Thunderclouds gathered, and lightning roared.
From the familiar entrance of the Thunder Pool, numerous teams emerged. Without lingering, they dispersed, observing the current environment of the Thunder Pool.
"Senior Sister, where are we going?"
Within Xu Mu's team, a young man wielding a cleaver excitedly asked Zhao Qingdong.
His name was Chu Song. He was in the early stage of the third realm. He originally had teammates, but to team up with Zhao Qingdong, whom he had admired for a long time, he decisively abandoned his four companions.
Now, he was already envisioning the wonderful days of being together day and night with Zhao Qingdong in the coming days.
However, cruel reality dealt him a heavy blow.
"Wherever you like," Zhao Qingdong said calmly, drawing her sword and entering the Cloud Thunder zone ahead.
"I heard that strange person likes to steal others' thunder ores. It's a storm today, so he must be here. I'm going to find him."
"You few, if you are willing to help me, then scatter and help me look. You won't be short of rewards in the future. If you're unwilling to help, please go your own way."
The man holding the large saber was stunned and his spirit suddenly sagged.
"As expected."
Around them, many cultivators who were paying attention to Zhao Qingdong's movements, upon hearing this, nodded simultaneously.
Clearly, a considerable number of people had guessed Zhao Qingdong's purpose for entering the Thunder Pool, which was to find that strange person, because she had agreed to Zuo Mingqiu's conditions.
And finding someone could not be done by gathering together; it could only be done by scattering.
Therefore, it didn't matter who teamed up with her.
"Serves you right," a short female cultivator, dressed in a green dress and resembling a forest elf, said with disdain as she walked past the young man holding the saber.
They were originally teammates.
But the young man had abandoned them.
"Ying'er, wait for me..."
The young man chased after her and quickly disappeared into the roaring cloud thunder ahead.
As for the other two who had teamed up with Xu Mu, seeing Zhao Qingdong leave, they naturally chose to go their separate ways with some disappointment. In an instant, only Xu Mu was left on the field.
"Hmph, you're just a tool."
Ning Yuanchen, after entering the Thunder Pool and seeing this scene, finally felt his grim expression ease a little.
Even if Xu Mu was allowed in, so what? His strength was so weak. Today, there was a storm, and there was no place for Xu Mu in the cloud thunder zone!
"Xu Mu, you little brat, good luck."
"Given that we know each other, if you die here, I, as your senior brother, can reluctantly erect a tombstone for you when I get out, hahahaha..."
Watching Ning Yuanchen's arrogant figure slowly disappear from view, Xu Mu lowered his eyelids and shook his head with some helplessness.
There were always people who courted death.
"Senior Brother, I won't die."
"But whether you can live depends on your luck."
Xu Mu said silently in his heart, then calmed his mood and stepped into the cloud thunder zone.
His plan was the same as before: first, pretend to be weak to eliminate the last bit of attention on him, then disguise himself and flee into the Heavenly Tribulation zone to find Zuo Mingqiu.
But what he didn't know was that Zhao Qingdong was thinking the same thing.
After a simple disguise, Zhao Qingdong flew towards the Heavenly Tribulation zone on her sword, her mind filled with a previous conversation with an elder.
"I heard that the strange person was also looking for Zuo Mingqiu last time, and seemed to have something to say, but couldn't succeed in the end."
"That is to say, this time, he will definitely go to Zuo Mingqiu again, so you don't need to specifically look for him. You just need to find where Zuo Mingqiu is, and you will find that strange person."
A smile gradually appeared on Zhao Qingdong's face. If that were the case, it would be best.
First, defeat the strange person, then defeat Zuo Mingqiu.
After Xu Mu was found, then defeat Xu Mu.
This was her plan.
As for who the inheritor of the Heavenly Master was.
It was irrelevant.
...
...
Two hours later.
Thunder Zone.
Pale purple heavenly lightning raged wantonly, gathering into rolling thunderous masses that fell to the ground, stirring up fierce storms that lingered.
And in the center of the storm stood a giant demonic beast, entirely composed of lightning elements, with a ferocious and terrifying posture. Every movement it made pulled the lightning from the sky.
Lan Yu and Qing Si, along with four others, surrounded this lightning demonic beast, preparing to hunt it with excitement and tension.
"All of you, focus! This is a peak third-realm demonic beast. Its inner core's grade will definitely not be low. It might be equivalent to a Crimson Dragon Scale Thunder Ore!"
"We must kill it while it has just taken shape and hasn't absorbed too much lightning. Are you all ready?"
Qing Si and Han Qing, along with the other four, spoke in unison:
"Ready!"
"Then let's begin!"
With Lan Yu's roar, the five members of their team rushed out with a bang, encircling the thunder beast. Various abilities were unleashed, striking it and stirring up even fiercer storms.
The thunder beast let out an angry roar, turned around, and engaged in battle with Lan Yu and the others, continuously tearing down heavenly lightning from the sky as easily as stripping cloth.
The earth trembled, and the storm raged.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn.
