Don't Sleep, Su Ji, I'll Get You Out.

The world before his eyes instantly faded into shades of gray and white. Three faint, blood-red threads slowly materialized in Su Ji’s vision.

Hmm?

Multiple choices?

This was the first time Su Ji had encountered such a situation.

Focusing his gaze, he noticed—fortunately—that each thread came with a helpful description.

[Spiritual Root Tribulation].

[Love-Longing Tribulation].

[Foundation Establishment Tribulation].

Foundation Establishment Tribulation?

Su Ji frowned deeply. He certainly didn’t think he could even approach the threshold of Foundation Establishment in just seven days.

This one could wait until the next time he used [Gaze Upon Fate] to figure out what was going on.

But now that he thought about it…

Why would he face a tribulation just for Foundation Establishment?

Was cultivating immortality really this fraught with twists and turns?

Suppressing his unease, Su Ji resisted the urge to touch any of the threads and withdrew from the [Gaze Upon Fate] state.

Then, he lifted his gaze to the pristine white figure before him.

"Junior Sister, I have a question. When I reach Foundation Establishment, will I need to undergo a lightning tribulation?"

"What should I prepare for it?"

Su Jiu had been about to draw water for a bath when she paused at his words. She glanced back at him, her gaze filled with the kind of disdain reserved for a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

"Prepare what?"

"Not just Foundation Establishment—even if you formed a Golden Core tomorrow, you wouldn’t need to prepare anything."

"Only a Ninth-Grade Golden Core is worthy of the Heavenly Dao’s lightning tribulation to smite it down."

Su Ji’s heart sank.

Damn.

So he really had been marked by the Heavenly Dao?

As for the Love-Longing Tribulation… what was that?

Could it be that the Love-Longing Sect had committed so many atrocities that they were about to be wiped out?

That shouldn’t concern him much… or so he thought—bullshit!

When the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer.

If it came to that, a measly Qi Refining cultivator like him would undoubtedly be among the first casualties—cannon fodder in the crossfire.

This thread, too, reeked of danger.

Extreme danger!

Thus, Su Ji re-entered the [Gaze Upon Fate] state.

Without hesitation, he reached for one of the threads—

And snapped it!

[Spiritual Root Tribulation]!

In an instant, the gray-white world shattered.

The scene before him began to rapidly shift.

……

In the vision, he had just stepped out of Su Jiu’s courtyard.

Before he could take two steps, two figures blocked his path.

One was Elder Liu, responsible for the "re-examination."

And the other…

Su Ji racked his brain for a moment.

Ah, right—that outer sect disciple named Wang San.

Wang San’s face twisted with vindictive glee as he pointed an accusing finger at Su Ji, shrieking at Elder Liu in a shrill voice.

"Elder! All the disgraceful incidents in the sect over the past two and a half months—he’s the one behind them!"

"This disciple once got up in the middle of the night to relieve himself and saw him sneaking around outside the female disciples’ quarters, engaging in unspeakable acts!"

Wang San grew more agitated as he spoke, then abruptly pointed toward the courtyard.

"And Su Jiu! She’s no better—already corrupted by Su Ji’s spiritual root, obeying his every word, unable to resist him! That’s why they colluded, using some underhanded method to deceive the examination!"

Elder Liu’s expression darkened like storm clouds.

This time, his divine sense swept toward Su Ji’s spiritual root without hesitation.

"Ah? How is this possible… What a robust spiritual root!"

Elder Liu’s voice first brimmed with astonishment, but it quickly morphed into barely suppressed fury.

"Good! So you’re the mastermind behind the sect’s disgrace! If not for Wang San’s revelation, this old one would have been fooled by you two juniors! Outrageous!"

Inside the courtyard, Su Jiu sensed the commotion outside and quickly changed into fresh robes before stepping out.

But when she witnessed the scene before her, it was already too late.

Countless thoughts flashed through Su Jiu's mind at lightning speed.

She wanted to speak up in Su Ji's defense, yet she couldn't find a single justification.

Trouble...

The reason she had stayed in the Love-Longing Sect was twofold: first, for the cultivation manual [Nine Luminaries, Nine Revolutions Moon-Devouring Scripture] and the frequent appearances of Heavenly Dao secret realms near the sect recently.

Second, to wait another half a year to obtain a treasure within the sect that was crucial to her.

But now...

For a man...

A man she had known for barely a few months—was it worth overturning all her carefully laid plans?

Her gaze lingered on Su Ji.

Then she glanced at Elder Liu.

Finally, she recalled the blood oath they had sworn.

A drop of heart's blood had formed a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, while the other half had fused into Su Ji's spiritual root.

Fine.

Su Jiu convinced herself.

She wasn’t helping him—she was merely fulfilling the terms of the blood oath. It was something she had no choice but to do.

Yes, that was it.

