After chasing away the people from the Dae Qu sect, Gu Chen returned to watching Feng Shuran overcome the lightning tribulation.
Currently, there were six Shurans under the lightning tribulation; it was impossible to tell which one was the real Feng Shuran from this distance.
Gu Chen recalled seeing the Five True Shadows Art earlier when checking Feng Shuran’s techniques; that must be how the other five came to be.
Each of the Shurans held two talismans in both hands and sent tall crimson flame pillars at the massive lightning dragon that had appeared.
The 8th tribulation lightning was simply too overbearing, and Gu Chen was already feeling suffocated; he had to silently give the woman more distance.
The ground all around Feng Shuran had been scorched, and several new craters could be found.
"Haa!"
Under the lightning dragon, the six Feng Shurans shouted in unison as qi from the surroundings rushed towards them. The strength of their flame pillars instantly doubled, becoming several times bigger as they attacked the lightning dragon together.
Roar!
As if enraged by Shuran’s attempt, the lightning dragon let out a roar that sounded more like a thunderclap as it pressed down even more, pushing its gigantic head against the six crimson pillars.
Space trembled, wind caught flames, and the air cracked with lightning as the lightning dragon and the six flame pillars continued to clash.
Under their collision, the six Feng Shurans had serious expressions. Beads of sweat could be seen on their faces as their crimson eyes looked at the lightning dragon with focus.
Her qi was draining quickly; she wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop the next tribulation strike if this lightning dragon stayed for another ten seconds.
Boom!
Luckily for her, the lightning dragon exploded at the moment she had that thought. A wave of numbing wind burst in all directions and even knocked the six Feng Shurans backwards.
The flame pillars disappeared after they were knocked back. Five of the Feng Shurans turned into shadows that jumped into the body of the sixth one; turns out she was the real Feng Shuran.
Spit!
After the lightning dragon disappeared, Feng Shuran knelt on one knee with her right hand clutching her chest as she spat out some blood. That numbing shockwave had caused her some damage, but it was still manageable.
Taking a few deep breaths, Feng Shuran slowly stood up. A small jade bottle appeared in her left hand from which she took out a small yellow pill and put it into her mouth.
Immediately she did that, a wave of qi rushed into her body, and she instantly felt refreshed.
It was a qi-replenishing pill. Although it didn’t restore her to full strength, it should be enough to face the next lightning strike, which was the last.
Shuran looked at the sky; the vortex was churning already, but there was something else.
It was...changing!
The lightning arcs flashing within the vortex were no longer white; they were now red!
Feng Shuran didn’t know if this was supposed to happen and looked in Gu Chen’s direction, only to see that he was further away than before.
’Did the Shockwave just now knock me back by that much?’ Feng Shuran thought in surprise, thinking the distance was due to when she was pushed back earlier.
Taking a deep breath, she returned her attention to the vortex as her silver threads appeared around her fingers once again. It was her strongest weapon as well as her strongest defence.
Since she couldn’t ask Senior anything, she would go all out for this last strike!
In the distance, Gu Chen looked at the changing vortex without a change in expression. He felt it was natural for someone with Feng Shuran’s talent to encounter a mutated lightning tribulation.
"With the presence of a mutated lightning tribulation, the benefits she’ll receive will be several times more than that of a normal lightning tribulation." Gu Chen said quietly as he continued to watch.
Under the changing vortex, Feng Shuran made her threads take the form of a silver circle once again while monitoring the vortex in the sky.
Rumble!
The sky exploded with lightning as the 9th strike shot down. A single bolt of red lightning fell from the sky like the wrath of the heavens, its brilliance illuminating the world for a moment.
Upon seeing the red lightning, Feng Shuran didn’t hesitate and sent the silver circle to intercept it.
BAM!
Both attacks collided, and a deafening blast rang out.
"Argh!"
Feng Shuran’s voice sounded through the air as she was sent flying from the blast. It happened instantly; there was no long power struggle like the previous lightning strikes.
The place where Feng Shuran was standing before had turned into a massive smoking pit that was tens of meters wide after the lightning struck the ground.
Luckily, Feng Shuran was sent flying by the Shockwave from her threads colliding with the lightning, so she wasn’t too injured.
Some distance away from the huge pit, Shuran slowly stood up while groaning in pain. She felt a sweet taste rising up her throat before she could even act.
Spit!
She coughed up a mouthful of blood, painting her clothes and the ground in bright red.
Forcing herself to calm down, Feng Shuran noticed that her clothes were in ruins and a few important parts of her body could be seen. Her silver threads were also lying on the ground some meters away from her.
However, those were not important right now. What she was most concerned about was the changes going on in her dantian.
At the moment, her gold core had fully transformed into a Nascent Soul. The Nascent Soul looked just like her and was currently floating in a meditative position within her dantian while madly absorbing the qi around it.
Now that the last lightning tribulation strike had been blocked, an overwhelming wave of qi poured out from the vortex like waves and went towards Feng Shuran, waiting to be absorbed by her.
This was the benefit of surviving a mutated lightning.
Without needing to be told, Feng Shuran immediately sat straight with her legs folded and started absorbing the qi around her like a thirsty horse that finally found water.
"It’s finally over," Gu Chen let out a deep sigh of relief as he slowly stopped hugging the side of the mountain.
That last strike had almost sent him flying; had he not been close enough to grab this edge of the mountain, he hoped Feng Shuran didn’t notice him during that time; it would be embarrassing.
Straightening his robe, Gu Chen looked at where Feng Shuran was undergoing the tribulation previously but only found a gigantic pit instead.
"She isn’t dead, is she?" He thought, slightly worried. He didn’t want to lose his first villainess so soon.
Gu Chen rushed towards the edge of the pit, wanting to see if Feng Shuran was inside. Before he could reach it, his eyes caught something far on the other side of the pit.
It was Feng Shuran in a meditative position, strong wind blowing around her; Gu Chen could even hear the howling from here.
"She’s fine, good." He said, feeling relieved and started walking towards her.
As he got closer, Gu Chen started feeling that something was odd about Feng Shuran’s appearance. The wind around her was making her clothes fly around, so he couldn’t quite say; only when he got close enough did he realise it.
Feng Shuran’s clothes had ripped in several places, and one of those tears exposed her chest. Her fair breasts were currently hanging out in the open, and her button-sized nipples seemed to be glaring at him!
While this wasn’t his first time seeing a woman’s breast, Gu Chen felt it was inappropriate since Feng Shuran wasn’t aware of this and she was sort of like his employee.
He let out a few coughs and looked away; he would wait until she woke up.
Five hours passed in the blink of an eye. Gu Chen was currently sitting in the same position as Feng Shuran, with his back facing her, just that no qi was flowing towards him.
He had gotten tired just minutes after standing and decided to sit while waiting for Feng Shuran to wake up.
"Master,"
A soft voice called out from behind him; it was Feng Shuran!
"You’re awake," Gu Chen answered. He stood up and slowly turned around.
"Yes, Master. I managed to reach the 4th stage of the Nascent Soul Realm." Feng Shuran reported. Her words were calm, but the excitement in her voice could barely be hidden.
"Mm, very good." Gu Chen nodded as he finally turned to face her, only to be greeted by a tempting sight.
Now that Feng Shuran’s clothes weren’t flying in the air and occasionally covering the rips, her breasts were now exposed in their full glory, down to her cute belly button. The flawless skin of her stomach wasn’t something one saw every day.
Gu Chen "..."