For a long time, Bao Gu had been busy transcribing and reproducing the books in the Xuantian Library, or studying cultivation arts and techniques. Her cultivation had advanced tremendously. As her realm rose, she also became increasingly sensitive to changes in the aura of Heaven and Earth.
From the moment Jun Ye, a True Immortal, appeared, she could clearly feel that the atmosphere of this realm had changed. This was partly the change caused when the laws of the Heavenly Dao were stirred by Jun Ye’s immortal aura, and partly a change within the world itself.
At dusk, Yu Mi returned to the Envoy’s Residence and found Bao Gu standing in the courtyard, gazing up at the sky. Yu Mi raised her head as well, but saw nothing unusual.
“What are you looking at?”
Bao Gu smiled faintly.
“Nothing. How is Senior Jun?”
Yu Mi answered:
“Saint Aunt examined his condition and said there was nothing seriously wrong with him. She told us to use your method and set up the Great Sealing Formation to seal him for now. But Little Martial Aunt was scared out of her wits!”
She laughed.
“She was only one final heavenly tribulation away from transforming into a dragon. Seeing Senior Jun in that state, she was terrified that she might succeed only to be sealed afterward. Her face went white, and she clung to Saint Aunt’s sleeve, refusing to let go until Saint Aunt found a way to suppress her realm. Little Martial Aunt said that if she didn’t suppress it, she could feel her dragon-transformation tribulation coming within the next few days…”
Bao Gu drew in a sharp breath.
“Little Martial Aunt is about to transform into a dragon too?”
“Yes. Senior Jun’s situation frightened her terribly. Saint Aunt reassured her that she cultivates the Dragon Path, so her situation is different from Senior Jun’s.”
Bao Gu nodded lightly.
“Although dragons are not native beings of this realm, they can exist here in a form compatible with its laws. Even after successfully transforming, Little Martial Aunt need only suppress her cultivation to the Earth Immortal realm to remain here for a long time. That suppression has a limit, however. Once she can no longer hold her realm down, the power of her true dragon body will let her break through the boundary and leave safely. When the time is right, she will naturally be able to return.”
“Dragons can hide or reveal themselves, grow or shrink, and are masters of the laws and order of space. They can travel freely among all the realms. If Little Martial Aunt succeeds in transforming, there will be only benefits and no drawbacks. But if these unnecessary worries disturb her state of mind, and her Dao heart becomes unstable during the transformation, a thousand years of cultivation could be ruined in an instant.”
Yu Mi smiled.
“Like master, like disciple. Saint Aunt said the same thing. With her protecting Little Martial Aunt through the tribulation, there’s nothing to worry about.”
She moved close and slipped an arm around Bao Gu’s slender, supple waist.
“Transforming into a dragon is a great opportunity, but it also carries considerable danger. Saint Aunt isn’t at ease and wants you to personally protect Little Martial Aunt through it.”
Bao Gu’s thoughts stirred.
“What do you mean?”
Her gaze sharpened.
“It can’t be that serious, can it? Who would dare steal Little Martial Aunt’s chance to transform within Qingzhou?”
“There are countless extraordinary talents in this world. Since Senior Jun has become an immortal first, there may well be others who have cultivated to the Mahayana realm. In the eyes of ordinary people, there are no immortals in this realm. But how many people have devoted themselves to cultivation without ever making a name for themselves in the cultivation world, remaining unknown to all its practitioners? If someone at the Mahayana stage were only one step away from becoming an immortal, they might well risk everything to seize Little Martial Aunt’s opportunity and claim their own chance at immortality. Ten years ago, didn’t the Curly-Bearded Ancient Demon come knocking just to test your combat strength?”
Bao Gu’s gaze flickered.
“Then you’re saying this realm may contain other powerhouses at or above the Mahayana stage besides Senior Jun and Senior Nanshan—only they’ve remained hidden all this time?”
Yu Mi spoke slowly.
“When we came out of Ancient Moon City back then, Senior Nanshan had only just broken into the Void Tearing stage. At that time, the Void Tearing stage was the peak combat strength of the great cultivation world. Even a place as spiritually barren as Ancient Moon City had the foundation of the Jun Estate, where Void-Tearing experts had been sealed. How much more so the orthodox powers of the great cultivation world, whose inheritances stretch back tens of thousands of years? You don’t often travel through the cultivation world, and many of its affairs are hidden extremely deeply. Even the Shadow Pavilion might not be able to uncover them. The fact that something has never revealed itself doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
Bao Gu raised her head toward the sky and sighed.
