Invincible Snake Emperor

Chapter 624: Chapter 598: The Two Great Beauties (2)

In the entire world, only Tu Xiao’an could speak so casually of helping another with Crossing the Tribulation.

”But... but...” Haitang stammered, wringing her hands helplessly. Her lovely face flushed crimson, making her look even more stunning.

”Open your mouth,” Tu Xiao’an suddenly barked.

Ah...!

Haitang jumped in fright and subconsciously opened her mouth. The glittering Golden Core in Tu Xiao’an’s hand instantly shot into it, and she swallowed it in one gulp.

Having swallowed it, Haitang stared wide-eyed at Tu Xiao’an, her face a mask of overwhelming excitement that she couldn’t seem to process.

”Haitang, don’t overthink it. I, Tu Xiao’an, am simply keeping the promise I made to you.”

To put it bluntly, Tu Xiao’an’s current achievements were on a level this Cat Spirit before him could never imagine in her entire life.

Just moments ago, he had elevated the bureau chief of Demon affairs to the level of a Deep Mountain Demon King.

Now, just helping a Rank Two Cat Spirit attain the Rank Three of Enlightenment? That was nothing.

The moment Haitang swallowed the Golden Core, the effects were immediate. The feline Qi around her began to surge, and a Spiritual and Fierce phantom of a cat materialized above her head. A gale tore through the courtyard, kicking up dust and pebbles.

”Benefactor, I can undergo the Crossing the Tribulation to reach enlightenment now! I can feel it!” Haitang was too choked with emotion to speak, her heart pounding like a stormy sea.

In heaven and earth, all beings below Rank 3 were mere ants. Only by attaining the Rank Three of Enlightenment would one’s long years of Cultivation not be in vain.

Although Haitang the Cat Spirit had practiced Cultivation for several hundred years, she had never even qualified to attempt Crossing the Tribulation. But now, she finally had the chance.

Her excitement was like that of a high school student who had just received their college acceptance letter.

If she could cross that threshold, a whole new world would await.

”Let’s go. We’ll find another place for your tribulation. If you attempt Crossing the Tribulation here, this centuries-old ancestral home of your Brother Gaoyang’s won’t be left standing.”

”Okay...” Haitang nodded vigorously, her eyes twinkling like stars.

At this point, if Tu Xiao’an were to claim that dog droppings were a delicacy, this Cat Spirit would have nodded in firm agreement.

Half an hour later, atop a small mountain peak, the winds howled and clouds gathered. The sky above turned a dark crimson as oppressive storm clouds gathered, rent by flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.

Haitang was incredibly nervous. It all felt like a dream. ’How did I end up here, about to undergo my tribulation?’

She turned her head to look at the slender man beside her, her eyes sparkling with adoration.

”Don’t be afraid. I’ll handle everything. You just stand there and treat this as a bit of sightseeing.”

Haitang was dazed. ’Treating a tribulation like sightseeing?’

”Benefactor, I may only be a small cat, but I’ve heard that if someone interferes with another’s tribulation, the Celestial Tribulation’s power will intensify and turn its wrath on the helper.”

”Benefactor, you’ve already helped me more than enough. Please, let me face Crossing the Tribulation on my own.”

’I owe my benefactor so much,’ Haitang thought. ’It’s a debt I could never repay, even if I served him for the rest of my life.’

”Quiet. Look, the Celestial Tribulation is manifesting.”

In the dark crimson sky, a massive vortex formed. Then, the eerily beautiful Tribulation Cloud Flowers appeared, followed by the Extraterrestrial Meteorites that stretched across the heavens. The very color of the world seemed to shift.

Tu Xiao’an then saw six Tribulation Cloud Flowers and six Extraterrestrial Meteorites arrayed in the sky. An immense pressure from the heavens descended upon them.

All color drained from Haitang’s face, and her delicate body began to tremble uncontrollably. ’I have to face the Six Paths Celestial Thunder and the Six Paths Celestial Fire? That’s horrifying!’

The Celestial Tribulation hadn’t even begun, but her very soul was already shuddering with fear.

For a Cat Spirit who, until moments ago, hadn’t even been qualified to face a tribulation, a twelve-stage tribulation was absurdly intense.

”Sigh. This is the smallest Celestial Tribulation I’ve ever seen,” Tu Xiao’an remarked languidly, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Hearing this, Haitang stared blankly at Tu Xiao’an, her bewilderment deepening.

”If you’re scared, just close your eyes. It’ll be over quickly!”

After giving that last instruction, Tu Xiao’an’s expression hardened. He shot into the air with the force of a thunderbolt.

RUMBLE... RUMBLE... RUMBLE...!

Violent explosions rocked the sky above, as if the cosmos itself were collapsing. A Heaven Shocking Power stirred the sun, the moon, and the stars.