The storm gradually subsided, but the earth's tremors continued, and the condition of the five people and one demon had clearly declined.
Even with all their abilities unleashed, Lan Yu and the others had not been able to quickly defeat this peak third-realm thunderous great demon. Even so, the thunderous great demon was at the end of its strength, having absorbed all the lightning elements contained in the black clouds above.
The outcome was clear, but it would take some time to determine the final result.
Not far away, among the jagged rocks.
Xu Mu, disguised, hid there.
He looked at Lan Yu and the others, a faint smile on his face.
He hadn't expected his luck to be so good. Shortly after entering the Thunder Zone, he had seen Lan Yu and the others, and they were in a poor state.
If not now, then when?
So Xu Mu made his move.
He covered himself with his shadow ability and carefully crept along the ground, approaching.
Then, at a certain moment, he suddenly launched an attack. A crimson-blue lightning bolt erupted from his right hand, blasting towards Lan Yu's back.
"–Boom!"
"Here it comes!" Lan Yu sensed the danger and was startled, but he calmly crushed the talisman he had been hiding between his fingers.
Then, his body appeared five hundred meters away.
Qing Si and the others did the same.
Xu Mu's lightning struck empty air.
"Such a fast reaction?"
Xu Mu was somewhat surprised. Just as he was about to fire another bolt of lightning, dozens of people suddenly flew out from around him.
From the east, south, west, and north, four teams of five appeared simultaneously, surrounding him.
Add Lan Yu's group of five, and that made twenty-five.
"I knew you would come!"
Lan Yu's body rose into the air, looking at Xu Mu with a grinning smile as he approached, extremely triumphant, like a hunter who had set a trap, looking at his captured prey with pride.
"I knew you would definitely look for an opportunity to kill me again. You must be the assassin hired by that Xu Mu!"
"So, I went through a lot of trouble to put on a show for you. What do you think? Did you think we couldn't deal with this great demon, and you could sit back and reap the benefits?"
"Let me tell you, that's a delusion!"
"These twenty people are all genius teams from various peaks that I've invited through various connections. Today, you must die here!!!"
As Lan Yu spoke, the twenty people in the space simultaneously unleashed their innate Bagua, and various array plates of different sizes rotated in the space, seemingly connected to each other, forming an array.
This was an array controlled by twenty-five people, capable of both offense and defense, with Lan Yu as the main controller.
Only Xu Mu was the target.
Xu Mu was trapped in the center of the array, sensing the terrifying pressure of the Great Dao that suddenly appeared in the space. His brow furrowed tightly.
He had underestimated the geniuses of the Daoist sects.
Just by sensing it, he knew that the strength of this array was absolutely not low. Only if he wielded the Bow of the Fiend and fought with all his might would he have a chance of victory.
"Die!"
Lan Yu grinned and suddenly activated the array.
The rules of the Great Dao twisted in the space and then suddenly surged. Wind, fire, thunder, and lightning rapidly condensed into twisted serpents, fierce tigers, divine dragons, and phoenixes that charged at Xu Mu from all directions.
Each illusory beast was equivalent to a blow from a peak third-realm expert.
"Such good coordination."
Xu Mu found the situation troublesome as he looked at the attacks surging towards him. He didn't know how he should receive them.
He couldn't use his saber or his bow.
The consequences of revealing his identity were severe.
So he was left with only his physical body. But the problem was, under such terrifying onslaught, how long could he last relying solely on his physical body?
Xu Mu didn't know, but he didn't want to wait for death.
So, he casually drew the Dao sword he had received when he entered Heavenly Master Mountain and slashed out a radiant sword energy, shattering the first illusory beast that charged into the space.
At the same time, he gathered his strength and, by instinct, charged directly at a weak point of the array, then punched the great array, trying to break out.
"Boom!"
With a punch, the heavens and earth roared.
But the great array remained intact.
Seeing this, Lan Yu, while controlling the array to attack, taunted with a laugh:
"You're too naive."
"I admit your physical body is very strong, stronger than any Buddhist ascetic I've ever seen, but you can't break this array with it."
"Because this array is jointly controlled by the twenty-five of us. We are all in the third realm, and no matter how strong you are, you are still within the third realm!"
"You talk too much."
"Boom!"
Xu Mu raised his Dao sword, blocking a round of illusory beast impact. His clothes were torn.
He stepped on the Xun character, running on the ground at extreme speed, and then kicked at another weak point of the great array.
"Boom!"
The great array roared.
Lan Yu and the other twenty-five people felt a dull ache in their chests, their faces turning pale. Xu Mu's kick had backfired on them.
But even so, it was not enough.
"Die!"
Lan Yu and the other twenty-five people were simultaneously enraged. They simultaneously activated their abilities and controlled the array with their strongest, fiercest posture, condensing a huge, ferocious thunder tiger with fangs.
The thunder tiger, a hundred zhang long, with brilliant lightning flowing in its eyes, opened its gaping maw and charged down at Xu Mu!
...