"Mo Yue, this ruckus isn't small. The three of us are all about to face the Divine Soul Tribulation. At the very least, we should inform Mo Qi, and report to Zhēnzūn as well," Mo Yi said, stroking his chin as he turned to Jian Dan.
"You're right. I'll send the message now."
Jian Dan immediately drew a talisman in midair and sent it flying beyond the barrier with a push of her palm.
"How many of you are facing the tribulation this time?" Mo Su asked the other Heavenly Demon Palace cultivators behind them.
"Zhēnzhe, we have sixty-four ready to transcend," one replied.
"That's not too many."
"Not too many? It'll take over a month to get through them all!"
"We'll follow Zhēnzūn's arrangements."
Mo Qi, dressed in brilliant red robes as always, stepped through the water curtain and frowned when she saw the second team already back.
"You returned this fast?"
"If we hadn't, we would've become the emergency clean-up crew," Mo Yi said, shaking his head.
"Don't listen to him, Senior Sister. We finished what we needed to do and even taught the other sects a proper lesson. From here on, it's their job to manage their own mess," Jian Dan replied with a cheeky grin.
"We need to advance our cultivation. Let's not delay that," Mo Su added directly.
"Alright, I won't ask why you came back so quickly. Zhēnzūn has already ordered that the Nascent Soul cultivators face their tribulation first. The three of you will go later."
"Understood. Everyone's here, you handle it," Jian Dan said, hands-off as usual.
The nine members of the Black Robe Guard's "Mo" unit, who had followed them through countless battles, all sat quietly, preparing for their own Divine Soul breakthroughs.
After arranging the rest, Mo Qi came over.
"Zhēnzūn will personally send the three of you back to the Heavenly Demon Palace for your tribulation. Prepare yourselves."
"Why not do it here?" Mo Yi asked immediately.
"Zhēnzūn said it's about time the Heavenly Demon Palace added a few more Divine Soul cultivators. Only then can we properly showcase our strength."
"Then you should be the first one to ascend, Senior Sister," Mo Yi teased.
"Where there is light, there is shadow. Not everything needs to be laid on the table. What sect doesn't have a few hidden cards?"
"Mo Yue's right, but it's also because you three are too high-profile. People are watching," Mo Qi added with a smirk.
"Senior Sister, Heaven and Earth can bear witness. When have I ever been high-profile?"
"You? Wherever there's excitement, you're already there. There's no escaping you," she shot back, making Mo Yi pout in defeat.
Mo Su, as the disciple of Palace Lord Mo Lie and the Young Palace Mistress, was naturally watched closely. Jian Dan, newly appointed as a Peak Master, had also drawn attention for her decisive, ruthless methods. The Mo family had twice lost its head in recent power struggles, and while the first time may have been chance, the second almost certainly involved Jian Dan's handiwork.
She came out unscathed and even won public sympathy. Even Mo Lie Gōngzhǔ himself hadn't fared as well. So it wasn't hard to understand why Zhēnzūn chose to move them back.
"When you're ready, step outside. The sect has already prepared the tribulation array. Congratulations in advance on becoming new Zhēnzhe," Mo Qi said.
"Thank you for the kind words, Senior Sister."
The three of them stepped out in sync. As soon as they passed through the barrier, thunderclouds rolled in overhead.
A rift opened before them in the sky.
"Go on," came Mo Xuan Zhēnzūn's voice, echoing around them.
The moment they stepped through, they could feel the tribulation locking onto them. Without hesitation, they entered the void.
When Jian Dan opened her eyes again, she was already back at her own peak on the Heavenly Demon Palace's Mo Ying Peak, inside the tribulation formation.
Before she could activate any defenses, the first wave of lightning struck.
Nine bolts fell at once, slamming into her. The lightning seemed to find its ideal path, diving into the clusters of demonic qi in her body. A fourth of it was instantly scattered, but the rest became even more refined.
Jian Dan didn't resist. She let the lightning scour her meridians, passing through her whole body before descending into her dantian.
There, the Taiji Disk hovered at its center. The lightning split as it entered, absorbed into the yin and yang sides of the disk.
The Mò Xī and the Mó Yuè Zhǎn floating above it were also tempered by the lightning. The Mò Xī quietly embraced the refinement. The Mó Yuè Zhǎn, however, tried to slash the lightning apart.
Unable to watch, Jian Dan sent a voice transmission.
"Mó Yuè Zhǎn, I know the demonic qi in the Ming Beast space is dense, but that's a closed world. Let the lightning temper you too."
What she really meant was: you need a good cleansing.
Only then did Mó Yuè Zhǎn stop dispersing the lightning and allow it to strengthen its form.
The second wave fell. This time, the bolts were as thick as barrels. Knowing the early waves of the tribulation were ideal for physical refinement, Jian Dan stood up from her meditative pose and began drawing the lightning into her bones.
She immediately regretted it. The pain was unbearable. Gritting her teeth, she activated the Ice-Skin Jade-Bone Demon Body Art and began refining her upper body with fierce punches.
Finally, the last wave came, pouring down like a waterfall.
Even with her defensive array activated, the formation shattered under the power of the strike.
"Mó Yuè Zhǎn, get out here and help me block this!"
With a sigh, Mó Yuè Zhǎn emerged.
"Getting zapped is still getting zapped. You're still the one taking the hit!"
"If I die, you're coming with me!"
As the two bickered, the lightning crashed down. Mó Yuè Zhǎn transformed into a massive crescent blade, shielding Jian Dan from above.
It absorbed a portion of the strike and then returned to the dantian to refine itself. What remained of the lightning struck Jian Dan directly. It surged through her meridians, cleansing her demonic qi with terrifying precision, leaving only the purest essence.
Unlike the previous waves, this one didn't destroy. It refined.
The remaining lightning gathered into a miniature sea within her dantian, further tempering the Taiji Disk and everything else inside her.
As the clouds dissipated, a massive projection of Mó Yuè Zhǎn appeared in the sky above Mo Ying Peak. After circling once, it faded, signaling her successful ascension to the Divine Soul realm.
Palace Master Mo Lie nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Mo Su at Mo Yan Peak, who was facing the final wave of his tribulation.
Suddenly, thunderclouds once again gathered over Mo Ying Peak. A new strike began to brew, this time tinged with black within the violet lightning.
Palace Master Mo Lie eyes widened.
"This is bad. Mo Yue has been targeted!"