Chapter Sixty: Ambush

Shi Qi's eyes widened, fixed intently on the thunderball in her right hand.

Suddenly, with a sharp crack, the thunderball exploded, reducing the five fingers of her hand to a bloody mist.

Shi Qi was stunned—such destructive power!

She hurriedly activated the water healing technique to repair her hand.

“How strange, this power of nothingness,” Shi Qi mused silently. In the time it took to dream, her body had gained a force imbued with the attributes of thunder, and she could now control this power to summon the strength of the storm.

Again, Shi Qi gathered the power of nothingness in her left hand, taking care this time to guide it slowly, forming a small, pale thunderball in her palm.

“How odd,” Shi Qi wondered, “this thunder doesn’t seem to belong to any of the Five Elements.”

Thunder techniques often incorporate the Five Elements. For instance, the Thunder Mountain Sect’s Five Elemental Thunder weaves the elements into thunder magic, making it endlessly versatile. Metal thunder has the speed of lightning, swift and fierce; fire thunder overwhelms, covering vast areas; water thunder binds, earth thunder is heavy, and wood thunder is mutable—these last three are less distinctive but consume little vital energy.

The Five Elements cannot escape yin and yang—metal embodies the decline of yang and rise of yin, wood is the opposite, water represents the extreme of yin, fire the extreme of yang, and earth balances both.

All things possess the Five Elements, yet the thunder in Shi Qi’s hand was not among them—it was a void.

“Could it be…” Shi Qi speculated boldly, “Divine Thunder?”

Before the world was shaped by Pan Gu, there was neither heaven nor earth, no time or space, only a void. Only the Heavenly Dao existed outside the Five Elements and the Taiji, so Divine Thunder was the thunder of nothingness.

Shi Qi shook her head. “Divine Thunder has been lost for so many years; how could it appear in my body so easily? Surely, it can’t be Divine Thunder.”

“To find the answer, it seems I must seek out the man from my dream.”

“Never mind, let fate take its course.”

Shi Qi stopped overthinking and continued to cultivate her Thousand Resilience Shield.

…

The next morning, Shi Qi woke Su Xiaomu, planning to set out for the cave residence designated by the Egret Immortal.

After sharing several bowls of rice porridge with Su Xiaomu, they left the inn and walked toward the outskirts of East Sea City.

As they walked, Shi Qi suddenly realized Su Xiaomu was missing. Looking back, she saw the girl had been drawn toward the various shops lining the street.

Shi Qi smiled and walked over to Su Xiaomu, flicking her forehead.

“Ouch…” Su Xiaomu hopped in pain.

Shi Qi asked, “What are you staring at so intently?”

Su Xiaomu held up an item before Shi Qi. “Look, big brother!”

Shi Qi focused—it was a pair of dragon and phoenix pendants made from glass jade.

Shi Qi smiled wryly. “You almost got swindled out of your silver in Yongzhou City. How are you still so naive?”

Back in Yongzhou, Su Xiaomu had nearly been duped by a merchant into spending thousands of silver taels for a pair of dragon and phoenix pendants.

“But…” Su Xiaomu lowered her head, “I really like them.”

Shi Qi laughed helplessly, taking the pendants from her to examine them.

They were crystal clear, flawless, and crafted far better than the pair from Yongzhou.

Shi Qi called out, “Shopkeeper, how much for these?”

The shopkeeper, seeing business, hurried over with a beaming smile. “Daoist, you have a keen eye. This pair of pendants is only eight thousand taels… what do you think…”

“Stop, stop…” Shi Qi cut him off before he could continue his flattery.

Shi Qi said, “We’re in a hurry and don’t have time for stories. Here’s the deal—set your own price.”

The shopkeeper replied, “Alright, I like straightforward customers. You name your price, but don’t shout randomly.”

Shi Qi nodded.

The shopkeeper hesitated, brows tightly furrowed. After a moment, as if making a momentous decision, he declared, “Three thousand five hundred!”

“Seventy!” Shi Qi shouted immediately before the shopkeeper’s words had even finished.

The shopkeeper nearly lost his balance, his face a mix of shock and disbelief, as if he might faint at any moment.

“Seventy-five! Will you sell or not? If not, we’re leaving!” Shi Qi didn’t even look at him.

“Sold!!”

In an instant, the shopkeeper’s greasy smile returned.

Shi Qi tossed over the silver, grabbed the pendants, and walked off with Su Xiaomu.

The shopkeeper watched them leave, a slight smile on his lips.

Shi Qi cradled the pendants in her hands, guiding her vital energy imbued with extreme cold to coat their surface.

Immediately, the pendants gleamed brighter, emitting a refreshing chill.

In truth, these were not magical treasures, just ordinary items. Shi Qi infused them with vital energy mainly for protection; otherwise, they would shatter at the slightest impact in a fight.

She tossed the pendants to Su Xiaomu, who took out a red cord from the shop, carefully separating the pair and threading each pendant.

“Big brother, here!”

