Heavenly Thunder Rolled Down at a Word
"It's just ahead."
The convoy sped across the desert. Old Seven raised his head, gazing intently at the distant mountains, his eyes gleaming with a divine light.
The four people standing halfway up the mountain were clearly visible to him.
"A swift and decisive victory."
The trusted confidant sitting next to him spoke in a deep voice:
"As instructed by the boatman, only take that little fellow named Wei Lingzhu, but be careful of the West Cultist are also in the vicinity."
Although he wasn't Martial Arts Master, as the boatman's trusted subordinate, even the Old Seven, who had his three internal organs opened, had to nod in agreement.
The convoy arrived at the foot of the mountain.
"Don't act immediately," the confidant ordered. "Try to see if we can use other people's lives to force Wei Lingzhu to reveal her secrets."
"She publicly declared that her honed boxing skills and tempered skin would never regress, but it's probably not just that."
"Once you get the details, the boatman will reward you!"
The sound echoed, and figures flew towards the mountainside. Old Seven grabbed his confidant and also sped up.
For these highly refined martial artists and even Martial Arts Master, the distance of halfway up the mountain is merely a short while.
At this moment, halfway up the mountain.
"Damn it, they're coming for us." Wu Shangpin's expression changed drastically, but he didn't run away—he couldn't escape.
Among those who came was a Martial Arts Master!
As the approaching figure drew near, Wu Shangpin and the Wei Siblings paled instantly. The seemingly honest and unremarkable young man leaned alone against a green tree.
Seemingly out of fear, it huddled at the tree roots, its eyelids slightly lowered, its hands trembling irregularly.
It looked like he was trembling.
While observing the movements of the West Cultist, Zhang Fusheng tried to communicate with Miss Mingyue.
The whispered words, accompanied by the unique rhythm of trembling hands, reached the starry sky in a kind of 'sacrifice'.
Inside the carriage, Miss Mingyue frowned slightly:
"You mean, to invoke power through Art of Prayer? That's difficult."
Following that connection, she explained softly:
"The Art of Prayer is a variant of Divine Ability, which allows one to pray to specific deities through incense or other divine qualities."
"But to bestow power out of thin air requires a ritual that is almost Divine Descent intervention."
Zhang Fusheng listened to the sound that only he could perceive, his expression unchanged, still curled up at the tree root, his eyelids twitching slightly.
"I see."
He quietly answered the Miss Mingyue, but under the influence of his divine sense, he sensed a dispute breaking out among the West Cultist.
Two other Martial Arts Master masters were in charge, planning a special Divine Descent and a special sacrifice.
The objects of the sacrifices and Divine Descent were not some deity from Different Dimension.
Instead
The God of Plague descended upon the divine womb in Jiangzhou.
"With the Divine Descent, I am absolutely certain that no matter what changes occur in the Twin Cities, I can directly suppress and wipe them out!"
A steward said in a loud voice:
"As for the price to be paid? This Divine Descent, which is not far away, doesn't require much of a price or a long period of preparation!"
Yu Chengzong a deep voice:
"I personally witnessed the upheaval in Jiangzhou. The Plague God was merciless; the moment He descended, the entire Jiangzhou was turned into a wasteland!"
"If He were to come to the Twin Cities, the outcome would likely be the same: the two cities, north and south, and even you and I, would become nourishment for the divine embryo!"
Another steward shouted at him:
"Yu Chengzong, there's something wrong with your faith in the revered god!"
The atmosphere was tense, as if conflict could erupt at any moment.
At a crucial moment.
Old Yu was suddenly startled, first by surprise, then a fleeting look of joy.
The anger on his face subsided, and he remained silent for a moment:
"If we really want to hold a Divine Descent ceremony, it's not impossible."
The other believers, including Li Qiuhua, were all stunned.
The two stewards were surprised to hear Yu Chengzong had previously been so stubborn, continue speaking:
"I'll say it again: to be on the safe side, the Divine Descent ceremony cannot begin immediately, but we can prepare everything in advance—so that if anything unexpected happens, we can immediately invoke the gods!"
