A white figure plunged down from the clouds, crashing onto the Great Bell in front of the Mountain Gate with a thunderous boom. It was an emergency, and he had no time for ceremony. Rather than walk up the mountain path, he went straight to the little courtyard near the summit. But as they chatted about all manner of things, a dark cloud silently blotted out Bright Moon Haoguang, which had hung over the Azure Nether Sword Sect for a thousand years. The giant claw kept coming, slamming down before the Mountain Gate with a deafening crash and smashing the gate and the entire mountain path to rubble. "Crimson Flame—Slash!" The first thing to strike was an overwhelmingly intense pressure, suffocating as the stifling air before a spring thunderclap. In an instant, it made the disciples guarding the Mountain Gate sense that something was wrong and feel uneasy. The Thunder Beast pointed a forehoof at Bai Qiuran, laughing so hard that tears, snot, and drool streamed down its face. Caught completely off guard, the Thunder Beast was kicked flying. It landed on a small hill beyond Qingming Mountain and smashed the entire peak. The white-haired young man walked up to the red-robed disciple and asked him, "Where is Jueyunzi?" The dark clouds churned ceaselessly, as if the fury within them were building. "My name is Bai Qiuran." The Thunder Beast couldn't even be bothered to answer such a stupid question. Seeing that Bai Qiuran wouldn't let it pass, it opened its mouth and spat out a bolt of lightning, intending to pulverize Bai Qiuran and Jueyunzi together. The Thunder Beast rose into the air amid lightning and clouds, looking down at Jueyunzi with the pride of a victor. Perhaps under the protection of this Immortal Sect Master, the sect had survived countless calamities over the past several thousand years, standing firm and keeping its incense burning. "Old Qingming! I've come to settle the score!" But the unwelcome guest outside the Mountain Gate clearly had no patience to wait for the Sect Master and elders to arrive. When a single strike from its lightning spear failed to break through, the rolling dark clouds it controlled suddenly became a beast's claw large enough to blot out the sky. It crashed against the Azure Nether Sword Sect's Mountain Protection Array. With a sharp snap, the formation that had stood for a thousand years shattered in the claw's grasp like a soap bubble. "Enough, enough." Meanwhile, as the Azure Nether Sect Master Jueyunzi held off the Thunder Demon Venerable, the red-robed direct disciple also rode his Flying Sword swiftly to Seven Star Peak. A red-robed direct disciple, who had been riding his Flying Sword behind the elders to cover them, quickly accepted the Sect Master's order, then turned into a streak of light and flew toward the most remote peak in the Azure Nether Mountains. That night, amid the towering Azure Nether Mountains, two third-generation disciples in green robes stood near the Mountain Gate, yawning with boredom as they chatted about recent sect affairs and their pretty senior and junior sisters. They also daydreamed about the newcomers who would join the sect after tomorrow's admission ceremony, wondering if one of them might be the one destined to share their life. But the red-robed disciple seemed to have fallen into some kind of trance, muttering strange words. Just then, a figure dropped from the sky with a crash and kicked the Thunder Beast flying. "Foolish junior! You've never even heard of the Thunder Demon Venerable's great name!" At the Azure Nether Sword Sect's Mountain Gate, the disciples and elders looked up. Their Sect Master was battling the intruder in the clouds. "Hahaha! A thousand years later, Old Qingming's successor is still this weak!" "I understand." Yet what shocked the disciples even more was the cultivation of this legendary "Martial Ancestor Uncle." His voice echoed across the entire peak. A moment later, someone pushed open a door in the courtyard, and a lazy voice drifted out. But that very night, a calamity quietly descended upon the Azure Nether Sword Sect while they knew nothing of it. The lightning's main target was Jueyunzi. A mere Qi Refining Stage cultivator—something it could kill by sneezing, countless times over—wasn't worth its attention. As the dust settled, blood at the corner of his mouth, Jueyunzi leaned on his own life-bound Flying Sword and slowly got to his feet. He looked up at the sky, his expression grave. The Thunder Beast raised its head. Lightning crackled from the spiraling horn atop it, connecting with the thunderclouds as it prepared an unimaginably terrifying attack. "An opinion?" Qi Refining Stage. He was only at the Qi Refining Stage, for fuck's sake! As the light faded, Bai Qiuran casually tossed aside his long sword, its blade burned to molten iron by the Crimson Flame, then snorted. "Stop looking down on Qi Refining Stage cultivators, will you? I'm pretty strong!" The Qi Refining Stage "Martial Ancestor Uncle" carried his iron sword over to the red-robed disciple and asked with a frown, "I asked you a question. Where is Jueyunzi? Is he at the Main Peak?" Footsteps sounded, and a figure appeared before the red-robed direct disciple. Unable to contain his curiosity, the disciple looked up. A handsome young man stood before him, with skin as fair as an infant's, but white hair and brows like a centenarian's. His expression was languid. He wore no Azure Nether Sword Sect robes, only close-fitting clothes with wide hems, cloud-patterned shoes, and an iron sword at his waist. He looked less like a cultivator and more like a wandering swordsman. True Qi surged from Bai Qiuran's Qi Sea like an ocean brought to a boil, igniting his blade. Flames roared at the tip of his sword. It was the basic martial technique most commonly used by cultivators when they first entered Qi Refining. The Azure Nether Sect Master Jueyunzi, dressed in white robes, frowned. "If you're looking for him, you should go to the Immortal Realm, not come here to trouble our Azure Nether Sword Sect!" "Hm? What are you rambling about? Have you encountered a heart demon?" The Thunder Beast roared furiously and burst from the dust, only to see a white-bearded, white-haired youth standing