The Promise Before the Tribulation

“I’ve heard the Empyrean Tribulation is very dangerous.” Brightmoon was worried, her small hands clenched tightly against her chest.

Ji Ning knelt down and gently hugged his daughter, looking into her little face. He smiled. “Brightmoon, don’t worry. The Empyrean Tribulation might be dangerous for others, but for your father… it truly isn’t much.”

“Really?” Brightmoon hesitated.

“Yes. You have to believe in your father,” Ji Ning said.

“Mm.” Brightmoon reached out her small arms and hugged Ji Ning’s head. “Father, Mother isn’t here anymore. Don’t leave Brightmoon.”

Ji Ning’s heart ached.

Brightmoon was still very young. Yu Wei’s death had had a tremendous impact on her.

“Father will never leave Brightmoon,” Ji Ning said softly, holding his daughter. “Father will always protect Brightmoon.”

This was Ji Ning’s promise to his daughter.

…

That night, Brightmoon slept with Ji Ning. She was afraid he would abandon her and go face the Empyrean Tribulation alone. She insisted on watching her father undergo the tribulation with her own eyes before she could feel at ease.

“Time to get up.” Ji Ning pinched his daughter’s little nose.

“Mm-hmm.”

Brightmoon opened her bleary eyes, looking around in a daze, still not fully awake. But the moment she saw Ji Ning, she couldn’t help but hug him.

“Get up now. It’s dawn.” Ji Ning kissed his daughter’s little cheek affectionately.

“Oh.” Brightmoon rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking outside. The sky was just starting to lighten. “Ah, Father, you’re going to face the Empyrean Tribulation today.”

“That’s right. Why aren’t you up yet?”

Outside the house.

Whitewater Hound and Little Qing had been waiting for a long time. Hearing the playful sounds from inside, they couldn’t help but smile.

“The Master only laughs happily when he’s with little Brightmoon now,” Little Qing said.

“He’s transferred all his feelings for Yu Wei, for Big Brother and Sister-in-law, onto his daughter,” Whitewater Hound sighed emotionally. “Thank goodness Yu Wei gave birth to a child before this. Otherwise… I don’t know what would have become of Ning’er after suffering such a blow.”

Creak!

The door opened.

A handsome youth in white robes walked out, holding the hand of a clever, lovely little girl. The youth appeared young, but his calm eyes, as deep as an endless sea, spoke of immeasurable time. Everyone understood that he was no longer young. Especially his heart… it was no longer young.

“Let’s go,” Ji Ning said.

“Mm,” Uncle White and Little Qing followed Ji Ning.

As they stepped out of the courtyard, they saw Qingya Xiaoyu waiting outside.

“Master,” Qingya Xiaoyu greeted respectfully.

…

Ji Ning, holding the little girl Brightmoon and leading Uncle White, Little Qing, and Qingya Xiaoyu, directly left Mount Innerheart. Then, with a spatial teleportation, they arrived at a vast wilderness on the Brightmoon Major World.

A large crowd had already gathered on the wilderness.

“Junior apprentice-brother.”

“Ji Ning.”

“Young master.”

Seven Empyrean Gods, including Bloodsnow Empyrean God, as well as Senior Apprentice-Brother Silvermoon, Senior Apprentice-Brother Jiang Jun, Jidian, and many others had all arrived. They had even brought some of their disciples and descendants.

As Ji Ning descended, he waved his hand, and Autumn Leaf, Mu Northson, and others appeared beside him.

“Junior apprentice-brother, be careful. The Empyrean Tribulation might not be difficult for you, but caution is still the best policy,” Jidian advised.

“Second Senior Apprentice-Brother, rest assured.” Ji Ning nodded, then walked a short distance away. After just three steps, he was over three hundred meters away.

Then, Ji Ning stood there silently.

“Boom.”

The Seventeenth Cycle of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, which had long been accumulating power and was ready to break through at any moment, finally shattered the last sliver of its bottleneck and stepped directly into the Eighteenth Cycle! At the same time, Ji Ning’s true body’s Ki Refining also directly broke through to the consummate Void stage.

The moment these two breakthroughs occurred simultaneously, they immediately stirred the operations of the hidden Heavenly Dao.

Before long…

Wind began to rise all around.

“The tribulation is starting.”

“The Master is really decisive. He just got here and immediately triggered the heavenly tribulation.”

“Given Junior Apprentice-Brother’s extraordinary strength and incredible fortune, his Empyrean Tribulation is likely to be terrifyingly powerful.”

The onlookers in the distance watched nervously. The little girl Brightmoon, in particular, clenched her two small fists so tightly that her nails turned white. She bit her lip, staring fixedly at Ji Ning. She was afraid… afraid that her father would also vanish and leave her.

In the distance, an old man and a woodcutter were also standing on the wilderness.

Even though they were standing there, no one noticed them. Not even Jidian.

“What do you think? Will your junior apprentice-brother be able to pass it?” Patriarch Subhuti asked.

“Passing the Empyrean Tribulation is naturally no problem. But I’m wondering if ‘Pure Yang Golden Light Thunder’ will appear during this Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation,” the woodcutter laughed.

“Pure Yang Golden Light Thunder? Hmm… it truly hasn’t appeared for a very, very long time. Since the ancient era until now, its appearances have been pitifully rare. If it does appear, although it would be a great threat, it would also allow your junior apprentice-brother’s Empyrean God body to become truly perfect,” Patriarch Subhuti said.

