Chapter 119: Disaster
The noon sky had congealed into the color of ink. The dark clouds, like cotton soaked to capacity, finally could no longer bear the weight. One by one, full droplets of water began to seep out.
At first, it was just a few sparse, bean-sized drops, but in the blink of an eye, the sky seemed to have sprung a leak. The floodgates opened, instantly soaking the ground.
Thick clouds brought rolling thunder, accompanied by torrential rain and fierce winds.
In the dim world, the gale scattered the curtain of rain into a mist. The shadows of trees danced like ghosts, looking as if they would snap at the waist in the next instant.
Feng Shi had already moved to the entrance of the cave at the mountain peak. The rain brought the scent of wet earth, and he sat in the lotus position amidst the downpour. His hem and hair fluttered, yet he remained untainted by a single speck of dust.
The lightning above his head began to gather. At first glance, the vortex forming in the center of the dark clouds was twice as thick as when he last broke through to the Golden Core stage.
[Host, this Lei Jie will be quite painful. Would you like to purchase an item to reduce the damage?]
“No need. There’s no point.”
If others could do it, Feng Shi could too.
The path of cultivation required a stable Dao heart. No matter what, it was better to keep one’s feet on the ground.
[Understood. The Lei Jie is about to arrive. The system will now begin the countdown.]
As the countdown ended, the lightning tribulation arrived right on cue.
Lightning poured into his body from the top of his head. Feng Shi gritted his teeth and began to temper his own spiritual energy. After circulating it, he finally condensed it within his Dantian.
Because he had prior experience forming a core, this time went much more smoothly. Immersed in the process, he was unaware of the disaster his three Shidi were about to cause.
At this time, at Banyue Peak.
Three figures were climbing the long, steep green stone stairs against the wind and rain.
The peak master of Banyue Peak was none other than the Second Martial Uncle of Qiu Changzhou and the others—Zhu Chen.
Banyue Peak specialized in alchemy and beast taming. Beneath the cliff on the other side of the main peak, many spiritual beasts were kept.
These spiritual beasts had been trained and possessed a certain level of offensive power. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t be released unless summoned.
Banyue Peak was steep, and on such a rainy day, the immortal birds couldn’t be ridden. The three could only climb the mountain on foot.
The rain grew heavier, and murky water rushed down the mountain path and stairs.
A moment later, a small disciple holding a paper umbrella appeared at the end of the long stone steps—it was the little medicine boy by Zhu Chen’s side.
Seeing the three approaching, the medicine boy hurriedly came to meet them.
“Three Shixiong, are you here to see the little Shijie?”
Xu Yan and Qiu Changzhou came often, so the medicine boy had long since become familiar with them.
Qiu Changzhou flashed a smile and replied, “Yes! We made an appointment yesterday!”
The boy smiled upon hearing this and led the three of them up.
The two Shijie they spoke of were around their age—a pair of sisters with the surname Lin.
The Lin sisters had lively personalities and were currently at a mischievous age.
When the three arrived, the two girls were already waiting anxiously at the door.
Upon seeing Shen Songhe, the eyes of these two little female cultivators instantly lit up, followed by a trace of shyness.
Qiu Changzhou caught their looks, and a sense of pride immediately welled up in his heart. He raised his head and said, “Well? I didn’t lie to you, did I?”
The two Shijie didn’t even spare him a glance. They squeezed past him and surrounded the exquisite, porcelain-doll-like Shen Songhe, bombarding him with questions.
Shen Songhe’s little face tensed. Ignoring them, he turned his head and asked Xu Yan and the foolishly grinning Qiu Changzhou, “When are we going to get the pills?”
Qiu Changzhou wasn’t listening at all, and Xu Yan only smiled. Only the two little Shijie giggled and asked, “Pills? What pills?”
Shen Songhe now knew he had likely been tricked. His expression grew colder, and he turned to leave, only to be caught by the collar by Xu Yan.
Xu Yan lifted him up and set him down in front of him, looking down with a smirk. He laughed somewhat like a rogue, “Don’t go, Shidi. Play with us for a while. Later, I’ll definitely take you to Martial Uncle to get the pills.”
Hearing this, the others also hurriedly agreed.
How old was Shen Songhe right now? He didn’t have an immortal bird to ride, and they certainly couldn’t let him go back alone.
Qiu Changzhou and the other three had originally planned to see the spiritual beasts today. It was just that Qiu Changzhou insisted on dragging Shen Songhe along. Now, the five of them were grasshoppers on the same string—no one could leave first.
Shen Songhe was no match for them and was forced to stay.
The little medicine boy was sent away by the Lin sisters, and the group then came to the edge of a precipice.
At the mouth of this cliff, the wind blew even harder. Bursts of rain slapped against their faces, bringing sharp pain.
“Shijie… are you sure we won’t be caught?” Qiu Changzhou swallowed as he heard the faint roars of beasts from beneath the cliff. His voice was trembling slightly.
The valley where the spiritual beasts were kept was a restricted area. Ordinary disciples couldn’t enter at will. They had come here this time solely to seek excitement.
“What are you afraid of? Put your heart back in your chest. In this weather, the Shixiong and Shijie guarding the spiritual beasts probably don’t have time to check. You’re truly a coward!”
