Ming walked ahead without speaking. The setting sun stretched their shadows long. The wind blew past, carrying the coolness of early autumn. The Longevity Festival was not yet over, and the lights of Tianyuan City were still bright.