CHAPTER 29: THE HIDDEN WHISPERS OF HER MIND

The two dragons immediately plunged toward Lu Chen. One transformed into a blaze of tribulation fire, while the other turned into a storm of tribulation lightning. Thunder continued booming in the sky.

Before Lu Chen could react, the heavenly tribulation had already struck him. The blast shredded his clothes to pieces, revealing the defensive enchanted artifact Nantian Xiu had gifted him.

Cough!

Lu Chen spat out a mouthful of dark blood. "This one's a whole lot stronger than the previous waves."

"Spirit, awaken!"

The Hunyuan Greatsword expanded once again, shielding the two of them from the tribulation.

Rumble!

A bolt of lightning struck Lu Chen head-on.

"This isn't good! The tribulation's range is too wide. The Hunyuan Greatsword alone can't block all of it!"

Rumble! Rumble!

Even as he spoke, Lu Chen's body was already covered in wounds. The lightning had ripped through his flesh, and the tribulation fire seared what was left. The air was filled with the bitter stench of burnt flesh.

"Lu-gege, stop worrying about me! You might still have a chance if you face the tribulation on your own!"

Nantian Wan'er had been sheltered behind Lu Chen and had barely suffered any injuries. Seeing Lu Chen's body slowly charred from the constant blasts, guilt surged through her heart. If it weren't for him shielding her, he wouldn't have been hurt this badly.

Lu Chen glanced back at Nantian Wan'er. "Wan'er, don't worry. I'm not going to abandon you. I promised Grandpa Xiu I'd protect you, and I meant it."

He raised the Hunyuan Greatsword with both hands and quickly infused spirit qi into it.

Tears rolled down Nantian Wan'er's cheeks. "I... I'm sorry, Lu-gege. It's all my fault. I've always been so weak... always needing others to protect me."

Ever since she had contracted the cold poison, everyone in the Nantian Sect, except for her grandfather and brother, had avoided her like the plague.

It was that isolation that had driven her to leave with her grandfather in search of a cure.

And now, for the first time in her life, a man stood before her, not just shielding her with his body, but vowing to lay down his life to protect her.

At that moment, something took root in her heart. Her feelings for Lu Chen were no longer just curiosity; they had grown into deep admiration, into love.

Nantian Wan'er gazed at Lu Chen from behind with starlight in her eyes. She whispered into his left ear, "Lu-gege... I like you. One day, I'll marry you."

Rumble!

Just then, a massive bolt of tribulation lightning slammed down in front of Lu Chen, its thunder echoing across the heavens.

Lu Chen asked, "What...? Wan'er, what did you just say? I couldn't hear you."

"Ah... it's nothing. Lu-gege, look out! More tribulation fire is coming!"

The storm of fire and lightning raged around them, leaving Lu Chen no choice but to focus entirely on defending. He didn't dare to let his attention slip for even one second.

An hour passed, and the tribulation didn't slow down at all, continuing to grow stronger instead.

Lu Chen's aura waned. The defensive enchanted artifact protecting him had long since shattered under the heavenly lightning, leaving his body a mangled mess. There was only one patch of unharmed skin. Most of his flesh was scorched black, covered with open wounds, and continuously oozing blood.

In the skies above, Wind Dragon narrowed his eyes at the incoming tribulation. He began gathering his core power.

"Little Lu, let go of the Hunyuan Sword. Let me deal with the tribulation."

"Roar!"

A dark, bluish-green dragon shadow burst forth from the sword. Scales and bristles shimmered into form, coalescing into a towering dragon body.

The Hunyuan Sword slipped from Lu Chen's hands and settled between Wind Dragon's horns, its blade aimed straight at the dragon's snout. Violent energy poured from the sword, surging into the dragon's body without end.

This was Wind Dragon's special technique—a trump card that allowed him to unleash his peak strength through the Hunyuan Sword in times of crisis.

"Roar!"

Wind Dragon shot into the sky, whipping up a howling storm around Lu Chen. He blocked the surging flames and lightning, bearing the brunt of the tribulation with sheer might. As the dragon released his full power, the tide of the heavenly tribulation was finally pushed back.

Several leaders within the secret realm looked up at the giant dragon silhouette in the sky and cried out in shock. "That's Wind Dragon's aura! He's in the tribulation zone!"

Though its form differed somewhat from Wind Dragon of legend, there was no mistaking that powerful presence. They were certain it was Wind Dragon.

