Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 201 – Yun Fan Crosses Tribulation

Snowfall City, Yun Family –

The front doors were tightly shut and all the array formations within the dwelling had been activated, as if they were facing imminent threat from a dire enemy. Yun Family cultivators hurried in, their serious complexions tinted with a hint of panic. It was obvious that this cultivator family, one that had a deep inheritance and long legacy, had encountered enormous troubles.

Within the main hall, the decision makers of the Yun Family and all Golden Core cultivators were present. The air was thick and heavy. Yun Fan sat in the seat of honor. He took a deep breath and slowly said, “I have decided that I will cross tribulation tomorrow to break through to the next realm!” As he spoke, the hall fell deathly silent. Everyone’s eyes began to shake.

“Father!” Yun Xueqing cried out in alarm. “You have not yet fully refined the spiritual object. It is too dangerous for you to cross tribulation!”

The Yun Family’s second master Yun Yi blustered, “Patriarch, crossing tribulation is a matter of life or death. You cannot be impulsive!”

“I ask Patriarch to reconsider!”

Yun Fan remained expressionless. “Enough. I have already decided on this; there is nothing else to say.” He waved his hand. “Xueqing, Yun Yu, you both stay behind.”

Everyone sighed. They bowed and started to leave.

Yun Xueqing’s eyes reddened. “Father…”

Without sufficient preparations, the chances of successfully crossing tribulation were horrifyingly low. And, what awaited those that failed was nothing but death.

Yun Fan lightly said. “I’m fine. Father doesn’t have much time left, so I have to be as brief as possible. Second Brother, if something were to happen to me, I ask you to find some way to bring Xueqing away. Moreover, the family juniors that we sent away, how are they doing?”

Yun Yu said in a low voice, “Big Brother, rest assured that I will guarantee Xueqing’s safety with my life. As for the juniors, luckily we made preparations long ago, so most of them have been sent away. Once disaster occurs to our Yun Family, they will go into hiding to ensure that our bloodline will not perish.”

Yun Xueqing was shocked. It was only then that she realized that many years ago, her father had already completed preparations in order for their family to resist any great calamity.

Yun Fan sat up. “Tonight, I will cross tribulation!”

Yun Xueqing’s eyes widened.

Yun Yi seemed to have already expected this. “Big Brother, are you worried that there are spies in the family?”

“If they can perfectly calculate how my Yun Family will respond and cut off all possible paths, then if I were to say that there wasn’t a spy, Second Brother, would you actually believe that?” The Yun Family Patriarch’s eyes turned cold. “Whatever the outcome tonight, you must find that person in the future!”

Yun Yi bowed deeply. “Yes, Patriarch!”

Yun Fan began to step outside.

Yun Xueqing yelled out, “Father!”

Yun Fan paused for a moment, but in the end he didn’t turn around.

That night, in the skies above Snowfall City, at some unknown time, a black cloud appeared. At first it didn’t draw much attention, but as more and more time passed the black cloud became increasingly large, and a faint trace of its aura began to fall down.

Thus, the complexions of every cultivator in the city changed. They fiercely looked upwards, shock deep in their eyes.

This…this was…heavenly tribulation!

In a restaurant, there was a young cultivator who was happily eating and hugging two women by his side. He suddenly overturned the table and roared out loud, “I’ve been tricked!”

Rumble rumble –

A brilliant bolt of lightning cut through the dark, an incomparably striking sight in the night. There was a low and deep sound, as if an ancient slumbering beast was slowly awakening, making one feel fear in their soul.

The heavenly tribulation had begun!

Within the Yun Family dwelling, in the inner courtyard, there were layers of guards and defenses. Yun Fan stood there, his eyes open and earnest. He indeed didn’t have the confidence to cross tribulation, but he had no other choice. If things went smoothly today then his Yun Family would be able to solve their current crisis. Otherwise, he feared that they would truly step beyond any form of salvation.

“All my ancestors above, please bless me with success. Please carry my Yun Family into the future, so that we may lead a life of unprecedented prosperity!” Yun Fan whispered to himself. He raised a finger and a lotus flower quietly appeared. It was the size of a palm and dark blue in color. It was translucent and emitted a faint halo of light.

