Thunder in Hand, City Stirred by Thought

The Virtual Talisman, though separated from the gods, flew swiftly one after another, converging and merging into the Yin-Yang Pagoda. The tower trembled, releasing light that illuminated the sky.

Instantly, the wind swept away the clouds, revealing countless strange and enormous symbols in the sky. The lines undulated and transformed into array-like patterns, radiating light and releasing an aura. Each one embodied a Divine Path, and they were so numerous that they covered most of the sky!

Upon seeing this, Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

Immediately afterwards, the second level of the Yin-Yang Pagoda trembled, and a surge of divine power rolled out, actually connecting with Lü Liang's aura.

"Oh? Lü Liang actually accumulated divine power inside the tower. If he replenishes it, things will change again!"

Seeing the scene in the sky, Qiu Yan pushed off with his feet, and the land stretching for five miles exploded with a deafening roar. He was already in mid-air. He reached out with his left hand, and the left hand, formed from condensed lightning, extended out, drawing a thick bolt of lightning. Within it, a divine dragon appeared, leading the surging lightning to strike the Yin-Yang Pagoda.

"Naive, do you think you can break through the Divine Path defenses?" Lü Liang showed no concern. He pointed, and the shapes, symbols, and arrays that obscured the sky fell down, unfolding layer upon layer around the Yin-Yang Pagoda, surrounding Lü Liang and forming a barrier.

At this moment, the lightning bolt formed from Qiu Yan's left hand roared in, but was blocked by the layers of graphic arrays and remained suspended in mid-air.

Within the barrier, the surging divine power was about to merge with Lü Liang when Qiu Yan raised his hand and formed a hand seal. Suddenly, the lightning in his left hand transformed, becoming ethereal and mysterious. A Blood-Colored Sage leaped out from within and exploded with a deafening roar.

Boom!

A mighty sound came from the horizon, containing the power to ward off all evil. Even gods would be shaken, and the barrier revealed a crack!

Whoosh!

The lightning bolt shot in and struck the second floor of the Yin-Yang Pagoda. It exploded, spread, and was imbued with the divine power surging from the second floor!

"Hmm?" Upon seeing this, Lü Liang frowned, knowing that it would be difficult to dispel the lightning in a short time. Sensing the complex aura of the lightning, he knew that if he rashly absorbed it, it would definitely leave behind troubles.

"A dying struggle!" He shook his head. He pointed again, and the third level of the Yin-Yang Pagoda trembled. This level contained a projection of the external Netherworld, which expanded to combine with Lü Liang's Divine Power Space.

Before the projection could fully appear, Qiu Yan threw a punch with his right hand!

The right hand flashed with lightning. Azure Dragon coiled and twisted within it, revealing the seven acupoints on its body. These acupoints combined with the complex power within the lightning, unleashing a ripple that subtly echoed the fourth level of the Yin-Yang Pagoda!

Crack!

At the same time, the lightning formed by his left hand exploded with a deafening roar, echoing the lightning in his right hand. The entire sky was instantly filled with lightning and thunder, and thick bolts of lightning undulated and undulated, each containing a terrifying aura.

The gods who had fallen to the ground, weakened by the loss of their talismans, felt a chill run down their spines as they sensed the aura emanating from the lightning. They hastily retreated, fearing that a single misstep would result in being struck by lightning and becoming collateral damage.

"Not good!" The Yin-Yang Pagoda trembled, but it wasn't controlled by Qiu Yan. Aside from the initial mutual resonance, it had no connection to Qiu Yan's power. Yet, it seemed to act as a trigger, opening the box inside the Yin-Yang Pagoda. The seven doors on the fourth floor began to vibrate, releasing immense power, and the doors gradually opened, releasing a profound aura!

The aura spread throughout the entire tower in an instant, and then the tower emitted a living scent, and a will slowly awakened within the fifth floor!

"Damn it, with my current strength, I can no longer suppress the will of the Yin-Yang Pagoda itself!"

Lü Liang cursed inwardly. He wanted to get closer to the Yin-Yang Pagoda, but the tower was surrounded by lightning and thunder. The lightning was not only full of destructive energy, but also contained complex components, including alien Votive Thoughts, worldly thoughts, and even the Five Aggregates of Heart Demon. He had to be careful.

Fortunately, Qiu Yan's aura weakened after unleashing two bolts of lightning.

The two bolts of lightning were not endless. They flew out from Qiu Yan's hands, leaving his hands empty. He slowly began to condense flesh and blood, but compared to before, with the shadow of his Heart Demon and the Heart Ape entering his body, his Divine Spirit Body underwent some changes. With flesh and blood on his body, he gave off an unfathomable aura, as if he was brewing something.

"This Min Yuan is cunning and scheming, using all sorts of tactics to hinder me, making it difficult for me to exert my strength. I don't know what he's up to now. We must take advantage of his current weakness to quell the situation. The only way is to use the Yin-Yang Road!"

This thought flashed through Lü Liang's mind. Then, with Divine Sense, the sixth floor of the Yin-Yang Pagoda immediately reacted, and the window on that floor opened, connecting Yin-Yang!

The Yin-Yang Pagoda, named after Yin-Yang, naturally possesses the ability to communicate between Yin-Yang, and can even traverse between Yin-Yang, opening up passages!

However, even with Lü Liang's current restored Divine Grade, he is still unable to take this step!

This opening of Yin-Yang is not without purpose, but rather relies on the Yin-Yang Road belonging to the Divine Office as a means to draw upon the power of the People's Wishes.