The people fleeing the secret realm started running even faster when they noticed the dragon rising to confront the tribulation.

Sect leaders like Jun Wudi, Yao Buting, and Zi Long all urged their disciples to pick up the pace.

"Hurry! The sleeping beasts in the secret realm are waking up! We need to find the treasure and get out, fast!"

***

Within the tribulation zone, the eleventh wave was nearing its end. Both the tribulation and Wind Dragon had momentarily stopped, gathering strength for one final clash.

Rumble!

Wind Dragon crashed headlong into the roaring flames and crackling lightning of the tribulation. A thunderous explosion erupted as flames and lightning scattered like brilliant fireworks, lighting up the entire secret realm.

Wind Dragon's massive form dissipated. His shadow returned to the Hunyuan Greatsword, and the sword plummeted from the sky.

Lu Chen leapt up and caught the falling greatsword. Its once-vibrant glow had faded; the red and blue light was gone, and the black and white twin fish had returned to his Heavenly Pool.

"Wind Dragon, are you alright?"

A faint voice rang from within the sword. "I'm fine. These old bones aren't done just yet... but I'm too weak to emerge from the sword for now. You'll have to face the final tribulation alone. No matter what it takes, just endure it. Once you do, the Heavenly Dao will bless you. That power will be enough for us to recover completely."

With those final words, Wind Dragon's voice faded into silence.

"Lu-gege, are you okay?" Nantian Wan'er asked. She rushed over and quickly pulled out healing pills from her storage space to tend to his wounds.

"I'll be fine. Wind Dragon blocked most of the tribulation for us. I can handle what's left."

Lu Chen swallowed a healing pill, and the potent regeneration of his Green Sovereign bloodline began to show. His wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He looked up at the swirling dark clouds above, worry etched across his face. "There's still one last wave. I don't know what kind of tribulation it'll be..."

Even after a long wait, the final wave did not descend. The sky remained still, as if the heavens themselves were granting him a brief moment to breathe. Eventually, the dark clouds began to shrink and condense, coiling in tighter and tighter. Crackling and deep rumbling echoed in the sky as the clouds continued to compress themselves.

The phenomenon lasted for an hour. By now, the dark clouds had contracted to less than ten meters in diameter, yet the pressure they exuded was hundreds or even thousands of times stronger than before.

"It's coming."

Lu Chen stared at the final wave of heavenly tribulation descending from the sky. Unlike the fierce intensity of the previous eleven waves, this one was just a single, seemingly ordinary bolt of lightning. However, the energy within this bolt alone was so oppressive that Lu Chen felt completely powerless to resist.

Despair crept into his heart. He tried to send Nantian Wan'er into the world within the Twin-Fish Medallion, only to find the power of the tribulation had sealed off the passage connecting to it.

"Are we really going to die here today? I haven't found my grandpa yet... and the hopes of the villagers still rest on me... I even promised Grandpa Xiu I'd protect Wan'er!"

Nantian Wan'er reached out and grabbed his hand. "Brother Lu, don't give up, not until the very last moment! There's still a chance for us to turn things around."

"You're right! There's still hope. I refuse to accept this! I want to live! I still want to walk the path of cultivation! I, Lu Chen of Greenheaven Village, will survive this! I will live on!"

Roaring in defiance, Lu Chen looked up at the heavens and shouted, "Bring it on!"

A powerful surge of will burst forth from his body, piercing the sky.

Boom!

A thin bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens and struck Lu Chen’s Heavenly Pool directly. In that instant, he felt as if the heavens and earth had acknowledged him, and the oppressive power of the tribulation could no longer suppress him.

Then, from the depths of his being, a deep and ancient voice echoed, "Heaven and Earth find their place; mountains and lakes exchange breath. Thunder stirs the wind; water and fire repel each other. The Bagua intertwines, the Innate is formed, and the Acquired is born."[1]

"Green Sovereign Divine Tree!"

A massive, ancient Green Sovereign Divine Tree emerged in midair. Its branches unfurled, forming a vast canopy that sheltered Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er beneath it. The tribulation lightning fell, but each bolt was absorbed and transformed into nourishment for the tree, leaving the two completely unharmed.

An ancient and profound cryptic chant drifted across the world, resonating through heaven and earth.

