After Transmigrating as a Wealthy Woman: Don’t You Dare Touch My Baby! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 98

Seven days later, tribulation clouds descended upon the world. A fellow cultivator was undergoing transcendence atop the Hehuan Sect.

The various sects that had previously fought over the little phoenix were struck with a sense of self-preservation. They scrambled to find hiding places. After all, if she successfully ascended, what if she came back to settle old scores?

Nine heavenly lightning bolts struck, turning the world into a chaotic blur of light and shadow.

“My disciple’s talent has actually incited the jealousy of the Heavens,” Chilian murmured, standing two miles away from the strike zone. She frowned at the oppressive, pitch-black clouds overhead. Usually, a tribulation cloud only covered a specific area. But for her disciple, the entire realm was shrouded in darkness. Cultivation was an act of defying the heavens, but it seemed her disciple was practically “stepping on the Dao’s head.”

“This can no longer be called mere talent. She is a Chosen One, born of destiny. The world is changing; something monumental is about to happen.” Beimeng lowered her head, pinching her fingers to perform a divination, yet she could calculate nothing.

“Why are you here?” Chilian asked, startled.

“Did you receive the summons from the Qilin?” Beimeng asked solemnly.

Chilian’s breath hitched. “I… last night, the Black Tortoise entered my dream. He told me to discard my physical body and return to the Demon Realm.” Her voice quickened. “I thought it was just a dream. You received an epiphany too?”

“Yes.” Beimeng looked toward Zhong Ying. The lightning had ceased, and a sliver of dawn was breaking through the clouds. “The Upper Three Realms… I fear something catastrophic has occurred.”

Zhu Xingtong watched as the ninth bolt finished its work. As the clouds dispersed, she rushed to Zhong Ying’s side. “Cub! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Zhong Ying exhaled a breath of turbid air. her clothes were tattered, and she smelled of charred ozone. But she had endured.

“The Gate of Ascension is opening.”

The clouds vanished, replaced by a high-hanging rainbow. A golden gate leading directly to the Upper Realms appeared. Zhong Ying stood up with difficulty, took Zhu Xingtong’s small hand, and walked toward the light. To ascend and become an Immortal—something countless cultivators dreamed of for centuries—she had achieved in less than two months.

As they crossed the threshold, Zhong Ying felt something trying to detach from her body. It was a shadow—her shadow—pitch black and teeming with latent desires.

“Cub! Don’t let the shadow leave you!” Zhu Xingtong cried out, her expression turning serious. “The Mara will eat your malice! Pull it back! As long as you don’t abandon your dark thoughts, the shadow won’t leave!”

Normally, Ascenders discarded their “evil thoughts” (malice) upon reaching the Upper Realm. But here, the Mara fed on such shadows. Every discarded thought was a meal for the monster.

Zhong Ying acted instantly, pulling her shadow back into herself. As it re-integrated, she felt a sense of wholeness. In that moment, she realized what her “evil” was. It wasn’t greed for wealth, power, or fame. Her only “malice” was her obsessive attachment to Zhu Xingtong.

It was a possessive, snarling desire that whispered: Zhu Xingtong belongs only to me. It was almost laughable. Long ago, Zhong Ying had been a loner, insulating herself from the world. Then Zhu Xingtong had burst in like a ray of light, shouting that she would never abandon her, even across thousands of miles.

“Cub, how do you feel?” Zhu Xingtong asked, worried. No one had ever forcibly kept their malice before.

Zhong Ying smiled. “It’s fine. This malice might follow me for a lifetime.”

“But… is that healthy for your mind?”

Zhong Ying squinted, her smile widening. “It’s okay.” As long as she controlled it, it was just possessiveness. If she didn’t… well, the worst that could happen was locking Zhu Xingtong away for a few days and nights. What else could go wrong?

Deep within the Heavenly Realm, a mass of black mist—the Mara—writhed in confusion.

“Delicious food… Why was my food taken back?” The mist coiled into the shape of a giant question mark. “The food is gone!”

Then, confusion turned to rage. The Mara, composed of the collective malice of all previous Ascenders, roared with killing intent: “GIVE IT BACK! GIVE ME MY FOOD!”

The Four Gods suppressing the Mara felt the seal tremble.

“What is happening? The Mara is furious!”

“Increase the pressure!” the Golden Dragon commanded. “We cannot let it break free before everyone arrives!”

The four divine totems lit up, forcing the black mist back down. The Mara screamed: “FOUR GODS!!”

The Divine Phoenix arched her neck elegantly. “Why are you screaming?” But suddenly, her heart skipped a beat. Her expression changed.

“What is it, Phoenix?” the Qilin asked.

“My youngest… she’s back,” the Phoenix said, breathless. “She’s heading toward the Heavenly Realm.”

The Black Tortoise swished his tail, and his shell shimmered, revealing an image of Zhong Ying and Zhu Xingtong riding a Wind-Stepping Beast.

“She was so weak just days ago,” the Phoenix murmured. “She almost lost to that Qinghe-zi.”

“And now, she has already ascended,” the Tortoise noted.

The Golden Dragon sighed with regret. “With such talent… if not for the Mara, she might have become a True God.”

“She chose a terrible time to ascend,” the Qilin added. “Just as the Upper Realms are about to face destruction.”

The Phoenix spread her wings. “I must go and tell them to leave! If we fail to kill the Mara, they are the last sparks of hope for our world!”

“You cannot leave,” the Golden Dragon stopped her. If one God left their post, the seal would break instantly.

The Black Tortoise let out a low, rumbling chuckle. “We carry everything ourselves and forget that above us, there is still the Heavenly Dao. Don’t you think her rapid ascension is the Dao’s will?”

“What do you mean?”

“Look closely,” the Tortoise smiled. “I still see the shadow of ‘malice’ upon her.”

The Three Gods were shocked. Normally, the Heavenly Dao stripped a cultivator of their malice during ascension, feeding it to the Mara. But Zhong Ying had kept hers. This meant the Mara hadn’t touched her.

“She hasn’t been ‘peeled’ by the world,” the Tortoise whispered. “Perhaps… she is the miracle the Heavenly Dao has provided to help us slay the Mara.”