Qiu Wuji sensed Chu Ge watching him.
But he didn't acknowledge him.
Let him watch... This whole thing was done with Chu Ge's support; it wasn't him secretly "rebelling against heaven."
I want to be an independent being, not a character in a book who can be altered at will.
He also wanted a true Qiu Wuji.
We share the same sentiment.
Then, under your gaze, I will fight this calamity!
"Whoosh!" Qiu Wuji's long hair moved without wind, and a chilling divine sword light soared into the sky.
The extremely compressed sword energy seemed to have shattered a point in the distant void.
The initial collapse began to spread.
The point began to bloom with black and white, the two colors began to divide into four directions, gradually becoming a dazzling seven-colored radiance, flowing with brilliance.
Tai Chi gives rise to Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang give rise to the Four Symbols.
The secret of a realm is about to be revealed.
The chaotic spatial power began to overflow, compress, impact, and shatter. Time flowed on, eternally unchanging between heaven and earth.
A fierce storm raged in the sky, as if an immense force was descending.
The Great Heavenly Tribulation!
Qiu Wuji's beautiful eyes focused intently, her expression sharp and unparalleled.
The Nine Provinces trembled, the four seas boiled, countless people looked up at the sky: "This is... a tribulation cloud?"
"Such power, could this be the Great Heavenly Tribulation?"
"This is Qiu Wuji of the Cloud Realm Sect undergoing her tribulation!"
"She has truly attracted the Great Heavenly Tribulation! Will she... be able to pass this test?"
Chu Tiange looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with a fervent anticipation. It was the yearning to explore the secrets of the immortal path, to glimpse the truth and dispel illusions, to reach the pinnacle.
Deep within the raging flames unknown to mortals, the shadow of fiery eyes coalesced in the void, fixedly staring at the source of the tribulation cloud: "The Great Heavenly Tribulation..."
Chu Ge also held his breath. He completely forgot that this was essentially a character in the book challenging his own setting; instead, his first reaction was to help his wife cheat.
The Great Heavenly Tribulation is no joke!
Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of things. Cultivating immortality is about defying the heavens and prolonging one's life; in a sense, it's going against the heavens, and every step brings a tribulation—this is no exaggeration.
At the Golden Core stage, one undergoes a complete transformation and enters the Great Dao, only to be met with the Pill Tribulation, the first "punishment for defying the heavens," which has caused countless heroes to perish at this hurdle.
The story of the protagonist, Chu Tiange, entering the Golden Core stage took hundreds of chapters, demonstrating the difficulty.
The Nascent Soul to Deity transformation is another major hurdle, a "Minor Heavenly Tribulation," which only a handful can overcome—those who are all renowned heroes of this world.
But Qiu Wuji's tribulation and ascension is a true Great Heavenly Tribulation.
Once overcome, one ascends to immortality, transforming from human to immortal, truly entering the ranks of immortals, formless and shapeless, roaming the heavens, no longer troubled by lifespan.
But is it so easy?
Ascension, as the greatest hurdle between the celestial and mortal realms, is it really that simple? Two realms, earth, water, fire, and wind; time and space, light and darkness; countless tribulations befall him, insurmountable. If he cannot overcome them, his body and soul will be annihilated without exception.
This is the fundamental setting of the world; even if Chu Ge wanted to modify it temporarily, it would be impossible. The only thing he could do was cheat, treating this as a "plot derailment requiring correction," bringing things back to the beginning.
He could only hope that Qiu Wuji's tribulation was merely a "test," not a true ascension, and that the difficulty wasn't too high.
"Boom!" In the heavenly light, the first tribulation lightning bolt struck down furiously.
Nine Heavens Tribulation Lightning, flesh and blood turned to ash!
Qiu Wuji struck his sword sheath, and the autumn water, condensed into a dazzling light, soared into the sky.
The rumbling sound shook the universe, as if heaven and earth were trembling, yet not a single trace of power was released; it was all blocked by the divine sword, unable to penetrate.
"Boom!" The second tribulation lightning bolt followed closely behind.
Thunder was not thunder, but a howling, chilling wind, scattering souls and annihilating spirits.
Rippling waters cleansed the heavens and earth, a gale swept across the water's curtain, swirling and dancing like dragons emerging from the water, soaring to the sky.
"Boom!" The third tribulation lightning struck again.
Qiu Wuji roared, her Xuanwu armor surging into the sky, instantly blotting out the sun.
Before the tribulation lightning could rise again, the Vermilion Bird's fiery feathers and the Azure Dragon's molted scales followed, forming a profound array in the air.
Spatial tribulation lightning, shattering the surrounding space, tearing apart turbulent currents, condemning to eternal damnation… she knew it.
The Four Symbols Formation was designed to deal with this.
Although the White Tiger's artifact was missing… it didn't matter.
Using herself as a conduit, she would break through the limitations of space!
"Rumble!" Amidst the dazzling light, the stunning woman ascended to the heavens on her sword, precisely seizing the sliver of life in that brief moment of spatial chaos.
Heaven and earth, the entire Nine Provinces held their breath.
Has she truly succeeded?
The first person in the Nine Provinces to transcend tribulation and ascend to immortality in ten thousand years?
No…
She failed?
But then Qiu Wuji let out a muffled groan and fell backward.
Not due to a lack of skill…
Because that realm had never truly opened; it wasn't an empty realm, but a "place that doesn't exist."
It seemed to exist, yet it didn't.
Such a bizarre existence, she couldn't enter at all.
