The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

When the last bolt of lightning struck, the heart meridian protected by the Ningbi Pill finally suffered a blow.

Lin Du frowned abruptly, his previously calm expression instantly contorting into a wrinkled, steamed bun.

She clutched her heart uncontrollably; the excruciating pain of her heart being torn apart was more unbearable than the electric shock. Her brain felt as if it had been struck by an axe, and even her thoughts were scattered.

If she had known that the Heavenly Tribulation was so painful, why would she have bothered cultivating to become an immortal? She should have just waited to die.

Lin Du cursed inwardly, but like a college student who cursed a hundred times in private but still maintained a good attitude and insisted on completing the task, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

They may talk a good game, but their actions speak louder than words.

With the last vestiges of her consciousness, she retrieved the pills Jiang Liang had prepared for her and, ignoring the sweet taste escaping her throat, stuffed them into her mouth.

The medicine worked its magic, repairing the damaged internal organs and soothing the aching heart.

As the lightning tribulation gradually dissipated, rain, brimming with restorative and life-giving power, began to fall from the sky. This was one of the ways cultivators could provide spiritual nourishment to the land they inhabited.

The skin that had been burned by lightning was quickly growing new skin. The cold rain fell on the girl who was sprawled on the ground. Her clothes were tattered, and her blue robe was now a charred rag. She stared blankly up at the rain, letting the rain heal her tormented body. The pain and itching from the healing made her too lazy to move.

Jiang Liang and Yan Ye walked over. The child's skin was pale and translucent like jade. Rainwater still clung to the bridge of his nose and in his eye sockets. His eyes were clear and bright, yet they looked desolate and weary.

After a long while, the child chuckled softly, "Before I came here, everyone said that cultivating immortality was a respectable job, and that you could get a government job after ascending to immortality. Nobody told me that I would also get struck by lightning."

"What's the difference between this and adults lying to kids that they can enjoy certain benefits if they get into university?"

Yan Ye and Jiang Liang exchanged a glance. "Has my apprentice been struck by lightning and lost his mind? You need to take a look, what happened to my smart apprentice?"

Jiang Liang actually squatted down and examined it. "It's not bad, it's very good. The soul is solid, and the body has been repaired to about 70-80%. It seems that the heart meridian is protected by some kind of medicinal power, and there are no signs of decay. The lungs and internal organs are also 90% unblocked. Other deficiencies will require years of nourishment."

Gradually, the rain stopped.

A magnificent rainbow gradually appeared on the horizon, its radiant light painting half the sky red.

Lin Du hadn't moved yet; she was truly numb with pain. Even though her heart had been repaired, she still felt a dull ache. The first thing she did was spit out a blood bubble.

Yan Ye's heart stopped when he saw this. He picked up the person and cried out, "Lin Du? Lin Du? Is Lin Du alright? Say something to your master!"

Lin Du’s throat moved, and another blood bubble choked out.

...It's not that she didn't want to talk, she just couldn't bring herself to say it.

The monstrous master picked her up, and the blood that had overflowed from her throat got stuck in her trachea, unable to go up or down.

She patted Yan Ye's arm with difficulty, then rolled over and lay on the ground, vomiting a mouthful of blood.

Jiang Liang couldn't bear to watch, so he silently turned away with his hands behind his back.

Having such a master is bad luck for Lin Du.

This master will ruin her sooner or later.

Lin Du felt a little better after spitting out blood. A crane cloak appeared on his shoulder; it belonged to Jiang Liang.

She then noticed that her senior brother was wearing a fox fur coat, yet he was still shivering from the cold.

Luo Ze's formation can turn water into ice in an instant. It not only deals physical damage from the extreme cold of the north, but also magical damage from the winter of the south. Even a True Person at the Radiant Sun Realm would be turned into an ice sculpture in no time without the protection of spiritual energy.

