Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 836: So Curious!

No matter what.

The heavenly tribulation was over.

Even though it was a somewhat diminished form of the heavenly tribulation, with ninety-nine bolts crashing down simultaneously, its potency remained formidable despite Chen Huaian's sword formation absorbing half the force. It was undeniably potent and overwhelmingly mighty. At the least, Spirit Void Old Ghost was left utterly drained, his secret techniques expended, and he had resigned himself to inevitable death in utter hopelessness.

Thus, the majesty of the Heavenly Dao was upheld.

Spirit Void Old Ghost had once disregarded the might of heaven and earth, yet now he submitted fully, fulfilling her aim in directing the heavenly tribulation.

There was truly no necessity to summon yet another heavenly tribulation for Spirit Void Old Ghost.

Leaving aside his current utter lack of defense against a heavenly tribulation; even the Heavenly Dao's Eye required a period to recover its power.

"Let it remain so."

...

Cangyun Realm.

Spirit Void Old Ghost's emaciated hand shook faintly as it caressed the warm cloud motifs on the Immortal Bridge.

Immortal spiritual energy streamed like a river from his fingers, permeating his arms, legs, and torso.

The scorched tissue at the stump of his left arm unexpectedly started growing fresh tendrils of flesh, visible to the naked eye.

His once-faded ghostly energy resumed flowing through his veins, bringing a renewed sharpness reminiscent of a fresh start.

He abruptly swiveled his head toward Chen Huaian, his clouded gaze igniting with a never-before-seen intensity, free from the earlier gloom and defeat.

In that moment, understanding dawned on him.

Heaven and earth hold no favoritism; they pay no mind to whether the lives he took were justified or not.

Reflecting upon himself through the lens of heaven and earth, all that appeared was an endless ocean of bloodshed.

He ought to have perished beneath the heavenly tribulation; only the protective destiny energy from the Moon Shadow Sect had spared him from doom.

Moreover, Chen Huaian's sword formation had shouldered half the lightning's fury. This wasn't mere salvation; it was a benevolence equivalent to granting new life!

"Chen Sword Master!" His tone rasped yet betrayed uncontainable thrill. As he dropped to one knee, the earth quivered faintly. "This old man's survival through this tribulation today owes everything to your noble aid!

Without you providing this Moon Shadow Sect, a land blessed by geomancy, as a site for my ascension, and employing the sect's vast destiny energy to shield and bolster me...

That earlier lightning tribulation alone, even with the Heavenly Dao's leniency, might have overwhelmed this old man before the Immortal Bridge could appear!"

Chen Huaian arched a brow while observing him, his fingers still lingering with the lethargy of True Essence from powering the sword formation moments before.

Recalling the ten thousand top-grade spirit jade pieces squandered, his lip curled slightly, though he offered no reply.

Spirit Void Old Ghost pressed on with his fervent declarations regardless, tracing the slowly vanishing soul imprint on his chest: "This old man has honed his cultivation over five thousand years, waded through piles of bodies and rivers of blood, and witnessed innumerable cultivators reduced to dust by heavenly tribulations. I had assumed my fate would mirror theirs.

Yet the destiny energy of your Moon Shadow Sect proves profoundly enigmatic. During that descent of lightning tribulation earlier, this old man distinctly sensed a robust, potent stream of destiny energy encasing my Divine Soul. The heaven's punitive lightning, meant to purge evil, was actually diminished by thirty percent!

And this site for ascension, its spiritual energy is so rich it's on the verge of turning liquid, surpassing the Spirit Vein in this old man's corpse repository by a hundredfold. Without it, even by igniting my Vital Essence, I couldn't have endured until the Immortal Bridge emerged!"

These statements held thirty percent sincerity and seventy percent illusion, born of his own mental impressions.

The Moon Shadow Sect did concentrate the grand destiny energy of Cangyun, but of every hundred portions, Chen Huaian claimed ninety-nine.

Absent Real Person Jade Compassion's unintended error, absent White Sword's need for workers, Spirit Void Old Ghost would have met his end.

Since the true causes remained hidden, everyone could only form their individual assumptions.

Having finished, Spirit Void Old Ghost rose, brushed the dirt from his robes. Though his left arm dangled uselessly, his presence had transformed.

The ghostly energy cloaking him had lost its malevolence, acquiring a touch of the purity inherent in immortal spiritual energy.

"Chen Sword Master's immense favor, this old man shall etch into his soul, undying even in demise!" He bowed deeply with clasped hands, his declaration steady and powerful. "Having ascended to immortality this day, this old man heads to the Immortal Realm for further cultivation. When you face your tribulation and claim immortality later, this old man will fetch wondrous artifacts from the Immortal Realm and arrange a hundred banquet tables of celestial delicacies at the Heavenly Gate to honor and purify your arrival! Given your insight and prowess, immortality lies just ahead. It may not even require a century for our reunion in the Immortal Realm!"

While uttering these, Spirit Void Old Ghost envisioned his rapid progress in the Immortal Realm, building influence and laying groundwork for Chen Huaian.