She had clearly succeeded, yet she fell back because of this situation…
This fall wasn't the worst of it; she had only exploited a loophole to break through the realm, not eliminated the various tribulation lightning bolts. This fall caused an instant surge of raging lightning, and all sorts of earth-shattering power swept back, a sight that sent chills down the spines of anyone watching from afar.
Those who could sense it from afar were bewildered, only thinking that Qiu Wuji was about to perish…
But the next moment, the tribulation lightning vanished, the rain stopped, and the sky cleared. Qiu Wuji floated unharmed in the void, her face neither flushed nor out of breath, seemingly unaffected by the magical power she had previously expended. No one knew how she had dispelled the tribulation lightning.
A deep sense of awe welled up in people's hearts.
It was said that Qiu Wuji had attempted to transcend tribulation multiple times. Many had initially doubted it—how could someone who failed a tribulation be alive and well? This scene vividly proved that Qiu Wuji's strength was unparalleled; even if she failed to transcend tribulation, the tribulation lightning had no effect on her.
Even truly ascended masters don't seem this strong... This woman is terrifying...
Watching her descend to the mountain peak, she was truly ethereal and composed, as if failing her tribulation was merely a matter of ruining a batch of pills...
Little did she know, Qiu Wuji was anything but composed; she was frantic, rushing back to her secluded cultivation chamber at almost her fastest speed, the moment the door closed, she instantly split her soul and broke through the physical realm, heading straight for the mortal world.
At the computer, Chu Ge's mouth was bleeding, his face pale as he gasped for breath.
Seeing Qiu Wuji appear in such a flustered state, he breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good you're out. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but you are!" Qiu Wuji hurriedly hugged him: "You forcibly erased the 'plot' of my attempt to transcend tribulation, which is like resetting the world. It's much more difficult than erasing Yan Qianlie's white flames, you..." Chu Ge smiled weakly: "Because I was in a hurry... Thinking about it afterwards, it seems unnecessary to make such an drastic correction. It seems there are other ways... but I can't think of that right now..."
"Why are you still talking about this!" Qiu Wuji hurriedly helped him onto the bed, placing his hand against his back: "Close your eyes and rest, use your inner vision to regulate your body. I'll help you heal." Healing techniques enveloped his body, strands of magical power nourishing his meridians and soothing his soul.
Chu Ge's pale face gradually returned to normal, and he said in a low voice, "In a sense, you've broken free from the shackles of the plot and ascended on your own... The failure wasn't because you didn't break free, but because the Heavenly Realm doesn't exist. My Qiu Qiu is truly the most amazing!" Qiu Wuji silently healed his wounds, her mind a little confused.
It's not that amazing. If you were truly amazing, you'd have to handle the reverse plot yourself, not be saved by him...
She didn't know if she had successfully broken free.
Even the prerequisite for breaking free was the spatial Dao he had imparted... Could this be considered something given by the Heavenly Dao?
Okay, even if it was something she had learned herself, at least it wasn't written... However, regardless of success or failure, she still hadn't escaped his corrections. Did this count as breaking free?
Qiu Wuji felt that this matter was now difficult to clarify, becoming a state of mutual interaction. But one thing should be clear: as long as he could still modify and add his own thoughts and personality, it certainly didn't count as breaking free and becoming an independent, normal person. Currently, he should still be able to, and her attempt at ascension seemed to have been pointless.
She sighed softly and said gently, "No matter what, it's a step forward... Now, what I'm worried about is that the closer I get, the more you'll get hurt." This could very well be a conflict, one that everyone had avoided before, but Chu Ge's injury today has finally brought it to the forefront, making it seem impossible to avoid.
Chu Ge chuckled softly, "That's really not important. I want my heroine to be a real person. For you, it might be breaking free from the laws of nature, but for me, it's more like competing with myself. That's what I'm going to compete with!" Qiu Wuji pursed his lips, wanting to say something but ultimately unable to. After a long pause, he said, "You're such a masochist." Chu Ge started to whine, "My masochist is injured. He needs a kiss from my Qiu Qiu to get up." Qiu Wuji gave him a helpless look, slowly leaning forward and gently kissing his still-bloodied lips. "Whether you're competing with yourself or not... you're afraid I'll get hurt, and I can't bear to see you hurt... don't always think that a man is invincible and should take care of himself... believe in yourself. With Father God still here, how could anything happen to me, Qiu Wuji?" Neither of them noticed that earlier, during the spatial upheaval and the collapse of the heavens, a cluster of flickering flames had pierced through the sunlight and landed in Chu Ge's living room.
The illusion array of Zhuangzi's Butterfly Dream activated automatically, but Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji, caught in a much bigger predicament, failed to perceive it.
"Autumn waters are vast and boundless, water reflects the moon and flowers in a mirror—a debate between reality and illusion." The flame gradually solidified into a humanoid figure, looking up at the calligraphy of "Zhuangzi's Butterfly Dream," gazing at it for a long while, then smiled slightly: "Which is dream, which is reality? So that's how it is."
He sensed Chu Ge in the room, but ultimately hesitated to approach.
This Father God had seized his White Flame Creation as easily as taking candy from a bag; he truly couldn't gauge the extent of the other's strength…
At this moment, he was in a pure primordial spirit state, without even a physical body. Qiu Wuji had only split his soul, while he had unleashed his entire primordial spirit, making him as weak as Qiu Wuji's split soul. He dared not act rashly.
"The Creator God?" he murmured to himself. "I won't provoke you for now. I'll deal with you after I've seen through the truth... As for the truth, since Qiu Wuji understands it clearly, how can it possibly be difficult for me, Yan Qianlie, to grasp it!" The phantom transformed into a streak of fire, shooting out of the window like lightning.
Before Qiu Wuji could pass through, it vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.