The five primordial elements accumulated within Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool flew out all at once—lightning moved to the east, aligning with the Zhen position; wind drifted southeast, taking the Xun position; fire blazed in the south as Li, and water flowed north into Kan.[2]

Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er stood at the heart of the Taiji Diagram[3], beneath the towering Green Sovereign Divine Tree. Under their feet, an Innate Bagua Diagram glowing with blue light began to take shape, slowly expanding outward.

As Lu Chen looked down at the formation beneath his feet, realization dawned on him. The elemental powers that had appeared within his body earlier, each aligning around the tree, were likely the early manifestation of the Acquired Bagua Diagram.

The heavenly tribulation continued to crash down onto the Green Sovereign Divine Tree, but all of its violent energy was absorbed and purified without resistance. A portion of that energy poured into the Innate Bagua Diagram outside, refining it. The rest flowed into Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er, beginning to perfect the Acquired Bagua Diagram within them.

"The tribulation... has it really been blocked? And... our Heavenly Pools feel so much stronger now. I've never seen anything like this before."

Nantian Wan'er had already braced herself for death when the lightning struck, but the sudden appearance of the massive tree that effortlessly blocked the tribulation stunned her.

Lu Chen let out a long breath. "Haaah... I guess this basically means we've made it through this tribulation."

He could feel the changes occurring within his Heavenly Pool. He didn't know why the Green Sovereign Divine Tree had appeared, but something told him that the tree shared his bloodline, and it would never harm him.

Nantian Wan'er quietly tightened her grip on Lu Chen's hand. She seemed relieved to have survived. She looked at Lu Chen with eyes filled with admiration.

Lu Chen glanced back at her, then gently tightened his grip in return, giving her a sense of security.

Women admired strength, especially the kind that came with the willingness to risk one's life for them. In that moment, after surviving the calamity together, Nantian Wan'er's heart had fully connected with Lu Chen's.

***

Not far from where Lu Chen faced the tribulation, Blindman Lu stood silently, watching the scene unfold.

The black-robed man beside him voiced his concern, "My lord, it seems someone is interfering with our plan. There shouldn't be a second Green Sovereign Divine Tree in this world."

Blindman Lu stared at the evolving Bagua patterns forming around Lu Chen and fell into deep thought, trying to figure out who could have disrupted their arrangement. "There's no doubt someone is meddling, and whoever it is... their strength far exceeds ours. But it doesn't matter. Everyone on this continent is nothing more than a pawn to the forces beyond. Our only task is to ensure the young master continues to grow stronger."

"But my lord, the young master has already stirred fear in the heavens while still in the Qi Absorption Realm. If this continues—"

Blindman Lu cut him off. "So what if the heavens fear him? Back then, didn't we also make the heavens tremble? The Great Dao itself suppressed us, forbidding us from cultivating, but in the end, we still reclaimed the severed memories of the ancient era through that very same Dao."

After a pause, he added, "Let Little Lu handle things on his own."

The black-robed man then pointed toward Nantian Wan'er. "What about her, the girl born of the Yin Ocean Pearl? Given the current situation, there's no way she can be used for the sacrifice anymore."

Blindman Lu looked at Nantian Wan'er. From the moment the Innate Bagua Diagram had formed beneath her and Lu Chen's feet, he had already understood that she was no longer suitable for the sacrifice.

"We stick to the original plan. Go and create an opportunity for Nantian Wan'er to follow Lu Chen to the Heavenly Mandate Hall."

The black-robed man replied, "Yes, my lord. Then... is it time to bring out the trial item for the young master's breakthrough into the Qi Regulation Realm?"

Blindman Li nodded. "Handle that as you see fit. More importantly, it's time we pay a visit to the beast leaders the Sixth Ancestral Avatar left behind."

1. The Bagua—also known as the Eight Trigrams—was an ancient system that mapped elemental forces to directions, balance, and cosmic change. It symbolized the transformation between Innate and Acquired energy in cultivation. ☜

2. Zhen, Xun, Li, and Kan are four of the eight symbols that make up the Bagua, or Eight Trigrams, in traditional Chinese cosmology. This ancient system maps natural elements and forces onto directions, seasons, and spiritual energies. Their alignment isn't random. It reflects a deeper harmony between heaven, earth, and the cultivator's essence. ☜

3. Refer back to Chapter 10. The Yin-Yang Core at the base of the Green Sovereign Divine Tree slowly absorbed the spirit qi and began to rotate. Eventually, it transformed into a Taiji Diagram ☜