I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

At Qingshan Temple, disciples are returning to the temple one after another to prepare for the Ghost Festival in the next two days.

"Oh, Xinxin, you're finally back! I heard from your second senior brother that you encountered quite a few soul-trapping formations, right? And Yinuo, how are your injuries, Yinuo?"

"Master Qiu, I'm fine now. Xinxin healed me. Look, I'm lively and energetic now."

"Uncle-Master, Uncle-Master, my master hasn't come out of seclusion yet. He must have worked hard these past few days. Is there anything we can do for him?" Li Qingchuan always knew how to communicate with his elders at the most appropriate time.

“There are too many things to do, such as offerings, ceremonial preparations, and the making of paper money… Some disciples have been sent to distant places and won’t be back today; they’ll be back tomorrow morning. So we really don’t have enough manpower. You can all do whatever you can! …I’m not saying anything more; I’m going to help your Uncle Du now…” Master Chen flew away like a gust of wind.

So everyone went to their respective departments, took on tasks, and got to work.

Returning to their long-missed dormitory in the evening, everyone felt a little out of place. But sitting on the simple little beds, they unexpectedly and quickly entered a meditative state. That night, everyone meditated for the entire night.

The preparations for the Ghost Festival were in full swing the following day.

This year, due to the incident in Fulin Village, and the subsequent dispatch of disciples to other areas, the Ghost Festival memorial service, which was supposed to begin seven days earlier, was compressed into the 14th and 15th.

An Xin was helping to write the memorial tablet for the deceased, and her beautiful calligraphy was praised as a divine skill by several senior brothers.

After quickly preparing the memorial tablets, offerings, and paper money for the next event, An Xin joined her fellow apprentices in folding "ingots."

In short, An Xin experienced everything except the Taoist priests' affairs that day.

But in the midst of her busy work, she heard Anna's voice.

Upon finding Qi Mingxuan, An Xin said uneasily, "Why is Anna here? And she brought two film crew members with her."

"She seems to know our every move. She started her operation as soon as we returned to the Taoist temple," Qi Mingxuan said, pressing his acupoint. "But judging from her setup, and the fact that she brought cameramen, it's probably a fairly formal live-streaming event. The Taoist priests are chanting scriptures now, and we..."

"No rush, Xiao Jiu seems to have heard me, tell me later."

A moment later, An Xin told Qi Mingxuan what Di Ting had said.

It turns out that the "Taoist temple" they heard about that day was the place Anna was planning to livestream filming "The Ghost Festival in a Taoist Temple." Apparently, the livestreaming platform had approved Anna's plan to explore folk festivals based on traditional culture. She had also discussed and informed the Taoist priests about this trip 10 days prior. Everything seemed reasonable and legitimate.

"Then we can only keep a close eye on her from the shadows!" An Xin frowned, her unease growing. "She must have a grand scheme. Xiao Jiu can't recover her powers and can't hear what others are thinking... What should we do... Master hasn't come out of seclusion yet..."

Qi Mingxuan sensed An Xin's extreme unease, took her hand, placed it in his large palm, bent down to look her in the eye, and said, "Xin Xin, take a deep breath, yes, that's it, take a deep breath, we'll take it slowly... Okay, listen to me, we'll split up. You tell the Taoist priests about Anna's problem. Fang Yinuo and the others have heard about your family's affairs, I'll go talk to them. Tell everyone to be vigilant, is that alright? It's about time now, there will be a one-hour break after this ritual, then you can go talk to the Taoist priests when they're all together. I'll go find the others now."

An Xin looked at Qi Mingxuan and finally calmed down after hearing his words... Nodding, An Xin stepped forward, withdrew her hand, and gently hugged Qi Mingxuan before letting go: "Thank you, Mingxuan. I did have some lingering negative feelings towards Anna. Thank you for your guidance all this time. I feel much better now. I'll go find the Taoist priests now."

There's no need for thanks between us.

