I have a gourd, and the Jianghu serves as my wine. I have a palm that can uphold the Five Sacred Mountains. I have a mouth that devours the Spring and Autumn Periods. Hundreds of years ago, a martial arts elder established the rules of the Four Stages of Cultivation, using these three lines to praise the Heaven-Resonating Stage, describing how a Heaven-Resonating expert, after harmonizing with the Heaven and Earth, would exhibit a mighty and awe-inspiring presence that towers over the world.
Liu Ya glanced at the sky, his smile deepening. To gain fame in the martial world, every martial artist secretly holds some treasured techniques. Song Nianqing, for instance, brought fourteen swords and fourteen moves on his journey through the Jianghu. Naturally, Liu Ya was no exception. This move, the Thunder Pool, was originally intended as a grand gift, waiting for Cao Changqing, the transcendental swordsman, to visit the capital again. Cao Guanzi had thrice passed through the imperial palace as if strolling through a corridor, each time humiliating Liu Ya. How could Liu Ya swallow such a bitter grievance? Yet, he never expected that this technique would first be used against that young man.
Black clouds as dark as ink loomed overhead, and Liu Ya remained still, awaiting the rolling thunder from the heavens.
Liu Ya had encountered many clever individuals who sought imperial favor through shortcuts, masters of false fame and reputation. Qingci Chancellor Zhao Danping was one such example. Yet in Taian City, Liu Ya had served three generations of the Liyang Emperor, always standing as the city’s pillar. Even Zhao Danping could not rival the deep loyalty Liu Ya had cultivated with the Zhao family over the years.
Liu Ya was accustomed to overwhelming opponents through superior cultivation stages. This time, tasked by imperial decree to eliminate Xu Fengnian, he and Song Nianqing had only taken the first move. If they failed to succeed and Xu Fengnian escaped, Liu Ya still had a foolproof backup plan. Thus, he had no interest in risking his life. Yet, even a mud Buddha has its temper. Moreover, Liu Ya and Beiliang were locked in an irreconcilable feud. This Xu Fengnian exuded an aura of sinister energy, and Liu Ya couldn’t help but feel a desire to uncover the truth behind it.
Xu Fengnian, still carrying Luoyang, remained composed, waiting for the heavenly tribulation to descend. He had only one incense stick’s worth of time. If Liu Ya insisted on evading battle, Xu Fengnian couldn’t be certain of finding the old fox’s fatal weakness. Heaven-Resonating experts were naturally favored by the Heaven and Earth, making their energy flows extremely difficult to trace. If they truly wished to escape, without reaching the level of a terrestrial immortal capable of invoking heavenly tribulations, they could even evade the omnipresent Heavenly Net, like a fish slipping through the net beyond the reach of fate. Even if Xu Fengnian could catch up to Liu Ya, he couldn’t afford to waste time. Yet, there was no flawless technique in this world. As long as Liu Ya grew arrogant and dared to plant his roots, Xu Fengnian wouldn’t mind enduring the rolling thunder within the pool, then seizing the opportunity to strike.
Suddenly, the black clouds above plummeted, hovering over the earth like a mysterious painting of the world transforming into a sea of clouds, evoking a sense of vast and shifting landscapes. Xu Fengnian emerged from the cloud layer up to his waist, surrounded by undulating dark clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder roared within the mist, gradually weaving into a net. Xu Fengnian walked slowly, instantly becoming the fish targeted by the net-weaving fisherman. In an instant, dozens of purple thunderbolts floated up from the sea of clouds. At a glance, there were no fewer than fifty, varying in size—some as large as well mouths, others as small as fists. Between the purple thunderbolts, countless white lightning bolts danced, forming a truly formidable Thunder Pool.
Xu Fengnian, never ceasing his steps, boldly reached out and seized a purple thunderbolt. The entire Thunder Pool flipped, and more than fifty purple thunderbolts flew toward him in succession. Xu Fengnian’s right hand gripped the purple thunder with his fingers, the violet energy swirling around his arm. His left hand was not idle either, gently swatting away each incoming thunderbolt. However, the Thunder Pool was overwhelmingly powerful. With the thunder Xu Fengnian tightly grasped, it showed no sign of weakening. The spectacular scene remained undiminished. More than fifty purple thunderbolts returned after being swatted away, merely rebounding twenty zhang before swiftly circling back, growing more ferocious. The slowly walking Xu Fengnian seemed trapped within a mobile Thunder Pool.
The woman behind him gently rested her chin on his shoulder.
Xu Fengnian spoke softly, “Do you remember when I promised to take you to the peak of Kunlun Mountain to see the sea of clouds? But I either forgot or missed the chance during my several inspections of the world. Later, when I finally resolved to do so, you no longer wished to go. Today, let’s make up for it.”
She replied softly, “Compared to the nationwide wildfire you gave that fox enchantress, what is a sea of clouds?”
