Su Ji still wanted to ask more, but Su Jiu had already stood up. "Let's go. We should check on that Fire Drake first and see what state it's in now."
"If it's still rampaging, we'll have to find another path deeper into the molten caves."
Su Jiu frowned. "But these caves are a labyrinth. It won't be easy to navigate."
Su Ji grinned and pulled out a crumpled map from his robe, waving it in front of her.
Su Jiu snorted, snatched the map, and strode ahead without another word.
Su Ji followed cheerfully, watching his junior sister's slender figure with quiet admiration.
Truly, having her around was a blessing.
Not only was she beautiful and kind-hearted, but she was also full of... well, let's just say resourcefulness.
The two moved silently through the winding tunnels of the molten caves.
Su Ji couldn't help but reflect that convincing Su Jiu to become his "Root Protector" was the best decision he'd made since transmigrating into this world.
Soon, the faint sound of thunderous snoring echoed from ahead, accompanied by an increasingly oppressive heat.
Su Jiu halted and raised a finger to her lips, signaling silence.
Crouching low, they peeked around a corner into a vast cavern.
At its center, the colossal beast lay coiled, its massive head resting beside a [Dragon’s Saliva Stone]. Its eyes were closed, its chest rising and falling rhythmically in slumber.
The two bloody wounds on its hindquarters remained, though the demonic blood had long since congealed.
Su Ji made a strange gesture at Su Jiu—forming a circle with his thumb and forefinger while raising the other three fingers.
See? Incredible.
Even with a fake map, she could deduce the correct path to the Fire Drake.
Su Ji certainly didn’t have that talent.
Su Jiu didn’t understand the gesture but could guess his meaning.
They crept into the cavern, slipping into an inconspicuous corner far from the beast.
Su Jiu immediately retrieved two storage pouches from her spatial ring.
With a casual wave, she set up a simple illusion array, concealing their presence and scent.
Only then did she relax and turn to Su Ji.
"Senior Brother, all the materials are here."
She handed him the pouches, containing the fruits of her labor over the past days.
Su Ji took them and scanned the contents with his divine sense, warmth blooming in his chest.
The treasures inside were dazzling—rare elemental essences, sacred waters from the four directions, each priceless beyond measure.
For once, he spoke earnestly. "Junior Sister, you’ve worked hard."
"Hmph. Empty words as usual."
Su Jiu abruptly turned her head away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear—hiding the faint flush on her earlobes.
"Hurry up and cultivate to the peak of Qi Refinement. I’ll stand guard."
Su Ji silently committed her words to memory.
Without another word, he sat cross-legged, scattering a handful of premium spirit stones around him.
Then, he closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into his dantian as he fully activated the [Fallen Dragon’s Desolation Art].
Within his dantian’s sea of qi, the liquefied spiritual energy began to churn.
The rotation accelerated rapidly, forming a tiny vortex that voraciously devoured everything around it.
Su Ji’s mind plunged into perfect clarity.
Beside him, Su Jiu held her breath, focusing entirely on vigilance—especially toward the slumbering Fire Drake and any potential disturbances.
Time trickled by.
An eerie silence settled over the cavern.
Yet Su Ji’s aura surged at a terrifying pace, climbing higher with each passing moment.
The spiritual energy from the premium stones swirled around him like a dense fog, his figure blurring within the mist.
One day.
Mid-stage Qi Refinement, ninth layer!
Two days.
Late-stage Qi Refinement, ninth layer!
Three days!
Peak Qi Refinement!
Only one final step remained to shatter the bottleneck and ascend to a whole new realm!
Then, Su Ji stopped.
Under Su Jiu’s puzzled gaze, he grinned. "Let’s rest for two days. My condition isn’t optimal for a breakthrough."
Su Jiu nodded slightly.
The request wasn’t unreasonable. Some cultivators waited for their essence, qi, and spirit to reach their zenith before attempting a breakthrough—some even consulted auspicious dates.
Time flowed.
Another two and a half days passed.
The cooldown for [Fate’s Glimpse] reset.
Su Ji activated it.
The world turned monochrome.
Countless threads of karma intertwined before him—yet not a single one could be tugged.
Perfect!
Asking Su Jiu to handle the Heart Demon Tribulation was the right call!
......
"Junior Sister."
"Let’s begin."
"I’m ready!"
Su Jiu, who had been meditating against the cavern wall, opened her eyes.
One by one, she arranged the items from the storage pouch into an intricate formation on the ground before Su Ji.
Meanwhile, Su Ji sat at its center.
......
At the same time.
Above the cloudless skies of Phoenix Roost Gorge—
Without warning, dark clouds gathered from all directions, blotting out the sun in an instant.