Soon, everyone who needed to be notified had been notified. Senior Brother Qin Baiyu, representing Qingshan Temple, inquired about the basic details of the next livestream from Anna's team, and provided them with a more in-depth explanation of the rules and customs of the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) and the Ghost Festival. Finally, after informing them of the activity area and rest rooms, the reception concluded.

A busy day has passed, and finally it's midnight; the true gates of hell have opened...

........................

An Xin had no desire to sleep and remained in a meditative state.

"Xinxin, something bad has happened! Wake up! Anna and that manager have entered the building where your master is in seclusion."

An Xin opened her eyes, leaped out of the window, and flew towards her master's location. In a few breaths, she arrived at her destination. Just as she stopped at the gate and was about to leap up, a large hand grabbed her and forcefully pulled her behind a tree.

Just as An Xin instinctively reached out to chop at her opponent with a hand chop, a clear, melodious voice rang out: "An Xin, what brings you here?"

"Gu Shuohan? What are you doing here so late?"

"I went to the restroom and I thought I saw someone I knew walking this way from a distance, so I came over! What about you? What's going on?"

“I saw my fake sister walking this way with a man, so I followed to check it out.”

Before they could exchange any more words, they heard the sound of weapons clashing upstairs.

"Oh no! Master is in danger!"

Just as An Xin was about to jump up, a golden light flashed. Then came the sound of shattering glass, and Master Zou burst out of the window, flying away on his sword towards a distant mountain peak.

At this moment, large clusters of dark clouds began to gather on the horizon, and several flashes of lightning streaked across the oppressive darkness.

“Xinxin, your master was just at a crucial moment when he was almost interrupted by Anna and that manager. Fortunately, Master Zou’s barrier worked, and your master flew to the mountain peak with the Yin-Yang Spring at its bottom on his sword. He’s not in good condition right now and might not be able to withstand the lightning tribulation.” Di Ting was in An Xin’s sea of ​​consciousness, stamping his feet anxiously.

"There's no other way. Only I can take the heavenly lightning for Master now! Xiao Jiu, quickly take out all the spiritual liquid from the scroll and get ready. We'll fly over there to help Master now."

"Okay! What about Gu Shuohan? Those two bad guys have gone downstairs. If they find him, he's no match for them."

"What a hassle, I'll take it all with me!"

After speaking, An Xin took out the Ruyi scepter, grabbed Gu Shuohan by the back of the neck, jumped onto the Ruyi scepter together, and flew towards the distant mountain peak.

Dark clouds rolled in, and heavenly thunder brewed within them.

Fearing that Gu Shuohan might be accidentally injured, An Xin dragged him to the cave near Yin Yang Spring, told him to hide well, and then "whoosh"ed off towards the summit.

"Master, Master, how are you?" An Xin noticed that Master Zou was covered in sweat and meditating on a pile of weeds with his eyes closed as soon as she arrived.

Not receiving a reply from her master, An Xin quickly gave the spiritual liquid to Daoist Zou to drink. Then, under the guidance of Di Ting, she began to set up a simple protective array.

"Boom..." Thunder rumbled, and the heavenly lightning was poised to strike.

"Xinxin, you should leave quickly, otherwise the lightning tribulation will intensify. If you want to help your master block it, you can only do the third and final one. You should get as far away as possible."

"Boom..." The tribulation clouds were already close at hand, and the heavenly lightning was about to strike.

An Xin took out several small items containing sealed light-elemental shield energy from her Qiankun World and placed them on Master Zou. She then retreated as quickly as possible, hiding behind a rock several hundred meters away, and activated her Heavenly Eye to observe his situation at any time.

A bolt of purple lightning tore through the dark night sky, instantly releasing dazzling light and terrifying energy. It struck the spot where Master Zou was standing, and the makeshift protective array vanished in an instant.

"Boom... Crack—" The deafening sound rolled outwards.

