Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 703: Nine-tailed Tribulation

Previously on Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal?...
As Tu Shan Yue prepares for her immortal ascension, five Great Ascension Stage Demon Kings arrive to mock the gathered human cultivators and proclaim the dawn of a demonic era. Their arrogance is challenged by the arrival of the monk Burning Heaven, whose powerful Buddhist presence silences the demon saints and restores morale to the human camp. Burning Heaven publicly denounces Tu Shan Yue, declaring that her blood-soaked past has turned her tribulation into an execution platform rather than a path to divinity. While onlookers cheer his righteous words, veteran cultivators recognize the monk's true intent to exploit Tu Shan Yue’s likely failure for his own merit. Watching the confrontation, Chen Huaian grows wary of the monk’s methods as the world-destroying lightning begins to gather overhead.
The moment Burning Heaven’s proclamation echoed, it was as if ice water had been cast into a vat of searing oil, forcing the entire Taizhou Mountain range into a sudden, morbid stillness. Only the muffled rumbling within the overhead tribulation clouds continued, accelerating and deepening like the rhythmic pulse of some prehistoric titan. Upon the summit, the woman clad in simple white remained seated in a meditative posture. Her nine tails swayed softly, showing utter indifference to the monk's cutting remarks or the chaotic whispers of the crowd below. She merely tilted her chin upward, her gaze fixing upon the swirling black abyss of the tribulation vortex. Her eyes remained hauntingly tranquil, even as the sky seemed ready to collapse. BOOM—CRACK!!! The heavens erupted without a heartbeat of warning! A bolt of purple-gold lightning, unimaginably thick and resembling a primal spear forged to pierce the void, Screamed downward from the center of the vortex, fueled by a divine intent to purge all existence. Its velocity far outstripped the speed of any divine sense! The world was instantly consumed by a blinding purple-gold flash, turning the horizon into a void of pure white. The suffocating pressure of the heavens crushed the cultivators below; those with weaker foundations collapsed instantly, blood seeping from their facial orifices. Facing the inaugural strike of the heavenly tribulation, Tu Shan Yue finally reacted. Her nine tails surged upward, unfurling as if to blot out the very thunderclouds above. A titanic, limitless reservoir of demonic power surged forth, manifesting into a colossal fox claw phantom that draped the sky, reaching out to intercept the cataclysmic bolt. BANG—!!!! A thunderous explosion! It was the raw, violent friction of clashing energies. The fox claw, though capable of rending the firmament, proved as flimsy as parchment against that purple-gold lightning. It withstood the assault for less than a breath before shattering into a million shimmering fragments. The residual lightning continued its trajectory, its killing intent undiminished as it slammed directly into Tu Shan Yue. "Ugh—!" A pained groan escaped her lips despite her resolve. Her white robes were instantly scorched to tatters, exposing patches of bloodied, raw skin. Tu Shan Yue’s frame shuddered violently as she coughed up a thick spray of blood. Her seated form was hurled backward several hundred zhang, her body carving deep trenches into the mountain's stubborn stone. The radiant sheen of her magnificent tails vanished, leaving them dull, with one tail bearing a prominent, blackened burn. A single strike! Just the very first lightning bolt! The Nine-Tails Heavenly Fox, the undisputed sovereign of the Cangyun Realm for ten millennia, was already broken and bleeding. "Sovereign!" "Demon Venerable!" High amidst the demon clouds, the Five Great Demon Saints watched in paralyzed terror. The cruel smirk on the Mountain Moving King’s face turned to stone, his golden helmet sliding sideways unnoticed. The dark fog surrounding Black Wind Sage roiled in agitation, while the Cyan Jade Rhinoceros nearly lost his grip on his massive axe. The Golden-Winged Roc’s wings beat frantically in his distress. This... this was impossible! Could their exalted ruler truly be this fragile? "Pfft... HAHAHAHA!" Following the brief, stunned silence, the human cultivators below erupted in mocking laughter and jeers. "Is that all? The legendary Nine-Tails Heavenly Fox? She’s nothing!" "One hit and she’s already spitting blood? How will she survive eighty more? She’ll be turned to ash!" "Reverend Burning Heaven has the eyes of a sage! This