“Yes. If Senior Jun were the only person to truly become a True Immortal, he might not have caused such a tremendous change.”
“What change?”
Yu Mi looked up as well.
“Is there something in the sky?”
“The celestial signs of the Heavenly Dao have changed. I can feel immortal aura stirring throughout the world.”
“Hm?” Yu Mi laughed. “You can really sense something like that?”
“You can’t feel it?”
“Maybe my cultivation realm is too low.”
“When will you take that final half-step and enter the Tribulation Transcendence stage?”
Yu Mi shrugged.
“Who knows?”
Bao Gu fell silent.
Before the Void Tearing stage, a cultivator could still force a rise in cultivation by piling on heavenly treasures. After reaching the Void Tearing stage, however, no elixir or treasure could bridge the gap.
Zi Yunshu’s dragon transformation was of the utmost importance, and Bao Gu was not reassured. She went personally to the Immortal Stone Palace.
The Immortal Stone Palace had originally occupied a vast area, since it housed the Five-Element Immortal Stones. Later, Bao Gu moved over a huge quantity of Five-Element Immortal Stones obtained from the Barbaric Realm, and the palace became the construction site for the foundation of the Ascension Platform. It was expanded again and again.
Nine layers of towering walls were built around it, with heavily armed troops stationed between them and guards posted at every layer. The defenses were so tight that not even an ant could crawl through.
When Bao Gu arrived at the entrance, she was stopped outside despite being the Cleaver Lord and despite the garrison recognizing her. She had no access token. The Demon Saint only came out personally after receiving the report.
“You’ve come at just the right time. I was about to look for you.”
She ushered Bao Gu into her residence within the Immortal Stone Palace.
The Demon Saint was currently a guest elder of the Cleaver Gang, but her status was so high that she possessed an entirely independent palace in the Immortal Stone Palace, where every inch of land was worth a fortune.
As soon as Bao Gu stepped into the hall, she sensed the aura of formations winding through it. She focused and examined them, then smiled.
“Do you really need to defend this place so heavily?”
“I’ve been uneasy, though I can’t say what I think is going to happen.”
She led Bao Gu further inside.
“Shu’er has cultivated smoothly all this time. Given her progress and present condition, she should be ready to face the dragon-transformation tribulation. I’ve protected her throughout her cultivation, and she has encountered very few setbacks. Everything has gone smoothly. Yet now, at this final step, I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.”
Bao Gu said:
“I came because of Little Martial Aunt’s dragon transformation as well. In recent years, I’ve devoted myself to transcribing and reproducing the texts in the Xuantian Library. I’ve gained something from it—at the very least, my horizons have broadened considerably.”
She paused.
“Has Little Martial Aunt sensed anything or had any thoughts about it?”
Zi Yunshu spoke with a bitter expression.
“I can feel my dragon transformation approaching, but I can’t explain why I’m so frightened. I used to think I simply wasn’t ready, and suppressing my realm seemed harmless enough. But today, when I saw Jun Ye, the immortal aura around him resonated with the qi within me and drew it out. The energy within me has already stirred the Heavenly Dao. If I don’t undergo the tribulation soon, I’m afraid Heaven itself will punish me.”
“Bao Gu, to be honest, I feel terrified. I keep feeling that my transformation won’t succeed—and that something is missing. Do I need the Ascension Platform?”
Bao Gu shot her a glance.
“You’re transforming into a dragon. Why would you need an Ascension Platform? Still, it’s not entirely unrelated.”
“Ah. We really do need a place like the Ascension Platform?”
When she finished speaking, she saw Bao Gu’s brows draw together heavily. Her expression grew even more miserable.
“Just tell me plainly.”
Bao Gu spoke solemnly.
“Little Martial Aunt, Saint Aunt—have you overlooked the relationship between dragons and the world’s fortune?”
The reminder startled the Demon Saint. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she drew in a sharp breath.
“To become an immortal, one’s fortune surges into the heavens, changing the celestial signs. To become a dragon, one’s fortune condenses into the earth, forming energy veins and dragon veins. Wherever a dragon vein exists, the land must be an exceptionally auspicious feng shui site, a treasure cave of spiritual energy.”
“For a scaled creature, becoming a dragon is a hundred times harder than a human becoming an immortal. It must answer to the Heavenly Dao above and draw support from the earth vein below. Shu’er…”
The Demon Saint’s face went white.
“You cultivated in the Azure Dragon Mountain Range for hundreds of years. Your fortune was linked to the range, and it protected your Dao. If you had transformed there, the mountains would have received the dragon aura released by your transformation and inevitably become a blessed treasure land.”