"Thank goodness, that simple protective array was able to withstand a bolt of heavenly lightning!"

An Xin was still basking in her self-satisfaction when Di Ting's soft voice broke her composure: "The first lightning bolt is the weakest; the power of the lightning tribulation is cumulative."

"Damn...wasn't that just suicide during the third round?!"

"Put on a few more layers of light-based shields!"

"This is the only way..."

While An Xin and Di Ting were talking, the heavenly lightning in the tribulation clouds had completed its energy accumulation.

The lightning bolt, like the fingers of a giant, stretched from the clouds to the mountain peaks, striking down upon Master Zou with the force to crush and shatter everything.

One by one, the energy beads and plaques on Master Zou's body burst open, and the light energy protected his body time and time again.

"Xinxin, pay attention. Wait and feel it carefully. When the heavenly lightning flashes in the tribulation clouds, you must rush out."

A sudden gust of wind arose, and the spiritual energy in the air gathered at several times the normal rate, some surging towards the tribulation clouds and some towards Master Zou.

In the blink of an eye, the tribulation clouds seemed to press even lower, their interiors shimmering with an exceptionally dazzling purple-gold light.

"Oh no, Xinxin, this last bolt of heavenly lightning is terrifyingly powerful... You must be careful."

At this moment, An Xin was intently observing the tribulation clouds, seemingly having cleared her mind of all distractions and unaware of Di Ting's warning... In the blink of an eye, An Xin had already moved towards the area where Master Zou was, her teleportation speed reaching the limit of what she could output and withstand. The friction and vibration between her and the water molecules in the air generated a series of tiny electric arcs.

Just as the thick, purple-gold lightning bolt descended, An Xin leaped into the air and intercepted it.

She was enveloped in lightning, and the several layers of light-based shields around her cracked inch by inch. At this moment, light-based abilities continuously supported the shields around her, and one layer of shields always firmly protected her.

As her energy rapidly decreased and her shield became increasingly fragile, An Xin felt numbness and pain all over her body, and her bones were crackling at the joints.

With her superpower about to run out, An Xin's heart-wrenching screams were completely drowned out by the roar of thunder.

At this moment, Master Zou slowly opened his eyes, speechless with shock at the scene before him.

Amidst the purple-gold lightning, a girl stretched out her arms, adopting an absolutely protective stance directly above him.

The girl was surrounded by a white-gold light, flickering as if she were fighting against the purple-gold lightning.

A few breaths later, the lightning in the sky gradually thinned and faded, and the girl's figure gradually became clear... An Xin, it was An Xin, his precious little apprentice.

Only then did Master Zou recover from his shock. Yes, he was undergoing the Golden Core Tribulation! But why couldn't he move?

An Xin fell from the sky, but being too weak, she was unable to stand and fell straight to the ground.

Master Zou was extremely anxious as he watched his young apprentice, whose body was charred black and whose hair was even smoking, fall to the ground, unable to move at all.

Just as he was at his wit's end, Lingyu arrived late. The fine, gentle rain fell softly on him and Anxin, bringing an unprecedented feeling of comfort. It seemed to have the power to restore and nourish; Anxin's exposed skin regained its vitality, and her burnt and fallen hair began to grow rapidly, with scattered strands of purplish-gold hair shining brightly among her locks.

The spiritual rain arrived in just a few breaths, and Master Zou was finally able to move. He picked up An Xin and examined her carefully. Seeing that she was alright, he finally felt relieved.

He was still very weak at this point, because the crucial moment of his advancement had been interrupted, he had gone through a fight, and then, barely clinging to life, he flew here on his sword. After that, he had no memory of anything. Judging from the current situation, it seems that his little apprentice had shielded him from the tribulation lightning.

He was overwhelmed with emotion and his gratitude was beyond words: If it weren't for her selflessly protecting her master, he, as her master, would probably be dead today.

"Master, you're awake... That's great, you're alright... I didn't die either."