Thunder Manifestation, Chen Yan Speaks of the Nine Heavens

"The Jiannan Circuit City God is a figure of the same rank as the Mountain Envoy. Moreover, that City God is entirely covered in silver light, a sign of advancing to the Third Grade. According to legend, this Circuit City God of Jiannan Circuit may be a reincarnated figure. Seeing him today, his ferocity is indeed overwhelming. He just opened the Yin-Yang Path, inciting the will of all people. If I were to face him, I could only last three breaths at most! But..."

Above Wuxin City, the Hengduan Mountain God looked at the empty sky, but the shock in his heart did not dissipate in the slightest. As far as his eyes could see, his Divine Eye focused, and he could see a mountain peak flying rapidly on the horizon.

"Such a figure was blocked, and not only that, judging from the situation, the Circuit City God was clearly severely injured, even his divine shell was left behind! I really don't know who that deity who blocked the mountain was? To be able to suppress Third Grade god with the power of Fifth Grade! He must be no ordinary person."

Thinking of this, he hesitated for a moment and then didn't follow.

"It's best not to meddle in the grudges of such people, lest we become innocent bystanders. The Beyond Heaven Mountain still exists, but it has been moved, temporarily relieving the crisis. As a local Earth Deity, it was inappropriate for me to appear here, and I should leave now."

The Hengduan Mountain God turned Divine Eye gaze and fell on the city, locking onto a pit.

"The culprit should be left to others to deal with; I, a mountain god, cannot manage so many things."

As the thought crossed his mind, his Divine Body slowly dissipated and vanished with the wind.

Light and shadow flickered.

In Qiu Yan's hand, a ball of light was constantly changing, gradually dimming, and the True Spirit within it was slowly dissipating.

Before long, the True Spirit within the radiance completely dissipated. Then, the deity himself sent out a wisp of Incense Faith, which invaded the radiance.

Then, the ball of light floated up and landed in front of them.

Ahead, Tang Lai Laijing lay on the ground, dressed entirely in black, her eyes wide open, without making a sound.

The radiance slowly drifted down onto Tang Lai, then quickly disintegrated, splitting into a blood-red divine soul and seven Soul Shadow.

The Soul Shadow entered her body, and her soul returned to her body. Tang Lai shuddered and sat up from the ground, her eyes filled with confusion. It took her a few breaths to come back to her senses.

Upon regaining her senses, Tang Lai stood up, bowed to Qiu Yan, and remained silent.

Qiu Yan nodded and ordered, "Put away this poison."

Upon hearing this, Tang Lai replied, "Your Majesty, this venomous Divine Ability is a desperate gamble. It infiltrates the entire body, seeping into the flesh bit by bit. It cannot be removed overnight. The slightest thought will cause the poison to scatter."

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh? I see. Then you should conceal your aura and stay here. I will give you further instructions once the poison has dissipated."

Tang Lai nodded in agreement, his body suddenly spinning, his toes digging into the ground, sending dirt flying. He sank into the ground and quickly disappeared into the depths of the soil, leaving only a bottomless hole.

Swish!

A dark shadow flashed at the cave entrance, revealing a pitch-black figure. This figure flew out and, without pausing, merged into Qiu Yan's body.

Immediately afterwards, Qiu Yan raised his hand and swept it, stirring up a cloud of sand that instantly covered the cave entrance without leaving a trace.

After doing all this, the deity vanished instantly, transforming into specks of divine power.

The deity was originally summoned by Qiu Yan using the Summoning God Method. It was repelled by the Spiritual Qi of this place. Fortunately, the Circuit City God had previously dispersed the surrounding spiritual Spiritual Qi, and the city also had the support of the stove Domain of Law, so it was not affected. Now that things in Wuxin City are over, the deity will no longer stay. After all, things on the other side are not yet over, and the Stove Mountain has not been settled.

With the deity gone, the scholar's clone staggered, his face turning pale.

"Forcibly refining Heroic Soul will inevitably have side effects. Heroic Soul focus on internal organs and blood vessels. Although I have imprisoned the Soul Shadow now, the accumulation is insufficient to generate spirit patterns. After things are settled here, I will find a secluded place to truly refine the Fourth Soul."

Suppressing the strange sensation within his body, Qiu Yan noticed a shimmering red bead flickering between his fingers. Then, his gaze shifted to the spot where "Tang Lai" had left.

"This Upper Spirit Sect is truly bizarre. All the methods I stole require external help, except for the Three-Turn Formula, which relies on oneself. This replacement method can actually use another person's thoughts to replace the True Spirit in one's soul, which is equivalent to a slave-refining method. No wonder Tang Yi used the Spirit-Locking Picture everywhere he went."

As Qiu Yan pondered, her thoughts gradually became clearer.

"However, even if I don't restrain him, I can use Incense Faith instead. This Tang Lai is covered in poison, so I can't destroy him rashly. It's better to let him resolve it on his own. Hmm, the name 'Tang Lai' can't be used anymore. The Karma is too great. We need to change it, or even completely change its name."

As he was still thinking, a whooshing sound suddenly came from the sky, and then Chen Yan landed on two talismans.

As soon as Chen Yan landed, he looked around and frowned. "Hmm? The culprit is gone? And those two deities are nowhere to be found either." Then, he turned to look at Qiu Yan.

"The appearance of that deity who turned the tide seems to be somewhat related to Qiu Yan."

Just then, a thunderbolt suddenly struck from the sky with a crackling sound!

Boom!

The ground between Qiu Yan and Chen Yan suddenly exploded, scattering dirt everywhere, revealing a figure—an old man dressed in a Daoist robe with gold trim. As the lightning crackled, he gave off a sense of swift movement.

The old man's sudden appearance, with electric snakes still coiled around his body as the lightning dissipated, exuded a violent aura that affected the surroundings, causing Qiu Yan and Chen Yan to change color and retreat, becoming wary.

"Are we going to have another setback?"

The old man looked around, then suddenly shook his head and said, "We arrived a step too late. We were entangled with those Celestial Soldiers. Fortunately, no irreparable damage was caused. That old man Tang Lai's aura is scattered and fragmented; he's probably in grave danger, but he has only himself to blame."

At this point, he suddenly turned to look at Qiu Yan, his old eyes flashing with lightning, as if recalling something. Finally, he laughed, "You scholar, you're tainted with the Karma of the Upper Spirit. Was it you who killed Tang Yi?"

"Hmm? Could this person also be from the Upper Spirit Sect?" Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan became even more vigilant, tensing his muscles and gathering his energy to build up his momentum. However, the old man's next words were unexpected.

"Well done! Well done!" the old man said bitterly, then laughed, "You don't need to be nervous. I, Shi Ning of the Upper Clarity Sect, am not here to cause trouble. Your grudges with the Upper Spirit Sect are none of my concern. However, those water cultivators, who talk about 'the Highest Good Is Like Water,' seeming to be indifferent to conflict, but in reality, they hold grudges the most. Once they accumulate enough power, they will be like a never-ending river."

As the old man, who called himself Shi Ning, spoke, he reached into his robe and took out a gold bead.

"With Tang Lai gone, there are very few people left in the Upper Spirit Sect in the Eastern Radiance Continent, so it will be difficult to accomplish anything in the short term. However, there will inevitably be trouble in the future. I owe you a favor, and this is a good opportunity to repay it!"

As they spoke, the bead exploded, emitting flashes of light that enveloped Qiu Yan.

But Qiu Yan was already on guard. As soon as the old man moved, Qiu Yan moved as well. His Sage aura burst forth, not only blocking the lightning but also going against the flow to envelop the old man.

"Alright! I underestimated you! If it weren't for important business, I would definitely want to have a match with you!" Upon seeing this, the old man remained calm and composed, laughing heartily as he transformed into a bolt of lightning, soaring into the sky. After flashing a few times, he disappeared into the horizon.

Crackling! Crackling!

As soon as the old man left, lightning crackled and drew in the wisps of Karma around Qiu Yan, condensing them into a fine iron plaque that fell to the ground.

"This is..." Qiu Yan raised an eyebrow, withdrawing his Sage aura and sensing the iron plate. His face showed surprise. "Hmm? These electric lights have actually locked my karma with the Upper Spirit Sect Karma inside, which is equivalent to obscuring my heavenly secrets! This person actually helped me? He said he owes me a favor? But when have I ever had any contact with such a person?"

Despite his thoughts, he still picked up the sign.

The sign, written in Ancient Seal Script, has two characters: zhong yang.

Shangqing!

These two characters exude a faint aura of violence, each stroke resembling a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky.

Just then, a voice came from the side—

"This person comes from the Upper Realm Daoist Sect."

It was Chen Yan who spoke. He seemed to see through Qiu Yan's doubts and slowly said, "Our Daoist Sect is divided into upper and lower realms, the pure and the impure. The Upper Realm Daoist Sect resides in the Nine Heavens, while the Lower Realm Murk Dao is located on the Continent."

Qiu Yan composed himself, stepped forward, and bowed. "Thank you very much for your help, Master Chen, in this matter."

"It can hardly be considered helping..."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qiu Yan got straight to the point. "Since you are so willing to offer guidance, I hope you can explain it clearly." He then asked the question that had been on his mind.

Chen Yan pondered for a moment, then replied, "My knowledge is also limited. I only know that the Nine Heavens are located in the heavens, but I don't know exactly where they refer to. However, I know a little about the legend of the Continent. It is said that the world is vast and collectively called Continent. The land where Great Rui is located is just one of them, called the East Flower Continent."

"Thank you for informing me." Qiu Yan nodded in thanks, his mind racing.

"I've long suspected the existence of the Nine Heavens and the Continent, so there's no need to dwell on it. After all, no matter how vast the world is, I only have Three Bodies. I should focus on the present and cultivate myself. As for the Nine Heavens..."

Suddenly, the terrifying pressure he felt high in the sky when the deity himself soared into the heavens flashed through his mind, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

As Qiu Yan pondered, Chen Yan suddenly spoke up, saying, "Now that everything is settled, I shall take my leave." Before he finished speaking, Chen Yan took out a talisman, affixed it to his body, and concealed his presence.

Just as he disappeared, the sound of horses' hooves came from not far away. Qiu Yan looked up and saw Song Qian in military uniform riding towards him at full speed.

The ruins where Qiu Yan was located were the former site of the Military Governor's Residence.

"No wonder Chen Yan left so suddenly. He's probably the Daoist priest who killed the military governor's guards, as rumored. It's indeed inconvenient for him to meet Song Qian. But I've already eliminated Shi Jianhui. If I were to meet Song Qian, things would be even more complicated."

With this thought in mind, Qiu Yan Breath-Concealing Talisman on his body, thus hiding his presence and quickly leaving.

He traveled swiftly, encountering people everywhere, but none of them were panicked. Instead, many knelt down, God Summoning and emanating their thoughts. Qiu Yan noticed this, which stirred something within him.

"I didn't expect this move to bring such unexpected benefits."

Thinking to himself, he returned to his room at the inn. As soon as he opened the door, a sharp Sword Qi rushed towards him!

"Um?"

Qiu Yan stopped what he was doing and looked closely, only to discover that there was Greensteel Longsword stuck in the room!