Chapter 183: Golden Core Thunder Tribulation
This time, the inner demons are different from before.
Qiao Wan saw a mountain path, pouring rain, and herself lying on the muddy road like a dead dog. The young man quietly knelt beside her, holding her hands tightly, calling her Xin Yi.
Qiao Wan blinked and suddenly understood.
She understood! She now knew what her inner demon was!
"She" wanted to grab the young man who was leaving, but could only watch as Cen Qingyou's figure gradually blurred in the pouring rain.
Then the scene changed.
It was a bloody sunset, as if it were an ancient battlefield, with a harsh wind blowing against the grass. Cen Qingyou was being besieged by a group of cultivators, covered in blood, and his eyes seemed a bit sad.
Dozens of blood columns gushed out, nearly turning the young man into a sieve.
Next to them, a monk shouted angrily, "Finally caught you today, after causing the deaths of thousands! Are you still going to deny it?!"
Blood dripped down from his robe as Cen Qingyou stumbled forward a few steps, his voice hoarse and filled with blood, revealing a bitter smile. He pleaded, "Xin Yi, please save me."
Qiao Wan took a few steps forward instinctively, only to realize in horror that she had a bloody hole in her chest. She couldn't move and could only watch as Cen Qingyou's head was chopped off, his gentle features rolling to her feet. His eyes were filled with sadness, still pleading for her help.
This illusionary realm seemed weaker than expected, underestimating Cen Qingyou's strength.
Qiao Wan thought expressionlessly.
Based on her previous interactions with Cen Qingyou, she knew that his cultivation had already reached at least the stage of Golden Core. He didn't need her help. Besides, she believed that her seniors would never sit idly by.
With a change of thought, the scene before her changed again.
Qiao Wan's breath quickened as her gaze sharpened.
She made a mistake.
Oh no.
Qiao Wan silently clenched her teeth, recognizing the presence of a demon in her heart.
In the blink of an eye, the young monk with bright green eyes disappeared, leaving behind the haggard figure of a man. The battlefield remained, but now there was an emaciated man in front of her.
He was barely kneeling, his body covered in blood staining the dusty ground. Every inch of his skin was mangled beyond recognition.
The man glanced to the side, his long hair falling on his gaunt cheek. His face was almost completely disfigured, but his eyes burned with a fierce and lonely light, like a dimly lit lamp in a cold night, making one's heart tremble.
Behind him, there were countless disheveled and tattered cultivators. Mu Xiaoxiao, her eyes filled with tears, sat down on the ground, looking disheveled. "Elder...Martial Brother..."
It was her Elder Martial Brother.
Qiao Wan's throat tightened.
In front of her, within the ominous red glow of the evening sky, countless demonic monsters tore through the clouds, roaring and breaking free from spatial cracks, almost dominating half of the sky.
The man bravely blocked the oncoming wave of beasts with a confident sword strike. His powerful and dazzling swordsmanship was like a shooting star, fleeting yet full of strength. He protected tens of thousands of cultivators behind him.
"Xiaoxiao, hurry!" whispered Lu Pihan, his voice hoarse. Despite his disfigured appearance, he remained calm and composed. He coldly instructed, "Quick, lead the other brothers to retreat!"
This illusion was far more cunning than Qiao Wan had imagined.
Witnessing all this, Qiao Wan closed her eyes as a deafening explosion shook the earth. The sound of blood and gore filled her ears.
When she opened her eyes again, all she could see was a sea of blood mist and the falling pieces of flesh.
Before this, she had imagined what the demon's illusion would be like. Perhaps Zhou Yan would be there, maybe even some senior cultivators.
But she was wrong.
This was indeed the deepest and darkest fear buried within her.
She was afraid of her own weakness and incompetence, and she wanted to become stronger. She was also afraid of the storyline's influence, and she feared that she couldn't save anyone. Just like in the original story, Elder Martial Brother would sacrifice himself to protect Mu Xiaoxiao and the other disciples, exploding and dying for the greater good.