Xu Fengnian tilted his head and gently caressed her cheek. Taking a deep breath, he placed the purple thunderbolt he had never let go of into his mouth, swallowing it whole, then laughed loudly, “Back then, I devoured the entire world. What are a few heavenly thunderbolts?”
Xu Fengnian grabbed one purple thunderbolt after another, placing them into his mouth. When he had swallowed half of them, the sea of clouds dissipated, and the Thunder Pool vanished entirely. Standing thirty zhang away, Liu Ya was stunned, never expecting that this fellow would dismantle his painstakingly crafted Heaven-Resonating secret technique in such a brute-force manner. Fifty purple thunderbolts, painstakingly formed by borrowing the Heaven and Earth’s power, the dragon aura, and the fortune of the realm—each one was priceless. For this, the Northern Sect’s dragon-riding cultivators had poured in countless efforts, even draining the cultivation of several Grand Masters to the point of exhaustion. His once formidable foundation was instantly halved. How could Liu Ya not feel heartache? Even more infuriating was that the mysteriously power-boosted fiend let out a comfortable burp and gave Liu Ya a mocking grin, lazily asking, “Not running yet?”
Liu Ya immediately and decisively began to retreat.
“No wonder you couldn’t even achieve the Earth Immortal Stage in fifty years.”
Xu Fengnian narrowed his eyes, smirking coldly, “If you had kept running without stopping just now, I might not have been able to do anything to you. But now, it’s too late.”
Xu Fengnian extended one finger, slicing a thin line of blood across his brow.
Mid-flight, Liu Ya’s head seemed to split open, a shocking crack forming from his forehead downward, blood streaming down his face, leaving him battered and disheveled. But this wasn’t the most terrifying part. As the blood continued to flow from his face, his Heaven-Resonating cultivation stage seemed like a breached dam, eroding rapidly. Liu Ya clearly sensed his profound cultivation stage, which had originally resembled a lake, watching helplessly as the water dried up, unable to stop the lake’s level from dropping. While Liu Ya was filled with anguish, he was also astounded. The essence of the Heaven-Resonating stage was to roam freely with the Heaven and Earth, a precursor to becoming a terrestrial immortal beyond worldly concerns. Who had ever heard of someone trapping themselves like a silkworm in its cocoon? Could it be that the fellow had achieved a status equal to the Heaven and Earth, capable of forcibly absorbing others’ fortune and creating his own Heaven and Earth? If it were Hong Xixiang, the swordsman who had severed the fortune of six nations, Liu Ya might have been somewhat convinced. But how could that young man, even if he had inherited Luoyang’s cultivation, be so terrifying?
Liu Ya nearly lost control of his mind. Clenching his teeth, in the perilous situation where his defenses were crumbling, he decisively shattered his already precarious Heaven-Resonating stage. As he fell into the Finger-Sundering Stage, he severed himself like a gecko shedding its tail, allowing the remaining half of the purple thunderbolts to roll away. Like a terrestrial immortal, he dashed hundreds of zhang away, escaping from that madman who had utterly defeated him.
Xu Fengnian halted, sighing inwardly. If Liu Ya had hesitated even slightly, waiting just a little longer, he would have been certain to kill that old dog. Glancing at the sky, he sneered coldly. The Zhao family of Liyang truly deserved to be the current orthodox rulers. Even a mere guard dog serving the Zhao family possessed considerable fortune. Xu Fengnian turned his gaze ten miles away, where dense sword auras formed a grand formation.
Xu Fengnian silently absorbed each purple thunderbolt into his sleeves, integrating them into his energy flow.
Luoyang struggled to land, speaking calmly, “Go.”
Xu Fengnian took her hand, turning to meet her gaze.
She said resolutely, “You want the world, but I only want you. If I can’t have you entirely, I’d rather have nothing. It was so eight hundred years ago, and it remains so even after eight hundred more.”
Xu Fengnian suddenly laughed, “So what if you were the Empress of the Qin Dynasty?”
Luoyang was shocked, stepping back a pace.
Xu Fengnian’s lips curved, “I am him, but he is not me.”
Luoyang’s expression grew complex.
Xu Fengnian crouched down, signaling her to climb on, softly saying, “Luoyang, before returning to Beiliang, let’s visit Luoyang City and take a look.”
Luoyang fiercely kicked him in the backside.
Xu Fengnian, still crouching after falling face-first, whispered, “Back then, the Qin cavalry couldn’t conquer the great desert now known as Beiman. This lifetime, I’ll make up for it. If Tuoba Pusa dares to bully my woman, I…”
Before Xu Fengnian could finish, Luoyang gently climbed onto his back.
Xu Fengnian stood up, “Later, we’ll settle the score.”
Luoyang said, “First, defeat Wang Xianzhi.”
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