73: chance encounter

"Holy crap!"

Situ Jun only had time to cry out in alarm before he was struck by lightning.

In an instant, his hair stood on end, his clothes were shredded, and his entire body was charred black, making him look like a beggar.

Immediately after, the second and third bolts of lightning followed in quick succession.

Situ Jun hurriedly steadied his mind and circulated his spiritual energy to resist with all his might.

He knew well that this Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation consisted of thirty-six Lightning Tribulations. He had to use his Physical Body to endure them to the limit first; only then could he receive the rewards granted by the Heavenly Tribulation and forge a physical strength more suitable for the circulation of Golden Core spiritual energy.

Time passed minute by minute, and the lightning bolts struck down one after another, each carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth.

Situ Jun gritted his teeth and persevered, his body covered in wounds as blood continuously seeped out.

By the time the last dozen or so lightning bolts arrived, he had to use spiritual talismans to set up a defensive Formation, activate defensive charms, and even take out his natal Spiritual Artifact, "ice seal." He controlled it with all his mental focus, barely managing to block the lightning in mid-air.

When the first ray of morning light pierced through the clouds, the tribulation clouds finally dissipated.

The Aura around Situ Jun's body surged, causing the surrounding mountain rocks to rustle and shake.

He slowly opened his eyes, a golden light swirling within them before they gradually regained their clarity.

"This experience is such a scam. In the past, couldn't I just reach it by claiming my Cultivation? This time, although my Cultivation reached it successfully, why did I still have to get struck by lightning?"

He grumbled with a bitter smile, looking down at his pathetic state—covered in dust and stained with blood.

Situ Jun stood up, and his bones crackled and popped, a refreshing sensation spreading throughout his entire body.

He looked around, picked a direction, and flew off, wanting to find a place to wash away the mess on his body.

But before he had flown far, a burst of intense fighting sounds came from ahead.

Situ Jun looked up and saw two groups of people engaged in a fierce battle.

On one side were over a dozen masked men in black, while the other side consisted of people who looked like servants and Guards.

The Cultivation of both sides wasn't high; the highest was only at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining. Most were Body Cultivators, and there were even mundane Martial Artists on the servants' side.

Both groups were fighting around a luxurious carriage. Clearly, the servants and Guards were doing their best to protect the person inside.

Situ Jun originally intended to fly directly over them, but just then, a corner of the carriage curtain was lifted, and a beautiful woman peeked out.

Her face was full of panic, and she was tightly clutching a young girl of six or seven in her arms.

The pearl hairpins in the beautiful woman's hair trembled slightly with her movements. Her face was as lustrous as jade, and her phoenix eyes beneath willow-leaf brows were filled with anxiety. The corners of her eyes were delicately tinted with rouge, like the falling sunset in the twilight.

She possessed both the dignity of a lady from a prestigious family and a hint of soul-stirring charm.

At this moment, her fingertips lightly pinched a corner of the curtain, and her crimson-dyed nail Guards reflected a faint light under the sun. On her wrist, which was as white as a lotus root, she wore a purple jade bracelet, making her look even more vivid and moving.

Situ Jun was instantly struck by her beauty. Driven by his appreciation for beauty, he quickly activated the Breath Concealment Technique to suppress his Cultivation to the Peak of Qi Refining.

With his current Golden Core Stage strength, dealing with these people was more than enough.

Just as the carriage was about to be breached at the critical moment, a deafening Dragon's roar suddenly echoed from the sky.

Everyone looked up to see a golden light streak across the sky. Situ Jun, holding a longsword and surrounded by the phantom images of a Dragon and a Phoenix, descended from the heavens with an unstoppable Aura.

"Scram!"

Situ Jun let out a thunderous roar. With a wave of his longsword, a golden Sword Qi swept toward the men in black like a fierce dragon emerging from the sea.

The expressions of the men in black changed instantly. They hurriedly ordered their subordinates to resist, but under Situ Jun's powerful attack, their resistance was as futile and fragile as a mantis trying to stop a carriage.