After a moment's deliberation, the two stewards reluctantly agreed to Yu Chengzong's proposal, and they began casting the miniature altar.
They poured the blood of everyone into it, and even opened the container to throw in a large number of fake souls.
Everything is ready.
If any unforeseen circumstances arise, the ritual can be completed immediately, and the gaze of the deity will descend!
The embryo of the God of Plague is already in the distant Bubble Heaven and Earth, and the ritual does not need to be as grand and complicated as summoning Divine Descent from Different Dimension.
At the same time.
On the other side of the mountain.
Sweat dripped from the foreheads of the three men; the honest-looking young man huddled at the tree root, seemingly trembling.
A series of figures had completely surrounded the woodland.
"You are Wei Lingzhu?"
The Old Seven, holding a small wooden box, smiled and said:
"You are a person born with extraordinary talent. The boatman said that you are destined to become a grandmaster, or even Great Grandmaster."
Wei Lingzhu's pupils shrank to pinpoints as she shielded Wei Qingshan behind her, gritting her teeth.
"What exactly do you want from following me here?"
"It's very simple."
The trusted aide straightened his clothes. Under the cover of darkness, the mountains and forests were deep and secluded, with only the light of torches illuminating the woodland.
The ground was littered with the carcasses of wild animals.
He smiled and said:
"Miss Wei's qualities must be more than just that, right? I've heard a rumor."
"Miss Wei's Mental Intent never wavers. It's said that after only a year of practice, she has already reached the level of Great Accomplishment in Visualization Method? She doesn't even need Mental Accumulation, is that right?"
Wu Shangpin's expression changed; clearly, this guy was telling the truth.
Now it was Zhang Fusheng's turn to look up in astonishment, who was curled up at the tree root.
Can one's mental strength never decline?
That's a bit scary.
Unlike the physical body, mental strength fluctuates constantly, with both low and high values.
These fluctuations are often fleeting, but what if they never recede?
A brief, momentary spike in mental energy immediately returns to normal, and the next spike also returns to normal.
This cycle repeats itself.
The rate of increase was rather alarming.
The absurdity is akin to ascending to heaven by stepping on one's own right foot with the left!
In just one year, without any teacher, guidance, or even sufficient Mental Accumulation, he achieved Great Accomplishment of visualization!
This progress is truly unbelievable.
But is it true?
Zhang Fusheng looked at Wei Lingzhu curiously. Her face was slightly pale, but she still shielded Wei Qingshan behind her, gritting her teeth.
"So what if it is?"
A commotion broke out among the crowd gathered in the woods.
"It's actually true!"
Even the Old Seven was astonished; could there really be such a bizarre talent in the world?
A flicker of jealousy flashed in his eyes.
I've worked hard for thirty years, enduring countless hardships and facing numerous life-or-death crises.
He had only just achieved spiritual Great Accomplishment, stepping into the realm of Martial Arts Master, and this girl?
One year.
Just one year!!
It's even foreseeable that her mental growth will accelerate faster and faster!
Malevolent Energy rose to the top of his head.
Why?!
He suppressed the pure murderous intent surging within him, his reason slightly clearing, and suddenly smiled:
"Let's play a game."
A chilling voice echoed through the mountains and forests, causing the trusted aide beside him to frown.
"Old Seven"
In the firelight, he met the Old Seven's bloodshot eyes, a chill ran through him, and he swallowed the words he was about to say.
Zhang Fusheng, who was about to get up, pondered whether he should take this opportunity to observe Wei Lingzhu's character.
After spending a few days together, Wei Lingzhu seemed to be quite good in every way, with an astonishing talent and an indescribable sense of approachability.
This inspired Zhang Fusheng to take on an apprentice.
Thoughts raced through my mind.
He suddenly frowned.
Why did I want to take on apprentices?
I'm only eighteen!
It's not time to leave behind a legacy yet!
