Ch60 - Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation

The brushstrokes of these three “Hate!” characters were firm, vigorous, and sharp. The bloody hatred and killing intent seemed to almost burst out of the book!

Lin Shu’s mind was taken by it for a moment. After a long time, he came back to his mind.

He only heard Ling Xiao’s whisper: “Alas.”

Although Lin Shu didn’t quite understand, he could see that although Qing Ming Demon Lord denounced Yuehua Immortal Lord as a “scoundrel”, he became furious and slaughtered dozens of people after Yuehua Immortal Lord was killed by conspiracy and schemes. Most likely, when Qing Ming Demon Lord and Yuehua Immortal Lord were opposing each other with equal harshness, they also sympathized with each other as people of talent.

Although this Demon Lord cultivated the demonic path, he despised the Twelve Demons’ dirty means of killing Yuehua Immortal Lord, so he could also be considered an upright person.

Lin Shu continued to flip the pages.

The secret script was called “Extinction”. Qing Ming Demon Lord created this method for the purpose of “a-tooth-for-a-tooth” retaliation in order to cripple Yuehua Immortal Lord’s meridians. Therefore, it was not used for killing or fighting. It was specially used for destroying people’s meridians.

The first volume was called “Extinction Needle”.

Find the silver needle of an ice spirit, refine it with the cold poison of ice jade, and then find many wondrous poisons. With the formula given by the Qing Ming Demon Lord, inject it into the silver needle, and then combine it with the unique acupoint searching, exerting force, and secret strength techniques recorded in the secret script. It only takes three needles to immediately cripple the meridians of the entire body–you don’t even need to apply the needles secretly. This technique is extremely difficult to learn, but it has its own mysteries and uses. You just need to face the enemy openly and squarely. No matter how strong his movement techniques, it will still be difficult to avoid this unpredictable attack.

However, if the poison gas of this needle is exposed to the outside, it will melt as soon as it enters the body. The mere act of holding it in one’s hand will greatly damage the meridians. The agony of damaged meridians is enough to pierce one’s heart, making the needle user extremely miserable. Therefore, in order to learn this method, one cannot have smooth meridians.

Ling Xiao was also looking at it and said after reading, “Although it’s hard to find, it can be made with the power of Phoenix Villa… With it, you can protect yourself.”

Although he can’t use his original martial arts skills, he can hardly be injured by others with the Silent Needle as his trump card, and his previous weapons, as well as the Ice Strings Zither.

Roughly flipping further, there were many techniques such as “Extinction Finger”, “Extinction Sword” and “Extinction Spirit’s Illusory Skill”.

Lin Shu breathed a sigh of relief and closed the book.

The cat who was originally in Ling Xiao’s arms waited for an opportunity to dive into his arms again and rubbed against him. It seems that Cousin’s fur-smoothening technique is not up to par yet.

Ling Xiao retracted his hand and helped Lin Shu collect the secret script and zither: “Let’s go.”

Lin Shu nodded.

At long last, this trip was the correct decision.

The only problem was that the secret script was too insidious and evil, and he was afraid it wouldn’t pass the Academy’s inspection. The treasures that disciples brought back from Huandang Mountain will be carefully scrutinized by the Daoists in charge of the teams. Only when they confirm that the treasures will not be abused by immature disciples, will the students be allowed to use them. Those that fail to pass the inspection will be placed into the top level of the Treasure Pavillion or the Forbidden Book Area of the Library, and disciples will not be allowed to read it casually–of course, if this happens, the Academy will compensate the corresponding jade souls to the disciples.

However, the Academy did not know about the fact that Exquisite Fairyland’s young master gave both of them the right to take a second treasure from Tianzi Library. In this way, if Lin Shu collected the “Extinction” secret book into the brocade bag and handed the “Ice Strings” zither to the Daoist for inspection, then he could pass the test.

The three people walked out of Tianzi Library, and the library door closed, the dull sound echoing in the long corridor.

After a while, the sound still did not disappear.

Lin Shu: “?”

Ling Xiao frowned slightly.

That young man said: “This sound is strange.”

After a few more seconds, Ling Xiao quickly said: “The sound is outside!”

They listened attentively. Sure enough, the sound was low, deep, and continuous. It was coming from outside the palace. After passing through many corridors, it was a little distorted. That’s why they heard it wrong.

