Are There Only Demonesses Left in the Cultivation Realm?

"Get back!"

Lu Changyuan yanked Xia Lianxue behind him.

Xia Lianxue, still crying, quickly reacted. She seemed to want to use her Time Technique to send him back to where he was.

But the thunder had already arrived.

The Blood Thunder was as thick as a celestial pillar. Its sky-rending roar silenced all creation, condensing into tangible, brilliant heavenly might. It carried an aura of absolute destruction as it plunged downward, tearing apart the surrounding space and leaving scorched blackness in its wake.

"Brother Lu!"

The entire sky seemed to be collapsing. The first bolt of all-annihilating Blood Thunder had barely descended, yet it had already turned the surroundings into a living Purgatory.

Lu Changyuan propped himself up with one hand on Broken Thought. Thunder continuously exploded in his ears, and his vision was filled with nothing but crimson.

This was only the first bolt, yet it already possessed the power of the Sixth Realm. Lu Changyuan’s skin split open all over his body, and blood stained his Profound Robe.

Xia Lianxue wanted to rush forward and help Lu Changyuan up, but then she suddenly remembered: the Tribulation Thunder was aimed at her. If she didn’t die, the thunder wouldn’t disperse. Not only would it not disperse, but each bolt would be stronger than the last.

The Celestial Dao was ruthless and savage, determined to completely annihilate any who defied it.

Lu Changyuan coughed up a mouthful of blood. "This is the first time you’ve ever disobeyed me."

"Brother Lu!"

Lu Changyuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. An indescribable will began to rise within him. He looked up at the sky and suddenly found the moon before sunrise to be quite beautiful.

"I’ll handle everything."

He narrowed his eyes, about to make a move, but then he suddenly stopped.

BOOM.

The second bolt of thunder arrived in an instant, but it didn’t strike Lu Changyuan or Xia Lianxue. Instead, it destroyed the nearby Miao Yu Palace.

’What happened?’

’The Celestial Dao... has been deceived?’

Lu Changyuan turned and looked toward a figure cutting through the wind in the distance.

Xia Lianxue seemed to notice this as well. She rushed forward to help Lu Changyuan up, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. She sobbed, "Brother Lu... Brother Lu."

The Fairy’s hair swayed and brushed against Lu Changyuan, soon becoming stained with his blood.

The Time Technique rippled over Lu Changyuan’s body, and his wounds began to heal rapidly.

"Good, I’m not too late."

Someone flew over from not far away.

Supporting Lu Changyuan, Xia Lianxue couldn’t hide her astonishment. "Master?"

The phantom shook its head. "I am not Palace Master Feng Xianlong, just a mere Thought."

In the heavens, a star seemed to suddenly light up again. Looking closely, it was a star that had long since dimmed.

That was Feng Xianlong’s Life Calculation Dao, capable of shrouding heavenly secrets and making the Celestial Tribulation temporarily lose track of Xia Lianxue’s location.

The phantom said, "I can shield you from the Thunder Tribulation for three days. This is the Palace Master’s Dao legacy. After three days, the Palace Master’s Dao Star will shatter completely."

Xia Lianxue was stunned.

She had never imagined her master would have planned for this.

The phantom added, "The Palace Master never approved of you being with him back then. He’s a menace!"

Lu Changyuan didn’t know what expression to make in front of this phantom.

Neither did Xia Lianxue.

Both of them had fought Feng Xianlong in the past.

’No wonder Feng Xianlong had such a strange expression when we were beating her up back then,’ Lu Changyuan thought. ’So that was the hidden reason.’

The phantom sighed and looked at Xia Lianxue, gazing at the Little Fairy with the eyes of an elder. "Back then, the Palace Master couldn’t read your fate, but she did calculate that her own daughter would inevitably be entangled with you. So she left me behind, partly to look after Yuehan, and partly to look after you."

Lu Changyuan suddenly said, "Did you deliberately arrive late to let me take that first bolt of thunder?"

The phantom didn’t speak.

The atmosphere grew a little heavy.

「After a long moment.」

The phantom didn’t answer Lu Changyuan’s question, only saying, "You only have three days. After that, the Celestial Tribulation will still find Tang’Er, and this time, it will be relentless until one of you is dead. So..."

Lu Changyuan finished the sentence, "So we need to find a place that can block heavenly secrets within three days."

This was the solution he had thought of from the very beginning.

As long as Xia Lianxue was hidden beyond the reach of heavenly secrets, the Celestial Tribulation couldn’t descend.

Coincidentally, Lu Changyuan knew of a place that was not under the Celestial Dao’s jurisdiction and could not be fathomed by it.

"My lord?"