Wherever the Sword Qi passed, the men in black spat blood and retreated repeatedly, many of them falling to the ground and struggling to get up.

Situ Jun's eyes were as cold as frost as he stared chillingly at the men in black.

"Get lost now! If you don't, today will be the day you die!"

The men in black were terrified to the extreme, but they were still unwilling to give up. They gritted their teeth and said,

"Kid, do you know the consequences of offending us?"

"Consequences? I'd like to see what you're capable of!"

Situ Jun sneered, his figure flashing as he charged toward the man in black who had spoken.

Situ Jun sneered, his figure flashing like a ghost as he charged toward the man in black. Seeing that things were going south, the man in black hurriedly pulled out several Explosive Talismans and threw them at Situ Jun.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Following a series of deafening explosions, the downed men in black and some of the servants were instantly killed.

To protect the carriage from being affected, Situ Jun resolutely blocked the impact of the explosions with his body. He was immediately covered in soot and grime, looking even more pathetic than before.

"Damn it!"

Situ Jun spat resentfully. He secretly circulated his Golden Core Stage cultivation and fired a bolt of spiritual energy toward the fleeing man in black.

Before the man in black could run far, he collapsed to the ground.

Seeing the situation improve, the servants and Guards' morale soared, and they began a fierce slaughter of the surviving men in black.

In less than fifteen minutes, all the men in black were completely wiped out.

Situ Jun's eyes darted around as he plotted secretly.

He used spiritual energy to secretly draw blood from his sword and smeared it on his face, making himself look incredibly miserable. Combined with his blackened body and tattered clothes, he looked like he had been heavily injured by the talismans.

Then, he pretended to limp toward the carriage.

The surviving servants and Guards immediately gathered around and asked with concern,

"Immortal Master, how are your injuries?"

Situ Jun clutched his chest, his brows tightly furrowed as he said weakly,

"I'm okay, I won't die."

At this time, the beautiful woman holding the little girl slowly got out of the carriage. She walked up to Situ Jun, curtsied, and said in a gentle, pleasant voice,

"This humble one is Chen Yufei. Thank you, Immortal Master, for saving our lives. This is my daughter, Tang Tang. Greet the Immortal Master."

After saying this, she took the little girl's hand and gave another bow.

Only then was Situ Jun able to get a clear look at Chen Yufei.

She was dressed in a gown of rosy-purple gold-woven gauze. The interlocking lotus patterns embroidered on her wide sleeves flickered in and out of sight with her movements, exuding elegance.

A peony hairpin of filigree and pearls was tucked into her hair. A few strands of black, glossy hair fell beside her neck, making her skin look as warm and smooth as mutton-fat jade glistening with morning dew.

Her eyebrows were like distant mountains shrouded in mist, and her eyes were like shimmering autumn waters. The faint dark liner at the corners of her eyes sketched a hint of lazy charm. When she smiled, the corners of her eyes lifted slightly, dimples appeared, and her lips were naturally red without makeup, like spring snow tinged with rouge.

Every gesture she made displayed a myriad of graces. Even the pearl tassels hanging from her hairpins swayed gently with her gentle posture, perfectly fusing the nobility of a great family with the soft beauty refined by time into her Aura.

Situ Jun was momentarily dazed. He subconsciously bared his white teeth and, combined with his soot-covered face, squeezed out a hideous smile.

Before he could speak, Chen Yufei let out a light chuckle while covering her mouth and said,

"I have water in the carriage. You should wipe your face."

With that, she took the little girl's hand and turned to go back to the carriage to get water.

Situ Jun hurriedly declined,

"There's no need to be so polite, Madam. I have a first-grade 'Water Gathering Talisman' on me. I'll go to the woods to clean up first."

After saying this, he turned and walked into the forest.

He had originally wanted to find a pond to take a good bath, but thinking about playing the victim in front of Chen Yufei, Situ Jun changed his mind.

For some reason, as soon as he saw this beautiful woman, his heart throbbed inexplicably.

Thus, he decided to tidy up his appearance properly first, so as not to offend the lady.

(Thank you for the gifts you sent earlier! Thank you!)