Soon enough, he would be the one supporting Chen Huaian.

These promises weren't empty courtesies.

Spirit Void Old Ghost, with five thousand years behind him, had encountered cultivators as plentiful as bovine bristles,

yet never had he beheld one who, at the Great Ascension Stage, grasped such a fierce and unbound Sword Intent, let alone deployed a horrifying Blue Lotus Sword Domain single-handedly.

Chen Huaian's aptitude was a rarity once every ten thousand years in the Cangyun Realm. For him, immortality would come as effortlessly as plucking from a pouch.

Chen Huaian dismissed with a wave, his voice laced with mild annoyance, a shadow of unease in his gaze: "Enough, enough! Your ascension today proves you possess the fated path. My Moon Shadow Sect's destiny energy served only as support.

The Immortal Bridge stands ready to lead you over. If you're set on ascending, make haste and proceed. Don't linger before this Venerable One's sect entrance."

For all his brusqueness, he instinctively retreated a couple of paces, his eyes fixed on the ever-more-substantial Immortal Bridge.

Spirit Void Old Ghost chuckled boisterously, unperturbed by the tone, and pivoted to regard the Immortal Bridge.

Now, upon the Immortal Bridge, the seven-colored Radiant Glow intensified, myriad specks of light morphing into cascading rune inscriptions.

The immortal spiritual energy saturating the atmosphere grew so thick it threatened to form droplets, making the spiritual flora and elixirs across the Moon Shadow Sect rustle and glow softly.

"This old man departs!" Spirit Void Old Ghost bellowed, springing skyward, his form blurring into a gray beam as he touched down on the Immortal Bridge.

The instant his sole met the surface, the Immortal Bridge shuddered fiercely. Vast billows of clouds and vapors erupted from its structure, forming vibrant butterflies that fluttered chaotically in the firmament, encircling him in a joyful whirl.

Right then, otherworldly Celestial Music filled the space between sky and ground. No earthly tool could mimic it, as if originating from the loftiest Nine Heavens, pure, harmonious, and elegant, resounding across the whole Cangyun Realm.

The Immortal Bridge lifted gradually into the heavens, its velocity mounting swiftly.

Spirit Void Old Ghost's silhouette shone brighter amid the Radiant Glow.

The spectral aura enveloping him vanished entirely, supplanted by untainted immortal spiritual power. His garments billowed in the breeze, lending him a semblance of true immortality.

"Chen Sword Master, farewell!" He twisted back and called out, his words cutting through the Celestial Music to reach Chen Huaian's hearing distinctly.

Chen Huaian tilted his head up, observing the Immortal Bridge, with its trailing rainbow contrail, pierce the clouds and ascend toward the farthest reaches of the sky.

En route, the cloud banks parted on their own.

Innumerable fine luminous raindrops descended from above, sprinkling the peaks, streams, flora, and foliage of the Moon Shadow Sect, infusing extra vigor into the already vibrant sect premises.

The Moon Shadow Sect disciples had congregated in the plaza below, gazing upward at this monumental event, their expressions brimming with astonishment and reverence.

All dropped to their knees, prostrating before the rising immortal.

Spirit Void Old Ghost's form shrank progressively, diminishing to a mere speck of light that winked out at the sky's boundary.

Having completed its purpose, the Immortal Bridge dimmed progressively, dissolving into dispersing vapors that wafted away on the breeze.

With the Immortal Bridge's vanishing, the immortal spiritual energy in the air commenced a gradual retreat.

The once-stifled spiritual energy resumed circulating freely. The golden sheen over the Blue Lotus Sword Domain waned, exposing the undamaged Moon Shadow Sect mountain gate below.

The thunderclouds had dissipated ages ago. The firmament stretched clear for myriad miles.

Sunbeams sifted through the clouds, gentle and radiant, as though the apocalyptic lightning tribulation prior had been a mere illusion.

Chen Huaian averted his eyes, rubbed his chin, glanced toward Spirit Void Old Ghost's vanishing point, and squinted faintly.

The heavenly tribulations within this Cangyun Realm were growing ever more baffling.

Presently, his primary body had attained the Great Ascension Stage. For his clone to advance to the pinnacle of the Great Ascension Three Tribulations realm required only a simple tribulation.

A touch more effort in cultivation, and wouldn't immortality lie directly ahead?

Perhaps he ought to venture to the Immortal Realm to uncover the truth?

Truly... such overwhelming curiosity!

Chen Huaian's mind itched like a feline's claws. Advancing to the Great Ascension Three Tribulations realm posed no issue, but immortality... prudence was key.

The circumstances remained murky, and Li Qingran was still absent from the miniature world.

What if his clone fell? Wouldn't he forfeit a safeguard for Li Qingran?

Abruptly, the Canglan Mirror at his side hummed and quivered.

Chen Huaian retrieved it for a view, promptly casting immortality from his thoughts.

In plain sight of the assembled disciples, he selected a nearby stone, settled into a meditative pose, and focused wholly on the Canglan Mirror, relishing its contents.

— The initial phase of the academy tournament on Li Qingran's end had commenced.

...