demon is truly burdened by sin; even the heavens will not permit her life!" "She’s at the end of her rope! Truly a pathetic display!" The weathered face of Burning Heaven the monk remained as still as a frozen pond, though a flicker of cold satisfaction danced in the depths of his eyes. The golden Buddhist flame danced in his palm, casting a light on his stoic face that seemed to finalize Tu Shan Yue’s death warrant. Chen Huaian’s brow furrowed as he observed the blood-soaked figure on the peak, his mind racing with suspicion. Old Demon Xiao had claimed the heavenly laws were weakening, but the ferocity of this first bolt... where was the mercy? This was clearly several times more destructive than the initial strikes of ascension tribulations recorded in the ancient scrolls! The laws... seemed to be singling Tu Shan Yue out for "special treatment." By the very nature of heavenly tribulations, the intensity of the lightning would only escalate. Rumor held that the Nine-Tails Heavenly Fox possessed nine lives; combined with her power and artifacts, she might endure twenty strikes at most. If nine lives each took three hits, that only accounted for forty-eight bolts. How could she possibly survive the remaining thirty-three, which would be far more lethal? However, there was a secret that neither the crowd nor Chen Huaian understood. Deep within the roiling storm clouds, a faint consciousness peered down. "Is Tu Shan Yue really this pathetic?" Standing before the massive sand table representing the Cangyun Realm, Real Person Jade Compassion stared in disbelief at the Eye of the Heavenly Dao. She had already dampened the power of the first strike by half. Yet, even with a fifty percent reduction, Tu Shan Yue had been mangled... Did this mean she would have to manipulate the trial even more drastically? "It is only natural for her tribulation to be fierce, given her history of bloodshed," a tranquil voice remarked from her side. The Sword Bearer had appeared like a ghost, his eyes tracing the figure struggling within the sand table. "I thought you weren't going to watch?" Real Person Jade Compassion shot him a sarcastic look. "Oh, can't stand to see the little fox hurt? Don't worry, I'll manage the following strikes carefully, making sure she is punished but not destroyed." White Sword said nothing, though his lip twitched almost imperceptibly. In the next heartbeat, his form dissolved into mist. "Hmph." Real Person Jade Compassion huffed, resting her hands on her hips. "If you're worried, just say so. Why play these games? It must be exhausting." Despite her grumbling, she took action. To prevent the Sword Bearer from potentially sabotaging her later, she dialed down the tribulation's intensity once more. ... Back on Taizhou Mountain— Tu Shan Yue forced herself upright, ignoring the crimson stream flowing from her lips. With shaking fingers, she retrieved several healing elixirs from her storage ring and swallowed them all at once. The pills melted instantly, sending waves of potent medicinal Qi through her system. The charred skin began to peel away, replaced by fresh, pink flesh, and her tails regained a glimmer of their former light. However, her complexion remained deathly pale, and a shadow of genuine despair finally flickered in her eyes. Brother White Sword... That name, etched into her very soul and the subject of her every dream, rippled through her heart. That man in the snow-white robes, defined by his peerless sword intent, was the only true passion she had ever known in her long existence. Who could have guessed that the Nine-Tails Heavenly Fox, a creature whose beauty could enthrall the world, would fall so deeply in love? Tu Shan Yue had never expected it herself. To follow his path, to seek that tiny spark of immortality and the chance for an eternal union, she had braced herself to defy the heavens. But now... the divine pressure was a cage, the road ahead was severed... Was it truly... an impossible dream? BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!! The tribulation clouds allowed no respite. The second, third, fourth... all the way to the ninth bolt. Like nine ferocious purple-gold dragons, each larger and swifter than the last, they fell. Carrying the escalating weight of the Heavenly Dao, they crashed down in a relentless barrage. Tu Shan Yue no longer possessed the strength to meet them with her body. Her jade-like hands blurred as she summoned one shimmering spiritual treasure after another. With her internal wounds still mending, these artifacts—collected over thousands of years—were the only shields she had left.