Cultivating in Honkai!

Chapter 434: Through Life and Death

From Kiana’s initial discovery down to Aha’s words, it only took two minutes. The spread of the tribulation energy was extremely swift, reaching the corners of the Zixiao Palace. The others didn’t notice these movements, only that the heart-palpitating sensation enveloped them further. It was, after all, a product of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. Not to mention them, even the Aeons won’t be able to fully make out of it—except for a select few, that is.Just as Aha's presence disappeared after THEY teared off the mask, a feeling of emptiness swept over everyone like a tide. Its recession brought along the terrifying tribulation energy with it, disappearing as soon as the empty sensation came. 

An urge to look in a certain direction overrode their minds’ directives. All of their worries, concerns, and fighting spirit turned still. In the manner of a water droplet rippling across the surface, a subtle thought influenced them to look towards a certain direction. 

A sense of disparity assaulted their senses. The first thought in their minds was the . It was as if they are seeing someone who shouldn't be here; someone who does belong to the present time.

Their eyes saw Shi Tian’s figure. He no longer wore the formal white-blue daoist robes. Replacing it was a plain black hanfu. The sash on his waist was tied messily, with its ends stained with dark golden blood. His wounded palms never healed, eternally drawing out his golden blood. Traces of fingernail marks could be seen over it.

The long hair Shi Tian hated manifested right at this moment. It wasn’t tied into any style, allowing its ends to drop freely to the ground. His bangs grew long enough to cover his eyes. It served to hide his true thoughts… 

A split second was all it took. What was held beneath those hidden eyes was sentiment, longing… and guilt.

The jarring feeling he emanated grew stronger and stronger. The unease in their hearts followed forth.

He raised his bleeding right palm high. Droplets of blood fell to the Dao Ancestor’s meditation pillow. The slow and gradual trickle soon turned into a waterfall of nothing but golden blood. No one could fathom how liters upon liters of blood came out of small body.

When Kiana looked down, she saw the golden blood already touching the soles of her feet. The distance between where she stood and the Dao Ancestor’s pedestal was thousands of kilometers apart!

‘This is… pain. Regrets..!’

The golden blood was no ordinary blood. It invaded the depths of their soul, allowing them to feel the it carried forth. Simultaneously, the sense of reached its peak.

Shi Tian... or rather, his future projection, faced the backlash of and . He who was from the future stepped out of his time, changing things in the past/present. The more this golden blood flowed, the greater the backlash he faced.

His figure flickered several times like a television losing its signal. His body grew faint as time passed by, becoming more and more transparent. The intensity of the tribulation energy grew sharply at one point, only to fall back to normal at another. The power Shi Tian's future projection carried suppressed the tribulation energy. It was supposed to be a paradox, but the immensity of his power made it not like one. Clearly he wasn't just some any Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert. Having surpassed two tribulations—

Everyone did not have the time to mind his changes. They all warily set up their defenses, be it the Daos they have comprehended or the eighth-grade Dao Artifacts they were given.

The words of her future projection flashed inside Kiana's mind. She couldn’t fathom her future projection went through to end up in such a state. Now, she realized the biggest, and perhaps the scariest possibility of them all:

She was about to let her voice out when the pool of golden blood submerged her. It wasn’t limited to Kiana; everybody else experienced it too. They lost control of their bodies as they were swept by the raging tide. The moment they tried to mobilize their abilities, they couldn’t do so. The sea of blood rendered them back to their mortal selves temporarily!

The pungent, iron-like smell of blood rose from Kiana’s nose. It was something that shouldn’t have existed for high-level cultivators. Their bodies had long turned into concepts. The ‘pungent’ and ‘iron-like’ blood embodied concepts. The expected explanations came belatedly. 

At this moment, Kiana almost drowned on it. She didn’t lose her sense of self, but it was so disheartening to the point she lost the will to pick up her blade times. Kiana saw herself as no one but a girl who almost got killed by a honkai beast. Memories of her past failures overwhelmed her mind. Her doubts resurfaced one by one, bringing forth her failures all at once. 

Just then, the that were extinguished regained their spark. Kiana recalled the times she was helped out by the others. The person she has and would ever have… is Shi Tian. 

She was ready to give up her life for the world, but as it turns out, there was someone willing to give his life all for her sake.

‘No..!’

Her closed eyes opened. Bubbles came out of her mouth the moment she opened it. Golden blood came inside her throat, suffocating her physically and spiritually. The bitter and iron-like taste assaulted her senses, causing her body to tremble. Her star-like irises shook, realizing as to all of this came from.

‘Tian..!’

She didn’t have much time to think. Kiana’s biggest habit from hundreds of years ago flared up right at this moment. She gave up thinking and acted without a plan! 

‘No, no, no…’

The Cocoon’s power failed her. The same went for the authority of Destruction she borrowed through the Blade Mantra. Even her power gained through immortal cultivation was a no-go. She was truly like her past self; one whose fate was doctored from the very beginning. She was powerless. She couldn’t do anything at all.

Still…

‘I won’t let you carry them alone..!’

Kiana stopped thinking about anything else. All she cared about was to be by Shi Tian’s side. She wanted to hear his stories, to calm him down, and to shower him with lots of love. 

Suddenly, the sea above her rippled. It showed Shi Tian’s back. Kiana didn’t think twice before swimming towards it.

Before she knew it…

…she got out of the blood sea. She fell from above, landing flat to the ground. 

“Tian…”

Before she could speak, she saw him fall backwards. She immediately pushed herself upwards and sprinted towards him, disregarding her wet clothes. Kiana caught him just in time, preventing his fall. Upon closer look, he was wearing his original clothes. His shoulder-length hair clung closely to her skin due to its wetness.

‘He’s fine…’

Kiana’s tense heart relaxed at this moment. She couldn’t help but brush his bangs upward and look at his peaceful sleeping face. The tribulation energy was no more. Only the pungent blood-like smell was left to remind Kiana of the ordeal she had experienced.

Before long, the others dropped out of nowhere one-by-one. Drops of golden blood littered the pedestal’s surface. Each wore a blank expression, clearly shaken by the things they had witnessed. Seele’s emotions were the worst. A tangible pressure condensed from her ‘small’ body. As if that wasn’t enough, Mei doubled-down by doing the exact same thing. Paint leaked out of Griseo’s body, creating a shallow pool of pitch-black ink on the surface she stood on.

Kiana reverted her gaze back to Shi Tian. An answer came from the depths of her mind.

‘If you will tread the path of death…’