When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

Jiang Mo had never seen black lightning before, nor even heard of it. But just one glance made her heart pound uncontrollably, her instincts screaming danger, unable to summon even the slightest thought of resistance.

"What... what is this?" Jiang Mo's face turned deathly pale as she instinctively clutched Golden Peng's sleeve.

Golden Peng's expression was no better than Jiang Mo's. He drew in a sharp breath and said, "It's annihilation lightning. I've never heard of anyone surviving under annihilation lightning. It seems the Heavenly Dao truly won't allow another divine beast in this world..." His voice grew increasingly quiet toward the end, his emotions indescribably complex, as if witnessing the final demise of the divine beast race.

Jiang Mo, however, couldn't care less about this. She froze completely, her face filled with disbelief—people often say "of the fifty ways of the Dao, heaven governs forty-nine," meaning there's always a sliver of hope. The Heavenly Dao could tolerate her, a transmigrator, yet it couldn't accept her Senior Sister?!

Before this black lightning descended, Jiang Mo had thought the worst would simply be a heart trial, but who knew the Heavenly Dao had left no path for survival at all!

But it was too late to say anything now. Resisting the fear in her heart, Jiang Mo rushed forward several steps and cried out hoarsely, "Senior Sister..."

Golden Peng quickly pulled her back, first glaring at her and rebuking, "Are you trying to die?!" After scolding her, he glanced at where the lightning was falling and suddenly realized, "So this Little Swan Goose was brought in by you. I was wondering why I hadn't detected her."

Jiang Mo could no longer hear what he was saying. Her eyes were fixated on where the black lightning was falling, hoping desperately for a miracle... But there was none. The black lightning, like a merciless arrow, shot toward the white bird who had no time to escape, precisely piercing through her chest. The Swan Goose only had time to look down before seeing flames erupt from the hole in her chest.

Orange-red flames burst forth instantly, like fire meeting gasoline, surging to engulf the entire giant white bird. Jiang Mo heard only a cry of agony before the entire Swan Goose was consumed by the great fire.

It was heavenly fire, capable of incinerating everything in the world. Even though Yun Qingyue had long tamed ice flames, they were of no use now.

Jiang Mo's eyes immediately turned red. Her lips moved several times, but she couldn't make a sound, as if struck mute. She finally broke free from Golden Peng's grasp, heedless of all else, but the heavenly fire burned at a speed far beyond normal expectations. By the time she stumbled to the scene, the fire had almost burned itself out—the massive bird, whose wingspan had stretched dozens of zhang, was now reduced to the size of a fist. There was no way she could have survived.

The extreme heat scorched Jiang Mo as she approached, instinctively filling her with dread. By the time she overcame this fear and reached out her hand, she couldn't even touch the last flame before the heavenly fire was completely extinguished.

All that remained was a pile of ashes and the white feathers that had fallen earlier, proving that everything that had just happened wasn't an illusion.

Jiang Mo stood dumbfounded, her hand still raised, yet nothing remained before her. Her mind first went blank. Her body instinctively sank down until she stood amidst the fallen white feathers, her face full of helplessness and bewilderment. A moment later, as if finally coming to her senses, heart-wrenching pain swept over her...

"Little tiger cub, are you alright?" Golden Peng had appeared beside her at some point, concern in his eyes.

Jiang Mo seemed to hear his voice but didn't register what he said. Suddenly, her legs gave way and she fell to her knees among the feathers, her hands touching the ground, her body trembling violently.

The ensuing heartache, self-blame, guilt, and regret nearly overwhelmed her.

It was her fault. She shouldn't have interfered. If her Senior Sister had awakened and transformed normally, she would never have reverted to a divine beast Swan Goose that the Heavenly Dao couldn't tolerate. She thought she was helping her Senior Sister by placing dragon bones in her space to stimulate her awakening, even fearing that her Senior Sister wouldn't absorb enough spiritual energy during awakening, so she drained the entire set of dragon bones to assist her. And the result, the result...

It was her fault. This cultivation world, seemingly prosperous, had long become a road of no return for divine beasts. Perhaps if she hadn't interfered, her Senior Sister's bloodline awakening would have simply made her some type of demon, avoiding such a fate!

The more Jiang Mo thought, the more she blamed herself, the more inconsolable she became. Moreover, her body hadn't yet recovered, and now both her spirit and body were gravely injured. A rush of blood welled up in her throat, and her vision began to darken intermittently.

Standing beside her, Golden Peng felt it most clearly—the little white tiger's aura had plummeted, clearly indicating severe injury.

With so few divine beasts left in the cultivation world, one had just been struck down, and now this newly born cub seemed about to follow. Golden Peng was so frightened his fur nearly stood on end. He raised his hand to subdue her, intending to knock her unconscious to prevent further heartbreak. As for what came after, perhaps time would heal all wounds?

Golden Peng's cultivation far exceeded Jiang Mo's, and his movements were swift. Logically, subduing her should have been effortless. However, his attempt was blocked by Jiang Mo, who suddenly turned her head, her bloodshot eyes filled with killing intent so intense that even Golden Peng was momentarily stunned.