Lin Du thanked him and straightened up, finding his body full of spiritual energy. He could barely see the outline of the meridians in his body before, but now he could completely see his own body, and his spiritual sense spread out much wider than before.

She stood up. "I'm hungry. Is it time yet? I want to show off my food."

Jiang Liang nodded, "It's still a bit short, but it should be underway."

"Perfect timing, I'll change my clothes. If I go begging now, even the Beggars' Guild will think I'm dressed too shabbily."

Lin Du leisurely headed back to her cave, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just narrowly escaped death.

"Lin Du," Yan Ye suddenly called out to her.

Lin Du turned his head and raised an eyebrow at his master, "What's wrong? What did I tell you? Don't look down on me."

"You haven't done your homework yet. Luo Ze is over there. Go in by yourself. You're filthy. Even a monkey that's rolled in the mud is cleaner than you."

Lin Du clicked his tongue and drawled, "Okay, okay, don't look."

Yan Ye lowered his eyes. "I'm blind."

Lin Du ignored him and walked to the suspended ice waterfall by himself. He put his crane cloak into his storage ring, scratched his head, and said, "My head is so itchy. Do I need to grow a brain?"

The Foundation Establishment Tribulation had almost completely rejuvenated her physical body. Lin Du estimated that her body was covered in scabs and new flesh, so it was inevitably painful and itchy.

She reached out and used her spiritual power to break open the thick ice shell, then jumped inside.

The water in Luoze is spiritual water, second only to the Heavenly Rain, a place where blessings and longevity from heaven and earth gather. Yan Ye was afraid that relying solely on the Heavenly Rain wouldn't be enough for her, so he added that striking while the iron was hot might completely cleanse her lungs.

Lin Du knew everything, but didn't argue back much.

Just like before, in order to put Yan Ye at ease, she could still joke and laugh with him before the tribulation.

The master and disciple both knew everything in their hearts, but they just didn't want to let their clichéd worries be expressed in mushy words.

Jiang Liang couldn't understand the way the master and apprentice interacted. He shook his head, sneezed, and said, "I'm leaving."

"Hmm." Yan Ye nodded. "You still want me, a blind man, to escort you?"

Jiang Liang scoffed, waved his sleeve, and took a few steps away from this icy and snowy place that no living person should ever set foot in.

Just as Lin Du was enduring the scouring of the raging torrent beneath the ice as he struggled upstream, a towering stone pillar on Mount Fuyun in Zhongzhou shone with golden light, and the characters on it, without any human intervention, began to move on their own.

The power of Heaven surged, prompting those stationed at the foot of the mountain to hurriedly descend to observe.

A new line of characters suddenly appeared on the stone pillar: "Lin Du, Thirteen Years Old, Qin Xin Jing" (林渡, meaning "Lin Du's Heart at the Age of Thirteen").

The small print notes read, "He established his foundation two months after entering the Dao, becoming the number one talent on the Azure Cloud Ranking."

"Lin Du... Lin Du." The Taoist stared at the words above, "Foundation Establishment in two months... The number one talent on the Azure Cloud Ranking."

The Azure Cloud Ranking beneath Floating Cloud Mountain is a creation of the Heavenly Dao, with a pillar reaching to the heavens named Azure Cloud. There is also an island in the sea named Jade Terrace, and on Jade Terrace there is another pillar reaching to the heavens named Chongxiao.

Soaring to the heavens, it records the young talents who have emerged generation after generation in the cultivation world. It has witnessed the disappearance of many names, either because of the fall of geniuses or because they have faded into obscurity.

The towering clouds record the rise of powerful figures in the cultivation world. Because cultivation is supervised by the Heavenly Dao, if someone advances in a certain level, the Heavenly Dao will be the first to know unless the secrets of heaven are concealed.

There are countless unofficial rankings, and their standards are always questioned. Only the Qingyun and Chongxiao rankings are beyond reproach.

The name Lin Du spread throughout the entire Central Continent in just one day.

Alongside this is the phrase "talent is paramount".