Chapter 146: The Heaven-Connecting Lightning-Summoning Grand Technique

Zhou Qian was currently trying to figure out the use of the Gold-Breaking Divine Pillar when he heard a crisp voice calling out, "Hey boy, are you the helper invited by Senior Sister 6?" He looked up and saw He Xiaoshu looking down at him from above. He hurriedly said, "Senior Sister Xiaoshu, I am a disciple of the Yuxu Peak of Mount Qingcheng. He Qin, He Qi, and He Hua are all my senior brothers."

"Oh," He Xiaoshu said in sudden realization, "so you are the little junior brother mentioned by Big Brother He! I am the third of the He family, He Xiaoshu. We are all family here."

"Hmph! Even hypocrites like this can be accepted into Qingcheng. It seems the Qingcheng Sect has truly degenerated," Xiang Xiaoyue said coldly. Her words caused Zhou Qian to frown slightly and sigh inwardly. As long as she did not resort to violence, it was fine. After all, she was Xiang Feihe's daughter, and regardless of the circumstances, Xiang Feihe had died at his hands. He felt a sense of guilt toward her.

He Xiaoshu, on the other hand, curiously looked the two of them over. Just as she was about to speak, a flash of pure spiritual brilliance flickered and vanished not far away. Immediately afterward, a towering sword intent tore through the void and directly shattered the Heavenly Demon Cage, revealing the figure of Lu Yurong. She gave a low shout, "Junior sisters and junior brothers, why haven't you gone to assist Fellow Daoist Yu Xiao? The Old Demon Dongxuan is about to break free!"

Sure enough, green light flickered erratically at the spring's eye. Yu Xiao was breaking out in cold sweat, and the Spring Water Token in his hand was trembling violently. Wisps of black Qi emerged from the nearby fissures, looking extremely unstable. Seeing this, the two women, He and Xiang, dared not hesitate further and immediately flew toward the spring's eye. Zhou Qian did not follow them. Instead, he looked not far away, where Xiao Liu was standing alone. Sighing, he walked over to him and said apologetically, "You shouldn't have been dragged into this. It's my fault as your brother."

Xiao Liu forced a smile and said, "What are you talking about, Brother Zhou? If I hadn't met you, I'm afraid I would have long since become Old Patriarch Dongxuan's cultivation vessel and been possessed by him. I should be thanking you instead."

For a moment, both of them remained silent, filled with lingering emotions. Suddenly, a piercing, shrieking roar erupted, shaking the earth as if the entire Nanbian Mountain foothills were wailing. Although Old Demon Dongxuan had not foreseen this current crisis, he had practiced vigilance in times of safety, illuminating the mountain with moonlight every night, which had long connected him with the flora and fauna of the surrounding hundred-li mountain range. This was the state of communion between heaven and earth. When the old demon fell into danger, he released his vital energy, naturally summoning the power of the mountain range to help him escape. Since ancient times, those who follow the Dao receive much assistance, while those who lose it receive little—a saying that applied quite ironically here. All things in nature were assisting the demon rather than the Dao, perfectly echoing the principle that heaven and earth are ruthless and treat all things as straw dogs, making no distinction between good and evil.

The surrounding spiritual energy surged overwhelmingly, so much so that even the combined efforts of the four could not contain it. The formation relied on borrowing the momentum of heaven and earth to function. Now, with the spiritual energy of a hundred li reversing and becoming unusable, the Kui Water Qi-Gathering Formation was in imminent danger. The green light shattered amidst internal and external attacks, and a blast of black Qi soared into the sky amid flying sand and gravel, accompanied by shrill, wild howls. Old Demon Dongxuan had finally broken free.

"Good! Good! Good! This old patriarch has cultivated for several hundred years, yet today I was outwitted by a few juniors. I must concede!" The black cloud gradually manifested the grim and ferocious face of the old demon as he said sinisterly.

"If you hadn't harbored malicious intentions toward your disciples, you wouldn't have lost your composure and your mind. I'd say you brought this upon yourself!" He Xiaoshu refused to back down, lifting her head to shout.

"Hmph! Even though this old patriarch is injured, dealing with a bunch of juniors like you is still more than enough!"

Before his words faded, the billowing dark clouds surged toward them. Yu Xiao and Lu Yurong exchanged glances, and both transformed into streaks of escaping light, heading straight to meet the threat. Lu Yurong had already touched the threshold of the primordial spirit realm, while Yu Xiao was a figure who had cultivated the Dao for a century and condensed his primordial spirit into an infant. Only these two were capable of fighting this ancient demon. If it were left to He Xiaoshu, Zhou Qian, and the others, their sword lights probably wouldn't even be able to scratch a shred of his primordial spirit.

Lu Yurong pushed her Exquisite Sword Light to its absolute limit, making it fully twenty feet long. The Taiyi immortal Qi seethed along the blade, distorting the surrounding air and nearly tearing through the void, churning the billowing black clouds so that they scattered continuously. As for Yu Xiao, since he was able to gather treasures alongside Lu Yurong, he naturally possessed formidable skills of his own; it was simply that Senior Sister Lu's brilliance had overshadowed him, leaving him no chance to display his abilities. At such a critical juncture, he had no choice but to unleash his trump card.

Gritting his teeth, he extremely reluctantly tore a jade talisman from his neck and gave a low roar, his appearance suddenly transforming. Webbing grew between his fingers and toes, his chin retracted, and fish gills flared out. A burst of immensely formidable demonic Qi intertwined with immortal Qi burst forth—Yu Xiao turned out to be a merman.

