Through Hellfire - Chapter 5 Title Hidden

The 7-in-9 tribulation. It is more commonly known as Deity Tribulation. Seven sets of nine bolts of Lightning each strike the ascendant individual in order to take them out. Each set of lightning is stronger than the previous one, and from the fifth set onwards, the lighting will be Evanescent Lightning of the lightning sea. This Evanescent Lightning, causes soul tribulation, and is the reason why the number of Deity Realm experts are low. There are millions upon millions of Mortal Realm cultivators, but in Deity Realm the figure drops directly down to the thousands. This is because the 7-in-9 (Deity) Tribulation, serves as a huge barrier for breakthroughs, and there is no cultivation that can prepare for the soul tribulation. Only be relying on oneself can you hope to survive. If the tribulation is successful overcome, then the body will immediately begin to modify and be born anew. It is the process of leaving the Mortal Realm and entering the Realm of the Deities.

The new body, will be a Deity body, which no longer needs energy veins. Only the profound veins will remain, and they will be remoulded to be able to circulate Deity energy.

It is a highly qualitative transformation, as if one succeeds, then the change in power will be like from ant to boot.

This is the details of Deity Tribulation that everyone knows and prepares for.

Su Yunhai had Su Li ask to take care of Su Yan, else Su Liu might’ve never focused on her tribulations.

“It’s only for a few more days, Liu’er. Once the tribulation is over, then you can spend your time taking care of Yan’er. Besides, Li’er wanted to play with him for a few days. So please concentrate on your cultivation.” Su Yunhai tried convincing her, and for the next few days, he stayed with her to make sure she didn’t laze off.

Now there were only two more days left for the tribulation. Seeing a relaxed Su Liu, Yunhai asked her “So, Sister-in-law is fully prepared?”

Su Liu remained silent and smiled back.

Su Yunhai sat down opposite to her, and began to speak,

“Do you know why, even though I’m not of same cultivation level as the clan leader, my wife, I’m of the same standing as her.?”

“That’s because, you’re her husband.” Su Liu replied, coming to a quick conclusion.

“Wrong!” Su Yunhai grinned. Su Liu was curious. What was Yunhai insinuating?

“Because my understanding of the Dao is beyond even her.” Su Yunhai replied, and a new aura began to surround him. It was a pure aura, devoid of cultivation energy. The surroundings began to warp, and the world appeared to revolve around him.

“This is my attainment in the Dao.” Su Yunhai spoke slowly. His voice and he himself appeared ancient.

“The Dao…” Su Liu was shocked. She didn’t know that Yunhai was this powerful. During the instant that he released that aura, she felt her cultivation base was fully suppressed. It was as if she never cultivated to begin with.

“Wow, brother-in-law must’ve completely mastered the Dao”, Su Liu praised him.

” NO! ” Su Yunhai denied it, as soon as she said it. He retracted his aura, and then faced Su Liu for a while with a pensive look in his face before he spoke in his regular voice, “My attainment in the Dao maybe even greater than Wei’er, but it is nothing worth looking at.

I’ve spent all this time focussed on the Dao instead of cultivation. Yet, I can only claim to dip my toes for an instant in the never ending and eternal sea that is the Dao.

Most Low-Sovereigns despite their power, can only say that they’ve dipped their ankles into the Dao. Alpha Sovereigns can be proud that they’ve reached an high attainment in the Dao, and it would only be like comparing themselves to a child and claiming to be as innocent as that child. The only existence that can claim to have a high attainment in the Dao would be the Omega Sovereign.”

Su Liu was shocked by Su Yunhai’s words and maintained silence before asking him. “Brother-in-law, what is the Dao?”

“The Dao to me is like an endless ocean.

I’m only standing at the shore, barely stepping into the waters, afraid to lose my self in it’s mysteries. My comprehension and knowledge of it is only as wide as far as I can see into the horizon. That horizon can be just a few feet ahead of me, or it can be as far as the distance between entire worlds.” Su Yunhai spoke with his eyes closed.

“Sister-in-law, try to clear your mind, and ask yourself.. What is your Dao?

I can tell you that the Dao is one, if not the only way of successfully passing the tribulations ahead of you.

