Su Wen, using the Celestial Void Steps with his Grade 2 Space Intent, quietly concealed himself nearby. He shifted positions from time to time, scanning for any hidden dangers within a radius of five to twelve kilometres, with Du Yue at the centre.
As a lightning bolt descended near Du Yue's feet, he paused and looked toward her… slightly worried, yet full of unwavering faith.
'That's the warning thunder… and damn... she looks so cool', he murmured under his breath, admiring her heroic presence.
Then the first tribulation thunder struck Du Yue and her sword. She made no effort to defend herself, her expression utterly unchanged.
'Why do I have a feeling that today… the Heavens are going to be brushed aside like background noise by this dumb woman?'' he thought, a strange expression replacing all traces of his earlier nervousness.
After a few seconds, the second thunderbolt struck. Just like before, she remained motionless, not even a twitch. She even had time to yawn, feeling utterly bored. She wished her husband were here to pamper her.
Su Wen, watching this, wore a strange expression. He wanted to tell her not to yawn and to be careful, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew she wouldn't be careless… she had endured enough pain during her body refinement to make this feel like child's play. He shook his head and continued circling the twelve-kilometre area, scanning for any threats.
Du Yue noticed her husband moving quietly with his Soul Sense, hunting for scum and protecting her without drawing attention. She couldn't help but giggle softly, clutching the hem of her dress shyly.
As the third lightning descended, it seemed almost hesitant, unwilling to disturb the maiden's thoughts.
Du Yue still showed no reaction to the strike, yet the processes in her body accelerated immensely. Her Sevenfold Body Refinement progressed significantly, the Soul Qi in her consciousness gathered into a small pool, and her core refined rapidly.
But…
She frowned. This lightning was not enough.
She shot upward and shouted, "Is that all the heavens can give? I want more!"
Su Wen's expression remained calm. Seeing her standing effortlessly, he knew the tribulation was far too weak for her and returned his focus to guarding the area.
As if the heavens had heard her challenge, blue lightning crackled violently, eager to obliterate everything in its path, and struck the blue-robed figure.
The fourth bolt descended, trying to force her back to the ground.
She didn't budge an inch, though a faint nod of satisfaction crossed her face at the sheer power. Her sword hovered loyally beside her, refusing to back down.
Her aura continued to surge like an endless tidal wave, growing stronger and stronger.
Then came the fifth bolt, stronger and more violent than the rest.
She made no effort to defend. It forced her back several steps, yet her expression remained calm and unshaken. The sword beside her hummed softly, showing clear signs of strain.
Crossing her arms, she looked up at the roiling clouds and placed a finger on her chin, her expression solemn... so serious that it was as if she were contemplating a matter upon which the fate of the entire world depended.
'If I break through to the Golden Core realm… wouldn't that mean I'd be several times stronger than my husband?' she mused to herself. 'Then wouldn't he be completely at my mercy…'
A faint, sinister smile curved her lips as a blush crept across her cheeks.
At the same time, Su Wen… still scanning the surroundings for hidden dangers… suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His instincts screamed warning, yet no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find the source of that unsettling danger.
Du Yue's cultivation continued to surge… body refinement, Soul Qi, and core refinement all advancing rapidly. She retrieved the pale green pill Su Wen had refined from the Peak Grade 3 Azure Green Leaf. After a brief glance, she swallowed it.
'This pill… now that I remember knowledge from my previous life, I can truly see its quality. Less than five percent impurities. Only the top genius alchemists could refine something this perfect. And my husband… he's simply unmatched', she thought, a small, amused smile tugging at her lips.
She began refining the pill within her body… half of its qi flowed into her consciousness, forming delicate strands of Soul Qi, while the other half entered her core, which now glowed a faint gold and swelled in size.
Meanwhile, Su Wen was busy.
With the interference of the Heavenly Thunder clouds spanning a ten-kilometre radius, sensing the surroundings with Spiritual Sense had become extremely difficult. Fortunately, as a Soul cultivator, Su Wen was not completely blind. Although he couldn't fully utilize his Soul Sense, he could still perceive a small area around himself.
He moved quietly, changing positions and hiding his presence like a hunter stalking prey.
Soon, he located a group of rogue cultivators harbouring ill intentions toward Du Yue… two at Peak Foundation Establishment and one at Mid-stage.
"Brother Jin, isn't that girl Du Yue?" Ming Kuan, a rogue cultivator, asked excitedly.
"You're right, Brother Ming, hehehe…." rogue cultivation, Jin's eyes gleamed with greed. "I never thought we'd run into her while she's undergoing a Heavenly Tribulation."
"The Moon City Lord raised her bounty to six hundred mid-grade spirit stones," Ming Kuan said eagerly. "There's also a bounty on her father now… Du Yufeng. Two hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Seems he's missing as well."
Jin nodded and then turned to the third rogue cultivator. "Brother Rom, we can wait until she finishes the tribulation. That'll be when she's weakest. We just need to block her acupuncture points and seal her core. Once that's done, even her Golden Core cultivation will be useless."
Rom, nodded. "You're right. If we interfere now, we'll draw Heavenly Punishment and be wiped off the face of the earth."
He paused, then frowned slightly. "But doesn't this tribulation feel… too fierce? It's not just a rare Nine Revolution Tribulation… it feels more like Heavenly Punishment itself."
"We felt it from seventy kilometres away," Rom added quietly.
"It's just that she's too talented," Jin said casually. "I even heard she has the Pure Yin Immortal Body… perfect to be used as a cultivation furnace…"
"Hehehe…," he continued with a sinister smile. "Not only is she beautiful, once she reaches the Golden Core realm, our cultivation will soar… if we manage to capture her and perform dual cultivation."
Ming Kuan looked openly excited, but Rom… whose eyes had also been filled with greed… suddenly frowned and calmed down.
"You two, we should be careful," he said in a low voice. "If there are other cultivators nearby lying in wait, we could fail. Let's split up and conceal our auras. That way, we won't be discovered."
The other two nodded. After exchanging a glance, they quietly separated and disappeared into different directions.
Listening in with his powerful Soul Sense, Su Wen could only sigh.
Unless a Golden Core cultivator was deliberately hiding themselves, no one could escape his perception within a specific range.
'Have you idiots never watched a horror movie?' he thought coldly. 'The moment a group splits up… they die like chickens.'