Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 362 349: The Fairy Slays the Heart Demon with a Single Sword, Breaking Free from the Cage to Return to Nature

"Senior Sister, why has there been a golden mist drifting around Master's courtyard these past few days?"

Yu Xiaoyan gazed at the curling golden mist wafting over Pei Yuhang's distant residence, asking Qing Yueqiu beside her with some confusion.

"That's Mirage Qi. Master is using the Mirage Dragon Core as the eye of an array to power an Illusion Technique array."

Qing Yueqiu's crimson eyes narrowed. She noticed the faint arcs of electricity within the golden Mirage Qi and the familiar, albeit weak, aura of a Celestial Tribulation leaking out. A realization dawned on her.

'Is Master using the Mirage Dragon's Illusionary Divine Abilities to completely eradicate Mistress's Heart Demon?'

...

「In the courtyard.」

A purple and gold qi permeated the air.

The golden Inner Core, taken from the Mirage Dragon's body, hung high in the sky, casting a golden light that draped Ye Liyuan's porcelain-white skin like a gilded robe.

Pei Yuhang watched his Dao Companion, her clothes soaked with fragrant sweat, her breathing growing more rapid, and her body trembling uncontrollably. A flash of heartache crossed his eyes.

The Celestial Tribulation simulated by the Mirage Dragon Core was, naturally, far more realistic than the one in the Illusion-Breaking Mirror.

After growing accustomed to the pressure of the Celestial Tribulation's Heart Demon within the Illusion-Breaking Mirror, Ye Liyuan had thought she could easily adapt to even greater pressure.

But that proved not to be the case.

Fairy Ye had overestimated herself and underestimated the psychological trauma the Celestial Tribulation had inflicted upon her.

Under the increasingly realistic Suppression of the Celestial Tribulation, it was as if she had returned to the moment her path of cultivation was destroyed by the scarlet heavenly lightning.

Helplessness and fear once again dominated Ye Liyuan's body. In her first attempt to enter the Celestial Tribulation Illusion Realm created by the Mirage Dragon Core, she hadn't even lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before fainting, her face pale.

Today was already her fifth attempt to enter the Celestial Tribulation illusion created by the Mirage Dragon Core.

Although Ye Liyuan had lasted longer with each attempt, she had yet to successfully overcome the Thunder Tribulation within the Illusion Realm.

In two more days, Pei Yuhang planned to refine the Mirage Dragon Core into the Golden Sun Divine Seal.

Therefore, this was the last chance Pei Yuhang was giving his Dao Companion.

If Ye Liyuan still failed to overcome the Thunder Tribulation in the Mirage Dragon Illusion Realm this time, then for the next ten years, Pei Yuhang would not allow his Dao Companion to risk Crossing the Tribulation.

Of course, Ye Liyuan fiercely resisted this, staunchly opposing Pei Yuhang's autocratic decision.

But he had no other choice.

'If my Dao Companion is at risk of a mishap during the Celestial Tribulation, I would rather not let Liyuan cultivate at all!'

WHOOSH—

A gentle breeze swept by, extinguishing the last wisp of smoke from the incense stick in the censer.

Three incense sticks' worth of time had passed. This was the longest Ye Liyuan had ever lasted inside the Mirage Dragon Illusion Realm.

However… Pei Yuhang looked at Liyuan's bloodless, thin lips and understood that his Dao Companion had reached her limit.

'It seems she's going to fail again.'

Pei Yuhang let out a soft sigh, preparing to retrieve the Mirage Dragon Core and let his Dao Companion catch her breath.

Ye Liyuan seemed to sense what Pei Yuhang was about to do. Her delicate shoulders trembled, and clear tears streamed from her beautiful eyes.

"Don't... stop... I can still go on, Ah Han... Don't cut off my path to eternal life... I don't want to grow old in front of you..."

Hearing his Dao Companion's stubborn voice, Pei Yuhang's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. It eventually lowered slowly, coming to rest on Liyuan's head.

"Liyuan, you and I will never grow old. We will be forever young and passionate."

As if hearing Pei Yuhang's gentle voice, a faint smile graced the corners of Ye Liyuan's lips.

Time passed, drop by drop. Pei Yuhang watched as the aura on Ye Liyuan's body grew weaker and weaker, as if she were a lamp running out of oil.

This time, however, he did not intervene to make his Dao Companion stop.

He knew Liyuan. Under immense pressure, she would surely find a way out of a desperate situation.

Pei Yuhang believed in her.

...

