Lu Xingzhou easily associated this description with Pei Chuyun’s background, especially with the phrase “can obtain benefits from her husband’s family,” which made the feeling even more pronounced.

Mother seizing daughter’s home… What if Pei Chuyun’s mother hadn’t truly died, but it was just a pretense, and her mother was Xuan Nü herself?

Wouldn’t some details of her background mystery make more sense then?

Of course, this wasn’t necessarily concrete evidence. Even the people of Tianyao Sacred Land believed that Xuan Nü might not dare to use that tactic again, so the probability was quite low. But even if Pei Chuyun wasn’t the second type, could she be the first?

Since Xuan Nü’s character was recorded even by outsiders in Tianyao Sacred Land, did the Chanü Hehuan Sect themselves know about it? If Pei Chuyun knew but didn’t take it seriously, there must be another reason for her to believe she was unrelated to it, which would be fine.

But what if she didn’t know?

Although Pei Xiaomao was clever, she sorely lacked experience. If the sect deliberately concealed things, she might genuinely not understand many matters.

Lu Xingzhou’s mind was restless. He no longer had the mood to continue sifting through the materials. He quickly stood up and found the steward: “I want to send a letter to the Pei Manor in Jing Shi. Can you arrange for express delivery?”

The steward was very polite: “No problem. The Sect Master instructed us to cooperate with Gongzi. This small matter will certainly be handled.”

Lu Xingzhou quickly wrote the letter, sealed it, and entrusted it to the steward: “It must be personally delivered to Miss Pei Chuyun. No one else, including Prime Minister Pei and the Heir Apparent, can receive it.”

The steward acknowledged the order and left.

Lu Xingzhou sat for a moment, still feeling uneasy. He couldn’t do anything more than give a warning. He hoped Pei Chuyun would be alerted by the reminder. With her abilities, as long as she was prepared, being seized wouldn’t be so easy.

Distracted by this matter, he turned to look at the mountain of materials piled up so high that A’ Nuo’s tiny body was completely obscured… Lu Xingzhou felt a little deflated and was somewhat reluctant to search. He simply pulled out *Yanyuan Canyang* to read.

Ancient people still gave names poetically. “Yan Yu Can Yang” (Misty Rain Fading Sun) being changed to “Yan Yuan Can Yang” (Flaming Prison Fading Sun) completely reversed the flavor, strongly highlighting ferocity and death. But its roots still seemed to retain the artistic beauty of misty rain and slanted sun, resulting in very elegant stances that erupted with terrifying destruction amidst their grace and etherealness.

This perfectly matched Lu Xingzhou’s aesthetics, and he liked it more the more he read it.

This technique completely filled the void in Lu Xingzhou’s flame combat style, moving beyond the previous template of relying entirely on fire bones for passive flame attachment. It also integrated the Po Mie Jin Huo to create powerful bursts, making it extremely potent. It utilized his own characteristics, not relying on the so-called “external circulation of heaven and earth spiritual energy,” which made its nature very similar to martial cultivation.

A demonic warrior?

Quite close.

Relying solely on the few core techniques of the Yin-Yang Ji Yi Gong obviously meant too few unique skills and fewer abilities for daily use. Although *Yanyuan Canyang* was overly fierce and its grade was inferior to Yin-Yang Ji Yi, it was an excellent supplement for daily combat.

As Lu Xingzhou read, he unconsciously entered introspective cultivation.

Libraries… places like scripture repositories have always been one of the most spiritually rich locations within a sect, because throughout history, many people would achieve enlightenment and breakthroughs while reading and cultivating there. The sect had to consider this and provide the best spiritual environment.

Lu Xingzhou falling into introspective cultivation while reading was entirely normal in the eyes of the observing handyman disciples, but they also felt some envy.

This was clearly a sign of excellent talent; not everyone could achieve enlightenment just by reading. Many people were spoon-fed by their masters yet remained completely bewildered.

“Who exactly is this person, to have such talent?”