After tying the cords, Su Xiaomu gave the dragon pendant to Shi Qi, keeping the phoenix pendant for herself, tying it around her waist.

Shi Qi accepted the dragon pendant and tied it around his own waist.

“So pretty!” Su Xiaomu said, beaming at the pendants on their waists.

“Look at you, so easily impressed!” Shi Qi grinned, patting her head.

Su Xiaomu stuck out her tongue at him.

The two bantered as they left East Sea City.

Outside the city, they soared into the sky, heading southeast.

Five hundred miles was not far; Shi Qi estimated they’d reach the cave residence by evening.

They flew leisurely, unaware that danger was lurking nearby.

The cave residence indicated by the Egret Immortal was called Egret Cave, built upon a stretch of sand along the East Sea, surrounded by barriers. Without the cave token, one would wander the beach endlessly, unable to locate the residence.

Not far from the Egret Beach, several dark figures gathered under a rock—Shi Cai, Yuan Chenglu, and others.

Yuan Chenglu asked, “Shi Cai, is the information reliable?”

Shi Cai replied, “Chief Yuan, my news is always good. Last time your brother made a mistake, but this time, we can’t take any chances.”

Yuan Chenglu sneered, “Last time my brother was careless, and that’s why Shi Qi, a mere junior, managed to slay him. This time, I’ve brought the Sun and Moon Brothers, masters of assassination, and myself. Three Nascent Soul experts—I refuse to believe we can’t handle him!”

Shi Cai swallowed secretly, thinking, Your brother was killed by you, but only I know that. I must be careful not to slip, or my life won’t be safe.

The other two were the Sun and Moon Brothers, renowned across the Twelve Provinces—elder brother Hai Ri and younger brother Hai Yue, both scattered cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, skilled in assassination.

Suddenly, Hai Ri said, “Silence, everyone. I sense two cultivators approaching.”

The four immediately tensed.

-------------------------------------

Shi Qi and Su Xiaomu flew through the air, oblivious to danger.

Shi Qi said, “Xiaomu, barring any surprises, that beach ahead is our destination.”

Su Xiaomu nodded, asking, “Big brother, what’s a cave residence?”

Shi Qi answered, “Hmm… I’m not sure, but it should be fun.”

Hearing “fun,” Su Xiaomu perked up, and the two sped toward Egret Beach.

“Whoosh.”

Suddenly, a piercing sound cut through the air—a sharp arrow flew past Shi Qi.

Reacting instantly, Shi Qi threw out the Thousand Resilience Shield, pulling Su Xiaomu behind him.

“Clang!”

The shield deflected the arrow. Shi Qi drew the Azure Cloud Umbrella, staying alert.

“Who would have thought you possessed such formidable protective treasures? No wonder my brother met his end!” Yuan Chenglu called out, rising slowly from behind a boulder, eyes locked on Shi Qi.

“It’s you!” Shi Qi immediately recognized him—Yuan Chenglu of Star Point Manor.

If it were only Yuan Chenglu, he would not be concerned, but Shi Qi glanced around, thinking if Yuan Chengtian was also present, things would be difficult.

Yuan Chenglu drew his golden spear, speaking slowly, “Little thief, hand over your treasures and I’ll let you die easily.”

Shi Qi continued to scan his surroundings, asking, “Where’s your brother?”

Yuan Chenglu suddenly shouted, “Little thief! How dare you mention my brother? He died because he was careless against you! Today, I’m here for revenge, and you dare bring up his name?!”

Shi Qi frowned. He knew that while Yuan Chengtian had been seriously injured in their previous battle, a Nascent Soul expert should not have died. Yuan Chenglu’s insistence suggested there was more to the story.

Shi Qi raised his head, saying, “Your brother…”

“Die!”

Before Shi Qi could explain, Yuan Chenglu charged through the air, spear thrusting at Shi Qi.

Shi Qi frowned, blocking with his umbrella.

The two clashed, both sent flying backward.

“This little thief is stronger than when we last fought!” Yuan Chenglu thought, then glanced sideways, signaling the Sun and Moon Brothers to act.

Shi Qi noticed the change in his expression, grabbed Su Xiaomu, and whispered, “He has backup—retreat!”

With that, the two turned to flee.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Yuan Chenglu shouted.

Shi Qi spun back, but suddenly a chill swept over his neck, a sense of death suffusing his body.

Instinctively, he raised the Azure Cloud Umbrella to shield himself.

“Slash!”

A shadow flashed past—Hai Yue struck, his long blade cleaving the umbrella.

“Crack!!”

“What?!!”

The Azure Cloud Umbrella, gifted by the Egret Immortal and Shi Qi’s companion for years, was sliced in two!

Shi Qi’s eyes blazed with anger, but he knew he had to stay rational—retreat first. He stowed the broken umbrella in his storage pouch, continuing to fall back.

After striking, the shadow vanished into thin air—Hai Yue.

Meanwhile, Hai Ri stood by the shore, weaving a spell, a slight smile on his lips.