Chapter 550: Immemorial Thunder Seed!

At that hour within the storm-laden walls of the city, a midday feast was being hosted in a grand hall called the Summer Thunder Duke Palace.

Mists of immortality swirled about the hall, with lightning dancing along the walls. Rows of celestial tables stretched on either side, laden with the ethereal fruits of the Great Dao Celestial Realm—peaches of immortality and ginseng fruit abounded. Moreover, there was an array of divinely cooked meats of fantastical beasts, rarities that ordinary Immortals might never encounter in a lifetime.

Immortal maidens, garbed in gossamer and splendid attire, flitted beside the tables, their hands holding pitchers aglow with luminescent wine, bowing occasionally to pour drinks, their forms curving gracefully.

Among them, a host of celestial dancers played divine melodies and danced with light steps around the tables.

The masters and guests of the Immortal path within the hall were savoring delicacies and toasting with laughter, their conversations spanning ancient lore and contemporary jokes—a scene of harmony, elegance, and ethereality, mirroring the Celestial Court as imagined by the common folk.

This banquet was in honor of Governor Jiang, to cleanse him of the dust from his travels. So, Jiang Taiping sat at the place of honor, his face bright with a genial smile, responding warmly to all congratulations.

Slightly below him, a middle-aged man in a black and white robe sat with stiff propriety, perhaps feeling out of his element in such elevated company for the first time.

He was Dongfang Sheng, the secretary of Sky Soaring City.

“Dongfang, come with me to toast General Cao,” Jiang Taiping said, taking it upon himself to introduce him to a true high official of the Thunder Department.

That official was the master of the Summer Thunder Duke Palace!

A brawny, bare-chested man sat enthroned, his figure as imposing as a bear’s, sitting nearly four feet high, and likely towering to eight when standing.

His head and body were adorned with violet thunder patterns, his eyes sparking violet lightning. His nose was proud, his lips full, his eyebrows sharply arched in a manner that commanded respect without anger.

His ears were large and drooping, each wrapped by a violet lightning serpent. They were real serpents. Though it was unclear whether these serpents were demons or celestial beasts, they raised their heads high, their tongues flicking amidst entwined lightning.

It was General Cao’s overwhelming presence that made Dongfang Sheng, the second-in-command of Sky Soaring City, feel an immense pressure.

"Dongfang Sheng, no need to be tense," General Cao's voice boomed like thunder. Speaking with only a slight movement of his lips, his face bore a deep smile with a terrifyingly restrained menace.

"Indeed, after this drink, we'll all belong to General Cao's camp." Jiang Taiping laughed.

Dongfang Sheng, who had mixed in these circles for half his life, was too nervous to speak. He could only offer a sheepish smile, raising his glass high before downing the wine.

After finishing, he managed to say, "From now on, at General Cao's command, I would march through fire and water without hesitation."

General Cao gave a slight smile and shook his head. "Nonsense, everyone knows that following me leads to prosperity, not hardship."

"Exactly!"

Laughter filled the room, the scene in perfect harmony.

Just then, a thunderous roar came from outside.

"The Thunder Immortal Formation is changing!"

General Cao's face turned to confusion. He stood up abruptly, and with a buzz, he strode out of the Summer Thunder Duke Palace.

"What's the situation?"

The guests, not daring to delay, quickly followed him outside.

Upon exiting, the officials looked up to see the Thunder Immortal Formation above, swirling with thousands of storms, causing earthquakes in this sacred land of the Thunder Department. Among the billions of lightning serpents, a young, majestic face of thunder formed in the sky!

Even Jiang Taiping and Dongfang Sheng, worldly as they were, found the spectacle breathtaking.

Under this sky-obscuring visage of thunder, even they, who wielded great power within the Celestial Court, felt insignificant for a moment.

"Divine Spirit Controlling Thunder!" General Cao suddenly shouted.

All eyes turned to him as he stared, eyes wide, at the face above. He urgently commanded, "Someone, draw that face! It must be precise!"

"That face?" Jiang Taiping stared, initially overwhelmed with shock. Yet, as he continued to look, confusion set in. He turned to Dongfang Sheng and asked, "Doesn't this face look familiar?"

"It's a young man, indeed seems familiar..."

Just as Dongfang Sheng spoke, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He exclaimed in shock, "Lu..."

"Shush!" Jiang Taiping signaled him to be quiet, adjusting his demeanor with a puzzled smile, and asked the majestic man before them, "General Cao, what exactly is going on here?"

General Cao turned back, his eyes storming with thunder, and explained, "Only a divine spirit possessing the Immemorial Thunder Seed, a divine talent, can enter the core of the Thunder Immortal Formation under certain conditions, resonate with the formation, and magnify their divine spirit's appearance!"

"Immemorial Thunder Seed?"

Some had heard of it, while others were utterly baffled.

Jiang Taiping, for one, had never heard of it but knew that any divine talent so highly regarded by General Cao must be of significant importance.

