The power of the Golden Core stage lightning tribulation wasn’t too exaggerated. Though this damned heaven was treacherous, it didn’t leave no path to survival. It wouldn’t be too outrageous.

The Heavenly Dao had its own rules. If it broke the rules itself, what reason would it have to interfere with dao artifacts or interfere with Su Zhuyi?

This time, Hua Yining had the same cultivation realm as her—both were just one step away from advancing to Golden Core. On the martial arts platform, they were close to each other, so while striking crooked would shock people, it wasn’t unacceptable. Historically, there had been cases of crooked strikes. Usually, people would say that evil deeds would bring their destruction, that the Heavenly Dao couldn’t tolerate such behavior, and would strike with heavenly thunder.

The Straw Man substitute in Su Zhuyi’s hand shattered, sharing part of the damage with her. Without this Straw Man substitute, she would probably be dead or crippled by now.

Even so, being struck by divine thunder made her whole body ache, her hair seeming scorched. Since being struck last time, Su Zhuyi had thought of a cultivation technique called the Tiangang Five Thunder Formula. Though it was an incomplete manual—she had only seen the first half when she found it—she didn’t care much and cultivated it anyway. Now, after being struck by lightning, she endured the pain while absorbing wisps of lightning energy. While cultivating, she suddenly raised her head and grinned at Hua Yining, who was close by and had frozen in shock.

Under normal circumstances, Golden Core lightning tribulation only struck once. But after that crooked strike at the Gujian Sect last time, another lightning bolt had immediately followed. So Su Zhuyi understood that Hua Yining would have to be struck again. But her mind was now unsettled—that momentum of contending with heaven had dissipated, leaving only a face full of bewilderment.

After Su Zhuyi grinned, Hua Yining felt even more panicked and confused.

She felt it was absurd, simply absurd!

But moments later, lightning struck down again. Su Zhuyi borrowed the light of that lightning to transform the bit of lightning power she had just absorbed into the Tiangang Five Thunder Formula, coordinating with the thunder from the sky to strike Hua Yining together…

Hua Yining had no Straw Man substitute.

Divine thunder fell from the sky. Her natal flying sword reacted faster than she did, urging her to execute sword techniques to resist the lightning tribulation. However, another bolt of lightning unexpectedly struck Hua Yining. She had no spiritual energy barrier and had also removed her protective treasure peace pendant. Though this lightning’s power wasn’t great, it injured her. Her qi breath stagnated, spiritual energy became chaotic, and even the sword she thrust lost much of its force. Struck by divine thunder from above, she staggered back several steps and fell onto the golden lotus platform. The ascending aura on her body gradually weakened, and the strength within her seemed to dissipate along with it.

“Poof!” Hua Yining spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Because Su Zhuyi was standing close, even her shoe was stained with blood.

She narrowed her eyes, sneering coldly in her heart.

You wanted to cripple my cultivation? I’ll make your advancement fail and your cultivation regress. Spend a good ten years recovering. After failing once, your mental state will be damaged, making future lightning tribulations even harder to endure.

Su Zhuyi wiped her face with her sleeve, then walked to the motionless Hua Yining. When the cultivator announced the results, she smiled and kicked the person lying on the ground like mud off the golden lotus platform.

Only by knocking one party off the arena would it count as a victory, so there was nothing wrong with her kicking the person down.

Someone below roared: “How can you be like this? At such a young age, you have such a snake and scorpion heart!”

Su Zhuyi replied sternly: “She could use her high-grade spirit sword’s frost sword intent to cripple my meridians. One kick from me is already light.” She was also covered in wounds at this moment, with cold qi rampaging through her meridians. The words she spoke still carried white mist, so cultivators from other sects with higher cultivation could see something was wrong, but they couldn’t say much. One was the Yunxiao Sect, the other Gujian Sect—they couldn’t afford to offend either, so they could only remain silent.

Just then, Qi Yue, who was helping Hua Yining up, cried out in shock: “Junior Sister Yining, your face!”