「Meanwhile」 Qing Yueqiu had just mentioned the Mirage Dragon Core, and Yu Xiaoyan began to press her for details about her trip to the Northern Desert.

"What? You're saying Master and Saintess Lin Qianyan were both sealed inside a golden stone by the Mirage Dragon?!"

Yu Xiaoyan's voice rose several pitches.

"Yes. That Divine Ability was something I'd never seen in any of the ancient texts I prepared. I have no idea how that Mirage Dragon managed to use it..."

Qing Yueqiu's eyes lowered slightly. Recalling the desperation and danger of that day when her Master was sealed away, she felt as if she could still have nightmares about it.

'How could I possibly live on if Master were to be sealed inside a stone forever?'

Suddenly, Qing Yueqiu's elegant nose twitched. She smelled moisture in the air!

At that moment, Yu Xiaoyan also looked up at the clouds beginning to gather in the sky, a strange light appearing in her beautiful eyes.

"It's the sign of a Thunder Tribulation starting to form!"

"A tribulation of this scale can't be Master's... It must be... Mistress's!"

...

Pei Yuhang watched his Dao Companion's beautiful eyes slowly open and hurried over to help the weakened woman up.

But Ye Liyuan held up a hand, stopping Pei Yuhang.

"Ah Han, I want to use the insight I just gained from breaking through the Thunder Tribulation in the Mirage Dragon Illusion Realm to break through to the Golden Core realm in one go."

"No, you're too weak right now..."

Pei Yuhang refused decisively, but then he saw Ye Liyuan lean forward and kiss him forcefully.

After a long moment, their lips parted.

Ye Liyuan spoke to him softly, "Ah Han, be good... give me your Pure Yang True Qi."

"Liyuan, you must succeed in Crossing the Tribulation. If you fail, I will save you, even if it means my own Dao Foundation is destroyed along with yours."

Pei Yuhang saw Liyuan's determination. He took a deep breath, kissed her lips again, and transferred his Pure Yang True Qi into her body through his mouth.

A torrent of Life Qi flowed into Fairy Ye's Spiritual Qi-depleted body. The color visibly returned to her pale face, and the light in her beautiful eyes grew brighter.

As the aura on her body climbed to its peak, Pei Yuhang released her lips.

"Go, Liyuan. I'll be waiting for you on the path to eternal life."

"I won't keep you waiting long."

Ye Liyuan smiled lightly, then playfully punched Pei Yuhang's chest with a delicate fist. The confident air in her glance and smile was just like that of the self-assured young woman who had captivated him in their youth.

The two didn't dally for long. Ye Liyuan slowly ascended, riding the wind straight into the heavens and merging into the churning Cloud Sea above.

Pei Yuhang looked at the scale of the thunderclouds above and still frowned slightly.

'For some reason, Liyuan is always given special treatment by the Thunder Tribulations.'

This Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, while nowhere near as exaggerated as the tribulation clouds that had covered nearly half the sky over the Dao Sect when Liyuan broke through to the Void Refining Realm, was still, judging by the sheer scale of the Cloud Sea, far beyond the scope of a normal Golden Core Thunder Tribulation.

But once a Thunder Tribulation begins, it cannot be stopped.

At this point, all Pei Yuhang could do was believe in his Dao Companion—believe that she would return safely, just as she promised.

...

High in the sky, thick clouds roiled like ink. Myriad lightning snakes darted madly through the Cloud Sea, gradually converging into a sky-blotting waterfall of azure lightning plasma.

The flashing lightning illuminated Ye Liyuan's cool, aloof face, making it flicker between light and shadow. Her tightly pressed lips betrayed a hint of strain, but her eyes were perfectly calm, filled only with determination.

With a flick of her elegant hand, she drew the cold gleam of the blade at her waist.

"Today, I will completely sever the Heart Demon of my past! I will reforge my Dao Heart and claim my path to eternal life."

As the Pure Yang True Qi Pei Yuhang had infused into her surged through her meridians, the aura around Ye Liyuan climbed steadily.

She raised her Spirit Sword high overhead, its blade vibrating as it burst forth with a piercing, cold light.

The instant the rolling celestial thunder came crashing down, she bit her lip hard, fine beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead, yet she still swung her sword to meet it without a shred of hesitation.

VMMMM—

A piercing sword cry tore through the sky.

Ye Liyuan watched the arcs of lightning scatter around her, and a faint, crisp cracking sound reached her ears.

It was the sound of the shackles that had bound her for so long finally breaking.

In that moment, Fairy Ye had personally shattered the cage of her past. Her Dao Heart was restored, returning to its natural state.