“But after the upheaval at the Xuantian Sect, the fortune of the Azure Dragon Mountain Range dispersed. You… You can still answer to the Heavenly Dao above, but you’ve lost the earth vein beneath your feet as your foundation. If you transform now, it will be almost certain death.”
Her body swayed violently.
“You’ve already drawn the Heavenly Dao’s attention, and your transformation is imminent. There’s no time left to find another sacred mountain or blessed lake…”
Bao Gu said:
“Didn’t Little Martial Aunt find Thousand-Mile Lake and build a dragon nest there? A waterland stretching a thousand li can store the qi of a latent dragon. Little Martial Aunt lived at Thousand-Mile Lake for ten years and nurtured dragon aura there for ten years, allowing the lake to take in the fortune of her transformation and form a great water dragon vein. That’s enough. Thousand-Mile Lake will also be blessed by her transformation.”
Zi Yunshu’s face had already gone pale.
“But… but for most of those ten years, I was in the Xuantian Sect helping… helping my father manage the sect’s affairs, teaching his disciples, and advising him on his cultivation…”
Bao Gu’s expression changed.
“Then how long did Little Martial Aunt actually live at Thousand-Mile Lake? Surely you spent at least two or three years there?”
“Whenever I had free time, I came to the Immortal Stone Palace to visit A-Sheng.”
Bao Gu’s face went white.
Zi Yunshu was only an Eight-Tribulation flood dragon. Compared with the Five-Element Immortal Stones in the palace—stones that had accumulated an unknown quantity of immortal aura and imprints of the Heavenly Dao’s laws from the Ascension Platform—her own aura and fortune were utterly insignificant. She could live there for a hundred years, and the place still wouldn’t retain the slightest trace of her presence.
Though the stones were immensely beneficial for comprehending the Dao, they were absolutely not a place to nurture dragon aura. They were too overbearing; they could suppress dragon aura so completely that it had nowhere to hide.
“How could you overlook something this important!”
Bao Gu had not thought that far back then. Little Martial Aunt had still been some distance from dragon transformation, and there had been ample time to choose another place to live. Relocating the Azure Dragon Mountain Range at that time had barely affected Zi Yunshu’s cultivation.
Even if Jun Ye had not arrived today and stirred Zi Yunshu’s qi, she could have suppressed her realm and spent two or three years nurturing it in a mountain-and-lake region with decent feng shui. There would have been nothing to worry about.
Zi Yunshu had never encountered any setbacks in her cultivation, so naturally she had never considered such details. At Bao Gu’s words, her lips trembled. She dared not say anything, and her face turned deathly pale.
Bao Gu asked:
“Saint Aunt, if we hide Little Martial Aunt from Heaven’s perception and seal her now, would it work?”
“Her qi has already answered the Heavenly Dao. At most, we can delay it for a few more days. If it goes on too long…”
The Demon Saint paused, then spoke heavily.
“When Heaven gives, you must take it. Refuse it, and you will suffer Heaven’s retribution!”
“How many days can we delay it? Three? Or nine at the most?”
Bao Gu looked toward Zi Yunshu.
“You’re the one who has to face it. You should be able to sense it. How many days?”
Zi Yunshu timidly raised a hand and held up three fingers.
The Demon Saint gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and concentrated on thinking of a countermeasure.
Seeing three rather than nine made Bao Gu’s heart sink again.
The Heavenly Dao was governed by the number nine. Nine was the number of yang, the framework by which the Dao was ordered. A flood dragon’s transformation into a true dragon required passing through nine tribulations, corresponding to the ultimate number of Heaven’s order. Once the Heavenly Dao had sensed it, even the number of days by which it could be delayed held significance.
Little Martial Aunt’s fear and unease stemmed from the fact that, although her cultivation had reached the required level, she lacked the corresponding blessings, fortune, and even a place where her dragon veins could take root. She had not consciously realized it, but her instincts had sensed the truth.
What difference was that from a cultivator—or any spiritually awakened creature—sensing the date of its own death?
Bao Gu looked at Zi Yunshu with reddened eyes.
“Did Grandmaster leave you behind in the Xuantian Sect?”
“He is my father, after all. With me at the Xuantian Sect, I could deter petty schemers from coveting it.”
Bao Gu closed her eyes in pain and turned away.
Seeing the expressions of the Demon Saint and Bao Gu, Zi Yunshu’s mind unexpectedly settled.
