Chapter 2537: Aiding in Secret

“Ah?” The Mermaid Queen’s blood turned cold. Her breathing suddenly became difficult, and the world seemed to lose its color.

However, she wasn’t so weak as to cry helplessly in a predicament. She quickly recovered and cast a healing blessing at Zu An. Unfortunately, her musical notes instantly popped like bubbles upon falling on Zu An; they were ineffective.

“How can this be...” The Mermaid Queen’s heart sank. She wanted to rush to Zu An’s side, but Yumen Beiqing held her in place.

“You’ll only be struck to death if you head over right now,” Yumen Beiqing uttered coldly.

“If big brother Zu is dead, nothing else matters. I just want to send him off.” For the first time, the Mermaid Queen’s usually euphonious voice sounded hoarse.

“Who says he’s dead?” Yumen Beiqing huffed.

“He’s still alive?” Light returned to the Mermaid Queen’s dull eyes.

“This is the Wind Tribulation of the Three Disasters that deities encounter once every five hundred years. The Fire Tribulation tests one’s heart, whereas the Wind Tribulation tests one’s willpower and cultivation. Those who survive this ordeal will undergo metamorphosis, whereas those who fail will be reduced to shreds.” Yumen Beiqing’s eyes remained fixed on the man in the middle of the dark clouds. She harbored a tinge of hope that he would pull it through.

“What can we do to help him?” the Mermaid Queen asked anxiously.

Yumen Beiqing replied, “There’s nothing you can do to help him. This is a tribulation he needs to overcome by himself. The only thing you can do is to pray for his safety.”

The Mermaid Queen took a deep breath. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and earnestly prayed, “Esteemed Ocean Deity, please bless big brother Zu for this ordeal. I’m willing to earnestly pray to you every night under the emerald sea...”

Yumen Beiqing secretly snickered.

This woman is a fool. She isn’t as close to that fellow as me, yet she’s willing to go this far for him.

But as she laughed, she soon fell silent. Looking at the furious swirling wind, she couldn’t help but wonder if her cynicism was because she had never experienced true love before.

Dijun had many women, but those women only loved his strength and high standing. None of them were like the Mermaid Queen. She was devoted to Zu An, and so were Xie Daoyun and Pei Mianman. Just what kind of sorcery had that lustful man cast on them?

Meanwhile, Zu An felt as if he was on the verge of death. A wind was blowing down from his forehead, and it scoured every single part of his body that it passed by. His body was supposed to be resilient enough to withstand any physical scouring, but this wind was intangible and attacked him from the inside, rendering his defenses ineffective.

He tried to channel the Primordial Origin Sutra to heal his injuries, but the wind hindered the flow of his ki, making it impossible for him to circulate it normally. The experience gave him a glimpse into the suffering of those who were sentenced to death by a thousand cuts. For a moment there, he even considered giving up, knowing it could save him from the pain.

However, there were too many people and matters that he couldn’t let go of, so he continued to hold on. Even so, under the excruciating pain, his mind was swiftly reaching its limit.

It was then that he heard a woman’s voice saying, “This is both a trial and an opportunity to undergo metamorphosis. It only depends on whether you can pull it through or not.”

Zu An vaguely thought that the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it, and he didn’t have the spare energy to think about it either. He was like a man who had been wandering the desert for a long time, but then suddenly stumbled upon a clear spring and rushed to greedily slurp it up.

In truth, most people weren’t afraid of suffering or exhaustion; what they feared the most was hopelessness. They didn’t want to persist in something that would bring them endless suffering and give them nothing in the end.

Those words gave Zu An a ray of hope. There was meaning to his persistence. The darkness was only temporary, and it would soon give way to light. Many of his hesitations disappeared.

It’s just bearing the pain. You don’t know how much I've suffered since I transmigrated here and started with the worst possible hand! I am no stranger to pain!

Now that he had tossed everything aside to focus on the present, he began thinking of ways to alleviate or neutralize the pain. His Primordial Origin Sutra granted him formidable regenerative prowess, but the wind rampaging in his body prevented him from channeling it. The same went for his other skills too.

Since it’s an intangible wind, I should use something intangible to counteract it.

Why am I so fixated on circulation pathways? Take the Taotie’s Heaven-Devouring Sutra for instance. I'vee previously succeeded in conjuring black holes around me. Black holes devour not just the tangible but also the intangible...

As such thoughts surfaced in his mind, his body slowly turned intangible like a black hole. These winds were formidable, but they weren't fast enough to escape the grasp of a black hole.

...

“Hm?” Yumen Beiqing narrowed her eyes in shock.

She was just wondering why she had secretly offered him some advice when the situation began to change. Sensing the black hole forming around Zu An, she couldn’t help but bite her lips. Even she felt a tinge of fear toward him. She was the Sun Goddess, but the sun feared a black hole too. Her fear was only alleviated by the knowledge that the other party was Zu An. As she looked at him, her expression slowly became fervent.

She hurriedly averted her gaze.

Pui pui pui, I can’t be truly interested in him. It’s just that the black hole holds a tremendous attractive force toward everything in the world.

“Saintess, what’s happening to big brother Zu?” The Mermaid Queen also sensed the change in Zu An.

“Don’t worry, your big brother Zu will be fine very soon.” Yumen Beiqing harrumphed.

“Isn’t he your big brother Zu too?” the Mermaid Queen asked while heaving a sigh of relief. She was perplexed by the twist in their dynamics. Despite being younger than her, the Fiend races’ Saintess seemed to have somehow taken the role of the ‘big sister’ here.

“My big brother Zu...” Yumen Beiqing was dazed for an instant before quickly calming down.

At some point, Zu An noticed that the scraping pain had vanished, replaced by a gentle breeze. It nourished every cell in his body, and his blood and flesh regrew at a visible pace. His body looked as impeccable as the finest jade.

He felt as if he had become one with his surrounding ki; he could now tap into it freely. This sensation wasn't new to him, but he had previously only been able to achieve that level with the aid of the World Law Beacon. Yet now, he could achieve the same effect with just his body. His area of control over the surrounding ki was nowhere near the scale of an entire world, but he was no longer an ordinary mortal.

Yumen Beiqing looked at Zu An with an unnatural expression.

He has good skin.

Upon seeing him safe and sound, the Mermaid Queen cried out in delight.

Zu An belatedly noticed his two spectators. His face reddened, and he quickly took out a shirt and clothed himself. But before he could say a word, the clouds in the sky suddenly turned indigo.

He looked up and was shocked to see the tribulation clouds parting open. A giant indigo planet was falling from the sky toward him.