Qing Lan Daojun's gaze lingered on Bai Sheng Yi's radiant face for a moment before quickly averting.
"Control your mind and prepare. I will protect you," he said solemnly.
The Tian Ji Sword flew out, directly leveling a mountaintop. Bai Sheng Yi walked to the center, first activating three layers of the protective formation given by Qin Si. Only then did she sit cross-legged and begin to circulate the spiritual energy within her body.
Her dual wood and fire spirit roots materialized as vines and flames, growing unrestrained within the star river of her dantian. Even her sea of consciousness and spiritual sea were not spared. Bai Sheng Yi's body felt like a massive powder keg, desperately needing an outlet.
The Moon Crescent Cat, still asleep after signing the trade contract, was the first to be sent out of her body. Following it, the Qing Meng Vine and the Reincarnation Brush were also released from her sea of consciousness. A radiant white light streaked across the sky, and a large, fluffy ball was teleported next to Bai Sheng Yi.
Behind the fluffy ball, two powerful auras pursued closely. Qing Lan Daojun frowned slightly, his restrained aura suddenly erupting forth.
"Qing Lan Daojun?"
Hong Yi Daojun hastily stopped his advance, cupped his hands in greeting, and then looked in surprise at the scene not far away. "Bai... Junior Nephew Bai is about to undergo her ascension tribulation?"
Venerable Fei Yun, who arrived right after, couldn't help but gasp, "No way?"
How old was Bai Sheng Yi?
Including the fifty years she was missing, she couldn't have been a hundred years old at most.
Not even a hundred, and becoming a Mahayana expert was already shocking enough. Now she was about to ascend!
This reality made Venerable Fei Yun so jealous that his eyes were almost red. "She couldn't have cultivated some wicked art, could she..."
As soon as he spoke, Qing Lan Daojun's piercing gaze shot towards him like a knife.
"Senior Brother, shut up!" Hong Yi Daojun immediately pulled Venerable Fei Yun aside. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Hong Yi Daojun said to Qing Lan Daojun, "Qing Lan Daojun, please forgive him. My Senior Brother speaks without thinking. He is merely concerned for Junior Nephew Bai and has no ill intentions."
Hearing Hong Yi Daojun's tone, which was akin to an elder brother, Venerable Fei Yun quickly concealed a flicker of displeasure in his eyes.
Qing Lan's demeanor became even colder.
A gentle breeze swept through his green robes, carrying his frigid voice, "He is two thousand years old."
The implication was that being so old and still unable to speak properly meant his mouth was better off gone.
"Qing Lan, you..."
Venerable Fei Yun felt deeply insulted. His eyes widened, and he intended to make a move. Hong Yi Daojun, momentarily distracted, failed to stop him, but he couldn't act.
"Boom!"
The long-accumulated lightning struck down with a roar, startling Venerable Fei Yun with its blinding white light.
Bai Sheng Yi's lightning tribulation had begun!
However, for the first bolt of lightning, the three-layered formation Bai Sheng Yi had set up with the formation disk was completely destroyed. The tail end of a sliver of lightning struck her arm, making it tingle.
"The ascension tribulation has forty-nine bolts, and this is only the first," the Reincarnation Brush said with concern.
The Qing Meng Vine had blind faith in Bai Sheng Yi. "Our master will definitely succeed in ascending."
"Awooo!"
The white fluffy ball also let out a howl.
Bai Sheng Yi did not speak to them. She quickly set up several more layers of defense. As the Reincarnation Brush had said, there were a full forty-nine bolts of heavenly lightning, each more powerful than the last. She had to maintain sufficient stamina for the final bolts.
However, Bai Sheng Yi's thoughts were wishful; reality proved otherwise.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The second and third bolts of lightning struck simultaneously, smashing her newly set-up defenses to smithereens. Before she could re-establish new protections, the fourth bolt pierced her through and through, sending her sprawling to the ground.
"Sheng Yi!" Qing Lan Daojun's expression changed, and he instinctively took a step forward.