But that thought quietly lingered, swirling within him, prompting him to turn back and investigate what was going on.
As for now?
The Old Seven's chilling voice echoed once more:
"How about we play a game? In the first round, there are four people, three will survive. You choose three people and help them stay alive. The last one..."
"How about I kill you?"
Wei Lingzhu stared intently at him:
I won't choose.
"If we don't choose, then we all die."
The Old Seven laughed excitedly, his head spinning from the Malevolent Energy, and a cloud of Blood Qi Beacon rose behind him, illuminating the woods!
Terrifying Blood Qi Beacon tore through the deep darkness, filling Wei Lingzhu's heart with despair as she pondered resistance.
The gap is too big.
Faced with the billowing Blood Qi Beacon rising from the ground, she trembled uncontrollably; it was the instinct for survival, the body's involuntary fear.
"Of the four people, three survived."
The Old Seven smiled and spoke:
"I'll count down to ten. If you haven't made a choice by then, ten, nine..."
He counted down slowly, Wei Lingzhu's hesitant gaze shifting between her Brother Boyang, who had saved her life, and Uncle Wu, who had always taken good care of the two siblings.
She couldn't choose.
The principles she lived by prevented her from making this choice.
"65."
The Old Seven's countdown grew increasingly frenzied, his eyes turning ever more bloodshot, causing everyone present to hold their breath slightly.
Wei Lingzhu's face was deathly pale, and her hands trembled.
Despair.
"Four! Three!"
The Old Seven was panting heavily, even rubbing his hands together in excitement!
"Two!"
"Alright." A calm voice suddenly interrupted him.
People looked in the direction of the sound and saw the honest-looking young man huddled at the base of a tree in the corner.
The other person had stood up at some point and dusted off their backside.
Zhang Fusheng said earnestly:
"If you were playing a different game, I might watch it a little longer, but this kind of unoriginal and useless dilemma?"
He shook his head:
"It's useless, and it doesn't let me figure anything out."
A calm voice echoed, and Wei Lingzhu and Wei Qingshan watched blankly as the honest and kind-hearted Brother Boyang approached.
Zhang Fusheng looked Wei Lingzhu up and down:
"Lingzhu, do you have a master?"
He asked calmly, realizing that his sudden desire to take the other person as his disciple was too strange, and he wanted to see what was going on.
The verification method is also very simple.
That means actually taking on an apprentice.
In the woods, Old Seven was dumbfounded, and the others exchanged bewildered glances, completely baffled by the simple-minded young man's strange behavior.
Wei Lingzhu was also bewildered and subconsciously shook her head.
"Alright, offer me a cup of tea as a token of your respect, and you'll be considered my disciple. Hmm, I'll also need a formal letter of introduction. Let's wait until we get back to camp; there's no rush now."
The honest-looking young man's rambling voice echoed, and the bewildered Old Seven laughed in exasperation:
"Where did this madman come from?"
The Blood Qi Beacon behind him suddenly expanded and twisted, transforming into a brilliant Blood Qi Palm Seal, which compressed the air and caused ripples!
Wei Lingzhu's expression changed, and she subconsciously reached out to pull Brother Boyang away.
It didn't move.
She froze, then saw Brother Boyang turn around and speak softly:
"Thunder."
"What?" Wei Lingzhu asked instinctively.
The next second.
The deep black sky was suddenly illuminated.
People looked up at the sky—it was thunder.
Thousands upon thousands of bolts of lightning appeared in response to the honest young man's words, crisscrossing the sky and briefly illuminating the dark heavens with a fiery white light.
A massive bolt of lightning rolled into a sea.
From the cloudless black sky, from the endless sea of thunder that illuminates the earth, a bolt of lightning crashed down, as if following the sound of that 'thunder'.
Purple lightning flashed through the mountains and forests. When the lightning dissipated, Old Seven had vanished, leaving only some carbonized powder drifting in the wind.
'Boom!'
The thunderclap only then erupted.