It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Chapter 526: The Heavenly Dao Personified? p1

Based on the elders’ past experiences, a nine-level tribulation was the ultimate test. In this world, many things revolved around the number ‘nine’.

Because in the cultivation world, there was the saying ‘Nine returns to one’. This wasn’t mysticism, but one of the rules of heaven and earth set by the Heavenly Dao.

For cultivators undergoing tribulations, the maximum difficulty was nine levels, and the pill grades were also from one to nine.

But now… probably no one would have imagined that someone would encounter an ‘anomaly’ during their tribulation.

Up to this point, a total of sixteen thunderclaps had already sounded!

“What’s going on? Why is Brother Mu’s Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation completely different from other cultivators’ tribulations…?”

At this moment, Ye Lingxuan had arrived on the mountain peak. Looking up at a certain spot in the distance, she couldn’t help but frown slightly.

The Innate Spiritual Body was the constitution closest to Spiritual Energy in this world. The moment Ye Lingxuan looked up, she sensed the destructive aura emanating from the nine-level Heavenly Tribulation.

Even a nine-level tribulation shouldn’t have such an exaggerated destructive aura.

The woman gently shook her head and said softly, “I’ve never seen such a Heavenly Tribulation before.”

Judging from the brewing tribulation clouds, this was clearly a nine-level tribulation, but the destructive aura it emitted was clearly different from usual.

Ye Lingxuan looked up at the young man standing in the void, a hint of worry in her eyes.

It would have been better if he had waited a bit longer to attempt Soul Transformation…

At least after she inherited the Reincarnated Empress’s memories, she might be able to help him.

“It’s fine, he has the Nine Cauldrons Nascent Soul Pill refined by the Pill Emperor herself, there’s no need to worry so much,” the lively and cheerful Ye Siyu gently patted Ye Lingxuan’s shoulder and comforted her softly.

“Yeah, Sister, Master should have anticipated that Brother Mu’s Soul Transformation Tribulation would be much more difficult than any other cultivator’s, which is why she went to the Nine Provinces to search for various medicinal herbs and prepared the Nine Cauldrons Nascent Soul Pill. This pill will definitely help Brother Mu overcome this difficulty,” Ye Qian also said softly.

Comforted by everyone, Ye Lingxuan seemed to calm down slightly and nodded silently.

They were right. Even if this Soul Transformation Tribulation was clearly different from past tribulations, it was still just a Soul Transformation Tribulation. Although the Heavenly Dao was strict, it couldn’t manipulate the tribulation.

Brother Mu possessed the Chaos Body, so the difficulty of his Heavenly Tribulation would naturally be higher…

Thinking of this, the young woman’s worries eased slightly.

If Mu Zhian knew her thoughts at this moment, he would probably be quite touched.

Although Sister Lingxuan usually appeared elegant and calm, she still cared about him.

However, Mu Zhian currently wasn’t in the mood to care about the outside discussions.

Just how difficult was the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation?

Mu Zhian had read some examples of Soul Transformation cultivators undergoing tribulations in ancient texts, and among the dozens of ancient texts he read, only two successfully passed.

And the Heavenly Tribulation Mu Zhian was currently experiencing seemed far more difficult than a nine-level tribulation.

Mu Zhian looked up at the swirling tribulation clouds in the sky. He really wanted to turn to the fish in his pond and quip: Look, wives, the Heavenly Dao is cheating!

However, he didn’t have any wives, only his good little sister and a maid present.

And he wasn’t in the mood for jokes now. The heavy pressure emanating from the nine-level Heavenly Tribulation made Mu Zhian’s heart heavy, he felt incredibly depressed, even instinctively wanting to submit to the tribulation.

“Damn it, it was supposed to be a nine-level tribulation, why hasn’t the thunder stopped since it started?”

Even Mu Zhian couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

Although he had been mentally prepared after Luo Tan told him about the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation in Yu State,

he was, after all, a Chaos Body. It was normal for the tribulation’s difficulty to be higher than other cultivators’.

But this wasn’t just slightly higher, the thunder hadn’t stopped since it started!

Mu Zhian now only prayed for this tribulation to start quickly… Every thunderclap he heard now was torture.

Nine thick tribulation clouds swirled in the night sky like a vortex, lightning flashing within the lead-colored clouds. As another thunderclap sounded, some clan members started leaving the mountain peak on their swords, afraid of being affected by the tribulation.

At this moment, above the Heavenly Immortal Hall, a woman in a black and red dress stood quietly. Her attire was both celestial and seductive, like a witch in flames, her alluring eyes gazing in a certain direction, and she said faintly, “Is Ye Ning still in seclusion? Mu Zhian is practically a member of the Forbidden Zone, doesn’t he care about Lingxuan’s future husband at all?”