“I don’t know, but the Sect Master personally brought him. They didn’t say who he was.”

“I heard it’s the disciple of Shimei.”

“Shimei? Which one? Does the Sect Master have a Shimei?”

“There’s a forbidden name, not allowed to be mentioned. It’s said there was such a person. My Shibo Zu vaguely mentioned… it seems she failed in the succession struggle with the Sect Master back then and later established her own sect?”

“The Sect Master is so magnanimous. Failed in the struggle, established her own sect, how is that different from a traitor? Yet the Sect Master still guides her disciple.”

“That is, after all, an enmity of the previous generation, unrelated to the next. I see this person has excellent talent; perhaps they will return to the sect one day.”

“Excellent talent, that’s not necessarily true. There are many who enter a meditative state while reading; relying solely on that is too…”

Before the words finished, the speaker’s voice caught in his throat.

Everyone looked at Lu Xingzhou’s direction in horror, momentarily at a loss.

A’ Nuo blinked, watching her master’s aura grow vigorously and surge powerfully, as if a barrier was torn open with a “kacha.” The two forces of Yin and Yang spiraled upwards, rushing straight to his Tianling, breaking open the Mingtang.

The Lingtai opened, connecting with heaven and earth.

There seemed to be a formless small figure leaping at his glabella, and a Taiji Danqi seemed to rotate in his abdomen.

Taking the body as a furnace, qi forms the dan.

This was the hallmark node of the Inner Dan Great Dao, the ancient so-called Teng Yun realm, where life connects to the cosmos and nature awakens the Yin Shen.

“Boom!”

Dark clouds inexplicably gathered in the originally clear and refreshing high sky, as if thunder and lightning were condensing above.

“Minor Heavenly Tribulation, Third Grade!” The person who had previously said “excellent talent, that’s not necessarily true” completely lost his voice, staring dumbfounded at the sky.

If there were many people who entered meditation while reading, could you find someone who suddenly broke through the Teng Yun barrier while reading?

That wasn’t a small hurdle; it was the Teng Yun barrier that determined whether one’s cultivation truly entered the inner chambers, a barrier that even the Heavenly Dao would send tribulations to test! In a broader sense, being able to fly and remain youthful could be considered an immortal… This barrier was a very typical, broad sense divide between immortals and mortals.

“No…” Someone finally reacted: “He’s undergoing tribulation! What about the Scripture Repository? Where’s Steward Wang, where did he go…?”

“He seemed to be delivering a letter just now.”

“What do we do then? With one lightning strike, our Scripture Repository will turn to ashes! Grand-Uncle Feng, Grand-Uncle Feng, stop reading, come help!”

The old man on the upper floor of the cultivation classics building smiled slightly, not responding.

What did these disciples know? The Scripture Repository, being such an important place, had the highest-grade array formations and restrictions. Let alone a minor Teng Yun Dan tribulation, even a major Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation probably wouldn’t be able to destroy the Scripture Repository.

Moreover, while the major Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation was unknown, the Teng Yun Tribulation generally couldn’t be blocked by others. This meant that even if you hid within heavily guarded array formations and restrictions, the lightning tribulation would still bypass all protections and strike your head.

Whether you could withstand it depended solely on yourself.

“Someone is undergoing tribulation?” Ye Tinglan and the elders, who were in a meeting, couldn’t continue either. They looked in astonishment at the direction where the tribulation clouds were condensing: “That’s… the Scripture Repository? Which disciple is undergoing tribulation?”

Ye Tinglan’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stood up: “This venerable one will go see.”

“Let’s go together, let’s go together. What if it’s a young new talent? Wouldn’t there be more choices for this grand competition?”

“Dream on, it’s probably an old familiar face in his forties or fifties…”

The high-ranking officials ascended on clouds and watched from above. They also saw a group of young disciples rushing over.

Someone undergoing tribulation, and not in their own cave dwelling but in public, naturally easily attracted others to watch.

“Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Sister Xiao, you’ve come too?” The handyman disciples were overjoyed to see people arriving: “Quick, what do we do about this person undergoing tribulation here?”

Zhang Qingxiang, the disciple whom the elders had just said was stronger than Dugu Qingli, said indifferently: “There’s nothing to do. The Scripture Repository cannot be destroyed by this kind of tribulation cloud. Everyone, step back and watch safely. Hmm, you’ve been here all along, do you know who it is?”

“It’s an outsider brought by the Sect Master. It’s said to be the disciple of the Sect Master’s Shimei, so there’s a connection.”

“Just an outsider? Hmph…”

“Senior Brother Zhang, do you think this person can withstand the heavenly tribulation?”

Zhang Qingxiang said indifferently: “In any case, this person also has ties to the Sacred Land. An ordinary tribulation shouldn’t be a problem. When has our Sacred Land ever had a precedent of failing a tribulation?”

These words sounded very dismissive of the “outsider” undergoing tribulation. If he passed, it was because the Sacred Land had no failed precedents. If he didn’t, then he was truly trash.

“Boom!” A thunderbolt, thick as a child’s arm, struck straight down, as if the Scripture Repository didn’t exist at all. It plunged directly inside and struck Lu Xingzhou’s head.

Ye Tinglan knew the young man wouldn’t have problems, but she still couldn’t help but feel a pang in her heart.

This tribulation was no ordinary one. It was a dual tribulation within a single one, with lightning and fire merged into one bolt, bringing both scorching and destruction. Was this the result of Lu Xingzhou integrating the Po Mie Jin Huo?

“Senior Brother Zhang, this person’s tribulation lightning seems thicker than yours back then, and how can there be dark red within this purplish-blue lightning? It looks terrifyingly powerful.”

Zhang Qingxiang’s cheek twitched: “It’s just appearance; what do you know?”

Not far away, a girl in white clothes and white hair stood silently by the mountain, coldly saying: “Ignorance.”

Zhang Qingxiang glanced at her, gritting his teeth: “Maybe this person can’t withstand it at all.”

Dugu Qingli’s gaze fell upon the main hall. Lu Xingzhou sat cross-legged, slightly raising his head to watch the thunderbolt strike, then lowering his eyes, as if the tribulation lightning didn’t exist at all.

Amidst the disciples’ horrified exclamations, the terrifying tribulation lightning struck Lu Xingzhou’s head. The electric currents coursed through his body, then disappeared into the ground.

Lu Xingzhou even showed a comfortable expression on his face, as if the lightning had merely given him a full-body massage.

Everyone was dumbfounded, utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend how this had happened.

Ye Tinglan showed a trace of a smile. Of course, she knew Lu Xingzhou had used Tai Xu Lun Zhuan to forcibly endure it, then transferred all the power into the ground. But he didn’t need to use this method at all; it was purely for showing off.

“Senior Brother Zhang, he withstood it! Uh, no, does this count as withstanding?” The disciples asked one after another: “Does this count as passing? Is it that simple?”

Zhang Qingxiang snorted: “With such a heavy lightning tribulation, there shouldn’t be a second tribulation… a…”

“Boom!” As if providing a soundtrack for him, violent flames surged from beneath the ground. In the blink of an eye, the entire Scripture Repository was engulfed in a sea of fire.

The blazing flames actually formed the shape of an unfolding lotus.

Zhang Qingxiang’s mouth hung open.

This time, he didn’t need to say anything; many people recognized it: “Honglian Yuhuo Jie (Red Lotus Purgatory Fire Tribulation)!”

Among fire tribulations, this was absolutely the most brutal category, making many elders tremble with fear.

Because if it had been when they were in the Third Grade, they would likely not have been able to withstand this tribulation!

Lu Xingzhou opened his eyes in the sea of fire, and flames seemed to flicker within them.

That instant, the scene was like a demon god or a Buddha smiling within a lotus seat.