Chapter 1: Awakened in Shock, Ascension Delayed
Rumble, rumble, rumble–––
A purple thunderbolt flashed across the sky, and dark clouds covered an area spanning a thousand miles.
At that moment, a woman in a green robe floated in mid-air. She looked up, frowning at the ominous clouds overhead.
Today was supposed to be Ying Tong’s heavenly tribulation for ascending to become a god. However, she had an uneasy feeling in her heart. This tribulation seemed off.
Heavenly tribulations varied in strength, typically matching the cultivator’s power level, but not exceeding it by much. However…
As Ying Tong gazed at the approaching storm, it seemed far more threatening than usual.
With her current level of cultivation, even for her next tribulation, it wouldn’t have been this overwhelming.
For a moment, many thoughts raced through her mind. She was well aware that the preparations she had made were far from enough to survive this heavenly tribulation.
But was she just supposed to wait for death? She was unwilling to accept that.
At the same time, violent lightning from the sky continued to gather and converge toward her.
Eighty-one bolts of heavenly lightning – if she could withstand them, she would ascend to godhood and be invincible. But if not, her soul would be obliterated, and she would perish, body and spirit destroyed.
Ying Tong knew in her heart that she had a ninety-nine percent chance of not surviving this. Why ninety-nine percent? Because the remaining one percent was due to her sheer optimism.
Even now, she still hadn’t figured out how things had escalated to this point.
Other people’s ascensions to godhood didn’t come with such a grand display. Had she unknowingly offended the heavens?
When the first bolt of lightning struck, Ying Tong spat out a mouthful of blood.
She had underestimated this tribulation. The protective treasures she had prepared were as fragile as paper in the face of the heavenly thunder.
Yet, despite this, Ying Tong stubbornly held on, refusing to give in.
By the time the thirtieth bolt of lightning struck, all of the treasures Ying Tong had prepared to survive the tribulation were completely depleted. Even the protective robe she wore was torn to shreds, no longer of any use.
At that moment, another bolt of heavenly lightning descended. Ying Tong gathered all of her divine power to resist it, enduring the strike directly.
She felt as if her internal organs had been shattered. She wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, blood gushed out, mixed with fragments of her ruptured organs.
The heavenly tribulation gave Ying Tong no time to react or recover. One bolt after another fell, each one a hundred times more dangerous than the last, striking her so relentlessly that she couldn’t even respond.
Sensing that her end was near, Ying Tong forced herself to speak to the heavens, struggling to say, “At least… at least let me… die… knowing why.”
The heavens seemed to hear her plea. A ball of light suddenly appeared and merged into her body.
At that moment, Ying Tong finally understood why she had faced such a calamity.
It had nothing to do with her—it was all because of the sins committed by her clan.
Since her ascension, the Ying family had become arrogant and reckless, flaunting their power because they had produced an immortal. They showed no respect for anyone, and the clan’s descendants committed countless atrocious deeds, their wickedness beyond description.
Even though the Ying family descendants did unspeakable things, others endured it for her sake, swallowing their grievances without complaint.
As a result, the Ying family’s reputation was so tarnished that “infamous” wasn’t strong enough to describe it. They had become synonymous with evil, notorious for their heinous crimes, irredeemable in the eyes of the world.
The family’s downfall had stained her own name as well. Worse, because their actions were excused on her behalf, the karmic consequences were also placed upon her shoulders.
When Ying Tong learned the truth, she was so furious she nearly died from rage.
She had worked so hard to ascend, only to be destroyed by the actions of these unworthy descendants, causing her to lose her life and have her years of cultivation reduced to nothing.
Had she known things would turn out this way, she would have exterminated her entire family back then, which might have earned her some merit.
A powerful sense of unwillingness gathered in her heart. Just as another bolt of heavenly lightning was about to strike…
Ying Tong jolted awake in her cave abode, drenched in cold sweat.
Her clothes were soaked, and she felt as if she had just been submerged in icy water. A chill radiated from her entire body.
Hadn’t she died?
No, something was wrong!
Ying Tong shook her head, trying to clear her mind, and looked around.
There was a stone table and stone stools, a bookshelf, and not far away, a glowing South Sea pearl emitting a soft light. On the table lay a sheet of white paper, the ink on it already dry.
It contained the list of items she had prepared for her upcoming ascension.
That’s right, she hadn’t ascended yet. It had just been a dream.
But the dream had been so real—so real that the fear of death still hadn’t left her.
Cultivators rarely dream, and those in the Deity Transformation stage even less so.
But if they do dream, it’s something that must be taken seriously.
Especially when the scenes in the dream were so vivid that they were still deeply imprinted in her memory.
Looking at the items on the table, Ying Tong gathered them up. Whether the dream was true or not, she wasn’t going to ignore it.
As for her ascension, it would be postponed for now.
Originally, she had planned to ascend in ten days, but now, something far more important than ascension had come up.
If the dream was real, and she truly would die in the heavenly tribulation because of her family’s involvement, then she needed to resolve that matter before her ascension.
Ying Tong stood up and changed her clothes, preparing to find her unworthy descendants.
Just as she was about to open the door, she sensed that the protective formation outside had been triggered.
As the most powerful cultivator of the Ying family and the only one in the Cangqiong Realm in a thousand years with the potential to ascend, Ying Tong received the best treatment within her family.
Even her cultivation cave was situated in the area with the densest spiritual energy, and no one was allowed to disturb her there.
Within a hundred-mile radius of the cave, no one, not even members of the Ying family, could enter without her permission.
After lifting the formation’s restrictions, a young man who appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen entered, respectfully saluting and saying, “Greetings, Venerable Yunhuang.”
Ying Tong gave a slight nod. “What is it?”
“Yunhuang” was Ying Tong’s Daoist name. When the Ying family learned she was about to ascend, they had initially wanted to change her title to “Immortal Lord,” but Ying Tong had refused.
After all, she had not yet ascended. Calling her an Immortal Lord before then would be inappropriate.
Once she successfully ascended in the future, people would naturally start calling her that, without the need for any special announcement.
The young man continued, “Venerable, in two days, it will be my engagement banquet. I humbly request that you come out of seclusion to attend.”
Hearing this, Ying Tong frowned slightly. An engagement banquet? Not even a wedding ceremony, and he was making such a grand request?
Recalling the dream, Ying Tong suddenly said, “Raise your head.”
The young man obediently lifted his head in response.
Although there was still some youthful immaturity in his features, Ying Tong recognized him. He was one of the unworthy descendants responsible for her downfall in the dream. What was his name again?
This boy was one of those who had caused her demise in the vision.
