The Hundred Herbs garden was so bright that it seemed like daytime. There were no longer any gaps between the flashes of lightning. It weaved into a gorgeous, dancing net around Ruan Yaozhu, dyeing everything white.
Rumble!
The surroundings shook endlessly as the rumbles of thunder merged into one single, unending roar. It was like the wheel of a tremendous carriage was rolling through the sky.
Li Qingshan looked up with his head raised. No matter how many times he saw it, he still felt shocked by the might of the world.
Ruan Yaozhu’s situation was not good. Not only did she have to face the regular tribulation lightning, but she also had to constantly guard against the sudden attacks from the tiny sword, requiring her full attention.
Her expression constantly changed, sometimes with her eyebrows locked, like she was in great pain, sometimes with a smile on her face, like she had forgotten about her current predicament and was in great joy.
With a lapse in her focus, the tiny sword shot past her ribs on her right side with a flash, leading to a splash of blood that was immediately vapourised.
If she had not twisted her body at that critical moment, she basically would have been split into two by that flash. She did not focus on forging her body like Chao Tianjiao, nor did she possess Li Qingshan’s body of the demonic and divine. It would be basically impossible for her to recover if her body was destroyed. Even the best outcome by then was just becoming a Corpse Liberating Immortal.
Li Qingshan was aware that she currently faced the attacks of the skandha-māra.
The five skandha were form, sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness.
Form referred to the body of form, which was the source of all inner demons, as well as the source of all humanity.
“I have great trouble because of my body. If I have no body, what troubles would I have?”
All of the worries and troubles that a person faced originated from the body. It was also through the body that they could experience everything that life could offer, which led to various emotions, which finally resulted in actions.
And every action made by a person would influence the world around them, leading to certain responses from the world too. This exchange shaped their understanding of everything in the world.
When the Yang Soul morphed into an Origin Soul, it was like a yolk turning into an embryo. Their body of form would undergo intrinsic changes, which would definitely lead to changes in sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness. Together, that was known as the skandha-māra.
This was her inner demon. No one could help her with it, just like how no one could help her live her life for her.
Originally, before she faced the tribulation, she definitely would have bathed and lit some incense, calming her mind so that her body and heart became one, adjusting herself into a perfect state devoid of any extreme emotions.
However, life always came with the unexpected. Ruan Yaozhu just happened to go through an upheaval of emotions, so even maintaining a regular state of mind was wishful thinking. Her mind was in disarray as her five skandha flared.
As such, she sometimes felt unbearably hot, pouring with sweat and even soaking her dress, yet sometimes she felt bitingly-cold, trembling all over, tempted to cover herself in blankets. At times, she felt like a million ants were crawling all over her body, making it unbearably itchy and leaving her scratching away uncontrollably, while at other times, she felt like she was being sliced away by knives, in enough pain for her to want to die.
If it was just pain, then that was easier to bear with. Pain would turn to numbness once it became extreme enough. However, often when she felt cold to the extreme, there would be a sudden breeze of warmth, leaving her as comfortable as she could be, such that even her bones felt like they melted away. When she became so parched that her mouth cracked, a cool stream of water would flow through her throat, so soothing that it almost made her moan.
She was in heaven for one second and hell in the next. The constant changes were what she found to be the most unbearable, leading to a fluctuation in emotions and endless distracting thoughts. How could she still focus on fending off the tribulation lightning like that?
Just like how sensations arose from forms and perceptions arose from sensations, since she possessed a body, she could not go without sensations. Since she had sensations, she could not go without thinking and perceiving.
Li Qingshan had once experienced all of this before, so he understood this was not even the most terrifying part. Once actions arose from perceptions, then she would have basically failed the tribulation.
Just like earlier, when the armament of tribulation lightning attacked her, if her actions were not under her control and she hesitated for a split second, she would have been bisected immediately.
And once the skandha-māra entered the final phase of “consciousness arose from actions”, death was guaranteed even without the tribulation lightning.
That was because the most terrifying of enemies never originated externally, but internally. Once her consciousness fell under the control of her inner demons, she would immediately suffer from cultivation deviation. The powers she had accumulated over thousands of years of cultivation would completely lose control, turning her into a bomb and blasting her out of existence. Let alone becoming a Corpse Liberated Immortal, even reincarnation would no longer be possible.
The nine-coloured deer stared straight at the sky. She was extremely tense. Seeing Ruan Yaozhu get hurt, she could not help but turn towards Li Qingshan furiously, wanting to unleash some curses, but she was also worried about disturbing Ruan Yaozhu.
However, Li Qingshan said, “Don’t worry, she’s much stronger than you imagine her to be.”
Ruan Yaozhu sensed that her five skandha had flared. She had already reached the verge of the most dangerous situation. However, a thought clearly surfaced in her head, I still can’t die! I still haven’t… heard the ending to the story.
She could not help but mock herself to be a piece of wood, a fool, but even at this moment, she did not completely lose faith in that man, even though he had already destroyed everything for her.
As a result, without any more hesitation, she circulated the Heavenly Tome of Nature and projected out her Yang Soul!
Immediately, green light filled the sky, even drowning out the lightning.
This was the first time Li Qingshan had seen her Yang Soul. Its appearance was identical to her, but it possessed the additional charm of a fairy.
Her eyes and hair were both a jade-green with a pair of small, delicate antlers on her forehead. She was unclothed, but she was draped in plants, surrounded by vines and leaves that obscured her graceful figure. She bore great resemblance to the mountain spirit described by Qu Yuan.
“There seems to be someone passing by the mountain recess. It’s me, draped in vines and wrapped in lichen. Gazing tenderly at how beautiful the smile is, you will envy my graceful figure.”
After projecting her Yang Soul, her body’s expression settled down, sitting down with her legs crossed and her eyes closed, like she was sleeping.
Above her, the Yang Soul unleashed all of its powers and shone at full glow, naturally possessing a demeanor of purity, standing aloof from the world.
From a Golden Core to a Soul Nascence, then from Yin Soul to Yang Soul, cultivators forged their souls into their greatest weapon. It was not just a condensation of power, but also a condensation of consciousness.
Once the Yang Soul left the body, it was immediately isolated from most of the influence from the “body of form”, and the flaring skandha-mara settled down too. She was rapidly digesting the spiritual qi that Li Qingshan had channeled into her, turning into an Origin Soul.
She waved her slender arms covered in leaves and towering trees rose up from the ground, forming a thick enclosure around her. Even when they were reduced to ash by the lightning, new trees rose up to replace them endlessly.
Li Qingshan smiled. She had already comprehended something from the Qilin’s Conventions of Longevity. She had done so even faster than he had in the past.
As such, Ruan Yaozhu could turn her attention to fending off the tiny sword. She could even spare the effort to glance deeply at Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan understood that if he could not provide her with an explanation, she would definitely exterminate demons and guard the orthodoxy.
Bamboo was slender, but it would rather snap than bend.
The nine-coloured deer could not help but let out a sigh of relief, blinking her eyes and even stretching a little. Just the tiny sword alone clearly was not enough to threaten Ruan Yaozhu. Succeeding with the tribulation was only a matter of time now.
When it came to this, not only did she place no blame on Li Qingshan, but she was even slightly thankful to him.
After all, if it were not for Li Qingshan, who knew how long it would take before Ruan Yaozhu became a Human Immortal. She was not concerned with the plants in the Hundred Herbs garden like Ruan Yaozhu. If she were free to graze on them, the garden would have become barren a long time ago.
We’ve fallen out with the Myriad sect anyway, so we’ll go for one last haul and then flee to the Daemonic Beast realm. Hehe, with our talent, who’ll be able to find us? Now that the crisis of the world is imminent, that dumb piece of wood doesn’t know self-preservation at all. She’ll definitely lead the charge for the Myriad sect, so the dangers of dying are just too high.
With that in mind, this outcome was actually not too bad. Ruan Yaozhu had suffered a lot, but compared to the result of becoming a Human Immortal, it was all nothing.
Yep, yep. Li Qingshan has played his role as the villain quite well, or that dumb piece of wood would never do this. Though, this kid is a huge source of misfortune, so we better not run into him again for the rest of our lives!
But at this moment, Li Qingshan raised his eyebrow, having sensed something.
Under the expanse of tribulation clouds in the darkness, three figures gradually emerged.
The nine-coloured deer paled in fright. “Kleśa-māra!”
