Chapter 57: Deceiving the Earth Qilin

“Multiple tribulations overlapping…”

In the heart of the battlefield, most of the beasts that could escape had already fled, while those unable to run were gradually meeting their end under the onslaught of battle and the relentless thunder tribulation. Yet the terrifying vision caused by the simultaneous ascension and tribulation of the Earth Qilin and Zhu Yan persisted. What would have been a typical tribulation for advancing from the Cloud Soaring Realm to the Radiant Sun Realm had now mutated into something far more dreadful.

Heavenly lightning entangled with earthly fire; the ground was already ablaze, and now the thunder finally struck down. In that moment, the Earth Qilin and Zhu Yan, locked together in a deathly struggle, were simultaneously struck by lightning and scorched by fire.

Both were formidable in their own right. One was an ancient beast whose strength had reached the peak of its small world for a century, its body honed to unimaginable toughness—ordinary tribulations would never shake him. The other bore the blood of a divine beast, and at this stage, the tribulation was not something he needed to fear.

But this time, their battle, the dual overlapping tribulation, and the involvement of many other beasts and newly awakened humans had utterly changed the nature of the ordeal. The very first strike of mutated thunder and fire left them both gravely wounded.

The Earth Qilin’s body shattered by a third, and even Zhu Yan, whose flesh was as mighty as any spiritual artifact, was left scorched and blackened, his red-furred tail—having just met the tribulation head-on—completely severed.

Zhu Yan howled in agony, and as the tribulation overlapped, he fought desperately to break free. But now, with all caution thrown aside, he began to tear savagely into the Earth Qilin.

With the mutated thunder and fire, their power surpassed all imagination; Zhu Yan had no hope of surviving it. He could only gamble everything on devouring the Earth Qilin before his own death, hoping for a miracle.

“What a waste, such a waste…” Even Lin Qingyun, who had endured countless tribulations in his past life, couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at the power of heaven and earth, the strange mutated energies mingling with the thunder. Still, he could not act yet—not before the Earth Qilin and Zhu Yan were utterly spent. If he intervened now and inadvertently helped them weather the tribulation, the consequences would be dire.

Although Lin Qingyun was confident that, for now, these two could not stir up much trouble on Earth—with the Ministry of Education and the military outside, and the Desert Wind King surely already on his way—the gains for Lin Qingyun would be far less if things proceeded that way.

So he made a strategic choice. For now, he refrained from absorbing the tribulation’s power directly and merely drew in some of the thunder and fire with his Creation Cauldron.

Because this mutated tribulation was dominated by thunder and fire, even the earth fire it conjured was highly unusual. As Lin Qingyun began to absorb it, he sensed a seed being drawn to him, clinging nearby. Remembering the anomaly of the seeds on his family portrait, he felt even more motivated to gather the scattered earth fire.

He did not interfere with the life-and-death struggle between the Earth Qilin and Zhu Yan. Their battle grew ever more savage. Where once the Earth Qilin could not severely wound Zhu Yan’s body due to his extraordinary defenses—hence being suppressed—now, with both suffering grievous wounds and their bodies damaged, the Earth Qilin began to bite back.

Under the bombardment of heaven’s thunder and earth’s fire, they fought with pure, primal instinct.

Another wave of thunder rolled down from the sky, even fiercer than before. Their bodies exploded further apart, and, combined with their mutual mauling, their condition deteriorated rapidly.

As things worsened, something stirred atop the Earth Qilin’s head—a few special scales began to react. These scales had been gifted by powerful members of other Qilin clans because, at birth, the Earth Qilin displayed omens not only of his own clan’s abilities but also affinities with others.

Now, one such scale from the Fire Qilin clan was absorbing the earth fire on his behalf, while a Golden Qilin scale reinforced his head.

These scales did not grant him instant power but allowed him to gradually become attuned to the abilities of other Qilin clans as he matured. Yet, in this life-or-death moment, with his father’s powerful life force flaring within him and the tribulation raging, fragments of these abilities were triggered.

In that critical moment, he gained a glimmer of insight.

Combined with the lingering vitality inside him, the Earth Qilin, usually far weaker in battle than Zhu Yan, now outlasted his rival.

As his strength rose and Zhu Yan’s fell, the tables turned—Zhu Yan, who had been devouring the Earth Qilin’s life force, now found his own power siphoned away. Normally, even if he consumed his foe, the difference in their energies would make immediate assimilation difficult. Yet the Earth Qilin’s power was rooted in the robust vitality of the earth, especially in the survival energy stored in his heart—a legacy of his father’s higher-level life force—which Zhu Yan had already integrated.

Thus, as the Earth Qilin now devoured Zhu Yan’s energy, it fused swiftly—not the flesh, but the essence.

After the second, near-fatal wave of thunder and fire, the Earth Qilin’s body was shattered, but he began to recover, while Zhu Yan’s vitality ebbed away.

Zhu Yan let out a furious, unwilling roar, but when the third bolt of thunder and fire came, he could no longer withstand it. His head exploded, and his nascent golden core began to dim.

The Earth Qilin swallowed the golden core in one gulp, fusing it into his own.