Hong Yi Daojun immediately said, "Qing Lan Daojun, do not be rash! If you enter the range of the heavenly lightning, you might not be able to save Junior Nephew Bai, but instead harm her."
Since Qing Lan was also a Mahayana cultivator, a powerful expert who had been stuck at the peak of Mahayana for a long time, and with the Ascension Ladder now repaired, it was likely that Qing Lan had also touched the threshold of ascension. If he were to trigger his own ascension tribulation upon entering, Bai Sheng Yi would have to face two tribulations alone!
Hong Yi Daojun was also extremely anxious. On one hand, his disciple's granddaughter, Yue Miao Miao, was Bai Sheng Yi's contracted beast. If anything happened to Bai Sheng Yi, it would surely affect Yue Miao Miao. On the other hand, he was also worried about Bai Sheng Yi.
Only Venerable Fei Yun stared intently at the little girl beneath the thunderclouds, a deep malice hidden in his eyes.
He hoped she would fail to ascend!
However, to his disappointment, Bai Sheng Yi quickly got back up, set up two more barriers, and sent the Reincarnation Brush flying out. It transformed into a verdant light, enveloping the barriers.
"Rong Ku Brush..." Venerable Fei Yun whispered. "Back then, my junior sister must have stolen the Rong Ku Brush..."
Hong Yi Daojun couldn't help but frown. "Senior Brother, your words are unreasonable. The Rong Ku Brush was already stolen before my junior sister went missing. In my opinion, rather than saying my junior sister stole the Rong Ku Brush, it's more likely that my junior sister found the Rong Ku Brush, or that Bai Sheng Yi found it. Otherwise, we still wouldn't know where the Rong Ku Brush is."
Venerable Fei Yun felt extremely embarrassed by Hong Yi Daojun's repeated words. Impatiently, he said, "I know, I know. Why do you always speak up for others?"
"Senior Brother..." Hong Yi Daojun was extremely exasperated. He was clearly speaking the truth, so why was he siding with others again?
His Senior Brother's temper was becoming more and more unpredictable.
It was unclear if the lightning in this ascension tribulation was the same as the lightning that struck Bai Sheng Yi in the Heavenly Dao Mountain Stream, but it was striking Bai Sheng Yi with all its might, without any restraint.
After three full days and nights, the already flat peak surrounding Bai Sheng Yi had been battered by lightning, becoming pitted and uneven, like the emergence of a new mountain peak. Within a ten-mile radius, there were no living creatures or demonic energy; the former had been scared away by the heavenly lightning, and the latter had been struck down by it.
Such a massive disturbance naturally alerted several individuals in the depths of the Far West.
"Liu Tian Yun, is this what you call not failing?"
Due to the incident with the Cosmic Secret Realm, Tang Qiao had been recalled to Ying Wu Continent by Ying Wu Xiong. However, she never expected that upon returning to Shen Qi, she would see not Bai Sheng Yi's corpse, but Bai Sheng Yi undergoing her ascension tribulation?
Indeed, the Immortal Ladder from the Shen Qi Minor World to the Chong Yuan Middle World had inexplicably been repaired. The Continent Lord had summoned her back this time to thoroughly investigate this matter.
Tang Qiao looked coldly at Liu Tian Yun. "What did you do? Do you know that Master is very angry right now?"
Liu Tian Yun's expression was also grim. "What did I do? Do you believe me if I say I did nothing?"
He himself was baffled!
So many Mahayana experts had been dispatched, and not only had they all perished, but Bai Sheng Yi had also advanced further!
"Pfft!"
Liu Tian Yun, in his anger, spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Useless trash," Tang Qiao taunted without reservation.
A flicker of displeasure crossed Liu Tian Yun's face, and he said coldly, "Are you saying you don't want to cooperate anymore?"
"Why should I believe that our cooperation can continue?" Tang Qiao crossed her arms, her clear eyes filled with genuine doubt. "Do you know that right now, I just want to kill you to vent my anger?"