The Marvelous Use of the Lightning-Summoning Divine Art!

Everyone was stunned, their expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

Whether it was the underworld envoys, the City God, or the two ghosts Lin Xiao, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Nine Heavens mysterious brake, transform into divine thunder. Majestic heavenly might, guided by the sword."

Fei Luo, originally engulfed by the lightning tribulation and suffering the agony of torn flesh and skin, sensed the crisis facing the two underworld envoys and the City God through his external consciousness and panicked.

How could he let them die right under his nose?

In an instant, Fei Luo's mind raced, and he recalled the incantation for the Nine Heavens Thunder Invocation Art.

Silently chanting in his heart, he swept the Flowing Cloud Sword across the air.

"Lin Xiao, have you laughed enough?"

Fei Luo stood as if he were a deity bathing in thunder; the tribulation lightning, carrying majestic heavenly might, eerily split in two, automatically drawn toward the Flowing Cloud Sword in his hand.

It was as if Fei Luo had cleaved the divine thunder with his blade, or as if his sword and the tribulation lightning were two magnets, with the lightning being guided by his sword to dissipate into the sky ahead.

Yet, the tribulation lightning lingered, and though it struck into the void, it remained blindingly brilliant.

"Run!"

The Phantom Ghost King was scared out of his wits; his body turned into a phantom, and without a second thought, he retreated explosively toward the direction he had come from.

Lin Xiao, however, seemed stunned, frozen for a second.

Run, run, run!

Lin Xiao took to his heels, his expression filled with extreme terror.

With a "thud," the two underworld envoys landed, and the City God Li Ru also lay on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.

It was a tremor born of facing heavenly might.

The majestic power contained within the lightning tribulation felt as if a mere wisp could shatter his golden body and scatter his soul to the winds.

"You want to run after acting so arrogant?" Fei Luo grinned, thrusting his Flowing Cloud Sword into the void.

This strike was plain and unremarkable.

But the resulting momentum was shocking.

Boom!

Boom!

The tribulation lightning split in two, like arrows released from a bow, flashing with light as they struck toward the distance.

On the distant mountain peak, accompanied by two shrill screams, a hundred-foot-wide crater appeared on the slope.

The entire East Mountain seemed to have been gouged out by a giant shovel; dirt filled the sky, scattering and erupting upward.

"This..."

The two underworld envoys were dumbfounded, and the City God Li Ru was equally stunned.

Controlling the tribulation lightning?

What kind of heaven-defying technique was this?

Everyone knew that the three tribulations of wind, thunder, and fire were punishments generated by the Heavenly Dao, intended to crush a cultivator's dream of defying fate; such tribulations were supposed to be beyond mortal control.

And yet, what were they seeing?

The formidable tribulation lightning was being used by this man with a face like polished jade to kill his enemies?

Even the Phantom General, at the Solid Core Realm, would have had no chance of survival before such lightning.

"My apologies, I nearly let you fall into danger." Fei Luo looked at the three people before him and said softly.

"We dare not, we dare not. The Young Master is truly a divine being." The City God and the two underworld envoys stood up, responding with repeated respect.

"Young Master, do not waste this golden opportunity. Quickly use the energy left behind by the tribulation to break through your realm." The City God looked at Fei Luo and reminded him.

Fei Luo gave an "en" and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Before long, a mysterious energy descended from the void. This energy was distinct from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; it was the energy of creation, a reward bestowed by the Heavenly Dao upon a life that had survived the lightning tribulation.

Though the Heavenly Dao was ruthless and would send down tribulations to stop cultivators from defying fate, those who survived were considered the darlings of the heavens.

Only until the next tribulation would the heavens continue to send down trials to hinder the cultivator.

Fei Luo tilted his head back and swallowed several pills, his internal magic power instantly reaching its peak, the remaining energy surging toward his dark-gold False Core.

"Condense!"

Fei Luo controlled the magic power within his body, and the False Core spun continuously, its speed increasing ever faster.

Boom!

A moment later, in the eyes of everyone, the aura on Fei Luo's body changed completely; he had stepped into the Solid Core Realm.

The greatest difference between the Solid Core Realm and the False Core Realm was the ability to project magic power externally.

Before the Solid Core Realm, magic power could only be condensed within the limbs or upon weapons to repel enemies, but a powerhouse of the Solid Core Realm could release magic power from their body, firing it like a hidden weapon.

This was a qualitative change.

The Phantom General was able to cast his innate Ghost Wall ability simultaneously precisely because he was a Solid Core Realm ghost king.

Before long, Fei Luo opened his bright eyes, stood up, and looked at the dazed crowd. "Today, I thank you all for risking your lives to save me. I am eternally grateful."

"Congratulations, Young Master."

The two Yin Messengers and the City God did not accept Fei Luo's thanks, instead bowing low to express their gratitude to him.

"You two are too kind; it was merely the smallest of heavenly tribulations." Fei Luo waved his hand, signaling for everyone to rise.

"Young Master, you may not be aware, but you are the first person in seven hundred years to undergo the tribulation while still in the False Core Realm. Seven hundred years ago, there was an expert who also passed the heavenly tribulation, but he only did so upon advancing to the Golden Core Realm." The Yin Messenger named Zhang Wu spoke to Fei Luo about some historical curiosities.

Hearing this, Fei Luo was greatly surprised. "You mean Golden Mountain Temple? Could that person be named Fa Hai?"

"Indeed, Young Master. Who would have thought you had heard this story as well?" Zhang Wu laughed heartily.

The group chatted and laughed all the way toward the City God Temple.

After some discussion, Fei Luo learned that the primary duty of the Yin Messengers was to capture wandering ghosts and spirits.

As for the ghost kings roaming the world, they were not under their jurisdiction.

Through this back-and-forth, Fei Luo also learned many things about the netherworld.

Inside the City God Temple.

"Everyone, do you have any detailed intelligence on the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable?" Fei Luo sat upright in the temple hall, and after receiving his system rewards, he looked at the two Yin Messengers and the City God with a serious expression.

Having just slain the Phantom General and Lin Xiao, although there were no significant experience rewards, he had been granted quite a few medicinal pills to assist in his cultivation.

At this moment, a murderous intent surged within Fei Luo; he was thinking of the entity behind the Phantom General.

"Hm?"

"Hm?"

The three of them were shocked, their faces filled with an indescribable sense of alarm.

The Azure Sky Ghost Venerable was a powerful ghost who ruled over five counties and possessed the formidable strength of the Golden Core stage.

Although Fei Luo was a genius who appeared once in a millennium, he was only in the Solid Core Realm!

Could it be that Fei Luo intended to seek trouble with the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable?

"Young Master, this is..." The City God Li Ru swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he asked.

Fei Luo took in the expressions of everyone present, a smile playing on his lips. "Everyone, that Azure Sky Ghost Venerable has gathered a group of monsters and ghosts; I fear he has committed no shortage of heinous acts. Since the grudge has already been formed, I shall naturally pay him a visit today to exchange pointers."

By the end, Fei Luo's tone had turned cold, the biting killing intent chilling the three men to the bone.

"Young Master, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable is a fierce ghost who has cultivated for over a hundred years. We have never seen his true face; we only know that in his previous life, he was a woman from Azure Heaven Town. As for why he turned into a fierce ghost and reached Golden Core strength within a century, we have no idea." The City God Li Ru spoke, looking at Fei Luo.

"Azure Heaven Town, is it."