The tribulations of wind, fire, and thunder all tempered the body.

For Ki Refiners, they generally resulted in a Celestial Immortal body.

For Fiendgod Body Refiners, however, they faced the Empyrean Tribulation, whose power was immeasurably greater. And this Empyrean Tribulation… would forge an Empyrean God body!

The stronger the Empyrean Tribulation, the more perfect the Empyrean God body it would forge.

After all, Empyrean Gods also varied in strength. Some weaker Empyrean Gods would spend endless eons just trying to make their bodies more complete. The perfection of the Empyrean God body… was one of the thresholds on the path to becoming a True God.

…

“Rumble!”

The wind howled fiercely.

Countless wind blades formed a massive vortex, with Ji Ning at its very center.

“Terrifying.”

“Just this Wind Tribulation alone is more terrifying than the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation Ji Ning’s second Primaltwin faced before.” Whitewater Hound, Mu Northson, and the others watching from afar all changed expression. The power of the wind was too strong.

Even Ji Ning found his Ki Refining methods useless in this situation. He relied entirely on his divine body, which had trained to the sixth cycle of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, to endure it.

Ji Ning stood at the center of the vortex, silently watching the sky, perfectly calm.

“Whoosh.”

The final Empyrean Wind, formless and intangible, entered his body through the top of his head, causing every part of his body to tremble. Yet, Ji Ning’s heart remained as still as water, completely unmoved. Amidst this trembling, Ji Ning’s divine body was quietly undergoing subtle changes. These changes were not remarkable yet, but only after the subsequent Thunder Tribulation concluded would a true qualitative transformation occur.

“Wind Tribulation, passed.” Ji Ning looked up at the sky and whispered to himself.

High in the air, a vast, scorching vortex cloud appeared. At the center of the rotating cloud, golden flames could be seen flowing visibly. As the cloud descended, the temperature around it skyrocketed instantly.

“Rise.”

Jidian, watching from afar, immediately waved his tattered fan. A hazy green light rose up around them, shielding the onlookers.

But the wilderness around Ji Ning was instantly scorched black. As the cloud descended further, it was even turned directly to ash. The ground of the wilderness sank downwards, while Ji Ning stood in the void, looking up at the cloud.

“Whoosh, whoosh.”

The flames descended.

Ji Ning still did not defend himself.

Because this tribulation grew from weak to strong. The Fire Tribulation also gradually intensified. If even a sixth-cycle Eight-Nine Arcane Art body couldn’t withstand it, he could act then. But he didn’t think the Fire Tribulation alone could force him to do so.

The flames were scorching hot. They soon rose to the level of True Fire. Various types of True Fire came one after another, including Sunstar True Fire.

But Ji Ning stood in the void, completely unconcerned.

As the cloud completely dissipated.

“Boom!” Ji Ning’s entire body turned into a human torch.

A blaze of fire was burning inside Ji Ning’s body.

“Ah.” Brightmoon’s face turned pale with fright.

“It’s alright. This is Empyrean Fire, and it cannot be blocked, only endured. Although it is far more powerful than Celestial Immortal Fire,” Little Qing said beside her, “your father’s Dao-heart is formidable; he is not afraid of this Empyrean Fire.”

And indeed, Ji Ning soon returned to normal.

Time passed. The sky was continuously gathering and building up power.

Bloodsnow Empyrean God, Silvermoon, and the others watching from afar all turned solemn now. The Wind and Fire Tribulations had been far too easy for Ji Ning. As for the Heartfiend Tribulation, given that Ji Ning was at the fourth level of Heartforce… they believed it would also be easy. The fourth level of Heartforce was already quite impressive by the standards of the entire Three Realms; there was no way he couldn’t withstand the Heartfiend Tribulation.

The only thing that could give them something to look forward to was the most domineering, the most violent, and the most unpredictable of them all—the Thunder Tribulation!

“It’s the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation for sure!”

“Ji Ning is a Fiendgod Body Refiner who has practiced the Eight-Nine Arcane Art to the sixth cycle. He has also reached the fourth level of Heartforce. Even the Fiendgod Body Refining consummate Void stage… his foundation is too solid. The Heavenly Dao will not let him off easily.”

“The Thunder Tribulation will definitely have some power to it.”

Everyone watched nervously.

Ji Ning was destined to face the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation. The more powerful the first thunderbolt of the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation, the more terrifying the final, eighty-first thunderbolt would naturally be.

“It’s getting dark!” Brightmoon suddenly said nervously.

Everyone, including Ji Ning, looked up at the sky.

Yes.

As far as the eye could see, the endless sky had become pitch black. Boundless dark clouds covered every region. The overwhelming pressure was terrifying. Ji Ning still silently looked up at the sky, but two divine swords had appeared in his hands.

PS: There are many social engagements during the National Day holiday. Tomorrow is Tomato’s cousin’s wedding, and as the older cousin, I can’t get out of it. The day after tomorrow, the return banquet, is also unavoidable. So, Tomato will swap the schedule for tomorrow and the day after with Friday and Saturday. For the next two days, Tomato can only manage one chapter a day, and it will have to be updated in the evening since the days will be too busy.

On Friday and Saturday, I will return to two chapters a day. This advance notice is for your understanding. Thank you for your patience.

*(To be continued…)