There was no way she would abandon her plans for a man.

Under any other circumstances, she would have stood aside.

But Elder Liu had come for the 'spiritual root.'

She was only bound by the blood oath, forced into this.

Once she settled on this reasoning, all hesitation vanished from Su Jiu’s heart.

In its place was only icy, ruthless intent.

"Step aside."

Her voice was cold as she took a single step forward, shielding Su Ji with her body.

A surge of overwhelming power—far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator should possess—erupted from her slender frame.

"A demon?" Elder Liu was both shocked and furious. "To think I’ve hooked another big fish!"

"Speak! What is your purpose in infiltrating our Love-Longing Sect?"

Elder Liu laughed in rage. "Neither of you will leave here alive today!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the crushing pressure of a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator descended.

Yet Su Jiu only let out a cold snort.

Her response came in the form of nine illusory snow-white fox tails unfurling behind her.

Each tail radiated a sacred yet eerie white light.

Terrifying demonic energy swept outward, tearing up the entire courtyard’s surface in an instant.

"Su Ji, I’ll carve a path out for you."

"After this, we’re even."

From the unfolding battle, Su Ji could roughly piece together the situation.

Su Jiu’s cultivation should have been at Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer.

Elder Liu, on the other hand, was a genuine Foundation Establishment Great Perfection expert.

Yet the fight was completely one-sided.

Su Jiu’s nine fox tails danced wildly through the courtyard.

Elder Liu’s hastily conjured spell hadn’t even fully formed before one of the tails casually swept through it—the blazing spiritual light snuffed out without so much as a ripple.

Horror struck her heart as she hurriedly summoned her lifebound artifact, a cyan longsword.

The sword expanded in the wind, unleashing layer upon layer of cyan barriers in a desperate attempt to shield herself.

But another tail coiled around it soundlessly—then gave a slight twist.

Crack.

A crisp shattering noise echoed.

The spiritual light coating the cyan sword disintegrated inch by inch, the barriers collapsing with it.

The artifact itself let out a mournful cry before crumbling into dust.

With her artifact destroyed, Elder Liu staggered as if struck by a heavy blow, blood spraying from her lips. Her face turned deathly pale.

She stumbled back, all traces of a sect elder’s dignity gone—only sheer terror remained.

This was no Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer!

She refused to believe it!

How could anyone fight across four minor realms with such overwhelming dominance?

This demon fox was definitely hiding her true strength!

Yet, Su Jiu gave her no chance to catch her breath, her expression icy cold.

One of her fox tails transformed into a white whip, tearing through the air as it aimed straight for Elder Liu’s dantian—a fatal strike.

If this attack landed, Elder Liu would either die or have her cultivation completely crippled.

At this critical moment—

Wang San, who had been trembling under the oppressive demonic energy, suddenly let out a frenzied roar, his face twisted in madness.

"Bluefrost Grass! Entangle!"

"You’ve already courted death!"

The ground trembled violently as countless vines, shimmering with an eerie blue glow, burst from the earth and madly coiled around Su Jiu’s legs.

To Su Jiu, these vines were fragile and insignificant, but their timing was too precise.

She had no choice but to leap backward to evade them.

However, the cost was a momentary disruption in her seamless, relentless assault.

And that brief delay was all Elder Liu needed to survive.

Scrambling away in a desperate roll, she didn’t hesitate—crushing a communication jade slip hidden in her robes.

Wang San also exhaled in relief.

He knew his gamble had paid off!

The next instant—

A terrifying pressure, one that could make heaven and earth pale in comparison,

descended with overwhelming force.

The dust stirred by Su Jiu’s demonic energy instantly settled.

The phantom images of her wildly lashing fox tails froze mid-air, as if seized by an invisible hand.

The entire world fell into absolute silence in that split second.

For the first time, Su Jiu’s expression changed.

A Golden Core mighty one!

Su Jiu’s face paled, and she immediately abandoned her fight with Elder Liu.

All nine of her tails lashed out, wrapping around Su Ji beside her before pulling him into her arms. In a flash of white light, she shot into the sky.

"You think you can escape?"

"Demon, stay where you are."

A colossal spiritual palm, vast enough to blot out the sky, descended from the clouds with crushing force!

Su Jiu, risking severe injury, met the palm head-on with her tails.

But the Love-Longing Sect Sect Leader was, after all, a seasoned Golden Core expert who had clung to life for five hundred years.

Pfft—

Su Jiu, still mid-air, spat out a mouthful of blood, her aura instantly weakening.

And Su Ji, cradled in her arms—even just grazed by the residual force of the palm—

felt as if his organs had been pulverized into dust.

Agony overwhelmed him, his vision darkening.

The only thing left was a faint, fragile voice in his ear.

"Don’t fall asleep, Su Ji."

"I’ll get you out of here."

...