Daylight turned to night.
Within the roiling storm, countless lightning serpents writhed, their thunderous growls shaking the earth. A destructive aura—one that would terrify even Golden Core cultivators—blanketed the land for miles.
Yet the terrifying thunderclouds merely circled overhead, their power swelling but never descending.
Like hounds that had lost their prey, they prowled restlessly, unable to locate their target.
Deep within the Dragon Shackle Abyss, an ancient true dragon—slumbering for untold ages—slowly opened its eyes.
It was displeased.
It hadn’t been disturbed this frequently in centuries.
First, those bothersome humans.
Now, this accursed heavenly tribulation.
Hm?
Its brow furrowed slightly.
Wait.
What?
Heavenly tribulation?
This aura...
What was it searching for?
In the Dragon Shackle Abyss, only it could provoke a tribulation of this magnitude.
Was this meant for it?
The dragon’s ancient, timeworn eyes flickered with human-like confusion.
Had the Heavenly Dao finally discovered its hiding place?
Heh.
Naïve.
Did it truly think it could find it?
The dragon coiled tighter, its aura vanishing completely—merging perfectly with the world itself.
Let’s see the Heavenly Dao solve that.
It waited for the storm to dissipate.
Yet the moment its presence disappeared—
The thunderclouds above froze.
Then, as if finally finding release, a monstrous violet bolt—thicker than a mountain—screamed down from the heavens, tearing through the sky as it struck toward the underground caverns!
......
Inside the cavern.
Su Jiu, wholly focused on Su Ji, suddenly felt a primal dread surge through her.
Her head snapped up.
That sensation—
It wasn’t from the Fire Drake.
Nor was it from Su Ji.
It came from... above!
BOOM—!
The entire cavern quaked violently.
This time, it wasn’t the tremors caused by the enraged Fire Drake, but a crushing force emanating from a higher realm!
Above the dome, the solid rock cracked like fragile tofu, crumbling into countless fragments as dust and debris rained down.
Molten lava erupted from the depths!
In the distance, the slumbering Fire Drake was jolted awake by the sudden upheaval. It let out a terrified roar, its massive body pinned to the ground by the overwhelming pressure, unable to move. For the first time, pure fear flickered in its savage draconic eyes.
No!
Su Jiu’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Her clear fox-like eyes were filled with disbelief.
Heavenly Retribution… had still come!
Had Su Ji miscalculated?
Indeed…
Fate should never be fully divined, for the heavens are ever unpredictable.
Repeatedly peering into destiny would eventually invite its backlash…
But now, it was too late to interrupt Su Ji.
His eyes remained tightly shut, completely unaware of the chaos unfolding around him, immersed in the most critical moment of his breakthrough.
He absolutely could not be disturbed!
At best, his foundation would be damaged; at worst, his body would explode on the spot!
And then…
Something strange happened.
In that brief moment of earth-shaking tremors and surging underground flames…
Afterward, there seemed to be no further disturbances?
Could it be…
Had the heavenly tribulation truly been blocked by a hundred zhang of earth?
Why was there no record of such a simple yet brutal method of overcoming tribulation in her clan’s archives?
…
Meanwhile.
Within the [Dragon Binding Abyss].
“Heavenly Tribulation?”
“Do not push this dragon too far!”
Three thousand underground flames surged.
A fiery dragon roared as it soared into the sky, charging toward the thunderclouds.
“Is this all you’ve got? You think this puny scale can annihilate me?”
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ress Kneels to Admit Wrong] [Dealing with Love-Struck Fools] [Forced to the Throne] Ren Tianye transmigrated into a female-oriented novel world, only to find everyone in it was utterly insane. He risked his life to save a young girl from barbarians, but was accused of arriving too late and branded the real murderer. He held a knife to a military officer's neck, demanding the troop tally, but the officer only cared about questioning his wife: "Do you not love me anymore? All these years of affection and time together, they were all a mistake, a mistake!" After seizing Yunji City, the original defending general, to save face with the Empress, knelt on the ground: "You must give Yunji City back to me, or I'll hang myself at the city gate and let everyone know you're a villain!" The young lord of the Duke's mansion, to please a woman, directly ordered a merchant: "The menstrual pads you buy for her must be studded with diamonds. Loving her means giving her the best." Having become a great general, he was about to marry a merchant's daughter, who set a pre-nuptial rule: "I can divorce you anytime. When that happens, you must give me half of your troops and soldiers!" Even the Empress was a severe love-struck fool, who ordered the execution of 70,000 elite troops simply because they stood in the way of her romance. Ren Tianye was speechless. He was done. Let it all burn! This deranged female-oriented novel world! ...