The cat in Lin Shu’s arms suddenly screamed, the fur on its tail stood up. It stretched his neck to look forward.

Lin Shu understood its meaning: “Let’s leave.”

The closer they got to the hall, the clearer the sound.

Thunder!

Depressive, continuous, huge thunder blasts.

When it fell in Lin Shu’s ears– it was unexpectedly familiar.

This– is not ordinary thunder!

It’s a thunder tribulation!

They quickly walked back to the main hall, then out of the hall, and to the outside.

The sky was drooping, almost pressing on top of everyone’s head, and the black clouds rolled into a huge whirlpool.

It is really a thunder tribulation!

On Huandang Mountain, the mountain keeper is the only one likely to experience a tribulation!

That’s right, the original reason that Huandang Mountain opened ahead of schedule was because the mountain keeper was approaching tribulation and was about to ascend, so he could no longer guard Huandang Mountain!

Lin Shu looked up and saw that the center of the vortex was facing the place where they were now. Then, when the tribulation officially begins, the thunder will fall here, which also shows that the mountain keeper is nearby at this time.

Looking around, there were only a few scattered disciples who had broken the Exquisite Chess Game, waiting for the cat to lead them to the treasure house. Where is the shadow of the mountain keeper?

At this time, Lin Shu suddenly felt the cat trembling in his arms.

While shaking, it meowed softly, and looked up at Lin Shu from time to time. After it looked at him, it turned to gaze at Ling Xiao.

Lin Shu: “…”

Ling Xiao: “…”

Ling Xiao: “It’s you?”

The cat meowed again.

All right.

Things are so unpredictable.

Lin Shu lifted the cat and engaged in a staring contest with it.

Cat: “Meow.”

Lin Shu: “Is it really you?”

Cat: “Meow.”

The roaring thunder became louder and louder, and the black clouds were getting lower and lower. Lin Shu, after all, was a man who had experienced a tribulation. How can he not know that this is the sign that the lightning is about to strike?

Since the thunder is going to strike here, then the person who should face the tribulation must also be here.

No human here should be facing a tribulation.

There is only one suspicious cat.

The suspicious cat was still trembling at this time, and then buried its head deeper in Lin Shu’s arms, trying to escape.

Lin Shu looked at Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao was looking at the cat. Somehow, Lin Shu felt that Cousin was very unhappy right now. He is probably dissatisfied with the cat’s disappointing performance.

He asked: “What do I do?”

Ling Xiao: “You have been entangled by it.”

Lin Shu: “….”

Humans can enter the Immortal Realm by overcoming the tribulation.

Animals can too, in theory.

However, animals are, after all, different from human beings. Not all living beings are enlightened. Even if they gain sentience, it is still difficult for them to understand the Dao.

The heavenly tribulation that beasts need to overcome is the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, which is exactly like a human’s tribulation. Throughout the ages, there were only a few precedents of successful beasts overcoming the tribulation.

But Heaven is kind, and in the end, still left them a ray of hope for survival.

When a human faces heavenly tribulation, they cannot use trickery, or else they will be punished by heavens– like Lin Shu had been.

However, when a spiritual beast faces a tribulation, it can form ties with people and be helped by a human– as long as it finds someone who is willing to help it survive the tribulation.

The scene right now is very obvious. The cat is depending on Lin Shu.

Six words were brightly written on that trembling body: “Please help me survive the tribulation.”

The so-called “mountain keeper is about to experience tribulation, so Huandang Mountain will open in advance and allow disciples to come in and pick treasures one last time” was all a cover. Clearly, this cat was about to face a tribulation and was afraid that it would not be able to overcome it, so it opened the Huandang Mountain and let the excellent disciples help him overcome the tribulation.

In the end, there is no mountain keeper.

The so-called “mountain keeper’s pet” is the actual mountain keeper.

A cat.

A cat who’s currently trying desperately to escape from the tribulation.

What else can Lin Shu do?

The cat looked at him, and he looked at Cousin.

Cousin, please help us survive the tribulation.

Ling Xiao laughed.

He put his finger on the scabbard of his blade and said: “I’ll face the tribulation, and you can accompany it.”

The young man struck the heavy sword on his back to the ground and said, “I will too.”

His posture and gesture when holding the sword made Lin Shu feel familiar.

Between the lightning and sparks, he thought of someone.

Cang Min.

The second place in the Martial Arts Ranking being with Xiao Shao pressed above him, the legendary martial arts fanatic.

Cang Min also used a similar broadsword. Moreover, this young man passed the three tests all the way, and entered the Floating Immortal Palace before the other disciples of Shangling Academy. He is certainly not a pushover.

However, the tall and burly Cang Min in the Dreamscape is too difficult to connect with the handsome young man in front of him.

Just as he was thinking, several other disciples also saw the situation clearly, and were about to step forward, but Ling Xiao said: “Your cultivation isn’t enough; you don’t have to come.”

Thus those disciples sat down cross-legged in the distance–after all, watching the scene of tribulation is a rare opportunity to understand the Dao of Heaven.

About half an incense’s worth of time, a man in white came up from below and floated in front of them.

——It was the Sword Pavilion disciple who first arrived at the Floating Immortal Palace. When Lin Shu and the others went up the Floating Immortal Palace, they didn’t see any trace of him. He must have gone down the mountain after taking the treasures. At this time, he noticed the movement here and came back again.

“This humble one is Yun Lan,” he said, “I wish to help.”

Ling Xiao: “Thank you very much.”

With Lin Shu’s eyesight, the three of them are all Yuanying cultivation bases, and they are among the best in the Yuanying realm. However, he doesn’t know how high their chances of surviving the tribulation are.

Naturally, he could not stand idly by, so he arranged the Ice Strings Zither in place and put the cat on his shoulder, and recalled the music scores he had learned before.

The cat also knew that the matter was very important, so it obediently stayed on his shoulder, with two front paws hugging Lin Shu’s neck, making him a little unable to breathe.

Lin Shu ignored the fluffy touch on his neck as he pressed the strings lightly and began to play “Peaceful Clarity.”

Spiritual energy gathered on the strings, then turned into a soft mist and spread around. It can clear people’s minds, and the effect is remarkable.

Yun Lan glanced at him but said nothing.

Lin Shu didn’t know whether this tune was widely circulated in the Immortal path or was unique to Sword Pavillion. If it was unique to Sword Pavillion, Yun Lan would most likely recognize it. However, Yun Lan didn’t speak, so he didn’t say anything either.

There was a Boom in the clouds.

The black cat hugged Lin Shu’s neck tighter and meowed softly, as if it was too scared.

If the mountain keeper truly was this cat, then it would be a spiritual cat with thousands of years of cultivation, but it’s actually such a scaredy-cat…Truly, as its nature dictates.

Cats, dogs, chickens, and ducks are domesticated animals that are not ferocious to begin with. Therefore, they seldom succeed in cultivation. Even if they do succeed — just by looking at this flattering black cat — you can tell that no matter how it cultivates, it will still be a little thing that likes to dive into people’s arms.

Lin Shu looked up at the sky.

The power of Heaven gradually strengthened, reminding him of the scene of his own tribulation.

If it weren’t for the lightning rod, he would have been in the immortal realm by now.

The Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, which contains the true meaning of heaven, can actually be defeated by modern science and be directly absorbed by an ordinary lightning rod. This is really a strange thing, and he still does not understand it.

Several disciples came in front of the hall, but none of them came forward.

After the piece was finished, there was a crash in the sky, and violent gales blew in front of the palace.

With a Clang, Ling Xiao drew his blade out of its sheath, gaze impassive.

When Lin Shu finished tuning the strings, he changed the piece and played 《Ending the Skies》. The sound of the zither turned upwards, carrying killing intent with it.

Fortunately, when he was a child, Master was strict and laid a solid foundation. The skill of playing the zither has not grown unfamiliar, even now.

With the Ice Strings Zither, the sound of the zither contains spiritual power, which can help them clear their minds, condense energy, heal injuries, and also attack if necessary. This time, he finally wasn’t holding others back anymore.

The young man suspected to be Cang Min said: “Junior Martial Brother Lin, you’re really amazing!”

Before Lin Shu could answer, he heard Ling Xiao say: “Naturally.”

———-

TL’s/Mini Theatre:

Zaki: Meoww!! *goes to the rooftop with her 3 cats and wait for thunder and lightning*

Ea:  Rawwrr!! *saves the cats and tied Zaki to a lightning rod*

Rose: Meoww!! *crosses legs and sips tea*