Qiu Changzhou valued his reputation, so he immediately retorted and stopped trying to back out.
Two mounts were already parked on the cliff. It was unknown where the Lin sisters had summoned the immortal birds from on such a rainy day.
These birds were large; one could seat two or three people.
“There are restrictions set below; they won’t just hurt people. We’re just going down to look. If no one says anything, Master won’t find out.” As they spoke, the Lin sisters had already flown onto the birds’ backs.
Ultimately, curiosity triumphed over fear for Qiu Changzhou. He dragged Shen Songhe and Xu Yan along to join them.
Shen Songhe’s face was already quite pale. He took a few steps back.
Normally, his Big Shixiong would warn him not to run around and that he absolutely must not go to places he shouldn’t be. He hadn’t expected to be coerced into committing a mistake now.
He didn’t want to see some damn spiritual beasts, and even less did he want to upset his Big Shixiong.
However, the impatient youths would not allow him to refuse. A soft sword wrapped around his waist like a whip, easily bringing him onto the immortal bird.
Qiu Changzhou turned back to look at the little figure squeezed between him and Xu Yan. Even though he was scared himself, he still reached out to cover the boy’s eyes to comfort him. “Don’t be afraid, Shidi. Shixiong will protect you.”
Shen Songhe was about to struggle, but at that moment, Xu Yan behind him could no longer wait and steered the bird into the air.
Shen Songhe didn’t dare to struggle anymore.
Two giant birds, one after the other, dove into the dimly lit bottom of the cliff.
The few brats who weren’t afraid of death shouted happily in the thunder and rain, as if trying to drown out the deafening sound of the Lei Jie. They feared neither heaven nor earth.
However, what they didn’t know…
Was that at the bottom of the cliff, chaos had already broken out.
The heavy rain had caused a landslide on a low mountain on the other side of the valley, and most of the restrictions that had been set up were destroyed.
Spiritual beasts were wandering aimlessly, and the situation was already out of control. Almost everyone from Banyue Peak had been deployed down there, but even so, they couldn’t stop the development of the situation.
Midway down, the group hadn’t yet realized something was wrong. They boldly flew lower and lower.
Until they faintly saw several immortal birds crashing around in the air.
These birds were clearly frightened by something and had lost their reason. Flapping their wings, they flew upward recklessly, and some even crashed into the cliff walls in their panic.
Of the five, four were stunned with fear. Only Xu Yan reacted a bit faster. His face changed, and he hurriedly signaled everyone to fly back.
Except for Xu Yan, none of them could yet fly a sword. If they were knocked off, they would surely die.
But by now, most of the spiritual beasts below had been disturbed. Those that could fly surged upward frantically, their sharp cries stabbing into people’s hearts.
The Lin sisters had long since burst into tears, narrowly avoiding collisions several times as they flew higher.
But for Xu Yan’s trio, they weren’t so lucky.
The bird beneath them was hit by another, breaking one of its wings. It instantly fell a large distance and lost control. It looked as if it were about to crash.
Xu Yan’s face was pale as he hurriedly summoned his own sword.
The sword enlarged in the air, and he was the first to jump onto it. He reached out to pull Shen Songhe, but unexpectedly, Qiu Changzhou was knocked over and fell at that moment.
“Shixiong!” The falling person only had time to let out a scream before vanishing from sight.
Xu Yan had only recently learned how to fly a sword and wasn’t very proficient. He chased after the fall for a while, but as more and more spiritual beasts appeared, he didn’t dare to go any further.
The arrogant teenage boy finally knew true fear. Tears mixed with rain flowed down his pale face, and his hand gripping Shen Songhe was shaking.
Although Shen Songhe wasn’t close to these two Shixiong normally, he wasn’t a cold-blooded person. Seeing Qiu Changzhou in danger, he gritted his teeth, pushed away Xu Yan’s hand, and jumped off the sword.
“Shidi!” Seeing this, the already terrified Xu Yan felt his heart stop. He reached out a hand, but only caught the cold rain.
His legs were weak with fear.
A moment later, however, he saw the rapidly falling boy in white suddenly transform into a slender white crane, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Xu Yan was stunned for a long time before he felt his heart settle slightly. He flew his sword close to the mountain wall, his eyes fixed on the area below.
Not long after, he indeed saw a white crane silhouette flying up, dragging a petrified Qiu Changzhou with it.
A look of joy instantly appeared on Xu Yan’s face. He wiped his face hard with his sleeve and went to meet them.
Fortunately, it was just a close call.
However, before he could celebrate further, a massive spiritual beast suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It charged upward, knocking down all the remaining immortal birds.
The air currents at the bottom of the cliff were chaotic and hard to control. On the way up, Shen Songhe had dodged and woven, sustaining many small injuries and was nearly exhausted.
Sensing a spiritual beast charging from behind, he made a split-second decision. Without hesitation, he tossed Qiu Changzhou from his back toward Xu Yan.
By the time he turned to dodge, it was already too late.
A massive force slammed him against the rock wall. Shen Songhe felt a metallic sweetness surge in his throat, his vision darkened, and he immediately lost consciousness…
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