Chapter 41 Her Tribulation
Chapter 41: Her Tribulation
In Luo Hongyu’s heart, only two things had ever really mattered.
First was the sword.
This was perhaps the only thing she could truly say she liked. She enjoyed feeling that subtle connection between the sword and herself.
This was her Sword Heart Clarity cultivated through practice, and also her greatest talent.
It could also be said to be the path she walked.
Second was her identity as the Sword Sect Young Mistress.
Her father’s condition was precarious, and she happened to demonstrate the ability to shoulder important responsibilities.
Naturally, this burden fell on her shoulders, but she didn’t mind.
She indeed felt she had this obligation.
Beyond these things, little else could leave an impression in her heart… at least that was true before that dream.
Now, perhaps there was one more thing to add.
What exactly was the relationship between Luohe and herself.
After sorting through these thoughts, Luo Hongyu asked herself honestly if she considered herself a person who lived with clarity.
She had no intention of seeking the path to immortality, nor did she crave the peak of power.
She only wished to travel the world with her sword, remain unblemished, and live freely without constraints.
But the sudden tribulation now was about to shatter all of this.
The reason tribulations are called tribulations is because they represent an irresistible force.
They mercilessly ignore emotions, obsessions, wishes—reducing everything to dust with equal treatment.
They represent the will of a world different from what humans observe, making the coldest mockery of all human activities.
This was the situation Luo Hongyu now faced.
Everything she had just been thinking about in her heart…
Was being torn apart and ridiculed by the lightning tribulation before her.
Above the churning sky, it could no longer be called thunder clouds.
It was a sea of lightning.
As if the sky and sea had been inverted, the dark clouds were like surging waters, with thunder as the roaring waves.
The lightning bolts hidden within formed lines and surfaces like a tsunami.
Bringing wind and rain, rolling forward.
Boom!
Lightning spears pierced the earth!
The crowd outside the Ascension Platform saw only a blinding white flash.
Afterward, at the focal point of heaven and earth, a huge deep pit appeared, deeply penetrated.
On the platform, Luo Hongyu had barely dodged this strike.
Now, her thoughts were empty, with instinct taking over her thinking.
If that lightning bolt had struck her just now, she was certain she would have been severely injured at the very least.
This level of lightning strike—she couldn’t withstand it twice.
Luo Hongyu immediately recognized this clearly.
If she could keep dodging, then no matter how powerful it was, it wouldn’t be a problem.
But as mentioned before, this wasn’t thunder clouds; it was a sea of lightning.
One lightning bolt fell.
Two lightning bolts fell.
Ten, a hundred, a thousand…
Lightning bolts were no longer individual points but formed a surface.
It was like a sea breaking through its banks, sweeping away everything in an apocalyptic scene.
It was trampling, bombarding—almost everyone present had already scattered and fled.
After that overwhelming sea of lightning, heaven and earth welcomed a brief quiet.
The Ascension Platform, once pointed out by the immortals, was now unrecognizable, destroyed beyond repair.
Not a suitable foothold could be found in the entire area.
In the crater that resembled a planetary collision, Luo Hongyu knelt in the center.
She was like a prisoner chained down, sitting there helplessly and desperately.
She had tried every way to dodge, but the previous lightning storm had saturated every place she could hide.
She had inevitably been struck once.
Now her body was covered in blood, the wound on her back charred black with signs of decay.
Lightning marks covered her entire back, like a hideous, distorted painting in blood.
Just one lightning strike had left her gasping for breath, and thousands had just fallen.
This gave no chance for survival.
Luo Hongyu barely opened her blood-covered eyes to look at the sky.
Above, the figure she had seen earlier seemed to be among the clouds.
“What did I do?”
She weakly murmured.
The answer came in the form of a lightning bolt.
Hiss…
Luo Hongyu raised the Lulan Sword and cut through this lightning bolt.
But afterward, the lightning seemed to mock her.
Each strike landed on the Lulan Sword.
Weak sword light raised a countercurrent vortex, struggling desperately against the unstoppable tide.
Without exaggeration, this was already the limit of human capability.
But…
Ding.
After cutting through countless lightning bolts, Luo Hongyu stared blankly at the broken Lulan Sword in her hand.
She could still swing her sword, but the sword could no longer keep up with her.
She understood this was the answer to her earlier question.
It meant that what she had done, what her fault was, why she suffered all this—none of it mattered.
It wanted her dead, regardless of her.
With the symbiotic Lulan Sword broken, Luo Hongyu herself also suffered tremendous damage.
Blood now burst from her seven apertures, and her vision gradually blurred with red.
She had now lost all strength to resist.
Unless something unexpected happened, death would soon follow.
Luo Hongyu slumped against the crater wall, each breath bringing forth blood.
She was surprised to find herself feeling regret.
She suddenly realized she wasn’t as accepting as she had imagined of the fate where one lives by the sword and dies with its breaking. She felt somewhat unwilling.
Just like that other girl in her memory who liked to eat grapes, learned to plant flowers, and would go see temple fairs down the mountain.
She still had attachments to this world.
Even if her sword was broken, she wanted to continue living.
But wasn’t it too late to realize this now?
The cord at her waist had long broken, and she held that red jade in her hand.
Luo Hongyu stared at it blankly, while above, the final lightning bolt began to gather.
Words unsaid, truths unclarified, wishes unfulfilled, promises unkept…
All of this would vanish with the lightning…
“…”
The expected end did not come.
Luo Hongyu felt a familiar presence appear before her.
Fluttering black robes, mask strings hidden among black hair.
It was someone who had always stood behind her before.
She had been looking for him these past few days but couldn’t find him.
In the most unlikely scenario, he had come to her.
Luo Hongyu’s gaze wavered.
What was he doing here? Coming to die with her?
Intruding on another’s tribulation was not something one could easily escape from.
Why was he doing this? Did he have some assurance, or was there some other reason…
Luo Hongyu couldn’t understand, couldn’t figure it out. Her thoughts, already a tangled mess, became even more chaotic with Luohe’s sudden appearance.
What exactly was he to her? Who exactly was he to her?
If it was as she suspected, that they shared some blood relation…
She wasn’t even a qualified family member—how could Luo Hongyu deserve such sacrifice from him!
“Luohe…”
The desire for answers temporarily surpassed the fear of death.
Luo Hongyu barely supported herself against the wall trying to stand up, but unexpectedly, Luohe only gently pressed her back down.
Then, a jade flute appeared in Luohe’s hand and slowly descended to Luo Hongyu’s heart.
Cool energy formed a shell, surrounding and protecting her, but also restricting her.
“What are you doing! This is my tribulation!”
“…”
Luohe, just as he had for the past eighteen years, only silently looked at her.
This is indeed your tribulation.
And you are my tribulation.
Today, it’s time to settle things.
Luo Hongyu beat against the shell formed by the willow flute. Being stared at by Luohe this way, she couldn’t help but feel a hint of panic rising in her heart.
She was afraid—perhaps more afraid of living in confusion and ignorance than of death.
“Luohe, what are you doing… cough cough… you…”
What are you to me? Before the question could leave her lips, what faced her was dazzling lightning.
…