“If Heaven wants me dead, I’ll accept it.”
The Demon Saint opened her eyes and spoke slowly.
“There is a way to defy Heaven and rewrite Shu’er’s fate.”
Bao Gu’s eyes flew open.
“Have you gone mad? The heavenly secrets are already linked, and the Heavenly Dao has already sensed her. If you try to defy Heaven and change her fate now, Saint Aunt, the slightest misstep will bring heavenly retribution down on both you and Little Martial Aunt. You will be struck down by Heaven, and neither of you will escape, even after ten thousand deaths!”
“Even if you succeed, only Little Martial Aunt will have a sliver of a chance at life. You won’t have the slightest chance of survival.”
“I’m from the Upper Realm, after all. It won’t matter.”
Bao Gu knew Saint Aunt was only saying this to soothe Little Martial Aunt, and bluntly exposed her.
“It’s precisely because you come from the Upper Realm that you have no chance of survival at all.”
The Demon Saint’s gaze darkened.
“Bao Gu!”
Zi Yunshu said:
“I’ll face my tribulation. It may not kill me! A-Sheng, even if something really happens to me, it will be what I deserve!”
The Demon Saint had already made up her mind.
Zi Yunshu wanted to stop her by force and keep her from doing something foolish. The instant she moved, Bao Gu’s sharp shout rang out.
“Don’t move!”
Zi Yunshu stopped and looked toward Bao Gu’s furious eyes. For no reason she could explain, a wave of fear passed through her.
“Grandmaster’s Dao heart has already been destroyed. Little Martial Aunt, remember this: those who bring ruin upon themselves cannot expect to live.”
Zi Yunshu said nothing. He was her father. As long as she was capable of protecting him, she had to protect him.
The Demon Saint said to Bao Gu:
“Bao Gu, enough. This was my oversight. Go back. Leave Shu’er to me.”
“You can’t handle this.”
Bao Gu focused for a moment, then said:
“Little Martial Aunt, make your preparations. In three days, come with me to undergo the tribulation. If you face it in Qingzhou, no one will be able to protect you. There is a place that may be able to save your life.”
“What place?”
“The Ancient Desolate Mountain Range.”
The Demon Saint frowned.
“What are you planning? Do you have a way?”
“The Ancient Desolate Mountain Range now contains three great dragon-vein ranges. Since they’re being used to construct the realm-breaking gate, the energy of their three dragon veins is interconnected. It isn’t enough to build a proper dragon nest, but it is just enough to create a place where dragon aura can be nurtured.”
“If Little Martial Aunt transforms with the aid of the exceptional feng shui of such a place, her chances will rise considerably. And if she succeeds in transforming there, the range will be nourished in return by her dragon aura and must become a blessed treasure land. That will also be of great benefit when we build the Ascension Platform in the future.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Bao Gu shook her head.
“If you handle it, Saint Aunt, you will certainly die. Only I can do it.”
She turned and walked out.
“Bao Gu!”
The Demon Saint hurried after her and grabbed her arm.
Bao Gu gave a soft laugh and patted her hand.
“Don’t worry. I couldn’t bear to leave my senior sister behind. I possess battle strength comparable to a True Immortal, and I have the Xuantian Sword protecting me. Even if I were implicated and dragged into the tribulation, I could withstand a Dragon Transformation Tribulation of this level.”
“You aren’t even at the Mahayana stage yet, Saint Aunt. Even if you were, you still wouldn’t have the strength to withstand a Dragon Transformation Tribulation.”
“Are you really confident?”
“I survived all eighty-one blood tribulations on the Ascension Platform. How could I not be confident?”
Only then did the Demon Saint release her arm.
“Be careful. Don’t take unnecessary risks.”
Bao Gu smiled and nodded lightly. She left Shadow City and headed straight for the Ancient Desolate Mountain Range.
She plunged into the region, first selecting a spiritual nexus and blessed site where the energies of the three great dragon veins converged. Then she forcibly altered and guided the geomantic flow of the mountains, making it gather at the chosen nexus and reshaping the area into a small dragon-nurturing ground.
All of this was Bao Gu’s handiwork, which meant it would inevitably leave her aura behind. Little Martial Aunt had already drawn the attention of the Heavenly Tribulation, and these arrangements were, in truth, Bao Gu’s attempt to defy Heaven and rewrite her fate. The karma of interfering with a dragon transformation would inevitably be reckoned by the Heavenly Dao.
She had no idea what sort of reckoning awaited her, but she knew that if she did not do this, Little Martial Aunt would certainly die.
