Heaven's Anomalous Phenomenon, Winter Thunder

Chapter 32: Heavenly Anomaly, Winter Thunder

Sun Zhenbang shot him a glance, his expression caught between a smile and a sneer. "If I hadn't come, how could I have heard such an interesting story?"

"And since you think the culprit is a snake, fine—here's the pen. From now on, you write the case report."

Watching Sun Zhenbang's utterly serious face.

Xie Yixuan felt like crying but had no tears. He finally understood why his teammates had been frantically blinking earlier. "Th-that, I was just joking, Captain Sun. Please don't take it to heart."

"Let's drop those baseless claims. It's embarrassing enough that you're police officers—don't make others laugh at you."

The others nodded like chicks pecking at rice. "Got it, Captain Sun."

Seeing that everyone had rested enough, Sun Zhenbang spoke up. "Alright, let's move out!"

"Captain Sun, look at the sky. Is it going to snow again?"

Sun Zhenbang looked up. The sky was gloomy, a massive dark cloud mass gathering in the southeast, as if brewing something—like a storm at sea, unsettling to behold.

"Hard to say."

The sky had suddenly turned terrifyingly overcast, as if snow was coming, but not quite.

"Let's hurry. If it starts snowing later, searching will be even harder. We might lose another few days."

Hearing this, everyone quickened their pace.

Just as they advanced, the gloomy sky abruptly flashed with a blinding purple light, illuminating the entire world in an instant.

Like a straight sword, it split the sky in two.

So much so that Sun Zhenbang and the others couldn't help raising their hands to shield their eyes—it was too dazzling.

"Boom!"

A thunderous roar followed, startling everyone.

"What's going on?"

"Sounds like thunder."

"How can it thunder in the middle of winter? We must be hearing things."

Everyone looked up at the horizon. The cloud mass was growing larger, vaguely spreading toward them, covering most of the sky.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Another deafening crash. A brilliant white flash tore through the dark earth, piercing all darkness and chaos.

This time, everyone heard it clearly. It was thunder!

That cloud wasn't an ordinary storm cloud—it was a thundercloud!

Thunder in winter—such a sight was rare.

After all, in winter, the atmosphere is relatively stable, making convective movements unlikely. Plus, the ground temperature is low, the air dry, and cloud formation difficult, reducing the chance of lightning.

Though winter thunderstorms do occur, the probability is tiny. Now, everyone stared unblinking at the celestial wonder.

Snow reflecting lightning—this scene was undoubtedly a marvel of nature.

"How strange. I feel like the lightning is only striking that one area."

Everyone looked and realized it was true.

"Right. It's been striking the same spot over and over. Does lightning have eyes, or is there something wrong with the magnetic field there?"

The lightning seemed alive, each strike landing in roughly the same place. Other areas were affected too, but not significantly.

What was so special about that place? Why was it so favored? This question popped into everyone's mind.

"Could some rare treasure be emerging? A heavenly anomaly must mean something extraordinary."

The speaker was Xie Yixuan, his tone slightly teasing, his face full of curiosity.

Sun Zhenbang glared at him. "Stop reading those fantasy cultivation novels all the time. You're spouting nonsense here. If I hear any more of this, I'm throwing all your books away!"

"I was just joking."

Xie Yixuan pouted, muttered a few words under his breath, then fell silent.

The sky had darkened without warning. The sudden thunder. All these anomalies pointed to something unusual—and it had come too abruptly.

Xie Yixuan was eager to go. "Why don't we head over and check what's going on?"

Sun Zhenbang rolled his eyes and lightly tapped his head. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You're never this proactive about solving cases or catching criminals, but you're quick to join in on the excitement."

"What's the harm in looking? It won't cost me a pound of flesh."

Catching Sun Zhenbang's expression, Xie Yixuan grumbled, staring at the nearby lightning with longing. His eyes darted around, and a plan quickly formed.

"Alright, stop staring. It's just thunder—nothing special. Let's keep moving. We'll split up later, and keep your eyes sharp."

Everyone packed up and set off. As they dispersed, Xie Yixuan's assigned search area happened to be not far from where the lightning was striking—within his exploration range.

"How bizarre. If it keeps thundering like this, all in one area, could it start a wildfire?"

Xie Yixuan muttered to himself, a little uneasy. After hesitating, he turned around. "I'll take a quick look. Shouldn't be a problem."

People are curious by nature, especially when faced with such an extraordinary sight. Add to that his usual fondness for reading strange and fantastical novels, and it was no wonder he acted this way.

After a long while, as he drew closer to that spot, he could see it more clearly.

A purple radiance blazed within, even staining the white snow on the ground with that color, carrying a sharp, biting cold gleam.

Even during the thunderstorm-prone seasons of spring and summer, he had never seen lightning like this, let alone in winter!

"It's truly bizarre, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of fire."

Xie Yixuan couldn't help quickening his pace, eager to see what exactly was happening there.

On the other side, as the thunder gradually faded, Ye Qin barely managed to regain his composure.

"Everything is finally over."

It had come with a mighty roar and vanished without a trace—everything was so sudden.

Ye Qin guessed this was no coincidence; it must have been his own lightning tribulation!

As for why it hadn't struck him...

Perhaps it wasn't time yet. His cultivation level was too low; maybe it was just a warning?

Ye Qin wasn't sure, but he clearly understood that a day might come when he would face a tribulation. The thought stirred fear and dread in his heart, and he hoped that day would come as late as possible.

As the thunder faded, a silver crescent moon appeared in the sky. The heavens hadn't fully darkened yet, caught in a twilight between light and shadow.

This didn't stop the silver glow from slowly spilling down, soothing the restless agitation the lightning tribulation had stirred in Ye Qin.

Gazing at the crescent moon on the horizon, his serpent pupils once again became calm and unruffled.

Ye Qin slowly stretched his body, better receiving the baptism of moonlight.

This sensation was extremely mysterious. In an instant, it felt as if his spirit had left his body, and the entire snake became light and ethereal.

Ye Qin coiled his body together. Now, his first realm, "Free Contemplation," had been cultivated to perfection, and his second realm, "Creation Body Tempering," had also achieved some success.

In this regard, the first realm had already shown signs of it.

The white bones were continuously tempered, nourishing his body in return. His physical strength and hardness were steadily increasing.

He could even turn his body into a sharp weapon, piercing straight through a poacher's chest, or use his tail as a whip, capable not only of snapping a small tree in half but also of crushing a person's head with a single strike.

These were only surface-level changes. As he cultivated the second realm, by harnessing the power of contemplating the moon, he continued to temper the white bones—this was what was called "Creation Body Tempering."

The white bones grew stronger and stronger, feeding back into his body endlessly, achieving a true rebirth. This cycle repeated itself, forming the supreme path of contemplative cultivation.

(End of this chapter)