Pray, that the universe is kind enough to let see through some of its infinite mysteries” Su Yunhai got up and walked away, leaving her alone with those words.

Su Liu fell into silence and contemplation.

“What is my Dao?” She asked herself, forgetting about even her upcoming tribulations and began to think about the Dao.

She soon closed her eyes to meditate.

During this time, Su Li brought the sleeping Su Yan and sat on the floor, opposite to Su Liu.

At this time, the something mysterious did happen. Su Liu didn’t get any special previlage from the universe, but she fell into deep contemplation and relaxation. She forgot herself and about her own existence. It was a form of focus that cultivators would rarely encounter. It could be said that, the universe did show her a bit of its kindness.

When she opened her eyes, she didn’t know that she was Su Liu. She didn’t know that the baby she saw in that instant, was her own son.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a sleeping baby. His expression appeared to be of innocence and relaxation. He looked to be the epitome of purity.

“As innocent as a baby, as nave as baby….that is the closest that one approaches the origin.” These words ran through her head, and she closed her eyes again, falling into deep contemplation.

Su Yunhai sensed a fluctuation of the Dao, and smiled. “Good Luck, sister-in-law. The universe has given you an opportunity. Seize it now and obtain good karma.” He thought.

————————————-

Two days passed. Today was the day of the tribulation. Su Wei made sure that nobody knew of Su Liu’s presence in the Green Dragon City.

The time approached twilight. Su Liu, sat at the top of the ancestral mountain of the Su Clan. Su Yunhai and Su Li, who held the sleeping Su Yan, stood about ten kilometres away from her. Su Wei and few of her most trusted subordinates gathered around a hundred kilometre radius of the mountain to set up a barrier.

After gathering her cultivation base and making sure she was ready, Su Liu opened her eyes and stared into the heavens. The skies rumbled and purple coloured tribulation thunderclouds formed in the air. The ground started rumbling and Su Liu flew up in the air until she came to a stop about a kilometer beneath the clouds. An ancient rune formed beneath her feet and she stood on the rune

This rune was the Deity ascension rune, which

a cultivator gains after reaching the peak of Sage level. The Rune spelled the words “Deity”. As the tribulation progressed, the Rune would gather elemental energy and then fuse with the cultivator’s soul, to form a Deity Spark in the cultivator’s dantian. After the Deity Spark was formed, the tribulation can be considered as complete and the cultivator can be called a Deity.

The thunder clouds condensed and compressed together, and sent down its first thunderbolt.

The first thunderbolt raced through the sky and aimed right for Su Liu. She didn’t appear to be afraid and opened her arms to the sky. Her cultivation base roared and the bolt struck her. It ran amok in her body, and was absorbed into her dantian.

“Looks easier than I thought it would be” Su Lou thought. But she didn’t give into complacency and still carefully prepared for the next bolt.

The second bolt appeared and struck down again. It was a bit more faster but only had a slight increase in power. She had no difficulty facing the second bolt as well.

Down at the surface, Su Yunhai relaxed, as he watched the tribulation. Su Yan was still asleep, the sound of thunder and all the rumbling, for some reason didn’t bother him at all.

“Looks like Sister-in-law can safely get past the tribulation.” Su Yunhai, calmed himself. His earlier fears were now no more.

He originally feared for Su Liu, because her cultivation time was shorter than his, and she couldn’t be considered as experienced enough, to face a Deity Tribulation.

“Her time, with that Vincent was not wasted. He helped her gain good experiences.” Su Yunhai smiled.

Soon time passed, and almost an hour later, Su Liu was facing her ninth thunderbolt in the fifth series. She had brought out two Superior grade Immortal treasures during this time. One was an octagonal shaped shield, big enough to hide her body behind. The other was a white spear, with ornamental decorations on the spearhead.

Meanwhile, the spy planted by Meng Wentian to watch the Su Clan, felt the tribulation thunderclouds, and rushed in the direction of the tribulation grounds but soon hid himself to escape Su Wei’s notice. He was only told to find out who underwent the tribulation and not interfere with it. Whoever it was, he was confident that he could uncover their identity, before the tribulation ended.

So he hid close enough to witness the Tribulation but far enough that Su Wei wouldn’t detect him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make out who was undergoing the tribulation from this distance, and didn’t want to send out his divine sense to find out who it was. So, he patiently waited for the thunderclouds to pass.