Although sparks flickered around her, obscuring her beautiful face, judging from her ample bosom straining against her dress, it wasn’t hard to discern her identity.

The ancestor of the Ye Clan, Ye Qingxin.

And the beautiful woman beside Ye Qingxin was the future Forbidden Zone Lord.

The two didn’t go to the mountain peak where Mu Zhian was undergoing his tribulation. For them, they could already sense the pressure from the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation from here.

The future Forbidden Zone Lord said with a hint of helplessness, “He’s truly still in seclusion. And he probably didn’t expect Young Friend Mu to reach Soul Transformation so soon… How did he do it?”

The beautiful woman finally couldn’t help but ask the question in her heart.

Logically, Mu Zhian had just recently reached Nascent Soul Realm. How could he have jumped to the peak so quickly?

Even eating pills every day wouldn’t have such an effect.

“Perhaps he had some opportunity,” Ye Qingxin said calmly.

“That’s unlikely. The Immortal Medicine from the various Forbidden Lands might be able to achieve this, but a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator can’t refine Immortal Medicine,” the future Forbidden Zone Lord slowly shook her head.

She had considered several possibilities for Mu Zhian’s rapid cultivation progress, but all were dismissed.

She really couldn’t understand how his cultivation speed could be so monstrous.

Ye Qingxin looked up at the direction where the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation was gathering and said softly, “Just cultivating quickly isn’t enough, he still needs to successfully pass this tribulation.”

Seemingly noticing the worry in Ye Qingxin’s eyes, the future Forbidden Zone Lord hesitated, then suddenly asked, “It’s understandable for Lingxuan to be worried about him, but I remember Mu Zhian has always been at odds with that Ye Yu boy from your Ye Clan. Why do you also care so much about Mu Zhian?”

Ye Qingxin’s eyes flickered slightly. After a moment of silence, she said calmly, “His talent is good, and his personality is quite endearing, so I have a good impression of him.”

“Besides, Lingxuan likes Mu Zhian so much, I naturally hope he’ll be fine,” Ye Qingxin added.

Hearing this, the future Forbidden Zone Lord sighed softly, “Indeed… I used to think there wouldn’t be a man she would take a liking to. I didn’t expect that after going to the Ye Clan for a few years, she would already have someone she likes when she returned.”

The couple knew Ye Lingxuan’s personality very well. They knew that although she appeared humble and elegant on the surface, she was actually quite proud.

It was difficult for such a girl to like any of her peers in the Ye Clan, which was why they were so at ease when she went there.

However, who would have thought that Ye Lingxuan indeed didn’t fall for anyone in the Ye Clan, but was taken by the young master of the Mu family instead.

“With Mu Zhian’s talent, he’s actually worthy of Lingxuan,” Ye Qingxin suddenly said.

“Indeed,” the future Forbidden Zone Lord nodded slowly, then said helplessly, “But he has the Jade Empress as his Dao Companion, and the Sword Palace Master isn’t someone to be trifled with either. I’m worried that if Lingxuan really gets together with him in the future, she’ll suffer a lot.”

“It’s fine, I’ll look after her in the future,” Ye Qingxin said.

“She’ll eventually get married one day, I can’t always look after her,” the future Forbidden Zone Lord shook her head and sighed.

That’s not necessarily true… Ye Qingxin thought silently.

Just then, Ye Qingxin suddenly saw a dazzling white light flash past her eyes.

The white light descended slowly from the night sky, sacred and captivating.

Then, for a moment, the sky seemed to be ignited by it, the entire night sky as bright as day!

A milky white sphere, accompanied by thunder, floated in mid-air. The soft light made countless cultivators unable to resist, some even involuntarily kneeling on the ground.

After an unknown amount of time in a daze, the future Forbidden Zone Lord murmured in a stunned voice, “The Heavenly Dao!”

…

The Heavenly Dao, even mortals in the Nine Provinces knew what it represented.

From the past until now, the Nine Provinces had undergone countless changes, but only the three Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Human remained constant.

And the current Heavenly Dao was even stronger than the Earth Dao and the Human Dao. Even the rules for Heavenly Tribulations were mostly set by the Heavenly Dao.

No one expected that a Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation would actually cause the Heavenly Dao to resonate.

The milky white sphere hung high in the night sky, emitting a sacred light.

As it descended, the rules of the entire Forbidden Zone seemed to tremble.

“If I remember correctly, there were a total of twenty-three thunderclaps just now…”

After a long silence, Ye Qian finally spoke with difficulty, breaking the eerie silence.

