"It's Xuan Tong!" Qi Chengyu replied in a panic. "Earlier, we realised that she was showing signs of developing immortal bones, so we've been trying to build up her defences. Earlier on… Her immortal bones formed but the Heavenly Tribulations started out of nowhere."

"How can this be?!" Lonemoon's expression changed. "Even if she has already formed immortal bones, she's only an Earth Immortal. This isn't the lower realm – there shouldn't be lightning tribulations when she becomes an Earth Immortal!" There were so many disciples in the sect, all of them ascending with their low cultivation levels. n.o.body went through the Heavenly Tribulations when they became Earth Immortals.

"I don't know either!" She was obviously anxious. "Her cultivation level was nearing Earth Immortal stage, but the Heavenly Tribulations suddenly began. Feng Ying is outside now helping Xuan Tong set up an array, hoping that it would help to protect her for just a little while."

Before she could finish speaking, there was a loud crash. A huge bolt of lightning struck the bottom of the hill.

"It's begun." Qi Chengyu's face was a mask of worry. Forget about whether Xuan Tong would be able to endure it – if this carried on, the tribulations would affect everybody in the sect.

"Go and take a look!" Shen Ying got up, prepared to rush down.

"Come back here!" Lonemoon snarled, gesturing behind him. "The way down is there!"

"… Oh." Shen Ying turned around. Then, she paused and tugged at a disciple closest to her. "Little Green, call Boss Lan over."

"Yes!"

Then, she followed the group toward the Heavenly Tribulations.

The closer they got to where Xuan Tong was being isolated, the richer the immortal Qi felt. It was surging at an insane speed. At the foot of the hill, the immortal Qi dense and felt like it was going to condense into a certain form. It was different when Roasted Chicken Gal and the rest ascended into immortality. The immortal Qi did not condense to form an Immortal Ascension Stage.

Feng Ying was standing at the foot of the hill, holding up a defensive array to protect Xuan Tong, who was not far away from him. However, it was obvious that he could not hold it on for long. Huge cracks could already be seen on the array – it looked like it would fall apart at any time. Following a huge crash of thunder, the second bolt of lightning struck toward the ground. The array broke into pieces and the bolt of lightning hit Xuan Tong.

She was not a physical cultivator. Even though she was well prepared, the impact caused her to spit out a mouthful of blood. Yet, the immortal bones in her body seemed to become st.u.r.dier.

"Little Tong!" Qi Chengyu shouted worriedly. She was even more anxious by then.

"Mas…" Xuan Tong turned and her eyes brightened. "Divine… Sect Master!" In this year that she was in isolation, she had grown into a lady. She looked directly at Shen Ying, looking more refreshed.

"Don't be distracted. Focus on handling the tribulation!" Lonemoon instructed.

"Press on!" Shen Ying added.

"Yes!" Xuan Tong stiffened. It looked like she had a sudden surge of courage. She focused on regulating the immortal Qi in her body. The wounds on her body healed before their eyes. Then, the third bolt of lightning struck…

Lonemoon quickly set up several arrays to prevent the lightning from hitting Invincible Sect. He gestured for Feng Ying to take a break. The Heavenly Tribulation had already started and it did not seem likely that they could stop it midway anymore. Although they still had not figured out why this was happening, all they could do was to help Xuan Tong tide through the tribulations.

But this lightning…

He looked up and saw the thunder clouds in the sky rolling. Frowning, he said, "This doesn't look like.. the Nine Nine Lightning Tribulation."

"Indeed it isn't," Yi Qing replied. "There wouldn't be Immortal Ascension Lightning Tribulations in the immortal realm."

"So… Don't tell me this is the Heavenly Lightning for Golden Immortals?"

"It is!" Yi Qing nodded.

s.h.i.+t! Lonemoon was worried now. He glanced at Xuan Tong. She did not even have the body of an Earth Immortal, and yet she was going through the Heavenly Tribulations meant for Golden Immortals… Even body cultivators would have a hard time with this, much less Xuan Tong, who had not been training for very long.

"She's only ascending to become an Earth Immortal. There are so many disciples in the sect, yet she's the first to go through such a Heavenly Tribulation. Why is that so?" Lonemoon could not figure it out. What happened to the female lead being attractive? Was the female lead to be treated like this? Did the author know this?

Just as Lonemoon pondered all these matters, Lan Hua flew down with Radish on his back. He was in the rear mountain, so he managed to make it in a short time.

"Good Heart, why did you call for me?"

"Little Big Sister!" Radish had made a comrade and upgraded from hanging onto people's thighs to hanging on their backs. It jumped down from Lan Hua's back and leapt toward Shen Ying, as fast as a bullet.

Then… it stuck its head straight into the soil behind her.

Shen Ying had stepped forward. With a serious expression, she waved Lan Hua over. "Boss Lan, come and look at this."

"Look at what?" Lan Hua was obviously confused. Everyone did not know what Shen Ying was getting at either. "What's so interesting about a Heavenly Trib… Eh?"

He paused and looked with surprise at the person within the tribulations.

"Who is that lady? Why does she have demonic Qi in her?" Others might not be able to tell, but he was a demon and thus was extremely sensitive to demonic Qi. There wasn't much, but it was obvious that a thin layer of demonic Qi surrounded the lady. He could also tell that the demonic Qi was coming from inside of her. Yet, she was an immortal cultivator.

"Demonic Qi!" Lonemoon exclaimed. He remembered Xuan Tong's ident.i.ty, then realised why Shen Ying called Lan Hua over. "Could that be the reason why she triggered the Heavenly Tribulation when she was ascending to become an Earth Immortal?"

"She's an Earth Immortal?" Lan Hua paused. Then, he nodded. "That's possible. This is the first time I'm seeing something like this as well. Normally, immortal Qi and demonic Qi would never complement each other. Yet, they are co-existing in her body. That might be the reason why she triggered the Heavenly Tribulation when she ascended into immortality. That lightning tribulation must be for the demonic Qi in her body." Indeed, with each strike of lightning, a little bit of her demonic Qi dissipated.

Lan Hua looked on for several moments and frowned. "but… the demonic Qi seems to be coming from her primordial spirit. The Heavenly Tribulation would not be able to completely get rid of it unless…"

"It strikes and destroys her primordial spirit," Yi Qing finished Lan Hua's sentence.

Lan Hua nodded. Everybody present suddenly looked sick, especially Qi Chengyu.

"Who exactly is this lady? Does she belong to the demon race?" Lan Hua could not help but ask. She had demonic Qi in her primordial spirit, yet only immortal Qi in her dantian. She was also trained in immortal techniques. "I've heard of immortals falling to become demons, but I have never heard of demons ascending to become immortals."

"Do you have any solutions?" Lonemoon ignored his question.

"I do…" Lan Hua became squeamish. "But it's a bit troublesome."

"What's the solution?" Qi Chengyu asked.

"Drain all her demonic Qi into my body!" He was not going to complain that he had too much demonic Qi. "But I would need to make contact with her primordial spirit before I can completely drain her of her demonic Qi."

Qi Chengyu's heart leapt. "Your Majesty Lan Hua, please save Little Tong!"

"No!" Lan Hua rejected her. "I don't know her very well and I would have to go into the tribulations to save her. I wouldn't-"

"Boss, save her!" Shen Ying cut in.

"Alright!"

Just after he answered her and before he could stop himself, Lan Hua jumped into the tribulations.

The crowd: "…"

Motherf*cker, how he hated his good heart!