The wolf king wept!
Not only the wolf king, but also the wolf pack following behind it let out deafening howls. Beyond their sight, their gazes were all concentrated.
Ahead, a youth approached.
A youth whose eyes were also gradually moistening.
Vivid, sound-filled images flashed through his mind.
"Dad! Mom!"
The youth smiled, opened his arms, and exclaimed excitedly, "I'm back!"
Awooo!
With a long howl from the two leading giant wolves, they lunged at the youth, pressing him to the ground and gently licking his face. Their eyes, which should have been filled with cold beastliness, were now brimming with the radiance of love.
This was their child.
This was the child they had raised together.
No matter how much time had passed, they recognized him.
The youth was surrounded by the wolf pack, holding two small wolf cubs in his arms. The cubs, with their pair of sapphire blue eyes, curiously observed the youth.
They seemed to be asking, "Who are you?"
The youth gently stroked the cubs' heads, as if understanding their thoughts.
"I'm your big brother!"
Yes.
Here, all the wolves were his family.
However, this picturesque and warm atmosphere did not last long. A thunderous sound shattered it all.
Rumble!
Across the sky, countless bolts of lightning intertwined, like white dragons coiling in the air, causing a tremor in heaven and earth.
These lightning bolts were pure white and immaculate, vastly different from those found in nature.
"This is..."
Ye Ming stood amidst the wolf pack, looking up. When the white lightning appeared in his vision, an expression of disbelief spread across his face.
"Spiritual Tribulation!"
This was actually a Spiritual Tribulation!
Ye Ming flickered and appeared above the not-yet-fully-bloomed flower bud. He looked down, only able to discern a vague figure from the vital energy.
"Qiushui, is this really destiny?"
Ye Ming's expression was complicated as he murmured to himself.
The so-called Spiritual Tribulation, as its name suggested, was a calamity specifically descended upon "spirits."
However, not all spirits would encounter this tribulation.
Only innate spirits would face such a trial.
Spirits like Fang Junxue, being of acquired origin, would not encounter such a situation.
But undergoing a Spiritual Tribulation was not necessarily a bad thing.
For once an innate spirit endured it and was cleansed by the spiritual lightning, its growth rate would far surpass that of an acquired spirit.
Moreover, upon birth, it would directly bypass the three realms of all things and step directly into the Prime Origin Realm. The talent for Prime Origin Power awakened would be innate.
Their starting point would be at least Saint tier.
How terrifying was this?
But all of this was contingent on successfully passing the Spiritual Tribulation. Failure meant the destruction of their soul and becoming nothingness.
Ye Ming looked up at the converging spiritual lightning in the sky, his brow furrowed slightly.
This outcome had greatly exceeded his expectations.
Logically, Bai Qiushui should not have become an innate spirit.
He himself had preserved a trace of her remnant soul, used the Phoenix Nirvana technique to alter her physique and cleanse her talent.
Innate spirits, on the other hand, were conceived from the genesis of all things, their souls born from the myriad elements. With the passage of time and gentle nurturing, they would eventually achieve a spiritual body.
This was the true nature of an innate spirit.
Bai Qiushui clearly did not fit this description.
Yet, how could the appearance of the Spiritual Tribulation be explained?
This was something only innate spirits experienced.
"Fine!"
Ye Ming shook his head and retreated to the side.
This was not the time to ponder these matters.
Furthermore, the descent of the Spiritual Tribulation was beyond his ability to interfere.
Any forced intervention would not only offer no help to Bai Qiushui but would also cause her to suffer a backlash, leading to unforeseeable consequences.
It could only be said that this was Bai Qiushui's fate!
"Qiushui! We are all waiting for you, you must persevere!"
Ye Ming clenched his fists and looked towards the center of the flower bud.
The flower bud had now fully bloomed, with dense vital energy swirling around a graceful figure. All things seemed to have ceased breathing at this moment, and apart from the continuously gathering thunder, everything fell silent.
All were awaiting the birth of this spirit.
Rumble!
The white lightning in the sky intertwined and converged at a single point. The entire firmament was filled with a power of chaotic destruction. The domineering energy contained within could likely obliterate a Prime Origin Realm cultivator in an instant.
Boom!
The lightning struck, instantly annihilating the air before it. A path of vacuum, devoid of all laws, led directly to the flower bud.
One end of the path was extreme destruction. The other end was the great path of vitality.
Life and death!
In this very moment.
As the destructive lightning descended, the figure within the flower bud suddenly looked up, then transformed into a white light, soaring towards the heavens.
Bang!
In the blink of an eye, the lightning collided with her.
The instant they made contact, the entire sky fell silent. The destructive lightning raged within her body, attempting to devour all her life force.
This was Bai Qiushui's final test to achieve her spiritual form.
In the distance, Ye Ming watched Bai Qiushui being engulfed by the lightning, his heart seemingly stopping. His blood-red eyes were fixed on the center of the raging storm, and a terrifying energy surged within him.
Simultaneously, he extended his senses to their absolute limit.
The moment he detected Bai Qiushui's life force rapidly dwindling, he would descend to rescue her, even at the cost of sustaining grievous injuries.
Even if rescuing her meant she would only become an ordinary person, he would still save her.
Ye Ming knew better than anyone that the primary reason Bai Qiushui chose to undergo Nirvana rebirth was because of him.
Therefore, Ye Ming absolutely could not stand idly by and watch her perish.
Ten minutes later.
The lightning continued, and Bai Qiushui's life force within her was continuously diminishing, having been almost entirely consumed.
She could hold on for at most another minute.
"Damn it!"
Ye Ming's pupils grew increasingly bloodshot as he advanced step by step towards the center of the lightning sea.
He could not wait any longer.
"Stop... Stop!"
Just as he was preparing to move forward, a gentle and watery voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Qiu... Qiushui!"
Ye Ming froze in place.
This was Bai Qiushui's voice.
"No... Don't come!"
Bai Qiushui's voice carried a hint of pleading, "Ye... Ye Ming, trust me, okay?"
Bai Qiushui remembered his name.
Upon hearing this, Ye Ming's joy was short-lived, and his expression grew even more solemn.
From these brief words, it was clear that she was struggling desperately.
"Qiushui! Give up, please. We..."
As Ye Ming prepared to take another step, Bai Qiushui's next words made him dare not advance further.
"If you come any closer, I will immediately destroy my own foundation, and we will never see each other again!"