Chapter Fifty-Nine: Crossing the Heavenly Tribulation

As soon as they stepped into the manor, an oppressive wave of heat surged forth. Though Ren Tingting had witnessed the strange phenomena in the courtyard many times before, her face still brimmed with astonishment. It was early summer now, and the weather outside had begun to warm, but compared to the temperature inside the manor’s courtyard, the difference was striking—like a candle’s flame next to a blazing inferno.

At the very center of the manor’s platform, a massive egg covered in golden runes was breathing in and out, releasing waves of scorching heat that warped the air all around. The courtyard’s environment had utterly changed compared to three months prior; no grass grew anymore, and the ground was desolate and barren.

“We’d better head to the back mountain,” Li Yang said.

Seeing Ren Tingting’s face flushed and beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, Li Yang quickly led her through the courtyard to the rear mountain of the manor. He hadn’t anticipated the giant egg of the Furious Bright Rooster to be so domineering. With the spiritual energy gathered by the Yin-Yang Array, the egg’s absorption of solar power increased day by day; in just three months, the courtyard’s temperature had risen to nearly fifty degrees, making it wholly unfit for human habitation.

Li Yang had no choice but to open up the rear chambers and build a new pavilion in the mountains for daily cultivation.

“Tingting, you’re here! Please, have a seat.”

“Hello, Sister Tingting!”

Seeing Ren Tingting trailing behind Li Yang, Madam He warmly greeted her. Little Tuantuan, who was practicing calligraphy inside the pavilion, looked up and called out in her soft, sweet voice.

“Hello, Sister Zhao. Tuantuan is so adorable!” Ren Tingting replied with a gentle smile, greeting Madam He politely. She pinched Tuantuan’s chubby cheek and offered her a handful of candies.

“Thank you, Sister Tingting!” Tuantuan’s face lit up as she took the candies, her gratitude sweet and sincere.

“I’m sorry to trouble you again, Sister Zhao. I met Brother Li on the road and saw he was about to refine some pills. My curiosity got the better of me, so I followed him here to watch,” Ren Tingting said, blushing and averting her gaze as if she feared Madam He might see through her intentions.

“There’s no need to be so formal, little sister. This manor is in desperate need of some lively company. Jinling is always busy, so your arrival is perfect—you can keep me company,” Madam He said, pulling Ren Tingting to sit beside her in the pavilion, her face adorned with a gentle smile, seemingly oblivious to Ren Tingting’s true purpose.

It must be said, women are born performers.

Seeing Madam He and Ren Tingting chatting and laughing together, Li Yang wisely left them undisturbed. He walked to the alchemy furnace not far from the pavilion, opened the lid, sorted the various minerals he had brought, and lit the fire.

“Quack! Hoo hoo…”

A golden toad emerged from his sleeve and blew vigorously on the flame. Once the fire blazed bright, Li Yang patted its head and said, “Go fetch some water from the nearby river.”

From his pocket, he produced a centipede about an inch long. Looking at the cracks on its golden body, Li Yang felt a stab of pain. After three months of recuperation, the centipede’s injuries had healed somewhat, but full recovery was still distant.

This time, Li Yang wasn’t aiming to refine pills, but to brew a medicinal soup to help the Six-Winged Golden Centipede heal. The Furious Bright Rooster was undergoing nirvana, the centipede was wounded, and only the golden toad was unharmed; this was, perhaps, Li Yang’s weakest moment yet.

As the phenomena surrounding the Furious Bright Rooster’s nirvana grew ever more intense, restoring the centipede’s strength became crucial to prevent any unforeseen calamities.

“Blub blub blub… Quack…”

Soon, the golden toad hopped back, opened its huge mouth, and a torrent of river water poured into the furnace, submerging the ingredients and minerals within.

Li Yang added cinnabar, mercury, and other substances he’d bought from the pharmacy, then placed the centipede inside.

As the fire grew fiercer, the materials gradually melted, blending into a grayish-white, pungent, viscous liquid. The centipede wriggled through it, occasionally emitting comfortable hissing sounds.

This medicinal solution was a secret recipe passed down through Li Yang’s family, known as “Spiritual Essence Liquid,” designed specifically for the wounds of unusual beasts.

But the Six-Winged Golden Centipede was no ordinary creature, so Li Yang increased the dosage a hundredfold.

From his pocket, he pulled out a red bead left behind by the Unyielding Bone and, gritting his teeth, tossed it into the furnace before closing the lid.

Li Yang had consulted Uncle Nine about this bead—it was formed from a trace of pure yang energy left in the Unyielding Bone’s body before its transformation into the Drought Demon. Only those at the peak, just before becoming a Drought Demon, would retain such a thing.

It was an exceedingly rare treasure of heaven and earth. At its peak, the Unyielding Bone’s cultivation rivaled that of a Daoist grand master, only a step away from forming a golden core and ascending to immortality. That trace of pure yang was the essence of its being.

Originally, Li Yang intended to save it for pill refinement to unlock the golden toad’s bloodline potential. Now that the centipede had matured, the rooster was transforming, and though the toad had made progress, it still hadn’t undergone a qualitative leap.

“Clang! Clang!”

Just as Li Yang was feeling the pain of his sacrifice, the furnace began to tremble, emitting a resonant clash of gold and iron.

“What’s this…?”

Sensing the centipede’s agitation, Li Yang’s expression grew serious. He stood up and looked to the sky.

The sky, once clear, was suddenly roiling as dark clouds gathered, black as ink.

“Boom…!”

A thunderclap sounded, as if lightning had struck on a cloudless day, shaking heaven and earth.

“Madam, take Tingting and Tuantuan back to the manor—quickly!”

Seeing the celestial phenomena, Li Yang’s face changed, and he shouted loudly.

“Li, my young friend, what’s happening…?”

At that moment, Uncle Nine, having been drawn by the commotion, hurried over, his gaze grave as he looked up.

“I’m afraid my beast is about to undergo its tribulation. I never expected it to happen so soon,” Li Yang said, glancing at Uncle Nine with a bitter smile.

“To become immortal, one must endure three calamities; for a beast to become a god, nine tribulations must be faced. To experience such a tribulation in this era is, in itself, a stroke of fortune!”

“I’ve seen your Six-Winged Golden Centipede before. For it to cultivate an inner core in these times is a miracle. With a touch of pure yang to catalyze it, a tribulation is inevitable. You happened to obtain that trace of pure yang from the Unyielding Bone before its transformation—perhaps this is fate.”

Uncle Nine’s face was complex as he stared at the sky; fear, envy, and disappointment flashed across his features before settling into resolve.

Cultivators all hope to undergo tribulations and ascend to immortality, yet the awesome power of heaven and earth fills them with dread.

“Boom…!”

As the dark clouds gathered and thunder rolled, the celestial phenomena grew ever more intense. Within a hundred-mile radius, snakes, insects, rats, and ants fled in panic; in the forests, all beasts trembled under the weight of heaven’s might.