Chapter 214.2: Thunder Cracks the Sky

Boom!

Without warning, a terrifying clap of thunder tore through the heavens. The earth shook violently as endless violet light flashed and surged. All of Huaye City, and even the land thousands of miles beyond, seemed to be drowned in purple radiance.

Little Xing's long dress was dyed purple by the light. Her face froze in shock and confusion.

The ground lurched. Wine jars and teacups crashed from tables, shattering into pieces.

Great Yin Thunder struck, painting ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains in blazing violet.

Cultivators in Hongye House shot into the air.

"What happened?!"

"What's going on?!"

"Are True Gods fighting?!"

Those within Huaye City all turned their gazes toward the source of the thunder. Little Xing kept playing. She pushed open the window, and looked into the distance. Her eyes went wide.

"Aunt Liu..." she said faintly.

"What is it? Where did it happen?" Aunt Liu asked urgently from behind her.

Little Xing stared, disbelief written across her face. "The Endless Mountain... is gone.”

"What? Endless Mountain is gone? That's impossible!" Aunt Liu cried out.

Endless Mountain housed an evil god military camp. A Great Venerable was stationed there, along with hundreds of evil gods. And yet it was gone, completely erased by a single bolt of lightning. What kind of supreme existence could do such a thing?!

Aunt Liu's heart pounded. She wished desperately for the restraint to vanish so she could see it with her own eyes.

She trembled with excitement, tears welling in her eyes. "T-this must be the doing of a Sixth Step or Seven Great Venerable! One who specializes in thunder techniques! Only someone like that can flatten Endless Mountain instantly!”

Finally, after all these years, she witnessed the forces retaliate against the evil gods. She was utterly moved.

"Who was it?" Aunt Liu murmured.

Little Xing felt the same. She played the suona, the sound desolate and mournful, laughing and crying all at once.

At that very moment, Qi Yuan's lazy voice drifted through Huaye City. "Petty evil gods, where do you think you're running?"

High above the sky, stood a strikingly handsome man in flowing green robes. His long hair cascaded like a waterfall. Strapped across his back was a blood-red longsword. The lingering violet radiance from the explosion had not yet faded. It washed over him, painting his green robe a faint purple.

He stood suspended in the void, reminiscent of a youthful Celestial Emperor who descended upon the mortal world. Nearby, an evil god hung frozen midair.

Zhu Zhuangshi's Divine Domain Seed had sealed him in place. His divine apertures turned sluggishly, his divine spiritual energy completely suppressed. He could do nothing but stare at Qi Yuan in terror.

"You demon! What did you use to destroy the camp?!" the evil god shrieked, trembling uncontrollably.

He couldn't comprehend what had happened at all. That had been Endless Mountain, their military camp. Besides one Great Venerable and more than sixty Third Step experts, there were over three hundred True Gods!

Yet in the span of a breath, they had all been swallowed by lightning. Not a single True God survived. The Great Venerable now existed only as a name.

He had only survived because he'd been away investigating followers of the No-Food Saint Sect. How did this happen?

A faint smile curved across Qi Yuan’s impossibly handsome face. Bathed in violet light, that smile seemed almost wicked.

"I came to go fishing," he said lightly.

If slaughtering the evil gods of Feng and Lin Empires would draw retaliation from the enemy camps, then the solution was simple. He had to destroy those camps first. With that, they wouldn't have to fear retaliation.

They had come to Huaye City for one purpose: to unleash the Great Yin Thunder Pearl over Endless Mountain.

The pearls were made for fishing. Eight of them were powerful enough to catch Great Venerable-level fish. This time, he tossed one at Endless Mountain, carefully limiting the blast radius. The entire evil god camp was erased, leaving no survivors.

"The fish that slipped through the net should die too," Qi Yuan said softly.

His sword flashed from its sheath. The evil god died without resistance.

Cultivators who witnessed the scene stood stunned. Some trembled in fear, some burned with excitement, some felt something close to awe.

Little Xing stood frozen in place, eyes reddening as she stared at the majestic figure in the sky. "It was that guest... it was him... he destroyed Endless Mountain!"

She remembered Aunt Liu's words. The guest wanted to hear a suona before killing. His targets were the hundreds of evil gods atop Endless Mountain all along.

Her heart swelled with emotion. If she had known, she would have played louder, harder, with more passion. Only then would it have been worthy of accompanying such a slaughter.

Qi Yuan's voice echoed across the entire city. "Friends of Huaye City, greetings. I just dropped by to do a little fishing. If you're eating, keep eating. If you're chasing girls, keep chasing. Don't mind me. Next time I come, I'll treat you all to a banquet."

With that, he and Zhu Zhuangshi turned into streaks of light and vanished.

There were other camps nearby. He had more fish blasting to do. If he delayed and news spread, they would scatter away. That would be a real loss.

Even after they disappeared, the violet light still blanketed the city. Everyone who heard his voice stood in stunned silence. They would never forget this day for the rest of their lives.

***

Night fell in Clearwater Village.

Thunder glared at the ancient gods standing before him, anger surging. "You've got some nerve, wiping out all the evil gods of Feng and Lin Empires!"

Just moments ago, the ancient gods who had executed the One-Day Hundred-God Extermination Plan returned one after another. Thunder greeted them with a barrage of scolding, as if blaming them for failing to stop Qi Yuan.

The younger twin, fiery as ever, snapped back without hesitation. "When Lord God comes back, you go try persuading him!"

They definitely couldn't. No one could.

Thunder fumed. "Why isn't Qi Yuan back yet? Where did he go?"

He was genuinely anxious. Earlier at dusk, Twilight had arrived with a group of True Gods to provide support. And yet, not even they had seen Qi Yuan. After half an hour of urgent discussion, Thunder and Twilight had formulated a plan.

They would intercept the enemy camps at all costs. Meanwhile, Qiyuann Sovereign and the eight Mythic-tier gods would be escorted to the North Sea Divine Eye.

They were prepared to sacrifice themselves. All that remained was to wait for Qi Yuan to return. However, even after everyone else had returned, Qi Yuan was nowhere to be seen. Thunder was frantic.

"Don't worry," Wang Song said calmly. "Lord God is wise. He won't place himself in mortal danger."

His trust in Qi Yuan was absolute.

"If he doesn't come back soon," Thunder snapped, "the ones arriving at Feihuang City won't be him, but the whole enemy camp!"

He felt like his heart was being torn apart. He had thought himself reckless, but Qi Yuan proved how sorely mistaken he was.

Upon returning from the Ancestral Land, Qi Yuan hunted Zhang Feng without pause. After a brief banquet, he tore across ten thousand miles, slaughtering over a hundred True Gods throughout the Feng and Lin Empires.

At this point, if someone told Thunder that Qi Yuan had taken those True Gods to besiege the enemy camp, he would believe it without hesitation.