Chapter 485: Where to Go

Could anyone just stand by and watch Shangguan Huanling die during the heavenly tribulation?

Obviously not!

If they couldn't, then there was only one way to help Shangguan Huanling—just like Lu Ye did, directly take on the heavenly tribulation for her.

But if one interfered with the heavenly tribulation, it would no longer be a tribulation.

It would become Heaven's Punishment!

Who could possibly withstand Heaven's Punishment?

Sun Ruowei certainly couldn’t, so she kept completely silent.

The heavenly tribulation was strictly a personal trial—if Sun Ruowei dared to interfere, it would mean certain death.

Yue Hongling was even less qualified—she hadn’t even reached the qualification to face tribulation yet.

So, if anyone at the scene wanted to save Shangguan Huanling, only Vermilion Bird could intervene, just like Lu Ye, and shoulder the tribulation for her.

"Boom!"

The first Tribulation Lightning struck.

Shangguan Huanling’s face turned ashen pale.

She activated her sole defensive Divine Ability.

But the very first Tribulation Lightning obliterated the shield in an instant.

There was no quarter given.

With the second Tribulation Lightning, not only was the shield destroyed, but Shangguan Huanling was nearly ripped asunder—her body charred, blood spewing from her lips.

Pure terror gripped Shangguan Huanling.

Death seemed imminent.

But she didn’t want to die!

She still wanted to walk beside Lu Ye, still hoped for his forgiveness.

"Brother Lu Ye, save me..."

Given the current trend, it was absolutely certain that Shangguan Huanling could never survive the third Tribulation Lightning.

But it was obvious—even if Shangguan Huanling screamed herself hoarse, Lu Ye wouldn't appear.

Vermilion Bird let out a resigned sigh.

Now, only she stood a chance at saving Shangguan Huanling.

Whether she was actually capable was uncertain, but she had to try.

In an instant, Vermilion Bird manifested her true form and plunged into the Tribulation Lightning.

The moment she stepped into the range of the tribulation clouds, a deafening thunderclap erupted, and the clouds convulsed violently.

Boom!

A lightning bolt ten times stronger than the previous Tribulation Lightning struck instantly, nearly snuffing out the Vermilion Bird True Flame with just a single blow.

The wrath of Providence loomed heavy, and the wind howled furiously.

The second Tribulation Lightning struck in rapid succession, aiming straight for the Vermilion Bird.

"Ah!"

The Vermilion Bird’s body blackened instantly, charred by the strike.

The amplified Tribulation Lightning hammered down on her without mercy.

In an instant, the Vermilion Bird was ravaged by catastrophe.

She screamed in agony, unable to hold back, as her body was shattered by the lightning, only to rise again from the flames seconds later.

The Vermilion Bird writhed in torment, battered by the thunderstorm.

Tears poured down Shangguan Huanling’s face as she watched.

"Vermilion Bird, leave quickly! Don’t do this for me!"

"Vermilion Bird, get out of here!"

But this was a heavenly tribulation—no casual stroll where you could come and go. The tribulation’s force had already marked her as its target. If she could endure it, she would survive; if not, she would perish alongside Shangguan Huanling.

Lightning strike after strike pummeled down relentlessly.

The Vermilion Bird was brutalized, caught in an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth, her life force nearly bled dry!

Last time, when confronting the cycle of reincarnation, she couldn't endure the pain and chose to give up.

This time, she refused to yield!

The Tribulation Lightning lashed without remorse.

Her colossal form was torn apart again and again, only to reform.

Until the final bolt of Tribulation Lightning struck.

Her enormous, shattered body, now as shattered as a fallen peak, crashed heavily to the ground, the pungent smell of charred flesh hung thick.

Blackened debris littered the ground.

The Vermilion Bird lay spent, lacking even the strength to rise from the flames once more.

This time, she had suffered devastating losses.

But she had endured.

A surge of radiance flooded Shangguan Huanling’s untouched form—not a shred of it spared for the Vermilion Bird.

For the Vermilion Bird was an abomination in the eyes of Providence.

"Vermilion Bird, Vermilion Bird, are you alright?"

Immediately, the group rushed to her side, with Shangguan Huanling sobbing uncontrollably.

The truth was, in her past life, even when Lu Ye endured the tribulation for her and was struck beyond recognition, Shangguan Huanling hadn’t shed a single tear.

"Wasn’t this Lu Ye’s responsibility?

It was all because of Lu Ye that her Emotional Dao vanished—otherwise, she could have weathered the tribulation lightning herself.

Sun Ruowei immediately began healing Vermilion Bird.

Shangguan Huanling's eyes were filled with heartache.

Vermilion Bird had already passed out, and with injuries like these, it would likely take some time for her to recover.

Under Sun Ruowei's care and Vermilion Bird's own constitution, her life force gradually stabilized.

The Fifth Heaven had already begun forcing them out.

"We should ascend now!" Sun Ruowei said.

Shangguan Huanling held the diminished form of Vermilion Bird in her arms, tear tracks still fresh on her face.

This time, Vermilion Bird had helped her withstand the tribulation—but what about next time?

The next tribulation, from the Sixth Heaven to the Seventh Heaven, would undoubtedly be exponentially stronger than the previous ones.

Among the many Void Realm masters in the Sixth Heaven, fewer than one in a hundred would succeed in overcoming it.

The Sixth Heaven's tribulation was a true watershed moment.

If she failed to reclaim Lu Ye in the Sixth Heaven, her Great Dao Sect path would likely be severed forever.

Holding Vermilion Bird, Shangguan Huanling ascended upward with Sun Ruowei, lifted by a mystical force.

Yue Hongling stood on the ground, gazing numbly at the scene. Unbeknownst to her, the Fifth Heaven now had only her left.

In the Fifth Heaven, no one familiar remained.

For a moment, a crushing loneliness enveloped Yue Hongling.

There was no one she knew anymore.

Everyone had left her.

For Yue Hongling, this was an experience she had never had before. In her previous incarnation, she had been in the Great Dao Sect since childhood, always surrounded by her senior brothers and master. Later, her senior brother had led their ascension, and she had often remained at her master's side.

She had spent more time alone with her master than anyone else.

But now, in this life, she had never known true solitude.

After her master's death, she had had Shangguan Huanling.

But now, everyone had either ascended or perished.

In the entire Fifth Heaven, not a soul she knew remained—only herself.

Yue Hongling huddled helplessly on the ground.

When might her own ascension come?

By the time she did, might her senior brother have already reached the Seventh Heaven?

"Senior brother, I miss you so much," she whispered.