"This is not the Hengtian Secret Realm."
At this moment, by the river in the valley, a female cultivator was washing gauze.
She seemed completely unaware of the arrival of Chu Lingwei and the others, her face adorned with a happy smile.
"This is an illusion," the Phantom Cat transmitted telepathically.
As long as it was an illusion, there had to be a formation core. Chu Lingwei nodded to the Phantom Cat, asking it to search for the core.
Approaching the woman, she was a female cultivator in the Rongtian realm.
"Fellow Daoist?" Chu Lingwei had searched for a long time without finding the formation core. Now, the only person present was the female cultivator washing gauze by the river.
The female cultivator, hearing Chu Lingwei's voice, was startled and turned her head, "When did you appear here? How did I not notice?"
"Fellow Daoist, forgive me for the intrusion. I stumbled in here by accident. Please do not blame me," Chu Lingwei stepped forward and bowed to the female cultivator.
Seeing that Chu Lingwei did not seem like a bad person, the female cultivator smiled slightly and stood up, "We are both cultivators, so it is understandable that I did not notice you."
"Fellow Daoist, could you tell me how to leave here?" Chu Lingwei sighed softly, "I have been unable to find a way to leave and thus disturbed you so rashly."
A flicker of confusion flashed in the female cultivator's eyes, and she looked at Chu Lingwei, perplexed, "Unable to leave here?"
"Yes, I wish to leave this valley, but I cannot find an exit," a hidden glint appeared in Chu Lingwei's eyes. The female cultivator before her might be the formation core to escape.
"You wish to leave this valley?" The female cultivator suddenly understood and chuckled sheepishly, "I am truly sorry, my husband placed a barrier here. Those who enter can simply not leave."
The Phantom Cat and Feng Ming heard this and quickly gathered by Chu Lingwei's side, warily observing the female cultivator.
"Is there truly no way?"
"If you really want to leave, why not wait for my husband to return?" A hint of shyness appeared on the female cultivator's face, "My husband went out hunting and will return in three days."
"In that case, I will wait here," Chu Lingwei nodded and found a spot to sit down casually.
A struggle flickered in the female cultivator's eyes. If her husband had not set up a barrier here, the cultivator before her would not be trapped.
"Fellow Daoist, why don't you wait at our home?" the female cultivator invited.
"This..." Chu Lingwei was unsure if the person before her was a formation core or a mere remnant soul.
"Weiwei, this person is very strange. We should not go with her," Feng Ming stood in front of Chu Lingwei, glaring at the female cultivator.
"It's so cute." The female cultivator saw Feng Ming and, instead of being scared, chuckled. She crouched down, "Are you worried I might harm your master?"
Chu Lingwei stepped forward, grabbed Feng Ming by the neck, and held her in her arms, "Please excuse her, Fellow Daoist. She is just mischievous."
"Not at all, she is very cute. I once had a spirit beast just like her, but she never returned after she left." Sadness tinged the female cultivator's eyes, "I truly hope she can come back soon."
"May I ask your esteemed surname, Fellow Daoist?"
Chu Lingwei walked towards her home with the female cultivator.
"My name is Su Qing," Su Qing smiled and pointed to a bamboo house in the distance, "That is my home."
Hearing Su Qing's name, Chu Lingwei's heart trembled. Su Qing, wasn't that Suo Ya's companion? Why was there another Su Qing here?
Which of them was the real Su Qing?
Su Qing arranged for Chu Lingwei to stay in the innermost room, "Fellow Daoist Chu, this place is simple. I hope you will not stand on ceremony."
"Not at all, I am already very happy to have a place to stay," Chu Lingwei entered the bamboo house, and a rich spiritual energy washed over her. There was actually a spirit gathering formation inside the bamboo house.
"Then I will not disturb you, Fellow Daoist Chu. If you need anything, you can call me," Su Qing left, carrying her clothes.
"Weiwei, do we really have to wait here for three days?" Feng Ming jumped onto the windowsill. Everything here was so real, it didn't seem like an illusion formation at all. "Is it possible that where we are now is real?"
"No possibility."
Chu Lingwei gestured for them to look outside. The sky, which had been bright and sunny moments ago, was slowly darkening. The valley, which had been vast, was now slowly shrinking.
A real place could absolutely not be like this.
The Phantom Cat's eyes widened as it stared at the sky, immediately casting a barrier for them.
At the same time, a heavenly lightning bolt struck above the bamboo house they were in. The bamboo house, under the impact of the lightning, collapsed with a roar.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, are you alright?" At this moment, Su Qing's voice came from nearby. She was seen flying into the sky, dressed in red, holding a spiritual sword. The gentleness she had shown earlier was gone, replaced by ferocity in her eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Su, what is happening?" Chu Lingwei flew up. Was she about to break through?
"Fellow Daoist Chu, I didn't expect to break through so soon. Please leave quickly," Su Qing's eyes were resolute, "This lightning tribulation is terrifying, and I might not be able to withstand it."
Chu Lingwei: "..."
"Fellow Daoist Chu, can I ask you to do something for me?" Su Qing's firm gaze held a trace of reluctance.
"Please tell me."
"In three days, my husband will return. If I do not break through, please inform him and tell him not to be sad."
Su Qing's eyes slowly cleared, and she smiled sadly, "It is coming."
"Fellow Daoist Su, rest assured, I will not forget your request," Chu Lingwei finished speaking and flew to the Phantom Cat's side, watching Su Qing withstand the lightning tribulation.
"Catty, under what circumstances would a lightning tribulation be inconsistent with one's own cultivation?"
A cultivator ascending to the Dominator realm would encounter countless lightning tribulations, each tailored to their cultivation level.
Just as Chu Lingwei was to ascend from the Spirit Wheel realm to the Rongtian realm, the lightning tribulations she would face would not be those of the Supreme realm. If the lightning tribulations she encountered last time had been as powerful as those of the Supreme realm, she would likely have been reduced to ashes.
The lightning tribulation Su Qing was facing now was so powerful that a single bolt reduced her to dust, leaving no trace of her soul.
"I don't know either. In my inheritance, I have never encountered such a lightning tribulation," the Phantom Cat was also dumbfounded, watching Su Qing instantly turn into dust.
A single lightning tribulation reducing a Rongtian realm cultivator to dust was too terrifying.
"I know, there is only one possibility, and that is that this cultivator has done something that is not tolerated by the spiritual cultivation world," Feng Ming said to Chu Lingwei. She seemed to have heard something like this before.
Chu Lingwei looked at Feng Ming. This was the only plausible explanation.
"Let's go inside and rest." Su Qing was instantly annihilated by the lightning tribulation. However, they were currently in an illusion. Perhaps tomorrow, Su Qing would reappear.
Indeed.
The next day, Su Qing knocked on the door.