However, Lü Liang was manipulating the Yin-Yang Pagoda, did not see the glint in Qiu Yan's eyes as the Yin-Yang Road gradually appeared!

"It's finally come to this!" Qiu Yan slowly exhaled, his entire body shriveling up. All the essence from his body condensed around the talisman, and the Divine Pool churned, as if some enormous creature was about to emerge from the water!

"Young master, your seal has arrived."

In the humble hut in the Lin Zhong, Dai Guo walked over with a small box. He placed the box on the table, glanced curiously at the painting, and then a flash of lightning seemed to appear in his eyes, causing him to freeze in place.

Qiu Yan didn't say much. He signed his name on the painting, put down his brush, flicked the scroll, took out his Name Seal from the box, and stamped it on a corner of the scroll!

At this moment, the spiritual changes brought about by the entire painting lingered around, flowing inside and outside the house, seeping into the hearts of the scholars, and stirring up all sorts of emotions and spirits in them.

But the moment the seal fell, these mental and emotional fluctuations jolted together, then surged violently, rushing towards Qiu Yan's room like a raging flood that had been blocked for a long time and suddenly found an outlet!

Chapter closed, painting complete!

Boom!

Numerous spirits surged forth, pouring into the painting. The lines on the painting shimmered with light, and the Ancient Scene depicted on the paper floated up, like a mirage, spinning in mid-air.

Outside, the farmland formation that had been hindering the emotional fluctuations shattered with a deafening roar, and in the surrounding sky, waves of Force of Order trembled and spread, sweeping across the entire Eastern Capital region!

"Um?"

In the Nine Abyss Academy, Zhou Dongyi, who was listening to the disciples' reports, suddenly stood up from his seat.

"This aura is..."

Below the hall, many disciples of the Nine Abyss Academy dared not speak upon seeing this. Among them were the current leader of the Nine Abyss Academy, as well as several of Zhou Dongyi's disciples. Xi Muyuan was also among them, though his face was pale.

In this strange incident at the Scholar Forest, the souls of two scholars escaped, but the Human Soul perished on the spot, alarming everyone in the academy.

These Confucian scholars who were admitted to the Scholar Forest, even if they could not yet write articles that could shake the Sage Worthies Clay Statues, were extraordinary in terms of talent and potential, and were all promising students favored by the higher-ups of the academy.

Sending these people to Scholar Forest was intended to give them an experience, allow them to learn from it, and help them understand that there are always people more capable than themselves through interaction with others. This would allow them to return home with a more grounded and thoughtful mind. The original intention was not to force them to grow too quickly.

However, the dangers of Scholar Forest are known to many and cannot be hidden. Those who enter the forest are also aware of this. Once inside, they act cautiously, as if walking on thin ice, and are always vigilant, keeping a constant sense of caution in their hearts.

However, as time went on, their vigilance waned, leading to the subsequent disaster.

Each seed of the academy is precious; perhaps one of them will eventually embody the Literary Heart, thus passing on lost knowledge and promoting doctrine.

As it turned out, according to the two Confucian scholars who had escaped back, the situation in Scholar Forest was perilous, and it was clear that someone was deliberately targeting them. If no one went to warn or stop them, the losses might continue to increase.

This loss is not only the death of the academy's seedlings, but also the impact on the State of Mind of the survivors.

The people present were all knowledgeable individuals, and it was not difficult to tell from the words and actions of the two Confucian scholars that they had been terrified and their will was unlikely to be strengthened again. As a result, their future achievements would be limited.

This is tantamount to losing three seeds of the future all at once.

Therefore, Zhou Dongyi was furious when he returned. Fortunately, the elder knew that if he didn't pursue the matter, he would call people over to discuss countermeasures. Otherwise, the entire academy would have been reprimanded and punished.

However, after much discussion, there is actually only one solution --

The Mortal Realm and the Scholar Forest are two different worlds. Even if a scheme is set up in the Mortal Realm, it will have no effect on the Scholar Forest. Therefore, after much discussion, the decision made by everyone was to select one or two people to enter the Scholar Forest and gather all the Nine Abyss disciples in the Lin Zhong for unified deployment. Even if they lose their fortuitous opportunity as a result, it is much better than losing their lives.

As for the selection of those to join the forest, Zhou Dongyi did not interfere, letting his disciples and students decide for themselves. Soon, Xi Muyuan, who volunteered, stood out.

Xi Muyuan had entered the Scholar Forest once not long ago, and the Scholar Forest aura remained on his body. If he were to Scholar Forest again at this time, there would be a great risk. If he were not careful and his mind wavered, the Scholar Forest consciousness might take advantage of his weakness and enter him, resulting in him being assimilated by the Scholar Forest or falling into the Yin Side of the Scholar Forest.

However, this time they entered to rescue Xi Muyuan, who had only recently joined the academy. Although he had many disadvantages, he had one advantage that others could not match: he was currently the person in the academy who was most familiar with the situation in the Scholar Forest world.

The Scholar Forest is a collection of the consciousness of scholars, and it is not static. After others enter the Shilin, it takes a lot of time just to get familiar with Scholar Forest environment, let alone to gather others.

Xi Muyuan was eager to use this opportunity to boost his reputation and compete with Qiu Yan!

P. S.: Thanks to "Volcano1889" for the donation!

Because some people were chatting in the room, my attention was slightly distracted, and I was slower in revising the document, so it's a little late.