An icy cold aura began to spread out, causing the surrounding temperature to immediately drop. This was the ice-attribute spiritual object that the Yun Family had obtained. In the end, the reason the Yun Family suffered disaster today was all because of this.

Bang –

The first bolt of heavenly tribulation fell. Thunder twisted from side to side, cutting through space like a blinding blade, cutting straight down atop his head.

The lotus flower cried. Layers of blue light began to spread outwards like waves of seawater. The thunder fell inside and immediately slowed down, as if caught in a swamp. But, it still approached, and the lotus flower trembled even more violently. Yun Fan spat out a mouthful of blood. After the lotus flower absorbed it, the light grew brighter, until it finally fully surrounded the heavenly tribulation. Then, ice began to spread outwards and the heavenly tribulation started to freeze. Crack, crack, slowly it shattered into countless pieces.

He had crossed the first strike of heavenly tribulation.

The ordinary members of the Yun Family all cried out in joy, as if they could see the hope of success in their eyes. But, the masters of the Yun Family could see their Patriarch’s distressed appearance. It was just the first strike of heavenly tribulation and yet he had been forced to use his blood essence. How could he possibly hope to cross the next two strikes?

Yun Xueqing clenched her fists, worry and panic written all over her face. She looked at her father in midair; she had long since lost count of how many times she had prayed. But, there was one thing she knew. As long as her father could come out from this safe and sound, she was willing to pay any price!

In the restaurant, after the young cultivator flipped over the table, all the women had been sent out. A massive number of his subordinates were now gathered around him and their complexions were all dark and gloomy. With their eyesight, they could clearly see that Yun Fan was hanging on by a thread. His chances of crossing tribulation were so low that they could almost be ignored.

They didn’t care if Yun Fan died or not, but what their master wanted, that ice-attribute lotus flower, would be destroyed along with him in that heavenly tribulation. This was something that was difficult to accept. As they thought about how their master’s anger would fall upon them, several of them had even gloomier complexions.

The young cultivator gnashed his teeth. “What a wonderful Yun Fan. He would rather die than hand over the ice-attribute spiritual object! Pass out orders! Starting tomorrow, I don’t want the Yun Family to exist in Snowfall City anymore!”

This was his first time handling things for his uncle so he wanted to do it beautifully and cleanly. But who knew that in a situation where he occupied the absolute advantage, he would actually be tricked in such a horrid way. Losing face was a small problem. If he disappointed his uncle and caused him to doubt his ability, then the consequences would be severe.

Damned Yun Family!

Above Snowfall City, within those black tribulation clouds, brilliant arcs of lightning gathered from all directions before falling down in the second strike of heavenly tribulation.

This was what a cultivator’s heavenly tribulation was like. Each strike would be stronger than the last. Success meant that their cultivation would drastically rise and their lifespan would increase. But defeat meant that their body would be reduced to ashes. The second strike of heavenly tribulation was clearly far more horrifying, and the terrifying pressure fell down upon Snowfall City, turning the hearts of all cultivators present cold.

Yun Fan roared out loud. Facing the heavenly tribulation, he no longer passively waited for it but chose to fight back. With a punch of his fists, the ice-attribute spiritual object flew into the skies. As this happened, the flower petals unfurled to reveal the stamen inside.

The tender and delicate stamen was pitch black in color. Faint traces of light circulated around it, like a mouth that was open. Then, the second strike of heavenly tribulation was swallowed up by the lotus flower!

This was beyond everyone’s expectations. After a short silence, the entire Yun Family exploded with cheers that reached the heavens. Even the Yun Family masters couldn’t help but reveal happy smiles after a moment of dazed surprise. It seemed that their Patriarch had already made additional preparations. It was no wonder he dared to do something as outrageous as crossing tribulation right now.

