Jian Dan stood still, waiting for the spiritual energy rain to fall and help her recover, when yet another tribulation cloud began to gather overhead.
Far away, the long-dormant silver-armored mother bug was transmitting a message to its master.
"You're saying it's Ma Wen from the Ma family. He succeeded in seizing a body and is now attempting to pass the Divine Soul tribulation?"
"And then?"
Looking up at the sky, where thunderclouds had already nearly completed their buildup, Jian Dan's face darkened.
"He actually used a planted spy from Mo Ying Peak to drag me into becoming his scapegoat for this tribulation? Hah, the nerve!"
No wonder Jian Dan had felt the defensive formation disk just now had broken far too easily.
Even if the final tribulation strike was supposed to be the strongest, it should've lasted at least a few breaths. There was no reason for it to collapse from the first touch of lightning.
"Is Xiao Yin still in the Ma family?"
The silver-armored mother bug nodded.
"Have him find a way to pinpoint Ma Wen's exact location. Once I finish dealing with this tribulation, I'm going to settle this debt."
The mother bug immediately nodded. Its twin antennae bumped together, sending the message exactly as ordered.
The first wave of nine lightning bolts came crashing down. Jian Dan immediately released the Mo Ying Umbrella.
The bolts struck the red umbrella one after another, dimming the Manjushahua pattern embroidered across its surface.
Still, she had successfully weathered the first wave.
Jian Dan frowned. That wasn't a good sign. Damaging her umbrella this early on was definitely a problem.
Outside the tribulation zone, a crowd of Divine Transformation and Divine Soul cultivators were watching with bated breath. This tribulation was unusually strange.
The Palace Master Mo Lie fumed silently. Daring to pull such tricks right under his nose? It seemed that twenty years of taking a softer approach had made some people forget who they were dealing with.
Without another word, the Palace Master turned and headed toward the forbidden area in the back mountain.
Jian Dan stowed the Mo Ying Umbrella and released Cotton Candy from her storage. The little beast was about to cheer joyfully, but the moment it noticed the thunderclouds above, its expression turned deadly serious.
"Cotton Candy, you're five-colored now. I want you to imitate rainbow clouds and surround the entire tribulation area so no one can see how I handle this."
"Yes, Master, Cotton Candy understands!"
Grabbing the end of its multicolored tail, the beast teleported away and zipped around the peak, completely shrouding the top of Mo Ying Peak in dazzling colored mist before the spectators.
Instantly, the entire mountaintop vanished under rainbow clouds. No divine sense could penetrate.
"Master, it's all done just like you said."
"Good. Go play somewhere else. Don't get zapped by lightning."
"Okay!"
With that, the fluffy creature vanished off to the side.
Jian Dan immediately activated the Primordial Chaos Art, shifting her path to Dao cultivation. The yin-yang Taiji disc in her body rotated, turning to its yang side. Jian Dan summoned Mò Xī Jiàn.
"Mò Xī, if we scatter the tribulation lightning this time, I refuse to believe the Heavenly Dao didn't notice the switch. Let's see how it explains this."
The second wave of nine thunderbolts descended, and Jian Dan surged forward, brandishing the Mò Xī Jiàn. She launched the Heavenly Sword Nine Forms in quick succession.
Each sword shadow met the bolts head-on, slicing them apart midair.
But the tribulation lightning above seemed unsatisfied. The clouds churned, preparing an even stronger wave.
Outside the mist, the gathered cultivators were getting frustrated. They couldn't see a thing, but no one dared to get closer.
Stepping into the tribulation range would instantly mark you as a participant. Not only would the tribulation intensify, there would be no escaping the strikes. So even though divine senses buzzed across the air, not a single soul ventured forward.
The second wave struck again. Jian Dan countered with sword shadows, dispersing the bolts once more. However, the scattered lightning bent and curved back toward her.
"They're even turning corners now?!"
Jian Dan's brows shot up as she quickly shifted using shadow step, evading the incoming strikes.
She tossed the Mò Xī Jiàn forward. The weapon's spirit took over, flying up to meet the lightning on its own.
Jian Dan herself clenched both fists, slamming them into an incoming bolt and shattering it. The moment she landed, the third wave of tribulation lightning hit without pause.
Jian Dan nearly cursed aloud. "How long would it take them to realize they'd hit the wrong person?"