For a moment, his emotions were a curious mix of confusion and amazement.

"The portrait is ready, General!" In no time at all, his subordinates presented him with dozens of scrolls depicting that youthful face in the sky, vivid and lifelike. With the thunderous serpents removed, Jiang Taiping recognized the face even more clearly...

"Immediately send word throughout the Thunder Department to find this person, especially near the Nine Thunder Columns!" General Cao commanded loudly.

"There's no need!" Jiang Taiping suddenly stood, his eyes deep as he smiled at General Cao.

"No need?" General Cao's lips curled in a smirk. "Do you know this person?"

"General Cao, not only do I know him, but I was the one who brought him to the Divine Heaven Jade Purity Office," Jiang Taiping replied, his voice trailing off into a laugh. "What a coincidence indeed."

"Oh? So, it's a genius cultivated by Old Jiang himself?"

"Quick, quick! Take us to see this prodigy."

His friends' eyes gleamed with excitement. If this young talent caught General Cao's eye, Old Jiang's status would surely rise along with the newcomer.

"Lead the way! I shall go to meet him myself," General Cao declared with a hearty laugh.

"Please, General Cao," Jiang Taiping bowed, grinning. Everyone said he had groomed this genius, and he simply went along with the current.

"Governor." Dongfang Sheng approached him and whispered, "Who would have thought? Truly brilliant."

"That’s why I say, my reasoning isn’t wrong. This kid is tricky; we mustn’t treat him recklessly. Just a little patience, and see, he’s not to be trifled with," Jiang Taiping said earnestly.

"I'm impressed!" Before, Dongfang Sheng had considered dissecting the boy to see what made him tick. Now, he wouldn't dare. He exclaimed, "Next, we’ll

offer up

this kid to General Cao. Our entry into the Thunder Department is secured."

"Not just secured, but with General Cao’s backing, we’re set to soar," Jiang Taiping chuckled.

?ι══????????══ι?

"What... in... the... world... is... this... damn?" Yun Xiao had just endured a soul-stretching ordeal, his physical body stationary while his spirit soared and dove. He never imagined that after crashing into the Thunder Immortal Formation and his mind buzzing in disarray, he'd open his eyes to such a scene—

There it was, the vast expanse of the Thunder Department's sacred land, looking like a scallion pancake of wandering lightning, plastered right before his eyes!

Indeed, his face was as vast as the entire Thunder Department itself!

At that moment, Yun Xiao’s mind was in a peculiar state.

“Am I using the

eyes

of the Thunder Immortal Formation to see the world?”

Had it not been for the landmass of the Thunder Department appearing like a mask obstructing his view, he suspected he might have diminished the entire Great Dao Celestial Realm to a mere speck!

Thunderous rumblings followed as he twisted the colossal face of thunder, looking left and right across this sacred land.

Nearly everyone had rushed outside their buildings, staring up in disbelief at the enormous face above, their cries echoing through the air. The whole of the Thunder Department was in uproar!

A cacophony of shouts and screams filled Yun Xiao's spirit, causing him a splitting headache.

The problem was, he was in his spirit form; Blue Star and Red Moon remained with his physical body, leaving him without a way to ask what exactly had happened to him!

No choice left, he relied solely on his willpower to take control and figure out what was going on.

"First, looking around with this face seems fine. So, what next?" Yun Xiao attempted to take a deep breath, and instantly, the millions of lightning serpents racing across his face sped up a hundredfold. The collision sparked dazzling arcs of electricity and emitted sharp sounds of thunderous explosions!

That breath he took seemed to pull a lightning serpent into his

mouth

, causing him intense discomfort—as if it would shock him if he didn’t expel it!

Where to spit it out?

As this thought crossed Yun Xiao’s mind, his gigantic thunderous eyes automatically scanned the sacred land. Directed by his will, countless electric serpents zipped across the streets!

Almost instantly, through the myriad serpents, Yun Xiao pinpointed one man—a man dressed quite unassumingly.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Standing at the corner of a marketplace, he looked up in utter disbelief at the thunderous face in the sky. His face trembled visibly, wiping his eyes repeatedly, as if his very soul was shattering.

"Lord Lu?" At the sight of him, Yun Xiao bristled with anger!

Just 15 minutes earlier, this very man had pursued him to the Thunder Department with deadly intent!

“A grudge that warrants no shared sky!” Without a second thought, rage surged through Yun Xiao. Instinctively, he opened his mouth and spat in Lord Lu’s direction.

Before spitting, his mind was a blur, not fully aware of what might happen.

After all, everything was beyond belief!

But then, the sacred land of the Thunder Department trembled again!

Everyone saw the thunderous face expel a blinding arc of electricity, which shot from the sky directly onto the crown of Lord Lu’s head!

“Ah…?” Lord Lu’s mind went blank.

ZAP!

The moment his body came in contact with the electric arc, it vaporized instantly, dispersing with a whoosh.

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