She stared intently at the small figure of the young man under the dark and oppressive Heavenly Tribulation and said softly, “Could it be that even the rules of heaven and earth don’t know what level of difficulty Brother Mu’s tribulation should be?”

Ye Lingxuan, unusually, didn’t say anything. She suddenly recalled that back at the Reincarnation Pool, Mu Zhian had once rendered the Reincarnation Pool speechless.

And the reason the Reincarnation Pool malfunctioned that time was because Mu Zhian had too many constitutions, making it unable to determine his talent.

The Reincarnated Empress, always by Ye Lingxuan’s side, also remained silent.

Even the Reincarnated Empress had never seen anyone attract the Heavenly Dao’s attention during Soul Transformation, let alone having the Heavenly Dao send down a portion of its will to ‘observe’ the tribulation.

What would happen next, she didn’t know either.

The most terrifying thing was that twenty-three thunderclaps weren’t the limit.

Since just now, a thunderclap would sound every so often.

“Even under special circumstances, the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation has a maximum of nine levels. Each level is far more powerful than the last. And some special tribulations even include the Heart Demon Tribulation and the Body Tribulation… The former can only be overcome with one’s will, and the latter requires one to withstand the tribulation with their physical body, without using Spiritual Energy,” Ye Qian murmured softly, “But what is the Heavenly Dao’s will doing here?”

No one could answer this question, even the elders who were discussing earlier fell silent, each standing with their hands behind their backs, looking up at the sky, appearing profound and knowledgeable, but their eyes were actually filled with confusion.

“The Grand Elder is here!”

Just then, a surprised voice came from the crowd. They didn’t expect the Forbidden Zone’s Grand Elder, who had always been in seclusion, to be alarmed.

The Forbidden Zone clan members on the mountain peak turned and saw the old man in simple cloth robes.

This was the Grand Elder of the Forbidden Zone, second only to the Forbidden Zone Lord in status.

“I didn’t expect to see the Heavenly Dao descend in my lifetime, personally testing a cultivator’s Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation.”

One moment the old man in cloth robes was still in the distance, the next, he had already appeared on the mountain peak. Although he deliberately restrained his aura, those near him still felt an inexplicable pressure.

It was no exaggeration to say that while the Forbidden Zone Lord was in seclusion, this Grand Elder was the second most powerful figure in the Forbidden Zone, his status unmatched.

Just then, a disciple asked curiously, “Grand Elder, do you know what’s going on with the Heavenly Dao?”

The old man was stunned, then noticing the curious gazes of the countless disciples, a mysterious smile appeared on his aged face, “Just keep watching and you’ll find out.”

At this moment, a soft halo emanated from the sphere hanging in mid-air, flowing into the nine layers of tribulation clouds. Instantly, the light-colored clouds seemed to be infused with soft light, emitting a captivating glow.

Boom!

Without warning, the first lightning bolt struck!

“Brother Mu!”

Ye Qian cried out almost subconsciously, her worried gaze fixed on the young man’s slender figure in the distance.

The Soul Transformation Tribulation was a life-or-death situation. With the Nine Cauldrons Nascent Soul Pill, the difficulty of passing through the tribulation would be greatly reduced.

But no one expected this tribulation to awaken the Heavenly Dao…

Even from such a great distance, the clan disciples on the mountain peak could feel the terrifying power, no less than a full-powered attack from a great power.

The lightning bolt descended from mid-air, dazzlingly bright, casting a shadow over everyone’s hearts.

Not to mention Mu Zhian’s relationship with their young lady, more importantly, if the Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulation was this difficult, and even Mu Zhian couldn’t pass it, then how could any of them hope to pass it even if they reached the peak of Nascent Soul Realm?

Ye Lingxuan was also worried, but as the older sister, she naturally hid her concern, her gaze fixed on the young man amidst the lightning.

Brother Mu’s aura is still stable, it seems he’s fine… the young girl thought inwardly.

Then, she tried to approach Mu Zhian with her vast spiritual sense from her Innate Spiritual Body.

Almost at that instant, as if sensing something, the young girl’s heart pounded, her cheeks flushed, and she subconsciously pressed her skirt, rubbing her legs together.

Ye Qian asked subconsciously, “Sister, what’s wrong?”

The Reincarnated Empress looked questioningly at her master’s flushed cheeks, then looked up.

Her beautiful eyes instantly caught sight of the young man amidst the lightning.

Behind Mu Zhian, several large, illusory fox tails appeared, spreading like a peacock’s tail, seductive and terrifying.

The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox!