Qiang Liang, Ancestral Witch of Thunder

"Don't tell me I'm going to die just like this!"

Lei Xiao wailed inwardly, his Primordial Spirit trembling on instinct.

He could clearly sense that even after Tongtian's Sword Qi had worn away most of it, the remaining black lightning still carried a ferocious power capable of corroding souls and annihilating the Dao. With his current perfected Golden Immortal body and immortal essence, taking it head-on would only result in his soul scattering in an instant.

The black lightning hung above his head, its dead, oppressive aura sealing off every route of evasion around him as the shadow of death blotted out the sky and descended.

At that critical moment, a rough, explosive voice that made the void hum abruptly thundered beside his ears.

"Huh! Tongtian's Sword Qi? What is your relationship with Tongtian?"

The devastating strike he had expected did not fall.

Lei Xiao's heart jolted, and he suddenly raised his eyes.

He saw that the savage, twisted black lightning had been imprisoned by an invisible giant hand, frozen firmly in midair. Then, drawn by a wild and weighty force, it rolled back upward with its black aura flowing in reverse.

Lei Xiao followed it with his gaze and saw a burly man standing in the sky at some unknown time. His upper body was bare, his muscles knotted like cast bronze, radiating a primitive and savage sense of strength.

With one hand held in an empty grasp, the black lightning that could tear even space apart now coiled obediently around his fingertips like a tamed venomous snake.

"The Witch Clan... and an Ancestral Witch at that..."

Lei Xiao's pupils contracted sharply. He already had a vague answer in his heart regarding the burly man's identity.

This was most likely Qiang Liang, the Ancestral Witch of Thunder, and that black lightning just now should have been the legendary Capital-Heaven Divine Thunder.

This was the divine thunder Pangu had used to cleave open heaven and earth. No wonder it was so powerful.

Lei Xiao's heart pounded wildly, but he forced himself to remain calm. Taking a deep breath, he cupped his hands and said, "This junior is Lei Xiao, Tongtian's personal disciple."

"Tongtian's disciple? No wonder he left Sword Qi within your body."

Qiang Liang nodded slightly, then abruptly changed the subject. "Then why do you carry the aura of Eastern Emperor Taiyi?"

"I carry Eastern Emperor Taiyi's aura?" Lei Xiao looked utterly bewildered.

"That's right."

Qiang Liang stared at Lei Xiao. "I was cultivating deep within Thunder Marsh. I sensed Eastern Emperor Taiyi's aura appearing in Thunder Marsh, which was why I attacked.

"If you had not used Tongtian's Sword Qi, and if I had not withdrawn in time, then even if you possessed other life-saving methods, you would already be dead."

Lei Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi's aura?

He instinctively thought of what had happened on Purple Abode Island. That had also been his only contact with Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

He had thought Eastern Emperor Taiyi had merely found him unusual and attacked to test him. He had never expected Eastern Emperor Taiyi to leave his own aura upon him.

But what was Eastern Emperor Taiyi's purpose in doing so?

Was it to leave a mark, so he could determine Lei Xiao's precise location and track him?

Or had he learned that Lei Xiao was Tongtian's disciple and plotted against him? Just as now—if the aura on him were sensed by a Witch Clan expert, they would certainly attack him.

If not for the life-saving trump card Tongtian had left him, he would already be dead.

In that case, if a Witch Clan expert killed Tongtian's disciple, the two sides would forge a blood feud.

What a scheme! What a vicious heart!

Lei Xiao gritted his teeth inwardly, a chill shooting from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.

Sure enough, not one of these old monsters who had lived for hundreds of millions of years was simple.

Lei Xiao did not conceal anything and told Qiang Liang everything that had happened on Purple Abode Island exactly as it had occurred.

There was nothing to hide in the first place.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches had been born from Pangu's blood essence, while the Three Pure Ones had been transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit. Both sides shared the same origin, and it was precisely because of this that Qiang Liang had immediately stopped after sensing Tongtian's Sword Qi.

"What a damned feathered beast!"

Qiang Liang laughed in fury, his voice like exploding thunder. "He dares scheme against my Witch Clan? But no matter how he schemes, before Pangu's True Body, only a dead end awaits him."

Standing nearby, Lei Xiao felt the terrifying pressure radiating from Qiang Liang. Every bone in his body creaked.

The fury of an Ancestral Witch—even merely a trace of its leaking aftermath—was not something a Golden Immortal like him could withstand. Yet he gritted his teeth and did not retreat even half a step, his expression remaining calm.

Of course, Lei Xiao's heart was anything but calm.

From Qiang Liang's words just now, he had heard the phrase "Pangu's True Body." It seemed the Twelve Ancestral Witches had already created the Twelve Capital-Heaven Gods and Baleful Intent Grand Formation.

That also meant the first great war between the Witches and Demons was not far away.

After cursing a few more times, Qiang Liang's anger subsided somewhat. He lowered his head and glanced at Lei Xiao. Seeing that Lei Xiao's face was pale yet he still stood ramrod straight, a trace of approval flashed through his eyes.

"You've got some nerve. You can still stand before me."

"Senior does not intend to kill this junior, so why should this junior be afraid?" Lei Xiao replied neither servilely nor arrogantly.

Qiang Liang laughed heartily. "Good! You're not bad, kid. It's a pity you're not from my Witch Clan. I'll help you deal with the mark on your body, lest you encounter other Witch Clan experts again. They are not as easy to talk to as I am."

Easy to talk to.

Hearing those three words, Lei Xiao's mouth twitched slightly.

How were you easy to talk to? You attacked without a word. If not for Tongtian's Sword Qi, he would already have perished, body and soul destroyed.

"Senior is right. I ask Senior to help me," Lei Xiao said as he bowed to Qiang Liang.

The aura Eastern Emperor Taiyi had left on him was indeed a great problem. Perhaps because his cultivation realm was insufficient, he could not sense it at all himself. At present, he could only ask Qiang Liang to resolve it.

Qiang Liang said nothing more. Raising a finger, he shot out a strand of Capital-Heaven Divine Thunder. Like a tiny black snake, it darted straight toward Lei Xiao's shadow.

Lei Xiao instinctively lowered his head, and his pupils suddenly shrank.

The shadow beneath his feet—was twisting.

As the Capital-Heaven Divine Thunder approached, the shadow seemed to come alive. Like a disturbed surface of water, ripples spread across it in rings.

A phantom of a three-legged Golden Crow silently poked its head out from that twisting mass of shadow!

The three-legged Golden Crow phantom was only about an inch in size, yet it radiated a terrifying heat that made one suffocate. Its eyes were like two burning flames as it fixed them on the approaching Capital-Heaven Divine Thunder, releasing an incomparably shrill cry that seemed capable of piercing the Primordial Spirit.

"Chirp—"

"You still dare struggle?"

Qiang Liang snorted coldly and flicked his fingertip. The black snake-like Capital-Heaven Divine Thunder instantly swelled, transforming into a giant net of lightning that covered the three-legged Golden Crow phantom in the blink of an eye.

"Crackle—"

A piercing sound of dissolution rang out. The three-legged Golden Crow phantom writhed madly beneath the strangling force of the Capital-Heaven Divine Thunder, yet it could not break free at all.

Before the Capital-Heaven Divine Thunder, the Golden Crow True Flame on its body was like a guttering candle in the wind. Within only a few breaths, it was completely devoured.

At the same time, Demon Emperor Palace in the Million Demon Mountains.