Hua Yining’s cultivation had plummeted, and she was extremely weak. She murmured, “What’s wrong with my face?” Having no spiritual energy left, she simply brought the Dongxue Sword before her eyes to use as a mirror. Seeing the red scars on her face that looked like fire burns, she let out a miserable scream as tears instantly poured out. Because her whole body hurt, she had ignored the pain on her face. With no spiritual energy in her body, she viciously asked someone nearby for a spiritual energy pill, then discovered it had no effect at all. She immediately pointed at Su Zhuyi and cursed: “You, what did you splash on my face?”

“Catch her, don’t let her leave!” Seeing Su Zhuyi turning to leave, Qi Yue also shrieked.

Yunxiao Sect disciples immediately rushed over, while Gujian Sect disciples naturally wouldn’t let their little junior sister be bullied by others. Just as both sides were about to clash, the voice of the late Golden Core cultivator flying in mid-air exploded like thunder: “Impudent! How can the Yunxiao Sect tolerate you gathering to cause trouble?”

Then he applied pressure on Su Zhuyi: “The injuries on Yining’s face are somewhat strange. Poison is forbidden on the martial arts platform. How do you explain this?”

Su Zhuyi had already been struck by lightning, had cold qi in her body, and was also seriously injured. Under that cultivation pressure, blood seeped from the corners of her mouth. She whimpered softly, struggling to turn her head. Her slender body almost swayed unsteadily. Her willow brows furrowed slightly as she sneered and said stubbornly, “So this is how domineering Yunxiao Sect is. Juniors use spirit swords to cripple people’s meridians on the martial arts platform, while elders make accusations without distinguishing right from wrong. Truly worthy of being the world’s number one sect!”

“Still dare to argue!” When both sides started arguing, Gujian Sect disciples had already secretly notified Elder Liu. Elder Liu arrived in great anxiety, transmitting from afar: “You say she used poison—do you have evidence! But your disciple injuring people with the Dongxue Sword is ironclad evidence. The cold qi rampaging through her meridians is the best proof!”

At such times, everyone would favor their own sect’s disciples, especially since Su Zhuyi was Luo Ying’s disciple and Qinghe’s junior sister!

“I’ve already sent someone to request Elder Hua to come examine her. Whether poison was used and what kind will soon be clear. I’m only temporarily detaining her for now—what’s improper about that?” The late Golden Core cultivator flying in mid-air snorted coldly and asked in return.

But the next moment, his expression changed. He felt the light boat beneath his feet shake, then break into two pieces with a crash. The jade pendant at his waist also cracked with a snap, frightening him into a cold sweat. It was as if a sword had flown from beyond the heavens, severing his light boat, tearing through his spiritual energy barrier, and splitting the jade pendant symbolizing his Yunxiao Sect identity in half, making his legs tremble slightly.

“Who?” After coming to his senses, he feigned composure and shouted.

“Me,” Qinghe replied coldly. Without even looking at how Su Zhuyi was injured, he walked directly to Hua Yining.

There had originally been many Yunxiao Sect disciples in front of Hua Yining.

However, Qinghe’s presence was too strong, his body seeming covered in frost. As he approached, it was like winter wind sweeping over, making them unable to resist stepping aside to clear a path. Thus, Qinghe walked to Hua Yining’s front without anyone blocking him.

Qi Yue, who was supporting Hua Yining beside her, had trembling hands. She wanted to let go, but Hua Yining was leaning half her body weight on her. Elder Hua and the others would arrive soon—hold on, she encouraged herself.

“Dongxue Sword?”

Heh.

An almost inaudible cold laugh emerged from Qinghe’s mouth, yet his lips didn’t move at all, making people feel that weak laugh was perhaps an illusion.

“You, what do you want to do?” Hua Yining was weak and powerless, lacking even the strength to speak. Qi Yue was so nervous that she stammered. Her eyes looked around as she cursed inwardly: “Where are the people? Where are the other people from the Yunxiao Sect?”

Just then, an anxious voice rang out: “Yining!”

Elder Hua and several other Yunxiao Sect elders rushed over. Seeing Qinghe, Elder Hua sternly said: “Qinghe, what do you want to do to my daughter?”

Pressure immediately bore down, but Qinghe lightly retreated several zhang, directly retreating to Su Zhuyi’s side. He coldly glanced at Su Zhuyi, who appeared weak as gossamer, with a face full of grief and indignation, eyes containing tears, teardrops hanging on her eyelashes, ready to fall but not quite dropping.