This accelerated his advancement—at this moment, the Earth Qilin’s strength rivaled that of a Radiant Sun Realm expert of the second or third level.

Zhu Yan’s death caused the mutated thunder and fire tribulation to waver, but it did not return to normal. After three strikes, more thunder and fire rained down.

Normally, when a beast or cultivator advanced to the Radiant Sun Realm and formed a golden core, there would only be three tribulations. Now, however, the mutated tribulation seemed to be turning into a series—perhaps nine in all.

Had Zhu Yan survived, it might have become a four-nine tribulation, something only encountered by those ascending to the highest levels of the Radiant Sun Realm. Even a three-three tribulation, with such mutation, would be beyond the Earth Qilin’s endurance.

The Earth Qilin was in agony and despair. The Fire Qilin scale left by his elder shattered atop his head; thunder and fire began to consume him from within.

It was over. Death was certain. Even with the might of a great beast, he was powerless.

He deeply regretted his reckless use of the clan’s starry teleportation array. After a few forays into the small worlds, he had grown bold, and now he would pay the ultimate price.

As the fifth strike of thunder and fire was about to descend, despair consumed him. He cursed himself for not heeding his elders’ warnings…

“A divine beast cub from another world—do you wish to die? Or do you wish to live?”

Just as the Earth Qilin fell into utter hopelessness, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind. It was not a spoken sound, but a thought, a projection of spiritual will—perceptible to any sentient creature or cultivator, allowing communication across different species and civilizations without the barrier of language.

“Who is it?”

The Earth Qilin was stunned and uneasy. The area was completely enveloped by the mutated thunder and fire—no one, not even a supreme expert, would dare probe it with their spiritual sense, lest they too be punished by the laws of heaven and earth.

Yet now, someone seemed to be speaking right beside him?

Could it be that the tribulation’s mutation had driven him to hallucinate? Yes, this must be a hallucination…

“I’m speaking to you. Do you want to die, or do you want to live?”

Just as the Earth Qilin convinced himself it was an illusion, the voice sounded again, close and clear—not the distant, thunderous call of a supreme being’s spiritual will, but a simple whisper at his side.

“I want to live.”

There was no time for any other response. As the tribulation’s power crashed down, the Earth Qilin’s body began to collapse, and all he could do was protect his head with what remained of his fading strength.

He had already given up hope, but this unexpected voice rekindled a faint desire to survive.

“Swear on your soul and your life, acknowledge me as your master, and I will help you survive this tribulation.” Lin Qingyun’s voice sounded again.

Under normal circumstances, any being who dared utter such words would incur the wrath of the entire Qilin clan. Even as a cub, the Earth Qilin would rather die than submit. He was no ordinary beast, but a true divine creature.

But now, his first thought was that it was impossible…

“This is a tribulation, not an ordinary disaster…” The Earth Qilin simply couldn’t believe it. The tribulations wrought by the laws of heaven and earth could only be overcome by beings who had transcended all things—legends who walked outside the five elements. But even in the cultivation world, such beings were only myth.

“If you agree, I’ll help you. It seems you’re not in a hurry to die, since you still have the leisure to chat with me.” Lin Qingyun spoke not in the usual way, but with deliberate mystery.

He was in no rush. Despite the Earth Qilin’s current state, it was not yet the final moment. Even if the Earth Qilin tried to swear fealty now, Lin Qingyun would struggle to bear the burden of such a bond. For a weaker being to take on a stronger one’s oath, even without an attack, the connection alone could destroy him.

It had to wait until the Earth Qilin was barely holding onto the last threads of his soul, nearly obliterated.

The Earth Qilin was speechless, his earlier response a mere instinct. But considering his predicament, and the fact that someone could converse with him amid this mutated thunder and fire, he realized that something was very wrong.

Moreover, the mysterious voice was right; whether he agreed or not, to agree meant a sliver of hope. Yet he still found it hard to believe—this defied everything he knew.

“Fine. If you can really help me survive the tribulation, we can discuss anything…”

Deep underground, Lin Qingyun smiled within his Creation Cauldron. This little fellow was clever, but that was fine—he would play along. Otherwise, it would never be easy to make him submit.

First, he would give him hope, then shatter it, and then see if the Earth Qilin could hold out in the end.

“Then let’s start by cutting it in half.”

Lin Qingyun’s words were relaxed, as if he had promised a full coin but now said, “I’ll give you five cents first.”

Cut it in half? What did that even mean? Was it a condition? Some special linguistic quirk? Or…?

The Earth Qilin, teetering on the brink of death amid thunder and fire, was utterly confused by the offhand remark. But there was no time to ask; as the thought flickered through his mind, another wave of thunder and fire crashed down.

“It’s over!”

The Earth Qilin knew his own state well. The last blast had already left him barely clinging to life, and now, with this even fiercer tribulation, there was simply no way he could withstand it.

Yet when the thunder and fire struck, though he was hurt even more and wracked with pain, he was not instantly annihilated.

Not only did he survive, but the force seemed weaker than the previous one.

Half…cut in half…

“Aaaaah—”