Su Liu was relaxed now, and was much better off than she expected she would be at this stage of the tribulation. Her body wasn’t injured much, and she could overcome the thunderbolts with the power of her cultivation base and the two treasures she held. She had one treasure in reserve, which she could use further down the way.

But, now the tribulation thunder would experience a qualitative change. The Purple clouds changed to a dull Red colour. This signified the beginning of the last two sets in the Deity Tribulation, the Evanescent thunderbolt. The Evanescent thunderbolt, would have limited effects to the body, but would attack the cultivator’s soul.

The first bolt in the sixth set appeared. It was dull red in colour, and was vibrating a lot like it wanted to rush down and obliterate her.

Then in an instant, the bolt disappeared and struck her. It was very unpredictable and wild and the power coursed through her body like a rampaging dragon. But she held on, and restored herself.

She turned to Su Wei and Su Yunhai and reassured them that she was alright with a smile.

The next instant, the second thunderbolt struck her.

It had double the power, and was even more terrifying.

“Sister! Use it now!” Su Wei roared at her.

Su Liu who appeared dishevelled, nodded in acknowledgement and began to bring out the third treasure.

“It’s Su Liu!” The spy reacted quickly. He brought out a transmission talisman, and sent word to Meng Wentian.

Few minutes later, a large number of High-Gods raced to Evergreen-3, and began to surround the planet.

Back in Spark-1, Meng Wentian smiled like a maniac. “She’s in our net now!

HaHaHaHa, Vincent Cooper!!

Soon you will lie dead at my feet.” He roared.

Meng Wentian didn’t know that Su Liu used to be pregnant or about Su Yan’s birth. As Su Wei, hid them she kept all news of Su Yan, completely under wraps. So essentially, no knowledge of Su Yan, was available to anyone on the outside world.

Back in the Su Clan ancestral mountain,

Su Liu brought out a metal ball, which radiated a green light.

It was a soul nourishing Immortal treasure. Su Liu planned to use it to recover her soul after each bolt struck. As she sent her cultivation energy into it, it released a green cocoon like Aura which completely encased her.

Soon the third thunderbolt, then the fourth, the fifth and the sixth and the rest of the sixth series struck her one after the other. Thanks to she soul nourishing pearl she could hold on but it became increasingly difficult for her.

After the Ninth bolt in the sixth series, the could turned into a brighter shade of Red and once again began to strike her without any mercy.

Su Yunhai, Su Li and Su Wei were all in panic. Su Yan still slept on despite the pandemonium, and Su Wei gritted her teeth and endured. Her form now appeared bloody and completely dishevelled, soon the first till fifth bolt in the ninth series struck her in rapid succession. One would think that they were almost simultaneous.

But, right before the sixth bolt struck, a change occurred to Su Liu.

An ancient aura began to leak out of her and her injuries began to heal rapidly. Her dishevelled form changed and she appeared to be radiant and pure.

“Her comprehension of the Dao..” both Su Wei and Su Yunhai muttered, in shock.

To them, Su Liu appeared like a goddess, with a soul capturing purity. A white aura surrounded her and restored her to perfect health.

When the sixth bolt struck, Su Liu didn’t experience any physical pain and only her soul shook a bit. “I’ll make it…I have to defeat this tribulation.” She was determined. The figure of a gallant and majestic man emerged in her mind, and then a beautiful baby appeared. They were Vincent and Yan’er. The two people who were most important to her.

Soon the seventh and the eighth bolt struck. The Dao she comprehended helped her overcome those two bolts and she was waiting for the last bolt.

One more bolt. After that, she would be rid of the Tribulation and become a Deity.

But the last bolt didn’t strike like the previous ones. The thundercloud started spinning. It became a storm cloud and increased the speed of its spinning. The bright red colour changed to a bright golden colour.

Both Su Wei and Su Yunhai were shocked.

Su Li was very afraid for her aunt, and asked.

“Mother, what’s happening?!”

“That’s…” Su Yunhai muttered in complete disbelief.

“The golden bolt….of spirit tribulation.” Su Wei spoke sharply. But you could see the terror in her face. Even she had yet to face Spirit Tribulation thunder.