Lu Changyuan reached out and gave Xia Lianxue’s soft cheek a firm pinch. "Next time something like this happens, you tell me beforehand, you hear?"

Xia Lianxue’s eyes went wide. She clutched Lu Changyuan tightly. "My lord, what are you going to do?"

Lu Changyuan gave a faint smile. He took Xia Lianxue’s hand and stood before the figure in red. "Take her to Celestial Mountain."

Celestial Mountain was where the Chang’an Daoist used to meditate in seclusion. It is isolated from the Celestial Dao and removed from worldly conflict. It has now become the hidden residence of the Daoist Sect Master.

The sharpest sword in the world was trembling. She looked at Lu Changyuan, unable to even speak.

Lu Changyuan repeated, "Take her to Celestial Mountain. Consider it a favor for me."

Jiang Jiayi took a deep breath. Looking at that incredibly familiar face, she struggled to suppress her turbulent Sword Heart. "Fine. But I can’t make it there in three days. It will take at least five."

Miao Yu Palace was tens of millions of li from Celestial Mountain. Even if Jiang Jiayi traveled at full speed, she definitely couldn’t arrive within three days.

Lu Changyuan said calmly, "I’ll hold them off for the remaining time. You just focus on getting her to Celestial Mountain. I’ll catch up soon."

Xia Lianxue’s clear, black-and-white eyes were filled with disbelief. "My lord!?"

"It’s fine. It’s just the Celestial Tribulation. I’ll have no problem stalling it for two days."

If the Little Fairy were still the same naive Xia Lianxue from before who knew nothing, she would have believed him. But the Little Fairy of today was worldly and experienced; how could she not know Lu Changyuan’s true condition?

He hadn’t even reached the Fifth Realm, let alone Entered the Dao. How could a Lu Changyuan like that possibly resist the Celestial Tribulation?

Lu Changyuan suddenly broke into a laugh. "You don’t trust me?"

Xia Lianxue stammered, "No... I... My lord, but..."

She hemmed and hawed, unable to form a complete sentence for a long moment.

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"My lord has never lied to me."

"I can’t completely eliminate the Celestial Tribulation, but buying you some time is no problem." Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at the thunder in the sky, his tone calm and relaxed. "Get a good night’s sleep. When you wake up, I’ll be there."

Lu Changyuan suddenly reached out a finger and touched the center of Xia Lianxue’s brow. She had already lost her Drunken Red Simurgh and hadn’t recovered, and had also engaged in Magical Combat with Ancestor Red Simurgh. She was extremely weak. Coupled with the fact that it was Lu Changyuan, she naturally fainted.

Jiang Jiayi nodded. She seemed to want to say more, but in the end, it just came out as, "You... be careful."

Lu Changyuan smiled. "Once you reach Celestial Mountain, the Celestial Tribulation will naturally stop. I’ll come find you then. I can get to Celestial Mountain in a month at most."

Jiang Jiayi’s tone was soft yet firm. "If you haven’t returned to Celestial Mountain in one month, I will personally come and drag you back, to the highest heavens or the deepest hell."

She had many questions for Lu Changyuan, but she also knew how urgent the situation was.

"As you wish. You should go now."

The phantom gave Lu Changyuan one last look and asked, "What are your chances?"

Seeing that Lu Changyuan didn’t answer, it also slowly dissipated, returning into the bracelet.

The figure in red shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of light that vanished over the horizon.

The thunder in the sky grew even more crimson, and the entire Miao Yu Palace seemed to be dyed blood-red.

The wind billowed Lu Changyuan’s blood-stained Profound Robe.

He sat cross-legged in the air, directly facing the Celestial Tribulation, and said, "As long as I’m alive, my chances are a hundred percent."

Kabeng.

A crisp, shattering sound rang out, heard throughout the entire Miao Yu Palace.

Something had shattered.

~~~~~~~~~~

「Celestial Mountain.」

「Atop the Ninefold Celestial Palace.」

The distant sky cracked like Glazed glass, then completely tore open. Billowing Demonic Qi crawled out from within, looking as if it was about to descend.

The 3-foot 6-inch longsword trembled wildly.

The Daoist Sect Master rose to her feet, gripped her sword, and said calmly, "Blood Thunder?"

She gazed far into the distance but couldn’t see through the layer of mist, nor did she have time to look for long.

Something was trying to descend upon the Mortal World.

So the Daoist Sect Master pointed her sword at the rift. "Trying to descend while the Celestial Tribulation is falling? Since when do you stoop to seizing such petty opportunities? Didn’t Master teach you enough of a lesson back then? Now you want a taste of my sword as well?"

The sword flipped, and a complex Sword Array erupted from the ground.

A clear cry was heard.

"Get back!"