Surviving the Tribulation

Lingxiao Peak, the stairway to heaven for countless cultivators.

She is the most gifted senior disciple on Lingxiao Peak.

Her master once told her that her aptitude was excellent, and that after another hundred years or so of cultivation, she should be able to ascend to immortality.

The Great Dao was within reach, only half a step away, yet she stepped into empty air and plunged into the endless abyss of tribulation.

The tribulation of love was hard to overcome. Her junior brother would casually advise her to take another path.

But she refused to believe it, and failed all seven times she attempted the tribulation.

At last, there was hope. In this lifetime, she had finally found it.

The good news: she's getting married!

The bad news: she's getting married!!!

What! Her husband-to-be is... her junior brother!

Oh no, how did she find out that he's... her junior brother?!

There was no overcoming this tribulation. Her master said she could kill her husband to prove the Dao!

While she hesitated, her junior brother not only became her Dao companion, but also won the grand contest at the Myriad Arts Dao Assembly.

Later, he went down the mountain to gain experience, and when he returned, his cultivation had greatly advanced.

But his personality was no longer what it had been. He was gloomy and melancholy, acting as if she weren't there.

A single moment of poor judgment led to a river of blood at their sect, all because of him, and demons burst out of the pagoda.

Of the thousand-year-old immortal sect, only one person and one sword remained.

She went alone to Kunlun to beg the True God for mercy.

With every step, she knelt, her knees raw and bloody.

With every stair, she bowed, blood streaming down her forehead.

All she received in return was a single sentence: Fate cannot be changed.

But she clearly saw a flicker of pity in the goddess's eyes, which returned to impassive calm a moment later.

"He will accompany you, following where your heart leads, and everything you long for will appear along the way."

At some point, a toad had appeared on the snow in front of her knees, stained red with blood. It was gilded all over and gleaming brightly. Not only could it speak, it could also roll its eyes.

"Look at you, all covered in wounds. Can you even walk on your own? Sigh! Poor Chan Chan. Climb on!"

She: ... Is the Divine Venerable too confident in herself?

Amid the howling wind and snow, a palm-sized golden toad carried her south.

Who was she?

Where was she?

At that moment, Si Qing's mind was completely blank.

The young man's speech was so rapid that her ears buzzed with noise. She couldn't help frowning.

"Everyone says that a life-saving favor should be repaid by giving yourself in marriage. Sister, it's not that I'm unwilling. I'm just afraid you'll be settling for less.

"I heard that before you entered the residence, you ran a tofu stall. Business was brisk, so I imagine the income was quite good. And the freedom of living on your own must be much more pleasant than being shut up in the residence all day.

"It would be such a shame if you were trapped inside because of me, never allowed beyond the inner gates, counting the days away."

A life-saving favor?

Repay it by giving herself in marriage?

Did he mean she was holding her kindness over him and forcing him to marry her?

Ridiculous!

In all her hundred years, she had never suffered such an insult. Plenty of disciples from immortal sects wanted her as their Dao companion.

This young man really didn't know what was good for him!

Before the young man beside her could finish, Si Qing gave a cold snort and abruptly stood up. Her fingertips twitched, but the instant her foot touched the ground, her expression changed.

Where was her spiritual field?

Her vast, boundless spiritual field... It was gone?

The young man wore black and stood at the edge of a cliff. The gale rushing up from below tugged hard at his robes, as if trying to sweep him away.

"Come back!"

The young man ignored the person calling behind him. Instead, he took another step forward, then leaped resolutely into the abyss.

Suddenly, a streak of white light flashed behind him. At that moment, cries of pain rang out from the cliff.

"Ow!"

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"

The young man's handsome face was planted against the ground, while his legs dangled over the edge of the cliff. He was stuck, unable to climb up or fall down, and his face flushed red with the effort.

"Was that fun?"

"No."

"Are you going to jump again?"

"... Senior Sister, I just want to go home."

"Home? Which home? Prince Gong's residence? Or..."

The woman in green held down the young man's arms and leaned over the cliff. Far below, clouds swirled over an abyss thousands of zhang deep. She frowned, then continued, "Your old home?"

When the young man stayed silent, she glowered, grabbed him by the collar, and strode back with him.

The pain she expected never came. She opened her eyes in surprise, only to meet a pair of tender, affectionate black eyes.

Before she could speak, she was already holding a warm heart in her hands.

"Demon Lord, why have you done this?"

Such a generous gift right from the start. He must want something from her.

Golden Toad: (pursing its lips and rolling its eyes) What else could he want? You, obviously!

PS:

1. The setting is fictional. The prologue follows the love story of Daji and Di Xin. This is the author's imagination, so please don't take it too seriously.

2. The male lead is a difficult sort. At first, he's a sweet, innocent puppy; later, he's a domineering wolf.

3. The female lead is an aloof beauty, also known as a spineless cactus: she can be touched and eaten.

Next story: Ashen Love

A cunning, patient power minister × a brilliant princess reborn from the ashes | Rivals who are evenly matched, both using each other as pawns

Everyone knows that the Defender-General's household has a celebrated female general with a brilliant military record, and a young master with considerable talent for martial arts.

People often point from afar at the imperial plaque hanging above the residence's gates, speaking of the eldest daughter Yan Li's heroic defense of the border, or the young master's glory in winning first place in the martial arts exams at just fifteen.

And the second daughter?

Sigh, just a sickly girl, frail and ill-fated, who has to take medicine all year round.

She is Yan Huan, the sickly girl in the mouths of Shengjing's people. Not only is her life short, she is also said to have caused her mother's death.

It seems as if her very existence is a mistake.

On the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, however, her father gave her the name Zhenzhen, wishing her a life of unending vitality.

The name seemed like a prophecy, one that came true as soon as it was spoken.

Less than two years after she left the palace, the newly appointed top scholar Shen Xiu petitioned the emperor for permission to marry her. He even found a miracle doctor to save her life. Everything unfolded so naturally.

For a time, she thought she might live a little longer, free from hardship and disaster.

Unexpectedly, a great fire burned the pleasure boat to ashes. She floated in the air, watching her own body sink into the lake, and felt a hint of relief.

See? Heaven itself would come to claim her life. Nothing anyone said could change that.

When a person dies, their light goes out. All she wanted now was to hurry below and be reborn into a better life.

Yet after her soul wandered for days, neither the Black nor the White Impermanence came to claim it.

When she awoke again, she had become the beloved Zhaohua Princess.

She had finally been granted a long life, but Zhaohua was gone, and so was her father.

Her elder sister and younger brother had gone far away to the border. The enormous general's residence stood empty, with only a retinue of servants left to guard its former glory.

Shen Xiu had never imagined that she would die in an accident.

That night, he carried her body back to the general's residence, dazed from head to toe.

The funeral went ahead as planned. Zhaohua Princess kept demanding that he pay with his life, and when he grew tired of hearing it, he simply avoided her.

Who could have guessed she would be like a mad dog, biting him whenever she saw him?

He truly had intended to kill her. It was a situation from which there should have been no escape, yet she came back to life.

After waking, she seemed like a different person.

She no longer demanded that he pay with his life, but her methods became ever more tormenting. Like an angler, she slowly drove him into a corner.

PS:

· A battle for the female lead's affection

· At first, she is a bright moon shining only on him; later, she shines on every household

· After the female lead is reborn, she sometimes lets her inner thoughts slip, and those destined to hear them can do so

· Happy ending

Theme: Every gain comes with a loss