The speed of spinning of the thundercloud increased. It grew thinner and brighter, and began to resemble a spear. The Golden spear head was facing right down at Su Liu.

In a millionth of a second, the spear-like golden thunderbolt shot down on Su Liu.

The destructive power was unbelievable, and began it’s rampage. Su Liu’s mind fell into a trance and her vision shifted.

She saw herself holding a sword and standing over the bloody bodies of her husband and child.

Her mind fell apart as she screamed.

In that instance of weakness, the bolt damaged her spirit.

As the spirit weakened the connection between body and soul grew dim. But Su Liu suddenly woke up, and threw all of her will at it to hold them together.

Outside, the Deity rune beneath Su Liu’s feet began to exhibit cracks, and suddenly with a roaring *Bang*, shattered!!

Everyone who watched the tribulation were shocked out of their minds.

The sky was still dark, and soon the clouds cleared away. There was only a short few hours of time before dawn.

Spark-1

Meng Wentian was exhilarated. His flawless net was complete and ready to capture Su Liu.

Suddenly, he received a transmission which brought a straight 180 turn to his mood.

“What?… She failed….” He was flabbergasted.

With all his genius, he never expected the outcome of Su Liu failing her Deity Tribulation.

His mood turned sour, and he told the spy “Withdraw! Call off everyone who surrounded the planet! That is all!” The transmission ended.

“Gah!!” He shouted and kicked away a table. which exploded on impact.

“Damnit! All of it went to waste!” He roared!

Soon the figure of Su Liu emerged. She appeared to be unharmed, but her soul was splintered and vanishing.

Su Wei and Su Yunhai rushed forward, but Su Liu lifted up her head and suddenly smiled. It was a smile of helplessness and acceptance.

“Sister..” tears began to run down on the face of the usually cold Si Wei. Despite all her resentment for Vincent and all the things she said about Su Yan’s birth, in her heart, she truly loved her younger sister.

“It’s alright, Elder Sister… maybe this is how it was destined to be….. I’m sorry for the what happened in the past.” Su Liu smiled helplessly.

She turned and bowed to Su Yunhai. “Brother-in-law, thanks for your advice. If you didn’t help me a few days ago, I would have failed much earlier in the tribulation.”

Su Yunhai could only accept those words with reluctance.

Su Liu took off those Immortal Treasures and put them down before turning to Su Li.

Su Li was crying like a child. Her gentle and kind aunt was dying right before her eyes.

“Li’er….grow up to be a beautiful lady, okay.

Aunty wants you to make your parents proud. Will you do that for aunty?” Su Liu still spoke with that helpless smile, as she patted her niece.

Su Li couldn’t muster up her voice, and could only nod helplessly, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Su Liu, turned around and faced the Eastern skies. Dawn was almost here.

“Vincent,…

I’m sorry… I couldn’t last any longer… please be safe, wherever you are… We have a child, you know?… A beautiful baby boy… Our Yan’er…. I decided to name him Yan’er, instead of Benjamin like you wanted to…

It’s…this…is ….so hard…my heart is hurting…

…” Su Liu lost that helpless smile, and started crying.. “Maybe, in our next life we can be together again, my love.”

She turned around to Su Yan, who was still sleeping in Su Li’s arms. She didn’t take him off Su Li and only watched his sleeping face. Her expression became, one of pure love.

She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, and her tears dripped down to his little face. Su Yan, who slept this whole time, even during the Tribulation woke up and opened his eyes. It became his earliest memory and the only time he saw his mother.

She was beautiful, and only love could be seen in her face. Her bright green hair began to shine, she wiped her tears and smiled brightly. The Sun shone behind her, and she kept looking at Su Yan.

“My Yan’er, mother is sorry… I won’t be able to watch you grow up… mother has to say goodbye to you… grow up and be a happy boy, okay… fate was unkind to our family… now mother can only hope it will be kind to you…

Mother can only watch over you from far away..”

She brought out the blue Lotus necklace that Vincent gifted her, and put it on Yan’er.

“Mother wants you to know…” Her voice rang out and she began to fade into the wind. Her form began to fade into golden rays of light.

“…..that mother always loves you, my Yan’er.”

Chapter title: My Yan’er