Now, two heavenly tribulations had been crossed. Although the third and strongest thunder tribulation had yet to arrive, Yun Fan had already blocked two, so who could say he couldn’t block three? Once he succeeded, Yun Fan would ascend to the Nascent Soul realm. At that time, not only would the Yun Family’s crisis be easily solved, but the entire Yun Family would reach a state of unprecedented strength.

Yun Xueqing’s expression was full of awe and devotion, and a smile lit up her face. But at this time, she could see her father’s body shake. His face flushed red and he spat out mouthfuls of blood.

Atop his head, the lotus flower that swallowed the heavenly tribulation suddenly shattered. Flower petals sprinkled down to the earth. The ice-attribute spiritual object had been utterly destroyed.

The cheers came to a halting stop!

The entire Yun Family fell into a deathly silence.

The ice-attribute spiritual object was Yun Fan’s greatest advantage, but now it had been destroyed. Yun Fan himself was seriously injured, so how could he resist the third strike of tribulation thunder? The atmosphere filled with despair, spreading out like a viral sickness. Some people with weaker mindsets began to weep in sorrow, as if they could already imagine what would happen to the Yun Family.

Yun Xueqing’s eyes filled with anguish. After going from great joy to great sadness, the sudden change caused her to slump to the floor.

Only a single thought remained in her mind. Her father…her father was going to die…

Although he had always been indifferent to her, she knew that her father was the person who loved her most in the world. From the moment she was born, he had carefully protected her and didn’t let her suffer any injustice.

But now, this man who had always protected her was about to leave.

And there was nothing she could do.

She wiped the tears from her eyes. Her mind drowned in hopelessness, but somewhere deep in her heart, she subconsciously recalled a figure.

In the past when she was in a mountain valley, she had crossed her Golden Core heavenly tribulation. It was a similar situation to how her father was now. It was him who had helped block that heavenly tribulation, allowing her to survive and reach her current cultivation.

Today, could he also rescue her father?

As soon as Yun Xueqing thought of this, more misery filled her. Not to mention the fact that Qin Yu wasn’t even here, but even if he was, what could he do? This was Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation. Compared with breaking into the Golden Core realm, Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation was dozens and hundreds of times more terrifying!

Who could stop it?

Who would dare to stop it?

The tribulation cloud roared. Blinding thunder lit up the world.

The third strike was about to descend!

It was so dazzling and horrifying that it drew all eyes. Because of this, no one discovered the beam of blood red light that suddenly appeared outside Snowfall City.

Without any hesitation, that blood red beam of light was like a blazing meteor that broke into the skies and rushed into the tribulation cloud.

Then, some people finally took notice of it.

Within Snowfall City, a cultivator suddenly spoke up. “What was that just now? Am I seeing things?”

He turned around and also saw the shocked expressions of those around him.

Whoosh –

Cries of alarm spread out like a tide, quickly reaching every corner of Snowfall City. The first thought that people had was – ‘just who was this cultivator and why did he want to commit suicide in such a loud manner!’

Although the blood red beam of light was quick, one could still recognize a figure within. If they were directly rushing into the tribulation cloud, if it wasn’t suicide then what was it?

What a pity – this person was actually quite fast.

Only a single person, frozen stiff, with eyes subconsciously widened, revealed stark disbelief. Yun Xueqing thought that within that blood red beam of light, that figure which appeared for a flickering instant was actually somewhat familiar. But that was impossible. Why would he appear here, and at such a coincidental time? Moreover, with his personality, there was no way he would do something ridiculous like this. It was no different from suicide!

The moment of shock soon vanished. The majority of people looked back towards the heavenly tribulation.

Bang –

The third strike of heavenly tribulation fell!

It was like an axe splitting open the heavens and skies, cutting across time and space, turning all of existence into powder wherever it went!

Yun Fan was deathly pale and despair rose in his eyes. He was someone who possessed great willpower and drive, but with things having come this far, he couldn’t see a single ray of hope.

In the next moment, he would disintegrate into ashes.

Could it be that choosing to cross tribulation was wrong?

“Father!” Yun Xueqing shouted out in pained sorrow.

But in the next moment, her red eyes widened, as if she saw something utterly unbelievable.

The entirety of Snowfall City fell deathly silent!