A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

Two hundred years later.

Nascent Soul, Tribulation Transcending, Deity Transformation.

When the tribulation lightning of the Nascent Soul stage struck, Xuanxiao's eyes were filled with madness.

Thunder rumbled and surged within the dark clouds, its deafening roar echoing throughout the valley.

With a deafening roar, a flash of lightning illuminated the mountain of white bones piled up behind the valley.

Zhao Yanran stood calmly within the magic array that Xuan Xiao had set up for her, waiting for the first bolt of heavenly lightning to strike.

"boom!"

A golden light seemed to flash through the clouds, and a giant golden lightning bolt struck straight down. Zhao Yanran strolled leisurely, as if she didn't care about the lightning tribulation at all.

Sure enough, just before the golden lightning was about to strike Zhao Yanran, a black figure appeared in front of her in time.

Xuanxiao took out his natal sword and with a single strike, completely neutralized the power of the heavenly lightning, leaving only a hollow sound as it landed lightly on Zhao Yanran's head.

So many years have passed. Back then, his soul was destroyed, and his cultivation almost fell to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Thanks to the heart of that mermaid named A Yuan, his cultivation was not only stabilized at the late-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, but he even showed signs of breaking through.

Unfortunately, when he went to the Eastern Sea again, the mermaids there seemed to have known the news in advance and guarded the Eastern Sea and Dragon Island tightly. Not only did he not get any benefit, but he was almost left in the Eastern Sea by that old mermaid.

Fortunately, Zhao Yanran did not disappoint him.

Xuanxiao gazed greedily at the ray of light peeking through the clouds, as if it were not Zhao Yanran's tribulation, but his path to ascension.

Zhao Yanran yawned and leaned lazily to the side, watching Xuanxiao fight desperately for her tribulation.

The system thought the mission was doomed, but who could have imagined that in just two hundred years, she, who was so disheveled and infamous when she was expelled from the Qingyun Sect along with Xuanxiao, was now only one step away from completing the mission with Xuanxiao's help.

"Looks like you still need to find someone with a strong backing."

The system nodded, reaching a consensus with Zhao Yanran for the first time.

"Master Xuanxiao's current favorability rating is 89 points. It is expected to rise to 90 points after the host survives the tribulation."

After the system finished speaking, a small piece of red string unknowingly fell into Zhao Yanran's hand. The red string was only two or three inches long, with a light purple bead hanging at the end.

"Host, you should know what to do then, right?"

Zhao Yanran held the red rope in her palm and looked up at Xuanxiao. The tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage contained immense power in each bolt of lightning. Moreover, sometimes two or three bolts of lightning would fall at the same time. Even though Xuanxiao was already in the late stage of the Nascent Soul stage, he was still somewhat embarrassed to deal with it.

Watching the white sword light weave through the lightning, Zhao Yanran gently curled her lips into a smile.

"of course."

The final bolt of lightning struck, as if heralding the end of everything. The dark clouds gathering on the horizon gradually dissipated, and Xuanxiao, his clothes stained with blood, leaned against his sword, panting heavily.

Zhao Yanran jogged forward: "Master, are you alright? It's all Yanran's fault for being useless. I couldn't even pass the tribulation lightning, causing Master to get injured."

Xuan Xiao, panting heavily, paid no attention to his injuries. Instead, he excitedly grabbed Zhao Yanran's shoulders and asked, "How are you feeling now? Has your internal cultivation level increased?"

Zhao Yanran nodded, and the enormous Dharma Heaven and Earth appeared faintly behind her.

Xuanxiao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly lay down on the ground and burst into laughter. Only those with the cultivation of the Nascent Soul stage could use the Law of Heaven and Earth. Soon, she would be at his disposal.

"Ding~ It was detected that the favorability of the target Xuanxiao has increased by 3 points. The current favorability is 92 points. The host is rewarded with 100,000 points."

As the system announcement sounded, Zhao Yanran bent down and gently swung the red rope in front of Xuan Xiao.

Xuanxiao's expression changed drastically when he saw the rice bead. He tried to move his body, but it was as if his whole body was imprisoned, and he could not move at all.

"Zhao Yanran! I am your master! How dare you treat me like this!"

"What's there to be afraid of? Master, have you forgotten? When you first found out I was practicing this technique, you even went to find me lots of 'food' yourself!"

"Now that I'm at the Nascent Soul stage, Master, didn't you help me through my tribulation? Can't you help Yanran too?"

Zhao Yanran spoke these words in a coquettish tone, but Xuan Xiao felt a chill run down his spine.

When he first learned that Zhao Yanran possessed a cultivation technique that could absorb the cultivation power of others, he was only focused on improving Zhao Yanran's cultivation level and never imagined that this technique would one day be used on himself.

Xuanxiao watched in terror as the rice-like bead drew ever closer, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

He tried his best to escape, but he could not break through the seal.

He watched helplessly as the rice beads landed on his face, his spiritual energy surging wildly within his body. Finally, as if finding an outlet, it gushed out from his dantian and poured into Zhao Yanran's body all at once.

It’s over.

His plan.

His efforts over the past two hundred years.

His path to ascension.

All destroyed.

Xuanxiao closed his eyes in despair and stopped struggling.

Zhao Yanran sat cross-legged beside Xuanxiao, feeling her physical and spiritual strength constantly rising, eventually barely stopping at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Zhao Yanran frowned, stood up, and kicked Xuanxiao, who had a full head of white hair and looked emaciated.

"Wasn't Xuanxiao about to break through from the late stage of Nascent Soul to the Great Perfection of Nascent Soul? How come I've only reached the late stage of Nascent Soul after absorbing his power?"

"Host, this system warned you before that this cultivation technique is extremely damaged. The fact that you have reached the late stage of the Incarnation Realm is due to Xuanxiao's profound cultivation."

"Alright, alright, I got it. Stop nagging. Just tell me how many more people I need to absorb before I can ascend!"

Zhao Yanran slightly raised her hand, and Xuan Xiao's body suddenly flew into the air and then crashed heavily onto the pile of white bones behind the valley.

"Twenty Nascent Soul stage cultivators, five Tribulation Transcending stage cultivators, and one Deity Transformation stage cultivator is enough."

"Row."

"I've been hiding in this godforsaken valley for over two hundred years, it's time for me to go out and explore."

Zhao Yanran played with the Soul-Guiding Sword, a reward from the system, and slowly walked out of the valley.

……

"Boom!"

As the deep, resonant chime rang out, Sheng He slowly opened his eyes.

This is the ancient bell in the back mountain, which is only rung when foreign enemies invade. Sheng He frowned slightly, and his divine sense extended to the entire Qingyun Sect in an instant.

Countless demons appeared out of nowhere, slaughtering Qingyun Sect disciples everywhere. The Elder Hall was even surrounded by dozens of high-level demons.

The sounds of fighting and shouting overlapped within the Qingyun Sect, creating a scene of carnage and bloodshed.

Sheng He subconsciously looked for Mu Yao and Yun Qianshan, and only felt slightly relieved when she saw them with her master and Uncle Jinglan.

Suddenly, Sheng He sensed an extremely dangerous force approaching—it was… the mountain-protecting formation!

Sheng He's brow twitched slightly, and the next moment, she appeared on the back mountain.

As expected, there was a problem with the mountain-protecting formation.