And all of this was because of her own weakness and incompetence.
A sudden wave of inexplicable fear swept over her heart, as if a voice kept telling her.
You can't do it. Give up. You are just this weak and powerless. Look, from beginning to end, how many times have you won on your own? Even when you killed Xiao Zongyuan, it was because someone else helped you. You can't save anyone.
Even if you can save Lu Pihan and Cen Qingyou, what then? Eventually, they will be inexorably drawn together by fate. Are you going to persuade Lu Pihan to let go of this revenge against the wiped out sect?
What right do you have to advise Lu Pihan to let go of this revenge against the wiped out sect?
Qiao Wan silently clenched her fingers and took a deep breath.
She understood.
But because of this, she needed to become stronger.
As long as she became one point stronger than before, her chances of saving Elder Martial Brother would increase by one point!
Before transmigrating, she had also self-depreciatingly called herself a salted fish. In the salty fish life, she had fallen down. But being a "salted fish" was just a cover for the weak. Only weak people would think of a thousand and ten thousand ways to escape. Not striving for progress and making excuses for one's own escape, using self-deprecation to ease the anxiety that emerged from the bottom of one's heart.
Anxiety means being dissatisfied with one's current situation, but lacking the courage, determination, and perseverance to change it!
So she wanted to take action, even if she could only do one point, she would still do it.
With a steady mind, Qiao Wan tightly clenched her fist, her dark eyes shining brightly.
Her fist held boundless anger, bursting with dazzling lightning, smashing the illusory realm of the inner demon in front of her. No one could stop her from becoming stronger!!!
Qiao Wan stayed in this cave for a few days, while Xiao Boyang angrily guarded the entrance of the cave for a few days.
In the sky above Kunshan, there was a loud rumble of thunder.
Layers of thunderclouds covered the sun, roaring and rolling without stopping.
Xiao Boyang, looking sad, sat at the entrance of his cave with a bowl of food in his hand. Suddenly, he was startled and widened his eyes, gripping his chopsticks tightly. "Golden Dan... Heavenly Thunder?"
Qiao Wan... is she cultivating the Golden Dan?!
In the past few days of seclusion, has she really achieved the Golden Dan?!
The dark clouds in the sky emitted a dazzling burst of fire, and the lightning streaked across the sky like a golden snake.
Xiao Boyang stood there in a daze, then angrily kicked the cave wall and clenched his teeth as he took out a magical tool from his pocket.
It was the Eight Treasures Pavilion's high-quality Qiankun Protector, which cost him three hundred fourth-grade Spirit Stones.
Qiao Wan owed him for this today.
The Heavenly Thunder was fierce, and he couldn't just let Qiao Wan be struck by it.
The Qiankun Protector flew up with a swish, and the pale golden light enveloped the entire cave, securely protecting it.
Xiao Boyang held his breath, his expression unusually serious, and stared intensely at the thunderclouds in the sky, without blinking.
Boom!
The first thunderbolt struck! The lightning snake quickly disappeared into the protective shield.
The shield shook and a faint blue electric light rippled across the surface, swallowing up the first thunderbolt.
Xiao Boyang grabbed onto the wall and felt a slight relief in his heart.
Blocked.
But there are still eight more to come, and it's uncertain whether this shield can withstand them.
At the same time, the disciples of Kunshan who were cultivating, slacking off, and falling in love all seemed a bit confused. They blinked and looked at the thundercloud in the sky.
"A Golden Core Tribulation? Did one of our elder martial sisters cultivate to the Golden Core stage?"
Although Kunshan is the top sect in the cultivation world, it's not like Golden Cores are everywhere. This tribulation looks... strangely terrifying. Which elder martial sister is going through it?
"Wait, doesn't this seem to be the direction of Yuqing Peak?"
"The direction of Yuqing Peak... Senior Martial Brother Lu already achieved the Golden Core stage. So it must be Elder Martial Sister Mu and Qiao Wan?!"