Lu Yurong and Xiang Xiaoyue immediately frowned. Fellow Daoist Yu Xiao, with whom they had spent considerable time getting along, was actually a monster? This came as a complete surprise. The Emei Sect had always emphasized orthodox lineage and looked down upon beasts achieving the Dao. Seeing this, the two women did not immediately resort to slaughter and shouting, which already showed the utmost broad-mindedness. Not just Emei, but all major sects shared this prejudice to varying degrees; otherwise, why would figures like Ape Immortal and White-Haired Daoist—despite belonging to the feathered and scaled beasts—possess towering aptitude and extraordinary innate talent, yet face such unimaginable difficulty when seeking the Dao everywhere? Why did the white crane reward kindness so deeply after taking human form? The reason lay precisely here. Such was the way of the world, leaving one to sigh with emotion.

Having his body infused with demonic Qi, Yu Xiao's magical power surged dramatically, nearly rivaling Lu Yurong's. He produced a talisman that transformed into a three-foot-long, murderous, pitch-black flying knife. With a single gentle swipe through the demonic light and black Qi, the old demon let out a cry of agony, as if suffering unimaginably grave damage. The wound refused to heal, for this was none other than the legendary Nine Heavens Immortal-Slaying Talisman—aside from the six major sword divine powers, it was the sole item beneath the primordial spirit realm capable of slaying a primordial spirit. It was the premier external talisman of the Tianyi Dao Sect.

As for why this talisman ended up here, there was quite a backstory. Before setting out, his master, True Person Yellow Talisman, suddenly recalled how his beloved disciple Zhu Fei had gone out only once and returned with half his body crippled, breaking his master's heart. Fearing that his other prized disciple was about to enter the mortal world, his master was struck with terror. Relying on his lofty seniority and shameless persistence, he had snatched this immortal manor talisman from the hands of the sect leader, True Monarch Miaodao, leaving it for his disciple to protect himself. It truly came in handy now.

Old Patriarch Dongxuan had miscalculated once again. He was already heavily injured, having used seven or eight formidable spells to beat the ancient water dragon at the bottom of the pool to near-death, leaving it to languish helplessly within the water veins. He had been completely incapable of unleashing any other divine powers, expecting that the billowing yin Qi and demonic Qi transformed from his Dongxuan primordial spirit would simply grind the two women to death—after all, achieving the primordial spirit realm and failing to do so were two entirely different matters. Without reaching the primordial spirit realm, no matter how extraordinary your abilities, the primordial spirit hovered between existence and non-existence, capable of dividing and merging, leaving you completely immune to harm. Yet who could have anticipated that these two women were so terrifying? The Emei woman had merged her person with her sword, and the sword radiance she unleashed had long since transcended the mortal realm, touching the boundary where a single sword could annihilate all things. Meanwhile, the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife struck directly at the core of the primordial spirit with every move, causing him boundless misery as his dozen-mu dark cloud was nearly split into seven or eight pieces.

Suddenly, thunder rolled fiercely across the horizon. The old demon instantly grew alert, and when he looked up, he was practically struck dumb. Rolling thunderclouds filled the sky, accompanied by the deafening crashes of lightning—scarcely inferior to the Tushita True Fire Tribulation he had faced during his very first heavenly tribulation. Sweeping his gaze toward Lu Yurong, he saw her entire body overflowing with Taiyi immortal Qi, the white light transformed by her Exquisite Immortal Sword connecting directly to the firmament and merging with the thunderclouds. This was because Senior Sister Lu, deeply worried that the old demon might escape, had shouldered the risk of severe damage to her cultivation to execute one of Emei's three supreme demon-subjugation arts: the *Heaven-Connecting Lightning-Drawing Grand Secret*.

The conditions for executing this immortal art were extremely demanding. First, there had to be a great monster or old demon nearby, whose fierce and malevolent aura was required to summon the divine lightning of the nine heavens. Second, one had to destroy a spiritually attuned immortal sword. Only under these conditions, combined with Senior Sister Lu's extremely pure Taiyi immortal Qi, could this art be successfully cultivated.

Lu Yurong's face was filled with solemn reverence as she whispered, "Taiyi Six-Ren, Bing-Ding Thunder and Fire, drive out demons with the sword, let heaven and earth command it!" With a downward slash of her sword finger, hundreds of heavenly lightning bolts descended simultaneously. The world became as bright as day, blinding and invisible. Those with shallow cultivation on the field could only close their eyes.

When Zhou Qian opened his eyes again, the landscape had completely transformed. Starting from the midpoint of Nanbian Mountain, half the peak had vanished entirely. Dozens upon hundreds of tons of rock had been reduced to grey powder and dispersed into the air. The powers of immortals—moving mountains and overturning seas, scorching peaks and shattering cities—were indeed no empty boast.

Even the two young sword immortals, Xiang Xiaoyue and He Xiaoshu, stared in utter astonishment. Yu Xiao dropped from midair looking disheveled and dirt-covered; had the heavenly lightning not targeted only great monsters and old demons, he likely wouldn't have escaped either. Meanwhile, Lu Yurong held the two halves of the shattered Exquisite Immortal Sword in her left and right hands respectively, gently shaking her head with a sigh.

"The immortal cave should be free of hidden concerns now. We may descend and explore the spring's dwelling."

"What are you standing around for in a daze? The two of you contributed your efforts as well; why aren't you coming over?" He Xiaoshu waved her hand and called out.

Zhou Qian was momentarily stunned. Seeing that none of them raised any objections—even Xiang Xiaoyue merely turned her head away without uttering any mockery, clearly deeply moved—he realized these people possessed truly magnanimous characters. He turned his head and asked Xiao Liu, "Xiao Liu, you..." showing a hint of worry for him.

"Go? Why wouldn't I go?" Xiao Liu smiled faintly, though a wisp of black Qi flashed across his eyes—something no one else noticed...