Her facial expression froze slightly. She lowered her head a little, and with one blink, that teardrop that had hung there for a long time finally completed its mission and fell.

“What’s on his face?” Qinghe asked.

“She attacked me with the Dongxue Sword’s frost sword qi. I just grabbed a golden lotus petal as a shield. Thinking fire could melt ice and snow, I desperately used Blazing Palm to resist, melting the shield completely. Some golden liquid splashed onto her face.” Su Zhuyi said with an aggrieved expression.

Among the elders who came together was a high-level weapon refiner. After careful examination, he said, “Indeed, this is corrosion from golden meteorite water. It’s difficult to recover with pills or spiritual energy, but after ten years or so of healing, it can naturally improve.”

Hearing this, Yunxiao Sect cultivators naturally couldn’t say anything more, only calling it a misunderstanding and asking for forgiveness. Even the late Golden Core cultivator flying in mid-air could only come down and apologize to Su Zhuyi.

Elder Liu from Gujian Sect said at the right time: “Poison was a misunderstanding, but what about this sword qi penetrating the meridians?”

Hua Yining’s father could only say: “Yining’s cultivation is insufficient, and she cannot fully control the Dongxue Sword. She must have been unintentional. Here is a bottle of high-grade Meridian Moistening Pills. Please don’t blame Yining, young friend.”

“Father!” Hua Yining’s voice was hoarse. She was unconvinced—her face was ruined, yet she still had to apologize to her opponent?

However, Elder Hua had unspeakable suffering. Qinghe’s pressure bearing down on him made his very bones feel like ice water had seeped in, shocking his heart greatly. Gujian Sect’s Qinghe—after not seeing him for thirty years, he had such strength? He couldn’t possibly be just at the Golden Core stage. He must have suppressed his cultivation, and suppressing it while making everyone unable to see through it was enough to show his cultivation exceeded his own and was stronger than everyone present, at least late Nascent Soul stage…

This matter was originally their fault, and the cold qi in the meridians was the best evidence, so he could only accept it.

“I’ve also prepared some healing pills. I’ll have my disciples deliver them to Young Friend Su’s room later.” Seeing Qinghe not responding, Elder Hua added.

“Mm!” Qinghe nodded and said nothing more.

Ordinary people would at least say “thank you for your kindness” at this time, but he simply acknowledged with a “mm” and was done. Yunxiao Sect disciples were so angry they wanted to vomit blood, but since the elders had already agreed, what could they say? They could only glare hatefully at the Gujian Sect disciples.

Fighting was prohibited within the sect, so the young disciples from both sides shot eye daggers at each other, as if they wanted to kill with their gazes.

Su Zhuyi was supported back to her room by caring senior sisters from her sect. Once inside, she immediately became lively and energetic.

It still hurt—she was indeed injured—but the female demon head could grit her teeth and endure even worse pain. The current injuries were nothing to her. Moreover, Hua Yining wouldn’t have peace for the next ten-plus years, and she had gained pills for free. She was so happy that she couldn’t be bothered by the pain from her wounds.

She took the pills and began cultivating. The next day, she had recovered seventy to eighty percent. Just as she stepped out in the morning, Gujian Sect disciples surrounded her: “Did you hear? Something happened last night!”

What happened?

“That Dongxue Sword lost its spirit!”

“Lost its spirit?” The reason the Dongxue Sword was called a high-grade spirit sword was that it had a sword spirit. Yet overnight, the sword spirit dissipated, and it became an ordinary high-grade flying sword?

Everyone discussed heatedly but couldn’t explain why the Dongxue Sword had lost its spirit.

However, Su Zhuyi understood clearly in her heart.

Qinghe had merged with the Longquan Sword. It could be said he was now the Longquan Sword itself—a devouring, killing evil sword. Though its malevolent qi had been transformed, its inherent power hadn’t changed much.

The sword spirit of Qinghe’s original sword had been devoured by the Longquan Sword. Devouring the Dongxue Sword’s spirit would also be effortless.

This Senior Brother Qinghe was quite capable indeed.

Now, Su Zhuyi felt that joining the Gujian Sect was the most correct decision she had made in her second life. Having backing felt quite comfortable.

She giggled twice and went to the martial arts platform with her fellow disciples.