"Did Elder Martial Sister Mu cultivate to the Golden Core stage?"
Elder Martial Sister Mu was gifted and even at the age of 50, her cultivation was impressive.
A certain junior disciple from Kunshan was shocked, "But this seems to be the direction of Qiao Wan's cave..."
So, that means...
All the other disciples from Kunshan were astonished.
Qiao Wan is the one who achieved the Golden Core stage?!!
Qiao Wan, who is in her forties, achieving Golden Core stage, isn't that more impressive than Martial Brother Wen Hui?! What happened to the special treatment she received for having connections?!
Kunshan's guest accommodations.
A young man exclaimed, "Ah! Is it Sister Wan'er?!"
Jun Caiwei glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Gan Nan's face turned red as he pointed to the jade slip in front of him from Kunshan.
"Brother Jun! Look, Brother Niu is actually Sister Wan'er!"
The man peered and took a quick look.
[Heartless younger martial sister, intentionally humiliating vulnerable younger martial sister]
The person in this Souvenir Image is indeed Qiao Tieniu.
Hmm... impressive.
The young man became flustered and ashamed, saying, "So, Sister Wan'er took the Face Changing Pill, and I didn't even recognize her. She gave me the jade token before entering Kunshan, but I failed to notice."
"Don't worry." Jun Caiwei patted the young man's shoulder and comforted him, "At that time, you were completely focused on Miss Pei, so how could you notice that 'Qiao Wan' was written on this jade pendant?"
"But if I were Qiao Wan, I would definitely be heartbroken. Sigh, to be deceived by a man without even looking at oneself, it's really sad," Jun Caiwei said sympathetically.
Gan Nan sobbed, his eyes filled with tears. He looked ashamed and on the verge of crying.
"It's okay, it's okay. We still have a chance to make it right," Jun Caiwei said confidently. "Come on, let's go apologize to Sister Wan'er right now."
...
In front of the cave,
The young master of the Xiao family looked worriedly at the protective shield. He could only hope that this thing would provide some help. But the most annoying thing was that when the second attack struck, the shield seemed to struggle to hold on.
The young man's face turned dark.
What a fake and inferior thing!
But in the next moment, a pink figure suddenly rushed out like a fire under the butt, riding a flaming wheel all the way from the cave, and bravely stood under the thundercloud!
Xiao Boyang trembled and almost dropped the bowl he was holding!
Is it Qiao Wan?! She didn't hide in the protective cover and ran out to get struck by lightning?!
Qiao Wan is indeed here to get struck by lightning. After undergoing the thunder forging, she has nothing to fear! This thunder tribulation is a great opportunity for her to forge herself!
The girl stood tall, raising her hand and pointing at the sky.
"No one can stop me from becoming stronger!"
"I will make the heavens know that I never give up!"
The second thunderbolt struck.
Qiao Wan stretched out her hand and actually grabbed the thunderbolt, forcefully tearing it apart with her bare hands! The girl's eyes were filled with determination, reflecting electric light and a hint of deep blue. Gripping the thunderbolt, she swung it to the side and shouted, "Olala olala olala olala olala!"
Xiao Boyang, holding a bowl, was completely stunned.
"......"
At that moment, a fiery figure suddenly landed.
The man, with long black hair flowing down to his ankles, swung his sleeves.
Feng Wangyan's face turned ugly as he asked, "Where is that useless person?"
Behind Feng Wangyan, Mu Xiaoxiao followed clumsily, gasping for breath, and said, "Little Phoenix! Wait! This has nothing to do with Martial Sister Qiao Wan."
Just in time.
Amidst the thunderous calamity, Qiao Wan silently turned around, holding a glowing orb in her hand, and smiled, "Feng taoist friend, look."
She pointed her finger.
"Your death star is shining in the sky."
Grilled chicken wings! She was going to eat them today!