The yin-yang Taiji disc, normally rotating slowly inside her body, flew out unbidden. Hovering above her head, it expanded and took the brunt of the third wave.
As it absorbed the nine bolts, the disc's spin reversed from clockwise to counterclockwise.
The tribulation lightning spun once inside the disc—then shot back the way it came.
"Merit's golden light!"
Jian Dan caught a faint voice from beyond the clouds.
The Taiji disc rapidly shrank and returned to her body.
"You struck the wrong target!"
A voice rang out, full of frustration.
Jian Dan gripped the Mò Xī Jiàn tightly, eyes sharp as she waited.
"She's strong enough. Let her undergo the Void Refinement tribulation and advance directly to the Void Refinement stage. It'll cover your mistake."
"But the spiritual rain hasn't fallen yet!"
"It will, all at once."
"Xiayou below, prepare for the Void Refinement tribulation."
With those words, the clouds above roiled anew. Lightning began to build once again.
Jian Dan felt as if a thousand alpacas had stampeded through her heart. Was this really how things were handled now? That so-called lightning deity was hardly reliable.
She dropped down and deployed a defensive formation around herself. Swallowing her second Replenishing Pill, she restored her physical and spiritual strength in preparation.
Mò Xī Jiàn whispered into her mind:
"This next tribulation will look intense, but it's actually a compensatory one. Let the Mó Yuè Zhǎn and that little disc of yours absorb a round. It'll benefit them both."
"Got it."
"Which wave are you planning to take?"
Mò Xī shimmered and replied, "We'll see."
"You better take the first wave."
"Don't worry, I will!"
Just as Jian Dan finished her preparations, the purple-gold lightning descended.
Nine bolts struck her body in an instant, slipping through like there was no resistance. They rapidly widened her meridians.
The golden strands within the purple lightning seeped into her bones, refining them again and leaving them glowing faintly with golden light.
Satisfied with the results, Jian Dan dropped her defenses, allowing the lightning to reshape her meridians and temper her skeleton.
The final bolt even cracked open her spiritual sea, expanding it into a boundless domain.
The magnolia artifact still rotated slowly within her sea of consciousness, emitting soft white light. It absorbed part of the incoming lightning as well.
The second wave of purple-gold lightning fell. Jian Dan absorbed a portion herself and channeled the rest into the Obsidian Bracelet on her wrist.
Recognizing the energy as valuable, the bracelet refined itself once more, expelling a few black impurities.
When it returned to Jian Dan's wrist, the bracelet shimmered with gold flecks, looking even more ancient and refined.
One by one, Mò Xī Jiàn, Mó Yuè Zhǎn, and the Taiji disc emerged, each receiving their share of the benefits.
The final wave of lightning descended, completely engulfing Jian Dan.
Just as Mò Xī had said, while it looked terrifying, it simply expanded her meridians further and carved open her spiritual sea's Purple Mansion.
This marked her as a cultivator with a one hundred percent chance of ascending from Lingyun Continent to the immortal realm.
Finally, the thunder ceased and the clouds dispersed. The tribulation had ended. Manifesting above Jian Dan were the phantom images of the Mó Yuè Zhǎn, Mò Xī Jiàn, and the Taiji disc—her heavenly vision.
Right after, the spiritual rain began to fall. What should have lasted a quarter-hour poured for two full quarters instead.
This was Heaven's reward to those who had endured the tribulation. Jian Dan didn't hold back, absorbing every drop she could.
The moment her spiritual power overflowed, she stored Cotton Candy back into her space.
With a long howl, the pressure of a Void Refinement cultivator burst from her body, spreading in all directions.
Only then did the surrounding cultivators confirm that her tribulation had truly ended.
Jian Dan tore open the void with a flick of her hand, turned around, and vanished from Mo Ying Peak.
===
You may have noticed that Jian Dan's two main weapons have been presented in slightly different formats so far:
Mó Yuè has been written as Mó Yuè Zhǎn (魔月斩)—preserving both the name and weapon type (斩, "slash"/"cleaver").
Mò Xī, however, was written as Mò Xī Sword (默皙剑), where I translated the character 剑 (jiàn) as "Sword" in English.
Upon reflection, I realized this created an inconsistency in formatting. Since 魔月斩 (Mó Yuè Zhǎn) keeps its full name + weapon type in pinyin, it makes sense to apply the same treatment to 默皙剑 (Mò Xī Jiàn).