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Everything that happened today was an unwarranted disaster for the Buddha Sect.

On what was originally a serene Dharma lecture day, a group of monks had gathered to discuss Buddhist teachings, each gaining insights and feeling content. Then, a sudden lightning tribulation shattered the peace—this wasn't blameworthy in itself; everyone was a cultivator, and breakthrough in cultivation was a good thing. No one would miss the opportunity to advance unless it was a life-or-death emergency.

However, today's lightning tribulation was unusually powerful. Everyone thought another great cultivator of the Buddha Sect was breaking through. But before they could offer congratulations, they suddenly saw a giant white bird flying into the sky, casting a large shadow.

The monks within the range of the tribulation were startled and scattered in all directions, while others hurried over to witness the spectacle.

Outsiders assumed it was a spirit beast raised by the Buddha Sect advancing in cultivation. Those with higher cultivation who sensed the white bird was of the demon race thought it must have some connection to the Buddha Sect. But only the Buddha Sect members themselves knew they hadn't raised any spirit beasts, had no relationship with the demon race worth even half a spirit stone, and were seeing this giant white bird for the first time.

With tribulation clouds gathering and lightning about to strike, no one could investigate where this white bird had come from. Then the lightning fell, each bolt stronger than the last. Although the white bird absorbed most of it, some still leaked out.

Consequently, the Buddha Sect's buildings suffered. Though it was only a few bolts of heavenly lightning, they destroyed a large area of halls and pavilions, not to mention countless plants struck by lightning. By the time the lightning tribulation finally ended and the white giant bird was reduced to nothing, before the young monks could lament being unable to claim compensation from the white bird, they witnessed a white tiger on the verge of going berserk...

Heavens, how unlucky could they be?!

Though the White Tiger was a divine beast, she was a war deity. The little tiger cub might look fluffy and pettable, but when a full-grown, enlarged White Tiger appeared before them, few could avoid feeling weak in the knees. Furthermore, this White Tiger was on the edge of going berserk, emanating a killing intent so strong that even Golden Peng could barely withstand it, forcing him to take two steps back to avoid her sharp edge.

Golden Peng hadn't expected the little tiger cub to react so strongly. Taking two steps back to appear amicable, he earnestly tried to persuade her. He said things like "the dead cannot be revived" and "she wouldn't want to see you like this"—every word hitting a nerve.

The White Tiger let out an angry roar, tiger's howl spreading throughout the entire Buddha Sect. Anyone could hear her anger and grief.

By now, the high monks of the Buddha Sect, alerted by the lightning tribulation, had gradually arrived. Had it been anyone else causing trouble on their territory, the monks would have unceremoniously thrown them out. However, there was only one White Tiger in the world, and these monks were well aware of Jiang Mo's identity, making them hesitant to take action against her.

Golden Peng also signaled the monks not to approach. Seeing the White Tiger appeared furious to the extreme, nearly ready to bite someone, he wisely fell silent. Fortunately, the White Tiger hadn't lost her rationality enough to harm anyone. After a moment's hesitation, Golden Peng proactively retreated further.

The White Tiger indeed didn't pursue him. The sorrowful big tiger roared a few more times, then ignored everyone else and began to gather the scattered feathers on the ground—the Swan Goose had been huge, and many feathers had been struck down by the heavenly lightning. Even now, gathering them was a considerable pile. The White Tiger didn't miss a single one, collecting them all together, then laid down on top of them and became motionless.

The people of the Buddha Sect looked at each other in consternation, not knowing how to react, hesitating whether to send a message to Xuanqing Sect.

Seeing this, Golden Peng grew increasingly worried, but no matter what he said now, the White Tiger paid no attention to him. Yet he could sense that the White Tiger's aura was growing weaker and weaker. Even if she wasn't dying of heartbreak, continuing like this would inevitably lead her into deep slumber.

This was not good news.

Though divine beasts lived long lives, and sleeping for a few hundred or thousand years wasn't an issue, normal sleep and falling into deep slumber were different. Who knew if the little tiger cub would ever wake up from this sleep, or when she might awaken? Perhaps she would sleep for tens of thousands of years, and when she woke, the world would have changed completely, the cultivation world no longer able to accommodate divine beasts—a prospect chilling to contemplate.

Golden Peng grew anxious. The White Tiger was the only divine beast cub he had seen in thousands of years. Even though they had just met today, he couldn't bear to watch her fall into such a state.

He hurriedly rushed over to try to wake the White Tiger, pulling at her ear and pleading, "Little tiger cub, little tiger cub, wake up. I know you're heartbroken, but heartbreak is temporary, you'll feel better soon..."

Though Golden Peng was knowledgeable, he was quite clumsy with words, his consolations not at all comforting. But this time, Jiang Mo, who had closed her eyes and was dazed, actually heard what he was saying, though she had no desire to respond—her perfectly fine Senior Sister, such a magnificent Senior Sister, was gone just like that. And she was gone because of her meddling. How could she accept this? How could she not be heartbroken?

Her heartbreak would never heal, no matter how much time passed, unless her Senior Sister could return from the dead!