「Ten minutes later.」

Tu Xiao’an patted Haitang’s shoulder. ”Let’s head back.”

”Huh...?” Haitang was dumbstruck. She looked up at the sky. ’Where did my Celestial Tribulation go???’

Suddenly, she felt a subtle fluctuation in her soul, leaving her even more flabbergasted.

It seemed her twelve-stage Celestial Tribulation was... already over.

’But I didn’t do anything at all.’

...

「Inside a small villa in the Wencheng Safe Zone.」

In a pristine room, a large table was laden with all manner of delicacies and exotic foods. A breathtakingly beautiful young woman was seated at the table, devouring the feast.

Her eating posture was anything but ladylike; she practically wolfed down her food. Yet, with such a peerless, beautiful face, nothing she did could be considered unpleasant or odd.

On the contrary, her actions only gave her a refreshingly endearing cuteness.

Such was the vast difference between the beautiful and the plain; a beauty’s every action would be accepted, even admired.

And she wasn’t the only beautiful young woman in the room.

The other was just as breathtakingly beautiful, but she was completely engrossed in the television on the wall, showing no interest whatsoever in the exotic delicacies on the grand table.

”Xiaoqing, stop eating for a second. The Bai Town Snake King on the news, the one slaughtering Fierce Beasts in the fallen zones... was that really my Xiaoleng?”

This beautiful young woman was none other than Su Rushi, who had been evacuated from the Yaoling Mountain Range.

And the beautiful girl at the table, devouring food without a care for her image, was the one who had escorted her here: the Immortal Spirit Peacock Azure Owl.

This Peacock was so content she had no thoughts of returning home. Every day was a parade of delicious food. Wencheng might be under assault by Fierce Beasts and its people displaced, but it was as if none of that concerned her. She simply hid in the villa day after day, feasting like a queen.

”Xiaoqing, I’m talking to you! If you ignore me again, I won’t give you any more food,” Su Rushi said, pouting and feigning anger.

’This bird is infuriating. All she ever thinks about is eating.’

’The snake she’d found in the Purple Bamboo Forest had been just like this, and this Peacock was even more so. They were two peas in a pod.’

Azure Owl, who had taken the form of a beautiful young woman, mumbled with her mouth full, ”That’s my no-good master. I’d recognize him even if he were turned to ash.”

”But if Xiaoleng is here in Wencheng, why hasn’t he come looking for me? Does he still think of me as his master at all?” Su Rushi felt a sour knot in her stomach and pouted.

Hearing this, Azure Owl nearly choked on a mouthful of food. ”Are you kidding me? Someone like you wants to be the master of *my* master?”

”Hmph. I *am* his master.”

’It doesn’t matter what that exquisite little snake has become,’ Su Rushi thought. ’He’ll always be my pet snake.’

”Don’t you worry. My no-good master will definitely show up. I’m still here with you, aren’t I?”

These words only made Su Rushi angrier. ’What’s that supposed to mean? Is he only going to come because this Peacock Bird is here?’

”Xiaoleng has never been here before. Even if he wanted to come, how would he find this place?” Su Rushi asked, her voice full of insecurity.

Azure Owl finally managed to swallow the last of the food in her mouth. ”I already told you,” she said. ”I’m right here, aren’t I? As long as that no-good master of mine wants to find this place, he will.”

”We have a special connection, you see.” As she spoke, Azure Owl gave Su Rushi a mischievous wink.

The young woman was thoroughly vexed. She puffed out her cheeks, a strange, sour feeling welling up in her heart.

’This Peacock was much cuter before her Transformation. Now she’s not cute at all, and everything she says is just infuriating.’

Su Rushi’s lovely eyes darted around for a moment before she suddenly said, ”Xiaoqing, since you claim to have such a special connection with him, why don’t you take me to find Xiaoleng?”

”No way. I haven’t eaten enough yet.”

”You still haven’t had enough? You’re going to eat us out of house and home! You eat even more than Xiaoleng did. He only liked to eat fruit, but you’ll eat anything!” Su Rushi grumbled in frustration.

Far from being embarrassed, Azure Owl said righteously, ”Can you blame me? My no-good master is so cheap. He’s always mistreating me. Maybe I should just stick with you from now on.”

”How does he mistreat you?” Su Rushi asked.

Azure Owl adopted a pitiful expression as if recalling an unbearable past. ”He fed me rice,” she said woefully.

”Rice?” Su Rushi froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. Her laughter was as radiant as a flower in full bloom, her crystal-clear skin glowing with an ivory luster.

’Whether in her true Peacock form or this human one, I just can’t picture her eating plain rice.’

’Wow, I’d love to see what this arrogant Peacock looks like when she’s forced to eat rice.’