before Jueyunzi, calmly watching it. "The Sect Master is fighting someone at the Mountain Gate." A figure descended gracefully from the highest Main Peak of the Azure Nether Mountains, transforming into a handsome man dressed in white. He stood in midair with his hands behind his back, gazing coldly at the dark clouds. "Who goes there?" "Who are you?!" The red-robed disciple gaped in shock. "Mm!" "That won't do." With that thought, Jueyunzi stirred his Spiritual Sense and reached out to one of his personal disciples... Seeing the lightning rush toward them, the red-robed direct disciples in the sky cried out in alarm. Jueyunzi, however, remained calm, because he saw Bai Qiuran draw his sword before him. In this vast and ancient land, the sect's fame was known to all. Every few centuries, the sect produced a new crop of old monsters at the Deity Transformation, Body Integration, and even Tribulation Crossing stages. More than three thousand years ago, one Sect Master had even broken through the barrier of the Heaven's Tribulation and ascended to immortality in broad daylight! "Go to Seven Star Peak and get Martial Ancestor Uncle to come help!" "One Qi Refining Stage mortal dares to call himself a disciple of Old Qingming! Hahaha, I never imagined you could insult him so badly!" Fire surged skyward, splitting the lightning in two. It kept going, slicing through the Thunder Beast—caught completely unprepared—and the mountain range behind it, like a hot knife through butter. "Sect Master!" "Qingming Patriarch attained the Dao and ascended three thousand years ago." "If you want to raze the Azure Nether Sword Sect, then Jueyunzi will have to meet the peerless cultivation of Senior Thunder Demon!" Thunder rumbled louder and louder. Lightning exploded, gathering inside the dark clouds into a thick spear. With a crash, it struck the Azure Nether Sword Sect's Mountain Protection Array, making the green formation shudder violently. This Thunder Beast had Immortal Beast blood and was already as powerful as a Mahayana Stage cultivator. After falling to the Demonic Path, its strength had surged even further, making it nearly a match for the Heavenly Immortals. As a Sect Master at the peak of the Body Integration Stage, Jueyunzi was confident, but he knew he was no match for this Thunder Beast. The Grand Elder, meanwhile, was in the middle of closed-door cultivation. Even if he were disturbed, putting aside the effect on his lifespan and cultivation, he would likely suffer a backlash from his True Essence and emerge grievously injured. Even if he came then, he would be no help. The red-robed disciple pointed toward the Mountain Gate with an expression of utter resignation. A few minutes later, a muffled groan came from the clouds. The clouds parted, revealing a colossal Divine Beast amid the thunderclouds. It had a wolf's head, a horse's body, three long hooked tails, and black thunder coiling around it. "Alas, the dead are gone like the flowing river; no feast lasts forever..." The white-haired, white-browed "Martial Ancestor Uncle" nodded, then crouched slightly. The red-robed disciple suddenly felt True Qi within him surging like a raging tide. The Thunder Beast studied the youth for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. Involuntarily, the red-robed disciple murmured to himself. With a single step, he landed, then dropped to one knee. Mustering the Golden Core True Essence in his body, he called out, "The Azure Nether Sword Sect is under attack! The Sect Master sent me to summon Martial Ancestor Uncle. Please come out and help us!" Sure enough, it was the Thunder Beast recorded in the ancient texts, the one sealed away by the Patriarch three thousand years ago... Thud! This was a level even the martial artists at the foot of the mountain could reach, and with the Thunder Demon's strength, whether Qi Refining Stage or even a Nascent Soul monster, they would be little more than a snack. The sky beyond the Mountain Protection Array suddenly filled with dark clouds. Lightning snakes writhed within them, and thunder rumbled as a voice echoed from the clouds. A sea of lightning snakes and Sword Lights streaked through the sky, surging with tremendous energy. Even a single stray burst could easily blast a small hill apart. The young man smiled gently. "Today, I've come on behalf of my master, Daoist Qingming, to meet you." Laughter boomed from the dark clouds. "Ridiculous! Old Qingming actually managed to ascend in broad daylight? Fine. You're the disciples he left behind. I'll destroy your sect first, then go to the Immortal Realm to settle the score!" Bai Qiuran smiled, but a vein bulged on his forehead. The mountain-guarding disciples were knocked to the ground by the violent tremor. The green-robed second-generation disciple leading them quickly scrambled to his feet and shouted to the others. Then he rushed to the Great Bell near the Mountain Gate, gathered his True Essence, and struck it with his fist. The bell boomed again and again. Its formation carried the sound across Qingming Mountain, and at that moment, the entire Azure Nether Sword Sect heard it. The second-generation disciples swiftly directed their juniors and younger disciples to take shelter. The first-generation red-robed direct disciples rode their Flying Swords into the air alongside the elders and Sect Master. In an instant, countless streaks of Sword Light darted across the summit of Qingming Mountain, a dazzling sight. Another year had come around for the Azure Nether Sword Sect's once-every-twenty-years recruitment. People from several kingdoms across Guzhou, and even from other great regions, all gathered in Xuanjian Town beneath Qingming Mountain, eager to seek an immortal's blessing. "What?" The Thunder Beast didn't want to answer such a pointless question. Seeing that Bai Qiuran wouldn't move, it opened its mouth and spat out a bolt of lightning, intending to pulverize him and Jueyunzi together. "That's it. Today marks the Azure Nether Sword Sect's doom..." "Hurry and report this to the Sect Master!" The youth asked, "Where is Jueyunzi right now?" Seeing the Thunder Beast's true form, Jueyunzi furrowed his brow.
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